books

By ANDREW A. SMITH
Scripps Howard News Service
Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Expect a lot of storm warnings in July, when Marvel's mighty Thor returns from comic-book limbo.

Some might ask, "Where's he been?" Or, "How will he be different?" Or even, "Marvel has a character named Thor?"

To answer the last one first, a short history lesson is in order:

The mighty Thor is one of Marvel's oldest heroes, debuting in the suspense anthology "Journey Into Mystery" No.

By KAREN MACPHERSON
Scripps Howard News Service
Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Celebrate our country's birthday with some of these great new kids' books focused on American history:

-- "My Flag Book" (Smithsonian/HarperCollins, $5.99) offers the youngest readers a look at one of the nation's most important symbols.

By TERRY MORROW
Scripps Howard News Service
Thursday, June 21, 2007

DC Comics -- the world's largest publisher of monthly comics -- is considering the notion of going weekly.

The company had a successful launch in 2006 with "52," a weekly comic book featuring B-list characters such as Animal Man and Adam Strange.

By KAREN MACPHERSON
Scripps Howard News Service
Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Summertime's here, and the reading should be fun. Here's a look at some great new books for kids:

BABIES AND TODDLERS:

-- Appealing photos of pandas combine with a simple text by author Stuart Levine to make "My Panda Book" (Smithsonian/Harper Collins, $5.99) a winner for the youngest readers.

By JON ORTIZ
Sacramento Bee

You'd think that the excitement surrounding the July 21 release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" would thrill booksellers. After all, J.K. Rowling's seventh and final installment of the teen wizard and his struggle against the forces of evil began setting sales records almost from the minute pre-orders started pouring in months ago.

By JENNIFER BARRETT
Salt Lake Tribune
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Ann Martin was reluctant to commit to another series of children's books. After all, the production schedule can be grueling.

The acclaimed writer used to churn out a book a month to satisfy demand for her wildly popular "Baby-Sitters Club" series, which included nearly 80 titles, sold more than 175 million copies, became a television series and spawned other books.

"No, no," she told her publisher when he pressed her to start another series.

But then he hit on a magic formula: "He tempted me with the idea of incorporating sewing into the books," said Martin, a passionate seamstress.

And so, she gave in, and "Main Street" was born.

By HEIDI BENSON
San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Unlike his friend Nora Ephron, Armistead Maupin doesn't feel bad about his neck. Sure, it's a little creaky -- a touch of arthritis -- but he looks on the bright side.

By TERRY MORROW
Scripps Howard News Service
Tuesday, June 12, 2007

A villainous alien can leap out at DC Comics artist Ethan Van Sciver at almost anytime these days.

In fact, he is looking for them.

"Whatever crazy, wild thought comes into my head, I write it down," he says, "and I use it."

Van Sciver looks all around him for inspiration.

By KAREN MacPHERSON
Scripps Howard News Service
Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Award-winning author Sharon Flake wants you to know that she grew up in a castle. Oh -- and she's also a queen.

Some people might question Flake's sanity, given the inner-city Philadelphia neighborhood in which she was raised.

By MARK BROWN
Scripps Howard News Service
Wednesday, June 06, 2007

("Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector." By Mick Brown. Knopf, 464 pages, $26.95.)

"I have devils inside that fight me," Phil Spector calmly told a British reporter weeks before an actress was shot to death in his house.