Sunday, November 19, 2006

Very Brief Reviews of White Tiger #1 and Birds of Prey #100

I am Very Far Behind in my Pop Culture World, Gentle Reader, but Thanksgiving holiday is rapidly approaching, and I hope to catch up on my comics and on my television.

Until then, I offer you brief hits through Birds of Prey #100, and the new White Tiger #1. More soon, including A Paternity Post for Batman and Superman, and, of course, thoughts on the most recent Catwoman.

Birds of Prey #100

Dear Reader, you should be well aware of how much This Humble Author adores Gail Simone's work, particularly Ms. Simone's work on BOP. But this issue, in particular, is nothing but sheer genius.

How to explain the joy I felt at watching Big Barda's charade? At Huntress and Zinda kicking Much Butt and taking Many Names? I miss my Canary, but I feel as if Manhunter, Barda, and a brief cameo by The Amazon Princess Herself well made up for Dinah's loss. If Barda or Manhunter would join the team, I feel as if the team would be very worthwhile indeed.

Barda. How marvelous Barda would be as an addition to the Birds! Thank you, thank you, Ms. Simone, for a wonderful 100th issue, and Congratulations.

White Tiger #1

I adored Ms. Del Toro when she debuted in Daredevil, and found her to be a fascinating legacy of a superhero I didn't know that well at all. Tamora Pierce's and Tim Liebe's first issue goes above and beyond the call of duty, and gives us all Quite the Wonderful Read.

There's humor, there's sass, there's content and purpose. There are cameos that never feel heavy-handed, and the interaction between Angela and Natasha (one of This Humble Author's favorite Marvel heroines!) is perfectly played. What's more, I like Angela, and her purpose, and, yes, I'll say it, even the new costume (particularly the reaction to the new costume!).

This one's added to my pull list, starting now. This Author bids you many thanks, Ms. Pierce and Mr. Liebe, for a fantastic first issue.

[edited to correct the co-authorship of White Tiger]

9 Comments:

At 11:56 PM, Blogger Amy Reads said...

Hi Loren,
Indeed! I adored White Tiger, and it has made me interested in Ms. Pierce's other work, with which I am unfamiliar. Have you read anything else by Ms. Pierce?

And, huzzah! Barda! I *adore* Barda! :)
Ciao,
Amy

 
At 12:15 AM, Blogger Timothy Liebe said...

Amy, Tammy's co-writer (and spouse-creature) Tim here. Tammy's latest book is TERRIER, a mystery set in her Tortall fantasy universe 200 years before her main serieses (THE SONG OF THE LIONESS, THE IMMORTALS, PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL and TRICKSTER), involving an ancestor of one of them who's a "dog" (Guardswoman). Science Fiction Book Club has most of her serieses in omnibus form if you want a quick way to get 'em all, or both Barnes & Noble or Borders sells the individual books - your local library will also probably have copies of several of them. :)

Loren, thank you for the kind review - and sorry if I've gotten (Tammy's term) "all K-Fed" on you here. (Shouldn't that be all "Fed-Ex" these days...? :D )

Best,
Tim Liebe
Tammy's Web Site

 
At 1:34 PM, Blogger Amy Reads said...

Hi Timothy,
Amy, Tammy's co-writer (and spouse-creature) Tim here.

PS I adore the "spouse-creature"ness of your posts :)

Tammy's latest book is TERRIER, a mystery set in her Tortall fantasy universe 200 years before her main serieses (THE SONG OF THE LIONESS, THE IMMORTALS, PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL and TRICKSTER), involving an ancestor of one of them who's a "dog" (Guardswoman). Science Fiction Book Club has most of her serieses in omnibus form if you want a quick way to get 'em all, or both Barnes & Noble or Borders sells the individual books - your local library will also probably have copies of several of them. :)

I hate to ask the spouse-creature to play favorites (!), but do you have a favorite, or should I start at the beginning of a series, or with Terrier, first chronologically but not series-wise? I've a long round-trip plane ride coming up in January (States to UK and back), and I'm squirreling books away for just such a purpose. Mr. Reads and I have the new Meltzer and King to share, I've a few fashion books for the diss, and then... who knows?
Thanks for the recs!

Loren, thank you for the kind review - and sorry if I've gotten (Tammy's term) "all K-Fed" on you here. (Shouldn't that be all "Fed-Ex" these days...? :D )

Timothy, you're allowed to be as spouse-creature as you want on my blog, and as Timothy as you want on my blog, but never, ever K-Fed or Fed-Ex (which is just Damn Smart Terminology!!!).

I've standards, you know...
:)

And I was hanging laundry earlier and thinking (don't ask how the two relate; I've no idea that doesn't involve women, domesticity, feminism, and safe spaces, but hey, I'm an academic) that I gave Ms. Pierce sole credit for White Tiger, and not the Pierce/Liebe co-authorship. I tip my hat at you, sir, as well, for an excellent first issue.
Ciao,
Amy

 
At 3:16 PM, Blogger Fanboy said...

I agree on both. I was surprised as to how much I enjoyed the White Tiger issue. It did a great job of introducing the character. I agree with Loren, I think that BoP #100 was one of the best of the run.

