![]() ![]() There are, at this moment, 13 Hellboy graphic novel collections (with more on the way), several spin-off titles ( B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Witchfinder), three anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and two live-action films staring Ron Perlman. While the first story line ( Seed of Destruction, 1994) was co-written by John Byrne, Mike has continued writing the series himself. ![]() In 1993, Mike moved to Dark Horse comics and created Hellboy, a half-demon occult detective who may or may not be the Beast of the Apocalypse. In 1992, he drew the comic book adaptation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics. By the late 80s he had begun to develop his signature style (thin lines, clunky shapes and lots of black) and moved onto higher profile commercial projects like Cosmic Odyssey (1988) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989) for DC Comics, and the not-so-commercial Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (1990) for Marvel. In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began working for Marvel Comics, first as a (very terrible) inker and then as an artist on comics like Rocket Raccoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk. ![]() ![]() His fascination with ghosts and monsters began at an early age (he doesn't remember why) and reading Dracula at age 13 introduced him to Victorian literature and folklore from which he has never recovered. Mike Mignola was born Septemin Berkeley, California and grew up in nearby Oakland. ![]()
0 Comments
![]() ![]() King had a series of dramatic stories ready to keep his portfolio diverse. ![]() The novella collection developed in response to King and his editors’ worries about him being typecast as a horror writer. ![]() Different Seasons uses four novellas to represent each of the four seasons, the first of which is themed Hope Springs Eternal. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is the first novella in King’s 1982 novella collection Different Seasons. We get to experience a year with Different Seasons as we tackle the first story from the book, which was developed into one of the most famous and critically-acclaimed King adaptations of all-time: The Shawshank Redemption. Our next set of articles will continue King’s trip away from straightforward horror as we dive into his first collection of novellas, all four selections of which have had film treatments (one is still in pre-production). Last time, we covered the sole film of King’s massive epic book series The Dark Tower. Welcome back to the Stephen King Book to Screen series. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() nurses are at their best.Ī tribute to those who fight on the front lines of the E.R., this was a lovely read that I thoroughly enjoyed. This book will make you laugh, make you cry, make you understand. –Sebastian Junger, author of Freedom and The Perfect StormĪround the clock, across the country, these highly skilled and compassionate men and women sacrifice and struggle for us and our families. “James Patterson’s account of the twilight world between life and death that nurses inhabit is one of the most moving things I have ever read.” –Sanjay Gupta, MD, neurosurgeon and chief medical correspondent, CNN “The compassion, the work ethic, and the selflessness of nurses … are given the respect they deserve and captured beautifully here.” The life-or-death intensity of working on the front lines, from America’s greatest unsung heroes. They save our lives every day, and we’ve never heard their stories. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt. She decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. Upstate New York, 2017 – Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. But something isnʼt right at the motel, something haunting and scary. ![]() Upstate New York, 1982 – Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. This book is not something that I typically would choose to read (it is creepy and there’s ghosts) but I am glad I got out of my comfort zone because I really enjoyed it! However, I didn’t let myself start another book before finishing this one first and I am so glad I did! ![]() I picked The Sun Down Motel as my book of the month pick for January but I didn’t get to it. I finally finished a book in this month! One of my goals this year is to read my Book of the Month books the month that I get them (check out my post on the Book of the Month subscription here). ![]() ![]() ![]() Sebastien’s hysterical dot was Marie DuGard’s prelude to emancipation. He remembered that afternoon three years ago as a kind of a blurred, hysterical dot on the continuum of his otherwise orderly life, a little moment that was easier to pretend had never happened than to explain in the context of his normally sound, exemplary conduct.” ![]() It had been a feverish encounter on a rainy August afternoon that had made no sense then and made even less now. “Sebastien knew Marie Du Gard slightly better than her father realized. From the first paragraph you know Sebastien is going to get his hair mussed. ![]() Everything we consider modern was just beginning to pop: Freud, Picasso, automobiles, motion picture photography, electronic communication, feminism! And to see all these issues rolled out against a backdrop of turn-of-the-century, hub-of-the-universe Paris, and a romantically derelict castle in Normandy is delicious.