Several years ago a very good friend gave me two paperback novels for Christmas. They were “The Cabinet of Curiosities” and “Still Life with Crows,” both by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. They were my first introduction to Special FBI Agent Aloysius Pendergast and one I’ve been most grateful for ever since.
The Pendergast books are the epitome of modern pulp thrillers harkening back to the grand old hero magazines of the 1930s and they clearly evoke the same escapist fare prevalent in those series. Upon becoming a fan of the tall, gaunt Southern bred Pendergast, it soon became clear to me that he was the true heir to famous pulp avenger of old. For if Clive Cussler’s sea-going hero, Dirk Pitt, can be called the modern day Doc Savage, something many of his ardent followers still claim, then Pendergast is our new Shadow. Like that black clad nemesis of evil who “knew what lurked in the hearts of men,” Agent Pendergast is a most unique and extraordinary character. He is wealthy and thus his career is an avocation of personal interest. He is learned with several degrees, skilled in both philosophical and martial arts while a crack shot with most weapons. Add to this the fact he also has knowledge of obscure and ancient arcane practices and rituals while possessing certain uncanny abilities which border on the supernatural and you have a genuine pulp hero for our times.
Since discovering this series, I’ve relished each new entry and have never once been disappointed by authors’ efforts. Along with such an unforgettable main character, the books feature many truly amazing supporting characters from Pendergast’s allies ala New York Lt. Detective Vincent D’Agosta to his exotic young ward, Constance Greene who, though she appears to be in her early twenties, is actually over a hundred years old because of a strange elixir that has prolonged her youth. The genius of Preston and Lincoln is how they make the fantastic elements of each book as believable as the normal ones.
Now “Two Graves” ends a trilogy story arc begun in “Fever Dream” and continued in “Cold Vengeance.” For twelve years, Agent Pendergast believed his beloved wife, Helen, had been killed by a lion on their honeymoon safari in Africa. When evidence surfaces that proves her death was faked and that she might still be among the living, it propels Pendergast on the most important case he has ever confronted. To say the story has been a roller coaster of action and suspense would be a truly gross understatement and the revelations in this final chapter are mind-boggling. From a psychotic serial killer in Manhattan to a hidden Nazis eugenics camp in the jungles of Brazil, “Two Graves” is hands down the best Agent Pendergast novel ever written and this fan would never make that claim lightly. Were the series to end at this point, I would hazard most readers would be content with the established canon as it now stands.
Of course, being fans, we will always want more; lots more. But being a somewhat discriminating reviewer, it is difficult for me to imagine Preston and Child topping this book. It is clearly their Agent Pendergast masterpiece.
As I grow older, I find some underlying conservative strains in me coming out –much as that will surprise many who know me as a flaming leftie. While not totally adverse, I find I’m resistant to change the older I get. I like things as they were. When I periodically go back to my hometown of Chicago, I find some things have changed and some things are just gone. My first reaction generally is “Who told them they could do that?” Even if I haven’t been back to a place in some time, I mildly resent it not being there. I see what is now there overlaid with my memory of what was there. A cognitive double vision, if you will.
I think part of the reason that young people may not have that same reaction is they don’t have the same amount of experience with that spot. They’re living in it now and maybe know it only from now. Current chronology doesn’t get mixed with past chronology as it does for those of us who are older.
All of which brings us to the news this week of the Comics Buyer’s Guide ending its long run in about two months. For those of you who don’t know, CBG was long one of the top comics related newspapers/magazines with news and reviews and opinion columns relating to the comics medium.
There are other places that have covered the history of the Comic Buyers Guide, including an excellent summation by Bob Greenberger here on ComicMix. What I want to talk about instead is my own personal connections and history with it.
Before I was a writer of comics, I was a fan and with the dawning of the direct sale shops came the discovery of periodicals such as The Comics Reader and CBG. For the first time, I got a peek into the backstage of the comics industry. I got an idea of what was coming out and when, who were the artists or writers on what books, I read reviews, letters from fans and pros, opinions and columns (notably Peter David) and, as a fan and someone who had aspirations for the field, I wanted not only to read CBG, I wanted to be in it, to be one of those who were talked about.
