The BRUNER BOYS Are Back In Town!!

Yes, indeed, The BRUNER BOYS BEWARE are back! Darth Bill and I saw them yesterday and had a good time. We encouraged them to write again, since it's been a long time, and they wrote back right away! Let's hear them:

Master Zach already gave Austin the BIG NEWS so we are waiting for the OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! WHOOHOOOOOOO!We are reviewing TEN things in this note to catch-up!

So, we saw the Almighty Carlman today at Imaginon and discussed some of our latest reads and checked out THESE that were just lying around... Knights of the Old Republic GN Vol 2 and Vol 3. They are awesome, of course, DUH they're jedi! And talked hush hush with Darth Bill and saw a REALLY powerful and dangerous action figure (Darth Bill says "he means business"). But Austin is half way though a book recommended by Master Zach on thursday called Something Wickedly Weird, The Wooden Mile. Austin gives this book 4 stars for being 1. easy to read, 2. A bit weird and creepy, and 3. recommended by Master Zach.
For family read-aloud we are anxious to start Inkspell because it's coming out in a movie and because Cornellia Funke is one of Mom's FAVORITE authors (she TRULY has some serious jedi writing skills).Bruner Boys also decended into the Chess Club at Mint Hill Library last Friday to sharpen our strategy skills for jedi battles ahead... we recommend it (even if the teacher is a GIRL) and are now successfully beating mom thanks to the tips we received.

We also have been watching ALL the John Wayne movies Austin can find and watched Hatari and we thought it was great(rhino catching, cheetas as pets and gun slinging)! We just finished up The Apple Dumpling Gang, which is just plain FUNNY... renting movies at the library is EASY!

One more thing to recommend... ALL THREE of the audio books of Encyclopedia Brown. You get to hear the story, then try to guess it before he tells you the answer! It great fun for the car and everyone like to listen and try to figure them out and we learned a LOT of cool stuff (like that squirlls NEVER go backwards down trees... who knew?!?!)Mom read The Alchemyst in 24 hours it was so good and is waiting patiently to get the second book. It's about a brother and sister, twins, that have these majical powers and are saving the world from the evil. It's gripping, majical, provoking. Even though she's a GIRL... she was impressed that instead of BUYING the book at Target... she could just pop into the library and pick it UP! Eldest too! PS... we want to see that mysterious author wrestle a LIVE alligator! We've asked mom to locate one so we can try out your tips.

Very good work, guys!! I'd like to find a LIVE alligator too, so we could see Darth bill wrestle it. Anyone got one at your house? Darth Bill will be very glad to hear that you're watching a lot of John Wayne movies--John W is, perhaps, Darth B's favorite movie star. You're right--getting movies from the library is easy. And you don't have to rent them; you can check most of them out for free!! (Just be sure it's ok with your parents) I' m also glad you're listening to audiobooks. They really are great fun ,especially on a car trip. One more thing--I'm flattered, but don't call me the Almighty CARLMAN. That title belongs rightly to another, but that's a conversation for another time. You can call me The Great and Powerful CARLMAN and still be right, though!!

Well, it's good to hear from you guys again! Don't be strangers. And here's something for you and all the other guys out there to rock out to--Thin Lizzie singing "The Boys Are Back in Town." (Yeah, that's how I got the title to this post) Rock on, dudes!
Carl

Be Afraid--of Crocks That Is! Be Very Afraid!!

Hello all,

It is I, Darth Bill, once again with a most excellent post!!!! First, I would like to share with you this exciting video I found of a brand new author talking about his latest book. It really looks like a cool book and I will try to find out more about this mysterious author, who identifies himself only as "Crocodile Bill" in the video and the book. But in the meantime check it out:

The Mysterious Author of "When Crocks Attack" Crocodile Bill??


