Sidekicks

Inheritance by Devin Grayson. Ok, I've read it. It was... about as good as a novel based on comic books could be expected to be.

The format was nice... team-up Batman with Arsenal and tell Arsenal's history through flashbacks... then team-up Green Arrow with Nightwing and tell Nightwing's history through flashbacks... then... um... team-up Aquaman with Tempest... yeah, that's where it breaks down a bit. The Aquaman and Tempest bits were solid, but shorter and less detailed than the others.

The bits that made people giggle overmuch were few enough and in context enough that they didn't bother me at all. My favorite exchange was between Green Arrow and Aquaman, as Ollie is trying to convince Aquaman to join him in "helping" Batman, and mentions that there are boats involved. "I can't communicate with boats, Oliver." Heh. I also very much liked that Tempest's son Cerdian is referred to as Ian.

Aquaman does not come off very well in the Tempest flashbacks... but then, none of the mentors do, really. Particularly Ollie. I'm amused by the way the "official" stories of how the mentors met their sidekicks are explained nicely. In short... about as good as a novel based on comic books should be. I plan to buy this one to add to my Aquaman collection as soon as I have the money.