A Neon Darkness by Lauren Shippen

A Neon Darkness by Lauren Shippen is another spinoff novel based on characters from the Bright Sessions podcast. I previously read and reviewed The Infinite Noise in the same world. The two books only really have the setting in common and can be read in any order. A Neon Darkness is actually a prequel to the story in the podcast, following the younger version of one character in particular.

Los Angeles, 2006. Eighteen-year-old Robert Gorham arrives in L.A. amid the desert heat and the soft buzz of neon. He came alone with one goal: he wants to see the ocean. And Robert always gets what he wants.

At a very young age, Robert discovered he had the unusual ability to make those close to him want whatever he wants. He wanted dessert instead of dinner? His mother served it. He wanted his Frisbee back? His father walked off the roof to bring it to him faster. He wanted to be alone? They both disappeared. Forever.

But things will be different in L.A. He meets a group of strange friends who could help him. Friends who can do things like produce flames without flint, conduct electricity with their hands, and see visions of the past. They call themselves Unusuals and finally, finally, Robert belongs.

When a tall figure, immune to their powers, discovers them, the first family that Robert has ever wanted is at risk of being destroyed. The only way to keep them all together is to get his powers under control.

But control is a sacrifice he might not be willing to make.

This wasn't exactly an easy book to read. Not because of the writing style — that was perfectly adequate — but because the protagonist is not a nice person. For most of this book he isn't trying to be a bad person, but he is, essentially, the villain in the future (during the time of the story in the Bright Sessions podcast). So I didn't very much enjoy spending time with him in the book, though the the other characters and the glimpses we got of the institute were more enjoyable. Actually, the other characters were all very interesting and complex, once we got to know them, and I think Shippen did a good job of portraying the diverse cast in a nuanced way, despite the constraints of writing from the first person perspective of a self-absorbed white guy.

It's very hard for me to gauge how a new reader would find this book. The start, before I realised who the protagonist was (I try to forget about blurbs by the time I come to read the book, and it's been a while since I listened to the podcast), was interesting and had me invested in the story. By the time I realised the identity of the protagonist, I was already not not exactly enjoying being inside his mind. I think that even without prior knowledge of the character, many readers would react to him similarly to me. Perhaps being invested in learning about his backstory would be more motivation to read.

If it weren't for the choice of protagonist, I would have given this book 4 stars. It's unusual for me to dock half a star for the unlikeability of the protagonist, but it felt warranted in this case. I mainly recommend this book to fans of morally grey characters, as well as fans of the Bright Sessions podcast who want to know more about Damien's backstory.

3.5 / 5 stars

First published: September 2020, Tor Teen
Series: Bright Sessions — a series of standalone stories (and a podcast or three)
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen

The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen is a novelisation of The Bright Sessions podcast. More accurately, it’s the novelisation of one particular storyline, primarily following two of the characters. I initially thought it was going to be a sequel, but it actually goes into more depth on events from the first two (I think) seasons of the podcast.

Caleb Michaels is a sixteen-year-old champion running back. Other than that his life is pretty normal. But when Caleb starts experiencing mood swings that are out of the ordinary for even a teenager, his life moves beyond “typical.”

Caleb is an Atypical, an individual with enhanced abilities. Which sounds pretty cool except Caleb's ability is extreme empathy—he feels the emotions of everyone around him. Being an empath in high school would be hard enough, but Caleb's life becomes even more complicated when he keeps getting pulled into the emotional orbit of one of his classmates, Adam. Adam's feelings are big and all-consuming, but they fit together with Caleb's feelings in a way that he can't quite understand.

Caleb's therapist, Dr. Bright, encourages Caleb to explore this connection by befriending Adam. As he and Adam grow closer, Caleb learns more about his ability, himself, his therapist—who seems to know a lot more than she lets on—and just how dangerous being an Atypical can be.

In essence, this is a YA romance book, featuring two male protagonists. The speculative element is clear: one of the protagonists, Caleb, has an empathy superpower, which allows him (forces him) to sense other people’s emotions. So on the one hand, we have Caleb’s very unique view of the people around him. On the other hand, there’s Adam, who is a normal teen that happens to suffer from depression. Despite one being a it of a nerd and the other being a it of a jock, the two of them form a connection. I also want to be clear that it isn’t just through Caleb’s powers that we experience Adam’s depression. Adam has his own point of view chapters and was diagnosed long before the start of the book. It’s now just something he has to live with and, I think, a particularly good depiction of living with depression.

Since I have listened to the original podcast, I knew what was going to happen in this book. The fact that it’s a romance book cancels out the spoilery nature of being familiar with the podcast (because of how romance books work). The one thing I think might throw people who haven’t listened to the podcast is the sudden appearance of some of the other podcast characters (other than Dr Bright). They sort of fit into the story, but because Caleb and Adam weren’t directly involved in the most dramatic parts of the podcast events, they seemed very oddly tangential, despite triggering some personal issues for our protagonists. On the other hand, if you enjoy The Infinite Noise, it might be a good jumping off point for getting into The Bright Sessions podcast.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I generally recommend it to all fans of YA, particularly spec fic YA. I hope we get more novels in this universe, although I’m not sure which bits of podcast would work best. You definitely do not need to have listened to the podcast to enjoy this book and, conversely, listening to the podcast first does not in any way ruin the book.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: September 2019, Tor Teen
Series: Sort of? The first actual book, set in the Bright Sessions (podcast) world. I hope there'll be more books.
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 7: I've Been Waiting for a Squirrel Like You by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 7: I've Been Waiting for a Squirrel Like You written by Ryan North and illustrated by Erica Henderson is the seventh collected volume of Squirrel Girl comics. I have previously read and reviewed reviewed the earlier volumes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). This one stands alone reasonably well and does not require having read the earlier stories for continuity reasons.

Squirrel Girl goes savage! When Doreen Green and Nancy Whitehead enter a mysterious programming competition, they don't suspect that the prize for winners will be an all-expenses-paid trip to...the Savage Land! Will Squirrel Girl fight a dinosaur? Will Squirrel Girl fight two dinosaurs?! Will we come up with really excellent reasons why these fights would take place, reasons that both justify the fights while also telling the story of what lead to this dinosaur-punching smashup: a story which, even though it stars dinosaurs and Squirrel Girls, contains within it the chance for us to recognize, perhaps for the first time, our most personal and secret selves? Of course! Plus, jokes and a super villain who's causing major problems - it's the complete package!

