Sorry for spamming

My apologies for anyone who was set to follow this blog (mostly family, I think). I was going through cleaning up stuff and remembered I set most everything to “private” when I started talking about Sci Fi stuff last year. I decided to un-private it, but it looks like it meant have sent out emails about new posts to people.

Sorry about that!! I guess they can at least be a blast from the past! Dunno if I will do much with this in the near future, but I will try to be more careful and making big changes and spamming emails.

Thanks!

Avengers, Time Runs Out, Vol 4 – Best Graphic Story

(Sorry, this is more stream of thought than I planned, but I wanted to get it posted and couldn’t put it off any longer. Time ran out.)

This is the culmination of one of the best comic stories I have ever read. I grew up an X-Men fan and mostly stuck with all of those growing up until I slipped from reading comics for years. A couple years ago, I got back into and mostly gravitated to the various X-titles again, but with some branching out to independent and other material. Early last year, Marvel started hyping their big summer event of Secret Wars (another recommendation of mine, I normally don’t go for the big cross-over events, that one was really different and interesting). It was supposed to grow out of what was happening in Avengers and Secret Avengers – both written by Jonathan Hickman.

I was caught up on the X-titles I was reading, so through Marvel Unlimited I decided to start reading back issues of Hickman’s run on Avengers and Secret Avengers just to see what’s going on. I am incredibly glad I did, because it is easily in my top 5 comic stories I have ever read. Right from the start they are faced with an impossible problem and then spend the series (about 30-40 issues) trying to find a solution to this impossible problem and explore the implications so thoroughly I have considered using some of the stories in my ethics classes.

It all begins when Black Panther comes across another Earth appearing the sky, and when a strange person descends from that planet and then blows it up, everything changes for Black Panther and the rest of the “Illuminati” (the smartest Marvel characters who secretly meet to handle the big problems none of them can handle on their own). It ends up universes are collapsing on each other, and when this happens another Earth appears in the sky over a location with one of two results – either one of the planets is destroyed (and cascades to destroy the rest of that universe), or they collide and are both destroyed (including the universes). Once the planet appears, there is only 8 hours until the collision happens. So this can happen at any time, anywhere, and when it does, there is 8 hours to do something about it, or the entire universe is destroyed.

As we get further into the series, it obviously gets into massive cosmic issues with the Beyonders, creation of the universe, Dr. Doom takes his own approach that shows how incredible he is as a character (and that his super power is probably his incredible ego and ambition) etc. etc., but I’m a huge fan of stories that set up a simple but impossible problem and then just see how the characters handle it. (Run Lola Run is a great example of this in a movie.) The entire Avengers and Secret Avengers run by Hickman, I think, deserves a Hugo, but I also know 70-80 comic issues as a single story would be an unlikely Hugo winner as much I think it deserves it.

The Time Runs Out storyline is when, as you guessed it, time is running out. Nearly all of the universes have collapsed, characters have turned against each other as some are willing to go to lengths that others won’t, most of the Illuminati is on the run, some are missing, mysterious beings from other universes (as well as between universes) keep showing up, and the rate of incursions is increasing with fewer outs left. You have Captain America traveling into the distant future to see the impact of their decisions, you have Thor and Hyperion going on a likely suicide mission to find and confront the cause of all this, Reed Richards desperately looking for some answer – and the tension is incredible, and you really find out so much about who these people are and what motivates them. It’s a pity that the Fantastic Four and Dr. Doom haven’t had a better appearance in movies yet, because this storyline alone turned Reed Richards and Doom into some of my favorite characters.

Hickman took years to set up this endgame, and manages to have it live up to that setup. It’s amazing work and writing that is absolutely a superhero story through and through but shows that a massively superhero story can be so much more than fighting the villain of the month. Somehow, Hickman manages to make this story not just angst and depression. It’s easy to slide into the “heroes fighting each other, that’s so sad,” or “the world is going to end, we’re going to mope” cheap emotions. I think it’s because it’s a story about the end of the world that, rather than being depressing is about survival. It’s about not giving in, and clawing and scraping, and using all of your wit to find a way to keep going somehow, someway. With superheroes, time running out doesn’t lead to giving up, but to becoming more determined. Hickman captured that incredibly with the end to his epic Avengers and Secret Avengers run.

(Note: He also fits in brief recaps at the beginnings of issues, so it is possible to jump in later – even with the end of the story, and know what’s going on. Also, I’m wiling to bet that this is one of those stories, that even after reading the ending, it will just make you want to read the rest rather than being disappointed that the ending is spoiled.)

