Book Review: "Superman: Sunday Classics 1939-1943"

The other book I read over our camping trip, this is a collection containing all of the Superman Sunday newspaper strips from 1939-1943 done by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster themselves (well, themselves or by their studio of artists). This book does not contain the daily strips, but that doesn't hurt the reading experience since the Sunday strips are completely separate story-wise from the dailies.

Superman was a very different guy back in the day, let me tell you. He was still the most powerful guy around; in all of the strips I don't think he himself is ever actually in physical danger. He is literally faster than a speeding bullet, though it's hard to say how fast he really is (the narration at one point says he is moving faster than the speed of light, but I think that was hyperbole). He's really strong, invulnerable, has his extra-sensory powers, but I have to admit I had to remind myself he can't fly. A lot of his poses look like flight, and only the narration and the fact he often observes people hanging from telephone poles and window sills gives away that he isn't flying. Based on the art I'm not surprised he eventually gained the power to fly, since he looks like he's doing it all the time instead of leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

At first I doubted how good these strips could be; how much dramatic story can you pull off in a single Sunday comic? I have to admit, Siegel and Shuster jam-packed their strips with content with amazing skill. These guys are like the anti-Bendis, getting important information out in as little space as possible. It doesn't feel forced though.

A standard story isn't done in a single Sunday strip though. Rather, we get to follow the story over the course of I'd say between 6-8 strips (I forgot to count). Superman isn't waging galactic battles or fighting to save the planet, he's helping the common man mostly. Outside of a group of men in armour (believed to be robots at first) and one super-powered foe (who was a real push-over, he had some crazy weakness), Supes spends his time taking on gangsters and mysteries. It was really refreshing. Lex Luthor did show up for one story, which was great to see.

I don't think anyone would call this Superman a boy scout. I admit, one of my favourite panels has Superman saving some potential drowning victims. He swims up to one, who is calling for help. Telling him it is for his own good, Superman decks the guy right in the face before saving him. A later panel says it was because he was thrashing about and panicking, and the guy bears Superman no ill-will, but man I laughed when Superman decked him.

I got a few other chuckles out of the book too. For example, while Superman is trying to help a race car driver who is getting targeted for death, the rival race car driver is none other than "Pete Parker". Alas poor Parker didn't survive the story.

While Superman battles valiantly to save civilians, those of the criminal persuasion die regularly. Some of them Superman could have saved if he wanted to, others he actually killed himself. A plane was waging an attack and Superman jumped up and piledrived the thing into the ground, smashing it into an accordion shape. No way the pilot survived that.

I really recommend checking this book out. I don't know if I'd read anything by Siegel and Shuster before, but man, they were good. I give this collection 4 tall buildings out of 5.

Book Review: "Crimes & Punishment: Life as a CFL Official"

While away on our anniversary this past week-end, I brought along "Crimes & Punishment: Life as a CFL Official" to read. I picked this book up while at Value Village awhile back, for the low low price of $2.99, and decided to give it a re-read.

The book is about the officiating story of Neil Payne, a long time CFL official. Payne has served many roles as a CFL official, everything from a "stick man" to an officials supervisor. He holds nothing back (or at least I hope he didn't!) in this tell-all book about the hidden world of officiating.

Payne tells various stories of the sacrifices and less-than-glamorous lifestyle of the CFL official. Staying in the cheapest hotels possible (he tells one story of a fellow official showing up at his regular budget saver to find it has been leveled to the ground), drinking with Polish sailors on their cargo ship, Payne paints quite the picture of the men in stripes.

I picked this book up because I myself am a sports official, though not in football. I am certified to officiate soccer and volleyball, but I figured there would be plenty of similarities anyway. Tough teams, tougher crowds, I could relate to a decent amount of the material, if on a much smaller scale.

I found that on my second read through I was able to keep all of the different officials he mentions throughout the book straight. Referees don't tend to be household names, so you really have to pay attention to who is doing what. I also found that some of his references would be lost on you if you are not a CFL fan (for example, he compared a woman hitting on him on a plane as "Chris Walby's bigger sister", or something along those lines). As this book is a few years old, Walby is one of the most recent CFL stars you will see Payne mention. If you're not familiar with CFL football, you will miss some of those references, as they are not all explained.

One of my favourite things about the book is Payne is actually from Winnipeg. Therefore a good number of his stories deal with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, which I appreciate as a Bomber fan myself.

