Books: Clearing The Deck, Part I

My to-be-reviewed shelf is rather full, so commentary is going to be brief.

Mage: The Hero Denied by Matt Wagner

An entertaining conclusion to the Mage urban fantasy series, but on the whole, the trilogy does not quite live up to its hype.

Die: Fantasy Heartbreaker by Gillen, Hans, Cowles

A new entry in the "what if the players got sucked into the RPG" genre, and likely to be one of the definitive ones. Grim, gorgeous, highly recommended.

Real Science Adventures: The Nicodemus Job by Clevinger, McClaren, Wiedle, Murphy, Stone

An 11th century heist story, recommended.

BPRD: The Devil You Know: Ragna Rok by Mignola Et Al

The conclusion to the Hellboy/BPRD story that's been told over the past quarter-century. The world trembles on the brink of extinction. Hell is in chaos. And Hellboy will save us... right? Not suitable for those new to Hellboy's world, but a fitting conclusion to the saga.

Synergy: A Hasbro Creators Showcase by Divers Hands

An unfortunately-slim collection of stories by female creators, involving Hasbro's toy properties, including Transformers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, and Jem. There's a little something for everyone in here.

Heathen by Alterici, Deering

The adventures of a heathen, lesbian, Viking, as she fights demons, rescues immortals, and stumbles through all her relationships. Recommended.

Savage Avengers by Duggan, Deodato, Martin

Many "Avengers" teams these days are ad hoc ollections of heroes who don't call themselves a team, let alone Avengers, and only come together for one problem. This book is no exception. Doctor Voodoo, the Punisher, Elektra, Venom, Wolverine, and Conan The Barbarian (!) meet up in the Savage Land to fight a wizard bent on conquest. The delight here is seeing Conan cope with the modern world while refusing to acclimate to it -- and watching him covet Wolverine's claws. A different Marvel story, mildly recommended.

Goddess Mode by Quinn, Rodriguez, Renzi

A cyberpunk tale of a group of women fighting to free cyberspace from corporate domination and the occasional freaky demon. A touch frantic, but pretty good overall.

Sandman: House Of Whispers by Gaiman, Hopkinson, Stanton, Rauch

A houseboat from the real world, home to the unique magic of New Orleans, is sucked into the Dreaming, and the gods' powers come unstuck. I had a little trouble following the plot, but it's still quite good.

At the Mountains Of Madness by Gou Tanabe

The second comics adaptation of Mountains that I'm aware of, and overall the better one, this two-volume manga is lush in detail, and 95% faithful in plot. The history discovered in the lost city is directly illustrated in flashback form, which I think was the best choice. Recommended.

Swamp Thing: Roots Of Terror by Wein Et Al

A collection of Swamp Thing one-shots from the past decade or so, including Wein's last work on the character he created. They, predictably, vary in quality, but "The Talk Of The Saints" is quite good, while "Heart-Shaped Box" suffers from having been done before, with the same character. Mildly recommended.