GUEST POST | A. Lee Martinez on Supervillains

"It's almost a cliche at this point, but as the saying goes, The villain is the hero of his own story.

I'm not one of those folks who roots for the bad guy. I might like the villain. I might even respect them. But I don't generally find them as interesting or worthwhile as genuinely heroic characters. I know that this is kind of an old fashioned attitude but I don't find Lex Luthor to be more complex than Superman. Lex just has a heck of a lot more baggage, but that doesn't mean he's a richer character. And it seems like every day someone tries to convince me that Batman is more interesting than Superman because Batman is "screwed up". To which, I reply, "Batman is no more screwed up than Green Arrow, who fights crime because he's really good with a bow and arrow, but you don't hear people talking about how complicated Oliver Queen is."

I don't find villains innately appealing. Perhaps I just don't have that dark side. Still, there are villains I like and villains I love. And here's a brief list of them and why I love to read stories with them:

The Riddler: For most folks, the Joker is the definitive Batman rogue. Why shouldn't he be? He's colorful, crazy, and gets most of the publicity. But I love the Riddler. He has style and heart. Out of all the villains portrayed in outside media, Frank Gorshin's Riddler remains my favorite. The Riddler commits crimes because he wants to show he's smarter than you. The crime itself is almost incidental. The Joker might challenge Batman's morality, but the Riddler challenges Batman's intellect. And he's fun in a way that a mass murdering clown can never be.

The Penguin: He's short, pudgy, dresses in a tux, and carries trick umbrellas. In a city full of weirdos, you have to admire the Penguin for his moxy. He found his niche and made it work. There's something admirable about that.

M.O.D.O.K.: A giant floating head with the genius and psychic powers that come with being a giant floating head. Is he ridiculous? Absolutely. But in the best possible way.

Shuma-Gorath: He's a tentacled space god from beyond. How many of these guys are there at this point? Too many. Technically, Shuma isn't a supervillain. He's a force of nature, a monster god. And he isn't relatable to we mere mortals. But I still love the guy despite that.

Shuma-Gorath stands out among his ilk because he fights Dr. Strange, the world's greatest sorcerer. Cthulhu and Shub Niggurath might be more terrifying in their powers, but they also tend to stick to the lower rung of enemies, helpless mortals who can only be driven mad by the mere mention of their names. But Shuma-Gorath goes toe-to-toe with the most powerful magician of our dimension and while Shuma doesn't win, he at least poses a significant threat. And if you're going to play in the big leagues, there are worst shames than losing to the ultimate master of the mystic arts.

Plus, his name is just fun to say.

And last but not least, Doctor Doom: Seriously, this guy is the best supervillainy has to offer. He has his own country, superscience, and psychic powers. Heck, he can even do magic. He's also got the definitive look. You have to be a supervillain to wear power armor and a green tunic and get away with it. He's arrogant (with good reason), and he's his own worst enemy. Being a comic book character, he's been depicted in various ways over the years, so there's really no definitive version. But my Doom of choice is a man of drive who is imprisoned by his own obsessions, who builds a time machine and then doesn't use it very often because that would be too easy. He isn't cruel, but he will destroy you if you get in his way. And he wants to make the world a better place, even if that definition of "better" is all about him being in charge because he's smarter than you and you should just accept it.

To be sure, Doom is a flawed guy, but he needs to be. Without those flaws, he'd have already won by now. Just as Superman's morality isn't a weakness, but a requirement to keep him interesting, so Doom's obsessive nature and strange honor code are limitations that keep him worthwhile as a character.

Bottom line: The guy has a castle, a time machine, and loves to monologue. If that doesn't make him the greatest supervillain ever, I don't know what else to say."

A. Lee Martinez was born in El Paso, Texas. At the age of eighteen, for no apparent reason, he started writing novels. Thirteen short years (and a little over a dozen manuscripts) later, his first novel, Gil's All Fright Diner, was published. His latest novel Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain was just released. His hobbies include juggling, games of all sorts, and astral projecting. Also, he likes to sing along with the radio when he's in the car by himself. For more information on the author, check out www.aleemartinez.com.