Eventually, I was. I had arrived. I was part of it. I got reviewed by Don Thompson (he and his wife, the ever charming Maggie, ran the paper). While he didn’t like everything I did, I felt he was fair and reasonable and he gave one of my favorite reviews of my character GrimJack. In one issue, Gordon the bartender tells a customer the “secret origin of John Gaunt.” It came down to “Mama Gaunt, Papa Gaunt, a bottle of hootch, wucka wucka, wucka – nine months later, Baby Gaunt.” Don said it was his second favorite origin in all of comics, eclipsed only by Superman. I loved that and still do. Thanks, Don.
The most important memory of CBG for me is that, for a time, they gave my late wife Kimberly Yale a literary home. Kim wrote a column for them and, as she learned she had cancer, she recounted her battle with it until close to her death. Kim was a finer writer than me; I’m a storyteller, not a Fine Writer. Oh, I know my way around structure and theme and character and syntax and so on but my primary focus was and is storytelling. For Kim, it was the shape of the sentence, the right word chosen, the proper use of grammar and syntax. I’ll split infinitives without a care but Kim didn’t like that. She was the better essayist than myself. CBG gave her the chance to make her mark that way.
I’ll freely admit I haven’t read CBG for a while. I’m more online these days. I liked, however, knowing it was there and now it won’t be. Life changes, I know, and some things die but life itself always goes on even if I don’t always approve.
It’s the end of the year, so it’s time for still another mindless list of favorites – maintaining a cloying, egotistical annual tradition throughout the media. Once again, here are my self-imposed rules: I’m only listing series that either were ongoing or ran more than six issues, I’m not listing graphic novels or reprints as both compete under different criteria, I’m not covering Internet-only projects as I’d be yanking the rug out from under my pal Glenn Hauman, and I’m listing only nine because tied for tenth place would be about two dozen other titles and I’ve only got so much bandwidth. Besides, “nine” is snarky and when it comes to reality, I am one snarky sumbytch – but only for a living. On Earth-Prime, I’m really a sweet, kind, understanding guy.
Having said all that, let’s open that hermetically sealed jar on the porch of Funk and Wagnalls and start.
1. Manhattan Projects. If I had to write a Top 9 of the Third Millennium list, I’d be hard pressed not to include this title. It’s compelling, it’s different, it’s unpredictable and it’s brilliantly executed by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Nick Pitarra. It turns out the scientists and the military leaders behind the creation and the execution of the Atomic Bomb had a lot more in mind than just nuking Japan… a lot more. And their plans run decades longer than World War II. Based largely upon real-life individuals who are too dead to litigate, each person seems to have his own motivations, his own ideas for execution, and his own long-range plan for how to develop the future. Yet the story never gets bogged down in political posturing or self-amusing cuteness – the latter being a real temptation for many creators. Each issue gives us the impression there’s more than meets the eye; each successive issue proves there most certainly was. If the History Channel spun off a Paranoia Network, Manhattan Projects would be its raison d’être.
2. Hawkeye. If you’ll pardon the pun, Hawkeye has never been more than a second-string character. An interesting guy with an involving backstory and enough sexual relationships to almost fill a Howard Chaykin mini-series, this series tells us what Clint Barton does when he’s not being an Avenger or a S.H.I.E.L.D. camp follower. It turns out Clint leads a normal-looking life that gets interfered with by people who think Avengers should be Avengers 24/7. He’s also got a thing going with the Young Avenger who was briefly Hawkeye. Matt Fraction and David Aja bring forth perhaps the most human interpretation of a Marvel character in a long, long while. Hawkeye might be second-string, but Clint Barton most certainly is not.
3. Captain Marvel. Another second-string character. Despite some absolutely first-rate stories (I’m quite partial to Jim Starlin’s stuff, as well as anything Gene Colan or Gil Kane ever put pencil to paper), the guy/doll never came close to the heritage of its namesake. This may have changed. A true role model for younger female readers and a very military character who uniquely humanizes the armed forces, Carol Danvers finally soars under writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Dexter Soy – both as a superhero and as a human being. DeConnick doesn’t qualify as “new” talent, but this certainly is a breakthrough series that establishes her as a truly major player… as it does Marvel’s Captain Marvel.
