Monday Musings: Graphic Novel Review of Superior by Mark Millar and Leinil Yu

Former basketball star Simon Pooni is now in a wheelchair and blind in one eye - at the age of 12. Mutliple sclerosis has left him in this state, prayting for a cure. Then a talking monkey named Orman appears to him and offers him the chance to become a real life version of movie superhero Superior - for a week. But what will happen when the week ends?

There are some superhero comics which stand out from the crowded field by offering a new spin on superheroes. Chief amongst them, of course, are still Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's incredible critique of the genre, and Frank Miller's Dark Night Returns, putting an aged Batman in a bleak future. There are others that stand out by doing similar things to most of the hundreds of superhero stories out there, but just doing them incredibly well. Superior is one of the second type.

There's not that much original about the tale - even the title hero is clearly inspired by Superman, to the point where it's dedicated to Christopher Reeve and director Richard Donner. Fittingly, though, given the name, the writing and art is far superior to nearly anything else I've read in the last few years. Simon is a great hero, the supporting cast is well-portrayed, and if much of the series is fairly easy to predict, there are some shining moments for several characters - one in particular - which took me by surprise and made me smile a lot. Actually, I smiled a lot while reading most of this book, because it's a story told with such warmth that it's really enjoyable to read, while also being thought-provoking. It raises questions about disability, about temptation, and about choices. As good as the writing is, though, it's definitely matched by Leinil Yu's stunning artwork - particularly impressive on some of the jaw-dropping splash pages and the scenes in which Simon tries out his powers for the first time.

In addition, because it's a stand-alone, it's perfect for someone with little to no knowledge of comics to read, compared to trying to get into the sprawling worlds of Marvel and DC. Huge recommendation as one of my favourite graphic novels.

Sunday Spotlight: Follow Me Down by Tanya Byrne

My new Sunday Spotlight feature (which actually bears a striking similarity to my old Saturday Spotlight feature) will showcase some of my favourite recent books reviewed for the superb Bookbag site.

Adamma Okomma, daughter of a Nigerian diplomat, isn't keen on moving to boarding school, even the exclusive Crofton College in Wiltshire. However, after arriving there, she quickly makes friends with the beautiful but unpredictable Scarlett. What seems like a beautiful friendship, though, is torn apart when both girls fall for the same guy. After Scarlett goes missing, can Adamma put their problems behind her?

I enjoyed this, despite finding much of the plot rather easy to guess, because the two main characters of Adamma and Scarlett are really well-portrayed. Adamma is a bright young girl and a loyal friend, while Scarlett is unpredictable and at times annoying, but has such a forceful personality that it's easy to see why Adamma likes her so much. I also thought the adult characters, particularly the policeman who sets out to solve Scarlett's disappearance and the two girls' fathers, were very well-drawn.

The action takes place in two timelines, flicking back and forth between the past - starting wtih Adamma's arrival at the school - and the present, just after Scarlett goes missing. The constant changes, letting us see the growth and then decline of Adamma and Scarlett's friendship and the effect Scarlett's disapperance has on the school, build the tension well. The relationships between the girls generally – not just Scarlett and Adamma – are also well-portrayed and believable. As mentioned earlier, I found the mystery predictable, but was still glued to the book to see if I was right.

It’s a dark and atmospheric read, in the same vein as Byrne’s superb debut Heart-Shaped Bruise. If I’m honest, I didn’t think it was quite as good as her first book – not a major criticism, as that was one of the best YA contemporary books of last year for me. However it’s an easy recommendation and confirms Tanya Byrne as a definite name to watch out for. I’m already looking forward to her next novel!

Friday Feature: Author Interview with Katie McGarry

I loved Katie McGarry's Pushing The Limits last year, and Dare You To - her upcoming companion novel to that book - was another really good read. I was incredibly pleased when she agreed to an interview with me.