Well that was cool, but now on to reviews of some cool Graphic Novels I have recently finished reading:


Marvel Adventures Iron Man Volume 3: Hero By Design by Fred Lente, Graham Nolan and Scott Koblish - This volume of Marvel Adventures collects Iron Man issues 9 thru 12. Like all the Marvel Adventures titles it rocks!!!! In this collection of stories the focus is on the search for Tony Stark's long lost dad. The first story sets Iron Man up for the hunt. In the second story he both fights and teams up with the extremely cool Spider-Woman. The third story is my absolute favorite because it features the coolest, and perhaps only, Canadian Superhero Team "Alpha Flight." Alpha Flight is made up of: Guardian (Leader of the team who wears an Electromagnetic Power Suit), Northstar and his sister Aurora (both have the power of flight and speed), Shaman (mage and mystic of the team), Snowbird (Shape Shifter), and Sasquatch (big friendly shaggy monster). The last story ties up the search for Tony's father and really does a nice job of completing the story arc. Definitely worth the price of admission!!!!!!




Odysseus: Escaping Poseidon's Curse by Dan Jolley and Thomas Yeates - Well I know we have a bunch of folks out there that love "The Percy Jackson and the Olympians" Series so you may want to check out this excellent Graphic Novel about the Greek Mythological Hero Odysseus. Odysseus was the King of Ithaca and fought in the Trojan War on the side of the victors. It was his idea to build the Trojan Horse which broke the City of Troy. Well this GN is all about his struggles to return home after the war. Unfortunately for Odysseus the Greek Gods Zeus and Poseidon favored Troy in the war and they made getting back home for him very difficult. Some of the challenges he has to face in his journey are the one-eyed Cyclops Polyphemus, the witch Circe, the Sirens who sing men in ships to their deaths, the monstrous six headed Scylla, among others. If you like Greek Myths and well done Graphic Novels, you will love this GN.

And now for something completely different!!!!!!!! Here are some pictures I recently received from the last Comics Camp we had here at ImaginOn!!!!! The next one is scheduled for 1/22/09 from 6:30 p.m. to approximately 8:00 p.m. If you live nearby and are between the ages of 7 to 12 years old, call and register as we still have openings as of now!!!!!!! Check out the picks from the December Event:



Guys and Girls creating their own really cool comics and artwork!!!!!

John DaCosta, one of Charlotte's most excellent local comic book creators, drawing with one of our attendees!!!!!!!

Herc, another really cool local Charlotte comic book creator, helping out the guys (um...I mean girls).

Two of the Comics Camps regular attendees plus (from left to right) Herc, myself and John!!!!! Everyone has a great time at these events, so if you are reading this and think it looks cool and want to attend; well what are you waiting for???? The number to call and register is 704-973-2720.

Well that's all for this time, but just to tease you a little bit, just wait for my next post this Friday where I have a really big announcement to make about a certain Graphic Novel Series and it's author/illustrator that's gonna knock your socks off!!!!!!!!! Here's a hint of what GN I'm talking about:

Stand By For Adventure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peace,

Bill

The Old Book Prospector Finds Gold In The Adventurous Deeds Of Deadwood Jones

Yippee-yi-yo, partners, the Old Book Prospector sure was right about this one! The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones by Helen Hemphill is more fun than a rodeo, a shoot-out, and a saloon fight all rolled together! Thirteen-year-old Prometheus Jones and his eleven-year-old cousin Omer, both African-American boys living in Tennessee after the Civil War, have just won a horse in a raffle. A couple of racist guys refuse to believe that two black boys could have won a horse and so cause a lot of trouble--so much that Prometheus and Omer have to hightail it off to Texas, where Prometheus thinks his father might be living. They need money and join a cattle drive from Texas to Deadwood, South Dakota. The West is a beautiful but harsh and unforgiving land, however. If you're not careful every minute, bad things can happen. Even something as simple as crossing a river can mean disaster. And bad things happen in this book But there's also a lot of fun and adventure here. You've got encounters with the Pawnee and Sioux Indians, a jailbreak, the shooting match to end all shootin' contests, plus some unforgettable cowboy characters like Beck, the trailboss, Nack, and Rio. So saddle up, cowpokes, and enjoy this wild and exciting ride! Yeeeeee-haaa!!!
Carl