This volume contained a four-issue story arc in which Doreen and Nancy (and Tippy-Toe) visit the Savage Land, which is a magical tropical world in Antarctica filled with dinosaurs (which was originally built by aliens). Of course, something goes horribly wrong but perhaps not quite in the way you would expect, assuming your expectations are based on Jurassic Park or its sequels. One of the problems requires programming to solve, so that's fun and different. I like how often Doreen and Nancy break out their programming chops — or at least consider things programmatically. So that was a fun arc.

The dinosaur story was followed by a special "zine" issue which was more like an anthology issue. Various guest artists wrote/drew short stories based on many Squirrel Girl characters plus some other Marvel heroes. These were mostly entertaining, although I did feel some were too short to be properly funny (and the Galactus one just wasn't).

Finally, the last issue in this volume was A Year Of Marvels The Unbeatable #1, which was a story centred on Tippy-Toe and involved a supervillain and a team-up with Rocket Racoon. That was pretty adorable because Tippy-Toe can't not be adorable. I enjoyed it even though I'm not a fan of Rocket — in large part because it was very much Tippy-Toe's story.

So this volume is a bit more diverse than the last few I've read. I wasn't a huge fan of the anthology zine issue, but I enjoyed the glimpse at Tippy-Toe's life when Doreen is otherwise occupied. Recommended to fans of Squirrel Girl. I think it's a reasonable place to start, although the zine issue will probably be lost on readers unfamiliar with the various characters.

4. 5 / 5 stars

First published: 2018, Marvel Comics
Series: the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 7th volume of an ongoing series, collecting issues #22–26 and A Year Of Marvels The Unbeatable #1
Format read: Trade Paperback
Source: All Star Comics, Melbourne

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 6: Who Run the World? Squirrels by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 6: Who Run the World? Squirrels written by Ryan North and illustrated by Erica Henderson is the sixth collected volume of Squirrel Girl comics. I have previously read and reviewed all the preceding volumes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) except for the Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe hardcover which is its own self-contained story and also an expensive hardcover. (I’ll probably buy it eventually.)

It's a normal, quiet day at Empire State University, filled with lots of lectures and higher education and students learning quietly. But don't turn away, there's also going to be a fistfight! A big one! And Doreen Green will also get a new Flying Squirrel suit from a mystery benefactor that would render her even more unbeatable, if such a thing were scientifically possible! That pretty much means crime is over forever. There definitely can't be a new super villain in town conspiring to mold Squirrel Girl into the perfect minion...or is there?! Gasp at a secret invasion of character motivations! Thrill at a civil war of emotions! Boggle as monsters truly get unleashed and Doreen's fate hangs in the balance! Also, machine-gun-wielding bears! It's squirrels and girls and punching, oh my!

This volume starts with a four-issue arc featuring a new villain who decides to target Squirrel Girl specifically on the way to world domination. I enjoyed the depth offered by the length of this story as well as the passing nod to “fake news” towards the end. Also the minor side plot about the bear and the chicken was surprisingly awesome. Yes, this was an animal-heavy story.

The final issue in this volume was a standalone one in which Doreen and Nancy go on a trip, leaving Koi Boi, Chipmunk Hunk and Brain Drain to guard New York and have their own adventure. While I am significantly less invested in these characters, it was still an entertaining read and they got to have a bit of character development, which is nice for them.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this volume of my favourite Marvel superhero’s adventures. I recommend it to fans of Squirrel Girl who haven’t already read it. I already have the next volume lined up and I look forward to getting stuck into it soon.

4 / 5 stars

First published: 2017, Marvel Comics
Series: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vol 6 of ongoing series. Containing issues #17–22 of run 2015B
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: All Star Comics, Melbourne

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 5: Like I'm the Only Squirrel in the World by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 5: Like I'm the Only Squirrel in the World written by Ryan North and illustrated by Erica Henderson is the fifth collected volume of comics. Squirrel Girl is my favourite Marvel hero and I have previously read and reviewed all the previous collected comic trades (1, 2, 3, 4). Broadly speaking, this volume brings us more of the same Squirrel Girl goodness that I have come to expect.

Everyone gets a week-long break from class, and Squirrel Girl is taking Nancy to visit her parents up in Canada! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG, RIGHT? Turns out, nothing! It's a great trip and nothing of note happens and our story is actually EXTREMELY DULL. Sorry everyone. No, just kidding! Our story is actually SUPER AWESOME and things get real crazy real quick once a certain super-powered villain nobody has heard of for over a decade reappears! That's right! This comic features mysteries AND Canadians AND camping, not to mention our ALREADY super-enticing focus on squirrel powers! Let's see Howard the Duck promise you THAT.

The volume contains a three-issue arc about a new super villain, which involves the excellent events depicted on the cover of this volume: Squirrel Girl throwing Tippy-Toe, who in turn throws Ant-Man. Superhero team-up gold. It also involves Canada and physics, so that's pretty cool.

The remaining two issues in the volume stand alone: we have a story told from the point of view of Mew the cat (who lives with Doreen's roommate), who ends up helping our heroes defeat the villain of the hour (and I think encounters Pizza Dog?). Then we have a special issue in which Doreen turns twenty and we get a look back at little Doreen on her fifth, tenth and fifteenth birthdays. That was an interesting look at the continuity of the current comic run (different to the continuity of the tie-in novels, for example).

Overall, this was a fun read and I recommend it to all Squirrel Girl fans who are this far behind in their reading (as I was). I don't think there's very much continuity in this volume, so only a basic understanding of Squirrel Girl is needed before reading; not all of the previous volumes need to have been read.

4 / 5 stars

First published: 2017, Marvel Comics
Series: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vol 5 of ongoing series, containing issues #12–16 of the 2015B run of Squirrel Girl
Format read: Trade Paperback
Source: All Star Comics, Melbourne

Ms Marvel Vol 8: Mecca by G Willow Wilson

Ms Marvel Vol 8: Mecca written by G Willow Wilson and illustrated by Marco Failla and Diego Olortegui is the eight collected volume of Ms Marvel comics. I have reviewed all the previous seven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), which means I feel like I have been following and Marvel for a long time. This volume followed on from the events of the previous one (the mayoral election was particularly relevant to the first story arc) and featured the reappearance of a minor character we had met before.

The villains are at Kamala's door, and Ms. Marvel has to save a city that doesn't want saving. The malleable Ms. Marvel continues her hero's journey as an enemy from her past begins targeting those closest to her, a challenge that calls into question everything about her -- not just as a super hero, but as a human being! Who can Ms. Marvel trust when everyone in Jersey City is against her? As Kamala's life hangs in the balance, a new crimefighter moves in on her turf. Plus: Bruno may be far away at a prestigious school in Wakanda, but even thousands of miles from his former best friend, Kamala Khan, adventure still finds him!

