Comics and More

Here are more books from the All-New, All-Different Marvel, and how they stack up. All-New, All-Different Avengers #1 Mark Waid, Mahmud Asrar and Adam Kubert Miles Morales stumbles upon something he shouldn't have in the first issue of the new flagship Avengers book, and craziness ensues.  While we don't get to see how all of the players fit into this title, it's an interesting group, to say the least, and there's a great exchange between Nova and Ms. Marvel that hints at how these characters are going to interact.  Very fun. Grade: A- Angela, Queen of Hel #1 Marguerite Bennett, Stephanie Hans and Aaron Kim Jacinto This sounds like it would be a really exciting book with a cool premise.  Unfortunately, it's pretty forgettable.  The art is, well, a little too 90's for my tastes, and the battles murky.  For some reason, I keep thinking that Angela should be a lot cooler than she's portrayed in Bennett's interpretation of her. ...

Secret Wars is not over, but the delays haven't kept Marvel from launching their new books in the All-New, All-Different Marvel.  Here is how the first wave of books rate... Doctor Strange #1-2 Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo Well, this is a match made in heaven.  Jason Aaron is a writer bursting with creativity, and Chris Bachalo has a beautiful art style well-suited for the, well, strange.  This new Doctor Strange title really illustrates why this character is so much fun, with weird magic, mischievous demons, and cool characters.  This is the Doctor Strange book people have been waiting for. Grade: A+ Guardians of the Galaxy #1 Brian Michael Bendis and Valerio Schiti Star-Lord may be MIA, running a kingdom and all, but Kitty Pryde takes his place in a book that captures the spirit of the best Guardians of the Galaxy stories. With Rocket in charge, and The Thing joining the rag-tag team of heroes, this feels like a fresh start to the series....

I'm very excited to announced that "Yokai" is the winner for Fantasy in Library Journal 's Self-Published Ebook Awards!  I never expected any sort of recognition for "Yokai," especially when I submitted to this contest.  I guess when you hear so many "no's" in this industry and people don't respond the way you expect to something you've poured your blood, sweat and tears into, you just get used to rejection.  When I saw some notifications on Twitter a few hours ago, I saw tweets announcing the winners to Library Journal's Self-Published Ebook Awards, with my name attached to them.  And then, I clicked the link and sure enough, "Yokai" was listed as the winner for Fantasy, selected by a volunteer committee of librarians.  Just the fact that people who have dedicated their lives to books, to surrounding themselves with books and opening new worlds to the people who enter their sanctuaries, found themselves enjoying...