more on Ms. Yingling

Hello all, Master Jedi Zack here with an update on our favorite Ohio Librarian, Ms. Yingling. She recently sent me a great video. Darth Bill may not appreciate one of his Sith buddies being taken down, but the CARLMAN and I agree that Ms. Yingling has earned the higest honor Boys Rule! Boys Read! can grant to a non-guy.

We now name Ms. Yingling, wait for it..........

An HONORARY GUY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Below is the video that won us over. You can also follow Ms. Yingling's blog here. She may talk about girl books from time to time, but her take on boy books is great!

Paper Elves, 2 Drummers Drumming, Lincoln Through the Lens, and a Side of "I'm Not Worthy!"

Sigh. Back to school we go. The break was fun, wasn't it? We had a good time here at the Imaginon library. One of our regular guys, Clinton, came with his dad and mom to do some djembe drumming:

Another day we had a Silly Fashion Show, in which we made goofy clothes out of leftover wrapping paper:

One manly man made (I didn't get his name) made himself into a paper elf:

Looky there--not even Legolas could look better!!

Well, school is important, so it's good we go back. In the menatime, we have lots of exciting books to tell you about this year. There's a terrific new one set in the Old West and there's a new one called Mudville about a baseball game that's been rained out for 22 years! This book's so new that it hasn't been published yet! In fact, it will be the first book this author has ever published. I'm hoping that the author will write to us and tell us what it's like to have a book published for the first time. Anddddd--The Demigod Files and The Last Olympian will come out this year, as well as the new Erec Rex and Barmstormers books. 2009 ought to be exciting!!

But I want to talk about a book that Master Jedi Zack mentioned on his 12-29-08 post, Lincoln Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Shaped an Extraordinary Life by Martin W. Sandler. Biographies are full of great stories and this one is no exception! Abraham Lincoln lived an incredible life, going from a nobody out in the country to president!! This book gives the story a twist and shows how the "new" process of photography helped him get elected and shped his presidency. There are a lot of great vintage photos here, including some rare (and sometimes grisly) photos from the Civil War, Lincoln's funeral, the Gettysburg Address, and an eerie photo of his second inagural speech--with an insert of John Wilkes Booth watching the whole thing!! This is another good book that's really good because the story is true!!

One last thing. Darth Bill wants to give a great big "I'M NOT WORTHY!!" to the Undersea Adventures of Cap'n Eli author. One very sharp reader, Joe Z., caught Bill saying on that Joe Piscopo, not Jay Piscopo, was the Cap'n Eli author:

Hi guys! Just a quick note to say that The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli #2 is by Jay Piscopo, not Joe Piscopo. It should also be noted that Jay is way funnier than Joe ;)

Joe Piscopo is the movie actor! Even though he's been in some funny movies, we'd all agree that Jay is much funnier. Please do not be angry with us, oh Jay Piscopo! Bill made an honest mistake. WE ARE NOT WORTHY!!!

What humility!! What honesty!! You have to admire a guy like that.