The first story arc in the volume was three issues long and very topical. It was about silent majorities and people seizing power and abusing it. Ms Marvel suffers some existential angst brought on by a) not everyone liking her and b) some people hating her and thinking she’s making Jersey City worse. But the story also deals with issues of immigration and the ostracism of people who are different. The issues are blended between immigrants and Kamala’s family, and people with super powers who are specifically being targeted by government forces. It was a pretty powerful storyline.

In comparison, the second story arc was a lot more fun and light. It was two issues of Ms Marvel and her new friend/sidekick stopping a train whose breaks had failed, but which wasn’t actually going very fast. There were some hairy moments but there was also a lot of character development. The volume ends on a low note but since I know there’s another volume out there, I’m not too worried.

I enjoyed both stories in this volume and I highly recommend it to fans of Ms Marvel. As usual, I think it works a bit better if you’ve read the earlier comics, but it probably stands alone a bit better than some of the others. I think all the important back story is filled in with only a few minor things left a bit ambiguous for people who haven’t read the rest of the series.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2017, Marvel Comics
Series: Yes. Volume 8 of ongoing series, collecting issues #19-24 of the 2015 Ms Marvel run
Format read: Trade Paperback
Source: A Sad Physical Book Shop

Ms Marvel Vol 7: Damage Per Second by G Willow Wilson

Ms Marvel Vol 7: Damage Per Second written by G Willow Wilson is the latest collected volume of the Kamala Khan run of Ms Marvel. It follows on from Vol 6 which was (tolerably) set during the Civil War II event and which I have also reviewed. It collects issues #13–18 of the most recent numbering system run (the back of the trade says starting in 2015 but I think the issue numbering has restarted at least once since then).

Civil War II is behind her, and a brand new chapter for Kamala Khan is about to begin! But it's lonely out there for a super hero when her loved ones no longer have her back. It's time for Kamala to find out exactly who she is when she is on her own. Plus: it's election time! Kamala gets out the vote!

There are three story arcs collected in this volume. The first single-issue arc is about Ms Marvel encouraging New Jersey people to vote in the Mayoral election. I didn't mind this one, but politics centring getting people to vote is always strange from this Australian used to compulsory voting. I also put the comic down for a while after this issue and when I came back to read the rest and write this review I found it hadn't been very memorable.

The middle four-issue arc is overwhelmingly the dominant one in this collection and is the origin of the volume title. This story involves Ms Marvel gaming online in her down time and then having to deal with a computer-based villain. The story deals with the idea of there not being any privacy or secrets in the modern digital age, but there wasn't enough space to delve into this very deeply and the story is limited to issues surrounding doxing, more or less. It was interesting and memorable but I don't think it's one of my favourite Ms Marvel arcs. (I also side-eyed the computer stuff in it, but it fits in with the magic of the Marvel universe, I suppose.)

The final single-issue arc shows us Bruno's story who doesn't appear earlier in this volume after events in the previous volume. Bruno is going to school in Wakanda and we see him struggling to fit in as "the American" but also making friends and — most interestingly — dealing with his acquired disabilities. I really liked this arc and while I don't know how sustainable future Bruno stories will be if he continues being on the other side of the world from Ms Marvel, I hope we see more of him in the future.

I enjoyed this volume and I definitely recommend it to fans of Ms Marvel. I think it's probably also an OK place to pick up the story, but not the best starting point. As always I advocate starting at the start of the Kamala Khan Ms Marvel run for maximum Ms Marvel goodness.

4 / 5 stars

First published: 2017, Marvel Comics
Series: Ms Marvel vol 7, containing issues #13–18
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Local comic book shop

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious by Shannon and Dean Hale

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious by Shannon and Dean Hale is the second Squirrel Girl prose novel, following on from the setting and characters established in the first book, Squirrel Meets World. That said, 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious stands alone fairy well and does not require having read the earlier book to be enjoyed.

Squirrel Girl is BACK in an all-new adventure and things are about to get . . . hairy. Thanks to Squirrel Girl, Ana Sofia, and the Squirrel Scouts, the crime rate in New Jersey is at an all time low. It makes for safer streets but also bored-er squirrels. That's why it's super exciting when Doreen's school announces a new mall is being built right next to their town. Mmmm . . . Doreen can smell the soft pretzels now. The corporation building mall has also announced that there will be a competition to choose the mall's mascot. Because malls need mascots?Anyway, Doreen's school will be voting for a cat and the neighboring school will be voting for a dog. As the relationship starts to unravel between the two towns, Squirrel Girl and her friends suspect something more sinister is at work. With the help of old friends like Ana Sofia, Tippy Toe, and The Mighty Thor as well as some surprising new ones, Squirrel Girl will squash a villainous plot and save everyone.The unbeatable Squirrel Girl is ready for more nuts AND more butts! Are you?

Much as expected, this book was fun, light-hearted and humorous. It revisits middle school-aged Squirrel Girl/Doreen Green along with her best human and squirrel friends, Anna Sofia and Tippy Toe, respectively. While Doreen and Anna Sofia navigate friendship and middle school, something strange and probably evil is brewing in their town. Will they realise in time to put a stop to it before it gets out of hand? And now many Squirrel Girl commentary foot notes can be squeezed into one book? (94. The answer is 94.)

I enjoyed 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious a lot, although I think slightly less than I enjoyed the first book in the series. I'm not sure whether that's to do with actual differences in tone/voice etc or just a difference in my mood when each book was read. That said, I did feel there was a difference in Tippy Toe's voice with its idiosyncrasies being toned down a bit in 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious compared with Squirrel Meets World. I don't think this is a bad thing though, since it's now a bit more accessible.

Overall this book was strong on the power of friendship and being nice to people, with a few amusing attempts at peaceful conflict resolution on Squirrel Girl's part. I would definitely not hesitate to give it to young children (although Australian and other non-US children would probably require an explanation as to what middle school is). I enjoyed it a lot and I will definitely be reading any more Squirrel Girl books the Hales write.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: March 2018, Marvel Press
Series: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl book 2 or 2 so far
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased via iBooks

Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots by Seanan McGuire

Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots by Seanan McGuire is the first collection of the Velveteen vs stories. It's out of print in ebook so I wasn't actually able to get the book, but the stories themselves are all available to read on the author's website, so I'm counting it as having read the book. Because of how I've been reading and posting mini-reviews of short stories, you might have already seen my comments on some of the stories, but I still think it's nice to collect them all in one place.

Velveteen: How dare you? I never asked for you to hunt me down!

