The Burning Mountain, Alfred Coppel

"BASED ON ACTUAL U.S. AND JAPANESE WAR PLANS, ONE OF THE MOST UNUSUAL AND POWERFUL WAR NOVELS EVER WRITTEN AN UNFORGETTABLE DRAMA OF HEROISM,LOVE AND SACRIFICE!"
















The Burning Mountain is a 'novel of the invasion of Japan', probably the least written about alternate World War Two strand. It's well researched, manages to portray at least one convincingly complex relationship between people from the two cultures, and teeters throughout on whether it wants to make this a full blown Jingoistic take on World War Two.

It's constantly in danger of over extending itself in its portrayal of Japanese culture and warfare. When this is used as a tool to show the superiority of the Allies over the NAZIs it's understandable. But the double standard meted out to the Japanese sits less comfortably. Whilst their war crimes were equally egregious, the overall storyarc of the book is that, disgusted by the use of civilians in defending their homeland, the US has no choice but to use Atomic weapons on Hiroshima.

Which is fine, except for the squeamishness about the way in which prisoner of war are treated, that the Japanese defend their home islands, the very fact that they choose to fight at all,  all of it is treated as though it's an alien concept, creating the idea that the Japanse are barbarians and that the bombing is a righteous one. It's an odd point to reach, when the moral highground is taken by the people murdering an entire city, in the name of preventing the civilians who will otherwise be forced to fight and die against the invading Americans.

There's a real sense of Allied superiority, whether in terms of the quantity or quality of arms and men they can throw at Japan, which is treated by the Japanese characters as growing evidence of their own inadequateness in the face of the American invaders.

Its sub-Turtledove dialogue, and introduction of characters to be killed a page later, add up to an unsatisfying novel, which short cuts to the end before any defining land battles can take place, and mostly skips over the wider conflicts in favour of small, guerrilla squad tactics and air battles between two totally outmatched forces.

Interesting for its use of Operation Coronet and Ketsugo only, stick with Turtledove for characterisation and description.

Also Try:
Harry Turtledove, Days of Infamy
Robert Conroy, 1945

Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles, Kim Newman

"Imagine the twisted evil twins of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson and you have the dangerous duo of Professor James Moriarty - wily, snake-like, fiercely intelligent, terrifyingly unpredictable - and Colonel Sebastian Basher Moran - violent, politically incorrect, debauched. Together they run London crime, owning police and criminals alike. When a certain Irene Adler turns up on their doorstep with a proposition, neither man is able to resist. An entertaining and wickedly humorous crime adventure from the bestselling writer of Anno Dracula."











Supposedly written by Colonel Moran, colleague of Professor James Moriarty (from The Adventure of the Empty House), this is a loving pastiche of the Conan Doyle Holmes stories, victorian literature and pulp adventure novels. Literary mash-ups are fairly common, but this is one of the best, combining disparate plot strands from dozens of books and tying them all together around the skeletons of various Holmes shorts, from The Red Headed League to the Greek Interpreter, and, of course, Scandal, Hound and Falls.

Originally written as multiple short stories for magazines, they hold up remarkably well and the books format works terrifically. It helps that Moran, like Flashman before him, is the kind of easily readable rogue that makes base villainy so enjoyable. It's easy to compare these to a less inclusive Bond, but the real joy for anyone who has read Holmes is in picking out the references.

Newman's grasp of the wider genre is massive, as his work on Anno Dracula has shown, and references are peppered through the book which should encourage anyone reading to go and find out more. It rewards close reading, and the end notes give some insight into where more obscure characters come from. Realising that you're reading the other half, or a parallel, to a Holmes tale is great fun.

Anno Dracula may be more fun, but this is arguably more readble, and much like the Holmes books serves as a nice series to dip in and out of, with the short story nature of the tales making it easy to pick up and put down when you want to.

