Comics

Wonder Woman by Nancy Holder (2017)

While travelling visiting family this past Spring, I found this book in a used book store. It’s a sad fact that movie-tie-in novelizations aren’t being done any more, except for those aimed at younger kids. I hadn’t realized this one had come out, and Nancy Holder is a veteran of many adaptations. I really enjoyed her work in the Buffyverse.

As I expected, this is a solid telling of the story. What I usually love about novelizations is that they are done from a final script which often has more details than make it into the film. Sadly, I didn’t learn anything “new” from this one. I enjoyed the movie and I enjoyed reading the book after not having seen the movie in many years. It was a nice diversion on a dreary Fall day.

When I stop to look over what I have collected over the years that’s comics-related, I have a surprising amount of Wonder Woman books. I am going to add this one into the collection.

Peacemaker Season 2 (2025, HBO Max)

I have not been a huge fan of the character of Peacemaker in the comics. Like Harley Quinn, I really didn’t see the fuss until there were some changes and growth in the character. I didn’t like Peacemaker in the movie Suicide Squad and I only watched about an episode and a half of season one of the show.

With James Gunn now the lord and master of DC TV & movies, I figured I would give S2 a look as I was reading that events would tie into future storytelling. I’m glad I did. I think John Cena has done a really good acting job with the character, and like Harleen Quinzel, Christopher Smith is actually pretty interesting. The supporting characters each have something compelling or interesting about them as well.

There are a couple of elements from DC storytelling that get set up in S2, so I am glad I watched. While I’ve read most everything of the big storylines from DC in the last 40 years, most times when watching a show it just gives me a ‘ping’ that something is coming from comics source material. Thank goodness for the internet to help refresh my memory!

One warning about this series is that the language, situations, and visuals (nudity, sex, violence) can be extreme and it’s definitely not a show for most kids younger than late teens.

The internet already tells me James Gunn has said there are no plans for a season three but that the characters and setups matter to other projects. It’s going to be quite the ride to see what Gunn picks from to make his DC Universe.

It Rhymes with Takei by George Takei and Steven Scott (2025)

I read this in a digital version. Nice clean art and beautifully laid-out for a graphical presentation. I knew that George Takei had a history of activism in California, but this book goes over all of his biography. The through-line is having to hide his homosexuality for a large part of his life.

It’s a bit of a spoiler to say that his brother didn’t accept that he was gay. I found this to be the most emotional part of the book. I enjoyed reading how he met and fell in love with his husband.

“It’s easy to hate from afar.” George has done a lot in his lifetime to ease the hate.