It has begun

Well, my plans to repot my Hostas have been scuppered by that well known Great British institution: Rain. So, instead, I have read a book. Two, infact, as I read one last night, as well.

OK, so, technically, they weren't really books, but graphic novels. But everyone else counts them as books, so I am too. I am sure you are just dying to know which two tomes I have read? And if you're not, I don't care because I'm going to tell you anyway!

The first was Ultimate Fantastic Four, volume one: The Fantastic. It's a reimagined story (isn't everything these days) of the origins of the Fantastic Four.

It's not terribly bright or clever but the artwork and colouring make up for those shortcomings. Some of the panels were very difficult to follow too, which made following the story quite troublesome. This wasn't helped by them crossing the spine, which I practically had to break to decipher some of the narrative and dialogue. Several times I had to go back and read things in a different order to make sense of what was going on.

Anyway, that was 'book' number one. Started and finished last night. Number two was started and finished this morning. It was: The Authority (book one): Relentless.


Now, for those of you who don't know, The Authority are a superhero group with a difference - They have their own agenda. They answer to no one and have no qualms (or very few) about killing those who stand in their way - Mostly quite horrifically. Still, they're technically good guys and do look out for the best interests of Earth, not just the USA as several superhero teams do.
Oh, and two of them, Apollo and the Midnighter - The Authority's equivalent to Superman and Batman respectively - are dirty, filthy homosexuals. Yay! Although, Apollo could do with a haircut, the big jesse.
Anyway, in this first book, The Authority go up against a crazy old dictator who is breeding a superpowered army to take over the world. Then, no sooner is he vanquished than they have to deal with an invasion from an alternate Great Britain, called Albion. Needless to say, they save the day, but rather bloodily and messily.
The first few pages of dialogue are a little clunky as the origins of the team members are explained, presumeably for first time readers, but after that it's smooth sailing. Brilliant and frequently witty dialogue from the embittered Jenny Sparks and the rest of the gang make for realistic charaterisation. This, coupled with top notch artwork and some astonishing visuals, made this graphic novel a delight!

Of course, I've still to finish The Witches of Eastwick and Marshmallows for Breakfast. And I haven't started Tall, Dark and Dead or Getting Rid of Matthew yet. The Colour of Magic is languishing at the bottom of my reading pile, slowly fossilising, I think.
The likelyhood is that good old procrastination will kick in before I start/finish reading the aforementioned novels and I'll read more of The Authority instead!