Review: Truth by Michael Shermer

 

Truth is the latest book by Skeptic publisher Michael Shermer. I am a subscriber to Skeptic (the actual print version) and a regular listener to Dr. Shermer’s self-titled podcast. I think the only bad aspect of this is that I’ve heard mention previously of many of the points Michael puts forth in the book. But that isn’t a criticism of the book. After all, it’s not like there’s a surprise ending to spoil!

I think the idea of writing a book on truth is a very good idea. There’s so much misinformation, myths, and just outright lies perpetuated by the speed of our current social media friendly society. So…does this book meet expectations? Let’s take a look.

The first part of the book discusses how we know something is true and how we know something isn’t. The second part has less definite things such as myths, history and morality. The final section covers concepts such as consciousness and gods, which are hard to evaluate for truth.

 

 

 

I’m trying to keep this brief, so I’ll just say the earlier sections were my favorite, as there’s a real way to figure out the truth of something like evolution or global warming, than the subjects of the later chapters such as whether or not there are scientific arguments for god. ButI also think it’s important to distinguish between the things we can prove and the things that really do come down to belief.

I’ll just give one example: alien life and UFOs. I believe there is probably life out there in the cosmos somewhere, because we know there are billions of planets in the universe. It makes sense that we are not living on the only inhabited planet. However, belief in this does not mean we are being visited by little green men and the government is keeping it from us for some nefarious reason. I can’t prove either, but there’s evidence in the first situation, and just “belief” in the second. I think there’s a big difference there.

Finally, I’ll mention something I learned from this book: Japanese deniers of the cruel tactics perpetuated by their own soldiers during WWII. With so much mention of Holocaust deniers, or deniers of the true cause of the US Civil War (i.e. slavery) I’ve never thought about deniers from other countries. But of course, there must be. How sad and infuriating. I hope the truth prevails in the minds of future generations.

Review: The Warden

 The Warden is another independent comic I picked up at the SPACE convention earlier this year. That's the joy of attending a small press con: getting to check out the comics being made by creative people who are outside the mainstream. But I don't want to drift from my intended review so I'll get on with it!

 

 

The Warden is about a prison guard with extraordinary abilities. He becomes a vigilante striving to make his city a better place. Sounds pretty typical comic-book so far. But, as they say, all stories have been told--you need to tell them in a new way. I think The Warden does this by creating interesting characters and making a very realistic vigilante story, that is still comic-booky. 

 

The story starts with an amazing and tragic birth and then introduces a horrible villain. We're introduced to some supporting characters- a journalist and a detective- with some very realistic conversations that introduce their personal and employment situations. The reporter who wants some fame, and the detective who wants by-the-book justice. So the good guys, bad guys, and conflict are introduced by the end of issue one and really make yo ready for part 2! Also, there are several scenes that are frightening! This is a very well written story.

And the art is just about perfect! It fits the down-and gritty setting and tells the story seamlessly. The characters all have a unique look and the anatomy and backgrounds are great! I love it!

My plan is to grab more of the story when I see the creators in person. Though if I miss them I'm gonna have to order some! It's too good to stop now!

You can check out The Warden and other Ironclad comics here! 

Scott and Jean drawing

 I did the pencil work on this drawing and friend and fellow artist Zane Fannin did the inking and color with markers. He said this is his favorite Jean Grey/Marvel Girl costume. I have to agree. Especially when rendered by the great Neal Adams, who made such an impact on comics and comic book art, and in particular on the original X-Men. I should give credit to Werner Roth for creating the X-Men's individual outfits in 1967. I own the Essentials reprint book of the Roy Thomas/Neal Adams/Tom Palmer X-Men run and it's a joy to re-read and adsorb that art over and over again. In all the decades of X-Men comics, there are a few runs that still get talked about. John Byrne even did an entire series (X-Men: The Hidden Years) inspired by these issues.

Jean and Scott. Marvel Girl and Cyclops. A Marvel super couple! 

Review: No Spell Lasts Forever

 Last year (2025) at SPACE I picked up issue #1 of No Spell Lasts Forever. This year (2026) I picked up issue #3. I'm not sure how I missed #2, which is what I meant to grab, but it does give me a chance to review something I used to deal with when I was a kid: missing an issue and having to catch up!

But let's start with the details: Sarah Cooke is the writer and creator of this story about a criminal named Rosette Diamant who uses magic to get away with her crimes. She dies, and is given the chance of avoiding Hell if she can corrupt and innocent person. Aimee Hawley draw issue #1 and Eze Di Savino draws the other issues.

