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Written with stark honesty and no fear, Time Under Tension provides an intimate glance at a season in the life of author/illustrator M.S. Harkness. We see her move from college graduate to aspiring artist and personal fitness trainer while dealing with the trauma of a sexually abusive childhood, a physical relationship with an MMA fighter who is dating someone else and her own life aspirations. She tries therapy and drugs to help sort through all she is feeling towards the people in her life and, ultimately, the direction her life is going. It is one of the better crafted autobiographical graphic novels I have read where the author has some real skeletons to deal with in their closet. She doesn't paint herself as victim or hero, simply protagonist trying to find the best way forward. The art style feels lifted from my favorite bygone indie newspapers and magazines. This is Harkness' 3rd full length book it benefits from her practice; the art feels polished in a way her personal life doesn't. Not always an easy read and not for all readers, this was a story I found both interesting and a little heartbreaking. I'm glad to know that in real life the author is well received, she certainly left an impression.
This volume took an unexpected, but welcome turn where we learn a lot about Mr Henderson's backstory, among other things. It was a nice way to break up the story without getting away from some of the core plot elements. There were reflections on the war, why he teaches the way he does and where his obsession with elegance comes from. Overall a strong volume that brought a lot of backstory I didn't know I was interested in.
I never really fell in love with the art in this series, but the storytelling remained the heart and soul of the entire tale. I have never read a manga (or any comic for that matter) that was looking at this era of real life. What happens when you are reaching the end of a career that defined your life, but still feel something is missing? What if you thought there was more to give or more authenticity to bring to the task? The manga artists, authors and publishers depicted here represent a pretty specific point of view and the life of artists doesn't always model well the life of folks in different lines of work. All that said, this whole story was poignant, compelling and captivating. This is an easy recommendation for certain types of readers and people looking for certain types of stories. I wouldn't recommend this to people only interested in action or romance in their manga, but I think there are plenty of ‘non-manga' readers who would truly enjoy this book despite not being familiar with the format, etc.
I really appreciated what a breath of fresh air this was and how well orchestrated all 3 volumes were from start to finish.
Another solid installment in a series that fully understands what it is. The art remains great (maybe has even gotten better?) and continues to be a very compelling reason to stay with this series. The stories included here are a great spread of themes, the character list continues to grow without becoming unmanageable and the pacing makes it an easy cover-to-cover read. Thanks for remaining steadfast and silly Way of the Househusband.
I haven't read anything that reminds me of this series. The story involves a fair number of people now, but it feels incredibly small. There are so many personal battles being waged and a lot of introspection happening. There are plenty of characters asking huge questions about who they really are and what their art is worth to the world, let alone to themselves. It is a “grown up” book in the sense that the more life experience you have the more these themes and characters will resonate with you. Overall I'm very impressed, but don't love the art. That's the only thing holding me back from loving this more, for all its complexity and self reflection.
This series moves at a fairly leisurely pace and somehow makes it work. I think some of it stems from Frieren's attitude and world view also being leisurely and unhurried. There are plenty of interesting story moments, but nothing momentous. This is a hard series to pin down, I am enjoying it, but it's not riveting. I find myself inclined to read the next volume, but I wouldn't rush out to recommend it. It's odd, but it is growing on me as I read more. I only rated this 3 stars because there aren't really any stakes here - I am sure everyone and everything will be ok so it's just sort of sequential storytelling. There is nothing wrong with that, but I am not sure this series has, as yet, elicited any sort of response from me. It sort of... exists... and that's fine.
Thanks to St. Martin Press for an ARC - This was a fascinating, surprising and fun read. Firstly, [a:Chris DeVille 53547297 Chris DeVille https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1748168091p2/53547297.jpg] clearly loves the music and his personal connection to it makes this book all the better. There is a layer of authenticity here that goes beyond just his years of experience writing about music in real time. From how the tv show “The OC” influenced the genre and public perception of it, the rise of social media and it's effect on how people share and interact with music through to the state of Indie today, this book covers so much ground. I love so many of the bands included in this book and I thought I knew a little something, but I kept learning more in each chapter. That kept me as glued to this as did the hope of hearing more about how bands I loved had over come the challenges of their eras. This well researched and supported. It is a labor of love. It is critical and self aware. It is very much worth your time.
This series continues to impress as I don't have a sense of where it's going in the best way possible. We get hints of what the author is setting up, but there is still suspense and surprise which makes this very satisfying to read. There was a lot of exposition in this volume, the rest of Lord Haretake backstory carried over from the last installment. Overall the pacing and characterization in this series make it an easy recommendation and very enjoyable. It doesn't rush, it doesn't push, but it picks its moments to heighten and they payoff really well. The art continues to aid the tone of the story and remains some of my favorite ongoing series illustrations. The covers give a lot of atmosphere and the interiors give it weight.
I have seen a lot of love for this story online and it makes sense to me now. At times I thought this story was a little uneven, but I realized at the end it was Frieren. As an Elf she is nearly immortal, but none of her friends/adventuring party are so she'll outlive them all. She comes off as cold and detached through much of the story, but that's the point. It didn't really land for me till the end, but her personal journey and the way she chooses to honor her friends is why we're here. The understanding that we're seeing someone grieve in their own way and try to be a different version of themselves is what makes this worth reading. I look forward to reading more.
