Issue 3 - All you can eat!

On Subscription Services and Recent Reads

There has never been a better time to be a reader. At no point in history has such a wealth of content been available to us, and at such an affordable price. The theme of this issue is subscription services, and there are many great choices to choose from, some of them are even free!

DC Comics Infinite:

Although Marvel has had a subscription service for a long time, DC, the home of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash (among countless others) has only recently dipped their toes into the subscription waters, but boy, have they done so in a big way! DC Infinite has (almost) everything they have released, going right back to the very beginnings of all their iconic characters. I recently read a Batman and Superman story from a 1940ish comic released during WW2, and followed that up with a 2022 comic called DC Mech - in which the Justice League members pilot Giant Robots!

There are two types of subscriptions: Standard gives you all historic issues plus Modern issues 6 months behind the newsstand, while the Ultra Subscription, which I recommend, gives you all historic issues, plus modern issues only 1 month behind, PLUS an enormous number of Graphic Novels and Collected editions.

Kindle Unlimited

Amazon’s subscription service has been around for a long time, but it keeps getting better year-after-year. Although the service is not perfect, and the quality of the mostly self-published work can vary widely, there are a lot of hidden gems to be discovered. There are many good Sword-and-Sorcery anthologies and magazines included in the service, and anyone with an interest in this genre would find a lot to read here at a very affordable price.

Here is a tip, if you already have a membership, try cancelling it, you will usually find that Amazon offers you a deal of a few extra months for only 99 cents.

Another genre that is surprisingly well represented on Kindle Unlimited is non-fiction, particularly instructional and how-to guides. I have found that although they often lack the polish of their commercially published alternatives, they are often more direct in their approach and more useful. No matter your interest, whether it be learning how to DJ, or how to digital sculpt in Blender, you will find multiple books on the topic.

Kindle Unlimited also has a wide range of books by traditional publishers and even some comics, so everyone should be able to find something to enjoy.

Libby and Overdrive

If you have a library card, you can borrow eBooks and audiobooks from your library. There are millions of books available, on all topics, and if they don’t have the book you are searching for, you can request it! Like a library an eBook can be ‘hired’ out by someone else, and you need to wait for them to ‘return’ it, but you are able to put a hold on it or join a queue if there are multiple people all wanting the same book. Although this is slightly more complicated, in practice it works very smoothly, and you can add multiple books to your ‘hold’ list and / or your ‘wish’ list for a later date. One of the best features of Libby / Overdrive is the vast range of digital magazines that they have available to borrow. Chances are if you have seen a magazine in a store or newsagent you will be able to borrow the digital copy. This is a standout service and one of the main reasons I recommend Libby / Overdrive to everyone I know.

What have I been Reading?

Imagine if the Tim Burton world of the first two Batman films continued, ignoring the events of ‘Batman Forever’ and ‘Batman and Robin’. This six-issue miniseries does exactly that, written by the original screenwriter of the first two films, Sam Hamm and with art by Joe Quinones portraying Michael Keaten as Batman and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent in an original story that continues on from the classic films. It is a powerful story with themes that resonates with the issues of today, particularly dealing with inequality and other issues faced by African Americans, whilst provide a satisfying and nostalgic story for fans of the original movies. It was wonderful to see Michael Keaten and Michelle Pfeiffer back in their roles, and the artist captured both their personality and likeness perfectly.

Here ends issue 3 of my newsletter, I apologize for it being a little late.