4. Creator-Owned Heroes. Anthology comics are a drag upon the direct sales racket. They almost never succeed. I don’t know why; there’s usually as much story in each individual chapter as there is in a standard full-length comic. I admire anybody who choses to give it a whirl (hi, there, honorary mention Mike Richardson and company for Dark Horse Presents!), and I really liked Creator-Owned Comics. Yep, liked. It’s gone with next month’s eighth issue. But this one was a lot more than an anthology comic: it had feature articles, how-to pieces, and swell interviews. The work of Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Steve Niles, Steve Bunche and a cast of dozens (including swell folks like Phil Noto and Darwin Cooke), there wasn’t a clinker in the bunch. I wouldn’t mind seeing follow-ups on any of the series featured in this title, although I must give a particular nod to Jimmy and Justin’s Killswitch, a take on modern contract killers, and on Steve’s work in general. This is no light praise: I’m not a big fan of horror stories because most of them have been done before and redone a thousand times after that. Niles is quite the exception.
5. Batman Beyond Unlimited. Okay, this is a printed collection of three weekly online titles: Batman Beyond, Justice League Beyond, and Superman Beyond. But it comes out every month in a sweet monthly double-length printed comic, so it meets my capricious criteria. Based upon the animated DC Universe (as in, the weekly series Batman Beyond and Justice League, and to a lesser extent others), these stories are solid, fun, and relatively free of the angst that has overwhelmed the so-called real DCU stories. Yeah, kids can enjoy them. So can the rest of the established comics audience. Pull the stick out of your ass; there’s more to superhero comics than OCD heroes and death and predictable resurrection. These folks have just about the best take on Jack Kirby’s Fourth World characters than anybody since Jack Kirby. That’s because Jack remembered comics are supposed to be entertaining. Honorable mention: Ame-Comi Girls. It’s based on a stupid (but successful) merchandising idea but it’s just as much fun as anything being published today.
6. Batgirl. O.K. The real story here is that DC Comics mindlessly offed writer Gail Simone from this series only to restore her within a week or so after serious (and occasionally, ah, overly dramatic) protest from both the readership and the creative community. But there was good reason: Gail took a character who was in an impossible situation and, against all tradition, put her back in the costume without resorting to ret-con or reboot, which have been the handmaidens of the New 52. She brought Barbara Gordon back to action with all the doubts, insecurities and vulnerabilities one would expect a person in her position to have, and she does so in a compelling way exercising all of her very considerable talent. This title thrives despite being engulfed in two back-to-back mega-non-events that overwhelmed and undermined all of the Batman titles.
7. Orchid. I praised this one last year; it comes to an end with issue 12 next month. That’s because writer/creator/musician/activist Nightwatchman Tom Morello has a day job and the young Wobblie still has a lot of rabble to rouse. Orchid is a true revolutionary comic book wherein a growing gaggle of the downtrodden stand up for themselves against all odds and unite to defeat the omnipresent oppressor. Tom manages to do this without resorting to obvious parallels to real-life oppressors, although the environment he creates will be recognizable to anybody who thinks there just might be something wrong with Fox “News.” But this is a comic book site and not the place for (most of) my social/political rants (coughcough). Orchid succeeds and thrives as a story with identifiable, compelling characters and situations and a story that kicks ass with the energy and verve one would expect from a rock’n’roller like Morello.
8. Revival. A somewhat apocalyptic tale about people who come back from the dead in the fairly isolated city of Wausau Wisconsin (I’ve been there several times; it is a city and it is indeed fairly isolated). But they aren’t zombies. Most are quite affable. It’s the rest of the population that’s got a problem. The latest output from Tim Seeley and my landsman Mike Norton, two enormously gifted talents. Somewhere above I noted how Steve Niles is able to raise well above the predictable crap and that is equally true here: the story and formula is typical, but the execution is compelling. That I’ve been a big fan of Norton’s is no surprise to my friends in Chicago.
