Scott's Take: Absolute Power by Mark Waid (Author), Dan Mora (Illustrator)

Absolute Power by Mark Waid (Author), Dan Mora (Illustrator) is the latest big event in the DC Universe. I read this in the DC infinite app since the trade is not out yet. I have only read some of the tie ins because I am on the lower tier subscription so they have not unlocked all of them yet. For some reason, someone at DC thought it would be a good idea to only allow people to read some of the tie ins and just wait for the rest even though the main series is over.

 

In this action-packed event, the heroes of the world are depowered by a Trinity of Evil composed of Failsafe (evil Batman robot), Brainaic Queen, and Amanda Waller. This book takes storylines from Batman, Superman, Titans, Green Arrow and more to make this event. The world is turned against them as the civilian population falls for fake footage showing the heroes massacring civilians across the world. Because of the fake footage some heroes, such as Animal Man and his young daughter, are outright attacked by angry mobs.

 

Around the same time, the heroes are also attacked by numerous Amazos (robots who have power stealing abilities) that take their powers away from them. Despite the wide variety of powers in the DC universe, the Amazos can copy everyone, including the Spectre who is powered by the wrath of God. (I know that makes little sense, but just go with it.) The surviving heroes including a critically injured Superman retreat to the Fortress of Solitude to plan their next move. Things only go worse from there for the heroes.

 

This is a good story for people who like action sequences and pretty art. It’s rushed since a lot of the important bits are done in the tie ins between issues. A lot of the tie in stuff I read made me feel that the material was important enough to include in the main title.

The heroes become a resistance movement against Waller. There is a ton of heroes involved in this tale. Some heroes get the shaft because there is pretty much everyone in it.

 

Also, this is a nitpick, but how Wonder Woman’s team is attacked in the main series vs her own tie in series is depicted differently. There are major differences. I liked both action scenes for different reasons, but they are different and the battles are different. For example, in the main series Wonder Woman team is watching the tv while Waller rants vs in her tie in, everyone is playing cards together. Obviously, her team loses in both, so the main takeaway is they got their butts kicked. But this continuity problem is not just in the setup, but the actual fights as well.

 

Absolute Power has huge ramifications for the DC universe as things are not the same afterwards.

 

This book helps set up the ongoing DC All In relaunch as the Justice League finally returns in their own storyline. The first issues are out now for that with the trade to follow later this year. The DC universe is going “all in” with every major book being relaunched with a new status quo and a fresh start. All books are supposed to be new reader friendly. One of the biggest affected is the main Superman title.

 

Currently, The DC Infinite app is giving the first issues of each relaunch early to all subscribers. Several new series spin out from Absolute Power by Mark Waid (Author), Dan Mora (Illustrator) besides the Justice League one, are a new Black Lightning title, Justice Society title, and a new Question title. I have enjoyed several of these new reads as well. The DC Universe is significantly shaken up with these new parameters and every writer involved is finding new venues to explore and entertain.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/49UU8Rf

 

As noted, I read this material, before the scheduled February release, by way of the DC Unlimited app.  

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2025

Scott's Take: X-Men Vol. 2 by Gerry Duggan

 

X-Men Vol 2 by Gerry Duggan introduces a new hero. Modok engages in a disturbing experiment on a cruise ship and soon makes some new friends. The X-Men take on gameworld (a sort of celestial casino) with the fate of countless planets hanging in the balance. The X-Men have threats coming from all directions. Luckily, Cyclops is ready to lead them against all threats.

 

Every team member gets their shot in the sun. Cyclops has some great moments that remind me why I think he is so awesome. Wolverine, Rogue, and Jean are great. The art is great and there is plenty of action and humor. It is almost a perfect volume.

 

I just have one complaint. To explain causes major spoilers, so read on at your own risk.

 

They are blowing up the team as pretty much everyone is moving on except for three characters. In the universe time that started with the first book, it allegedly has been a year. But, there have only been 12 issues of the run, and readers have to say good bye to most of the characters and hello to new team members.

 

Overall, I enjoyed this read and I am eagerly anticipating the next volume with the new team.

