Joining us today, it’s Andrez Bergen! The massively acclaimed novels ‘Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat’ and ’100 Years of Vicissitude’ have seen Bergen become *the* name to watch out for in the next few years. An excellent short story writer as well, Andrez chooses his top 5 (eclectic) reads of 2013…

Top 5 Reads of 2013 by Andrez Bergen

1. The Maltese Falcon (novel by Dashiell Hammett)

I’ve read this novel about 50 times, and I never — ever — get sick of it. Still a toss up as to whether I prefer this or Raymond Chandler’s ‘The Big Sleep’, but both easily slip into my favourite books ever. The ensemble cast here is amazing, as are the throwaway lines.

2. Daredevil Visionaries – Frank Miller, Vol. 2 (graphic novel)

Been ages since I looked at all the issues in Miller’s early 1980s run on Daredevil that lead up the the fate of Elektra (#181) — and it holds up surprisingly well. In fact it’s still powerful comic book story telling with a gritty, fatalistic noir bent and some lighter moments. Not quite Miller doing Dark Knight, but just as essential.

3. V for Vendetta (graphic novel by Alan Moore & David Lloyd)

Surprisingly I’d never gotten the chance to read this before, and the movie version left me disinclined. Boy, was I proved wrong. Superb and thought-provoking, explaining exactly why Moore is so respected. I got so into this I read the whole thing in two days… and I’m the world’s slowest reader.

4. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (novel by Michael Chabon)

Another book I should’ve read well before now, but I blame living in Japan these past 13 years. Honest. Got stuck into this just after I finished off my “comic book” homage ‘Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?’ in February, and it was the perfect tonic in which to ease out of a world of super hero noir by looking at a fictional collection of comic book creators in New York. before and after the war. Great stuff by Chabon. Again.

5. Miss Fury (comic strips collection by Tarpé Mills, edited by Trina Robbins)

Another recent discovery although she’s actually 72 years old (the black-clad feline femme fatale Miss Fury, at any rate — she was created by Mills in 1941 and rates as the first female action hero created by a woman). The artwork and storytelling by Mills gloriously stands the test of time, mixing in fashion, guns, travel, bullets and Nazis. I fell in love with this, and hats off to Robbins for bringing it altogether in this super hardback tome.

 

Andrez Bergen

http://andrezbergen.wordpress.com