I did find that the book seemed to meander across different time periods in his career at times, but it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

If you're a fan of the unseen world of pro sports, this book is great. Payne passes on things you never see or hear about on the news or in the paper. However, if you are not a CFL football fan, I'm not sure how much enjoyment you would get from the book.

3.5 Flags on the Play out of 5. Repeat 1st down.

Book Review: Robin Hood, King of Sherwood

I'll be up front before I review this book, the author is actually a friend of mine. We have both been participants on a story-writing message board for many a year now (at least 10), and have collaborated together on on-line projects before. Regardless, I thought this book was outstanding.

This is an origin story of Robin Hood. In the beginning of the book, Robin is not the leader of the Merry Men. However, he is still the Robin that we all know and love. He is a master of the bow, a charming rogue, and a man of character.

I don't want to spoil the story, but we very organically see Robin adopt his mission to rob from the rich to give to the poor. The story never feels like an origin story, which often attempts to shoehorn in certain story beats in an awkward manner to make it match the end product.

Many stories today feature shades of grey, where it is sometimes hard to distinguish the heroes from the villains. Not so here. The villains are vicious pieces of work, both dastardly and cruel. Our heroes clearly are not, though they are not afraid to kill when necessary (a reflection of the time the story is set in, as that was the way of things). It is refreshing for the heroes to be just that, heroes.

The only negatives I have about the book are that some plot points are not wrapped up by the end; though it is important to note the author did not rush to tie them up neatly (and improperly) with a little bow in the space allotted (which would have cheapened the story). This is addressed in the afterword, that if sales are sufficient there will be another volume or two published. From personal experience I know the author has a tendency to plan a single story that then sprawls into multi-part epics, so I wasn't surprised by this. As long as the rest of the story gets published, it will all work out just fine.

I also found the odd section to be rather, well, wordy. This book is historical fiction, and as such the names and terminology of the times are used throughout the book. In the opening chapter I felt it was a little heavy on this, but to be fair it may be because the author is English, the book is set in England, and I've never been there. Generally this is a strength of the book, not a weakness, just that opening chapter was a bit heavy.

All in all, this is a fantastic read for those who love adventure and right versus wrong (as opposed to law and order). I give it 4.5 arrows out of 5.

Book Review: Curl To Win

Recently I picked up "Curl To Win" by Russ Howard. For those unaware, Russ Howard is an Olympic Gold Medalist in curling, teaming with Brad Gushue at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Howard has enjoyed a long and successful curling career.

I find it a little hard to categorize Curl To Win. In many ways it is a resource to improve your own curling game, but it isn't as technical as a coaching manual would be. There are also many stories of Howard's own experiences, which adds that personal element you wouldn't get in most "how to" or improvement books.

In the end, I like the blend of the two styles. The book is very reader-friendly, as you get to hear stories of past Brier's and and the Olympics instead of simply being told to "do this" or "do that". The book is also extremely friendly to new curlers; the first chapter or two is all about introducing and explaining the game to beginners. Experienced curlers could easily skip this part of the book, and when I reread the book I'm sure I will be skipping that part too, but I'm glad it's there as it sets a good framework for the rest of the book.

I tend to disagree with a couple of things Howard says in the book, but that doesn't mean he's wrong; I'm by no means arrogant enough to think I know more about curling than Russ Howard. He's been curling for a long time, but for example, he recommends the lift delivery when throwing a curling stone (where you lift the stone off of the ice in a backswing motion before throwing it). I am in the camp that likes the no-lift delivery better; hefting a 42 pound rock when I don't have to seems harder on the back and there is also a smaller margin of error when delivering the rock. To be fair, even though Howard recommends you progress to the lift delivery, the book still shows you how to do the no-lift delivery as well, leaving the choice up to you.

The book also contains pictures of Howard (or other curlers) to demonstrate all of the techniques in the book, which is a great visual aid. He also demonstrates some classic mistakes as well, which is nice for comparison. The pictures are especially helpful in the section dealing with various curling drills; as a curling coach I'm always looking for new drills, and the book was very helpful on that front.

I really liked the section dealing with the importance of each position on the team. Rather than write these sections himself, Howard went out and got other curlers who are at the top of the field in their chosen position to write about it. Howard has been a skip for a great many years, so it was nice to hear about the skills needed and importance of the lead from someone who plays and loves the position. I definitely want to have my curling team read that section of the book.

I think Curl To Win is a great resource for anyone that wants to learn to curl or refine their game. I would have liked to maybe see a little more technical stuff later on in the book for the more advanced curler, but the book still has a lot of value.

I give it 4 curling stones out of 5.