Comic Novel: Batman by Brian K. Vaughan

 Comic Novel: Batman by Brian K Vaughan, 2017, 9781401268381.

I forgot about reading this one.  Hell, in his intro Vaughan said he didn't remember them either. 

Comics Compilation: "Queen of the Ring" by Jaime Hernandez

 Comics Compilation: Queen of the Ring: wrestling drawings by Jaime Hernandez, 1980-2020, 2021, 9781683964452.

Big-time wrestling fan and author fo Love and Rockets collects 40 years of women wrestler artwork. There is a fair amount of commentary by Hernandez. Fun to flip through.

I read this a while ago and have no further comment. 

Comic Novel: "Ex Libris" by Matt Madden

 Comic Novel: Ex Libris by Matt Madden, 2021, 9781941250440.

I enjoyed this. Point of view - narration of the text and of narrator's vision - of a guy who wakes in a mostly bare room remembering almost nothing of why he is there. Just that he has ended up in a cheap room after a failed romantic relationship.

Narrator is having a mental breakdown and unable to deal with his memories. He ends up reading through a bookshelf filled with comics. Madden adopts different artistic styles as the narrator reads the stories and parts of the stories. 

A bit of a meditation on comics and thought and reality.  I read it awhile ago and have no further comment.

DNF: "Ace Boon Coon" by Danny Gardner

 DNF: Ace Boon Coon by Danny Gardner, 2020, 9781952427053.

I was looking forward to this one and could not get into it and had trouble following. I don't know why. 

The plot mixing Chicago politics, rural IL life, the Mob, and labor battles was neat. I just couldn't grab on.

Paperback: "Sangre Road" by David Tromblay

 Paperback: Sangre Road by David Tromblay, 2021, 9781643961910.

Not a mystery. Not a thriller. And no revenge or comeuppance swinging back the protagonist's way. This does fit into the wise-cracking PI subgenre though.

It's the mid-'90s and Moses "Moe" Kincaid has driven his beater from Kansas City, KS to central Oklahoma in search of a bail jumper. Moe slid into skip-tracing work after leaving the Army and his last post as a guard at Leavenworth.

Things happen. Moe is still a bit of a novice. Moe makes wise cracks. He frequently has to explain his Ho-Chunk native citizenship to the local OK people. Has to explain to white readers - most of us, I presume - about some Native cultural differences. He runs into the wrong people. He runs into the right people. Tragedy ensues.

As much a slice-of-life or romance as a crime novel. I suppose this also fits into the rural noir subgenre. 

One thing I like about this is that there was no fictional baloney of elaborate gunfights, car chases, or derring-do. No best-friend cop to provide information. No mysterious and deadly friend to show up and save the day. No wealthy and powerful politician/businessman/CIA/pastor/etc doing evil against the little guy. Everything is low lever and local.  

• This goes pretty quick at 154 pages. I enjoyed it a fair amount. 
• I bought Tromblay's memoir for the library and that book sounds like it could be a tough read. It has circ'ed 6 times. That is a decent amount for an autobio in our library since it went on the shelf in October.
•  Another novel of Tromblay's has a blurb by Willy Vlautin. If you are thinking, "How does he have a blurb from a dead guitarist?" That's because you are thinking of Willy Deville. 
• I confuse Leavenworth, KS with Atchison, KS.

Paper: "Look For Her" by Emily Winslow

 Paper: Look For Her by Emily Winslow, 2018, 9780062572585.

Modern day mystery with long unsolved murder. I think I read a blurb online. I enjoyed the novel.

Set in England. A far north exurb of London. In the mid-'70s a teen girl went missing. Teen Girl was the press's missing-girl-of-the-moment. Her first name, Annalise, was the only word needed to refer to the entire case. 30 years later her name is still all that is needed in the village of Lilling. Her body was found after 20 years, but not her killer.

Things happen. Multiple narrators. A university psychologist/counselor sees a patient who thinks she is Annalise's long hidden illegitimate child. Another patient, much younger, claims to be from Lilling and named after Annalise. The older woman is found dead.

The younger woman seems to be ingratiating herself into the psychologist's personal life. Two cops from previous novels in the series are coming back to work after parental leave and a bad hand injury. They are further investigating the cold case of Annalise after DNA on the body's clothing is discovered and identified.

Things happen. Twists turn. Narrattion moves back and forth. Winslow provides excellent little insights - short paragraphs, even a short sentence - that explain and describe the characters' thoughts and motivations.

All ends well after some murders, survivor trauma, guilt of action and inaction, a grieving parent.

Paperback: "Dead Harvest" by Chris F. Holm

 Paperback: Dead Harvest by Chris F. Holm, 2012, 9780857662187.

Fantastic cover art. ran across Holm online and tried this one out. First of a paranormal character solving crime.

Sam Thornton committed murder in 1944 and was taken by a Collector. Sam is now a collector and collects souls of people who are to be killed for their acts of general badness and murder and then sent to hell. (Yeah. It does make you wonder why Dick Cheney, Kissinger, Putin, Kim Jong-Un and several thousand other people would still be alive.)

Sam is sent to collect a teenager who murdered who family. Sam reaches into her chest, grabs her soul, and knows she did not kill anyone. Sam is determined to stop her from collection. Things happen. Sam inhabits living or dead people. Holm builds his own world with rules on collection, demons, angels, etc. 

• Enjoyable and too long. 
• The dialog was weak in spots. There was not a lot of differentiation among the characters. 
• Similar vibe to Charlie Huston's HENRY "HANK" THOMPSON series.
• Two more in series and they are available from the library. I may give the second one a try but this did not click too well with me. His more recent thrillers sound more interesting to me.