 
At 9:21 AM, Blogger Amy Reads said...

Hi Mr. Fanboy,
I agree on both. I was surprised as to how much I enjoyed the White Tiger issue. It did a great job of introducing the character. I agree with Loren, I think that BoP #100 was one of the best of the run.

I adored the BOP run, I really did. Gail Simone's outdone herself.
I just need to get cracking on Atom, which I've only read a teaser of.
Ciao,
Amy

 
At 3:33 PM, Blogger Timothy Liebe said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At 3:34 PM, Blogger Timothy Liebe said...

said...

Amy, sorry it's taken me so long to reply! I'm currently working on the first draft of WT#6 while Tammy is on her Fall Tour That Never Bloody Ends (she's back in Toronto now, I think).... :(

As for "favorites", I should warn you that mine are not most of her fan base's. Most of them would say start with ALANNA: THE FIRST ADVENTURE, her first book and the first in her SONG OF THE LIONESS quartet - or else FIRST TEST, the first in her PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL quartet. While you can pick up any series in the middle and not be totally lost b/c Tammy's a bear for series books that stand on their own (one of many good writing habits her first editor, the late Jean Karl, instilled in her), reading through a specific series from the first book is always better. :)

Personally, I'm a fan set in her CIRCLE Universe - SANDRY'S BOOK, TRIS'S BOOK, DAJA'S BOOK and BRIAR'S BOOK in her first quartet, THE CIRCLE OF MAGIC; MAGIC STEPS, STREET MAGIC, COLDFIRE and SHATTERGLASS in the second quartet, THE CIRCLE OPENS; or her recent CIRCLE standalone, THE WILL OF THE EMPRESS: The Circle Reforged. I like them b/c she worked out a magical system that works along the lines of scientific principles, and gets strong material from a society that's more technologically advanced than its time period would suggest due to magic (epidemiology in BRIAR'S BOOK, ecology in DAJA'S BOOK, firefighting in COLDFIRE, etc.). But I'm a long-time SF geek, so I'm kind of in the minority on that.... :D

Best,
Tim Liebe
here's my blog, Dreaded Spouse-Creature of Tamora Pierce - and someday soon, I'll even update it!

 
At 8:43 AM, Blogger Amy Reads said...

Hi Xocolotl,
You actually could start with Terrier; it more or less stands alone from the previous books. But there are a lot of little things that you'll only appreciate (and may even get gibbly about) if you've read Pierce's first series. Be warned, though, that her writing is absolutely addictive. It's like she reaches into your brain, finds what you most want in a book, and then makes those things happen. Beautiful.

Thanks so much for such a glowing recommendation! I like to get all of the inside jokes, it's true, so I started with Alanna: The First Adventure, just to test the waters. Not very far in at the moment, but I'm enjoying what I have read!
Thanks again!
Ciao,
Amy

 
At 8:48 AM, Blogger Amy Reads said...

Hi Timothy,
Amy, sorry it's taken me so long to reply! I'm currently working on the first draft of WT#6 while Tammy is on her Fall Tour That Never Bloody Ends (she's back in Toronto now, I think).... :(

No worries! Best to you for the writing, and to Ms. Pierce for a safe and speedy return.

As for "favorites", I should warn you that mine are not most of her fan base's. Most of them would say start with ALANNA: THE FIRST ADVENTURE, her first book and the first in her SONG OF THE LIONESS quartet - or else FIRST TEST, the first in her PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL quartet.

I did go ahead and pick up Alanna: The First Adventure, just to get my feet wet. But here's the skinny: this cover always has caught my eye in the store, long before I read White Tiger #1, so I think I started with Alanna so I would understand these when I got to them!

While you can pick up any series in the middle and not be totally lost b/c Tammy's a bear for series books that stand on their own (one of many good writing habits her first editor, the late Jean Karl, instilled in her), reading through a specific series from the first book is always better. :)

I won't even watch tv shows unless I see them from the pilot on, so you can imagine how I am about books :)

Personally, I'm a fan set in her CIRCLE Universe - SANDRY'S BOOK, TRIS'S BOOK, DAJA'S BOOK and BRIAR'S BOOK in her first quartet, THE CIRCLE OF MAGIC; MAGIC STEPS, STREET MAGIC, COLDFIRE and SHATTERGLASS in the second quartet, THE CIRCLE OPENS; or her recent CIRCLE standalone, THE WILL OF THE EMPRESS: The Circle Reforged. I like them b/c she worked out a magical system that works along the lines of scientific principles, and gets strong material from a society that's more technologically advanced than its time period would suggest due to magic (epidemiology in BRIAR'S BOOK, ecology in DAJA'S BOOK, firefighting in COLDFIRE, etc.). But I'm a long-time SF geek, so I'm kind of in the minority on that.... :D

Excellent, and duly noted! Thanks so much for taking the time to recommend books to me! I'm adding them to the TO READ list, and as our local library and bookstore are both well-stocked in Ms. Pierce's work, I feel confident that when I get addicted, I will have plenty to feed me :)

Ciao,
Amy, who needs to find coffee now...

 

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