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Sam is currently reading

The Boys, Volume 1: The Name of the Game

by Garth Ennis

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Sam said: " Serving as a deconstruction of the superhero genre, the plot follows a secret CIA group that targets superheroes who have been corrupted by their celebrity status and committed acts of evil without consequences.

Why It Rocks
Though written by Garth Enn Serving as a deconstruction of the superhero genre, the plot follows a secret CIA group that targets superheroes who have been corrupted by their celebrity status and committed acts of evil without consequences.

Why It Rocks
Though written by Garth Ennis, who made the infamously mean-spirited Crossed series, this one is a direct antithesis of that series in just about every way, maintaining a level of sex and violence while being entertaining because of it and not feeling exploitative or mean-spirited.
Instead of focusing on violence or darkness, the series has a darkly hilarious tone, with more focus on comical aspects at times. For example, one story has a character called the Tek-Knight, basically a technologically advanced version of Batman, who has sex with just about any orifice he sees and cannot control his own actions, which is just plain hilarious.
The superheroes are self-aware knockoffs of popular ones, only they're clearly villains, like Homelander, who's Superman if he exploited his powers to get what he wants and engage in violent acts without fear of being punished or defeated.
Fantastic and unique artwork throughout.
Likeable characters, all of the Boys, Hughie, Billy Butcher, Mother's Milk, Frenchie, and The Woman, have their own quirks (no MHA pun intended) and are very interesting and well-developed. They also contribute to a lot of the humor in the series, like Billy's violent and self-destructive nature, Mother's Milk's anal retentiveness and germaphobia, Hughie's inexperience about the world, and the relationship between Frenchie and The Woman that belies their violent-when-provoked nature.
Not all the heroes are evil, like Starlight for example, who's the only one of the Seven that's morally straight and doesn't stand for her co-worker's corruption.
Shows much more restraint with it's imagery, making it clear as to what's happening, but not showing sex graphically in any way and also having violence that avoids feeling overly brutal.
The TV adaptation, though it had to tone down the content a little, still maintains the dark hilarity that made the comic great and also goes off on it's own interesting path while still being faithful to the source material.
The series is separated into interesting story arcs, which makes the series easy to follow.
Interesting social commentary on a lot of contemporary issues, like homophobia, corrupt church organizations, illegal experimentation, and the like, which all fit in surprisingly well with the overall plot thanks to the overtly satirical writing.
Funny and clever dialogue.
Lots of spin-offs by Garth Ennis himself (albeit with different artists).
Bad Qualities
While not Ennis's most messed up work (that dishonor goes to Crossed), some parts can still be a little much for an unprepared reader.
Some sex scenes feel unnecessary, even in context.
Black Noir's identity as Homelander's clone in issue 65 was rather anticlimatic, and only exists to reveal who Black Noir really is.
6 words: The Infamous Homelander eating a baby. ...more "

Nov 03, 2022 02:34PM · see review

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The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle #4)

by Ursula K. Le Guin

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— Jul 16, 2024 03:29PM

Jul 16, 2024 03:29PM

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Foundation and Empire (Foundation, #2)

by Isaac Asimov

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Jul 09, 2024 07:48AM

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Sam’s Quotes

“He had an erection like an SS-24. He was set to blast off.”
― Stephen Hunter, The Day Before Midnight

tags: arousal, blastoff, erections, missiles

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“This country must swear off its dirty little wars. The CIA has been at the root of every dirty little war America has fought in this century. The CIA and dollar diplomacy.”
― Stephen King, The Shining

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“You feel like you're the king of creation in an A-10. You're up front and the plane itself--wings, engines, rudders--is way back. You sit at the end of the long snout in a fishbowl wide and bright to the world and the only thing in your head-up display is a little rubbery smudge of nose. It's really just you, slung out there. That's why pilots like Leo Pell loved the ship; you really fly her, you're really airborne, on the wind. It's World War II stuff, Jugs and Bostons lowlevel over the hedgerows of occupied Europe.”
― Stephen Hunter, The Day Before Midnight

tags: a-10, a10, airborne, aircraft, pilot, wwii

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“Here's a good one. God made man. Guns made man equal. Guns are the legacy of liberty.
Just because...just because our magazine doesn't feature a naked woman on the cover!
Hell, no, there's no naked women. The sickos would rather squeeze a trigger than a woman's breast. Guns are good old boys! They got them wham-whap two-fisted names, like...like Savage, Colt, Ruger, Baretta, Sigs, Winchester...
Springfield!
Browning!
Luger.
Smith & Wesson.
Remington Viper.
Glock. Don't forget Glock!
Markov, Walther!
H and K.
Mauser parabellum.
Anschutz.
Magnum! All sorts of mags.
I quit, you win. Mags are it.”
― Leon Uris, A God in Ruins

tags: gun, gun-manufacturer, gun-manufacturers, guns

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“...refusing to give in to his wretched stomach, which wanted to vomit up everything. He thought of the Excedrin in his pocket and decided to wait until his stomach had quieted a bit. No sense swallowing a painkiller if you were going to throw it right back up. Have to use your brain. The celebrated Jack Torrance brain. Aren't you the fellow who once was going to live by his wits? Jack Torrance, bestselling author. Jack Torrance, acclaimed playwright and winner of the New York Critics Circle Award. John Torrance, man of letters, esteemed thinker, winner of the Pulitzer Prize at seventy for his trenchant book of memoirs, My Life in the Twentieth Century. All any of that shit boiled down to was living by your wits. Living by your wits is always knowing where the wasps are.”
― Stephen King, The Shining

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