9. Nowhere Men. I’ve got to thank my ComicMix brother Marc Alan Fishman for this one. Admittedly, it’s only two issues old and it has its flaws – long prose insertions almost always bring the pace of visual storytelling to a grinding halt – but the concept and execution of this series far exceeds this drawback. Written by Eric Stephenson and drawn by Nate Bellegarde and Jordie Bellaire, the catch phrase here is “Science Is The New Rock ‘N’ Roll.” Four guys start up a science-for-the-people company and that’s cool, but twenty years later some have taken it too seriously, others not seriously enough, and things got a little out of hand. Sadly, I’m not certain who understands that, other than the reader and one of the major characters. Science is the new rock’n’roll, and exploring that as a cultural phenomenon makes for a great story – and a solid companion to Manhattan Projects.
Non-Self-Publisher of the Year: For some reason, I’m surprised to say it’s Image Comics. They’ve been publishing many of the most innovative titles around – four of the above nine – all creator-owned, without going after licensed properties like a crack-whore at a kneepad sale.
No offense meant to either publishers or crack-whores; I said I’m really a sweet, kind, understanding guy.
The 1990s “X-Men” cartoon holds a special place in the hearts of many a fan, but that theme song– great the first 50 times, but if you’ve ever been at a comic convention next to a dealer that had the thing playing on a loop, you wanted to tear down their booth with your teeth after an hour.
Anyway, the team of Kyle Roberts, Nathan Pope, Zach Zellar and Colin Nance have created their own take on the famous opening. Take a look:
If you are a lover of books, then the passing of a favorite writer brings on a great deal of sadness; especially if that writer had been the author of a well loved series. Such was the case for thousands of mystery lovers when Rex Stout passed away in 1975. For all intents and purposes this also brought about the demise of his beloved characters, Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.
The following eleven years saw most of Stout’s Nero Wolfe mysteries reprinted countless times in various editions; all of them treasured by his fans. Still the thrill of joining these familiar figures on new cases seemed to be a lost cause. Then, in 1994, journalist Robert Goldsborough wrote “Murder in E Minor,” a brand new Nero Wolfe mystery much to the delight of the majority of Stout fans. Note, I say majority. In matters such as these, there will always be the vocal purists who see new stories as sacrilegious and prefer such fictional heroes end their careers with the death of their creators. We are clearly not of that attitude. We thoroughly enjoyed Goldsborough’s efforts and felt he had captured Archie’s voice perfectly. He would go on to write six additional titles in the series ending them in 1994 with “The Missing Chapter.”
At which point, annoyed by the criticism of that minority we mentioned, Goldsborough went on to create his own original mystery series featuring a Chicago reporter of the past named Snap Malek. Several of these have won prestigious genre literary awards. Still, when looking at our Nero Wolfe titles on our bookshelf, we regularly hoped that some day he would return to that familiar brownstone on West Thirty-Fifth Street in which dwells the rotund detective and his handsome legman, Archie Goodwin. That he has done so in such a spectacular fashion is a cause for unabashed celebration.
Not only has Goldsborough answered our pleas, but he has gone beyond our wildest dreams in offering up the story Rex Stout never did; the tale of Archie’s first meeting with Nero Wolfe. Painstakingly culling through Stout’s canon, Goldsborough took the slim nuggets seeded throughout the dozens of books and short stories and meticulously put them together in a working timeline. From these morsels he then went on to craft a truly complete and traditional Nero Wolfe mystery only with a major difference; we finally are allowed to witness the first ever meeting between these two remarkable characters. Let us assure you, it was worth the wait. Reading “Archie Meets Nero Wolfe,” had us remembering our teenage high school days when we first picked up our first Wolfe paperback. This book is in essence a joyous family reunion.
It should be noted that the very first Nero Wolfe mystery, “Fer-De-Lance,” appeared in 1934 during the days of the Great Depression. Goldsborough deftly sets his story in the same era wonderfully researching his background for authentic slang, clothing, automobiles and the city itself so the reader is transported back into that time.
