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Just finished reading Batman: the dark knight returns. It’s got to be one of the best comics I’ve read. Right up there with Watchmen and Kingdom Come. Well, almost up there with Kingdom Come. That one’s hard to beat. Anyway, I really love the way batman is portrayed as dark and gritty, with a violent take on justice. Are his methods an act of vengeance or justice? The comic is full of moral conundrums.

And that’s why I love batman. Have I ever mentioned he’s my favourite comic book hero? He’s the only one without superpowers. He’s the only human in the justice league. And he’s the smartest one too. That’s because he’s the world’s greatest detective. He’s not invulverable. He gets hurt, he gets beaten up. But he stands back up again. Despite being a bad ass, he shows more emotion than all the other superheroes put together. For me, he’s a much more endearing character than, say, superman because a hero with flaws is much more intriguing.

The fight with joker is one to be remembered. The guy’s a fucking psycho!

In a nutshell:
The malevolent Crystal Shard’s influence on Jarlaxle intensifies until even his own drow agents grow fearful of its terrifying intentions. When Bregan D’aerthe itself begins to turn on him, the mercenary will be forced to find a savior in the assassin he’s come to enslave.

And I have a feeling you have no idea what that was about. Haha.

Opinion:
Two words to describe this book: swashbuckling adventure. And check out that cover! It’s yet another masterpiece by Lockwood. I’m in love with his majestic art.

Ah… This book fills up my geek belly like a bowl of ramen. It’s Salvatore at his best. And I’m beginning to develop a fondness for the amoral assassin Artemis Entreri. He is motivated by common sense, nothing more. If he needs to kill, he has no qualms about it. Jarlaxle is, on the other hand, is so just unpredictable. It’s just fascinating to observe him. You’re never sure what his motivations are.

Sometimes characters with flaws are more interesting, realistic and endearing. People are bewildered when I say that my favourite character in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is Cassius. Darth Vader in Star Wars. Agent Smith in the Matrix.

I realised that being NS is not without its perks. I’ve never read more books than during my time in army. There’s just so much down time in between events that it’s killer not to have a book in hand. So there’s benefit of being in the army after all. Here’s some of the books I’ve been reading the past two weeks.

In a nutshell:
Harry Silver has it all: a beautiful wife, a wonderful son, a great job in the media - but in one night he throws it all away. Then Harry must start to learn what life and love are really all about.

Opinion:
The book is rather popular though I hadn’t the chance to read it until Detty bought it. No fancy imagery. No flamboyant plot twists. Just a simple study of inter-human relationships.

I like the interaction between Harry and his dad. Actually I love anything that can bring out the essence of a father and son relationship. It’s one of the most understated bonds in life because so few words are exchanged.

There’re so many points in the book that I was struggling to keep the tears in. It takes a man to describe the male psyche.

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting to you… A piece of good art. I haven’t seen such a splendid cover in ages.

The manga doesn’t start with a backstory. It just throws you into the thick of things. Well actually it shows you the daily life of these two lovers, without revealing how they came to know each other. How very cryptic.

And then there’s the fact that she’s a vampire. He’s a human. With somewhat special eyes? Argh. It’s too mysterious for it’s own good. Oh, and he can kick ass too. I like the fact that it follows the Gothic tradition. Paedophilia [yes, the girl’s actually an adolescent. Well, one who’s lived longer than an adult], insanity, sexual role reversals, macabre killings… It’s all in there. All the Gothic stuff I learnt in school, and maybe some of those I’ve forgotten as well.

But I digress. Gaze upon the jaw dropping cover.

In a nutshell:
A sweet high school romance between an average guy and a beautiful girl has just gotten underway. But tragedy ensues when the girl falls ill with leukemia. A bittersweet tale of young love, enduring devotion, and heartbreaking loss, Socrates in Love is a story to cherish.
Opinion:
The cover looks good, but don’t let that fool you. The art is crap. The characters look like those from the Pink Comics you instinctively know are meant for girls. Sure, there are no disproportionate breasts and legs, but the faces just look amateur compared to the current fare out in the market.

If you can get past that, then you might come to enjoy this simple story. The artist has actually interpreted some of the metaphors very well. The tale didn’t exactly made me tear or anything, but I would say it’s fairly moving. Surprisingly, it’s a subplot concerning the protagonist’s grandfather that’s the most heartrending.

[SPOILER ALERT]

His grandfather couldn’t marry the woman he was in love with. The lady was from a well-to-do family, but she had tuberculosis. He went around earning money recklessly for her treatment so that he could marry her. But she recovered, and her parents wouldn’t allow her to marry a rough guy like him. So now he plans to dig up her ashes and asks the protagonist to scatter his ashes with hers when he dies.

What a romantic old chum.

I was thinking maybe the novel will be more detailed as the manga seems to just breeze through the plot. Sure, the emotion is there, but I think the artist just doesn’t do the source material enough justice. If you’re thinking to shed a few tears, go get the novel.