Summer Reading

It's amazing. As time goes on I find myself reading actual books only in random spurts. There's plenty of non-fiction, magazines and comics, but actual fiction only seems to come in waves.

I just read a galley of Tom DeHaven's It's Superman which comes out this fall. DeHaven wrote a trilogy of books set in various ages in the comic book/strip industries that were extremely entertaining. This novel is set in what we Comic Book Geeks refer to as the "Golden Age" which is pretty much the thirties and forties. Using the mid-to-late thirties as the setting, De Haven has breathed new life into a familliar tale. It's very reminiscent of the Fleischer cartoons and has many of the usual suspects: Superman, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, the Daily Planet, Smallville and of course, Lex Luthor. I really don't want to give away any particulars, but in all honesty, it's extremely charming and fun.



Today I just stared Nick Hornby's latest, A Long Way Down. So far, I'm not feeling it. As much as I loved About a Boy and High Fidelity, I was indifferent to How To Be Good. I'm not that far into this one yet, but I don't have very high hopes. The same thing happened to me with Tom Perrotta. I've dug all of his stuff, but Little Children was such a downer that I'm hesitant to continue to follow his stuff (which is ridiculous because I know I will). I'm hoping Hornby doesn't disappoint. If all goes well I'll get through the highly recommended by Paul Lyons Ender's Game before the new Harry Potter comes out.

On a somber note, I no longer have a comic book store. After much of my life, I no longer have a regular comic book store. Growing up I had Iron Horse, Superhero Universe II, Starship Excalibur. In Philadelphia I worked at Fat Jack's, and frequented Green Onions, Showcase and a few fly-by-night operations. Since I've been in RI again, I gave my business to the late-great Atomic Comics and the just closed Two Million Year Picnic.

In one sense, it's liberating. No longer bound by the albratross of Wednesdays. But, on the other hand, I do miss the occassion to touching base with people that I might not have interacted with otherwise.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still getting comics (I'm far too gone to stop now), I just don't have a store that I'll be visiting on any kind of regular basis.



This Friday I'm also planning on seeing The Fantastic Four which despite being one of my favorite comics, is rarely done well. I have a feeling the writer and director read most of the shitty issues. I'm hoping it works. Chris Evans seems to have captured the character of Johnny Storm. Chikliss may pull a decent Ben Grimm out of his tuchus, but I'm not expecting much out of anyone else.



Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's interpretation


Now a Major Motion Picture

Here's hoping.