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Two New Orbit Covers

Per usual these cover may not be the final versions as the books are both months away from release, but they certainly show the direction they are headed in.

When I first head the title for A. Lee Martinez's next book Emperor Mollusk vs. The Sinister Brain I immediately declared it in the running for best title EVER!  I stand by that statement. This has moved immediately to my list of must-reads in 2012, which should be out in March. The cover seems fitting for Martinez as the poster approach has worked well for him in the past most notably for Monster.  Here is the blurb:

Emperor Mollusk is a retired supervillain from Neptune who just wants to retire on Earth.

Unfortunately, he’s forced out of retirement when a legendary death cult marks him for assassination. Now with half the universe out to kill him, he’s got to use his feared intellect and superior technology to keep himself alive while unraveling a mystery that could be more important than he ever suspected.

Timeless is the fifth and final book in Gail Carriger's Alexia Tarabotti series of whimsical Steampunk adventures. The cover fits in nicely with the series. I hesitate to add the synopsis as it is rife with spoilers depending on where you are in the series.  But as the cover shows Alexia does Egypt after having visited France, Scotland, and Italy in other volumes.  Alexia is certainly a world traveler and I'll be sad to see her story end as they have been endlessly entertaining.  Carriger hasn't confirmed what she is writing next, but it will be interesting to see if she revisits this world with different characters down the line. Heartless the fourth book in the series will be out in June with Timeless to follow in March.

UPDATE: Someone in the comments pointed me towards Carriger's announcement about her next book, which will be set in Alexia's world, only about 25 years earlier. The series will is titled The Finishing School Series and is meant for a YA audience, but if the sex is scaled back a bit from Alexia's books there shouldn't be much of a shift. The first book tentatively titled Etiquette & Espionage should be out in 2012.

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Recent Read Run-Down

Well I've been reading a lot even if I haven't had time to review everything. I wanted to share my thoughts and continue a log of sorts of what I've been reading. I especially wanted to get this down as I'll be on vacation next week and didn't want these to fade from memory too much. Don't worry about my absence as I have plenty of posts scheduled for my time away, which includes an author guest post.  As you'll see below I'm still avoiding books over 500 pages at the moment. I've definitely been in the mood for lighter reading fair and that will probably continue for the next couple of weeks.

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - This is the first book Zafon ever wrote, which also happens to be a YA book.  You can definitely see how The Shadow of the Wind developed from here.  The prose isn't nearly as beautiful, but accomplishing that would be difficult given the intended audience.  YA books just don't stretch your vocabulary as an adult book intends to do.  Still it was a very fine read that I recommend all Zafon fans seek out.  The ending was a bit off, but the first two thirds built up well. I'd love to hear thoughts about this one from someone who hasn't read The Shadow of the Wind to see what an outsider without the high expectations gets from it.   Zafon's publisher Little Brown is planning on releasing his other two YA books a year apart.

The Mirrored Heavens by David J. Williams - Recommended.  Full review to come.

Divine Misfortune by A. Lee Martinez - Yet another great comic romp.  Martinez is solidifying his place as one of American's best Speculative Humorists. The ending was a bit predictable, but I can overlook that for the entertainment value as Martinez's baggage-laden gods show how truly gone wild they are, especially after being invited into someone's home. In some ways this is a humorous version of Gaiman's American Gods that doesn't take it self too seriously, but using gods little used in literature elsewhere.  Highly recommend for those looking to laugh.

Strata by Terry Pratchett - An okay read that I was expecting more out of.  Definitely not the Pratchett we've come to know and love.  This was him striving for more of a hard Sci-Fi story.  While it does the science part fine the characters were difficult to care for and a section at the beginning of the main journey bothered me in its execution.  It is a good read to see the evolution of the idea of a disc world, but I prefer other early Pratchett such as The Carpet People and The Bromeliad Trilogy.

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr - I thought I had read this years ago, but I think I might be mistaken.  Either way I doubt I would have appreciated it as much in the past.  This is a classic not to be missed by anyone.  The third section lost me a little as it feels a little dated, but the first two are timeless and amazing in their style and execution.  This story is a forbearer to so much Apocalyptic fiction it is scary to think where that subgenre would be if it had never been published.

The Goon Vol. 1 through 5 and The Goon: Noir by Eric Powell and others - I am officially addicted to this truly awesome graphic novel series.  I'd rank it close to Hellboy in terms of quality of art with the cover paintings being especially grabbing.  The stories are pretty darn good as well as the mob muscle/anti-hero known as The Goon battles a Zombie Priest and his hordes.  With each passing chapter The Goon gains unexpected complexity, but it is the all out fights you'll stick around for.  He combats a mad scientist, werewolves, mutants, and a host of other creatures.  All in all it is a great mix of 30's Noir and the paranormal with a deep humor bent that can border on the inappropriate. Highly recommended.

Swords and Dark Magic edited by Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan - Highly recommended. Full review to come.

Stalking the Vampire by Mike Resnick - The second in the John Justin Mallory series of uber hard-boiled Detective stories in an alternative Manhattan infested with creatures of myth and legend. The story moves along at a quick pace, but some of the repetitive dialogue between certain characters was tiring. This mostly had to do with Mallory and his cat-girl protector Felina arguing about what she is going to eat.  Still I like Mallory and his no nonsense attitude plus their are loads of funny lines between other characters. Recommend for those looking for a light read with some laughs.

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REVIEW | Monster by A. Lee Martinez (Orbit)

I hadn't read any of Martinez's books previously although I've heard he would be up my alley since I'm a fan of Tom Holt, Robert Rankin, and Christopher Moore who he has been associated with. When I saw the cover and read the description I just knew this would be the one to try. I'm a sucker for cryptids and funny fantasy in this case funny urban fantasy.

 I managed to finish Monster in 3 sittings which is quick given my hectic schedule lately. Monster is a zany mix of Christopher Moore's humor with the inventive flair of Douglas Adams. It starts off hilariously and barely gives you time to breath between giggles with its delightful dialogue and sometime silly action.

Monster abounds with a veritable menagerie of mythical monsters such as yetis, kobolds, sphinxes, and pretty much anything you could or couldn't dream up. This is a world where magical things happen but most people forget about them soon after they witness them.

The sometimes blue, Monster the main character/anti-hero is kind of like the cleanup crew of mythical monster kind with a strange ability best left revealed through reading. In other words he is the dog warden of weird varmints. Chaos is drawn to Judy who is a grocery store clerk and a bit of a failure in life. The character development is not very deep, which leaves Monster (the character) feeling a bit flat and also makes it a little hard to care about Judy. Both are just making the motions going through life and not caring to accomplish anything. Monster is actually a bit over the top in his reluctance to not get involved at times to the point of being unbelievable. However the situations and dialogue are what you want in a book like this so I can overlook these flaws for the pure entertainment Martinez gives us.

On the flip side Chester, a paper gnome, is Monster's partner in crime and adds a nice counterbalance. Chester in actuality is a being from a different dimension just inhabiting the paper body for work. Monster's girlfriend is a super-hot succubus and there is of course a crazy cat lady who is up to something. The book is quickly paced and the fight scenes are a lot of fun especially one involving a herd of trolls. The magic Monster employs is logical yet he plays it mischievously well and I feel like there could be a lot more to this world especially given the climatic ending. Although a very different monster this is close to on par with Christopher Moore's The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove.


Monster won't win any high literary awards, but If you are in the mood for a light read and a few laughs this is definitely the one to pickup especially if you've been reading a lot of long Epic Fantasy. I give Monster 7.5 out of 10 Hats. I'd love to see a short story from Martinez covering Monster teaming up with Chester for the first time or maybe another book with these characters. I'm definitely checking out Martinez's next book Divine Misfortune which Orbit is releasing in March 2010, but in the meantime I'll probably read his In the Company of Ogres which has been sitting on my to read shelf for far too long.

Here is the cover for Divine Misfortune: