Goodreads review: Ultimate Fantastic Four Vol. 1: The Fantastic

Ultimate Fantastic Four, Vol. 1: The Fantastic by Brian Michael Bendis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had been wanting to check out some of the comics from the Ultimate universe for a while and decided to give Ultimate Fantastic Four Volume 1 a try. I had read some of Earth 616 comics of the Fantastic Four, so I was already somewhat familiar with the characters and storylines. Bendis and Millar's collaboration, I thought, was a refreshing take on the origin that kept me engaged the whole time through. I liked the fact that Reed Richards was a science geek in high school that got picked on a lot and would help Ben Grimm out with his homework in exchange for him beating up bullies. It gave insight into their relationship as well as how they came to know Sue and Johnny Storm. Reed would conduct experiments in his garage and his dad would get mad at him about it, but it allowed for Reed to go to learn and grow in the Baxter Building which led to his teleportation experiment. In this volume, the teleporation experiment, not the cosmic rays, was what gave the Fantastic Four their powers, which was much akin to David Cronenberg's The Fly.

The fact that Bendis and Millar were able to work together despite their stylistic differences never felt forced nor was it ever anything I had a problem with. Adam Kubert's art -- particularly in the action sequences -- to me, flew off the pages with fluid movement and vibrant motion. Never before did I think that'd I see The Thing used as a target practice for machine gun fire or Mr. Fantastic fold himself up into a ball to deal with a monster. There were so many great and creative moments that stand out that give the book that edge. Even though Bendis and Millar were writing characters that have been around for a while, they still found new ways to utilize their powers and develop their relationships ever further. I thought the Mole Man character, although kind of creepy, was kind of cool too because he had a skin condition and to me, looked very much Todd McFarlane-esque.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more Ultimate Marvel stories. This books comes highly recommended whether you've been into comics for a long or you're interested in them and aren't sure where to start.

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Goodreads review: The Road

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Perhaps this isn't one of McCarthy's best works, but I still liked it. Having recently played The Last of Us, I was curious about some of the book and movies that inspired it, so I decided to give The Road a try. I found it to be slow paced and hard to follow at times, which to me, were the only negatives. I really liked the relationship between the boy and his father because not only did they did try to cooperate and get along in a post-apocalyptic world, but the moments of the boy's disobedience towards his father were a nice touch because it gave insight to their conflicts and struggles in a hostile world. Discussion about God and other survivors and whether they're good or bad showed me that the relationship of the boy and his father was very open as well as childlike due to the boy's curiosity. It's as if their conversations were a sort of coping method as a way to deal with the world around them.

I liked the structure of the book in terms of the fact that it was a continuous story and didn't really have chapter stops. McCarthy experimented with this, in a way, in All the Pretty Horses because the chapters, for the most part, were lengthy. With that in mind, the structure, I found, worked really well for The Road because the boy and his father were on a journey that had, for the most part, no reason for there being chapter stops. It only adds, in a good way, to McCarthy's already organic use of imagery and language.

The violent and lawless landscape that the boy and his father traveled -- which is a common theme in post-apocalyptic stories -- didn't feel cliché or overused because McCarthy made it his own. What I mean by that is he didn't use that theme and not put any depth of thought into it because he took time to make it interesting, with the road almost being a character itself because, while being the title of the book, it plays a big part in the story. It has a nature -- a characteristic about it -- that seemed have to a degree of mystery, which kept me intrigued.

I have a feeling that The Road will resonate with me for a while. I'm glad I checked it out because I was pleasantly surprised. I was hesitant to at first because I wasn't familiar with it, but it hit me hard and shocked me in some places, which I probably won't be forgetting anytime soon.

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Goodreads review: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the few books to remind me that life is beautiful yet heartbreaking at the same time. Right from the start, Franklin nailed it and kept me wanting more. Having recently taken an interest in the southern gothic genre, I was pleasantly surprised by this character driven crime thriller. You have Larry and Silas -- who are both connected to a girl that went missing when Larry took her to a drive-in movie when he was young. With that in mind, Franklin's use of both, should I say, past and present narrative didn't feeling jarring whenever he transitioned because he maintained that balance. I also liked the used of narrative concerning the childhood of Larry and Silas because it provided a background for the characters as a way of letting me know were they came from and also as a way of illustrating how their past impacted the plot. If Franklin left those moments out, I don't think I would have been all that interested in the characters.

