Brad Hawley | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

Planetary: All Over the World and Other Stories, Volume 1

Planetary: All Over the World and Other Stories, Volume 1 by Warren Ellis & John Cassaday

Planetary: All Over the World and Other Stories, Volume 1 by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday is for the reader who has a nostalgia for the space explorer- and Doc Savage-style pulp fiction along with a love of futuristic and science fiction settings. Three main characters make up the mysterious group called Planetary. Elijah Snow is about 100 years old, looks like a fit 40-50 year-old, can lower the temperature of a room by walking into it (hence his name),

Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer & Rags Morales

Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer & Rags Morales

Over the years, the DC universe has undergone a series of crises — Crisis on Infinite Earths, Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, and Final Crisis. Out of these four, arguably the best written and most significant, and certainly my personal favorite, is Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales. It’s about the death of Sue Dibny,

August 31st, 2012. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter adapted and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke

The Hunter (Book One), starring Richard Stark’s Parker, by Darwyn Cooke is one of the best graphic adaptations of a novel you could ever get your hands on. The main character is as tough as they come. Women shudder and men cower when Parker passes — even if he’s in a good mood, which is rarely. But wait until he’s in a bad mood. Like in this book. Like when he wants what’s his. And somebody else has got it.

August 17th, 2012. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |

Captain America Vol. 5: “The Winter Soldier”

Captain America, Vol 5.: “The Winter Soldier” (Issue 1-14) by Ed Brubaker

There has been a long-standing rule for writers of Captain America: his sidekick Bucky must stay dead because his death is central to understanding the character of Captain America in the present. The basic story is that Captain America takes a teenaged Bucky under his wing in his fight against Nazis in World War II. In an explosion that nearly kills Captain America, Bucky Barnes dies. When Captain America is found years later preserved in the ice and is brought back to life,

Reading Comics, Part 9

Brad Hawley continues his series on How to Read Comics. If you missed the previous columns, be sure to start with Part 1: Why Read Comics?
(Or find the entire series here.) Reading Comics, Part 9: The Avengers

by Dr. Brad K. Hawley

The latest superhero movie, The Avengers, is perhaps the best big-budget comic-book based film Hollywood has produced so far (however, there are certainly quieter, lower-budget films that offer solid competition for best adaptation of comic to screen: Ghost World by Daniel Clowes,

July 13th, 2012. Brad Hawley | Comics, Reading Comics | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |

Reading Comics, Part 8

Brad Hawley continues his series on How to Read Comics. If you missed the previous columns, be sure to start with Part 1: Why Read Comics?
(Or find the entire series here.) Reading Comics, Part 8: Where to buy comics

by Dr. Brad K. Hawley

Now that we’ve discussed the reason why there can be multiple #1 issues for the same comic book title (different volumes, or series) and have seen how valuable Wikipedia is in finding current publication and reissue information on comic books, we need to consider reviews of trade collections and purchasing options.

July 6th, 2012. Brad Hawley | Comics, Reading Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Reading Comics, Part 7

Brad Hawley continues his series on How to Read Comics. If you missed the previous columns, be sure to start with Part 1: Why Read Comics?
(Or find the entire series here.) Reading Comics, Part 7: Trades, arcs, volumes

by Dr. Brad K. Hawley

In this week’s column, I need to clarify some terms and explain purchasing options so that you can understand the multiple ways comics are issued and reissued.

The first terms to be understood are trade, arc, and the two definitions of volume.

June 29th, 2012. Brad Hawley | Comics, Reading Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Reading Comics, Part 6

Brad Hawley continues his series on How to Read Comics. If you missed the previous columns, be sure to start with Part 1: Why Read Comics?
(Or find the entire series here.) Reading Comics, Part 6: Great Introductions

by Dr. Brad K. Hawley

I would hate to continue writing my essays without recommending a few actual comic books! I would like to recommend two books that are fairly recent; they look back at the beginning of certain superheroes but with a contemporary sensibility, particularly Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross,

June 22nd, 2012. Brad Hawley | Comics, Reading Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Reading Comics, Part 5

Brad Hawley continues his series on How to Read Comics. If you missed the previous columns, be sure to start with Part 1: Why Read Comics? (Or find the entire series here.) Reading Comics, Part 5: Good Reference Material

by Dr. Brad K. Hawley

In my first four-part essay (see links above), I offered reasons for reading comics and suggested how one go about appreciating the art of comics by paying attention to what often goes unnoticed at first, much as one might not notice how important film angles or film editing is to the art of cinematography.

Reading Comics, Part 4

Brad Hawley continues his series on How to Read Comics. If you missed the previous columns, be sure to start with Part 1: Why Read Comics? Reading Comics, Part 4: Mind the Gutter

by Dr. Brad K. Hawley

We could proceed to talk about the way comics use words to tell stories, but in many ways, they share much in common with all fictional narrative. A book on interpreting literature, then, is helpful for reading comics, and it should come as no surprise that I’ve found English majors well-prepared to analyze the way comic books communicate meaning.

Author: Brad Hawley

Planetary: All Over the World and Other Stories, Volume 1

Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer & Rags Morales

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter

Captain America Vol. 5: “The Winter Soldier”

Reading Comics, Part 9

Reading Comics, Part 8

Reading Comics, Part 7

Reading Comics, Part 6

Reading Comics, Part 5

Reading Comics, Part 4

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