No, Velma Martinez hadn't. But when you had once been Velveteen, child super-heroine and one of The Junior Super Patriots, West Coast Division, you were never going to be free, even if your only power was to bring toys to life. The Marketing Department would be sure of that.

So it all came down to this. One young woman and an army of misfit toys vs. the assembled might of the nine members of The Junior Super Patriots, West Coast Division who had come to take her down.

They never had a chance.

Velveteen lives in a world of super-heroes and magic, where men can fly and where young girls can be abducted to the Autumn Land to save Halloween. Velma lives from paycheck to paycheck and copes with her broken-down car as she tries to escape from her old life.

It's all the same world. It's all real. And figuring out how to be both Velveteen and Velma is the biggest challenge of her life, because being super-human means you’re still human in the end.

The stories in this collection are set in a world with superheroes and, more importantly, organisations managing the licensing and public appearances of superheroes. It's also set in the US, which gives it a pretty different vibe to Girl Reporter and the preceding stories by Tansy Rayner Roberts, even while it deals with some of the same themes. (For the record, I like the Roberts series more, mainly for its Australian-ness and humour, but that's not to say I'm disliking the McGuire which, as I said, is a very different take.)

The Velveteen stories deal with Vel's life as an adult after having been a child hero and after quitting the life before turning eighteen and hence avoiding some legal troubles. However, as an adult, she's not allowed to be a superhero without going back to the organisation she's escaped and wants nothing to do with. Her only hope in escaping them is to make it to Oregon, which has different state laws and  where she can be safe. Meanwhile, she's been working minimum-wage jobs and living pay-check to pay-check, so life hasn't been super fun. The stories in this collection follow her journey and eventual arrival in Oregon with a few detours for world-saving and flashbacks.

Overall these stories had a bit of bleakness to them, especially when the Junior Super Patriots were juxtaposed with Vel's adult life. Some of the stories felt more like chapters or instalments in a bigger story, which was fine since I was reading them in order (although not all in a row). For others looking to dip into the series, many of the stories work fine out of order, but some don't quite stand alone, in my opinion (as noted below). In general, I recommend these stories and this collection to fans of superheroes, especially more cynical takes on the superhero genre.

And now the stories:

Velveteen vs the Isley Crayfish Festival — A quick, fun introduction to a retired (for now?) superheroine, who features in several more stories. Recommended for fans of Tansy Rayner Roberts superhero stories and vice versa.

Velveteen vs. The Coffee Freaks — A fun superhero story about a retired child hero that just wants to get to her job interview in Portland.

Velveteen vs the Flashback Sequence — More of a chapter establishing character than a properly stand-alone story in its own right. Nevertheless, an enjoyable read.

Velveteen vs the Old Flame — A less fun read that dredges up some unfortunate back story from Velma’s time as a junior superhero. As with the previous story in this sequence, it feels a bit more like a chapter than a self-contained short story.

Velveteen vs the Junior Super Patriots West Coast Division — The plot thickens as Velma, our retired superheroine, faces off against the new generation of her former child hero team. New characters with interesting back stories are introduced and Velma’s road trip comes to an end.

Velveteen vs the Eternal Halloween — A story set entirely during Velveteen’s teenage years and featuring a Groundhog Day-like Halloween and the world of Halloween. A solid story. It inadvertently had me wondering how the world of Halloween would fit in with the Wayward Children, but this story was, of course, written much earlier. It was also kind of more fun (less cynical) than adult Velveteen.

Velveteen vs the Ordinary Day — Another chapter in adult Velveteen’s life. Having made it to Oregon, Velma reunites with some friends. An entertaining read.

Velveteen vs Patrol — A first look at Velma’s new life superheroing for Oregon. Mostly a pleasant read about her working out her new life, with and additional dollop of foreshadowing doom thrown in.

Velveteen vs the Blind Date — Velveteen is set up on a blind date with another freelance superhero. It seems like a terrible idea at first, but they have complementary powers and hit it off. Another entertaining read.

4 / 5 stars

First published: 2012, ISFiC
Series: Yes. First collected volume of 3 so far
Format read: Individual stories online on the author's website
Source: Author's website

Short Stories 26 to 30

This batch of stories brought to you by me being really into the Velveteen vs series by Seanan McGuire and also thinking that I had a short wait at the physio which turned out to be long enough for three flash stories PLUS their mini reviews. Oh well.



Velveteen vs the Eternal Halloween by Seanan McGuire — A story set entirely during Velveteen’s teenage years and featuring a Groundhog Day-like Halloween and the world of Halloween. A solid story. It inadvertently had me wondering how the world of Halloween would fit in with the Wayward Children, but this story was, of course, written much earlier. It was also kind of more fun (less cynical) than adult Velveteen. Source: http://seananmcguire.com/velvs6.php

Velveteen vs the Ordinary Day by Seanan McGuire — Another chapter in adult Velveteen’s life. Having made it to Oregon, Velma reunites with some friends. An entertaining read. Source: http://seananmcguire.com/velvs7.php

Kai Ling's Tree by Joyce Chng — A short vignette of a story, illustrating a piece of life on a Mars being terraformed. It was a nice glimpse into a possible future. Source: https://jolantru.dreamwidth.org/16009.html

Unterminator by Zen Cho — A touching flash piece about a robot sent from the future to avert an apocalypse. (Also, just first thought was that the title referred to the night/day divide kind of terminator, so, um, that was briefly confusing.) Source: http://zencho.org/unterminator/

See DANGEROUS EARTH-POSSIBLES! by Tina Connolly — A short/flash story about travelling to parallel universes where fighting monsters can be more appealing than what’s happening at home. A solid read. Source: http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/see-dangerous-earth-possibles/

Some short stories to start off the year

On the back of my victorious short story reading challenge in late 2017, I have gotten into the habit of reading short stories.

I also have a great way of managing the stray short story reading: Pocket. It's a "read later" article manager that I'm only using for short stories (I theoretically also use Instapaper for non-fiction articles, but rarely check it). Pocket has smartphone and iPad apps as well as the website and all of them sync your stories and your place. I also discovered a Chrome extension, Accelereader, which tags all the stories in Pocket with reading time (which you can even adjust to your actual reading speed) so you can get an idea of the time commitment before you start a story. Very handy (apart from the need to open Chrome to get those tags on newly added stories). It's also supported by my Kobo, which does time estimates without the chrome extension. Recommended if you're looking for a way to keep online short stories for later perusal.

