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rynet_iiCart and Cwidder is a fantasy novel, I'd estimate aimed at kids in the 10 or so range, set in Dalemark, a medievalish country torn by a civil war between the North and the South. Our protagonist is Moril (full name Osfameron Tanamoril Clennonson), the youngest son in a family of traveling singers who travel around South Dalemark in a cart, performing music, spreading the news, sending letters, and taking on the occasional passenger. The family's latest passenger is a boy named Kialan, who the family agrees to take to the North.
Initially, things go normally for the family (notwithstanding Moril's sister, Brid, disliking Kialan) but things start going metaphorically south as the tensions between both halves of Dalemark grow. Moril's father, Clennan, is murdered, and his mother goes off to marry her ex-fiance, and while they're there they encounter one of the murderers. Moril and his siblings and Kialan are forced to flee, and must handle the responsibilities of Clennan's legacy as a performer and spy, as well as a cwidder that has mystifying powers.
It's kind of... sad, as far as kid's books go, since it is centered around a civil war and the book doesn't cozy it up any. People die, or come close to it, and there are some very tense sequences where the characters have to struggle to survive. (Mostly of the "not getting caught by enemies" sort of struggle, but there's also some difficulty involved with just making a living.)
As for Batman Adventures Volume 1, it's a collection of comics set in the continuity of Batman: The Animated Series. I haven't heard much about the tie-in comics to the animated series, but what I did hear/see was fairly positive and after reading through this collection I'd say yeah, they're pretty good comics. The only problem is that now I need to figure out how to get my hands on the rest of the series.
#1 - Penguin's Big Score: The Joker helps Penguin with a scheme that will make Penguin more respectable in the eyes of society; Batman has to figure out what Penguin is up to and gather evidence to prove that Penguin's got nefarious methods and motivations. Nice to see a story where the villain's goal is slightly more complex than "I will rob this bank in order to get rich." Part of a larger story arc about Joker.
#2 - Catwoman's Killer Caper: As in the previous issue, Joker comes to another rogue with a scheme for them. In this case, it's Catwoman, and the scheme is to steal the crown jewels of England. Batman has to figure out how Catwoman got past the security system and confront Catwoman- again, it's part of the larger Joker story arc. Selina's blonde, which is weird.
#3 - Joker's Late Night Lunacy: Joker's major scheme turns out to be hijacking Gotham's television airwaves so he can broadcast his own show. This being Joker, JTV mainly revolves around grievous bodily harm delivered unto people like the Police Commissioner or D.A. Harvey Dent. Not the most interesting payoff, but it has its moments.
#4 - Riot Act: This is a two-part story. People in Gotham start losing the ability to read, resulting in chaos when motorists can't read street signs, doctors can't read their medical notes, TV reporters can't read their prompts, etcetera, etcetera. The engineer of this dyslexia plague sends out a message, demanding the city pay a ransom or else he'll make the problem worse, and Batman and Robin have to figure out who's causing the problem.
#5 - Riot Act II: It's Scarecrow. Batman and Robin now have to figure out how Scarecrow's spreading the plague and how to stop it, and they run into a street gang along the way. There's a bit of social commentary along the way about privilege and the education system. More interesting than the previous arc, which kind of suffers in my eyes from B:TAS!Joker ultimately not being that interesting.
#6 - The Third Door: While at a party, Bruce Wayne hears a gunshot and parkours his way into a room where a man lies dead from a gunshot wound to the head, apparently having killed himself. Bruce is caught by other partygoers and since the room was locked from the inside and everyone assumes he's the murderer. Bruce and Dick must find evidence to prove his innocence. Interesting to contrast this with the previous issues, since this story's a more down-to-earth murder mystery. Pity the title makes the solution fairly obvious.
#7 - Raging Lizard: Batman is tracking down a missing murderer, while Killer Croc (apparently now a professional wrestler?) finds himself facing off against an opponent who humiliated him in the past. The two wind up crossing paths in the third act. There's a lot of punching throughout the entire issue.
#8 - Larceny, My Sweet: There's a bank robber in town called the Invisible Man- he's actually quite visible, and a great hulking brute of a man at that, but he's gained the nickname due to his ability to vanish immediately following a crime. This is enough to get Batman on the case. Furthermore, reporter Summer Gleeson at one point shows up at the scene of one of the Invisible Man's crimes, where she encounters a handsome young man, and the two immediately grow sweet on one another. (This being a Batman story, it ain't gonna end well.)
#9 - The Little Red Book: Mob boss Rupert Thorne has a little red book full of information that's useful, but also incriminating, and the Batman has to track it down. Not a very complex plot, serviceable action sequences.