Carl

One False Note

Hey, everyone, this is Carl, welcoming 2009 with my first review of the year. And what better book to start the year than One False Note by Gordon Korman, the second book in The 39 Clues series. This one finds Dan and Amy Cahill, with their au pair Nelllie Gomez, traveling to Vienna, Salzburg, (in Austria) and Venice to track down the next mysterious clue left by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I turns out, though, that Mozart had a sister Nannerl that was as brilliant as he was. The location of the clue is in her diary, but the megastar rapper Jonah Wizard has already gotten hold it. And that's just the start of their troubles! They have to outsmart their incredibly rich, sinister, and tricky Cahill relatives, jump out of hotel windows, survive an underground cave-in, and out race the bad guys in the canals of Venice. Does this sound exciting? It is!! In fact, I missed the stop on my bus ride home last night because I was so totally into the story!!! You'll enjoy it a lot. Now I will have to say that I liked the first one better--there seemed to be more danger and suspense, but his is a minor detail. I liked this one a lot and I bet you will too. I have one criticism though--in an early chapter, Dan and Amy debate wheteher or not they should steal Nannerl Mozart's diary from Jonah Wizard's hotel room. They talk back and forth over whether or not it's right to steal and finally decide that they should do it. This is the kind of thing grownups love to do. They love to complicate things. A lot of grownups have bought into the idea of "situational ethics", which basically means that nothing is right or wrong in itself; the situation determines whether something or right or wrong. Don't believe it guys--we know deep in our guts what's right and what's not. Does that mean the author sat down and tried to write a book to get us to believe it? Of course not. But some grownups will and you guys should be aware of it. Besides, this was an unwelcome intrusion in good book. That whole discussion could have been left out and it wouldn't have made the slightest difference.  But, as I said, these are minor criticisms of a really good story. The next book, The Sword of Thieves, comes out on March 3. Ohhhhhh, boy!! I'll be ready!

Darth Bill's Picks of 2008

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rock On Alll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Darth Bill Salutes You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Above is a picture of a couple of my Sith Buds I took on New Years Day. There a wild lot I'll tell ya that. These guys really know how to party!!!!!!

I was not going to do this originally, but after I saw the Calman's Post I felt compelled to do so. Okay here are my top 4 books of 2008 (the reviews are the same that I did earlier in the year):



1) Runemarks by Joanne Harris - This story is set 500 years after Ragnarok that ended the old world ruled by the Norse Gods. The main character in this story is a young girl named Maddy Smith who is born with a strange and magical birthmark. In Maddy's world "The Word" rules all with an iron-fist. In her world magic is taboo and imagination is highly discouraged. Because of what people perceive as Maddy's strangeness she is ignored by her father and has no friends. That is until one day when she meets and old wanderer called One-Eye who befriends here and teaches her to use the magic that has been lying asleep inside her. This book is filled with Norse Gods, Heroes, Villains and Monsters. This book will suck you in and you will not be able to put it down once you start reading it. This is a great book that I would put right up there with Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" book series. The one obvious difference is that this book rekindles excitement in Norse Mythology as opposed to Greek Mythology.

2) Ironhand: Book Two of The Stoneheart Trilogy by Charlie Fletcher - This book takes of where Stoneheart (click HERE to see my review of that book), the first book in the trilogy, left off. It takes off like a rocket and doesn't stop the whole way through the story. The story starts with George and Edie determined to rescue the Gunner who has been captured by the evil and mysterious Walker. Now I know some of you are scratching your head asking who or what is a Gunner and a Walker. Well this story is set in a London that most people are not even aware exists. In this London, stone statues and carvings are very much alive. The statues in London are divided into two types. The taints (gargoyles, dragons and other sorts of inhuman stone creations) are evil soulless creatures. The spits (The Gunner and other more or less human looking statues, but not always as we see in this book) whom are akin to humans in that they have souls and tend, for the most part, to be on the side of good. What it really boils down to is what the statue makers intended them to represent and thus become. The Gunner is a statue of a World War I English Soldier who helped George and Edie quite a bit in "Stoneheart." The Gunner is the Walker's prisoner because of this help after George inadvertently set off a war between the taints and spits. The Walker, a sinister sorcerer type, is a servant of dark powers and leads the taints in their war against the spits. This book moves through both present day and the past. The reader travels with the characters from present to World War I to a pre-industrialized England and other strange places and times. This book is full of wonderful twists and turns that will keep the reader turning page after page. One word of advice, if you really want to enjoy this book fully, you should definitely read Stoneheart first. Man, I can hardly wait for the next book!!!! They are that good!!!!!!!!!

3) Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams – This book rocked and I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel. The main character of the book is 14-year-old Will Burrows who along with his archaeologist father, Dr. Burrows, shares a passion for digging tunnels into the earth in search of buried historical items. Will’s family is extremely “different” and to say the least dysfunctional. His father is always involved with his work and little else, his mother watches TV non-stop, and his younger sister runs the families finances. Will is an extremely pale boy and picked on non-stop at school. That is until he befriends another outcast by the name of Chester, who is a rather large intimidating boy, and gets him interested in digging. Life is going pretty good for Will between digging with his father and digging independently with his new friend Chester. That is until Dr. Burrows goes missing and Will finds that right in their basement is a tunnel that leads to a subterranean world populated with people time left behind. This book is full of twist and turns and just when you think you know what’s going on, the book kicks into another gear to throw you for a loop. I would classify this book as a mystery/action book. Whatever you want to classify it as is up to you, just make sure you don’t miss one of the truly great books of 2008!!!!!


4) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors and this book is a perfect example of why. The book starts out with the murder of a family by a "Jack The Ripper" type murderer. The whole family is murdered except for the baby boy who wanders out of the house and ends up in the local graveyard. There he is protected by the ghost and those who lookout over the grave yard from the murderer. The boy is adopted by two ghost and given the name Nobody Owens. Along with his ghost parents, he is raised in the graveyard by all of its inhabitants as one of its own. The book consists of the many adventures the boy Bod, short for Nobody, has as he grows up in the graveyard. There are ghouls, werewolves (which may surprise you), monsters and just plain evil people Bod meets or comes up against throughout the story and ultimately he must face up to the man who tried to kill him as a baby. This book is wonderfully written and full of thrills, action and poinyant moments that will make you remember it long after you have finished reading it. Gaiman leaves the door open for a sequel and I for one sure hope it happens. Great book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best 4 Graphic Novels of 2008 (reviews ftom earlier post):


1) The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli Vols. 1 & 2 by Jay Piscopo - Vol. 1: The first story "The Mystery of Me" introduces us to the main character of the graphic novel Capt'n Eli. This is Capt'n Eli's origin story and introduces many characters and asks many questions that you will be intrigued to learn about in future stories. In this story he joins the Seaserchers and also meets for the first time Commander X.

The second story in the book,"The Mystery of the Sargasso Sea," is an adventure tale that involves the mysterious Sargasso Sea that has been a floating burial ground for ships throughout history and the even more curious Bermuda Triangle where both ships and other seafaring vessels, planes even, have mysteriously disappeared never to be found again. This story involves time travel,Christopher Columbus, some of the very interesting history (or would that be future????) of Commander X, and lots of battling with the Hydrons (evil underwater dewlers). This is such a cool story!!!!!!

The last story in the book, "The Return of Baron Hydro," take us back to the days of World War II. The Big 3 (Commander X, Sea Raider, and the Human Sun) take on Baron Hydro (major bad guy) and his Hydrons. This story is action packed and just a whole lot of fun!!!!!!!!


The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli: The Mystery of the Sargasso Sea (Volume 2) by Jay Piscopo - Man with this volume the Capt'n Eli Graphic Novel Series hits another gear and really takes off!!!!! As it was left off in the previous volume Capt'n Eli is still with Commander X aboard his super high tech submarine "Sub Zero." They reach the underwater city of Aquaria only to find it under attack by a race of underwater denizens known as the Outcast. It seems Aquira and it's people are now ruled by Commander X's former World War II partner, known then as The Sea Raider. We also find out that Commander X is Aqurian's sworn Lord Protector and it is his duty to protect them from all threats and enemies. Let's see what else happens in this story, we learn the history of Aquaria and its relationship to Atlantis, we learn the secret origin of the ruler of the Aquarians known by many names such as - Rex Noble, The Sea Raider and The Sea Ghost among others, Lord Hydro is back with all his evilness and Hydrons and much. much more!!!!!!!!!! I promise you if you pick up this Graphic Novel you will be unable to put it down until you have finished reading it and then you will still be wanting more.


2) The Bone Series by Jeff Smith:

Bone: Treasure Hunters, Volume 8 by Jeff Smith - Fresh into the have gained entrance into the once great ruling city of PLCMC Library's Graphic Novel Collection is the latest instalment of the Bone Series. Well kids things are really getting interesting in the Bone Graphic Novel Series. In this instalment the Bone Cousins (Phoney, Smiley and Fone Bone), Gran'ma Ben, Thorn and BartlebyAtheia. Inside and outside the city things are not well. Outside the city Ghost Circles are everywhere and Briar (Gran'ma Ben's Sister) is gathering both rat creatures and human warriors to serve the Lord of the Locust and bring an end to all. Inside the city things are not all that great either as our heroes must contend with Tarsil, The Captain of the Queen's Guard, who has turned traitor and now rules the city. So besides the dragons disappearing, enemies all around who would like nothing better than to find and crush the former royal linage of the kingdom (that would be Thorn and Gran'ma Ben) and all that support it, the nearing release the Lord of the Locust into the world and all other types of nastiness; everything is just great!!!!!! I tell ya, you need to get ahold of this latest volume as soon as possible and read it. This is really just awesome stuff!!!!!!!!!!

Bone Volume 7: Ghost Circles by Jeff Smith – Well, the seventh volume in the Bone Graphic Novel Series has finally come out and it was well worth the wait. As the title to this volume intones, things get real scary and serious in this one. The villagers and Veni Yan Monks are really put to the test by the “Lord of the Locust’ and his armies. Everything goes crazy with a volcano eruption and the appearance of “Ghost Circles” everywhere. The Bone cousins (Phoney, Smiley and Fone Bone), Thorn, Gran’ma Ben, and the recently returned Bartleby are also being pursued by the forces of the “Lord of Locust” and just manage to stay one step ahead. But how long can their luck hold? What is a Ghost Circle? Who lives and who dies? Only one way to find out, read the book. You won't be disappointed.

3) Amulet: Book One, The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishint- Wow, this is a really cool graphic novel that I encourage everyone to give it a read. The story starts out with a terrible accident that forces major changes in the lives of sister and brother Emily and Navin. Because of the accident Em, Navin, and their mother are forced to move into an abandoned house once lived in by Grandpa Silass who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The kids find out that their grandfather was an inventor of sorts but even more importantly Em finds a magical amulet that is a total mystery to her. On the families first night in the house, they are awoken by sounds coming from the basement. While investigating the sound, a strange tentacled creature pulls their mother through a mysterious doorway to another world. Em and Navin determined to save their mom follow and thus begins their true adventure in a place like nothing they could have imagined.

4) Salt Water Taffy: The Adventures of Jack and Benny - The Legend of Old Salty by Matthew Loux - This Graphic Novel is about two brothers Jack and Benny whose parents have decided to take the whole family away from the city and to spend the summer in the state of Maine at the weird and mysterious Chowder Bay. Jack and Benny make fast friends with one of the locals known around those parts as Fisherman Angus O'Neil. One evening the boys see something huge and monstrous on the beach, but can't quite make it out. After talking to Angus they discover that Chowder Bay has a mysterious resident in the waters known as Old Salty. This leads to strange robberies by lobsters, very strange behavior by seagulls and an epic battle between Old Salty and Angus. Does any of this make sense? If not read this excellent Graphic Novel and it all will. I really loved this book and look forward to the next in the series.

Well here's to looking for great titles in 2009!!!!! If you have some books or Graphic Novels that you particularly enjoyed from 2008, write in and let us know about them!!!!

Peace all,

Bill