Chew/ John Layman & Rob Guillory

Had to borrow these since the title sported my family name!

It did not disappoint.

Tony Chu is a “cibopath” investigator for the US Food and Drug Administration, one who can get psychic impressions (past sequence of events) by taking a bite into things. Some things include corpses.

What a oddly different class of super powers.

Plus a really weird storyline that’s so quirky and somehow believable, in a comic book way.

The FDA is a powerful agency namely because if the Avian Flu outbreak, resulting in a global enforcement of a chicken and poultry ban.

Add some high-powered (money and/ or similar new superpowers) characters — baddies and sidekicks — in a unfolding conspiracy, plus Alien writing in the sky.

So very X-files.

Chew. [Volume 3]: Just desserts

Chew. [Volume 4]: Flambé

Stephen King’s The Stand: book 1 Captain Trips/ Aguirre-Sacasa, Perkins & Martin

This isn’t “horror fiction” per we. Not like the written work. Good primer and intro to Stephen King’s seminal work though. I’ve not read the book, though I understand this graphic novel adaption takes the reader through how the plague started, introducing the main characters who are somehow immune to it, as well as the mysterious Walk’in Dude.

This work collects issues 1 to 5. Made me want to read book 2.

The Losers: book 1/ Andy Diggle & Jock

This is like The A-team meets Mission Impossible.

You can expect guns, explosions, heists, stratagems within stratagems — that sort of thing.

The Losers are a group of ex-military Special Forces, trained in covert ops. Basically the agency sold them out and wanted them dead (part of the plot is in discovering the reason). The team faked their deaths and are now on their secret mission to uncover the truth of why the agency wanted them dead.

No wonder it’s been made into a Hollywood movie.

The graphic novel is great. Plot is interesting enough to make me curious about how the series will end. Nice gritty feel to the dialogue, pace and visuals.

The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor and the bogus identity/ Mike Carey & Peter Gross

I think this is book one of the series. It does answer the question (for me) why Tommy Taylor was incarcerated in the story I read earlier.

This is one of the more complex graphic novel stories. Taking in the visuals and narrative, I get a sense that something is about to tip over, and I am carried along for the ride. Kind of like Twin Peaks weirdness and pace.

Tom Taylor is worshipped as the same-named character in his missing father’s acclaimed novel (did you get all that?)

It’s like Harry Potter made real (as perceived by fans). Tom is treated as the literary incarnate, with the same magical abilities and all. Which Tom finds himself both wanting and hating his association with the novel’s character.

But slowly Tom discovers forgotten memories about his father and his own past. I’m led to suspect that Tom has no real past, and there is about about the literal power of words to make things real.

To use the Harry Potter parallel, it’s like a real world Harry discovering the literary figure is real while he isn’t. Or so it seems to me.

Mind bending stuff.

The unwritten: Inside man/ Mike Carey & Peter Gross

ISBN: 9781401228736

“Suggested for mature readers”.

Quite a complex fantasy story in a contemporary setting. I consider this one of the better showcase of the Graphic Novel format, where the story is intellectually and visually fleshed out between texts and illustrations.

The mood, plot-twists and tone is like “Fables” but without the fairy tale association. More contemporary and storyline is deeper, with overlaps of fiction and reality

This overlap even extends to the reader, by featuring realistically portrayed web articles, news casts and blog posts that follow Tom’s imprisonment.

Parts of it seem to borrow from the real life controversy over the Harry Potter series.

Tom Taylor is framed for murder, it seems. He is jailed and there’s a murder attempt on him while in prison. He escapes the prison with a magical door knob (a legacy of his father), only to find himself in Nazi Germany, before the outbreak of WWII. As a reader, I’m also brought along the journey, discovering a hidden quest of sorts with the protagonist.

The Question: The five books of blood/ Greg Rucka et al.

ISBN: 9781401217990

Contains adult-themed storyline.

The Question is a masked avenger/ vigilant. Renee Montoya tries to uncover a hidden cult whose religion is murder and whose influence extends to all segments of society, private enterprise and government. The Crime Bible is apparently being circulated, whose text preaches murder and mayhem. But Renee has some demons of her own to fight. And her intimate knowledge of the purpose and earlier versions of the Crime Bible puts her in danger of being the inadvertent disciple of evil.

Lost Squad/ written by Chris Kirby; art by Alan Robinson; lettered by Kel Nuttall

ISBN: 9781932796414

This is like “X-files” meets “The A-team” meets “Indiana Jones” meets “Hellboy” meets “X-men”.

Enjoyable stuff. Got me turning the pages to discover more quirky juxtaposition of ideas and Good Vs Evil action.

It’s the beginning of World War II. The Nazis use of technology and arcane knowledge is winning the war: Nazi mages command demons and zombies, rocket-propelled shock troops and armoured spider tanks. They are also seeking historical artifacts that could enhance their occult powers.

The Lost Squad is a specially assembled motley crew of soldiers, with special training and/ or abilities.
They are led by US army Captain Boudreau, an ex-priest (who has to dig deep into his faith again, to save a young girl and his comrades).
Major Smithenry, a British on attachment, is a powerful mage and is hinted to be very long-lived.
Corporal Berg, demolition expert.
The Kansas Kid, sharpshooter and has the ability to read minds.
Sergeant Lymangood, seasoned veteran and wildly unpredictable, with a personal baggage he needs to rid.
Jose Morales, an ace with a bazooka.
The “Chicago Boys”, Chance, Tinker and Evers. The three seems to look alike and have fast healing powers (clones?).

Wished there was more. The last chapter killed off most of the lost squad members.

The act of Roger Murgatroyd: An entertainment/ Gilbert Adair

ISBN: 9780571226382

I borrowed this book because the cover cited a review: “very funny and very clever”.

And it was.

Early on, you’re reminded of the game Cludo (I wonder if people still play that).

A dinner guest of the Colonel has been shot dead. His body was discovered in a room locked from the inside, and with no other apparent exit other than the door. The mystery was that no one knew how the crime was committed.

The Colonel invites a retired police inspector, Trubshawe, to lend a hand. The bulk of the novel has the inspector interviewing the dinner guests: a Vicar, a novelist, an actress, a doctor and his wife, the Colonel’s daughter, his daughter’s male friend. There’s a twist near the end before the mystery was solved (I won’t say what this twist was; it’ll spoil your fun).

Adair has a knack, in this book (I’ve not read others), of building up suspense. Even when getting the Vicar to confess his ‘Great War’ secret, he manages to produce several pages of verbal meanderings from the Vicar, but skillfully rather than make the novel tedious.

Some great observations of real-life:
P64. “For a while it seemed as though everyone was waiting for someone else to speak first, exactly as it happens at many a pubic lecture, whose listeners, visibly aching to interrupt the lecturer with their own opinions, opinions just as passionately held as his, suddenly seem to be struck dumb when questions are thrown open to members of the audience.”

Very believable dialogue that fleshes out the characters. Like the aged actress Cora Rutherford who is equally flamboyant in character and words (short of me copying the text here, you really ought to read it yourself to know what I mean).

Chapter 14. The Denouement (or “the Reveal”).

Batman/Deathblow: After the fire/ Brian Azzarello; Lee Bermejo; Tim Bradstreet et al.

ISBN: 1401200346

An arsonist who starts fires by thought. Linked somehow to a dead Black Ops soldier, and a botched assassination attempt at a terrorist.

How does Batman come into the picture?

A seemingly covert war brews in Gotham. Bruce Wayne’s friend, who’s ex-CIA, becomes a victim. Batman naturally has to solve the mystery.

One of those stories (good ones, btw) where ‘The Reveal’ comes unexpectedly at the end. And you might not even be thinking about the question of Who or Why (let’s just say, the mysterious origin of the severed hand is explained).

Jim Butcher’s the Dresden files. Storm front. Volume one, The gathering storm/ adaptation by Mark Powers

ISBN: 9780345506399

A graphic novel adaptation of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files.

This is one of the (what I see as an) increasing number of works based on the theme of “old world magic in a modern hi-technology society”.

Dresden is a true-blue magic wielding warlock, working as a private investigator in Chicago.

Apparently, he is in trouble with an elder council of warlocks. He is being watched and there are orders to kill him if he breaks the rules. He is able to exercise his magic but limited by some rules.

In this story, he’s been hired by the police department to help unravel a mysterious occult-related killing.

The sub-plots include Dresden’s investigation of a suspected cheating spouse, and demon being sent to kill Dresden.

There are hints of his immense and probably world-destroying powers, something that he seems to be unaware.