tiedyedude's reviews
1067 reviews

Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City by Elyssa Maxx Goodman

3.75

The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by P. Djèlí Clark

4.0

 A fantasy short story that examines the imagined lives of the people from whom George Washington's teeth came. A powerful, at times darkly funny, tale. 

The Angel of Khan el-Khalili by P. Djèlí Clark

4.5

 The second prequel story to A Master of Djinn. An introduction to the strange and mysterious "angels" and an emotional trial for a young girl.

Venomnibus by Cates & Stegman by Donny Cates

4.25

Venom was an early childhood favorite character of mine. My older brother was a Spider-Man fan, and he told me I looked like Venom with my braces (?), so I flipped it and became a fan 😅 This collection of Donny Cates' run does so much:  deeply explores the relationship between Eddie and Venom, introduces Knull and creates a lot of backstory for the symbiotes, reanimates Cletus Kasady's corpse, explores pre-Venom symbiotes on Earth, introduces Eddie's son,

turns Eddie into a God,

and lays the groundwork for him to pass on the mantle of Venom. The themes of reconciling the past, dealing with self-imposed isolation and/or abandonment, and giving yourself permission to grow added an unexpected depth to a character who is typically portrayed as a violent brute.  It seems like every issue Eddie is separated from his symbiote, it is absorbed by someone else as something else attaches to Eddie; back and forth. It is a little repetitive, but there is enough variation and risk to keep things interesting and his relationship with his son is a good subplot. There were lots of in-universe history that I don't have knowledge of, but I have a passing knowledge of enough that it didn't really effect my ability to follow and enjoy the story. I didn't love the art in the last few issues, but otherwise the storytelling and art is consistently excellent. Donny Cates may just be the definitive run on one of the best Marvel anti-heroes. In the end,

despite working with the Avengers and aiding worlds throughout the cosmos

, he still feels like an outsider in the Marvel universe, which fits him just fine. 

Escape From Incel Island by Margaret Killjoy

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

4.25

A silly novella where a bunch of incel misogynists are lured to a prison island with the promise of a woman for everyone 🤣 When a non-binary mercenary is sent to retrieve sensitive data left behind, the mission encounters several complications that force our hero to face the island's inhabitants, usually ending in death in one way or another. 

Star Wars Visionaries by Michael Murnane, Alex Jaeger, Aaron McBride, J.W. Rinzler, Warren Fu, Ryan Church, Erik Tiemens, Jeremy Barlow, Robert E. Barnes, Feng Zhu, Sang Jun Lee, Stephan Martinière, Derek Thompson

3.25

This is an interesting collection of "Legends" short comics from artists who were involved in Revenge of the Sith. It helped introduce the concept that Maul's rage kept him alive, explores some possible scenes leading into episode 3, and includes some absolutely gorgeous artwork.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

adventurous funny mysterious

4.25

 This was a blind buy for me, and I enjoyed it a lot, though it was a lot more tongue-in-cheek than I expected. There were some excellent action sequences, but the author was very smart in when to use blades vs. when to use words, which not only kept it from being overly violent but also from being predictable. I loved the twists and turns and at just over 200 pages, it tells the story it sets out to tell without dragging on. 

A Christmas Bestiary by John Kenn Mortensen, Benni Bødker
Did not finish book. Stopped at 71%.

 This was unfortunately disappointing. Advertised as a handbook of international winter folklore, it was neither entertaining nor informative. A lot of the entries were very similar, which is a result of cultures borrowing from each other, but the blurbs were too short to provide much information about the differences. The same can be said for the illustrations, which felt too similar to be interesting.

The Bishop's Wife by Robert Nathan

2.25

 I knew not to expect much from the source of one of my favorite Christmas movies, but this was still a strange read. Steeped heavily in Christian theology, yet still unexpectedly horny, with little of the charm and none of the humor of the film adaptation. Also, most of the plot points are completely abandoned by the end. An unsatisfying, but thankfully short, read. 

Hulk: Gray by Jeph Loeb

4.0

 In the conversation printed at the end of the book, it mentions that Loeb and Sale didn't have much of a connection to the Hulk character before starting this book, which is wild because you really can't tell just by reading the comic! A beautifully tragic retelling of the first few days of the Hulk from a seasoned, but still traumatized, Banner to his psychiatrist friend. Not only does it tell a strong story of his past, but the psychiatric evaluation of events are subtle but very powerful. Hulk is drawn with exaggerated proportions, but of course Sale would know how to portray him as both innocent and terrifying. A brilliant entry to the Loeb/Sale Marvel colors series. If only they had ended it here, instead of adding Captain America White...