Also Try;
Alan Moore, League of Extraordinary Gentleman
Kim Newman, Anno Dracula,
Sir Arther Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes
Philip Jose Farmer, The Other Log of Phileas Fogg 

Uncanny X-Men, the Hidden Years, The Ghost and the Darkness; John Byrne

"Before House of M, before Onslaught, before the tragedy ofnthe Dark Phoenix, there were a handful of troubled teenagers and one man with a dream. Return to the X-Men's early days and discover the teams lost tales in this exclusive collection, expertly crafted by legendary comic book created John Byrne. The first seven issues of John Byrne's X-Men: The Hidden Years are collected in one titanic tome for the first time! This series chronicles the adventures of Marvel's original team of merry mutants after their Silver Age saga had run its course, and before the launch of the All-New, All-Different band of heroes. COLLECTING: X-Men : The Hidden Years 1-7"










This one is totally bizarre, a John Byrne scripted look back at the 'missing' adventures of the original X-Men team of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel and the Beast. Now, this is a time period ripe for rewriting, as it's widely agreed that the early first X-Men run was not very good, at least until Mutant Genesis and the second team came in.

The problem is that the idea of showing previously unseen adventures of the early team has been done better elsewhere, in First Class. Where as that contained a fresh start for the X-Men that welcomed new readers and old alike, this is a book that is only really relevant to those who have read the full early run, or at least enough to know about the Z-Nox and Professor X's decision to fake his death.

The behaviour of Iceman in particular only really works as part of a larger storyline, and casting the most (literally) chilled out of the original five X-Men as a hot head who quits the team in a huff seems a little bit odd. He's mostly absent for this story, which instead concentrate on Scott, Jean, Warren and Hank journeying to the Savage Land to find the body of Magneto and prove to the Professor that their enemy is truly dead.

Spoiler alert; he isn't.

Although he is a ghost for most of the book; because, the Savage Land.

The Savage Land is such a perfectly goofy comic book concept (mysterious zone in the antarctice circle where Dinosaurs, primitive humans and various other creatures still reside) that's so undervalued by the amount of time that's actually spent there. The stakes are always supposedly raised by a visit there and this never usually pays off, so it's nice to see something more than just the usual 'team turns up, fights a dinosaur, continues as normal' story, and some actual threat from the inhabitants.

Still, this lives up to the early X-Men reputation for being pretty weak. Definitely check out either First Class or All New X-Men instead.

Also Try:
Jeff Parker, X-Men: First Class
Brian Michael Bendis, All New X-Men
Mark Millar, Ultimate X-Men: Hellfire and Brimstone
Chris Claremont, Uncanny X-Men

Avengers: World Trust, Geoff Johns

"They are Earth's Mightiest Heroes, banded together from across the globe, united in their vow to protect the Earth from those enemies against whom no single super hero can stand alone... and this may be their greatest challenge. The capital cities of every nation on Earth have mysteriously vanished, throwing the planet into anarchy. In this time of extraordinary crisis, the nations of the world turn to the only organization capable of leading them through this time of strife and restoring political, economic and social order; the Avengers. They can defeat any super-villain, but can they govern the entire world?"









This is a totally different sort of Avengers book to the Jonathan Hickman one I read before it, and it's one that I have no real taste for. There's an interesting divergence in how Avengers fans feel about what makes a good Avengers book, and cast based controversy is hardly a new thing. Ever since Cap's kooky quartet replaced the classic Avengers line-up arguments have raged about who is and isn't an Avenger, and what the focus should be.

For my money I want an Avengers team that feels more grounded than the Justice League. Whilst any team that features a literal God as one of its founders is unlikely to be a picture of normality the Avengers have always been a team of every-men, certainly compared to the big hitters of the Justice League that features Superman (superstrong alien), Martian Manhunter (psychic, shape shifting Superman), Wonder Woman (Amazon and sometimes Demi-God) and Aquaman (Atlantean fish king).