#10 - The Last Riddler Story: The Riddler is released from Arkham, but is depressed about his constant defeats at the hands of Batman. His henchmen talk him into giving the whole "defeating Batman" thing one last shot, but the Batman himself already has his hands full with a trio of other villains going around robbing people. Probably the most humorous issue in the collection, even if the Riddler's issues are a little sad.
Initially, things go normally for the family (notwithstanding Moril's sister, Brid, disliking Kialan) but things start going metaphorically south as the tensions between both halves of Dalemark grow. Moril's father, Clennan, is murdered, and his mother goes off to marry her ex-fiance, and while they're there they encounter one of the murderers. Moril and his siblings and Kialan are forced to flee, and must handle the responsibilities of Clennan's legacy as a performer and spy, as well as a cwidder that has mystifying powers.
It's kind of... sad, as far as kid's books go, since it is centered around a civil war and the book doesn't cozy it up any. People die, or come close to it, and there are some very tense sequences where the characters have to struggle to survive. (Mostly of the "not getting caught by enemies" sort of struggle, but there's also some difficulty involved with just making a living.)
As for Batman Adventures Volume 1, it's a collection of comics set in the continuity of Batman: The Animated Series. I haven't heard much about the tie-in comics to the animated series, but what I did hear/see was fairly positive and after reading through this collection I'd say yeah, they're pretty good comics. The only problem is that now I need to figure out how to get my hands on the rest of the series.
#1 - Penguin's Big Score: The Joker helps Penguin with a scheme that will make Penguin more respectable in the eyes of society; Batman has to figure out what Penguin is up to and gather evidence to prove that Penguin's got nefarious methods and motivations. Nice to see a story where the villain's goal is slightly more complex than "I will rob this bank in order to get rich." Part of a larger story arc about Joker.
#2 - Catwoman's Killer Caper: As in the previous issue, Joker comes to another rogue with a scheme for them. In this case, it's Catwoman, and the scheme is to steal the crown jewels of England. Batman has to figure out how Catwoman got past the security system and confront Catwoman- again, it's part of the larger Joker story arc. Selina's blonde, which is weird.
#3 - Joker's Late Night Lunacy: Joker's major scheme turns out to be hijacking Gotham's television airwaves so he can broadcast his own show. This being Joker, JTV mainly revolves around grievous bodily harm delivered unto people like the Police Commissioner or D.A. Harvey Dent. Not the most interesting payoff, but it has its moments.
#4 - Riot Act: This is a two-part story. People in Gotham start losing the ability to read, resulting in chaos when motorists can't read street signs, doctors can't read their medical notes, TV reporters can't read their prompts, etcetera, etcetera. The engineer of this dyslexia plague sends out a message, demanding the city pay a ransom or else he'll make the problem worse, and Batman and Robin have to figure out who's causing the problem.
#5 - Riot Act II: It's Scarecrow. Batman and Robin now have to figure out how Scarecrow's spreading the plague and how to stop it, and they run into a street gang along the way. There's a bit of social commentary along the way about privilege and the education system. More interesting than the previous arc, which kind of suffers in my eyes from B:TAS!Joker ultimately not being that interesting.
#6 - The Third Door: While at a party, Bruce Wayne hears a gunshot and parkours his way into a room where a man lies dead from a gunshot wound to the head, apparently having killed himself. Bruce is caught by other partygoers and since the room was locked from the inside and everyone assumes he's the murderer. Bruce and Dick must find evidence to prove his innocence. Interesting to contrast this with the previous issues, since this story's a more down-to-earth murder mystery. Pity the title makes the solution fairly obvious.
#7 - Raging Lizard: Batman is tracking down a missing murderer, while Killer Croc (apparently now a professional wrestler?) finds himself facing off against an opponent who humiliated him in the past. The two wind up crossing paths in the third act. There's a lot of punching throughout the entire issue.
#8 - Larceny, My Sweet: There's a bank robber in town called the Invisible Man- he's actually quite visible, and a great hulking brute of a man at that, but he's gained the nickname due to his ability to vanish immediately following a crime. This is enough to get Batman on the case. Furthermore, reporter Summer Gleeson at one point shows up at the scene of one of the Invisible Man's crimes, where she encounters a handsome young man, and the two immediately grow sweet on one another. (This being a Batman story, it ain't gonna end well.)
#9 - The Little Red Book: Mob boss Rupert Thorne has a little red book full of information that's useful, but also incriminating, and the Batman has to track it down. Not a very complex plot, serviceable action sequences.
#10 - The Last Riddler Story: The Riddler is released from Arkham, but is depressed about his constant defeats at the hands of Batman. His henchmen talk him into giving the whole "defeating Batman" thing one last shot, but the Batman himself already has his hands full with a trio of other villains going around robbing people. Probably the most humorous issue in the collection, even if the Riddler's issues are a little sad.
