Following the journey of award winning author, Alex Azar, as he travels the publishing world and all things interesting. To reproduce or publish any material found within this blog, please contact me at azarrising@hotmail.com

Monday, February 24, 2014

What I'm Reading Now 2/24/14 UPDATED

I'm about to read a book called "The 37th Mandala", and that's about all I know about the book.  I even had to google the book to find out the author is Marc Laidlaw, feel like I should know this name, but I don't.



I had come across the book randomly about two years ago and remember hearing years prior that I would enjoy it.  I think the phrase used was something along the lines of 'this is right up your alley'.

Unfortunately, I don't know what that means. Pretty sure my varied tastes lead to many alleys, some dirty and scary, others more inviting.  Come back to to find which alley this fits in, and possibly more important, what the hell a Mandala is...

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Wow, that's all I can say. Unfortunately, it's not a good wow.  This book was painful to read, at least as far I as had made it through.

First off a Mandala is apparently the author's attempt at reimagining H.P. Lovecraft's Elder Gods (you know Cthulhu, Nyarlothep, and all those guys).  The Mandala's are lies based off of myths that may or may not have been routed in truth.  A Mandala is a central sigil associated with a certain spell.  What a Mandala isn't, is interesting or remotely entertaining.  At least The 37th Mandala isn't.

The writing is dry, so dry in fact, it renders the adventure within the story boring.  Merriam Webster would have written a more engaging book than Marc Laidlaw did here.  To further turn off anyone holding this book in their hands, is the fact it's filled with unrealistic characters, leaving you completely uninterested in the outcome of their lives.  Readers would have been better served had Laidlaw acted as muse for a different more competent author.  I only say that because typically anything with the Elder Gods is worth giving a shot; this however is not.

As if you needed this bit, but the rating is...

Inside Cover
Despite the name of the writing, don't even bother reading the blurb on the inside of the book.  I tried liking this book, even forced myself passed my self imposed 75 page limit, but still had to tap out.  Save your brain cells, and skip this one.

Monday, February 17, 2014

A History Of Comics From One Fan's Eyes: Part 1

If recent history is any indication, we all love comics. How else would the biggest Hollywood blockbusters be based on the four-color 'funny pages' so many of us grew up on? Marvel's The Avengers is the third highest grossing movie of all time, and the Iron Man and Christopher Nolan Batman trilogies are among the biggest franchises in recent years. Comics have even taken over our TV screens with the recent success of both Arrow and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., not to mention the countless cartoons. No matter where you look, or what your personal interests are, it's hard to deny that today, now, this time in history, it is good to be a geek.


As recent as seven years ago, no one would have expected it to be as big as it's become.

I'm curious about how that started. Not on the grand scale of San Diego Comic-Con becoming a powerful international showcase of all things pop culture, but on a more personal note. People always say you never forget your first, but if you ask most comic readers they can't recall the first issue they purchased or read.

I for one, remember with clear distinction the first comic I bought with my own money. I still own that very issue, and not a repurchased copy, but the original issue that cost me less than a third of today's popular comics.

My brother had been letting me read his comics for a couple months at the time, well as much reading as any five-year-old does with a comic full of eye catching art. From the beginning I had a strong fascination with Iron Man, based mostly on the fact that he had such a crippling medical condition but still sacrificed himself to save the world. And the cars, he had amazing cars (I named by Big Wheel tricycle Iron Man) that every kid loved.

How cool is that now you can buy an Iron Man themed Big Wheel?


When my brother realized that I was rereading comics multiple times because he wasn't buying new ones, he took me to the local comic shop so I could start my very own collection. There was no warning of the importance of what I chose to begin the foundation of my 'library', possibly because it shouldn't have been that big of a deal, or perhaps there was no way of telling how influential this moment would be on the rest of my life, but in any case I knew I had to choose wisely.

It came as no surprise to my brother that I was immediately drawn to the small section of Iron Man comics, but what he found odd was that I wasn't interested in the latest issue. I held a seven year old issue that came out a couple of years before I was even born. In my hands was Iron Man #133, a nothing issue that today could be found in your local shop's 50 cent bin, if they even have it. But then, in 1987 it was like seeing a naked female for the first time. I was filled with questions, and wanted to see more.


The cover that started it all for me.



The cover depicted not only The Invincible Iron Man defeated on the ground, but also The Incredible Hulk laid on the floor, in a similar defeated fashion. Jim Rhodes (prior to becoming War Machine) was clearly concerned over the well being of his friend, and Ant-Man, according to the cover he was all-new and astonishing, stood shocked at whatever it was that transpired. And what was it that happened? I had to know. The cover told me that Iron Man beat the Hulk, but asked “At what cost?”, but more intriguing to me is why would the two be fighting. To my five year old mind it didn't make sense. Although I wasn't too familiar with Hulk, I knew he was supposed to be a hero, and the idea of two heroes fighting was too much to take (this was well before Civil War or AvX) and I needed those answers.


Honestly, at this point nearly 30 years later, I barely remember what transpired within the issue, but I do know this issue was the start to my life long hobby, turned collection (borderline obsession), and career. Iron Man #133 was the first of my 30,000 (and counting) comic collection.

Monday, February 10, 2014

What I'm Reading Now 2/10/14 UPDATED

Next on my reading block is a book by one of the best comic writers in the industry today, Warren Ellis.  He's the creator of the Iron Man stories that heavily influenced the feel of the movies, thus creating the Iron Man most of the public knows and loves.  I know from his comic work that he crafts interesting, fantastic tales but bases them on real world probabilities.



This has made me eager to read his first full length prose novel, "Crooked Little Vein".  However I'm not too sure what the book is about.

Let's see if Ellis' creative talents transfers over to prose...
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So I can say this was a fairly easy read, i was able to finish the entire book in about a week, and I only read it while commuting.  Warren Ellis' writing style really shines through the pages within the book, what doesn't come through is the content.  The entire book was just a showcase of some of the most depraved sexual acts ever committed to paper, with no actual story behind the "adventure".  The first day I began reading the book, I recommended it to a friend that I know would have appreciated Ellis' writing style, however the next time I spoke to that friend I took back my recommendation.

The book centers on a secret constitution that when read to an audience, it will reset the listener's moral compass.  This book was then lost to history because Richard Nixon traded it for sexual services.  A detective is hired to find the book so the government can fix the country with this book.  Crooked Little Vein follows this detective on one sexual misstep to the next, each more and more ridiculous than the last.  Warren Ellis assures us that every act and practice in the book are things he had come across in research for the book.

The sad truth is, I believe all of things in the book are actually out there, I just didn't need a map to them.  That's all this is, not an adventure story, not a mystery book, but a map to sex you didn't even know you didn't want to know about.

My rating for this would have to be...



Chapter 2.  I stand by Warren Ellis as an author, and will pick up some of his other books, but this one left me sour for the time being.