The Marvel Universe as a whole has often been seen as a more flawed, realistic world compared to Dc. With that in mind I find Johns a bit hard to enjoy on Avengers. Sandwiched between the hugely popular Perez run at its height and the start of Bendis's decade long tenure at the helm it stands as a forgettable slice of filler. Of the four books I've read in his run I can only remember two (the Red Skull attacks Mt Rushmore with chemical weapons, and Thor fights the Avengers for the right to kill a Slavic dictator - with Iron Man's argument against intervention undermined somewhat by the way the Avengers happily use their UN backing here to remove a host of real life 'dictators' including the leaders of India).

If you want a good Avengers book, this isn't it. Johns has done better elsewhere, most notably on Green Lantern and Aquaman for DC. Those are both recommended highly. There's little of this to recommend. It's a wholly forgettable book, not helped by some truly third rate art that makes it look like they ran out of time and put it out half finished.

Also Try:
Brian Michael Bendis, New Avengers
Jonathan Hickman, Avengers
Kurt Busiek, Avengers
Mark Millar, The Ultimates

X-Men: Scarlet in Glory, Chris Claremont

"When Angel is kidnapped by the freakish mutants known as the Morlocks the X-Men head into the sewers beneath New York to rescue him. Once there Storm is forced to fight their leader Callisto in a vicious duel to the death. Upon returning to the mansion, the group are shocked to discover the former mutant terrorist Rogue at the door begging for sanctuary. Next the team travel to Japan to attend Wolverine's wedding. But the happy day is marred by the arrival of the Silver Samurai. Finally, the group face a terrible spectre from the past as the Phoenix rises from the ashes to torment the group once more."








It constantly amazes me how much of X-Men lore comes from Claremont. Say what you will about his writing style, and how he shaped the majority of the major X-Men storylines. Here for instance we have Storm fight Callisto for control of the Morlocks, the 'return' of Phoenix (by way of Mastermind and everyone's least favourite Jean Grey contrivance, Madelyne Pryor) Storm gets a mohawk, Kitty and Colossus have their first kiss, the almost-wedding of Wolverine and Mariko, Rogue joining the team, Wolverine fighting Silver Samurai.

That is an insane amount of material for what's a tiny fraction of an epic run.

Virtually every single great X-en storyline has its roots in these issues, so it makes for compelling reading, even when the outcome is now so well known that there's little mystery (see Madelyne, Storm's Mohawk, Kitty and Peter, eveyone hating Rogue). Whilst some of those can drag a little bit there's never a lull in the action - this is anything but decompressed. In the spand of a few issues you get the introduction, set up, reveal and defeat of villain after villain.

The art's a little inconsistent, especially compared to the early Byrne work, with Wolverine's head changing size and shape a little through his time in Japan, but otherwise it's a solid representation of the X-Men, especially in their battle against Cyclops and Phoenix towards the end.

Also Try:

Chris Claremont, Uncanny X-Men

Avengers: Avengers World, Jonathan Hickman

"The greatest heroes in comics together on one unbeatable team. The Avengers ""go large,"" expanding their roster and their sphere of influence to a global and even interplanetary level. When Captain America puts out his call -who will answer? Big threats, big ideas, big idealism these are the Avengers NOW!"














The first volume of the all new Avengers run by Jonathan Hickman is something I've been waiting for since the first issues was released. I picked it up as a comic but decided it was more cost effective to wait for the trade instead, so as this was released in mid-week I decided to treat myself today.

It was well worth it. Whilst not a decompressed storyteller in the style of Bendis, Hickman's Avengers run is one which is best enjoyed when you can see the bones of the whole arc. Unlike his Manhattan Projects, a comic which exists to be read monthly, this is a more epic, focussed run. Whilst some of the talking-head tropes of Bendis's run still exist, especially in how Tony and Steve interact in choosing the team, this is much more action focussed. Unlike many books on the shelves now Avengers is a comic that can be read monthly - the first six issues include three one-and-done origin stories (for Smasher, Hyperion and Captain Universe) as well as a three issue introduction to the new team.

The biggest controversy here is the expanded roster of the Avengers to include mission specific teams, including Shang Chi, Cannonball and Smasher. Whilst Cannonball is an established character in the X-Men and Shang Chi has a long history, if no real pedigree or status in the Marvel Universe, it's Smasher who's my early favourite new Avenger.

The first human member of the Shiar's Imperial Guard, she's one of many 'Smasher' class heroes, which nicely brings in the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. If Bendis was all about street level heroics, then Hickman seems to be about every level - five of the characters included in the team could be classed as individual heavy hitters, yet they mix alongside Hawkeye and Black Widow - essentially, the Avengers movie team.

The book itself is of a different style to the standard Marvel Premiere edition design that they've used for whole Bendis era. It's obviously Hickman designed, showcasing his flair for branding and mechanics - it's a lovely book and stands out from the rest of the shelf, although its bare spine and blue on white treatment lends it a little too much of an Image title feel.

Definitely pick this up, it looks to be going some really good places. I can't wait to get the next volume!

Also Try:
Brian Michael Bendis, New Avengers
Jonathan Hickman, The Manhattan Projects
Matt Fraction, Hawkeye
Grant Morrison, New X-Men

Captain America; Hail Hydra, Jonathan Maberry

"From the dark days of World War II to the Heroic Age, witness the brutal battle between Captain America and the immortal evil known as Hydra! How far back has the gruesome group been killing its way to capture the secrets of eternal life? What can Steve Rogers do to halt its sinister spread when the horrific hordes of the undead rise to stop him? Find out as award-winning horror novelist Jonathan Maberry (DOOMWAR) teams with five different artists to capture five different time periods - including Sergio Cariello (Lone Ranger), Tom Scioli (Godland), Phil Winslade (Wonder Woman), Kyle Hotz (ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST - WRAITH) and Graham Nolan (X-MEN FOREVER)! Guest-starring the Falcon, Black Panther, Nomad, Nick Fury and the Avengers! Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA: HAIL HYDRA #1-5."







Because I've been picking up the Brubaker run of Cap stories I figured I would give this one a shot - the art looked nice and it was about Hydra, who are usually fun to see beaten up. But I definitely wasn't expecting this book to be quite so good.

Let me go further than that. This is the single best Captain America book I've read. Better than Brubaker.

It has everything you could want from a Captain America book - opening with a mission to destroy a Nazi science project reanimating the dead and continuing through the ages, from Classic Avengers, to Cap and Falcon, through the Busiek era and finally to the Heroic Age Cap. Each issue stands as a chapter in the ongoing war against Hydra and their mission to overcome death and create a new race of immortals.

It adds significantly to the Capt Mythos, positing that the Lazarus serum introduced here is what kept Cap alive alongside the Super Soldier Serum. Whilst it conveniently ignores Nick Fury's Infinity Formula, something that one would imagine would be of use to anyone gathering together materials for an elixir of youth, it ties in all sorts of great ideas, such as Thor being a target for his God blood.

But its the art that really makes it - a collection of excellent, but lesser known, artists each take the different ages and its great to see the different styles next to one another. Tom Scioli in particular draws one of the most fascinating versions of the first Avengers team I've ever seen. His art is so atypical of conventional superhero looks, yet so Kirby-esque in its design that it can look almost ridiculous - giants heads and massive smiles leave everyone looking like Puppet Master, but for some reason it works perfectly for a storyline that is all about the boundaries of science. It's made me want to hunt down more stuff by Scioli, because I absolutely love his art here, and that's a pretty fantastic thing for me to find.

If you're at all a fan of Captain America, Marvel or just great comics you need to read this.

Also Try:
Captain America: Winter Soldier, Ed Brubaker
Secret Warriors, Jonathan Hickman
Wolverine: Enemy of the State, Mark Millar