[Rev. Bob]

I've acquired several graphic novels recently - some borrowed, some electronic bought on sale - and have been plowing through them at speed. In no particular order:

Araña volumes 1-2: Interestingly different-for-Marvel take on a spider-powered heroine. So far, with the exception of one event, this could be completely divorced from the Marvel Universe with no problems.

The Sandman volumes 1-4: No, I hadn't read them before. No, not any of them. For real. At this point... meh, honestly. I can see the skill in the craft, but it feels like being served a delicately designed, artfully built meringue. There just doesn't seem to be much meat there.

Silk volume 0: I have the Original Sin collection - the big one, not the shorter one with the same cover - and this reminds me that I ought to read it. I encountered the character for the first time in the Spider-Verse story - short form, she was also bitten by the spider that got Peter Parker - and so far, I like what's going on with her. Suffers a bit from being cut short by the Secret Wars "all the universes die" decree; I'll have to see what becomes of her afterward.

Spider-Gwen volume 0: Kind of the same situation as Silk 0, actually. New character, a few issues to get a feel for her world, then it comes to a sudden end thanks to Marketing. It was interesting to see how some familiar characters were thrust into different roles, though... Matt Murdock as Kingpin's enforcer? Frank Castle on the police force? I know the character's coming back, the big question is how. I think I like Silk more as a character, but I like Gwen's setting more.

Secret Wars Prelude collection: A haphazard collection that delivers several seeds that should have at least gotten a couple of pages of summary in the main event. "Here's the Doom/Beyonder backstory. Here's who Miles Morales is, if you live under a rock. Here's a bit about The Maker and the City he built, which makes no sense without even more background. Here's something about Doom trying his hand at making a universe. Oh, and here are three issues of New Avengers that actually tell you what's going on. Good luck!" I would've done this as a reprint of the New Avengers issues plus a special (double-length at most) issue that summarized everything else. It would've been half the size and much easier to digest.

Secret Wars collection: My, this was mismarketed. You go in expecting a big fight between the heroes of two universes, and instead you get a plodding, weird story that reads like an oversized FF-themed "What If" miniseries. I might have liked it more if the expectations had been set accordingly. There doesn't seem to be any point in bothering with the tie-in collections, which will at least save my wallet some pain.

Ms. Marvel volumes 1-3: Very refreshing. I'm not part of any of Kamela Khan's communities, but learning about them and seeing the Marvel Universe through her fresh perspective is very cool. Unfortunately, volume 4 concludes with the same big "OMG Secret Wars smash" event, which I'm not looking forward to.

Amazing Spider-Man volume 1: So far, the only post-Secret Wars Marvel collection I've read. Thankfully, the world-shattering event doesn't seem to have messed with this all that much. Spidey's taking on sort of a "Junior Iron Man" role as tech-funded philanthropist, and I like where this is going so far.

On the prose side, I'm working my way through Acolytes of Cthulhu a little at a time. It's mainly a reprint anthology of older stories, but there may be a couple of originals in there. The good thing about anthologies is that you can read a story or two at a time, as the mood hits. This one's not bad, but there's that matter of setting expectations. I hadn't realized the tales were reprints at first, but now that I'm over that, I've recalibrated and am cool with it. Sometimes, all you want from a Mythos story is a shoggoth and a madman in a padded cell...