1. When you close your eyes and imagine your readers, what do you see?

I see a lot of different people. I see teenagers, both male and females. I see people in their young twenties and those who are my age. What I also see is a friend of my grandmother’s, who is in her nineties, who wrote me a note to tell me how much she loved Pushing the Limits.


2. You've created four very different narrators in your two books so far - who was your favourite to write for?

That’s like asking which of my children I love more. J

I loved writing Echo’s innocence and sarcasm.

I loved writing Noah’s intense love for his brothers and Echo.

I loved writing Beth’s heart break and tough façade.

I loved writing the poet that is Ryan.


3. I'm really looking forward to reading Crossing The Line, your upcoming novella (released since I asked this question!) featuring Echo's best friend Lila. Can we expect more short stories or novellas from you in the future?

I wouldn’t rule it out! Writing Lila’s story has given me a taste for short fiction and now I’m a little addicted.


4. Isaiah was one of my favorite characters in Pushing The Limits and Dare You To, so I'm really looking forward to reading his story in Crash Into You! You mentioned to me a while ago that you had plans to write more stories in the Pushing The Limits universe - will Isaiah's be the last? If not (I hope not!), could you give us a clue as to who you'd be focusing on next?

I’m glad you love Isaiah as much as I do! For now I’m focused on his book. But I fall a little in love with every secondary character who shows up on the pages of my novels, so it’s entirely likely that one of them will demand their own story at some point down the line.


5. In Dare You To, Ryan and his friends are somewhat obsessed with dares - what's the craziest dare you've ever done?

I’m afraid I’m no fun with this answer. It’s not that I haven’t been dared to do anything, but I’m a little like Beth in that I wouldn’t be sucked into a game I didn’t want to play. Of course, Beth does become sucked into Ryan’s dares, but only because it serves her purpose.


6. Ryan and his brother are both excellent athletes in different sports. Do you have any sporting talents yourself?

I played tennis in high school and advanced to the state tournament my Junior and Senior years. I even played in USTA Kentucky junior tournaments. While I enjoyed it, I have to admit that I haven’t picked up a racket since the end of my Senior year.


7. If you could ask any author any question, what would you ask and who would you ask it to?

I’d ask S.E. Hinton what happened to Pony Boy (The Outsiders) as he got older.


8. What are you reading at the moment?

I’m rereading Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons


9. Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what's the soundtrack for Dare You To?

I listen to a playlist while I do everything else other than write. I typically write in silence. I’ll be adding DARE YOU TO’s playlist to my website as it gets closer to the release date. P!nk’s F**kin’ Perfect and Rod Stewart’s Broken Arrow are two of my favorite songs from the playlist.


10. What's next for Katie McGarry?

I’m currently working on revisions for Isaiah’s story, CRASH INTO YOU. I can’t wait to share his story with the world!

Thanks so much for talking to me, Katie!

You can find more from Katie at her website and on Twitter.

Monday Musings: Comic Book Review of Green Lantern v1: Sinestro (The New 52)

I've never been a Green Lantern fan - I've tried the series a couple of times in the past but seem to have picked bad times to give it a go. However, I've heard some good things about DC Comics recently so wanted to try a few of the New 52 books, which relaunched all of the publisher's ongoing monthlies, and this caught my eye.

First things first - this is something of a 'soft' relaunch, in comparison with a few others which served as origin stories. This plunges us right into the action, with the Guardians, creators of the Green Lanterns, giving back a power ring to Sinestro. For those even more unfamiliar with the series than I am, the Guardians are immortals from another planet, while the Green Lanterns are chosen from across the universe by these immortals and given rings which turn them into superheroes. The two main characters in this book are Sinestro - Green Lantern turned supervillain turned Green Lantern again - and Hal Jordan, former Green Lantern turned normal guy. At least until Sinestro, his bitter rival, turns up and makes him an offer...

