Book Review: The Nameless City Book 3 by F. E. Hicks et al.

The Nameless City Book 3: The Divided Earth story and art by Faith Erin Hicks and color by Jordie Bellaire

The new General of All Blades plans to solidify his grip on the city by using the ancient weapon that made the city so prosperous (and desired by the three nations)--Napatha. It is a powerful flame that cut a passage through the mountain to the sea beyond. Surely it will wipe out any enemies. He refuses to let his generals have the formula in case they turn against him. An aide gathers the ingredients, hopefully in time to drive off the Yisun army approaching.

Meanwhile, Kaidu's father is seeking out the Yisun army to make a treaty with them. He runs into trouble in the form of a Dao force led by his wife, who is coming to see Kaidu and is now swept up into the conflict. Kaidu is still in the city and wants to steal the formula to prevent its use. He and Rat plan to infiltrate the royal palace. They run into trouble when they discover all the buildings next to the palace have been destroyed. They can't sneak in by the roofs and will have to find another way.

The action is plentiful in this volume. It's well balanced with the backstories and plot expositions by the various characters. Everyone has their own agendas, plans, and desires for the Nameless City. The story ends happily, tying up lots of loose ends and bringing this world to a better place. The characters are interesting, even the bad guys. I enjoyed the story a lot.

Recommended.

Book Review: The Nameless City Book Two by Faith Erin Hicks

The Stone Heart: The Nameless City Book Two written and drawn by Faith Erin Hicks and colored by Jordie Bellaire

See my review of Book One here.

Having averted an assassination, you'd think our heroes could rest on their laurels, but that is not to be. While Kaidu's dad is working on a peace treaty to avert a war, other forces are looking forward to war. One faction wants to rob the Stone Heart, a monastery at the middle of the Nameless City. The monastery has an extensive library, including an ancient book from the founders of the city. The book describes the power they used to create a hole in the mountain range allowing the River of Lives to connect to the sea, thereby making the Nameless City a key trade route. The book is written in an ancient, forgotten language. But the power is so tempting, the bad guys are willing to do too much to get what they want. The power would certainly make them win the war.

The story expands a little bit, following different threads leading our characters into conflict. The political intrigue creates interesting stakes for the people and leaves the story with a tough situation for the heroes. The art is just as good as the storytelling. The narrative continues into a third volume, which I will surely read.

Recommended.

Book Review: The Nameless City Book One by F. E. Hicks et al.

The Nameless City Book One written and drawn by Faith Erin Hicks and color by Jordie Bellaire

The Nameless City isn't really nameless. Every conqueror gives it a different name. The city has been conquered and reconquered for centuries by the three adjacent countries: Dao, Liao, and Yisun. The city is so important because the River of Lives runs through it. The river goes to a mountain range dividing the city from the sea. The ancient dwellers of the city bored a whole through the mountains so shipping could go through, creating an essential commerce route. At the start of the story, Dao is in control though they have been there for thirty years and the army is wearing thin. No country has retained control for more than thirty years. 

Kaidu is a Dao teenager who has just come to the city from the family farm. His father Andren is one of the lieutenants of the General of All Blades, the supreme commander at the city. Andren takes Kaidu on a quick tour of the city. Kaidu becomes fascinated with a hungry girl named Rat who runs off with his knife. He eventually gets it back and they strike up a bargain. He'll bring her food and she'll teach him how to run across the rooftops (parkour style, though they don't use this term because the story is set in a middle-ages time). Their friendship progresses as political intrigues start happening in the city.

The story is very interesting and the characters are delightful. This book sets up a lot of the world and makes some fascinating moves at the end, making me definitely want to read the next volume.

Recommended.

Book Review: Batman: One Bad Day: Two-Face by M. Tamaki et al.

Batman: One Bad Day: Two-Face written by by Mariko Tamaki, art by Javier Fernandez, and colors by Jordie Bellaire

Harvey Dent/Two-Face is in one of his good phases. Gotham's mayor is willing to make him District Attorney as long as he behaves himself. Dent wants to be on the up-and-up but he has a hard time since he's made enemies on both sides of the law. This problem becomes more concrete when he receives a threat against his father. Dent Senior is turning 88 years old and retiring. He wants to have a big party. Dent enlists Batman to investigate the note, who in turn gets the rest of the Bat-family, including Batgirl and Batwoman, to help out. The investigation turns up nothing, leading the characters to beef up security at the party. Will some villain strike when the time comes?

I've always liked the conflicted nature of Harvey Dent/Two-Face and his strange, simplistic yet elegant use of his two-headed coin. The coin does not get much to do in this story. The focus is on the tension of the split-personality and how that divide may not be as even as it sounds. The "One Bad Day" series is based on The Killing Joke, where the Joker puts Jim Gordon through one bad day to test whether he will still do good even under the most stressful circumstances. That core idea is a bit lost when the "Bad Day" victim is a villain (which is what these modern takes on the classic Joker story focus on), since it is a lot more likely that a conflicted villain will give in to weakness or evil and make it a bad day for everyone else. This book is true to that formula and does not add any real interest or ideas to Harvey Dent/Two-Face as a character. I can see the potential here but not the actualization.

Not recommended--I really wanted to love this but it doesn't deliver anything above a less-than-average Two-Face story.

Book Review: Pretty Deadly Vol. 1 by K. S. DeConnick et al.

Pretty Deadly Volume 1: The Shrike script by Kelly Sue DeConnick, art and cover by Emma Rios, colors by Jordie Bellaire, letters by Clayton Cowles

Kelly Sue DeConnick crafts a new myth set in the American Old West! A young girl in a vulture cloak and an old blind man wander from town to town as storytellers. Their main story is about the Mason Man and Beauty, who get married. Mason Man is jealous and locks Beauty in a tower. Death eventually comes to take Beauty but is enchanted with her and she has a child by him before she dies. Death raises the child as Ginny, a reaper of vengeance who may be called by anyone in need.

The girl and the blind man have a run-in with Johnny, who gives the girl something before they flee the town. Later, a woman comes after Johnny looking for a journal. He doesn't have it so she shoots him. The chase is on, though people are not necessarily who they appear to be (hint, the myth is truer than true, no surprise there).

The story takes its time setting up characters. The story slowly reveals of how everyone is related to everyone else and who has what roles in the Mason Man/Beauty story. As a mature Western it is a bit bloody in the violence and has some nudity and sex. Just because it is mythological in character does not mean it is meant for children! I found it engaging and am looking forward to more.