Anyway, here are the first five stories I've read in 2018:

Velveteen vs the Flashback Sequence by Seanan McGuire — More of a chapter establishing character than a properly stand-alone story in its own right. Nevertheless, an enjoyable read.  Source: http://seananmcguire.com/velvs3.php  

Velveteen vs the Old Flame by Seanan McGuire — A less fun read that dredges up some unfortunate back story from Velma’s time as a junior superhero. As with the previous story in this sequence, it feels a bit more like a chapter than a self-contained short story. Source: http://seananmcguire.com/velvs4.php 

Velveteen vs the Junior Super Patriots West Coast Division by Seanan McGuire — The plot thickens as Velma, our retired superheroine, faces off against the new generation of her former child hero team. New characters with interesting back stories are introduced and Velma’s road trip comes to an end. Source: http://seananmcguire.com/velvs5.php 

I Won At NaSuHeMo! by Marissa Lingen — A fun, quite short story written as diary entries of someone pursuing National Super Hero Month — a quest to get super powers in the vein of nanowrimo. Source: http://dailysciencefiction.com/science-fiction/superhero/marissa-lingen/i-won-at-nasuhemo 

A Hundred and Seventy Storms by Aliette de Bodard — A story of a young mindship, her keeper and a dangerous storm. An interesting read. I particularly enjoyed seeing a relatively young mindship who still has close living relatives. I am enjoying the Xuya universe and will definitely be reading more stories. Source: http://uncannymagazine.com/article/hundred-seventy-storms/ 

Ms Marvel Vol 6: Civil War II by G Willow Wilson

Ms Marvel Vol 6: Civil War II written by G Willow Wilson and illustrated by three different artists is the sixth volume of collected Ms Marvel comics and contains issues #7–12 with the numbering starting from 2015 (although the trade volume numbering didn't restart...). It is apparently part of the Civil War II event but, happily, makes perfect sense without having read any other comics from that event.

While CIVIL WAR II brews, the next generation of Avengers has bigger things to worry about - like a tri-state academic competition! As rival schools clash, Ms. Marvel's teammates Spider-Man and Nova are now her enemies! But when Kamala gets called to the real battle's front line, she faces a fight she can't embiggen her way out of. She's about to learn a valuable lesson: Never meet your idols! As war intensifies, tragedy strikes too close to home - and Ms. Marvel must choose between her heroes and her family. When friends become foes, Ms. Marvel struggles to put her life and Jersey City back together. Kamala will be forced to grow up fast and find her true place in the world. But will she be an international sensation...or a menace?

So first off, there's the requisite sigh for another bloody comic event ruining things. SIGH. But at least this more or less held together coherently. Except for maybe the first issue, which I think might have been a bridging one and seems, in retrospect, not very connected to the other five. The premise of the event is also not very original. It's basically minority report with Captain Marvel playing the role of wanting to stop future crime and enlisting Ms Marvel and some new randoms to help do it. There's even a psychic doing the predicting. On the bright side, the text seems at least somewhat aware of this fact, throwing in a reference to the Minority Report movie.

Around the Civil War II storyline there are two other stories being told: Ms Marvel/Kamala disagreeing with her friends (over the future crime stuff) and the story of Kamala's family migrating first from India to Pakistan and then to the US. Those two stories tie together the latter five issues in this volume and bring Kamala to dealing with the aftermath of the events of the main story. Although I did find the last part of the last issue was a bit rushed on that front. It will be interesting to see how that develops and whether it goes any further.

The real highlight in this volume, for me, was the background detail in a flashback of Kamala's grade two classroom. I was quite shocked to see children assembling a puzzle entitled "Napalm Sunrise" and reading books with titles such as "Poppa Bear is Wanted for Questioning", "Momma Bear Runs Afoul of Local Triad" and "Hobo Has No Toes". There was also boxes labelled as containing bees and (separately) teeth. And a poster about the cat of nine tails (yes, the whip). I'm not sure what to make of all that, really, but it certainly stood out.

Anyway, I'm not a fan of comic events, and this is no exception. However, this is also a continuation of Ms Marvel's story and I don't think it should be skipped out of hand if you've been enjoying Ms Marvel thus far. Therefore, I recommend it to fans of Ms Marvel. To people who haven't read Ms Marvel yet, I suggest starting from Volume 1: No Normal. This volume is certainly not a sensible place to start reading, at any rate.

4 / 5 stars

First published: 2016, Marvel
Series: Ms Marvel (Kamala Khan) vol 6 (counting from 2014) of ongoing series, containing issues #7–12 (counting from 2015).
Format read:b Trade paperback
Source: All Star Comics in Melbourne

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale is a novelisation of the awesome comic book character's early high school life and emergence as a superhero. It's a YA book and is set when Doreen Green is fourteen and has just moved to New Jersey from LA.

WHO RUNS THE WORLD? SQUIRRELS!
Fourteen-year-old Doreen Green moved from sunny California to the suburbs of New Jersey. She must start at a new school, make new friends, and continue to hide her tail. Yep, Doreen has the powers of . . . a squirrel! After failing at several attempts to find her new BFF, Doreen feels lonely and trapped, liked a caged animal. Then one day Doreen uses her extraordinary powers to stop a group of troublemakers from causing mischief in the neighborhood, and her whole life changes. Everyone at school is talking about it! Doreen contemplates becoming a full-fledged Super Hero. And thus, Squirrel Girl is born! She saves cats from trees, keeps the sidewalks clean, and dissuades vandalism. All is well until a real-life Super Villain steps out of the shadows and declares Squirrel Girl his archenemy. Can Doreen balance being a teenager and a Super Hero? Or will she go . . . NUTS?

This book was awesome! I mean, Squirrel Girl is already a pretty awesome character and if I had any apprehensions going in it was that the novel character wouldn't be quite the same as the comic character. But, although novel!Doreen is younger than comic!Doreen (who is in college), the authors managed to get her voice down exactly, giving the book a very similar feel to the comics. And there are footnotes from Doreen as she reads along with us.

On top of that, some of the chapters are from other characters' points of view, like Doreen's best human friend Ana Sofía (more on her shortly) and Doreen's best squirrel friend Tippy-Toe. Yes, there are chapters from Tippy-Toe's point of view. And they are in first person. And they are awesome. So awesome. And my favourite thing with Tippy-Toe is a bit of a spoiler...

Tippy-Toe picks up some ASL from watching Doreen and Ana Sofía sign to each other and then is able to sign to Ana Sofía in an emergency. Eeeee!

Ana Sofía, meanwhile, is the first friend Doreen makes at her new school and is instrumental in keeping her spirits up when times are tough. She also plays a part in helping Squirrel Girl save the day.

Squirrel Girl is awesome and you should read this book even if you haven't read any of the recent comics. They are completely independent of the book, despite being about the same character. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes YA and/or superheroes and also doesn't hate fun. Because Squirrel Girl is awesome.

5 / 5 stars

First published: February 2017, Marvel/Scholastic
Series: Yes? No? Squirrel Girl is an ongoing character in the Marvel comics universe, anyway.
Format read: Paperback! Gasp!
Source: Purchased at local book shop

Sex Criminals Vol 3: Three the Hard Way by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky

Sex Criminals Vol 3: Three the Hard Way written by Matt Fraction and illustrated Chip Zdarsky is, obviously, the third volume in the ongoing Sex Criminals comic book series. It collects issues #11–15 and pretty continues the story where Volume 2 left off. I don't particularly recommend reading this volume if you haven't already read the earlier volumes/comics. The blurb below and this review will also contain some spoilers for the earlier volumes.

So it turns out Jon and Suzie aren't alone ― other people around the world, like them, freeze time when they climax. A self-appointed group wants to regulate and control them through fear and intimidation. Jon and Suzie are falling in love and want their freak flags to fly, but if they're going to fight back they can't do it alone.

And really, isn't that a metaphor for the whole series? That we might all be alone but we're all alone together? I think so. 

Following on directly from the events in the previous issues, Volume 3 of Sex Criminals deals with John and Suzi investigating and coming to terms with other people who have their time-stopping powers. Of course, like the first group of time stoppers they met, not everyone automatically wants to be friends with them, so things get a little hairy for them.

My favourite thing about this volume was the introduction of a new asexual character, which is especially interesting and cool given the basic premise of "having orgasms stops time". The character didn't get a huge amount of page time, but I'm hoping that will change in the future, especially given the cliffhanger ending. We got a decent amount of backstory, though, and I appreciated the overall way in which the character was introduced.

I didn't hate but was less fond of the meta-commentary that popped up every so often. Issue 14 in particular broke a fourth wall a little bit too hard for my tastes. Not so much because it was bad commentary (it was funny too) but it did slow down the story and, well, even admitted to being masturbatory. So there's that.

On a more positive note, I found the characters more likeable too, especially John. We also see the relationship between Joh and Suzi growing and becoming more meaningful and less based on "oh, hey, you stop time when you orgasm too??! Let's go rob a bank!" Presumably this will be a trend that continues in subsequent comics.

Overall, I would recommend this volume to people who have read the earlier Sex Criminals issues/volumes and want to continue the story. This is definitely not a good place to start and if you hated the earlier books I don't see this one changing your mind unless you really like fourth-wall-breaking commentary or were hanging out for the sensitive introduction of an asexual character.

4 / 5 stars

First published: June 2016, Image Comics
Series: Sex Criminals volume 3 of ongoing series containing issues #11–15
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Real life comic book shop (although I've forgotten in which country)

Patsy Walker aka Hellcat! Vol 1: Hooked on a Feline by Kate Leth and Brittney L Williams

Patsy Walker aka Hellcat! Vol 1: Hooked on a Feline written by Kate Leth and illustrated by Brittney L Williams is the first collected volume of a brand new ongoing series featuring (obviously) the titular character. You might remember me mentioning Patsy/Hellcat in my She-Hulk reviews. This new series follows on from the same situation, with some overlapping character and also some new characters. And, of course, a focus on Patsy rather than She-Hulk/Jen.

Patsy Walker has managed to escape her past, her enemies and Hell itself (literally) - but nothing compares to job hunting in New York City! Between trying to make rent and dodging bullets, Patsy barely has time to deal with her mother's exploitative romance comics about Patsy's past resurfacing, much less how they start to interfere with her work and dating life. As she goes from living a double life to a triple, what the hell is Patsy Walker supposed to do? There'll be friendship and burgers, monsters and rent checks and a ghost from the past with questionable motives! Comics' most flexible heroine has been a provisional Avenger, a Defender, Satan's daughter-in-law and a dead woman–but she's never been anything like this!

This comic was excellent and even better than I expected. I was expecting to enjoy it because I like the character (and She-Hulk!). What I didn't see coming, however, was the lightheartedness and sheer fun of the comic. On that front, I'd say it was probably most like Squirrel Girl, with a similar — but not identical — style of puns, quips and jokes. There were several laugh-out-loud moments for me.

The story is basically: Patsy gets fired from being Jen's investigator because Jen is broke and then Patsy has bad-guy-thwarting adventures while trying to set up a new business. There's also the matter of romance stories that Patsy's mum wrote about teenaged Patsy and friends resurfacing, which Patsy is not impressed by.

I also really liked the art. It was bright and cheerful and Hellcat was often drawn in a chibi style, which was just adorable. Also, She-Hulk got to have pants as part of her hero costume! Win!

This was an excellent and entertaining read. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fun comics and doesn't hate female characters. I will definitely be reading the next volume in this series and hope that it runs for MANY issues. <3

5 / 5 stars

First published: July 2016, Marvel
Series: Yes, first collected volume of an ongoing series, containing issues #1–5
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Some comic book shop or other (Orbital Comics in London, I think)

Silk Vol 1: Sinister by Robbie Thompson

Silk Vol 1: Sinister written by Robbie Thompson and illustrated by Stacey Lee, Tana Ford and Veronica Fish is the first collected volume of Silk comics after Secret Wars. It also follows on directly from the pre-Secret Wars Vol 0: The Life and Times of Cindy Moon.

Silk is back and badder than ever! Cindy Moon -- the other victim of the radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker -- has been working to find the missing members of her family since she escaped the bunker that was her home for so many years. But Silk's quest has taken her down a darker path than expected, and now she's in cahoots with the most ferocious feline in the Marvel Universe: the Black Cat! But not everyone in the Cat's criminal crew is happy about the arrangement. Nor is a certain friendly neighborhood CEO of Parker Industries, and that will bring Cindy into conflict with Spider-Man and the Goblin King! What could have led her to this? Who is Espectro? And will Cindy go so far there's no redeeming the Sinister Silk? 

Silk Vol 0 was one of my favourite Marvel trades. I didn't enjoy this second volume quite as much... But that just means it wasn't my absolute favourite, most exciting new trade of the year. It had a lot to live up to. And quite frankly, Sinister was more than just more of the same. Having already established Silk as a character with a purpose (finding out what happened to her family), this volume has Silk fighting bad guys, in a fairly standard superhero way, and being a double agent, which is less standard. Along the way, Silk encounters and fights a large number of green goblin minions, works for a bad guy and has a few run-ins with Mockingbird and SHIELD.

I am continuing to really enjoy Silk and I will definitely be picking up the next volume. I highly recommend Silk to basically everyone, but I recommend starting with Volume 0 rather than this one. It's not that this is a bad place to start, just that you get even more awesomeness if you start earlier.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: June 2016, Marvel
Series: Silk ongoing series, collecting issues #1–6 from the second 2015 run (2015b), following on from Silk Vol 0
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Purchased from All Star Comics in Melbourne

Radioactive Spider-Gwen Vol 1: Greater Power by Jason Latour

Radioactive Spider-Gwen Vol 1: Greater Power written by Jason Latour and (mostly) illustrated by Robbi Rodriguez is the first volume of post-Secret Wars Spider-Gwen, and follows on from the pre-Secret Wars Vol 0 of (non-radioactive) Spider-Gwen. This new volume contains issues #1–6 and a single complete story arc.

Gwen Stacy is back in the webs and has an all-new, all-different mystery to solve: the reappearance of the Lizard! The Spider-Woman of Earth-65 was convinced that the Lizard died in her arms along with Peter Parker. But a new reptilian rampage leaves her with doubts not only about Peter's life, but his death as well. Troubles begin to mount as the Osborns of Gwen's world make their debut, and she finds herself on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most wanted list! Perhaps some wise words from a mentor figure could help - how about Jessica Drew, the Spider-Woman of Earth-616? What lessons about power and responsibility will Jess have to share, and what use will they be when Gwen battles the Goblins?

I have to admit, I was a bit sceptical of this volume going in. I liked but didn't love Vol 0 and the blurb for this one made it sound like it would be continuing to centre Peter Parker in what should be Gwen's story. I was pleasantly surprised. Although the spectre of Peter Parker does loom large in this volume, it mostly does so for people other than Gwen. Harry Osborne, and to a lesser extent SHIELD and the police, are the ones who have not moved on from Parker's death. Which doesn't mean they're making life easier for Gwen, since they blame her alter-ego for it.

My favourite thing about this volume was the new info we got on how SHIELD and other superheroes work in this alternate universe. We already knew from Vol 0 that Matt Murdock was not above board, but now we get to learn about Captain America and the director of SHIELD. Minor spoilers to follow...

The BEST THING about Gwen Stacey's universe is that Peggy Carter is the director of SHIELD — with an eye patch and everything! A close second best thing is that Captain America is not Steve Rogers, but a black woman called Sam. How did no one tell me about this before I read it??? The only slight downside about Cap is that Falcon, who is a teenager in this place and time, is still called Sam, which could get confusing. But he has an entertaining role to play too, even if it's less major than Cap's and Peggy's roles.

I also quite liked the plot of this volume. To loosely summarise, it ends with Gwen coming up against  the Green Goblin and doing a much better job of it than any versions of Spidey that I've seen (which is mainly the movie ones and not all of them by any stretch of the imagination). Gwen also finds herself at odds with Cap and elements of SHIELD, a situation that needs to be resolved before she can move on. Oh, and there's a cameo from pregnant Spider-Woman in one of the issues, which was amusing even if the corresponding Spider-Woman trade has yet to be released.

This was a great comic, much more interesting and enjoyable than the first Spider-Gwen trade. If you were feeling meh about the character or creative team after that volume, I recommend giving this trade a go anyway. Obviously, if you're already a fan of Spider-Gwen, why wouldn't you have already read this new volume? Go on! I am looking forward to grabbing the next trade when it becomes available.

5 / 5 stars

First published: May 2016, Marvel
Series: Spider-Gwen on-going series. The first volume of the second run (2015b), containing issues #1–6
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Bought from All Star Comics, Melbourne

Kid Dark Against The Machine by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Kid Dark Against The Machine by Tansy Rayner Roberts is a novella published by the Book Smugglers, set in the same world as her short story "Cookie Cutter Superhero" which appeared in Kaleidoscope. If you want to be more surprised by the story, it might be better NOT to read the blurb...

Back when he was called something else, Griff knew everything about superheroes, sidekicks and the mysterious machine responsible for creating them. Now, Griff is just an average guy, minding his own business. A volunteer handyman at the Boys Home—his former home—Griff spends his days clearing out gutters and building clubhouses for the orphans at the Home. Nothing heroic or remarkable about that, right?

But all of that changes when one of the Home kids starts having weird dreams about another Machine—an evil version that churns out supervillains. Griff remembers the call of the Machine, and reluctantly decides to help the kid on his mission.

And then they waltz back into Griff's life. Those bloody heroes. Including him—The Dark—one of Australia’s mightiest and longest-running superheroes.

What’s a retired secret superhero sidekick to do?

I don't very often read blurbs before I read things and I suspect this is one of the stories where not reading the blurb first is more fun. Especially if you've already read "Cookie Cutter Superhero" and know you want more. And I think this blurb has a few too many spoilers in it.

Kid Dark Against the Machine is set in an alternate Australia where superheroes exist and, in fact, there is a machine (well, several for different countries) that manufactures superheroes. No one knows where these machines came from, but they did and they seem to be governed by a lot of esoteric rules and a degree of randomness. And what about supervillains, where do they come from?

We learn more about supervillains in this novella, but the question of how the system came about at all still remains. I, for one, am hoping that the author will provide us with some more answers in the form of stories. Or just more stories, that would also do.

I highly recommend Kid Dark Against the Machine to fans of superheroes, light-hearted fantasy and Tansy Rayner Roberts. Obviously, if you enjoyed "Cookie Cutter Superhero", then this story is for you. It features a different main character, but Solar and the other superheroes do make an appearance. I am eagerly awaiting more stories set in this world.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: June 2016, the BookSmugglers
Series: Same world as the Kaleidoscope short story "Cookie Cutter Superhero"
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased from the Book Smugglers
Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge

Runaways: Battleworld by Noelle Stevenson and Sanford Greene

Runaways: Battleworld written by Noelle Stevenson and illustrated by Sanford Greene is another one of those one-off Secret Wars stories. It's pretty good, aside from the whole Secret Wars, Doomworld, etc aspects. I think I reached a zen state of accepting that I'm never going to understand the worldbuilding and taking the story as it came. The volume collects all of the Secret Wars Runaways run (issues #1–4) and Secret Wars: Secret Love #1, which is a one-off comic containing five short stories. It was weird but also pretty great.

The best and brightest teens from all corners of Battleworld are chosen to attend a prestigious school on the planet's capital! But what does the new class do when they discover the school's beloved headmaster is actually a diabolical super villain? RUN AWAY! A SECRET WARS story like none other from the remarkable minds of Noelle Stevenson (Lumberjanes) and Sanford Greene (UNCANNY AVENGERS)!

The premise here is: there's a school in Doomworld/Battleworld/whatever, run by Doom's daughter (who's like 10?) that teaches gifted kids to be doom soldiers. The school is obviously evil, which the main kids work out early on in the story. No points for guessing what they do about it (hint: look at the title).

The main thing to like here are the characters. They were all pretty great. The only cross-over from the original Runaways is Molly, the rest are newish as far as I can tell. I liked the new, younger, Cloak and Dagger siblings, power-flipped so that the girl is Cloak (and OMG wears actual clothes!) and the boy is Dagger. I also liked Amadeus Cho, who I know from other sources goes on to become the Totally Awesome Hulk, but in this is just the super-smart kid. Teenage Bucky Barnes (complete with metal arm) also features in this story, though quite why remains a mystery. There was also a reprogrammed Doom-bot head that named itself Emily, which I couldn't help but adore.

The story is a pretty standard "school is evil, we should probably do something about that" kind of spiel, but works because of the character interactions. I would, in general, be interested in reading more about pretty much all of these characters (other than the more evilish ones), but I'm not sure where that may happen (other than for Cho). If you know more, please tell me in the comments!

I also want to talk specifically about each story in the bonus Secret Wars: Secret Love issue, because they are deserving of individual comment:

• "Guilty Pleasure" was about Daredevil, told from the point of view of his wife, Karen. It wasn't terrible, but I didn't love it, mainly because the premise was Karen being jealous/paranoid that Matt was cheating on her with an ex. I especially didn't like the art style, which was kind of retro. 
• "Fan of a Fan" was short and sweet, about Ms Marvel/Kamala fan-girling over some guy I'd never heard of, and also rescuing him. Can't not like Kamala. (Except maybe in the hilariously dramatic retro cover of this issue, which, um.)
• "Misty and Danny Forever" was about Misty Knight and Iron Fist (OMG I hope Misty Knight is in the Netflix show!) working through relationship issues of the we-have-kids-now variety. Also featuring Jessica Jones and Nick Cage. And a dinosaur. Not a bad read.
• "Squirrel Girl Wins a Date With Thor" was so the best of these stories. The art was awesome, Squirrel Girl is always awesome, I loved the cameos on the dance floor of basically all the cool superheroes and lol when she tore the front of Odinson's shirt off to put out a fire and then poked his abs. Also! Carriage drawn by giant squirrels. Such awesome in this short.
• "Happy Ant-iversary" was pretty weird. It was several of the Marvel characters re-imagined as insects in Bug-World while Ant-Man (?) sends the Wasp (?) on a scavenger hunt. It was cute and had some terrible/hilarious jokes and did make me laugh... but was also too weird for me to want to read more of the same (unlike the previous three stories). On the other hand, Black-Widow, Moth-Eye and Pizza Bug were gold.

I kind of liked the bonus issue more than the comic I set out to buy... Oh well.

I kind of recommend this volume. If you are OK with all the Secret Wars stuff and/or are willing to ignore the confusion of the worldbuilding, then this isn't a bad read. I would go so far as to say the worldbuilding was less relevant and confusing than, say, in Captain Marvel and Carol Corps. It's also not that similar to the original Runaways, except thematically. Do not go into this story expecting a sequel. It's probably best to think of it as a once off thing in a parallel universe of something?

4 / 5 stars

First published: 2015, Marvel
Series: Kind of? This volume is quite self-contained and bears little relation to the larger earlier Runaways stories. Like, they only have one character in common.
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: A non-Amazon online book shop

Thor Vol 2: Who Holds the Hammer? by Jason Aaron

Thor Vol 2: Who Holds the Hammer? is the second volume of collected issues in the pre-Secret Wars Thor run. The direct sequel to Thor: The Goddess of Thunder, more or less. This is another painfully volume padded out with extra material because of the Secret Wars deadline. It contains issues 6 to 8 of the comic sandwiched between the Thor Annual 2015 and a somewhat spoilerily titled What If? comic from 1978.

Who is Thor? That's the question on everyone's lips. Most especially Prince Odinson of Asgard. This volume, he starts to narrow down the list of suspects. Meanwhile, tensions continue to flare between the All-Mother and All-Father, Malekith forges his most dangerous pact yet, and Thor prepares to face her greatest challenge!

The Thor Annual issue contained three short stories by different creators. The first is set in the far future (with a disappointingly male Thor) and is an amusing enough story, also featuring super-old-Thor's granddaughters. The second story is the best and the main reason I was at all interested in the annual. Noelle Stevenson (from Nimona and Lumberjanes) tells a story of a couple of Odinson's friends trying to trick the new Thor into proving she isn't up to the job. Obviously, they fail spectacularly. The last story was pretty meh. It involved the former Thor, drinking and Loki's shenanigans. The art was also a bit too exaggerated for my liking.

The three issues of actual on-going Thor story were good, albeit brief. The biggest highlight was the reveal of new Thor's identity at the end. The ongoing search by Odinson for the new Thor could have gotten a bit old, but had a really fun resolution when he realised what he'd actually done was make a list of awesome Marvel Universe women. Cue cameos from all my favourite characters. And, of course, it more or less tied off a story arc, although not that finally. Definitely worth a read to follow the continuing story of Thor, although the bad guys aren't really my favourite (dark elves don't especially interest me).

And finally we have the 1978 What If? #10. I wish someone had told old school comics creators about showing instead of telling. They are so tedious to read with their unnecessary thought-bubble narration of what's drawn in the freaking panel. Sigh. I mean the old school art and unsubtle colours are one thing, but it's the text that really makes it unpleasant to read. It's also several (? or at least one) retcons old, so the story being rewritten bears no resemblance to the back story of modern day Thor (especially not if your starting reference point is the movies). Not to mention, the full title of this issue and its inclusion in this volume is a freaking spoiler, which I do not approve of. I understand why they wanted to pad out this volume and I approve of them doing so, but that doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly start enjoying old comics.

I'm not sure whether or how to recommend this volume. I definitely wouldn't suggest buying the hard cover (which is the only US paper edition that currently exists). The Annual wasn't bad, though, for two out of three stories, so if you're into Thor, it's one to consider. I am tempted to suggest just buying the individual issues, though, because I'm pretty sure three issues are going to be cheaper the whole volume, and really, they're the important part. I don't regret buying Who Holds the Hammer?, but if you're into digital comics and don't have strong feelings about how things look on your physical book shelves, just get the main 3 issues and maybe the annual.

4 / 5 stars

First published: July 2015, Marvel (my edition UK paperback since the US editions are only hardcover so far)
Series: Thor 2014 Vol 2 of 2 (to be followed by Mighty Thor 2015) 
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Forbidden Planet, London