Darth Vader and Son: What if Vader raised Luke? LOL!

Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown

Why did I read it?

I popped into work today, my second day after a two-week vacation, and my boss was checking in some new books. I recognized some of the artwork from some posts on Pinterest, and I couldn't resist reading it.

What happened?

Anybody remember Star Wars? Everybody right! =D

Well, instead of Darth Vader being reunited with his long lost son and having some problems, imagine Darth Vader raising Luke Skywalker instead.

Now, imagine that this is actually in a comic strip format and its actually for laughs instead of a serious story.

You would be imagining Darth Vader and Son, and you would be laughing a part of your body clean off!

What did I like or not like?

This collection of strips isn't very long, but it is so worth it! The author did an excellent job taking all of the quintessential lines from Star Wars, and working them into a comic situation between Darth Vader and a four-year-old Luke Skywalker.

As an example to whet your appetite, this is one of the ones I really liked:

Darth Vader is looking over the shoulder of his young son, and demands, "Luke, why aren't you ready for school? I'm here to put you back on schedule. Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate you."

Obviously it's so much better with the illustrations, but that gives you a taste of this witty collection of awesomeness :)

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

The Avengers: The Ultimate Guide to Earth's Mightiest Heroes by Scott Beatty, Alan Cowsill and Alastair Dougall

Why did I read it?

Because I am so super excited to watch Marvel's The Avengers this weekend! I know that the movie has been out since May 4th, but I was waiting for my Dad to get back from a trip to watch it. But, in the meantime, this book came up on one of the lists that I watch, and I couldn't resist getting it for the library.

What happened?

This book happens to be non-fiction, so it doesn't exactly have a story line. But it does contain a ton of summaries of Avengers' comics story lines :) It brings you through the first Avengers comic in 1963, all the way through the modern story lines of the Civil War and the start of the Heroic Age.

In-between, it has hero profiles, details on super villains, the agencies that The Avengers run into, and a look at The Avengers through each decade since their inception.

Another cool feature is the Key Issues. These are the really groundbreaking comics that made The Avengers what they are today.

What did I like or not like?

While I thought the book was awesome, I read it more as a reference work instead of reading it cover to cover. Sometimes I read the text and background, and other times I just looked at the pictures lol. The pages are visually interesting, filled with comic panels and pictures of the heroes, and the authors are very knowledgeable about their source material.

I've read a couple other hero encyclopedias and guides from Scott Beatty. They were interesting and very informational, and this one is no different :)

A Wall Across Your Mind

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis

Why did I read it?

I read this book for pretty much the same reason that I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Basically, its a book that once again had caught my eye, and I finally picked it up as part of my Master's class. Even though I didn't enjoy it as much as Hugo, it was still an interesting find.

What happened?

As you may have noticed, most of the books I've reviewed have been YA fiction. Alternately, this title is more of a non-fiction title. But, the artist (Peter Sis) is writing an autobiography of his own childhood through childlike pictures, so it is something of a story anyways. Through pictures and pretty simple text, Peter tells us about his childhood during the Cold War. He grew up on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain in Czechoslavokia and was told what to think, what to do, and what to draw. Even though he lived behind the Iron Curtain, Peter's parents allowed him to draw anything he wanted to at home. This freedom kept him interested in what the government wouldn't let him see, think, or do. He couldn't draw enough, his hair could never be long enough (even though they would make him cut it), and he couldn't wait for something else. When things like "blue jeans" and "The Beatles" started to slowly slip through the Iron Curtain, Peter knew what kind of freedom he really wanted.

What did I like or not like?

Even though this isn't a book I would normally read, it was really cool. The pictures are reminiscent of childhood, but have a very muted color pallot which seems to symbolize the kind of childhood he led. The story itself is also interesting and informative. In a very short book, Peter gives us an excellent idea of what growing up behind the Iron Curtain would have been like.