Book Review: The Vision -- The Complete Collection by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta

The Vision: The Complete Collection

by Tom King (writer) and Gabriel Hernandez Walta (artist) (YA PB (Graphic Novel) King)

 

This graphic novel compiles the 12 issues of the monthly comic-book series Vision (from 2015) into a single volume. With the recent popularity of the limited-run TV series WandaVision on Disney+ (which I, admittedly, have not seen), the character of The Vision, from the Marvel Comics continuity, has been more popular than ever before.

 

An artificial life form, created by the Avenger’s enemy, the robotic Ultron, The Vision was designed to destroy that superhero team but rebelled against its evil creator and set out to forge its own destiny. Though The Vision was destroyed in the recent Marvel Cinematic Universe film series, in the comics, he continues to exist. This series covers a period after his relationship with The Scarlet Witch has ended, in which The Vision wishes to have a family of his own — so he creates a wife and two children. But not all is well in the perfect world he has created. In fact, lots of bad things happen and this is the story of that downfall.

 

Excellent writing and superb art, in a depressing storyline. Highly recommended for fans of Marvel Comics and the fascinating character The Vision — just don’t expect an uplifting and feel good narrative.

[ official Vision: The Complete Collection page at Marvel.com ] | [ Wikipedia page for Tom King ] | [ Gabriel Hernandez Walta on Instagram ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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DVD/Movie Review - Spider-Man (2002)

Spider-Man (2002)
(DVD Spider)

 

After viewing the newer film versions of Spider-Man (starring Tom Holland), co-worker Scott recommended that I also check out the earlier film versions starring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as the Amazing Spider-Man, also known as teen-age science wiz Peter Parker. I watched the earliest version last. Tobey Maquire stars as the teen-age superhero with Kirstin Dunst as his love interest, Mary Jane Watson. Of the three movies, the second movie was my favorite, mainly because of the casting. Alfred Molina plays the infamous villain, Doctor Octopus, and Rosemary Hunt plays Peter’s Aunt May. The story lines are good and the acting is well done. The third movie, Spider-Man 3, pales in comparison to the first two movies, but Tobey Maguire is fun to watch in his portrayal of “your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007) (also with Tobey Maguire), the two The Amazing Spider-Man films (with Andrew Garfield, 2012 and 2014), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) (with Tom Holland).]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ]

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service

 

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame
[DVD Avengers]

This film, which was released in theaters in the Spring of 2019, and on DVD/BluRay and streaming platforms in the Summer of 2019, was the culmination of an incredible amount of planning and movie-producing. It was the 22nd film in a series of interconnected films that stretch back to Iron Man in 2008, in which all the films fit into a single continuity, with characters (played by the same actors) that cross over between films at will.

11 years of planning led up to the two-film climax that started in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and concluded with Avengers: Endgame. Dozens of characters from across the cinematic world based on the Marvel Comics universe end up on screen in this “finale”. Where Infinity War ended on a depressing cliffhanger, as arch-villain Thanos “snapped” 50% of all living things out of existence, Avengers: Endgame is the attempt (several years later) by the surviving superheroes to “reboot” their new reality and return to what they knew before, through an audacious and complicated plan.

People who don’t care about comic book characters on the screen should avoid this one like the plague. If you DO love Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, and their many friends and associates, this film was a dream come true. To say much about its complex and multi-layered plot would be to spoil the viewing experience. Suffice it to say — you really need to watch most of the other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe from 2008 to 2019, in order to make sense of this film’s many plot developments.

The core group of actors who’ve portrayed the most iconic characters in the MCU films put in some of their absolute best performances in this crown jewel. The effects work is astonishing. The music is perfect. This film, which needed to live up to over a decade’s worth of hype, lives up to it in almost every way.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try all 21 of the films that preceded it, but particularly Marvel’s The Avengers, Avengers: The Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Avengers: Endgame web site ]

Read Scott C.’s review of Avengers: Infinity War from September 2018

Check out the extensive DVD list: If You Like…Superheroes on Film and TV in our BookGuide resources

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir by Stan Lee and Peter David

Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir
by Stan Lee and Peter David

It seems only fitting that the official autobiography of legendary comics publisher and pop-culture icon Stan Lee would be printed in graphic novel format! Co-written by comics writer Peter David, with absolutely beautiful art by Colleen Doran, Lee roams backwards and forwards through his life and career, sharing anecdotes about the events that proved formative to his publishing/writing style, and the fellow comic book legends whom he worked with over the course of over 5 decades behind Marvel Comics.

Though Lee is frequently accused of not giving enough credit to the fellow creative types that worked with him in creating such iconic comic book characters as The Amazing Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Iron-Man, Doctor Strange, The Uncanny X-Men and so many more, in this telling he certainly pays tribute to the many fellow artistes that were involved in those seminal events — Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and so many more. Lee’s autobiography is told with a great sense of self-deprecating humor, and Lee breaks the “fourth wall”, stopping to talk to the reader from the comic panels, even as the other illustrated figures wonder who he’s talking to.

Having had the opportunity recently to see Stan Lee live and in-person at a Kansas City Comicon (reportedly one of the last conventions the 93-year-old icon will attend), I’m proud to own a signed copy of this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Lee’s version of Marvel Comics history. Just keep in mind that other creators may have different interpretations of some of the events than Lee did!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, by Sean Howe, How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, by Stan Lee, How to Write Comics the Marvel Way, by Stan Lee, Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Comics, by Lee Daniels or Comic Wars: How Two Tycoons Battled Over the Marvel Comics Empire, and Both Lost, by Dan Raviv.]

[ publisher’s official Amazing Fantastic Incredible web site ] | [ official Stan Lee web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!