03/17/2002 - 03/23/2002

Legion of Super Heroes

The other thing I cranked through in the last couple days was the entire V3 and V4 runs of the Legion of Super Heroes, the DC comic book series. That was the result of reading about Giffen below.

It's not quite accurate to say I went through the entire runs of both since I don't own them all. But near enough.

V3 was entirely written by Paul Levitz, and the consistency of quality is pretty stunning. The balance between straight action hero plot and the interaction between the characters made that series a comfortable community.

V4 -- for all of its groundbreaking qualities -- seems to be more hated than loved, unlike Watchmen or Dark Knight. Maybe because Watchmen didn't do anything to known characters, and Dark Knight was an approach not in any way out of line for Batman as he had been presented.

But V4 takes the characters who had lived in relatively static times throughout all of V3 and makes their times full of war and political instability. Then the characters get to show their true mettle (or not).

As an interview with Giffen makes clear, a lot of the inconsistency in V4 had as much to do with outside influences as plot problems. For example, the original concept of the LSH has Superboy as an inspiration. And as a member of the group! Supergirl, too. Then around the time the V4 series started, DC continuity decided that Superboy and Supergirl had never existed.

All sorts of things like that plagued the series.

Still and all, it's pretty amazing. The closest thing to Heinlein-style science fiction I've ever seen in comics. Which is to say: fantastic situations, but human choices.

And boy: reading all of these books in one extended setting, interrupted only by meetings and work, shows just how bloody they were. By the time V3 starts, the body count stands at Ferro Lad, Invisible Kid, and one of Triplicate Girl's bodies. Chemical King, too, I think. Lightning Lad, though he came back (sort of).

So, the continued body count:

(V3) Karate Kid. Mentalla. Superboy. Supergirl. Laurel Kent. Another one of Triplicate Girl’s (now Duo Damsel) bodies. Magnetic Kid. Mon El.

(V4) Wildfire (dead before the series starts). Phantom Lass (not really dead but sent back in time -- gone, anyway). Blok. Don and Dawn Allen. Jed. Clone Karate Kid; Clone Chameleon Lad; Clone Princess Projectra. Sun Boy. Laurel Gand.

Oh, right: plus the entire planet Earth and 2 billion people (even though 6 billion were saved).

And then the Zero Hour came along and killed EVERYONE.

That's not even counting the lost arms, legs, eyes. Bruises, burns, and brainwashing. And bystanders.

It's a pretty brutal series, even before V4 started. Since V4 took place in the middle of almost universal warfare and economic collapse, it's almost surprising the body count wasn't higher.

Except for Laurel Gand. I didn't even like the character, but that death seemed so out of character for the situation. Plus, the character is "nigh-invulnerable", so no matter how big the bomb was, it doesn't seem plausible it would kill her.

Crimson Joy / Robert B. Parker

Crimson Joy / Robert B. Parker
A re-read. Part of the huge Spenser series which Parker has been writing since the early 70s. In the last few years, Parker has started up a couple of new series characters, since Spenser is clearly a man of a different period and finding him an ass-kicker into his late 60s becomes less and less plausible. I have been vaguely thinking for awhile that Parker is avoiding killing Spenser off.

The Spenser novels are still good, enjoyable reads, but they haven't felt vital since the books in the mid-80s where Spenser and Susan Silverman have their relationship troubles. Those books include A Savage Place, The Widening Gyre, Ceremony, and A Catskill Eagle.

Most series characters never get a final chapter, because the authors write them for so long that they can't get out of the habit. One notable exception is Travis McGee, who at least got The Lonely Silver Rain. Not perfect, but a reasonable ending point.

Keith Giffen

For no particular reason, the name Keith Giffen popped into my head. Probably because I was thinking about the Legion of Super Heros and the "Five Year Leap" storyline that Giffen initiated, back in the late 80s. It may be my favorite series ever involving the traditional super hero format.

And thus: the Keith Giffen Resource Page.

Finished The Runelords today

Finished The Runelords today. Hoo hah.

Long Ass Post

This is a long-ass post. I'm sure the next ones'll be shorter.

Currently

The Runelords / David Farland
I had picked this up two or three times a couple years ago, but couldn't get into it. But in the meantime I've read both the subsequent sequels, Brotherhood of the Wolf and Wizardborn. As with a lot of genre fiction, if the writing is good enough, then the main thing you focus on is the world creation. The idea of "endowments" which allow people to donate their attributes like strength and beauty to other people is interesting, especially in the context of the end-of-the-human-world pressure that comes with the invasion of "Reavers", a creature I can only describe as a combination of insect and dragon.

Anyway, with the idea of endowments (which were the reason I never got into the first book -- felt too D&D in concept), the novels have an interesting through-line about human rights in face of massive danger.

Autobiography / Mark Twain
This is for a project I'm working on. An idea for an alternate history set in Chicago around 1871-1877. I haven't decided on the exact date yet. But may as well use Twain for flavor, even if he doesn't appear.

A Stitch in Time / Gene Elston

Also research for the Alt-Chicago Project. One of the characters I'm thinking about is a black baseball player, so Moses Fleetwood Walker comes to mind. Always go with the catcher, mang. They're always the most interesting ballplayers.

This is a bizarre book, because the chronology is not by year, but by date. So, for example, May 6 has entries for everything important that happened of interest in baseball -- in this case in 1892, 1917, 1953 and 1982. Looking for 19th Cent. baseball info is, obviously, a pain in the ass. Entertaining, though.

Last Few Finished

Soul Music / Terry Pratchett
Interesting Times / Terry Practhett
Small Gods / Terry Practhett
I have a lot of the Discworld books and felt like going through a binge of re-reading.

Dead Sleep / Greg Iles
Serial killa thrilla. Iles is really good at keeping the copy tight and fast. So when all the pretty interesting characterization comes up against some "whut th'?" plot twists, it's fine, just fine.

The Tipping Point / Malcolm Gladwell
Kind of an amazing book about decision-making, and group adoption/excitement of things into the culture. Also amazing in that I don't remember him using the word "meme" once.

Active

Stone Dancer / Murray Smith
This is a fine spy novel about currency counterfeiting and various James Bond-ish espionage, with a faint tinge of Le Carre.

I'm only about halfway through the book. I've been saving it for reading on the El, on my way to meetings and so on. I'd've been finished with this about three weeks ago if I'd felt like reading it on the crapper or anything.

Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain / Justin Kaplan
Iron Men, Iron Will: The 19th Indiana Regiment of the Iron Brigade / Craig L. Dunn
Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers / Joseph T. Glatthaar
Terrible Swift Sword / Bruce Catton (the man! the legend!)
The Story of American Freedom / Eric Foner
American Heritage History of the United States / Douglas Brinkley

This is all for the Alt-Chicago Project. I doubt I'll read them all in their entirety, just scan and skim. On a random note, it's always amusing to read Eric Foner. I never really got along with the guy during college, but, man, are his books good.