SUPER SIKH #1 - Eileen Kaur Alden & Supreet Singh Manchanda

Requested this soon as I saw it on NetGalley, stoked about the idea - especially in the climate of intolerance festering in the U.S. today - of a Sikh secret agent.  Upon starting the short (26 pages) first issue of the very well-made comic (Amit Tayal's artwork is crisp and sleek; it's a beautiful book), it was easy to immediately like Deep Singh; he busts his butt fighting for the little guy, is obsessed with Elvis, has made enemies in the Taliban, and still has a mom and dad who take care of/dote on him when he comes home exhausted and sore after a successful mission.  Issue One is barely an introduction to the character, with little plotline as Deep gets approval for a much-needed vacation (to Graceland, no less!) ... but ends up on a flight that - surprise! - also ends up being highjacked by terrorists mid-air.  From here the comic lost me a bit, taking the much-lauded opportunity to become a sounding board for exactly how vocal the bigots in this country have become (Singh ends up saving the day, but by passengers and crew alike is presumed to be one of the terrorists - even though they're Mexican).  It's a message I am in total agreement with, I myself have never been more ashamed to be an American than I have been since January, but stereotypes are distasteful to me across the board - and while I agreed with the comic's message, I wasn't too comfortable with every white character on the plane, and in any form of airline or law enforcement that Singh comes across afterward, coming across as some brain-dead trailer-trash rube who automatically sees dark skin and a turban and cries terrorist.  Still a good enough book to warrant a look at number two; hopefully there will just be some good white people in that one.  3/5 stars

Note: I received a free ARC of this title via NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

BREAKDOWN - Jonathan Kellerman

Breakdown, though 31st in the Alex Delaware series, was my first time finally reading Jonathan Kellerman - one of those authors we all have on our list, whom we've wanted to try but never yet got around to.  I was intrigued by the synopsis of this one - Los Angeles psychologist Alex Delaware trying to track down the whereabouts of a child he once interviewed whose mother, a minor Hollywood starlet, has lost her grip on reality and ends up alone and on the streets - but found the book very, very slow-going in the beginning, with nothing much happening until a death (an accident, or murder?) occurs, and the plot not only picks up but gets pleasantly complex by comparison.  Delaware is a likable fellow, very conscientious and moral (if a bit dull), but many of the minor and supporting characters here feel a little out of Central Casting, not coming off particularly real or likable themselves.  While I totally understood the need for background to establish the starlet Zelda's character and issues with her worsening mental condition, the book's first third or so feels overly ponderous with information and exposition compared to the rest of the novel's actual storyline, where the mysterious goings-on finally come to light and Alex and his cop buddy Milo's investigations kick into gear.  Not bad but not great, though I am glad Breakdown picked way up with its second half especially; just wish the first third or so had been nearly as compelling.  3/5 stars

Note: I received a free ARC of this title via NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

THE LONE RANGER/GREEN HORNET: CHAMPIONS OF JUSTICE - Michael Uslan & Giovanni Timpano

Though never a huge fan of "The Lone Ranger" on TV, growing up, I was ga-ga over "The Green Hornet" series with Van Williams and Bruce Lee - and the idea of a mash-up of these two such different and diverse "champions of justice" in a graphic novel was intriguing.  Combining the first several issues of the comic book series, we learn here that the Lone Ranger is actually the great uncle of the Green Hornet!  Known as "Uncle Joe" to Britt Reid, the storyline here - set mostly in late-1930's America on the eve of WWII, but with so many flashbacks and flash-forwards things become a bit jumbled (even annoying) - really kicks off when Elliot Ness (yes, that Elliot Ness) comes to Chicago to ask for the help of the Ranger, Reid and the Daily Sentinel to dismantle Hitler sympathizers and their plot to build the atom bomb already in place in the U.S., even as Uncle Joe pushes Britt to pick up the mantle of justice by becoming a modern-day Lone Ranger.  The book is packed with historical events of the various time periods covered, some of it fairly fascinating (I had no idea about the Jesse Owens/Olympics/Hitler story) and perfectly furthering the plot, though I admit the book also feels almost overstuffed with a bevy of cameo appearances by what feels like more historical figures (on both sides of the law) than your average middle school social studies class covers in a year.  I also found Giovanni Timpano's artwork, while extremely good overall, sometimes distracting - when some faces in a crowded scene, for example, were indiscernible from each other.  The negatives of this book are actually minor, however, when compared to its forward-moving storyline that - though a bit slow-going early on - more than makes up for things with a rousing finale.  And in these days, when the U.S. has put an orange devil into power who seems to think of himself more as fuhrer than world leader, this Lone Ranger/Green Hornet crossover is at heart a rousing example of how hate, bigotry, and evil against humanity itself can be squashed in the name of truth, justice and the truly American way.  3.5/5 stars

Note: I received a free ARC of this title via NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.