Cassandra Rose Clarke: My Favorite Novel… (Guest Post)

I know that Margaret Atwood has an unsavory reputation in a lot of genre circles, but that hasn’t stopped me from reading her 2000 novel The Blind Assassin several times since the first time I read it in high school. And I rarely reread novels. Along with One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Blind Assassin is easily one of my favorite books of all time.

The Blind Assassin is a tricky book to pin down. It won the Man Booker Prize and was included on Time Magazine’s list of the 100 greatest English-language novels since 1923. It also contains a science fiction story (of the “talking squids in space variety,” even). The book is not science fiction in and of itself, but you’d have to be pretty determined not to read it, at least in part, as a love letter to the pulp SF novels of the ’30s and ’40s.

Deathstroke, Vol.1 – “Legacy” (DC)

An assassin’s brutal quest to regain his reputation as the Baddest of the Bad

Writer: Kyle Higgins | Artist: Joe Bennet | Inks: Art Thibert & Vicente Cifuentes | Colours: Jason Wright

Slade Wilson once ranked as the world’s greatest mercenary. But when his reputation starts to slip, and when a mysterious briefcase enters the equation, the man known as Deathstroke decides to carve a bloody, gory swatch across the DCU in a quest to show the world what exactly makes him the best.

Collects: Deathstroke #1-7

I first read a couple of Deathstroke issues when they were first published in the initial months of DC’s New 52 re-boot, and I found it… not bad. I couldn’t get too excited about the series, despite thinking it had potential. Given the cost of each issue, I had to drop it in favour of other titles. But, when I found a discounted copy of this book, I decided it was a good time to give it another try. I’m glad I did, but this doesn’t rank among my favourite of the New 52.

The 1,000th…

This is my 1,000th post on Civilian Reader. Which is pretty cool. I’d never expected to keep the blog going this long – nor did I ever expect it to become even remotely as popular as the stats suggest. I started it as a way to write about the books I was reading, more in order to keep my hand in at writing during long, empty stretches of my PhD (months of reading, followed by couple-of-week-blitzes was my normal approach to each chapter).

I’m not sure what I actually intended to do with this post. Perhaps ramble on at length about Lessons Learned, Milestones, and other self-indulgent topics. But the more I thought about it, the less interesting I thought that post would be.

Instead, I thought I’d offer just a quick few thoughts on some books that marked important milestones in my reading history before I started the blog, and have therefore not featured (or at least, not since people actually, you know, started reading it…). They are not always the best examples of any given genre that I’m fond of (a couple of them certainly aren’t), but they each hold a very special place on my shelves, and always will.

Mark Waid’s “Daredevil” Vol.3 (Marvel)

The third act of Waid’s highly acclaimed run

Writers: Mark Waid (Avenging Spider-Man #6, Daredevil #11-15), Greg Rucka (ASM#6, The Punisher #10) | Artists: Marco Checchetto (ASM#6, TP#10, Dd#11), Chris Samnee (Dd#12,14,15) & Khoi Pham (Dd#13) | Inks: Tom Palmer (Dd#13) | Colours: Matt Hollingsworth (ASM#6, TP#10, Dd#11), Javier Rodriquez (Dd#12-15)

It’s the meanest team-up you ever saw as Daredevil, Spider-Man and the Punisher find themselves caught up in an epic chase across Manhattan for the Omega Drive – a powerful and dangerous information source that could change the course of all their lives!

Plus: It’s lawyers in love as Matt Murdock finally makes some time for Assistant District Attorney Kirsten McDuffie. But when Megacrime strikes back at Daredevil, the sightless super hero finds himself imprisoned in Latveria for crimes against the state! And as the law firm of Nelson & Murdock undergoes a drastic change, Matt’s “happy go lucky” veneer at last begins to peel back, revealing darker truths that may just end his heroic career.

That’s probably the busiest credits list I’ve ever seen for a single graphic novel collection… Nevertheless, this is a pretty solid book, and one that continues Mark Waid’s excellent run on telling the story of the Man Without Fear. “The Omega Effect” story, which forms the first three chapters (and reviewed first here & here), is a great opening mini-arc for the book, as it is the culmination of a lot of Daredevil’s shenanigans. I did, however, prefer the Daredevil-specific storyline that followed. This is a very good book, and I highly recommend it for fans of the series and Waid’s work in general; and also the series for people who want to read just great comics.

Collects: Avenging Spider-Man #6, The Punisher #10, Daredevil #11-15

“The Punisher” Volume 2 (Marvel)

Frank Castle’s Continued Crusade against Megacrime

Writers: Greg Rucka & Mark Waid | Artist: Matthew Clark, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Matthew South-worth, Marco Checchetto, Mirko Colak | Colours: Matt Hollingsworth

A fallen Frank Castle learns the hidden truths of the Exchange and how it’s connected to some of the Marvel Universe’s darkest secrets! Then, when ex-Hydra and AIM agents team up to bring down the Punisher, Frank finds himself up against a soldier who’s more like him than either of them realize. And when the Exchange targets the Punisher with some unique technology, things get loud.

Finally, Punisher clashes with Spider-Man and Daredevil in an epic chase across Manhattan for a mysterious treasure that could change all their lives! Forced to work with two Avengers, the Punisher makes a promise: “Trust no one hurt everyone.” The three heroes set their sights on a blitzkrieg takedown of New York crime, but who says they’re all working together?

I really enjoyed the first volume of Rucka’s Punisher series – it had everything many Marvel comics lack: darkness, grit, and a definitely adult storyline that made no attempt to appeal to all ages. It was brutal and arresting from the very first page. This second collection continues the story in fine style, but at the same time it didn’t feel quite as focused, for some reason. Nevertheless, if you’re a fan of the series, Rucka’s writing and Checchetto’s artwork, then this would be a worthy addition to your collection.

Collects: The Punisher #6-10, Daredevil #11 & Avenging Spider-Man #6

An Interview with TIM LEBBON

Tim Lebbon is a busy author, and one who dabbles in the darker corners of fantasy. Lebbon’s work has always been on my to-watch list, but I have sadly never had the chance to really devote much time to his fiction. This is going to change, however, as London Eye is my next read (see below). This year, in particular, he seems extra busy, with a number of fantasy, sci-fi and YA titles either already available or on their way. What better time to get in touch and give him a grilling about all his novels?

“Before Watchmen” Third Month (DC)

Reviewed by Abhinav Jain

The second month of Before Watchmen releases was 50/50 for me, as you can read here. Len Wein’s Ozymandias #1 disappointed me as much as Brian Azzarello’s Comedian #2 did, while Darwyn Cooke’s Minutemen #2 was great, as was as his co-authored Silk Spectre #2 with Amanda Conner. In August, the new round of Watchmen comics got their first 5-issue month in which we were also introduced to Brian Azzarello’s and J. Michael Straczynski’s second titles, Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan, respectively. So let’s see how the month went...

Reviewed: Night Owl #2, Rorschach #1, Dr. Manhattan #1, Minutemen #3

“Judge Dredd: Year One - City Fathers” by Matthew Smith (Abaddon)

An eNovella Introduction to Mega City’s finest

The Making of the Lawman...

Mega-City One, 2080. It is Joe Dredd’s first year as a full-eagle Judge – he may have been created from the genes of Eustace Fargo, the ‘Father of Justice’, and thus part of an illustrious lineage, but right now Dredd is not long graduated from the Academy, and yet to establish himself as the metropolis’s toughest, greatest cop. His reputation will be moulded in the years ahead, but at the moment he’s a young lawman, fresh on the streets.

The brutal murder of a Justice Department-sanctioned spy sparks an investigation that will see Dredd trawl the criminal underworld in the hunt for the killer – and he will discover that all is not what it seems in the sector's murky black market. Something new has entered the system, and unless Dredd can stop it, chaos will be unleashed...

This novella, which was released just before the new Dredd movie hit cinemas, is a great story of Mega City’s most bad-ass of cops. Set in his first year, it serves as both introduction and refresher course, for new readers and lapsed enthusiasts (the latter including yours truly). I really enjoyed this story, and I hope there are more on the way. City Fathers is a great dystopian sci-fi crime thriller.

Pegleg Pirate Pug!

Uh, this is an awesome cover…

This made me chuckle as soon as I saw it. Mike Norton is the man behind Battlepug, too (cover below). Here’s some info for The Curse, which is out now from Oni Press:

In 2009, cartoonist extraordinaire and internet sensation Mike Norton (BATTLEPUG, DOUBLE FEATURE COMICS: THE ANSWER) took the “24-Hour Comic” Challenge and created the pug-tastic comic THE CURSE over the course of a single day! He returned with sequels spawned during “24-Hour Comic” events in 2010 and 2011. Now all three tales of pirates and pugs are available in print in this new softcover collection!

And here’s the artwork for Battlepug:

Interview with CASSANDRA ROSE CLARKE

An author who looks like she’s going to have a very good year – with a well-received YA novel already out (The Assassin’s Curse) and an upcoming adult novel (The Mad Scientist’s Daughter) that has also caught bloggers’ notice, Clarke’s work is generating a lot of interest and discussion online. It was, therefore, a perfect time to get in touch, and ask her about her novels, writing, genre-blending, and more.