I found it interesting that in the present day, Silas and Larry didn't have the friendship they did when they were young, which probably had to do with what happened at the drive-in. In the book, Silas is the town constable and Larry lives in solitude. It's as if they were having a conversation even though, for most of the book, they didn't have contact with one another. I could probably analyze that to death and point out some examples, but I'll say the way that Franklin utilized that kind of reminded me of those police procedurals or what have you where you'll have investigations taking place. From what I recall, Larry and Silas do come in contact with one another in the last few chapters, but you'll have to read the book in order to get the full understanding of that.

I thought, for the most part, the story moved along at a pretty good pace and I was never really bored with it. Franklin's use of poetic language was something I caught onto quickly, and I'd say it helped to draw me in.

Overall, I rather enjoyed Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter and I hope you do too if you decide to pick it up. I'm glad I've been exploring the southern gothic genre lately, especially after giving this one a try.


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Goodreads review: All the Pretty Horses

All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As I said in my review of Blood Meridian, I had been hoping to read some more of McCarthy's work and I'm glad I did. I didn't know what to expect with going into All the Pretty Horses and I was pleasantly surprised. The lush descriptions of the landscape and the overall poetic language were what drew me in. I think that both aspects complemented each other really well since they suited the almost childlike nature of the prose. I guess it just makes sense to me that sometimes it's proper for one to have that kind of, I guess, view of the west, particularly in the Texas and Mexico areas where John Grady Cole and Lacey Rawlins and others spent a majority of their time.

In regards to the dialogue, I found it to be full of meaning throughout the book and I think it is something that merits further study. To cite an example, I am reminded of the conversation between John Grady Cole and Alejandra:

What do you want me to do? he said.
I want you to be considerate of a young girl's reputation.
I never meant not to be.
She smiled. I believe you, she said. But you must understand. This is another country. Here a woman's reputation is all she has.
Yes mam.
There is no forgiveness, you see.
Mam?
There is no forgiveness. For women. A man may lose his honor and regain it again. But a woman cannot. She cannot.

I could've picked out other examples because there are other ones that did stand out to me, but I figured I'd go with something simple that can still have conclusions drawn from it. I enjoyed the dialogue between the male characters in the beginning of the book as well. Even though the book is probably McCarthy's lightest -- or least dark -- it still has moments of darkness and bleakness that provide an interesting change of pace, such as the following example:

He thought the world's heart beat at some terrible cost and that the world's pain and its beauty moved in a relationship of diverging equity and that in this headlong deficit the blood of multitudes might ultimately be exacted for the vision of a single flower.

That's rather dark but effective.

Overall I enjoyed the book and I feel that everything tied together quite well in the end. I'm not sure if I'd recommend it to everybody, but it since it's probably McCarthy's least disturbing book, it's a good place to start.

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Goodreads review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 by Kevin Eastman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having read some of the early Mirage Turtle comics, I knew what I was getting into, but it was nice to not have to dig through my comics again just to read the first issue. I have a collected edition of issues 4-6, I believe, in color format, but I liked having everything all in one place and seeing it all in black and white. To me, it was like reading Turtle comics for the first time all over again. It was also good to go back and read what got me into indie comics in the first place. A lot of material is covered in this volume and it really helped to me see how Eastman and Laird matured not only in terms of storytelling, but also in terms of improving their artwork. Even though they their stuck to their roots -- mostly Jack Kirby and Frank Miller -- I liked seeing how Eastman and Laird's art styles maintained consistency not only because they were both doing the art, but also because they improved so much in so little time. That aspect was pointed out the annotations from what I remember, so I guess you could say it was reinforced. I truly enjoyed reading this volume and I will say that since it's practically the size of a DC absolute edition, I didn't mind the art being enlarged because I felt that it brought out a lot of detail and, as a result, the art popped off the pages. It's teams like Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird that will forever have left their mark in comics history and this graphic novel is proof of that. And even though the Turtles started out as a parody of Daredevil, Eastman and Laird have certainly impacted the way stories are told. Perhaps I'll read some of the other volumes if I get the chance.

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