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Books

Review: Batman: Death Mask

Batman: Death Mask by Yoshinori Natsume

I give this book a 5.

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Because I don’t want to frighten people with my uber geekness, I will keep this short.

Always a fan of most things Batman, I welcomed this dark Japanese tale of Bruce Wayne and the Death Mask. This four-part series is a semi-origin story as it goes back in time to show where and how Bruce was trained to fight in his quest to become the Batman, but the story goes far beyond that. It tells the legend of a mask that brings out the darkness in the one who wears it, but now Batman is wondering whether the mask is really cursed or if it is the person wearing it that is cursed.

This tales is not without the typical comic book violence that us geeks are so used to, but it also has a very physiological spin to it in the area of intimidation and fear. The Dark Night is a little bright in comparison to the darkness of the Death Mask. People’s faces get chopped off; that’s all I have to say about that.

Great for veteran comic book readers and Batman fans, but not recommended as your first comic book or Batman read.

This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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About Toi Other

Happy 2nd Blog Anniversary! – An Interview, Part 1

anniversayGreetings readers, bloggers, geeks, and authors. It’s my anniversary and I thought I’d interview myself and share it with you. I’ve come a long way as a writer, blogger, reviewer, and interviewer and I’d thought it would be nice to share some of the things I’ve learned and tell you a little about myself, in case you don’t already know.

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So just who is Toi Thomas?
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I’m a devoted wife who works as a teacher’s assistant. My family is very important to me even though I don’t always spend a lot of time with them.

I believe in world harmony even if most people can’t seem to grasp the concept. While I do enjoy great conversations, crowds are not my thing.

I entertain myself by reading, watching movies, listening to vinyl records, cooking, collecting actions figures, and blogging.

I adore most animals, enjoying dancing, can’t live without tea, chocolate, or ice cream, and have been known to over indulge in geek culture from time to time, but more on that later.

Who is so me and why?

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In my younger days, I was often told that I look liked several black entertainers, from Nia Long to Janet Jackson, but I know for a fact that I look like my mother.

When it comes to personality, how well you know me makes a difference. I’m an introvert so am not always understood by the crowd. I don’t mind that at one point I was referred to as black Daria; I like Daria.  –

In terms of writing, after using the site, I write like, I found that my writing style might resemble that of either Dan Brown or James Fenimore Cooper, but I think there’s a flaw here. 😉

What was my favorite book or story, pre-teen years?

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This is an easy one. While I adore most of the classic children’s tales such as the stories of OZ, Wonderland, Narnia, and more, it was the tales of Neverland that really struck a chord with me. I can remember checking out the same two or three books from the library every time we’d go. As I got older I looked for tales of Neverland on the small and big screens. Even to this day, I sometimes feel like a little lost boy on the inside.

What makes me geek out?

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For anyone who doesn’t know the answer to this question, you must indeed be new to this blog. Have no fear, I will share, but first some ramblings.

Did you know that I do a monthly post called My Geekdom? There are so many things that fuel my geekness that I have to talk about them at least once a month. I also have five+ pinboards on Pinterest dedicated to geek themes and culture, and I follow many blogs based on their geek factor.

But enough of that…what really does it for me after: Betty Boop, Muppets, Peanuts, Marvel, and more? It all boils down to Batman…because he’s BATMAN!

In terms of interviews, whose brain am I just itching to scratch?

I love that fact that I’ve built a home on the web that’s inviting to authors, and soon to be other members of the book industry, because I really do enjoy getting to know other people who share my passion for writing and reading. I do hope to someday have a chance to interview some my favorite authors, but I don’t know that’s it’s an urge tugging at my brain at the moment.

I’m kicking myself for not giving my interview bucket list more considerable thought before this moment. I could name so many musicians, directors, authors, actors, and more in the field of entertainment, and even a few political figures, that I’d love to be able to sit down with and just ask questions until they walked away from me, but there’s no one brain I’m currently itching to scratch. I would however love to find the answers to questions such as “Why do people to the things they do?” and other philosophical ideas such as this.

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Okay readers, bloggers, geeks, and authors, that’s all for today…unless you have a question you’d like to ask me. 😉

Thank you for sticking with me these past two years. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for part two of this interview and hopefully enjoy some more of my insights.

This has been a

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Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

 

Categories
My Geekdom

My Geekdom 11: Batman

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Pins from Pinterest that inspire me and indulge my geekness. http://pinterest.com/toinette_thomas/my-geekdom/

Please do not copy this image. Click this image to visit Pinterest and share, share, share 🙂

Here is some more cool conceptual art. If there is still someone out there who didn’t know I like Batman, well, now you know. He’s my favorite comic book hero. The only other hero I’m liking as much as him right now is, Giovanni, from my Eternal Curse Series, but that of course is a little biased.

Batman is my favorite comic book hero whether he’s the caped crusader, part of the dynamic duo, the world’s greatest detective, or the dark knight. He’s my favorite for three basic reasons.

1. He’s super smart and observant.

2. He’s not afraid to admit it when he doesn’t know something; that’s why he spends so much time researching and training, so he can know as much as possible. If anything, he’s a role model for doing your homework and not wasting a good mind. (We’ll just overlook his policy on following the rules.)

3. He has no super powers, but is the first to be called when the super heroes need help.

Don’t get me wrong, I know billions of dollars have helped Batman’s cause, but that’s one more reason why I like him as a person (real or fake good qualities count). Bruce Wayne, or whatever Batman is popular at the time, is who he is because of tragedy. Batman could easily have chosen to become a villain, but he chose to be good (or at least fright crime). Speaking specifically of Bruce Wayne, despite his playboy persona, he’s a hero because, even with all his money, he knows he could never be happy knowing that there is evil unchecked in this world as he sat around and did nothing.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords