OOF! Wow, I slowed down this month with only five books read. At this pace, I’ll be lucky to make 50, let alone 80 for the year! I was busy with my WonderCon presentation for Tales From My Spinner Rack LIVE! Episode 07, which was definitely the most labor-intensive video I’ve ever produced. But enough whining … here’s what I read in the merry month of March …
The Atlas Comics Library No. 1: Adventures Into Terror Vol. 1 by Various
Fantagraphics has formed an unholy alliance with Marvel Comics to reproduce a series of hardcovers reprinting the Atlas comics of the 1950s. It’s an ambitious project: There’s already five announced books in the Library series (including science fiction, war, crime and Venus, a fan-favorite character drawn primarily by Bill Everett), plus two Artist Editions, the first one on Joe Maneely and the second on Al Williamson. I find myself strangely fascinated by these books, even though I find the stories reprinted therein borderline unreadable. Ah, but the art! Atlas had an incredible roster of freelance artists on all their books, including Maneely and Williamson, plus John Buscema, Gene Colan, Russ Heath, John Romita, Mike Sekowsky, Basil Wolverton, and many, many more. The entire series is edited by Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, an Atlas Comics expert and his introductory essay is wonderful. I’m a little confused as to why they picked this particular series—Adventures Into Terror—but it’s evidently a favorite of much more seasoned Atlas fans and this is a reprint of the first eight issues. This is a pricey pick-up for me, to be honest—volumes range from $34.99 to $49.99, with the Artist Editions at $75.00 (deals can be found online), and I don’t know how deep a dive I’ll continue to take on the series, but some of the volumes really do fascinate me and Fantagraphics does it’s usual great job on design, production, and printing.
Superman: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 by Various
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Batman: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 last month, so I decided to take a tumble on this companion volume. It marks the start of Mort Weisinger’s reign as Superman books editor and coincides with the start of the Silver Age for the Man of Steel. It includes Action Comics #s 241 through 265, and Superman #s 122-137. It’s an important era for the character and Weisinger and his writers (mainly Jerry Siegel, Otto Binder, and Bill Finger) and artists (primarily Wayne Boring, but including Al Plastino and Curt Swan) set the table for the 1960s Superman. During that era, Curt Swan would replace Boring as the primary Superman artist (so volume 2 of this series should be the one I really want). To be honest, like the Batman book, a lot of these stories are just plain silly, definitely written for an 8 to 14-year-old audience. I’m not really a fan of either Boring or Plastino’s art, so the very few Dick Sprang and Curt Swan stories really stand out for me. I do have one major gripe with this otherwise-handsome volume, though: The reproduction is quite shoddy at times especially on the covers. They look like they were redrawn by someone on an hourly salary and a tight deadline. And again, the book’s spine design looks to be from a totally different designer than the rather pedestrian front and back covers. I’ll probably spring for another volume of this, maybe two … because they’ll be reprinting some of the books I most fondly remember from my childhood.
The Late Show by Michael Connelly
I devoured this book when it first came out almost seven years ago. It’s the book in which author Michael Connelly introduced LAPD detective Reneé Ballard to the Bosch Universe. With the recent announcement that Maggie Q would be playing her in a new series—co-starring Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch—I decided to re-read this one. Ballard is such a strong character, literally the female equivalent of Bosch, that she’s hard not to love if you’re a Bosch fan. Suffice it to say, I’m thoroughly enjoying discovering this great book once again. It’s the only one she goes solo in, though … all subsequent books (four of them, with a fifth coming in November) that feature the character are subtitled “A Reneé Ballard and Harry Bosch Novel.” But this is the one that started it all, and if you’re looking forward to the newest addition to the Bosch TV Universe, do yourself a favor and start here. (Pretty sure she’ll show up in the third season of Bosch: Legacy, too, as an introduction to the character. The timing of the casting announcement seems to confirm that, at least to me.)
California Bear by Duane Swierczynski
Once upon a time, I read a lot of Duane Swierczynski books. I think I started with the Charlie Hardie trilogy (Fun & Games, Hell & Gone, Point & Shoot) or maybe Severance Package, and—for the most part—I really enjoyed his work, which always had a wild, comic book, anything-can-happen-and-most-often-did sensibility. California Bear is the most recent book he’s written and I thoroughly enjoyed it, because it captures everything I like about his work. It’s about a long-dormant serial killer who suddenly comes back to life; he’s being stalked by an ex-cop named Cato Hightower, who has just gotten Jack “Killer” Queen out of jail on a technicality, when his sentence for killing the real estate magnate who killed Jack’s wife is vacated. Jack’s 14-year-old daughter Matilda has a rare form of leukemia and is hospitalized for treatment, but she’s also a savant when it comes to detective work and the three of them—Hightower, Jack, and Matilda—get immersed in the hunt for the California Bear. This is also a tale of the ugliness of true-crime TV and Hollywood greed. It’s a story that goes in directions you’ll never see coming, but it has a very satisfying ending. And make sure you read Swierczynski’s author’s note at the end. It will make you cry.
A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown’s Most Shocking Crime by Casey Sherman
Well, I expected something trashy and that’s just what I got. I’m not quite sure how “untold” this story is … It’s all about the murder of Hollywood gangster Johnny Stompanato, allegedly by star Lana Turner’s teenage daughter, Cheryl, but we always knew it was Lana that did it and the poor kid took the rap—and basically got off, because she “saved” her mom (or at least her career)—and walked away. Author Casey Sherman also chronicles the rise of both Lana and mobster Mickey Cohen, the latter a major part of 1940s-50s Los Angeles history, for better or worse. As for Lana, I never quite understood why she was a star.
This book could have been better with an editor/proof-reader who knew that one of Lana Turner’s MGM school classmates was not “Andy Rooney,” and that Jimmy Durante was not a Cuban bandleader. Mistakes like that seriously derail a book that purports to be a serious Hollywood history tome.
Nice cover though!
Currently reading: Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino
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