Comic book books, S/D, C/D

S: George R.R. Martin's _Wild Cards_ series. It's been a long time since I read them (caveat), but I liked them their "What If?" vibe and imaginative characters. Like The Sleeper (?), who hibernated periodically and woke up with a new look & power. Or the archer character (name?) who seemed like a cross between GA and the Punisher.

If I can derail this thread on the first post (Sorry!), I just saw a copy of Paul Gravett's non-fiction Stories To Change Your Life floating around the office, and it's a pretty awesome-looking object.

Fictional superhero books are different. I think, rather more than comics, they play up my existental nerd angst/prejudices. So Whole I'm perfectly happy buying completely ridiculous-looking comics, that by all rights should be the sole preserve of 13-year-olds, buying a novelisation would stike me as a little... too geeky, even for me.

But perhaps the reason I wouldn't buy them is even more geeky: because they're never in continuity, and that annoys me.

Search, as far as my 14-year old self is concerned: Alan Grant's Knightfall/Quest/Rider who's-its. If my recollection of it, itself 11-years old!, are accurate, then it was better than the couple issues-proper that I read of that boner.

Would the Q&C books be disqualified for having such low spandex content?

Has anyone read the Hellboy booky books?

No, but one is in the remainder shop near my work for $5 and I keep thinking "maybe..."

Tom DeHaven, who wrote It's Superman!, has written three comics novels already, about a non-existent strip character called Derby Dugan. I've only got the middle one of the three though, so I haven't read it.

Not superhero, but there's that Tintin novel written by some guy called Frederic Tuten, "Tintin In The New World". I haven't read it but it's apparently not very good:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1573225290/qid=1133492061/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8997100-0475862?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

It's terrible! I think it crosses over with issues 27-28 of The Magic Mountain.

- kryptonite kid by robert torchia, fabulous gay-themed coming-of-age story w/ superman etc

- a shitty tuten-like nov abt krazy kat by some nitwit, martin s prob has a copy

- there are lots of 70s marvel original comic bk novs by ppl like len wein and marv wolfman, fckin rub also, as is the 60s avengers nov by fan turned pro ted white

- there's that ex Comics Journal writer called Rob Rodi who has written a number of comic gay themed novs, including one abt a wonder woman substitute, never read any of em cos i always thought his comic crit was 3rd rate P Kael

Whatever Happened To Princess Paragon?

It's been so long since I read Super-Folks that I can't even remember if it's any good or not. OKish stuff about getting older in '70s America, I guess-- "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" was probably an improvement on it. Wild Cards was pretty uneven as far as story quality goes-- the Walter Jon Williams and Zelazny stuff was very enjoyable, but a lot of the stories were just bad fanfic.

Somewhere I've got a paperback of Batman-themed short stories written by the likes of Robert Sheckley and Isaac Asimov. I haven't read them all, but there was quite a good one about David O Selznick trying to make a big-screen Hollywood movie based on the Batman myth.

Is that the same paperback with the short story about Batman ordering supplies from his costumer? The Selznick story is written as a series of memos, right? There was some other good stuff in that book too, if that's the one I'm thinking of.