Cut/Snikt

As I mentioned in my last post, I read the latest George Pelecanos novel, The Cut, in just a few days last week. I think this is my third Pelecanos; the previous two I read were stand-alone novels but this one is the first is a projected series (well, at least one more is coming). The main character, Spero Lucas, is a vet of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Since he's been home, he's been working as an investigator, sometimes for an attorney and sometimes as a freelancer. On the freelance jobs, he takes a 40% cut of whatever it is he receives and that's how he makes his real money. He's still young and he likes his women. His brother is a high school teacher and the boys still hang out with their adoptive mother. All of this is background, of course. The main thrust of the plot deals with his being hired to retrieve a wholesale package of marijuana. Things don't go well, of course, and get complicated from there. It's a breezy read and an enjoyable one.

DC Comics has been making big news in the comic book world with 52 relaunched titles rolling out in the month of September. I haven't been able to pick up any, as they've been selling out and I didn't do any pre-ordering. That's okay, I'll read the ones I'm interested in eventually even if it's in trade format. I did, however, pick a one-shot from Marvel, Wolverine: Debt of Death. It was written by David Lapham of Stray Bullets fame  and drawn by David Aja with colors by Bettie Breitweiser. The title page promises that it's "A Wolverine Story Featuring Shinpu attack Robots, ninjas, killing, explosions, preventive spheres of doom and the always welcome Nicholas Fury." Boy howdy, does it deliver. The story seems to take place in the late 70s/early 80s and it is fun, beautifully to look at, and well worth $3.99.