Invisible 2 – Best Related Work Recommendation

I’m a big fan of Jim C. Hines and his blog even before I found out we live in the same city. After I found that out, it created an odd sort of… I don’t know, maybe kinship? On the one hand, I have only ever met him at signings and only as frequently as other authors who live much further away. It’s a big enough city that I don’t ever expect to just run into him at the grocery store (and even if I did, I’d be polite enough to let him just continue shopping in peace). But at the same time, when he mentions local sites on his blog or in his stories, I know them in way many other readers won’t. I have been in the library that he [redacted for spoiler], and when one of his characters visits an apartment above a used bookstore (and mentions in real life he hung out there when in college, if I recall) – I’ve shopped in the bookstore and drive past it regularly. We see much of the same sites and know many of the same places – furthermore, seeing them in much the same way. I can barely remember what other stores are on that same block, but I know right where the used bookstore is.

This past year he ran the second in a series of guest blog posts on representation in science fiction and fantasy that he compiled into an eBook called “Invisible 2: Personal Essays on Representation in SF/F.” The guest posts are also available on his site still. The first thing that struck me about these essays is that they are about the same things I read and the movies I have watched and the same sites I have seen – but from a different angle. In many of the essays, they talked about stories that I was familiar with, but from seeing them from a different perspective, they often saw or read something very different than I did. For example, Annalee Flower House’s identifying with Princess Leia as an assault survivor is particular powerful and informative.

A fascinating example for me was Alis Franklin writing about the Maxx – a series I loved as well. But Franklin identified deeply with Sarah, and I actually resonated more with the Maxx – someone trying to be a hero but mostly just kinda lost and confused in a messed up world. However, despite identifying with completely different characters, we still felt the same story and were apparently moved in similar ways.

This then brings me to the other fascinating aspect of these essays. As much as they are about seeing the world differently, and seeing people like themselves (and much different from myself) in stories, there are also strong similarities and shared experiences. The essays aren’t lectures by any means, but instead explorations of their own experiences with SF/F stories and characters they did or did not identify with, as well as their own limitations and flaws. More than pushing a message or trying to persuade readers, these essays present complex human beings sharing their personal experiences. Unlike too many characters in SF/F, they aren’t one-dimensional, token representations of simple labels, but interesting people talking about familiar sites. The essays are a perspective that is both new and similar at the same time. I highly recommend them for a Hugo Award.

Illuminae – Best Novel Recommendation

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is a mindblowing experience. Although nominally YA due to the protagonists, as with many other sci fi YA works, I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult. The basic premise is that in the distant future, a corporation launches a devastating massacre against a remote mining colony. Two teens (still dealing with having just broken up) manage to escape but quickly wind up on separate ships trying to flee a warship determined to leave no surviving witnesses.

As with the best of thrillers, from there, the situation starts to get worse, and then the situation gets to that “How the heck did it get this bad?!! They are all going to die!!!” state, and its magnificent (and also more of a horror story than I expected). Beyond a finely crafted story and relatable characters, what really lifts this book up above the rest is the format. Illuminae is told in a “found format” of chat logs between the two teens, computer logs, memos, and the like. This sort of alternative format runs the risk of coming across as trite and silly – but not here. Kaufman and Kristoff’s use of the format is extremely effective. One space ship battle nicely captures the chaos of dogfight spacecraft. Another 2 page spread – you will know it when you get to it – I could have easily just glanced and moved on, but instead and read every bit of it while almost in tears.

Moving away from standard prose is in a way a very artificial presentation, but in another way, it can convey raw emotion so much more powerfully. It reminds of musicals in that regard. Sure, breaking into song is unrealistic, but in the best musicals, the music can carry so much more emotional content than ordinary dialogue. The format of Illuminae is much the same way. I would honestly no guess at the actual word count of this book, but the emotional journey is easily as deep and powerful as any novel I have read.

The only weakness is actually when they slide into a more traditional prose. In several points there is someone describing actions from video footage which at times was a little forced and not my favorite. However, it wasn’t overdone and for some portions it is necessary and thankfully is still enjoyable.

Overall, it was one of the best novels I read last year and certainly award-worthy. It is the first in a trilogy and the set up for the next one puts things in an interesting place and looks to be moving in a new direction rather than repeating the same storyline but with bigger stakes as often happens in a series.