A quick read, but for those that have heard/watched the show not a ton of new info. The art was solid and the tone was spot on, just wished there was a little more here. Seeing Fjord try to assimilate and fly under the radar as a kid gives you a lot of empathy for the character and those aspects of this story were handled well. Enjoyed it, just wasn't blown away.
Makoto Ojirio has my whole heart with this series. This volume was a little quieter and slower than the last 2. There was a beautiful sequence of finding just the right spot to get some overnight photos and hiding out in an old train car. They throw a very successful meteor watching party that is better attended than their Sensei anticipated. We get to spend more time with some of their friends outside of just their relationships with Magari and Nakami. Magari's illness takes her out of school for quite a while and it's the most concerned we've seen anyone for her. This volume ends on her birthday, but it's a low note because of the illness.
Beautifully told, beautifully illustrated, just a perfect book cover to cover.
If you haven't watched The Mighty Nein, this book won't land the same. That doesn't mean I don't recommend it, but the impact it has as someone who was familiar with the source material was immense. Author [a:Kendra Wells 13567735 Kendra Wells https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] struck just the right tone, kudos to Matt and Taliesin for (I would assume) guiding the ship in the right direction. The stars of this volume though have to be the artist, [a:Selina Espiritu 16509812 Selina Espiritu https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and colorist [a:Eren Angiolini 23710677 Eren Angiolini https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Maybe more so than any other character from the MN, Caduceus was (literally) a colorful character and so much of his story and characteristics were tied back to colors and themes. This book does a wonderful job capturing his essence and the feel of his home. The Grove is beautifully depicted and it was really satisfying to see it made real. You don't have to be a Critical Role watcher to enjoy this story, it is still a good intro to the character, his family and their wonderful home.
As an introduction to Beauregard, this book is great. As part of the larger series of books from the world of The Mighty Nein, this left something to be desired. Thematically it was great and felt true to the character and story. The art felt stylized correctly and the beats all were there. I think for me, as a reader who watched the series, it just fell a little flat as we had all this information. Nothing here was really illuminating or new and Beau was one of the more fully realized and fleshed out characters anyway. Hers was maybe the most straightforward backstory and so this was fine, but didn't really feel as special as some others did. Worth the read for non-fans though as this is the sort of introduction meant to bring you into the world.
Ma, Mai, Maki? centric for a while, then Itadori shows up at the very end. I take very small comfort in seeing the lead character return after several volumes out of the story, but I hope this means we're getting closer to something happening beyond just Culling Game fights that don't seem to do much.
There were parts of this that were entirely incomprehensible and other parts that were entirely unnecessary. I'm wondering if Sakuna is ever coming back to this story as anything other than a character mentioned by people in the world. Most of the “Culling Game” arc has felt like filler and I really hope something substantial to the plot happens soon.
Ok, this is sort of a lie as i finished this in 2024, but somehow didn't mark it down here. This series continues to be compelling, well designed and fast paced to read. There have been some good revelations and I'm enjoying it more than I thought I might. Really looking forward to where the story is going for these characters and who will “be king” when all is said and done.
This is an outstanding series that gets better and more intriguing with each volume. The characters are compelling and I appreciate the speed at which we are being presented new information as it never feels overwhelming. I recommend this book to a lot of different types of readers as it covers a lot of ground and I have high hopes for where it is heading in the future.
Percy is here, the gang gets into a pit fighting competition (plenty of fun during long runs on the show, don't know that it does as much for the comic reader, but eh, here we are) and there is some plot twists, magic and a Dragon shows up. Scooby Doo-gang style they have to solve a mystery and save a friend.
The comics medium is a great way to see Critical Role stories told and this is an easy recommendation for a lot of readers. Mystery, action, fantasy, etc. There is a lot to appreciate about these books.
You might ask yourself, “if you have no idea what is happening, why do you keep reading this series?” Great question. I have no idea. I don't know what I am waiting for and all the original characters are missing or dead. We haven't seen some of the headliners for multiple volumes, Sakuna is like an afterthought and I don't know what we're supposed to be looking for now.
Spite maybe? Maybe I'm reading just out of spite now to not let this series shake me off? Who knows. The art is weird, but over-the-top enough to still hold you. The details are a mystery.
They are officially in the culling game, which I barely understand, and a new character starts talking about the ulterior motives behind the game real late in this issue. This was largely easier to follow, but there were still a couple moments where so much text and exposition got crammed into a tiny corner of a panel that I am still mad.
So there have been a couple of small, but fun twists as this story winds down. I am really looking forward to what the conclusion might be, but I have had a lot of fun with this closing arc. I'm also glad that this isn't trying to be more than it is. For a while it looked like the whole book might start to wander, but it has done a good job of finding itself again. The art has also been outstanding as this series has grown. The scope keeps getting bigger while maintaining quality and really drawing you in (pun intended.)
Um, there is a panda in this book and he's pretty nice. There are like 3 or 4 layers of things happening here, I can track like 1 of them... maybe. I am still lost and at this point I am only still reading it on the outside hope that the main story line has a resolution that make any sense at all. I'm not optimistic. At any rate, there is culling game afoot and our heroes might have to kill other sorcerers, but I don't know either way.