Now the book’s actual mystery plot resolves around a rich hotelier’s eight year old son being kidnapped. The man hires the famous Nero Wolfe to save the boy. Wolfe, as is his habit, then recruits his regular group of private investigators; all of whom are quite familiar to any fan of the series. Only this time there’s a new face in the crowd, an eager beaver fresh of the bus from Ohio who has connected himself with operative Del Bascomb. His name is Archie Goodwin and he is very, very eager to show Wolfe how capable he is. As ever Goldsborough delivers a true by-the-rules puzzle astute readers will relish in trying to solve before Wolfe’s traditional in-house gathering at the finale. But the true heart of this book is the fun in watching a young, brash, would be private-eye encounter the man who is going to be his mentor and closest friend. Goldsborough again captures Archie’s voice brilliantly and in doing so takes us on the ride we’ve all been waiting for a long, long time.
Mystery fans, if you or a loved one is a Nero Wolfe fan, you could not give them a better Christmas gift this year than, “Archie Meets Nero Wolfe.” Then watch the smiles on their faces when they unwrap this truly great book. Tell them Santa sent you.
The Experimenter Publishing Company is pleased to announce the reintroduction of the world’s most recognizable science fiction magazine – AMAZING STORIES!
Set to relaunch with a Beta Test of its new Social Magazine Platform, Amazing Stories will feature content from 50+ bloggers, covering an enormous array of subjects of interest to genre fans.
“We’ve got authors and agents, bloggers and editors, pod casters and broadcasters; we’ve got gamers and game designers; artists and art collectors; pulpsters and indie authors; we’ve got Hugo winners, John W. Campbell Memorial Award winners, John W. Campbell Best New Writer winners, Nebula and Hugo Award winners and nominees and winners and nominees of many other awards; people who review films, people who make films; we’ve got fanboys and fangirls; we’ve got former editors of Amazing Stories, writers who’ve become synonymous with the field and writers who are just getting started; comic artists, book reviewers; traditionally published authors, self-pubbed authors and authors who’ve done it all. The response to my request for participation was phenomenal – it couldn’t be more perfect if I had set out with a list of must-haves!” said Steve Davidson, publisher.
Amazing Stories’ Social Magazine platform is designed to create an interactive environment that will be familiar to fans with blog content designed to encourage discussion and take things beyond the usual user-generated content model for social networks.
The Amazing Stories Blog Team will cover (for now – more coming!) fourteen popular topics – Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, (lit), Film, Television, Gaming, Comics and Graphic Works, the Visual Arts, the Pulps, Audio Works, Anime, the Business of Publishing, Science and Fandom itself.
“We are diverse – and we are all in this together.”
We are diverse – and we are all in this together, a sentiment that captures the very heart and soul of what it means to be a fan. Amazing Stories aims to be a vehicle through which the diversity of fandom can come together.
Amazing Stories’ relaunch will take place in two phases. Those interested in participating in the Beta Test of Phase 1 should contact the publisher at steve.davidson33@comcast.net. Participants will receive full access to the site with Member status and will receive on-site benefits as the project moves forward.
Phase 2 will introduce additional interactivity and user-customization to the site. Following the completion and testing of Phase 2, the magazine, featuring both new and reprint fiction, essays, photo galleries, reviews and more will begin publication. Readers who are interested in what the magazine will look like can read two Relaunch Prelaunch issues on line, or download them from the Amazing Stories store. (Additional Amazing Stories themed product is also available here.)