Geoff Johns is generally acknowledged as one of the best at writing Green Lantern, and this definitely doesn't disappoint! We get some fabulous action, wonderful humorous exchanges between Sinestro and Jordan, and intriguing hints being laid down for future issues. There's a good mix of the aforementioned action with slower stuff - the comedy early on as Jordan tries to adjust to life after being a Lantern is really well-written, as is the romance element. I think it's a good starting point for new readers - everything you need to know is easy enough to pick up from the first 12 pages or so.

In addition, I loved the art - by Doug Mahnke on the first five issues and guest artist Mike Choi in the sixth. Both have brilliant, although very different, styles. Mahnke's work is some of comics' finest, especially when it comes to some stunning action scenes and beautiful full page spreads. Choi's is more realistic but equally great to look at. All in all, it's an extremely visually appealing comic.

Highly recommended as a great book for readers new to DC in general, or Green Lantern in particular.

Sunday Spotlight: Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

My new Sunday Spotlight feature (which actually bears a striking similarity to my old Saturday Spotlight feature) will showcase some of my favourite recent books reviewed for the superb Bookbag site.

After finding out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her with a girl he met online, Mallory decides that the best way to make her life less complicated is to get rid of the boy, and of the new technology that's the cause of her woes. Finding a list her grandmother wrote as a teen in the Sixties, she decides to go vintage, and live as her grandmother did. Will she find the answer to her modern-day problems in the past?

This is a fun, fairly light, read which I didn't think was quite as good as Leavitt's previous teen novel, the wonderful Sean Griswold's Head, but was still a cut above most contemporary YA books. Mallory is a great narrator, and her younger sister Ginnie and their grandmother are fabulous supporting characters, while the relationships between the three of them, and Ginnie and Mallory's parents, are the strongest part of the book. The dynamics, as Ginnie becomes frustrated with Mallory's attempt to 'go vintage', and both girls have to cope with their grandmother moving into a retirement community and their parents arguing, are definitely believable and worked well. (Although I have to say, I found their mother to be incredibly annoying!) I thought the romance was perhaps slightly less successful, although that may be because I was expecting too much as Sean and Payton in Sean Griswold's Head were one of my favourite recent couples. For me, the love interest in this book wasn't quite as engaging as Sean was, although I still liked him.

Leavitt's writing style is still fresh, easy to read, and she keeps the plot moving at a rapid pace here. I'd happily recommend this to anyone looking for a teen contemporary with a strong narrator, and am looking forward to reading her future books!

(Oh, and one more thing - aren't both covers gorgeous? First is the UK one, second is US - both fabulous!)

Saturday Special: Interview with Will Hill

As readers may know, one of my very favourite current series is Department 19, by Will Hill. I was absolutely thrilled when I managed to get an interview lined up with him - huge thank you to The Bookbag for arranging it!

1. When you close your eyes and imagine your readers, who do you see?

Will Hill: People who like a good story, who don't mind being scared, and who have strong stomachs!

To be honest, I don't see a particular person when I wonder about who reads D19 – I see lots of them. Some of the marketing has positioned them as books for boys, which is understandable given the action and the military stuff, but I've never thought of them that way, and the emails and tweets and Facebook messages I've received suggest that they are read by both boys and girls, and by men and women, of various ages. Which is awesome, obviously.

2. Department 19 is inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula, while Frankenstein is perhaps the most intriguing character. (For now - I'll have changed my mind by question 7!) Are there any other classic novels that you'd like to see inspire modern teen novels?

WH: It's an interesting thought – I've had D19 fans ask whether I'm going to bring in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Invisible Man, and many others! Beyond the horror genre, Rick Riordan is doing a fine job of integrating the classic myths and legends into his various series, and there have been lots of re-imaginings of Austen, Dickens, Brontë, etc. I think looking to the classics can be a great way to inspire new stories, as long as the author's ambition is to build on them and create something new, rather than just go over the same ground and try to associate themselves with something iconic.

3. I loved the animated comic strip, with stunning illustrations from Tom Percival, posted on your website a few weeks ago, and am looking forward to seeing the others. Is there any chance the main series will get a graphic novel adaptation?

WH: You never know! I'm a huge comic book fan, so that would be something I would be delighted to see happen, but any type of adaptation is incredibly hard to get off the ground. I had a lot of fun writing the animated comics that we produced for the release of Battle Lines, and what Tom has done with them is absolutely incredible – they've been getting a great response, so I would think they'll be something we would seriously consider doing again in the future.

4. Speaking of adaptations, would you like to see Department 19 filmed? Any thoughts on who could play any of the parts, if that was to happen?

WH: I get this question a lot, and to be honest, I'm always in two minds about a film adaptation. On one hand it would be amazing to see the physical side of D19 realised – the technology, the locations, the uniforms, and the world of the vampires – and watch actors playing characters I made up. On the other, it would be very weird, as I can be a tiny bit of a control freak :) One of the best things about writing novels is the lack of compromise that is required, in terms of scale and scope. The budget is essentially unlimited – I can do anything I want as what I'm describing only takes shape in the imagination of the reader. A film version of D19 would need to be very, very expensive to do it justice – there would be digital effects in almost every frame. We've had a lot of meetings with interested parties, and I suspect that at some point someone will try to make it happen, but I won't be holding my breath…

As far as casting is concerned, there are a few people I've always seen in my head when I'm writing certain characters: Paddy Considine as Julian Carpenter, Gary Oldman as Henry Seward, Rachel Weisz as Marie Carpenter. The one that usually surprises people is Colin Firth as Frankenstein.

Some great picks there - I think Firth as Frankenstein would be amazing!

5. I was thrilled to see the amazing Department 19: Battle Lines display in the window of Foyles when I visited London last week! Did you ever imagine the series would be as successful as it's turned out to be?

WH: It's all very weird. I don't really know how successful it is, as I tend to stay away from the sales numbers – my view tends to be that as long as my publishers are happy, then I'm happy. But when I was writing it, I never had any idea whether it would ever even see the light of day, let alone whether anyone would ever read it. So if it's selling well, that's awesome. But what's far more awesome, and endlessly humbling, is realising that there are people out there actually spending their money and time on something I wrote. Interacting with fans of the series is the best part of the whole thing – reading their thoughts, answering their questions, enjoying their theories – and it's been lovely to hear how many of them were eagerly awaiting the publication of Battle Lines.

6. In addition to the three superb novels so far released in the Department 19 series, you recently released the Department 19 Files, 3 e-books set in the Department 19 universe between 1917 and 1919. I've read, and really enjoyed the first one, and am about to read the others - and am looking forward to more in the future, hopefully! Do you think the internet and the growth of e-readers has led to more opportunities for authors to write short stories like this?

WH: Definitely – before the rise of ebooks, the only places I could have put the D19 Files would have either been in the backs of the novels, or in their own collection once I had written enough of them to warrant the printing costs. I love printed books, so I’d still love to do that one day, but for now, releasing them digitally allows me to put them out there quickly, and lets readers pick the ones they think they might be interested in.

7. And speaking of short stories, you also wrote one for World Book Day, featuring Larissa, perhaps one of the most intriguing characters in the series. (Apologies to Frankenstein; I did say I'd have changed my mind by now though!) How did you get involved in writing something for World Book Day?

WH: I don't know exactly how it came about – World Book Day are in contact with publishers all through the year, so the first I knew of it was when my editor asked me if I had a story that would work for the YA app that they were going to be doing for the second time this year. I was delighted, even though it was going to need writing in the same period as we were finishing the edit of the third D19 – I actually wrote it in a six-hour blitz the day after Battle Lines was sent off to be typeset.

Larissa is one of my favourite characters, and I'm delighted she seems to be so popular with the D19 audience. When I was thinking about what to do for WBD, a story about her on her own, without Jamie or Kate or Matt, quickly presented itself, and by the time I came to write it I was desperate to get on with it.

