A Book under the Sun

written by Mark Millar penciled by Bryan Hitch Doctor Doom had been the antagonist of the Fantastic Four for as far back as I had read Marvel Comics. You wouldn’t get one without getting the other, and you wouldn’t get a good Fantastic Four story without exploring how the villain plotted against the family or how he was involved even though the situation didn’t involve Doom directly. As cruel as he gets, even Doom has a master. So who would be powerful enough to make even the evil doctor bow to and call him master?  One-liner intro: A brilliantly engaging read with twists and turns to get you hooked to the question: Who is the Master of Doom?  Best part: Showing that even Doctor Doom has a teacher; death of Uatu (not really…); really surprising twists in the beginning.  Not-so-best part: A rather dull final part wanes off to a rather usual ending; a more brilliant stroke by one of the most brilliant mind in Marvel-verse would be nice.

written by Brian Michael Bendis  colored by Butch Guice  Whenever I read Marvel Comics, I felt that the characters and stories are a little too constrained by the endless revival of heroes and villains, as well as the fact that no matter how bad the villain becomes, he always get away through jail time. Add on to that is the fact that most characters no longer has any surprises left in them, all of them explorer throughout decades of comic publishing and repeated revamps.  Ultimate Comics related characters are another story entirely. Even though the familiar characters are present in this universe, they no longer share the same background. To add on to the suspense, certain familiar characters have been cast in different light, taking on the role of another character when you thought they couldn’t be related in any way.  And to add more suspense onto even that, your familiarity with the Marvel universe will surprise you even more, when it was re...

Starfighters of Adumar was the ninth and last of the novel in the popular X-Wing series before the long lull in the series. With the launch of Mercy Kill , I went back to reread the novel and to get myself back into the seat of Rogue Squadron before I go ahead to read the latest installation of the series.  One-liner intro:  An engaging read of how pilots practice diplomacy - through aggressive negotiations! Best part:  A fresh departure from usual space fights; intriguing read on Wedge's love life; hilarious dialogues to entertain readers in between fights. Not-so-best part:  Unimpressive enemies; unimpressive tactics and strategies.