Both of these books feature badass female heroes and lots of violence. The YA novel is probably the more brutal of the two. Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers. Orbit, 2016. 9780316308601. 432pp. Hail Bristol left the life of a princess behind years ago and became a notorious gunrunner. But now her sisters have been killed, her mother is ill, and there was just a serious attempt on her life. Good thing trackers from the Indranan Empire found her, and, on orders, dragged her back home to become heir to the throne. (Worth noting: this is set in a female-dominated interstellar empire based on India.) Back in the palace and extremely pissed off, the only people Hail can trust are the trackers who found her. War with a neighboring empire is about to kick off, and her mother is clearly losing it. But before any of that can be dealt with Hail and her bodyguards need to figure out who is trying to assassinate her and why.   Ship of Smoke and Steel: Book One of The Wells of Sorcery Trilogy by Django Wexler. Tor Teen, 2019. 9780765397249. 366pp. Isoka keeps the poorest part of Kahnzoka in line for her bosses and their criminal enterprises. She’s ruthless, and she’s secretly an adept who can draw power from Melos, the Well of Combat — that’s how she creates those glowing green blades that you see on the cover. Her other secret is that she uses the money she makes to create an upper-class life for her sister in a far, far better part of the city. After her power is discovered, she’s sent to Soliton, a mythical ghost ship that is said to collect damned souls. Her mission: to steal it and deliver it into the hands of the Blessed Empire in a year’s time. No one knows what awaits her on the ship. (But I’ll tell you, it’s totally berserk and very, very violent.) If she fails in her mission her sister will suffer, and of course that will mean that Isoka is probably dead, too.

the fire never goes out: a memoir in pictures by noelle stevenson. Harper, 2020. 9780062278272. 194pp. Stevenson is the writer/illustrator of Nimona, wrote Lumberjanes, and went on to be show runner and executive producer of Netfix’s She-Ra relaunch. This is her biography of sorts covering the years 2011 (when she was 19) through 2020, a period during which she took her first comics class, became a creative superstar on the internet for her fan art (and in the real world for her art art), and fell in love. Her life is a triumph in large part because of how she dealt with her anxiety and figured out her sexual orientation. Her book is a triumph because it doesn’t fixate on every moment and minute detail, and she represents her life in moments and yearly summaries using comics and drawings and a lot of words, too. Amazing book. Best biography I’ve read in a while. My favorite moment: the hug she gets at her first pride parade. The thing I didn’t know about: her geeky fan art! It’s fabulous and fun. I love the energy the comics and drawings in the book have — they flow from panel to panel to panel-less to whatever Stevenson needs to create to express herself. Long-time sticky note users like me will find a lot to cheer about in here, too.

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks. First Second, 2019. 9781626721623. 224pp. It’s Halloween at DeKnock’s World Famous Pumpkin Patch & Autumn Jamboree. Josiah and Deja are preparing for their last shifts ever because they’ll be away at college the following year. Deja is determined to make it their best night ever. She traded shifts so they can work together at the Pie Palace and so that Josiah can finally, after years of admiring her from afar, introduce himself to the girl who works at the Fudge Shopppe. (Josiah is a socially awkward guy focused on being rated the best employee in the place; Deja is his opposite in many ways and is way more social.) I love the way Rowell writes conversations, and Hicks’ art really makes them work as trying to meet the fudge shoppe girl proves ridiculously difficult, and as the friends snack their way across the jamboree. Fun YA graphic novel with a bit of romance. Runaways Volume 1: Find Your Way Home by Rainbow Rowell & Kris Anka. Marvel, 2018. 9781302908522. Contains Runaways #1 – #6. Rowell has also been writing a relaunched Runaways title for years, which is also full of fun conversations and romance. (If you’re not familiar with the Runaways, they’re a super powered group of teen who defeated their evil parents. There was a TV show on Hulu.) This book starts with Chase bringing Gert back from the dead, kinda; he uses a time machine to rescue her from the past. Nico uses her magic to fix Gert followed by a joyous reunion with Gert’s dinosaur, Old Lace. And then it’s time to get the Runaways back together: Karolina is at college (but not for long) and Molly is living with her grandma who is probably evil (Grandma’s cats’ eyes glow red). And there’s the hope of reviving their cyborg friend Victor, who died on an Avengers mission, even though all they have is his head. I just read all five of the books in this ongoing title, and the sixth is due out in October 2021. So far it’s a fun ride. Gert and Chase can’t date because of the awkward age difference in the present (he’s 20 but since she’s from the past she’s still 16). (Don’t worry, she finds someone to love.) Karolina breaks up with Julie Power (of Power Pack)and quickly develops a new love interest. Molly tries to stick with going to school. A few of the group work crapy jobs. They also face down gods, meet a Doombot, and even become part of a different Los Angeles-based super team revival (which of course ends badly because the one constant is that adults suck). The books feel both ridiculous and serious, and I love the way there’s usually kindness at the center of these stories.