8. I love the way your books cut between so many different situations and plot threads, but it seems like it must be incredibly hard for you to keep track of them all as an author! How much planning do you do before you start to write your first draft?

WH: When I started writing Department 19 I knew how it started and how it ended, but basically nothing else. I just trusted that the story would unfold itself as I was writing it, and luckily (after a few detours and wrong turns!) it did so – the historical sections appeared pretty much fully formed, and the narrative gradually fell into place. But about halfway through, I realised that I was going to have to work out the history, all the family trees, and the organisation of the Department, so I stopped in the middle for about a month and did the bulk of the research and planning.

For The Rising, I planned a bit more, particularly with reference to the story elements I left open at the end of the first book, and for Battle Lines I did even more – the series has well over a hundred named characters now, along with all the history, all the geographical range, and all the different threads that will eventually all need bringing back together. But even now, as I'm starting book four, I'm still reluctant to plan everything too tightly – I have a long list of everything that is active from the earlier books, where all the characters are and what they are doing, and I know what the main narrative threads are going to be. But I'll be very disappointed if I don't come up with some new (and hopefully better) ideas as I write it – I like to make sure I have room to change things.

9. If fans of Department 19 have read the entire series so far and all of the short stories, what should they seek out to tide them over until book four is out?

WH: Off the top of my head, the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, the Mortal Engines quartet by Philip Reeve, the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (when it comes out!), The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer (as well as the entire Artemis Fowl series, obviously!), In Darkness and Hostage 3 by Nick Lake, Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, the Gone series by Michael Grant, and everything by Roald Dahl – I don't care if you've read them all before, read them again :)

10. What's next for Will Hill?

WH: Right now, D19 book four – that'll occupy me through the spring and summer, then I'll normally get a couple of months to work on other projects while we're editing and polishing. I signed a new contract with HarperCollins last year which is for the last two D19s and something else afterwards, so I'm working on a few ideas for what I might do after the D19 series is wrapped up. One thing is for sure – it will be a standalone, rather than the first in a new series :)

Can't wait for those books, Will! Thanks so much for the interview. 

Thursday Thoughts: Book Review of I'm Dougal Trump - Where's My Tarantula by Dougal Trump

Note: I was given a copy of this book by the publishers in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Warning: Some minor spoilers for I'm Dougal Trump And It's Not My Fault in this review.

Sybil has gone missing! Not Dougal Trump's sister Sibble - he'd be quite glad to lose her - but his beautiful Goliath birdeater spider! The fact that her tank's disappeared as well suggest this isn't just a spider making a break for freedom - and this is quickly confirmed when Dougal gets a ransom demand, telling him to follow instructions or receive Sybil back one leg at a time!

I really enjoyed the first in this series despite it being aimed at a younger age range than most books I review - it stood out thanks to a clever plot and Dougal's really strong voice, along with a great cast of supporting characters. This books continues in the same vein, with a really entertaining story and a great mixture of the narrative with Dougal's blog posts and his friends' comments on them - I particularly loved his recipes, especially when others tried to follow them with predictably disastrous results! I think the blog parts work especially well because they make what's in some ways a timeless story - Dougal is the kind of boy you could imagine fitting in with William Brown's Outlaws perfectly - feel fresh and up to date.

Stealing the show from the human characters in some ways though, are a bunch of animals - starting with Sybil and if anything getting more exotic - who are introduced as the book goes along. All of them are great to read about and Dougal gives readers some interesting facts on each one. In addition to the excellent writing, we also get some really good doodles as illustrations, which definitely added to my enjoyment of the book. (Actually, thinking about it, they don't quite steal the show from ALL of the human characters - there's one scene involving Dougal's blind neighbour which is simply brilliant.)

Highly recommended, and I'll definitely be hoping for a book 3!