The Literary Lucy

  This is not the Batgirl storyline that DC chose to move forward with, opting instead to do a reboot under the New 52 imprint.  That makes me a little sad because I found this story very engaging and much less male gaze-y than the the New 52 Batgirl. Barbara Gordon is ready to start her life anew in Burnside, Gotham's trendy district.  She's got new friends, new gear, and new optimism but also new problems like a hacker stealing people's personal data for blackmail, a pair of punk rock psycho motorcycle girls, and a celebrity imposter plastering a blinged-out Batgirl all over social media. This is a totally different take on the character from The Darkest Reflection .  The art style is poppier with less emphasis on realism and it feels geared towards a slightly younger audience as well.  That's either going to be a bug or a feature for you depending on preference.  It does not have that gritty, Dark Knight feel but lighter tone doesn't mean lesser. ...

  It's been really hard to finish books lately.  I've started reading like three of them, gotten bored, and then put them back on the shelf for another time.  I'm not sure what the issue is or how to fix it.  It's like I'm just bored of all the things I used to like. Case in point:  this is a really cute book which seems tailor made to my specific interests and yet by 3/4 of the way, I started skimming pages just to get through it. Cynthia is a theater nerd just trying to get through high school.  She's working on a technically challenging project for her school's production of Sweeney Todd while seriously crushing on the male lead, Ryan Halsey.  The last thing she needs is for a demon to show up in the guise of the new librarian, start sucking the souls out of her classmates, murder her teachers and principal, and brainwash her best friend, Annie, into being his evil bride.  By a quirk of fate, Cynthia is immune to the demon's charms and find...

  Okay, we've officially reached the end of the Haydon books that I've previously read.  From now on, we will be in uncharted territory. Achmed receives an unwelcome challenge from one of the few remaining full-blooded Dhracians left in the world in the form of Rath, who has come seeking the six F'dor that escaped the Dhracian prison when the island of Serendair sank after being hit by a giant meteorite.  Rhapsody is busy dealing with a baby that can phase in and out of time while her husband, Ashe, is trying to govern a mostly ungovernable people and prepare them for the coming war with Sorbold.  Tahlquist has besieged the holy city of Sepulvarta and continues to muster his forces.  I really thought this would have more of a wrap-up in terms of action but it proves to be another stone in the journey instead.  I was interested to see how the Portia storyline would resolve, since I thought it had a lot of potential, and I have to say it did not go t...

  This is the same issue I had with the New 52 Harley Quinn.  I also bought the previous run of Batgirl and read both of them back to back.  So now there are basically two competing storylines in my head. Barbara Gordon is getting back on her feet in the crimefighting business after the Joker put her in a wheelchair for three years.  She has a new apartment, new roommate, and new problems.  A man in a mirror mask is killing survivors of accidents.  And the last name on his list is Barbara Gordon. This is appropriately dark and gritty for a DC comic.  It's not a bad storyline, and I know Gail Simone is one of the best regarded comics writers in the business.  I just found it hard to be as interested or invested in the characters.  Maybe vol. 2 will be better because I'll have had some familiarity by then.  As of now, I'm struggling with this title.

  I have really enjoyed the Rivers of London book series so imagine my excitement when I saw that there are companion comic books.  I would definitely recommend reading the series first, as the comic presumes you already know a lot of the backstory, but they're phenomenal so you really should be reading them anyway. Peter Grant is a London police officer assigned to a very special branch that deals with magical crimes.  He receives a tip from Beverley, daughter of the River Thames, about a car that drove into the river the night before.  Soon, murderous cars are being reported all over the city and Peter must track down their source with the help of his superior, Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard of Great Britain, who recalls a similar case involving the Most Haunted Car in England. This is a fun, breezy read that adds to the backstory for Nightingale without really touching on any of the on-going plot points from the novels.  I don't know if other inst...

  I'll be honest, I'm not sure what to think about the New 52 run of DC comics.  I really liked Harley Quinn:  Night and Day and it seemed like a very abrupt transition to this new set.  Presumably, this is all part and parcel of reading comic books. This volume includes Harley Quinn 0-8 and sees our favorite piebald psycho coming into a huge amount of money, spending it recklessly, making new friends, becoming a landlord, and joining a roller derby team just for kicks.   Mayhem, death, and destruction follow, naturally. The opening comic is a fun little jaunt through about a dozen different art styles as Harley tries to find her voice in a bit of fourth-wall breaking that would make Deadpool proud.  I think writers Conner and Palmiotti mostly succeed in capturing the chaotic good tone of the character, never really delving too deeply into her obsession with the Joker, which could have bogged down the opening narrative.  This is a nice, light ope...