This post has taken me far longer to write than I'd like to admit and I think that's largely because I found this book pretty lukewarm. The Doll People by Ann M. Martin (with pictures by Brian Selznick) was another one of those books recommended as a great book for the kids in your life who are trying to stretch their legs as early and eager readers. I didn't realize at the outset of reading it that it was actually the first in a series which follow the lives of the members of the Doll family. This is like Toy Story but dialed up to 11, ya'll. We follow the adventures of Annabelle Doll who is preoccupied with the mystery of her aunt's disappearance 45 years ago. Like Toy Story, there are certain rules about letting the humans see them moving but they actually have an oath with consequences attached. (We learn about Doll State or Permanent Doll State where they are frozen either temporarily or permanently.) The storyline is slow and rather predictable but suitable for beginner readers who are gaining confidence with chapter books. I guess the most 'interesting' part (if you can call it that) was when a new set of dolls entered the house and the reader can see the difference between the older porcelain toys and the newer plastic ones. 4/10

 

What I'm Currently Reading: When the Children Came Home: Stories From Wartime by Julie Summers

So a couple of days ago I has a sudden urge to read some Doctor Strange comics. I can't recall why exactly this came over me, as he was never one of my favorite Marvel characters. One reason for this was the magical/fantasy elements, which was never my thing, while another was the solemnity and pomposity of his characterization back then. But after having read through some other stuff I decided to give some of the more recent issues a try.

 

After doing some research I started with Brian K. Vaughan's The Oath and I enjoyed it enormously. Then I started reading Jason Aaron's run from a few years ago and I liked his stories just as much. It's really interesting to see how much the character has changed; while no less arrogant in his decisions he's much more flawed and tortured than before. And with a recurring theme running through the issues of magic having a cost (one that is pretty much the entire lesson of The Magicians), the constraints Strange faces become a major factor in the storytelling. I intend to follow the future releases closely while working my way through the back issues, at least until I get back to the point where he was far less appealing of a character.

Are you a kid that thinks everything can go wrong does. The Misadventures of Michael McMichaels maybe a good book for you. It a story with morals and life lessons. The first book is about The Angry Alligator. Ever hear the saying The Gator gonna get you or eat you. 

The child in the book say say this to Michael and it gives him the idea of it really happening. The lessons in the book is about not lying about something you did. You know once you tell one lie it get harder to tell the truth as you go to cover up one lie after another.

Well Michael lies and lies and it get all tangled up. You are in a big mess when you should have just told the truth in the first place and you would not be needing to cover up more lies. I also like the saying The truth will set you free.

Wong has a brain tumor and Doctor Strange goes looking for a cure. What he finds is a cure to all cancer. Too bad Timely Pharmaceutical doesn't want the cure going public. Can Doctor Strange, Wong, and Night Nurse get the serum back before Wong succumbs?

By the Hoary Fucking Hosts of Hoggoth, this was the best modern Doctor Strange tale I've yet read. The Oath of the title refers to the Hypocratic oath Strange swore back when he was Doctor Stephen Strange, asshole neurosurgeon. Strange wrestles with the dilemma of healing Wong with a cure-all elixir or releasing it to the world. A criminal named Brigand steals the panacea from Doctor Strange and shoot's him with Hitler's suicide gun. Strange, Wong, and Night Nurse go looking for him before Wong's time runs out.

Brian K. Vaughn and Marcos Martin craft a tale that revisits Doctor Strange's origin and explores his duties as both Sorcerer Supreme and as a doctor. Sadly, I found the idea of a pharmaceutical company not wanting a cure for cancer to be distributed all too real.

Doctor Strange is true to form here, unlike in The Defenders when he can't seem to keep his Wand of Watoom in his pants. Marcos Martin's art is pretty sweet, as usual, and his art has a nice Ditko vibe when Strange goes into Brigand's mind. Given that Benedict Cumberbatch is playing Doctor Strange, it's an awesome coincidence that the Doctor refers to Night Nurse as Watson.

That's about all all I have to say. Doctor Strange: The Oath grabbed me like the Crimson Bands of Cittorak and wouldn't let go. Four out of five stars.

A well-researched and very interesting presentation on the origins of baseball in this country, and how our country in the early 20th century was ready and willing to believe a strongly patriotic, and patently false, version of this creation of our National Pasttime. Abner Graves, an avid businessman from Cooperstown, sent his "version" of the creation of baseball, which lavishly told of Abner Doubleday and his "invention", to A.G. Spalding via an article in the Akron Beacon. The tale then took a life of its own, and many even now still believe in the Cooperstown origin of the game. Since other versions are presented as well, this book ultimately comes to the conclusion that the origins of baseball may truly never be known. My only criticism of the book is the painstaking detail the author presents on Abner Graves, Adam Ford, and other subjects that don't seem very relevant to the overall argument. This bogs the book down, but reader perseverance will be rewarded with the last 40-50 pages.