During the pandemic I’ve been reading books that have been sitting on my shelves for years, as well as buying old science fiction and fantasy paperbacks with ridiculous covers. Most are unreadable. These were fun. The Mad God’s Amulet: The Second Volume In The History Of The Runestaff by Michael Moorcock. DAW, 1977. 0886772168. 223pp. This is my favorite volume in the Runestaff series because of that amazing cover. Look at that cat! I know that look — that’s what my cat Soup looks like right before he pounces. (Unfortunately Soup does not have spines or a spear-tipped tail.) In this book Dorian Hawkmoon and his hairy friend Oladahn fight the forces of the Dark Empire of Granbretan as Hawkmoon tries to return to Castle Brass and Hawkmoon’s fiancee, Yisselda, from far in the east. It’s insane in a fun way and reminds me of Conan stories and episodes of Thundarr the Barbarian. Contains ornithopters, mad pirates, bad guys in bestial armor, and just enough violence. Exiles of Colsec by Douglas Hill. Bantam Starfire, 1988. 0553272330. 164pp. Teens sent to prison find out they’ve been sent to secure and start to colonize an alien planet for a corporation. After a horrific crash landing, they face hostile alien worm-things (see the cover) as well as aliens riled up by an insanely violent dude who was on their ship. Our hero is Scottish. This early YA novel is almost as much fun as Hill’s The Last Legionary series, and it has several sequels. Circus of the Scars: The True Inside Odyssey of a Modern Circus Sideshow by Jan. T. Gregor with Tim “Zamora the Torture King” Cridland. Illustrated by Ashleigh Talbot. Brennan Dalsgard Publishers, 1998. 0966347900. 383pp. In the early 1990s, in Seattle, I saw the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow twice. The second time I took my grandmother. I’m not sure what grossed her out more: seeing Mr. Lifto suspend concrete blocks from his pierced nipples (and then his penis), watching Matt the Tube draw the beer and everything else he’d imbibed from his stomach (and then drink it with several audience members), or witnessing Jim Rose hammer a large nail into his face (and then pull it back out). This is the inside story of all the fun and behind-the-scenes assholery. (Gregor did so many things for the troupe I’m not sure what to call him.) The level of detail is both kinda fun and exhausting, and brings all of the personalities involved to life. Rose himself does not come off well. (If you want his side of all of this, read his book Freak Like Me.) Talbot’s amazing illustrations and caricatures really tie everything together.

The Montague Twins: The Witch’s Hand by Nathan Page & Drew Shannon (illustrator). Alfred A. Knopf, 2020. 9780525646761. 352pp. including sketches and a few pages of the script in back. After twins Peter and Al’s parents disappeared, they started living with David, Shelly, and their daughter Charlie. What they don’t know is that magic is real, and that their parents were practitioners (as is David). The twins have managed to teach themselves a little magic and they’ve been using it (without really knowing) to solve crimes. But that all becomes clear when, on their day off, they encounter a strange storm and a spooky witch. Three girls in their town have been messing with magic, have disappeared, and may have set the witch loose. The brothers investigate with Charlie’s help. Cops hassle them. David tells the boys what their parents really did, and gives all three teens a teacher – David’s assistant, Rowan — whose explanations about magic are wonderfully ambiguous as there’s no right way to do it. This is a fun, not too scary YA mystery with a secondary LGBT theme (it’s set during the time of the Stonewall Uprising, which we hear about in a newscast). Shannon’s drawings are colorful and friendly and then just a bit freaky when they have to be. (The book made me think about the original Scooby-Doo series, and I think it will hold special appeal for older fans like me.)  

Ham Helsing: Vampire Hunter by Rich Moyer. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2021. 9780593308912. 240pp. Vampire hunting has been an obsession of the Helsing family for generations, but it didn’t end well for any of them. Now Chad Helsing has arrived in Mud Canyon to help out with its vampire problem. Two rats offer to lead him to the vampire in exchange for its treasure. After setting out together, they’re chased by a werewolf. Instead of something horrific it’s got a tennis ball in its mouth; it’s friendly and it wants to play fetch. Meanwhile, in a nearby castle, an overwrought, rapping hen is trying to get the vampire it serves to worry about Chad, but the vampire is more excited about his new TV. This friendly, somewhat goofy “horror” adventure has large spiders and an actual villain later, but Moyer’s jokes and kid-friendly drawings keep it light. This is one of those books that makes me wish my now-adult daughter still let me read to her at bedtime.

Eight-Lane Runaways by Henry McCausland. Fantagraphics, 2020. 9781683963110. 96pp. Taller than your average graphic novel. Eight people run on a track that winds through the woods (and other places). Soon after they start, a runner from another group steals the running stick from Mykol and Bruce goes to get it back (which is weird because he may have planned on betraying his teammates). Natalie is running to earn her last badge. Oplo is looking for his cats. Freddo (with the head scarf) can’t talk because he’s a frog. Bobby says he isn’t wearing a mask, though it looks like he is. Blaise is working on the train while running the race. And Khoklakola’s coat talks to her. These characters stories and conversations weave back and forth as they run together on and off and sometimes in search of the track. I’m sure folks will call the narrative experimental, and it probably is because it feels unstructured and magical and unlike anything I recall reading. It holds together really well, though; the art is fun, the layouts delightful, and it made me laugh several times. This is a beautiful book that continued to defy my expectations and that left me with a pleasant feeling. I’m buying a copy for myself as soon as I take it back to the library.

Don Vega by Pierre Alary. Translation: Matt Madden. Europe Comics, 2020. http://www.europecomics.com/album/don-vega/ for digital purchasing options. A Zorro tale set in late 1840s California, drawn by Pierre Alary, whose art I fell in love with while trying my best to read his Belladone series in French. No one draws swashbuckling sword fights like Alary, and his colors are just as amazing. This Zorry story has a suitably villainous villain, a town full of ordinary folks who are suffering, and of course a masked avenger whose true identity likely won’t stay hidden for long. This graphic novel is only available digitally in English, but it’s worth the price. And it’s complete in one volume, so you won’t be left waiting for the next book. Worth noting: Alary also illustrated the adaptation of “The Queen of the Black Coast) in The Cimmerian Volume 1, which was recently published in English by Ablaze.