Īnd the most tasty entree of all is Sebastien de Saint Vallier, an aristocrat, a genius, a hand-ball player and weight-lifter, a lawyer, a man completely in control. Dance by Judy Cuevas is set in France at the beginning of the 20th Century, which doesn’t sound particularly romantic, but is. ![]() ![]() Scott Hanselman, Partner Program Director, Microsoft, and host of HanselminutesĬomputers are everywhere, most obviously in our laptops and smartphones, but also our cars, televisions, microwave ovens, alarm clocks, robot vacuum cleaners, and other smart appliances. Code teaches us how many unseen layers there are between the computer systems that we as users look at every day and the magical silicon rocks that we infused with lightning and taught to think." Code is a book that is as much about Systems Thinking and abstractions as it is about code and programming. It started with a story, and it built up, layer by layer, analogy by analogy, until I understood not just the Code, but the System. It was the first book about programming that spoke to me. ![]() ![]() ![]() The classic guide to how computers work, updated with new chapters and interactive graphics ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Cooke brings to light the story of Pan Am stewardesses’ role in the Vietnam War, as the airline added runs from Saigon to Hong Kong for planeloads of weary young soldiers straight from the battlefields, who were off for five days of R&R, and then flown back to war. Required to have a college education, speak two languages, and possess the political savvy of a Foreign Service officer, a jet-age stewardess serving on iconic Pan Am between 19 also had to be between 5′3" and 5′9", between 105 and 140 pounds, and under 26 years of age at the time of hire.Cooke’s intimate storytelling weaves together the real-life stories of a memorable cast of characters, from small-town girl Lynne Totten, a science major who decided life in a lab was not for her, to Hazel Bowie, one of the relatively few Black stewardesses of the era, as they embraced the liberation of their new jet-set life. Glamour, danger, liberation: in a Mad Men–era of commercial flight, Pan Am World Airways attracted the kind of young woman who wanted out, and wanted up ![]() ![]() Elma was trying to be portrayed as holier than thou, but at several places she came off as self-centered jerk. Characterizations in this book felt quite weird to me. Does the author not know any other way of referring to that? I was irritated by repeat of this from the beginning. This book again starts with the "rocket launch" innuendo. ![]() If you liked book one, just go ahead and read this one. ![]() Not a stellar recommendation? Sorry, it's what I got. The one redeeming quality: You don't have to endure the overinundation of repetitive foreplay talk and the idealized marital relationship that hijacked book one. If the lack of action in book one bothered you, book two is worse. Even so, this installment did press the edges of my interest by the end. But it's well written, which is more than I can say for the many other novels I have started and abandoned in the last few weeks, and I enjoyed it. ![]() This is a slice of life story dressed up in astronaut's gear - to the nines. ![]() With that off my chest, a review: This series has been critiqued for being low on sci fi but excessive on characterization and interpersonal drama. Thank heavens she backed off of the caricature voices and the disturbing emotive outbursts as the story went on or I wouldn't have been able to finish these books. Mary Robinette Kowal should not read for the audio renditions of her work. ![]() ![]() ![]() X., except to say that nothing is random and everything is connected. Dulcie offers little direction concerning how to find Dr. Gonzo is a hypochondriac dwarf who Cameron recently met in the stoner bathroom at school. She insists that he take his hospital roommate, Gonzo, with him. It’s the only way he can get a cure for himself and save the world. Dulcie says Cameron must go on a quest to find Dr. ![]() ![]() X who traveled through time and space, inadvertently bringing back dark energy that is now endangering the planet and Cameron’s life. She tells him about a scientist named Dr. Facing death, Cameron takes an epic journey that allows him, for the first time, to feel something besides apathy toward his own life and other people.Ĭameron’s journey begins several weeks after his diagnosis, when a punk-rock angel named Dulcie visits him at the hospital. When diagnosed with the human form of mad cow disease, Cameron is a 16-year-old with a dysfunctional family, a “whatever” attitude and a penchant for smoking pot. Caution: The following review includes references to graphic/offensive content. ![]() ![]() ![]() “David Taylor’s book Ginseng, the Divine Root… is one of the most fascinating garden-oriented books I’ve read.” –London Free Press ![]() “Taylor has a gift for capturing the colorful characters along his journey… Ginseng, the Divine Root chronicles… much about this plant and even more about human nature.” –Orion “The tale of ginseng is, like the gnarled root… complex, mysterious, and alluring… Taylor… penetrates the secretive industry that surrounds it… from back-holler diggers in Kentucky to high-stakes importers in China.” –Utne magazine “An engaging cultural history.” –The Brooklyn Eagle He teaches at Johns Hopkins University and lives in Washington, DC. His fiction collection Success: Stories won the Washington Writers’ Publishing House fiction prize and was a finalist in the Library of Virginia Literary Awards. ![]() He has written and co-produced award-winning documentary films including Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story, nominated for a Writer’s Guild of America Award. His nonfiction appears in Smithsonian, The Washington Post, Oxford American and elsewhere. Taylor is the author of six books, including Cork Wars: Intrigue and Industry in World War II. ![]() |