 

My reading copy from the Central or Downtown Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2022

Scott's Take: X-Men Vol. 1 by Gerry Duggan

During The Hellfire Gala, a new group of X-Men were elected to protect the world outside of the island Krakoa. The island nation is the homeland for the mutants. The X-Men of this book are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Polaris (Magneto’s daughter), Synch, Wolverine (Laura), and Sunfire. This new team is setting up a new base of operations in a giant treehouse in New York City.

During the Hellfire Gala, the mutants also colonized Mars. That action caused aliens to attack the Earth to make sure that humanity never expands to the stars again. While the X-men are dealing with threats from outer space, they are also combatting the threat from Orchis (an antimutant group with tremendous resources that consists of ex-members of Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D., A.I.M., and others who seek to destroy all mutants using various strategies). The group is led by several people including Dr. Stasis

At the same time, Ben Urich, the journalist, is on the trail of uncovering a major secret of Krakoa. He has evidence showing that Cyclops died on a suicide mission a few months ago. Despite that fact, Cyclops is somehow alive now. This is not the first a mutant has died and was confirmed to be dead, only to be alive now. Cyclops and several other mutants have somehow returned to life. Ben Urich wants to know why and how that could happen.

This book has a complicated and action filled plot along with plenty of ties to previous books. The X-Men face more threats than just the above situations. This allows them to showcase how powerful they are as an individual as well as when they unite as a team. The various threats are very dangerous and could cause extinction for life on Earth. Luckily, the X-men are pretty dangerous themselves.

It is not all action and fighting as X-Men Vol. 1 by Gerry Duggan that also features the X-Men involved in various philanthropic endeavors that show the X-Men don’t just fight threats. In one case, they hand out food and coats to the homeless of New York.

Each issue of the six that are bound together in this book, tends to highlight a different member of the team. Even team members that I did not like before such as Sunfire and Synch are starting to grow on me. This issue even deals with mental illness since Polaris has a hard time with her mental health being the daughter of Magneto who is one of the most famous mutants and is known for being a hero at times and a villain at other times. Father and daughter are very much estranged, among other issues, and that aspect of her life affects her mental health. 

The art is incredible and the new base is pretty cool. I really enjoyed X-Men Vol. 1 by Gerry Duggan as this is a nice fun read that has everything X-Men fans are looking for.

This series will be is continued in Vol. 2. It is not out yet and there is no schedule release date at the time of this review. It will continue the rollout of the new hero, Captain Krakoa.

 

 

My paperback reading copy came from the Bachman Lake Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2022

FFB Review: Scott’s Take: The Ex-Heroes Series

With Scott approaching his three-year anniversary of his first guest post here on the blog, I thought for today I would remind you of that first post. His guest posts run each Saturday and usually cover science fiction and fantasy books.  

 

 

Hi, I am Scott and this is my first guest review. This review will be on the 5 book series by Peter Clines called The Ex-Heroes Series. The first book was published in 2013. 

 

The world ended in 2009 for all intents and purposes. Zombies have overrun most of the world including in Los Angeles. The so-called exes or ex humans.

 

Most of the survivors reside in a former movie studio turned fortress called The Mount. The place is guarded by the first and last superheroes of this world. Led by “Cloak” (think of a female Batman) and her second in command, “The Mighty Dragon” who also goes by the names, “St. George,” and “George Bailey.” Not only does he have three names that he goes by, he is also a janitor turned superhero. He is the source of hope and inspiration for the survivors of “The Mount.” He is a reluctant hero and leader.

 

Also on the team is “Gorgon” who is a man who can drain the life of any human being by looking at them. He is forced to wear special goggles at all times so as to not just go around draining folks by looking at them.

 

Another major character is “Zzzap.” In his superpower form, he is a living star of energy which really takes a toll on his human form. He is my personal favorite as he is absolutely hilarious. In his human form, he is confined to a wheelchair. In his energy form, he is one of the most powerful heroes here on Earth. He deals with the difference in his abilities by snapping off pop culture references and plenty of sarcastic commentary. Most of those references as the world in this series ended in 2009.

