Azriel’s Infinite Bookshelf, Hit-Girl: Hollywood

Hit-Girl written by Kevin Smith, count me in, and along for the ride is Danish illustrator Pernille Ørum, which gives this newest volume of the deadly Mindy a vibrant look that is perfect for this story.

The history is a huge wink to Kevin’s work on film, an if you are not familiar with his body of work ,you might feel left out some inside jokes, but mostly to his 2001 movie Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back, even down to the doppelganger of Hit-Girl, which is a clear homage to the character Cocknoker , hilarious played by the legendary Mark Hammill.

Now the clear enemy are the sleazy studio executives who abuse their power, a direct reference of what the MeToo movement uncover as a wide spread practice in Hollywood, and the logical M.O. of Hit-Girl’s doppelganger for taking revenge.

I am a huge fan of Kevin Smith’s work in comic books and film, and this is a volume I enjoyed as much as some of his films.

Now ,off I go, to look for my next adventure.

Numbers: 12 days

Yesterday was an amazing day of reading.

I finish the last issue of Batman: Curse of the White Knight, written and illustrated by Sean Murphy, these, with an epic showdown between Batman and Azrael.

Also, I read the first volume of Tom King’s Batman: City of Bane, and I am really eager to see the next chapter

My total was 207 of the 267 pages that was my goal.

There are still 3,264 pages in front of me, and my goal for today is 272 pages.

I’ll keep on pounding on Rise of the King, it’s always a treat reading stories of Drizzt Do’Urden, and I’ll read the latest installment of Hit Girl’s solo series, this time in Hollywood.

For now, I am off to read.

azr.

Azriel’s Infinite Bookshelf, Batman: Ciudad de Bane Parte 1

Tom King’s run Batman has been exceptional, and this volume is no different.

While Batman and Catwoman prepare on a sandy paradise to take on Bane, my personal favorite villain of Batman,he wreaks havoc on Gotham by subjugating the deadliest villains to his service.

Also, he has two unlikely allies, Hugo Strange as the police commissioner, and Thomas Wayne, The Batman from Flashpoint.

The only line of defense left is Robin, now wearing the cape of the Boy-Wonder is Damian Wayne, who is desperate for this father’s return.

The artwork by Tony S. Daniel never fails to amaze, and with the addition of Clay Mann and Mikel Janin in drawing duties, Bats and the Cat just pop out of the page.

I can wait to read the next part of this amazing storyline that has been building for quite a while.

Now ,off I go, to look for my next adventure.

azr.

Numbers: 13 days

Lucky day 13 in my countdown to the end of this year of reading.

Yesterday I read a total of 75 of the 253 pages that I had as a goal.

That leaves me with 3,471 to reach the final goal of the year.

For today, I plan to read some new single issues and a Batman graphic novel from my TBR pile.

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Hopefully,I’ll hit my goal for today, 267 pages.

For now, I am off to read.

azr.

Azriel’s Infinite Bookshelf, Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Batman, consequently he is not my favorite DC comics character, that spot is held by Swamp Thing, but on a monthly basis Batman is responsible for a big chunk of my total pages.

On this occasion this volume is a compilation of Batman stories with some sort of supernatural twist.

All the stories are written by Peter Milligan, an along for the ride there are some legendary illustrators like Jim Aparo, Kieron Dwyer, and Tom Mandrake, just to name a few.

The title name of this collection, Dark Knight , Dark City, it’s a three part storyline of Batman chasing after the Riddler as he tries to summon a dark and powerful figure.

I can remember these three single issues, Batman #452 to #454, very vividly from my days working on a comic book shop, yes I had my dream job in my 20’s, I was drawn by Mike Mignola’s dark and beautiful play with color and Shadows.

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The other astounding story is Golem, a two part storyline where Batman tracks down a mysterious figure who is taking care of a particular group of evil doers.

In all, with the exception of some minor problems with the edition and translation, this volume is a must for all Batman fans.

Now ,off I go, to look for my next adventure.

azr.

Numbers: 14 days

I am now on the home stretch of my year of reading.

The goal remains to make it the best year, and as of yesterday I needed 3,626 of registered pages, and that number will be the one I’ll be deducting from.

Yesterday I had a lazy day, which is typical of a Sunday, my total was 80 pages.

That gives me 3,546 pages to go, and the goal for today will be 253 pages.

Hopefully I’ll made some headway with the book of Drizzt, and finish with Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City.

For now, I am off to read.

azr.

Numbers: 15 days

I have exactly two weeks to go on my year of reading.

My main focus will be to surpass my best year of reading, the very first one with a total of 47,706 pages.

I have 3,626 pages in front of me, that means that I should read at least 241 pages today.

To aid me in this fine Sunday I will pull out the big guns, Batman and Drizzt Do’Urden.

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Wish me luck.

azr.

Numbers: September 26,2020

The end of my year is fast approaching, October 12 is the last day of this highly successful year number 12 of reading.

My total sits at 44,080, and I have modified my idea to read 50,000, because with 16 days left it is highly improbable to achieve this.

My ultimate goal for this year is to make it my best one yet.

This means I have to read 47,707 pages, that gives me 3,627 pages to reach it.

I see a lot of long caffeine infused night in my future.

On the wider picture, I have a total of 324,278 pages, and still have some ground to gain in order to achieve the 1,000,000 pages goal by my 50th birthday.

Now, according to my projections, and if I keep up my pace, the first 500,000 pages will be achieved by March 23, 2027, and 1,000,000 pages by September 3, 2045.

By this date I will be 64 years, 2 months and 29 days old, way more that my initial goal of 50 years old.

The good news is that I slowly have gained ground, last time I checked I was 5211 days behind , now, I am 5204.

Slowly but surely.

For now, I am off to read.

azr.

Azriel’s Infinite Bookshelf, House of X/Powers of X

This gargantuan volume of the X-men is basically a reintroduction to most of this long running series Mythos.

Written by Jonathan Hickman, and beautifully illustrated Pepe Larraz and R.B. Silva, and it follows the mutants in various times of their history, the present day is marked by the founding of the mutant island Krakoa, and consequently we see 10 years in the past, when Professor X meets Moira, 100 years in the future, and the machine-mutant conflict, and finally 1000 years in the future, with a highly evolve mutant society.

I won’t spoil any more than that, the story jump from one period to the next, and it slowly untangles the events that became the result of the mutants society evolution, this story also works as the introduction of the new X-men titles and the storyline Dawn of X.

A great story, sometimes a bit difficult to follow if you are not that familiar with the X-men, but I assure you you’ll end up wanting more of the Children of the Atom

Now ,off I go, to look for my next adventure.

azr.

Azriel’s Infinite Bookshelf, El triunfo de la memoria.

Back in May I subscribed to a membership of my favorite Mexican Independent publishing house, Paraíso Perdido, with the pandemic ravaging thru the world it became more difficult to promote their amazing catalog so they propose a reading plan where you receive 10 books divided in three installments, El triunfo de la memoria by Abril Posas, was one of the books of the first installment.

Comprised of 11 beautiful short stories woven into a single idea, memory, from the fading memory of a favorite neighborhood bar and a very special second hand pair of Dr. Martens boots, a punk rock gig with a slight smell of fish, to Jerry Seinfeld has an Virgil like figure, this book explores deeply what it means to be, and how memory shapes our reality.

Because at the end : “la memoria es, siempre, la que triunfa.”

I encourage you to pick up this book, which is available in the Editorial Paraíso Perdido official store.

Now ,off I go, to look for my next adventure.

azr.