And it's a very good story! Sarah does a great job moving the story along while providing the necessary  exposition so the reader understands the drama. It may be a little wordy, but I like comics that take a while to read! The art in the first issue is good, but the art in issue 3 is even better. Di Savino has a cartoonier style that fits the mystical nature of the book.

I can offer a little constructive criticism. For example, in the beginning of issue 3  Rosette details her plans to her crime boss, then proceeds in carrying out the plan. It seems an unnecessary detail to include. The dialogue could have stopped at her saying she had a plan, then the reader can observe the plan taking shape. I think it's more dramatic. Speaking of dramatic, the only criticism of the art I can think of is that it can get a little mundane during the long conversational sections. There are ways to make even a boring conversation more visually exciting.

 

And those are obviously very small criticisms. My favorite part may be seeing our protagonist's moral compass adjust as she finds out there is some true goodness in the world. And the flashbacks that explain how she got her powers and moral view of the world are interwoven extremely well.

I invite everyone to check out No Spell Lasts Forever! I think most people will really enjoy this comic! Here's some links:    

 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nospelllastsforever/no-spell-lasts-forever-1-4

 https://www.facebook.com/nospellcomic/

Follow her at:
Instagram/Bluesky: @sarahccomics 

 

Painting Harley

 Doing some painting lately. Acrylic on canvas board 11"x14". Because I like her and one of the few paintings I've sold was of an animated-version of Batman.

 

Those Juvenile Super-Heroes

 I recently started listening to comedian Bill Maher's audio book What This Comedian Said Will Shock You. I'm not a huge fan of Maher, but his essays do get me to think. Sometimes I agree with him, sometimes I very much do not, and quite often I laugh out loud. (For you young people, that's what LOL stands for.)

But what I'm going to discuss today relates to a little missive from Maher where he calls out adults for believing super-hero comics are great literature instead of the juvenile entertainment they really are. Now, I've been reading comic books for almost all my life. I still read comics, including super-hero comics. I still enjoy them. And I enjoy watching many of the movies and TV shows based on these characters. So I will take a bit of time to defend super-heroes. I will not, however, claim that the mainstream super-hero comics are anything other than juvenile entertainment. There are plenty of comics, in plenty of genres, that are definitely adult.  This includes super-hero books such as Watchmen that cannot be confused for kids books. But I will concede that most super-hero book are not serious, adult stories. It ain't Shakespeare to put it another way.

 

And you know what? I don't care! I KNOW these comics aren't serious and adult. I know who they are intended for, the audience they are trying to attract. And that's part of the charm. There are a lot of "juvenile" level books and series I read. I read Harry Potter as an adult, and you know what? I loved it! In fact, often the lack of serious adults stuff, such as excessive sex and violence, makes the books for young reader better, in my opinion. I've often said I've read Game of Thrones and Ranger's Apprentice, and Ranger's Apprentice is a better series. John Flanagan tells and great story and does it by creating great characters a reader cares about without getting bogged down in dirty details. (And the stories actually have endings, which is a plus!)

Maybe there's a generational difference between Boomers like Bill and the generations that followed. Something I learned from reading Jean Twenge's book Generations (the real differences between gen z, Millennials, ...) is that my generation kinda grew up fast. That is, we were often left to take care of ourselves while our parents worked 5 jobs so they could afford to keep the thermostat at 65 degrees. We also have held on to our childhood longer than previous generations. Maybe we're trying to still live that childhood we were partially cheated out of. Or maybe we just want some fun in our lives among all the chaos of our world.

 But I would be remiss to not mention one of the reasons I think super-hero comics, especially Marvel comics, have translated into other media and become so popular to such a large group. And that reason is the characters that are in these stories are so relatable to fans. They have been around for decades and we still "get" them, more than ever perhaps. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and all the rest really did a great job putting together stories about people who had neat powers and struggled through realistic troubles and we get them.

Somehow my point is that anything that you can read or watch or listen to that provides you with some kind of entertainment is worth it. It can be sophisticated and adult or funny or targeted at any age or group at all. You just have to like it. It makes you laugh, it makes you think, it makes you cry, or whatever. Just enjoy! No matter what some old "OK, Boomer" guy thinks!

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons drawing

 In recent years I've been drawing people in triads, but I had to make an exception for this group. I've been thinking about doing a drawing like this for a while. I think there are still fans who remember this party.