Experimenter Publishing is pleased to introduce the Amazing Stories Blog Team:
Cenobyte, Mike Brotherton, Ricky L. Brown, Michael A. Burstein,
Catherine Coker, Johne Cook, Paul Cook, Gary Dalkin, Jane Frank,
Jim Freund, Adam Gaffen, Chris Garcia, Chris Gerwel, Tommy Hancock,
Liz Henderson, Samantha Henry, M. D. Jackson, Monique Jacob,
Geoffrey James, J. J. Jones, Peggy Kolm, Justin Landon, Andrew Liptak,
Melissa Lowery, Barry Malzberg, C. E. Martin, Farrell J. McGovern,
Steve Miller, Matt Mitrovich, Aidan Moher, Kevin Murray, Ken Neth,
Astrid Nielsch, D. Nicklin-Dunbar, John Purcell, James Rogers,
Diane Severson, Doug Smith, Lesley Smith, Bill Spangler, Duane Spurlock,
Michael J. Sullivan, G. W. Thomas, Erin Underwood, Stephan Van Velzen,
Cynthia Ward, Michael Webb, Keith West, John M. Whalen, Ann Wilkes,
Karlo Yeager, Leah Zeldez
BACKGROUND:
Originally published in 1926 by the father of science fiction, Hugo Gernsback, Amazing Stories helped to launch both the science fiction genre and its most enduring feature, science fiction fandom. The magazine is well known for its Frank R. Paul covers and for publishing the first stories by many iconic authors such as Isaac Asimov, Jack Williamson and Ursula Le Guin. Published continuously from 1926 until 1995, followed by two brief resurrections from 1998 till 2000 and again from 2004 thru 2005. In 2008 Hasbro, the then current owner, allowed the trademarks to lapse and publisher Steve Davidson applied for and eventually received them in 2011.
The Experimenter Publishing Company was created in 2012 for the purpose of returning Amazing Stories magazine to regular publication. The company shares the name of the original magazine’s publisher as homage. The trademarks for Amazing Stories were acquired by Steve Davidson in 2011, the previous owners having allowed the marks to lapse in 2008, at which time application was made for a new incarnation of the same title.
CONTACT:
For more information regarding Amazing Stories, the Blog Team and the Beta Test of the new site, please contact Steve Davidson via email at steve.davidson33@comcast.net.
This Fight Card installment kicks off in 1950’s Berlin where Sergeant Kevin Crowley is duking it out with a Russian boxer. Crowley has something to fight for beside unit pride. He’s due a 30-day leave before transferring to Japan and during the fight he’s told those will be off the table should he not prevail.
Afterwards, Crowley begins his much-deserved leave (did you really think he’d lose the opening bout of the tale?) and heads to Ireland looking for his roots. Well, it turns out those roots are being choked by weeds and Crowley is thrust into a battle of wills with a black-hearted, gouging landlord looking to keep the entire neighborhood under his boot heel.
The pace of this one is very brisk and, when you consider the plot elements, that’s no easy feat. Not only are some top-notch fight scenes needed here but also Crowley’s family history and surviving members are all very neatly drawn. And just enough of details of post-war Berlin and narrow Irish streets flesh out the settings. Don’t let the length fool you, this is a full tale. Sure, it can be read quickly, but that’s a must during this busy age we live in. And it satisfies. You’ve got fists a-flying, a budding love interest, standing up to bullies, cowardly scare tactics and a lead character who doesn’t take any bunk from anyone.
I’ve read a handful of the Fight Card series to date and each one has been a winner. If you’re already a fan and are looking for the next tale to read, then this is a great place to continue. If you’re new to the Fight Card line, then Irish Dukes will scratch you right where you itch. I enjoyed it and I recommend it. Check it out!
THIS KO IS A-OK!
A Review of Robert J. Randisi’s The Knockout
by Andrew Salmon
Robert J. Randisi takes on the identity of Jack Tunney for this installment in the stellar Fight Card line. The Knockout introduces us to Frank Corleone. Once a contender, an injury has knocked him out of the ring and into the PI game. With gumshoe work not paying all of his bills, Corleone also works as a part-time sparring partner at his friend’s gym.
But when that friend turns up dead and it looks like murder, Corleone has to hit the streets, and a few lowlifes, to get to the truth.
Part hardboiled mystery, part sports tale, The Knockout has got something for everyone. Corleone’s single-minded pursuit of the truth leads him down some dark alleys and into a fight or two whether its with his fists, his wits or his conscience. The end result is an engaging mystery that doesn’t skimp on the fisticuffs. You’ve got organized crime, shifty lawyers, hard line cops and Corleone’s dead friend is in the middle. A great mix.
This one is also something of a change of pace as fighting does not save the day. Sure, there’s plenty of it and the fight sequences are well written, but the reason Corleone fights, although integral to the plot, do not resolve the plot in and of themselves as is sometimes the case with fight stories. It’s the combination of fighting and gumshoe work that bring this fun ride to a rollicking conclusion.
I enjoyed The Knockout and recommend it to any fan of fight fiction, detective yarns or action junkies of all stripes. This one is a knockout!
TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock
MANNIX
By Michael Avallone
Published by Popular Books, First Edition, 1968
It’s not every day you walk into your local pharmacy and someone hands you three books that you’d only heard about, but never actually expected to have. Now, these particular books wouldn’t be a big deal if you weren’t a detective fan, a follower of mystery/detective TV, and a big TV tie-in novel type person. In other words…me.
One of those treasured jewels was the first novel based on the 1960s-70s detective show, MANNIX. No, I don’t mean the numbered series that came out seven years or so after this one but the very first novel commissioned based on the television show. Written by Michael Avallone, this is Joe Mannix while he was still with Intertect, battling it out with Lew Wickersham and flirting his way through all the technology and the ladies in the office as he delivered a bit more of an old fashioned two fisted approach to the job of modern private investigation.
This novel, on that level, definitely doesn’t disappoint. It delivers as if it were a 124 page episode of the show. It opens with Mannix playing tough guy to a damsel who isn’t all she appears to be at first as he wraps one case while the next is being set up. A young, petulant heiress with kaboodles of bucks and a whole ton of boredom with life is approached by a man lowered from a helicopter about doing espionage work for her country. As she jumps at the chance, she later discovers that her new friend only has one interest in her country- harming it – and in her -using her to disgrace an American official. Blackmailed into it, the heiress stumbles along, desperate for a way out.
In the meantime, Intertect is put on the job and Wickersham puts his best agent as well as the one who frustrates him the most on the playgirl’s trail. Mannix must determine who she’s spying for and deal with her and the situation in a way where everyone wins and Intertect comes out smelling like a rose. Mannix’s first plan of action is to get into a costume party and get his tail end kicked by a number of costumed millionaires. And it gets fun from there.
This is, as I’ve already stated, definitely a first season Mannix book. It fits the tone of the series extremely well and Mannix has all the charm, irascibility, and toughness that fans loved about how Mike Connors played the character and that basically became his stock and trade after Mannix leaves Intertect to go on his own in the second season. Wherever Mannix is in this book shines and made me smile, ready to add a few seasons of DVDs to my collection.
Now…when Mannix isn’t in the action, then the book loses a bit of its sparkle. The other characters do not get the attention to character that the author gives to the lead. Even the heiress, who gets quite a bit of page time, is way too two dimensional by the end of the book to be believed. The bad guys don’t seem particularly bad and the threat level throughout the book isn’t one that makes you worried for anyone- except for Mannix, but most of the threats to him are caused by something he says or does.
This is a great book for fans of tv detectives and tie-ins. As a book all on its own, though, I’ve read better.
THREE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT-Enjoyable read, love the way Joe Mannix comes off the page. I just wish that there were real people populating the book around him, not cardboard cutouts.
Using the new Doctor Who Limited Edition Gift Set, your noble author will make his way through as much of the modern series as he can before the Christmas episode, The Snowmen.
Mr. Henry Van Staaten owns the Internet. He also has a museum of alien artifacts under Utah, including a Slitheen claw, a Cyberman head, and a…
DALEK by Robert Shearman Directed by Joe Ahearne
“Broken…broken…hair dryer…”
The TARDIS lands in 2012 (!) in Utah, or more precisely, under it. They’re in the personal horde of Henry Van Statten, an impossibly rich American who obtains alien artifacts, reverse engineers their technology, and sells it for profit. The Doctor picked up a distress call from his one living exhibit, a mysterious creature that Van Statten calls a Metaltron. Only when The Doctor sees it does he realize what it truly is – a Dalek, which somehow survived the Time War and fell back in time to Earth, damaged and alone. The Doctor immediately tried to destroy it, but Van Statten, not wanting his most valuable item damaged, stops him. But when Rose tries to reach out to the creature, touching it, the Dalek is able to user her DNA, charged with the energy of time travel, to restore its systems. In seconds it breaks free of his chains, absorbs the power grid of the western United States, and downloads the Internet, searching for information about his people. Finding nothing, it resorts to the primary command of all Daleks: exterminate.
