Review of "Miracle Man," by Nolan Ryan with Jerry Jenkins ISBN 0849909457

Review of

Miracle Man, by Nolan Ryan with Jerry Jenkins ISBN 0849909457

Four out of five stars

 This book was written after the 1991 season, one in which Ryan had a won-lost record of 12 and 6 and struck out over 1 batter per inning. He was also 44 years old at the time. He played two more seasons, his last when he was 46. At the age of 45 he pitched 157 innings and fanned 157 batters. Other people have pitched into their mid-forties, but by that time they were generally junk-ball pitchers, using slow stuff to get batters off balance. Although he lost a bit of velocity in his forties, Ryan was still throwing in the mid-nineties. While it is always foolish to say any record is unbreakable, his 5714 strikeouts seems completely untouchable. This book is his autobiography.

 Since he was a man that never generated any significant scandals during his career, there is nothing in the way of hot stuff or apologies regarding his behavior in this book. Furthermore, Ryan almost completely avoids speaking negatively about his teammates or coaches. Having been in the majors for 25 years when this book was written, there is no question that he has witnessed enough to fill a book with juicy details of the lives and careers of others.  Yet, he chose not to do so.

 This combination has led to a book that is not as lively or as entertaining as other baseball books, where the players bare all about themselves and others. Even though he tossed a record seven no-hit games, the descriptions are very matter-of-fact with no building of tension for the final three outs. Ryan and his co-writer give us his life story in and out of sports with no embellishment or flair.

Review of "Berni Wrightson Master of the Macabre, issue #1"

Review of

Berni Wrightson Master of the Macabre, issue #1

Four out of five stars

 This comic opens with the story “The Muck Monster” that is largely a retelling of the story of “Frankenstein’s Monster,” only not nearly as well done as most of the other renditions. I found it boring and tedious, it is largely the reason why I rank the comic with four stars. The second story is called “The Pepper Lake Monster” and while there is a real monster in the lake, it turns out that there are undercurrents among the locals that are used to keep outsiders bent on exploitation from doing so.

 The third and final story is a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic, “The Black Cat.” As a fan of Poe and the disturbed nature of his stories, I was pleased to see this introduction to the works of an underappreciated master of horror in graphic form. I am also a strong proponent of using comics to educate in all fields, including literature, and this story would work very well in later K-12 English classes where the point is to introduce the class to the works of Poe. I enjoyed it so much I read it twice.

 Two of the three stories in this comic are excellent, the first is weak, nowhere near the caliber of the other two.

Review of "Berni Wrightson Master of the Macabre, issue #2"

Review of

Berni Wrightson Master of the Macabre, issue #2

Five out of five stars

 The first story in this comic is called Jenifer and is chilling, even to the reader that is accustomed to the frightfully bizarre. It opens with a man with an axe kneeling over a woman down on her hands and knees and another man with a hunting rifle coming up on the scene. When it is clear that the man intends to decapitate the woman the hunting man shoots and kills him. With his dying breath, the man with the axe whispers “Jenifer.” When the hunting man approaches the woman, he realizes that her face is hideously deformed.

 There are many aspects to this story as the man’s life spirals out of control, it is as if there are powers controlling him. He loses his wife, children and job, but never is ever to part with Jenifer until the story ends in many ways as it began.

 The second entry is a graphic novelization of the classic short story “Cool Air” by H. P. Lovecraft. This is an excellent introduction to this master of the craft of horror. Story number three (The Laughing Man) is another in the genre involving the unknown tribes and customs of the remote regions of Africa. Published in 1983, this was on the trailing edge of when such stories were still plausible, although this one would have been better if it was published in 1883. The last one (Clarice)  features an accidental death, where a man down on his luck is in a remote cabin with his wife. He saturates his brain with alcohol and as a consequence of his stupor, his wife accidentally freezes to death.

 These stories are well drawn and written, with strong synergy between the images and the text. There is little in the way of gore, the horror is primarily expressed textually, with the images supplementary. If you are a fan of the horror genre, this comic is a tasty appetizer.