Last weekend gave us Comic Con@Home, a noble attempt to let comic book,science fiction and fantasy fans enjoy some of their annual get together fun.
While the end results were mixed at best, there was still some entertainment to be had, including a few upcoming and about to be released books.
For those of use who didn't get to join in for CC@H, I have a pair of bookish recommendations with comic book themes. Let's start with Hench, a novel by Natalie Zina Walschots where super villains hire tech support like Anna, a young woman who sees these temp agency gigs as par for the course.
However, an encounter with a bad guy known as the Electric Eel and a superhero that goes wrong is not what she bargained for. Especially when the so-called "good guy" leaves her near death and in need of a rescue that Anna doesn't receive:
Once she's recovered from her injuries(not to mention newly unemployed), Anna decides to use what skills she has to extract revenge on superheroes running around with their powers unchecked.
Landing a spot with a major league villain known as Leviathan, Anna showcases her supreme data analysis talents to the point where she's allowed to do some field work.
Getting a prime opportunity to take down a big name superhero seems like an evil dream come true yet her personal life is turning into a never ending nightmare.
Can she make a real difference or is she still a cog in the superhero/villain machine? This novel sounds amazing yet it won't be available until September. Well, it's not too early for pre-orders and as a hench woman fan myself, such deadly divas are worth being on the look out for:
If you'd rather read something much sooner, comic book historian Tim Hanley has just released Betty and Veronica: The Leading Ladies of Riverdale,which explores the dual history of these iconic gals.
From the start, the tomboyish Betty Cooper and the regally rich Veronica Lodge were set up as rivals for the affections of title hero Archie. However, over the decades , the girls have become friendly adversaries and joined forces to deal with sexism, zombies and serial killers in different forms of media.
Hanley has great skill in highlighting female characters in comic book lore, from Wonder Woman to Catwoman, and I have no doubt that this in depth look at these classic cartoon frenemies, now known to a new generation thanks to the Riverdale TV series, should be a must-have read indeed:
So, even if this year's Comic Con wasn't what you hoped for, be assured that comic book stories and the characters that we adore will still be there, ready and waiting for it to be safe for all of us to return together.
In the meanwhile, we do have plenty to look forward to and with any luck, long put-on-hold films like The New Mutants will finally see the light of a movie screen near you:
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