The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien Review

A one-legged farmowning orphan obsessed with an obscure ye olde dead (and fictional) philosopher teams up with his employee to solve his money woes by murdering an old man with a box full of money. Years pass and they seem to have gotten away with it. So they go to dig up the box of money - only to find the old man somehow still alive and the box of money missing. Wha hoppen? So begins a bamboozling journey for our protagonist to report the missing money box to the local police - a duo of fat bicycle-obsessed lunatics who mumble numbers at one another and want to hang someone, anyone. Who is the third policeman?

Uncle Scrooge: Earth's Mightiest Duck Review (Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar)

Aliens have come to Earth to steal all of its treasures including its greatest: Scrooge’s coin bank. Scrooge and pals gotta send them and their robot army on their way.

Statues by Junji Ito Review

Statues is one of Junji Ito’s worst story collections. Each of the ten 30-page comics are very weakly conceived and told in an almost comedically contrived, consistently sloppy way, to little or no effect - certainly not one of horror, or even vague interest.

John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie Review

Ian Leslie’s nonfiction book John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs reveals the intangible yet powerfully real love the two musicians had for one another, told through the songwriting that began with the legendary Lennon-McCartney partnership that made The Beatles the greatest band of all time and continued past it into their solo careers.

Adventuregame Comics, 3: Samurai vs. Ninja by Jason Shiga Review

19th century Japan and your poppa gives you a choice: become a samurai or a ninja. And then: you must remove a magical bracelet from the evil Lord Touma. The only trouble is breaking into his heavily guarded castle and finding him - without getting caught!

Palookaville #25 by Seth Review

Like Norwegian cartoonist (and similarly mononym’d) Jason, Seth is a great cartoonist whose more recent work has gone from being published straight to paperbacks into fancy hardcovers with a higher price point. And, also like Jason, Seth’s work has gone from being superb back then (1990s-2010s) to boring now (2020s - although this probably has nothing to do with the fancier publications, it’s just an odd pattern I noticed).

Trust by Hernan Diaz Review

Hernan Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Trust is a puzzlebox story wherein four different characters tell you their version of the same narrative and it’s up to the reader to decide which character they “trust”... even though it’s pretty obvious what is the right interpretation (and y’know also “trust” as in money).

Metropolis by Philip Kerr Review

Berlin, 1928. Hyperinflation may be over but the effects from the First World War are still lingering in the broken people who live in Berlin and the fractured German psyche. The Weimar government clings tenuously to power, communists and the rising Nazi party clash daily in the streets for the future of the country, and decadence is everywhere. Amidst the chaos operates a serial killer who is murdering and scalping prostitutes - borderline alcoholic and newly-promoted homicide detective Bernie Gunther is on the case!

The Smaller Sky by John Wain Review

Arthur Geary, a married father of two with a good job, leaves it all behind one day to go and live on Paddington Station in London. But why?

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill Review

Dept. of Speculation is the story of a relationship between an unnamed man and woman told from the perspective of the woman. They meet, they date, they get married, they have a kid, etc.

Service by John Tottenham Review

Sean is a 48 year old LA bookseller and frustrated writer. When he’s not loathing customers and dodging debt, he is often staring at a blank screen while zonked out on pills, urging himself to finally finish writing a book. Sean is also John Tottenham. And he did it with Service - bravo!

The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot Review

So here I go again on my own (goin’ down the only road I’ve ever knoooown) personal annual humiliation ritual where I read some poetry to see if I get it yet - it’s a new year and, nope, still don’t “get” poetry!

Dear Historian by Joff Winterhart Review

Margaret Crypt, an historian in her 70s, is approached by Lucy, a TV producer in her 30s, to make a series of history programmes with her production company. The two become fast friends despite the age gap - but will their TV project reach fruition?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 2: NYC vs. TMNT Review (Jason Aaron, Juan Ferreyra)

An evil district attorney has somehow replaced the NYPD with Foot and somehow turned the city against the Turtles! The boys have to battle Foot nightly while saving innocent civilians - but they will have their day in court for stupidity’s sake. Splinter’s still dead, Casey’s in a coma, and April finds herself drawn to a new persona because nonsense. Meanwhile, the boys are still divided - can they reunite for the good of the city? Duh.