Scott's Take: Absolute Superman Vol 2: Son of the Demon by Jason Aaron, and artists Rafa Sandoval, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Fico Ossio

 

Absolute Superman Vol 2: Son of the Demon by Jason Aaron, and artists Rafa Sandoval, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Fico Ossio,  the second volume in the series and follows, Absolute Superman Vol. 1: Last Dust of Krypton. The Lazarus Corporation is still after Superman, but he has potential new allies in the Omega Men. But both sides want him to join them and destroy the other side. What will Superman do?

 

This is a violent and brutal volume with multiple torture scenes and lots of action. The art continues to impress. I continue to like this version of a more alien Superman. This series will continue with Volume 3, untitled right now, and which will introduce Toyman, Parasite, and Lex Luthor.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/41292kX

 

I read some of this through the Hoopla App by way of the Dallas Public Library System and some through the DC Universe Infinite App.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026

Scott's Take: Bug Wars Book One: Lost in the Yard by Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar (Illustrator), Matt Wilson (Colorist), and Becca Carey (Designer)

  

Bug Wars Book One: Lost in the Yard by Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar (Illustrator), Matt Wilson (Colorist), and Becca Carey (Designer) is a weird book. I am not sure who the intended audience is. It’s sort of Game of Thrones-ish, sort of Conan-is, sort of a lot of fantasy adventure deals. No matter what you try and compare it to, the deal is told from a kid’s perspective of life among the bugs with bug worldbuilding pages by his dad. It is weird.

 

A kid and his family are forced to move to his deceased dad’s place. Slade has inherited his father’s love of bugs. Sydney, his brother,  has an intense hatred of them and blames them for the death of their father. During an argument between the two, Slade is shrunk to the size of a bug and winds up outside the home. He is now stuck in bug world. A word that is remarkably like his own normal world. He now seeks to survive, get back to normal size, and return home. He also wants to uncover why his father died and protect his brother from the bugs vengeance.

 

There is nudity, bestiality, violence, cussing, torture, slavery, and way more. This is a very adult book that, for some reason, stars a child protagonist. It is not ever clear if he is a pre teen or a little older. The read also comes across to this reader as two different books stuck together. Some aspects of it seems forced.

 

The art is excellent, even though most of the humanoid insects end up looking basically human except for some minor changes. The world building is interesting, even if the bug facts were disgusting and made me hate bugs even more. There is a larger world built up.

 

Major Spoiler---the book synopsis claims Slade will uncover the truth about his father’s death. That does not happen at all. Maybe the sequel will explain. The book raises more questions than answers.

 

There will be a second book and a one shot about the witch spiders released at some point. How it will be collected has yet to be announced. The title of the second story arc is The Fellowship of The Fucked-Up. Clearly a play on the Lord of The Rings series.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4taWpRB

 

My paperback reading copy came from the Vickery Park Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Thor and The Mighty Thor by Jason Aaron, et al.

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Thor and The Mighty Thor by Jason Aaron, et al.:   Thor and The Mighty Thor by Jason Aaron, et al.   Reviewed by Ambrea   Despite what my previous reviews would suggest, I didn’...

Scott's Take: Avengers Vol 3: War Of The Vampires by Jason Aaron

Avengers Vol 3: War Of The Vampires by Jason Aaron continues the story of the Avengers as they have to deal with various vampire factions that are having a civil war. The Avengers are not used to fighting vampires, but they have help from the best vampire in the vast Marvel Universe, Blade. Alongside the Avengers, Blade fights to keep the vampire war from spreading while dealing with the Winter Guard (Russia’s Avengers that work for a corrupt Russian Administration). For some reason, the Russians think it is a good idea to try to make a deal with Dracula instead of just killing him.

This story features all the Avengers and focuses on Ghost Rider and how much he does not know regarding his status. The Ghost Rider has to face the question of whether or not he is a monster. If he is a monster, how is he doing to deal with it? Will he make the same choice as Blade – be a monster that hunts monsters or try to find a way out?

I enjoyed having Blade in this Avengers team since he is not a character that is featured often, despite the fact that he is one of the cooler supernatural characters. Also fun and present in this issue is Captain America who has experience fighting vampires as he did so in Europe during World War Two. Iron Man also is present and is dealing with more family secrets regarding his adoptive father.

The action filled issue has plenty of other characters such as Dracula, various vampires, and an Evil Demon Dog. Also present is Thori which is a pet dog belonging to Thor. He is a talking, kill happy dog that wishes to be the “best murdering dog” he can be. He is fun.

The action is good and this volume connects very well to the other volumes in this series. The characterization of the characters is better in this book than the earlier ones in the series. I enjoyed Avengers Vol 3: War Of The Vampires by Jason Aaron and I recommend it. 

Avengers Vol 3: War Of The Vampires

Jason Aaron

https://www.jasonaaron.info/ 

Marvel, Inc.

https://www.marvel.com/

June 2019

ISBN# 978-1-302-91461-5

Paperback

136 Pages

Material supplied the Grauwyler Park Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

Scott A. Tipple ©2019

Scott's Take: The War Of The Realms by Jason Aaron

The War Of The Realms by Jason Aaron is an event comic book that is the climax for more than seven years of stories in the Thor universe.  The long hinted at and promised War of the Realms finishes in an epic series of battles across the universe.  You could read this without reading the preludes and still enjoy the story.

 This is a war story where all of Thor’s major enemies have teamed up to invade the earth and conquer it.  Most of the X-Men, the Hulk, and the Guardians of The Galaxy folks are not in it. Pretty much every major Marvel hero such as Thor (of course), the Avengers, Odin, Freya, Spider-man, Daredevil, Wolverine, Doctor Strange and the Punisher are in it. This story even features Deadpool, the Fantastic Four, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and others. In my opinion, Spider-man, Wolverine, the Punisher, and Blade get the best jokes in this story. Some of these moments may not be intended to be funny, but the way they were said made me laugh.

One example is when the Punisher is going on about needing a bigger gun when looking at the oncoming Ice Giants. Another is when the various heroes are screaming out their respective battle cries and Spider-man screams that New York is for lovers.

While the Punisher loves the fights and relishes them, pretty much everyone else is terrified of him and his guns and ammo. This book has a massive body count with multiple heroes being killed on the pages alongside a lot of bad guys.  Wolverine gets to go on a killing spree throughout the read. Black Panther and Captain America do some cool things that would be spoiled if one goes into details.

The art is pretty good and so is the story. The events in this comic should have major effects for the next few years.  The War Of The Realms by Jason Aaron is not for everyone and is highly recommended.

The War Of The Realms

Jason Aaron

https://www.jasonaaron.info/  

Marvel, Inc.

https://www.marvel.com/

August 2019

ISBN# 978-1-302-91469-1

Paperback (also available in digital format)

192 Pages

Material supplied by the Park Forest Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

Scott A. Tipple ©2019