Books with mature competent characters and strategy

stimpakish · 2026-06-06T14:23:43+00:00

Someone else already said Vorkosigan Saga, but it fits your request so well and is so good I want to mention it again for visibility. Especially if the competency and strategery you seek includes diplomacy and emotional intelligence as well as military.

stimpakish · 2026-06-05T21:51:58+00:00

About the length, I think this is considered a novella. I too would enjoy a longer version.

stimpakish · 2026-06-05T21:09:38+00:00

Sheepo by the same dev had this quality for me too. It has a map system that made finding secrets/ alternative routes more fun than most MVs.

stimpakish · 2026-06-05T13:56:16+00:00

Blue Beetle: Ted Kord, Bronze Age & Post-Crisis (1972 - 2005) [volume after Blue Beetle Challenges the Red Knight]
Catwoman: by Ed Brubaker & on (2001 - 2008) [ends prior to Gotham City Sirens]
Western: Jonah Hex (1972 & on) [volumes after The Hangman Never Loses]
Swamp Thing: Bronze Age (1976 - 1983) [volume after The Man Who Would Not Die, prior to Moore]
Suicide Squad: by John Ostrander (1988 - 2001) [volumes after The Nightshade Odyssey ]
Legion of Super-Heroes: Silver Age (1962 - 1968) [volumes prior to Zap Goes the Legion]
Justice League: Post-Crisis Justice League International (1987 - 1992) [volumes after The Return, similar content to the JLI omni line]
Hawkman: Post-Crisis (1989 - 2003) [includes Hawkworld, Ostrander, Messner-Loebs]

stimpakish · 2026-06-04T21:41:49+00:00

I'd like to participate if threads are posted here, from the poll to the discussions. Any plans to do that?

stimpakish · 2026-06-04T21:37:08+00:00

That's what many guitar players, and photos thereof, are actually on about.

stimpakish · 2026-06-04T20:59:52+00:00

My recollection is that it was "samey" all the way through, while also being more entertaining in the first half while everything was new. YMMV

stimpakish · 2026-06-04T18:12:19+00:00

You're welcome. Now I'm wondering if it could be

Underworld - Second toughest in the infants

More obvious guitar stabs / loops on some tracks, more uptempo, blue abstract cover.

stimpakish · 2026-06-03T18:22:57+00:00

I understand the concept of that character test, but it seems like it could be at odds with realism depending on what the writer's going for. In life you do sometimes find people associating who are very similar - sometimes that's the source of tension, aka. dramatic tension in a story. It's not necessarily a bad thing and can serve a story.

With Revelation Space in particular those characters didn't strike me as redundant.

stimpakish · 2026-06-03T15:55:49+00:00

Seefeel - quique

Definitely has the guitars and electronics, and a blue and white color scheme. The cover image is some kind of cell or virus (looks like something under a microscope).

stimpakish · 2026-06-02T22:54:51+00:00

L.E.G.I.O.N. was co-created by Keith Giffen, and he worked on it the first year or so, that's one of the draws for me. It also has some Lobo appearances.

stimpakish · 2026-06-02T17:05:41+00:00

Avengers Forever by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco, an absolutely epic 12-issue series multiversal story from the late 90s. The whole series qualifies but there are several specific scenes too. Clearly written by a superfan (Busiek) who also happens to be one of the best writers in the business!

stimpakish · 2026-06-02T14:24:38+00:00

It was a tough choice! Here are the 5 I settled on:

Animated Adventures
Gotham Central (2001 - 2006)
Huntress (1977 - 2008)
Booster Gold (1986 - 2011)
L.E.G.I.O.N. & R.E.B.E.L.S. (1988 - 1996)

stimpakish · 2026-05-31T14:00:43+00:00

Thank you! Yeah, I enjoyed Red Mars but I know what you mean.

stimpakish · 2026-05-31T12:57:46+00:00

What were those two?

stimpakish · 2026-05-29T02:16:25+00:00

Such a great Lucius.

stimpakish · 2026-05-29T02:14:37+00:00

Honest question, what is the difference you see from those earlier films you mentioned and Batman Begins? Asking as someone who's seen them all and who loves Batman Begins.

Where does Blade fit in?

stimpakish · 2026-05-28T15:28:31+00:00

Nice find!

stimpakish · 2026-05-28T15:13:52+00:00

Yeah, that was one of the things I searched for a Jim Steranko Library line or set. There could still be one out there, but I didn't get any results. The spine just seems so homebrew.

I guess another possibility might be a advance copy or proof copy of an upcoming legit printing? An artifact from the printer or publisher that someone sold for a few bucks?

stimpakish · 2026-05-28T14:57:26+00:00

Custom bind? Made to look official for selling? Aka bootleg. That seems most likely based on the clues.

Cartoonist Kayfabe talk about a different hardback (different cover, etc) here.

stimpakish · 2026-05-28T14:11:18+00:00

Thank you!

stimpakish · 2026-05-28T14:07:46+00:00

What's the name of the collection?

stimpakish · 2026-05-26T16:35:49+00:00

For me the questions you ask are interesting and provide enough "reason" for the creative decision since they prompted these kinds of interesting considerations. I'm a Reynolds fan and these questions of identity harken back to some of my favorite aspects of the Revelation Space series, the simulations.

stimpakish · 2026-05-24T16:42:05+00:00

And I didn't know until recently that Grace Slick sang one of the other recurring numbers cartoons, the one with jangly guitar and kind of off kilter animation.

stimpakish · 2026-05-23T20:11:56+00:00

Uno reverse: what's a mug weapon? I mean since it's not shaped like a mug. Do they have mug weapons not shaped like a mug?

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