 

Those are the four major characters and there are many, many minor characters. This is a series that is for mature readers only and not kids. It is a very violent series and not for the faint of heart.  Many characters die in the series and no one, even the heroes, are safe. The heroes suffer consequences for their actions including loss of life, injuries, and survivor’s guilt. The heroes are not able to save everyone. A constant them in this series is the idea that if the heroes can barely protect themselves, how are they supposed to be able to save others?

 

The antagonists are varied in each book and throughout the series as a whole. The antagonists take many forms whether they are supervillains, gangs, zombies, food shortages, civil unrest issues, and more. These heroes even face the consequences for facing superheroes turned zombies. The stakes are impossibly high for the last survivors led by what is left of humanity’s most powerful. These heroes even face the consequences for facing superheroes turned zombies. 

 

Each book is from multiple points of view with chapters before the world ended and now.  Each book in the series is kind of its own genre. Each story is very different from the others. I enjoyed some books more than others. Personally, the 4^th book in the series was a genre I am not fond of. They could be read as stand alone, but should be read in order as each character develops and grow realistically throughout the series. More about each character is revealed throughout the series. Events are referenced and relationships change so reading in order is the better way to go about reading this series.

 

The heroes are doing the best they can while trying to save everyone. But, they as well as everyone else are teetering on the edge of extinction as a species. This is humanity’s last stand and last chance to survive.  

 

The series is highly recommended for superhero fans and zombie fans. Hopefully, there will be more of these books. I could see this series being adapted into a movie or television series. I enjoyed it a lot. This is not for kids. This is an adult series. 

 

 

The Ex Heroes Series

Ex-Heroes

Ex-Patriots

Ex-Communication

Ex-Purgatory

Ex-Isle

 

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2019, 2022

 

Scott's Take: Marvel Avengers Storybook Collection

Marvel Avengers Storybook Collection by various writers and artists features nineteen quick stories for younger children. Each story is written by a different author and several different illustrators share art duty. This book features Agents of Shield members such as Nick Fury and Phil Coulson alongside the Avengers such as Falcon, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye (Clint Barton). They deal with a wide variety of villains such as Loki, Kang, Ultron, and others.

 

The stories are designed to be rather short and are at times a little silly. The plots are very simplistic, but there is a good variety in the tales. They do sometimes feature similar plot ideas such as shapeshifters pretending to be Avengers in consecutive tales.  The art is fairly good for a book aimed at younger kids and is colorful. 

Overall, this is a nice safe read for younger readers who just want something fun to read or something for parents to read to their children before bed. Those with a sense of humor as well as more observant children may notice that in some of the artwork Hulk is depicted as having no nipples which could create interesting conversations between parent and child. No other artwork oddities were noticed.

 

Marvel Avengers Storybook Collection is a good book and hits the mark.  

 

  

Marvel Avengers Storybook Collection

Marvel Kids

https://www.marvel.com/

March 2015

ISBN# 978-148475334-7

Hardback (also available in audio and eBook formats as well in an updated 2018 edition)

300 Pages 

 

My reading copy came from the Prairie Creek of the Dallas Public Library System. 

 

Scott Tipple ©2021

Scott's Take: Batman/Superman Volume 1: Who Are The Secret Six? by Joshua Williamson and Illustrator David Marquez

Batman/Superman Volume 1: Who Are The Secret Six? by Joshua Williamson and illustrator David Marquez is a book that collects the first six issues of this new series. This team up book features Batman and Superman against The Batman Who Laughs. In his latest evil plot, The Batman Who Laughs has infected six of the world’s most powerful heroes and turned them evil against their will. Some of those good folks turned evil include people closest to Superman and Batman. It is up to Batman and Superman to uncover the identities of these heroes and stop them.

 

This book features epic fights and great artwork. The main selling point is that the book focuses on the differences and similarities between these two heroes. The story is one that shifts back and forth between the perspective of each superhero and that reveals that each has keen insight into the other.

 

This book furthers multiple preexisting storylines and features cameos by numerous heroes. Batman/Superman Volume 1: Who Are The Secret Six? references events happening in other books and takes place over an unspecified length of time that could be days or even months. That aspect seems to be deliberately vague. The Infected Six are an interesting selection of heroes turned villains some of which who have legitimate reasons to be mad at Batman and Superman. Each one on his or her own would be a threat to the Batman/Superman team and the fact that they work together here as a unit raise the threat level considerably.

 

Batman/Superman Volume 1: Who Are The Secret Six? is only for the mature reader since there are multiple murders and some of those corpses are graphically visible to the characters in the book as well as the read. The read is not a standalone since a lot of the various storylines are ongoing in other books. Instead, what is carried on here is to set up a conflict between the Batman/Superman team and two characters that will be carried over into the second volume. As a result, much of what goes on here is relevant in other series, but will have little impact in the second volume of this series.

 

This a good book for people who are okay with the listed qualifiers above and are looking for a book about Batman and Superman working together. Those readers who also like a lot of action and deep dives into the minds of the primary characters will enjoy Batman/Superman Volume 1: Who Are The Secret Six?

 

  

Batman/Superman Volume 1: Who Are The Secret Six?

Joshua Williams

https://www.dccomics.com/talent/joshua-williamson

Illustrator David Marquez

https://www.davidmarquez.com/

DC Comics

https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/batmansuperman-vol-1-who-are-the-secret-six

April 2020

ISBN# 978-1-4012-9945-3

Hardback (also available in digital and paperback formats)

160 Pages  

 

Material came by way of the Central or Downtown Branch of the Dallas Public Library System. 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2020

Scott's Take: Brave and Bold! Female DC Super Heroes Take On The Universe by Sam Maggs

Brave and Bold! Female DC Super Heroes Take On The Universe by Sam Maggs and numerous artists who are credited in the back pages. This book highlights the various DC female superheroes based on four categorizations: compassionate, bold, curious, and persistent. The book highlights female superheroes of various backgrounds that exhibit those traits. The foreword for the book is written Gail Simone who is famous for her stories in the Batgirl franchise and for being one of the most prominent female comic book writers at DC Comics.

 

The author includes commonly known heroes such as Batgirl, Supergirl, Wonder Woman among others as well as other heroes like Fire, Ice, Bumble Bee, Spoiler, Lady Blackhawk and more. Of course, even in a book this detailed, there are several female heroes left out. Those not included are mostly female superheroes who operate in countries outside of the USA, appear in the Legion in the DC future, as well as Platinum of the Metal Men. Also, Dreamer, Alex Danvers, and Sara Lance of the television shows in the CW DC Universe are not included and they are not part of the DC comic book universe.

 

The table of contents is split in the aforementioned categories with each female superhero appearing in only one category regardless of how strong she is in the other categories. The author did not choose to have the order appearance in each category mean anything in terms of how strong the female character is in the category nor did the author make the appearance alphabetical. Each character is given a short bio along with an iconic quote. The small box labeled “Data File” consists of a few cool facts about the hero who is also depicted in artwork.  With over 40 female superheroes discussed in the book there should be at least one hero that appeals to the young reader.

 

This is a fun book for kids that showcases the large amount of female heroes that exist in the DC universe. I would recommend this book for middle schoolers or mature elementary readers because the origins of some characters might be uncomfortable to explain to a child. For example, Mera was raised as assassin and was sent by her father to kill Aquaman. Instead, she fell in love with him and became his wife. Then there is Katana whose family was murdered by a gang. She seeks vengeance for that crime with a sword that consumes people’s souls. Inside said sword is her deceased husband who she talks to while he is stuck in a limbo between life and death. Both of these situations and several others could be awkward trying to explain that to a child. However, in other cases, they have done a good job simplifying the origins of several heroes to make the characters less complicated and lessen the traumatic origins several of the characters have.

 

With the aforementioned concerns, this is a good book for young readers who would like to learn more about the various female superheroes. At the end of the book there is a small glossary of terms and an artists acknowledgement page which includes over thirty artists. As these artists have other published projects, this page also serves as a great resource to look for artists whose work inspires the reader. Brave and Bold! Female DC Super Heroes Take On The Universe should be a fun read for many young girls who are looking for more female superheroes in their stories.

