Marvel Age Emma Frost Volume 1: Higher Learning
Introduces us to Emma Frost as a senior in high school and her disfuctional family who manipulate each other to get their own way. Emma means well but often her best intentions go wrong. When she finally realizes that in order to have some kind of life she needs to leave her family and go out on her own. But will it be good for her? We'll see in the next 2 volumes.

Emma Frost Volume 2: Mind Games
Finally free from her overbearing father, Emma Frost is on her own for the very first time. She's found love - but she's also found trouble, as her new boyfriend is in deep with the Boston mob! As Emma learns more "creative" ways of using her newfound telepathic abilities, will it be enough to help her escape the grasp of the criminal underworld?

Emma Frost Volume 3: Bloom
After fighting the Boston mob, her family, and her own boyfriend, Emma heads to university in New York. There she discovers that the teacher she had a crush on in high school is now teaching at the college and secretly dating her rommie. But the biggest discovery is that she discovers she is not alone in her telepathic talent and she develops a risky relationship with another telepath who is not what she appears to be. Emma discovers that there is a fine line between reading people's minds and actually controlling them.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Vol. 1: The Story of a Childhood
Her autobiographical graphic novel shows us Marjane's life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

We see this unique view of daily life in Iran: of the contradictions between home life and public life and of the enormous toll repressive regimes exact on the individual spirit. Marjane's child's-eye-view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. At the end of this volume she is sent to Austria to get a more balanced education.

Vol. 2 - Story of the Return
Four years later we see how she has tried to change herself to not stand out as someone different. Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran. Interestly enough in Austria she tried very hard to fit in and in Iran where is forced to fit in she has to discover how to keep her unique perspective.

These two volumes were facinating and I wish there is another volume to bring us uptodate on what her life is like now. Read it!

Comics by Alan Moore

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 1 - a comic that is set in Victoria England in which some of our favorite literary characters are real. Mr. Griffin "the Invisible Man", Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Alan Quatermain, Captain Nemo and the mysterious Ms Murray (recently divorced, hints at a horrible scandle and wears a long scarf tied around her neck at all time hmmmm....)

Recrutied by Campion Bond and the mysterious "M" could it be Mycroft Holmes but ends up being Sherlock Holmes nemephis, Professor Moriarty. Who is secretly controlling England and wants to go to war with a Chinese warlord who controls the East. He has discovered a cavorite that allows anything it resides in to fly.

Will the League be able to discover the truth in time and save England and possibly the world? Of course they will! Very exciting and graphic collection. I am still curious as to what is Ms Murray's special gift and what about Mr. Quatermain? Perhaps Vol. 2 will help me out.

Top 10 Vol 1 & 2
The city of Neopolis is populated by science-heroes and villains, and even the general population have weird powers and traits; there are also aliens, gods and other dimensional beings. Policing the city is a tough job, but somebody's got to do it, so the citizens accept the jurisdiction of a multi-dimensional force of peacekeepers, spread over several alternate Earths. In Neopolis Precinct 10 (Top 10) is the hub and Robyn Slinger (Toybox) is the rookie with a lot to learn, who carries around a crate full of intelligent supertoys who do her bidding. Her new partner is a hulking, sullen, blue dude named Smax who shoots energy beams out of his chest..

Robyn's coworkers include Girl One (whose bioengineered skin constantly changes), Jack Phantom (a lesbian who can phase through solid matter, Hyperdog (a sentient Doberman in a cyborg skeleton), Irma Geddon (a middle-aged housewife with a nuclear battlesuit), King Peacock (worships Satan; punches through solid stone), Synaesthesia (listens to smells, feels colors, sees sounds -- believe it or not, this is a real condition), Janus (a switchboard operator with two faces and two personalities), Alexei (a Communist telepath with a chimanzee for a wife), and a number of others. From giant saurians to weird aliens, from deicides to shark-headed lawyers, not to mention internal affairs, Robyn has her work cut out for her.

Vol. 1 was more fun for me as we got to learn much about the various characters. Especially the relationship between Robyn and her new partner Smax as we see how she deals with her father's decline into Alzheimer's. Vol. 2 started out well then the last section just got weird and preachy. Oh, well.

Leave it to Chance Series by James Robinson
Bk 1: Shaman's Rain
Chance Falconer is a 14-year-old only child born into a family of municipal sorcerers that has protected the city of Devil's Echo for centuries. Chance can't wait to start training in the family business, but her father decides he doesn't want a girl joining the family's dangerous profession. Predictably, it's not long before she stumbles onto a dead body and a kidnapping in progress, and soon enough she's got a full-fledged mystery on her hands. Reminds us of the Nancy Drew mysteries that inspired it but mixed with a Buffy the Vampire Slayer tomboy.

This jumps around a lot. Very fun reading. Can't wait to read more of this series.

Bk 2: Trick or treat and other stories will be available soon.

Ruse: Enter the Detective
Volume 1: Introduces us to detective Simon Archard and his girl-Friday, Emma Bishop. But it is from Emma's point of view that we experience the story and get to know Simon. Plus we discover that Emma has special powers to stop time and yet interact in it. Set in an alternative reality, in a city called Partington, similiar to a Victorian-era-style Sherlock Holmes detective story. There are mysterious gargouls who fly above the sky. But there are many mysteries unanswered. But this is very fun to read and as I'm a big Sherlock Holmes fan I did truely enjoy this book.

Ruse: The Silent Partner
Volume 2: Takes up where volume 1 leaves off with discovering that Simon's dead partner, Malcolm Lightbourne, his former mentor and present nemesis. This master detective has become a master criminal under the influence of the Enigmatic Prism, a mystifying gem that focuses (and corrupts) its possessor's personality, which, of course, makes it insanely desirable. But we do not know why Emma does not use her powers again and much of this volume takes place outside of the city so a whole new cast of characters are introduced.

Ruse Traveler: Criminal Intent
Volumen 3: Is out of print as the company went out of business. So I may never see a conclusion to this fun series.

Marvel Age Mary Jane Volume 1: Circle of Friends
MJ's story is about being a high school teen, sorting out who she wants to be and, equally important, who she wants to be with. MJ's best friend, Liz, has her sights set on becoming Homecoming queen. Her boyfriend, Flash, the star quarterback, has been dragging his feet on getting his application for king handed in. MJ doesn't have a date for the dance, but Liz has that sewn up: the perfect guy, Harry Osborn, is up for grabs, and has his eye on our Mary Jane. She likes him, but does she really "like" him? He's no Spidey, but he sure is nice, and he pays for everything. MJ's efforts to raise money for a new dress and the identity of Flash's secret crush add even more complications.

Interesting to see life from MJ's point of view. We see Peter very occassionally but more often as Spiderman. More interesting things to come.

Stuck With You (Time of Your Life) by Trish JensenAs lawyers on opposing sides of a messy divorce case, Paige Hart and Ross Bennett ought to have kept matters purely professional, yet Paige and Ross came to loathe each other with an intensity that was strictly personal. The bad blood between them takes on an unexpected new dimension when the infuriated pair is forced to share a hospital room, when they're quarantined after being exposed to the rare and highly contagious Tibetan Concupiscence Virus that's reputed to shift sensual desire into high gear. When symptoms (which a nonmedical person might mistake for pure and simple lust) start showing up way ahead of schedule, the lawyers' objections to each other are overruled -- and they enjoy every minute of it. But, after the doctors declare that the disease has run its course, Paige and Ross are still feverish with a longing for one another that they hope will never be cured. When the verdict comes in, will they be sentenced to life -- in love?

Fun read and an interesting story.