Pretty much as soon as the new show was announced, questions came up as to when the Daleks would appear. The show was shot into the stratosphere once the Daleks appeared, and they’ve been linked inextricably ever since. The Daleks almost didn’t make it to the new series of Doctor Who, and it was all Steve Martin’s fault. When he was to appear in the film Looney Tunes: Back in Action, he insisted they include a Dalek in a madcap scene full of old movie aliens. He was a big fan of the series, and thought it’d be a nice tip of the hat. Permission was asked, but the estate of Terry Nation, who controls the rights to the characters, was not. This caused offense, so when the BBC asked to bring them back for the new series, the estate originally refused. When Steve Martin heard about it, he wrote a personal letter to the estate explaining the situation, and apologizing personally. This calmed everyone down, and the proper paperwork was signed to allow the characters to appear. But for about a month, Robert Sherman was forced to work on a draft of the script with another alien.
The new Dalek was designed to match the height of Billie Piper, so she could look it in the eye. Similarly, the New Paradigm Daleks were designed to match Karen Gillan’s eyeline. But in a recent interview on the BBC website, Steven Moffat wonders that making them too big was a mistake. “They’re scarier when they’re wee”, he says. The scene of the Dalek at the bottom of the stairs was a clear reference to the classic gag about not being able to climb stairs. But of course, in the original series, Daleks had found a fix for this long since. They had anti-gravity mats in Planet of the Daleks, but the big reveal in Remembrance of the Daleks as the Imperial Dalek slowly floats up the stairs was the scene that had fans laughing and squeeing.
Nicholas Briggs, the voice of the Daleks, got his start working on fan productions and the Big Finish audio dramas. He’s also provided voices for the Cybermen, the Nestene and the Judoon.
Eccleston played the episode as positively bloodthirsty. After several episodes of offering the aliens a chance to leave in peace, he does not hesitate to try to kill it. His rage at the Dalek, and later at Van Statten is a sight to see. Billie Piper has equally good scenes against the Dalek from the other side of the spectrum, trying to help the unstoppable tank who is trying to get the hang of feelings. This could have been a perfect final Dalek adventure, but as you’ll see, they’re far from gone.
There are a lot of parallels between this episode and the first of this season, Asylum of the Daleks. Both this Dalek and the tragic prisoner in Asylum are kept in chains, and both are more than a little conflicted by being a mix of human and Dalek. Both are capable of amazing destruction all on their own, even as far below the surface of their respective planets. The idea of human and Dalek hybrids has been a theme as far back as Evil of the Daleks, where The Doctor introduces a “Human Factor” into a number of Daleks to start a civil war between factions.
WACO, TX – 12/5/12- iVerse Media and Top Cow are offering, for a limited time, free trial programs to help celebrate the recent relaunches of Witchblade, the Darkness and Artifacts. These three popular franchises recently kickstarted fan passions with new storylines. In order to continue to drive excitement, iVerse wants fans to be able to sample each of these series at no risk.
“We’re thrilled to help spread the word on these exciting series,” said iVerse CEO Mike Murphey. “We like what Top Cow is doing and want to do whatever we can to help fans find out what which series they like best.”
Fans can use the codes below to get the issue for free:
Artifacts #14-22 Bundle = TCARB12
Darkness Bundle #101-107 = TCDRB12
Witchblade Bundle #151-161 = TCWRB12
Fans can just go to the “more” section in the ComicsPlus app, click on “redeem” and enter in these codes. But fans are encouraged to hurry, as this offer expires on March 5, 2013.