 

 

Brave and Bold! Female DC Super Heroes Take On The Universe

Sam Maggs

https://www.sammaggs.com/

DK Books

https://www.dk.com/us/book/9781465486110-dc-brave-and-bold/

December 2019

ISBN# 978-1-4654-8611-0

Hardback (eBook format available)

130 Pages 

 

My reading copy came from the Central or Downtown Branch of the Dallas Public Library System. 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2020

Scott's Take: Marvel Encyclopedia New Edition

Marvel Encyclopedia New Edition, published earlier this year, is a book that left me wanting more in most of the entries. This book was out of date even before it was published. It is way out of date on The Avengers, Spiderman, The X-Men and The Squadron Supreme. One could ignore that if the entries were well written, but they are not. The entries often just stop with no rhyme or reason and not naturally. The entries try to combine past storylines with current information and the result is a mess. Unlike the same type of book from DC, there is no timeline in this book as well and that is a huge failure.

There is very little information on character personalities or the relationships among characters. Some important characters are completely missing like Robbie Reyes and Quake. One character is mentioned under two different names for some reason instead of combining the two entries (The Red Hulk). Even characters that get multiple pages have entries that are very shallow and need way more detail.

Most entries have no information on the motivation of why characters act as they do. One prime example of how bad these entries are is the limited paragraphs on Hyperion. Most people do not know Hyperion. He is one of Marvel’s many versions of Superman. In two very short paragraphs, the people behind this book thought it was a really good idea to combine more than three versions of Hyperion from vastly different universes and time periods where each version has a very different personality.  This idiotic idea results in a convoluted paragraph where it discusses how he is perfect hero with no flaws, who then is a killing machine sociopath, and in yet another version is the noble hero who ultimately failed to save his home Earth and now lives in an alternate reality. None of those versions have anything to do with what he actually is portrayed now as he is a brainwashed hero created by the government to replace the Avengers and do good works. So, they jumble up three versions for no good reason, and then ignore the actual version presently being done in numerous comic books.

This book is not good on explaining the depths of complex characters that tend to switch back and forth from good to evil like Emma Frost, Loki, Magneto, Namor, Doc Ock, Black Cat and Doctor Doom. They switch back and forth with and there is next to no explanation of why this happens. Then there are issues with the fact that multiple characters that use the same code name, for example, Hawkeye and Enchantress, are all lumped together even though individually they are way different depending on storyline.

Speaking of storylines, there are huge issues with how this important facet is handled in this book. The information for the Multiverse is limited at best and completely obsolete in regards to the Ultimate Universe and was so before this mess was actually published. In many entries, there is a bullet point area with the phrasing, “essential storylines” which is supposed to give the reader basic information essential to the character. In some cases it is accurate, but in many cases, things have changed. In fact the information presented is often grossly inaccurate and therefore meaningless. Such information was inaccurate before this book was published and yet was included anyway.

With so many involved in the project, one wonders how many of them sat back and as they contemplated the finished product, realized just how bad a job was done. Textually the book reads as if they copied and pasted in aspects of prior editions and tried to splice in some new information. Not only is the text inaccurate in many cases, the artwork also leaves a lot to be desired.

The artwork in the book, for the most part, is just not the best examples of comic book art to showcase. In some entries, the art is terrible. The fact that the cover art is the some of the better art found in the book is not a compliment. Note how odd the faces of Thanos, Thor, and Captain Marvel look on the cover. Very odd.

This feels like a product that was made to make money and nothing more. This book only includes information on the comics. There is nothing on the movies, novels, television shows, cartoons, video games, or anything outside of the comics. Clearly an amazingly stupid decision since that stuff is used heavily as a marketing angle to keep regular readers interested as well as to attract new ones.

While I am a huge Marvel fan, I can’t recommend this book for anyone. Bad art and a total lack of detail in many entries as well as a tremendous amount of inaccurate information mean this book was worthless the day it was published and has only gone downhill from there. Marvel Encyclopedia New Edition is useful though as a screaming example of what not to do in such an encyclopedia.

