On the DEWLine 2.0: Dwight Williams

I'm having what I consider to be a productive and respectful argument with Dwayne McDuffie (among several other interested parties)on the subject of secret identities in general and whether or not they've outlived their usefulness to the superhero genre over at his messageboard. Look it up under "Secret ID's: Threat or Menace?"

One new book I want to recommend after picking it up at Perfect Books on Elgin Street in east Centretown Ottawa: The Works: Anatomy of a City by Kate Ascher. As with my purchase of The Historical Atlas of New York City's first edition by Eric Homberger some years earlier -- also at that same shop -- I found that, for learning about cities' infrastructure and history in general, and that of New York in particular...well, to be blunt, I learned Lots of Cool Stuff.

And really, since Cool Stuff is as much in the presentation style as anything else, Ascher and her gang of cronies and accomplices got the job done, and well done to boot!

While I did have the Historical Atlas of NYC for research purposes for writing my chunks of the Daily Planet Guide to Gotham, I wish I'd had The Works as well, for the same reasons, and the ones above besides!

In closing, I've got one thing to say: Thanks for the cool books, Sam!

And now I'm off for the night.