Andre The Giant: Life and Legend, by Box Brown

  
ANDRE THE GIANT: LIFE AND LEGEND tells the story of professional wrestling's largest performer, Andre Roussimoff, a man known to fans and non-fans worldwide as Andre The Giant. 

 Billed as standing seven feet, four inches, and weighing (At the end of his career) a whopping 520 lbs., Andre transcended professional wrestling, gaining fame outside the ring thanks to appearances on THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, THE PRINCESS BRIDE, LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, and THE TONIGHT SHOW. Andre was also the subject of a SPORTS ILLUSTRATED interview, something unprecedented for a pro wrestler.

 Box Brown's biographical ANDRE THE GIANT: LIFE AND LEGEND traces Andre's life, from his childhood in France, through his rise to fame and fortune in the ring, and ending with his tragic death in 1993. (He passed away in his sleep while in France to attend his Father's funeral.) Brown's simplistic figures and sparse storytelling technique work well here, as he episodically sketches out Andre's life and career. At time, Andre seems like a gigantic asshole, but put into context by the Hulk Hogan interview that starts out the book ("There was never a fork or knife...even a bed! There was never a situation where he could be comfortable.") it's easy to understand how a man who spent his life living under a microscope could have a moment or two where he behaved less than kindly to someone. Brown is clearly a wrestling fan, and it shows in his work. He explains the ins-and-outs of the business succinctly, so that even someone who has never seen a match in their life can understand what is going on. The anecdotes that he relates, complied from various books, interview DVD's, and magazine articles, coalesce to create a picture of a man who was a prisoner of his own body, as well as his fame, a man who was given a death sentence early in life, yet lived a fuller, richer life than most people could ever imagine. ANDRE THE GIANT: LIFE AND LEGEND is obviously a labor of life, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

 First Second provided a review copy.

Ghosted, Volume One: Haunted Heist

Any book that describes itself as a cross between OCEANS 11 and THE SHINING has my attention.

Unfortunately, the book didn't quite live up to the blurb, or it's fascinating premise.

Breath of Bones: A Tale of The Golem

 I continue to be perplexed by the success of writer Steve Niles, and his latest, BREATH OF BONES: A TALE OF THE GOLEM, has done nothing to lay my confusion to rest.

Down. Set. Fight!

 I'm not much of a Football fan, but I can appreciate seeing a mascot get their clock cleaned as much as the next guy.

Dejah Thoris and The Green Men of Mars, Vol.1: Red Meat

There are people who just never learn. Even when they know better, they still do that little self-destructive act that brings them to ruin, over and over again. And so it is with ye olde Crabby Reviewer, who tries, over and over again, various and sundry JOHN CARTER comic books.

Stephen King's The Stand Omnibus

  Thank goodness for Marvel's glorious Omnibus format.

Whitstable, by Stephen Volk

 If he had never done anything else, Stephen Volk's name would live in infamy as the writer of the legendary 1992 BBC special, GHOSTWATCH. The scripted program was presented as a live paranormal investigation, and caused a nationwide panic that resulted in the BBC banning the show from being rebroadcast for over a decade. Volk has since branched out from screenplays, and added short fiction and novellas to his repertoire. His latest, WHITSTABLE, is sure to strike a chord with Horror fans.

Teen Titans, Volume 3: Death of the Family

Whoof! Now this is the Scott Lobdell that I know and loathe!

 As my seemingly endless read-through of the DEATH OF THE FAMILY crossover comes to it's merciful end, here's my thoughts on the final book in the series, and the crossover in general....

Red Hood and The Outlaws, Volume 3: Death of the Family

 The "Death of the Family" crossover keeps a'chugging along...this time: READ HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS, VOLUME 3: DEATH OF THE FAMILY!

Nightwing, Volume 3: Death of the Family

 And so we come to the NIGHTWING portion of the seemingly endless "Death of the Family" crossover.....

Best of 2013

 The Crabby Reviewer is just a little over a year old, and it's once again time for my annual "Best of the Year" post. Thanks to the two or three of you that read regularly, and I hope you both have a happy 2014.  (If you're the mysterious, possibly non-existent third regular reader, I'm sorry that I neglected you. I'll try to count you in in 2015.)