By Alex Ness
January 25, 2021
BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR AND TO BUY
In a recent past article I reviewed both Sonata and The Marked volume 1 tpbs. Sonata is a story of loyalty and action upon a fantasy world. The Marked is a secret group who has a deeper goal to challenge the darkness, usually in the form of other groups in power. David Hine writes dialogue and world building lyrical words and Brian Haberlin draws exacting, soundly created, beautiful characters and creatures. These two second volume tpbs take each story into a deeper place, in ways that are most welcome. Sonata remains the better of two series. The fantasy and characters are well developed in a world that feels mysterious, different, and invites further investigation. The Marked is a fine work, featuring a mysterious secret society that uses tattoo images as sigils of power. It is a powerful work, and has more present world applications. The depth in The Marked is actually more pronounced than Sonata, but, I am more interested in fantasy than I am towards the concept of powers and dark forces in conflict in the modern world. (Sonata is an A, The Marked only slightly less as an A-).
Author Mike Baron's character The Badger is well worth exploring. In comics form he has rarely been a normal superhero, focusing by far more upon the mind behind the costume/uniform. A veteran of war, he has experienced some mind shattering events. He is crazy, but, able to focus his efforts to defeat evil, duck hunters, costumed bad guys, weird supernatural villains, and cockroaches. You can argue many things about the character, he is perfectly different from any character in comics. Mike Baron's other famous creation, Nexus is perhaps the reverse. Nexus is a human with nearly god like powers. He brings justice to the universe by slaying those who have transgressed the moral status of the world with mass killings. That is, Badger is crazy, but in his madness fights whatever he supposed to fight that he finds in his presence. Nexus is perfectly sane, but will suffer personal pain and horror if he isn't able to kill the people who mass kill others.
And just like Nexus was captured in prose form, funded by Kickstarter, so now has Badger experienced the same. The Nexus novel was great, I have no words to limit what a pleasure it was. You wonder only, had Nexus begun as a prose series and was long after considered in comic form if we'd learned more, and been as deeply appreciating the character's depth. In the Badger novel you don't wonder that at all. There are numerous cultural influences to Mike Baron's writing that all appear in Badger. Mr. Baron is sane but deliciously different, creating different traits and voices for many characters as a writer, while the Badger has multiple personality disorder. Mike Baron is a person trained in martial arts, and it has an effect upon the action in his stories, while Badger is a martial arts master, his participation in martial arts tournaments resembles the best of Hong Kong cinema. Mike is vocal about his love of music and styles of each genre, including the blues, and you find old blues artists as well as musical mentions throughout the comics, and now book.
In this book Badger goes off on his own, no longer taking part in mystical and weird world events for the Druid Ham, an ancient soul who in the comics often found himself in the present using his talents for both personal success and for an occasional world saving effort. While Badger is starting his own studio for martial arts, blues man Dalton Seaberry comes into Badger's life. Only Seaberry had made a deal with the dark lord of Hell, and now, wants to fight for his soul. Of course Badger joins in. Ham sees a way to make the event more exciting, and Seaberry fights a battle of bands with the demonic band Vong for possession of more than Seaberry's soul, but that of earth.
I ask you readers, what more could a story ask for? Baron's writing never fails. And to the extent that some might find the humor here too much, so, the costume and personality of Badger was normal? This isn't a spoof, it isn't a single joke taken to book form, the Badger and the world he explores and events he experiences are meant to entertain. Be dark and moody when reading Nexus, it explores dark things. But Badger is funny, and so, enjoy it with a light heart. I always sort of liked Badger more than Nexus in terms of how I felt reading the comics, but Nexus is serious and the Badger made me smile. After a year of pain, surgery, car accidents, loss of friends, I needed that.
Find Mike Baron on Facebook or Twitter to find copies, I am uncertain if these will be available at retail stores.
CHANNELS ON YOUTUBE FOR YOU
As I've shared some channels before, to good response, I want to make this a regular feature. But I also want to make sure to note, these are my opinions, I've received absolutely nothing for the mentions, and you might find my choices to be uninteresting or less excellent than my views.
This group of selections includes mostly dark content (except for Hybrid Librarian which would be considered mostly intriguing than dark). The darkness found in these involves unsolved disappearances or murders, as well as disasters. When a famous person or someone unknown but to a very small
circle of people is murdered, it suggests that we might all face such
danger. When a person disappears it is perhaps even more unsettling. As I think most people see themselves in the victims, and the idea that you could go missing, without a clue for others to find you, there is a great feeling of discomfort and worry. Few people who go missing are found, and those few that are, rarely went missing for happy reasons.
HEAVY CASEFILES is a channel with a great many unsolved disappearances. The reason I list it first is the careful treatment of facts by the narrator, as well as the return to cases that have been covered when new facts bring new light to a case, or better yet, solve them. The narrator does a fantastic job treating the cases with both serious attention and detail, as well as compassion. I never miss a new addition to the channel.
CRIMINALLY LISTED This channel has a form that helps the site creator present dark criminal events without emotional manipulation of the viewer. Each video will present 3 or 4 cases based upon similarities of the crimes. The site creator presents them in a dry, unemotional way, so that the viewer can learn what happened in each case, and respond with their own emotions. For as many cases as have been covered by the site creator, there have been almost no errors in fact, nor flaw in presentation, and nearly no mispronunciations. I definitely recommend this channel.
HYBRID LIBRARIAN I've hoped for a while that this site would return to adding new videos, and it hasn't for 2 years. But the intelligent and moving presentations are worth noting, even without new content being added. While it presents lists of common new, old, different or common subjects, I found the content to be mature and worth watching.
THE CRIME REEL The Crime Reel is purely about criminal events and does a fine job presenting each. I like it slightly less than Heavy Casefiles or Criminally Listed, which is only to say I have a preference, but it remains a good channel. The narrative presentation style is dry, and the details and facts shared allow greater impact upon the listener. If you dislike true crime, of course the focus here is narrow and out of your range, but the resulting detailed well presented videos are worth your time if you have even a mild interest in the subject.
LADY WHITE RABBIT presents odd, terrible events, dark crimes, and weird and scary fiction. The content for this channel is more diverse, and I'd argue, more interesting to more people than the others mentioned (except perhaps Hybrid Librarian). However, the true crime and dark events are equally well addressed and presented as all the previous channels. The wider view allows me to check on the channel even when not in a mood for true crime.
ABOUT GETTING REVIEWS FROM ME
First off, I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email at Alexanderness63@gmail.com.
I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll
follow through by telling you my street address. I no longer have a post
box, although I regret that. It was a crushing defeat to no longer have
a p.o. box, when I came to realize I was getting so little product it
made no sense to pay for the privilege to not receive mail at both my
home and at the post office. If you send hard copies for review I will
always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email,
I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so
you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.
My Poetry Blog alexnesspoetry.blogspot.com
Published alexnesspoetry.blogspot.com/2007/01/My-Work.html
Amazon amazon.com/author/alexness
Personal Blog catastrophicmemories.blogspot.com
Lovecraft Horror cthulhudarkness.blogspot.com
Atlantis MU, Lemuria alexnesslostworlds.blogspot.com
Jean de La Bruyère "Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think".
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