Marvel Encyclopedia New Edition

Various Editors and Contributors

Dorling Kindersley Limited (division of Penguin Random House)

http://www.dk.com

April 2019

ISBN#978-1-4654-7890-0

Coffee Table Sized Hardback

448 Pages

$40.00

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library System. My copy came from the Kleberg-Rylie location.

Scott A. Tipple © 2019

Scott’s Take: The Ex-Heroes Series

Please welcome my son, Scott, to the blog. For those of you who do not know, Scott is in his final year of graduate school in the criminology program at The University of Texas At Dallas.  Sandi was pregnant with him when I graduated from there back in May of 1993 when Dragons still soared through the air and the campus pretty much rolled up at 5 PM because everything closed up. Now they have a bar on campus, coffee places and various fast food joints, and the Dragons are all gone thanks to climate change. I have been telling Scott for some time that he should review some of the many books he reads and finally he has agreed to do so from time to time.  So, today we have the first of what I hope are many reviews from Scott. His reading tastes are way different than mine. For one thing, I can’t read dystopian style fiction as real life is grim enough. I am certainly not reading anything with freaking zombies. He does. He likes it. He really likes it. That is messed up.

Ex-Heroes Series by Peter Clines

Hi, I am Scott and this is my first guest review. This review will be on the 5 book series by Peter Clines called The Ex-Heroes Series. The first book was published in 2013. 

The world ended in 2009 for all intents and purposes. Zombies have overrun most of the world including in Los Angeles. The so-called exes or ex humans.

Most of the survivors reside in a former movie studio turned fortress called The Mount. The place is guarded by the first and last superheroes of this world. Led by “Cloak” (think of a female Batman) and her second in command, “The Mighty Dragon” who also goes by the names, “St. George,” and “George Bailey.” Not only does he have three names that he goes by, he is also a janitor turned superhero. He is the source of hope and inspiration for the survivors of “The Mount.” He is a reluctant hero and leader.

Also on the team is “Gorgon” who is a man who can drain the life of any human being by looking at them. He is forced to wear special goggles at all times so as to not just go around draining folks by looking at them.

Another major character is “Zzzap.” In his superpower form, he is a living star of energy which really takes a toll on his human form. He is my personal favorite as he is absolutely hilarious. In his human form, he is confined to a wheelchair. In his energy form, he is one of the most powerful heroes here on Earth. He deals with the difference in his abilities by snapping off pop culture references and plenty of sarcastic commentary. Most of those references as the world in this series ended in 2009.

Those are the four major characters and there are many, many minor characters. This is a series that is for mature readers only and not kids. It is a very violent series and not for the faint of heart.  Many characters die in the series and no one, even the heroes, are safe. The heroes suffer consequences for their actions including loss of life, injuries, and survivor’s guilt. The heroes are not able to save everyone. A constant them in this series is the idea that if the heroes can barely protect themselves, how are they supposed to be able to save others?

The antagonists are varied in each book and throughout the series as a whole. The antagonists take many forms whether they are supervillains, gangs, zombies, food shortages, civil unrest issues, and more. These heroes even face the consequences for facing superheroes turned zombies. The stakes are impossibly high for the last survivors led by what is left of humanity’s most powerful. These heroes even face the consequences for facing superheroes turned zombies. 

Each book is from multiple points of view with chapters before the world ended and now. Each book in the series is kind of its own genre. Each story is very different from the others. I enjoyed some books more than others. Personally, the 4^th book in the series was a genre I am not fond of. They could be read as stand alone, but should be read in order as each character develops and grow realistically throughout the series. More about each character is revealed throughout the series. Events are referenced and relationships change so reading in order is the better way to go about reading this series.

The heroes are doing the best they can while trying to save everyone. But, they as well as everyone else are teetering on the edge of extinction as a species. This is humanity’s last stand and last chance to survive.  

The series is highly recommended for superhero fans and zombie fans. Hopefully, there will be more of these books. I could see this series being adapted into a movie or television series. I enjoyed it a lot. This is not for kids. This is an adult series. 

The Ex Heroes Series

Ex-Heroes

Ex-Patriots

Ex-Communication

Ex-Purgatory

Ex-Isle

Scott Tipple ©2019

On A Warm February Day In 2019 Scott Shows Off Flexibility While Seated