Adam
This definitely had the dark-magic feel of most Dark Horse Comics. I was a little disappointed in it as a Witcher story though. It had kind of a slow, plodding pace and there wasn't a whole lot going on in this story.
It wasn't terrible, I just was hoping for more. Great if you're really bored, but no need to race out and get this one.
This volume was ok, not great. There are some REALLY big reveals here, but there is also quite a bit of melodrama. There were some big fight scenes, the stakes were raised for everyone and it was the biggest cliff-hanger ending yet.
...All that being said; when it was over I didn't have the same need to rush out and grab the next one. I'm sure I'll read it soon enough, but this was just a little less inspiring for me than the first 2.
This was a really great book that almost lost right at the end. It started just slow enough to give me some concern, but once the major pieces of the story clicked into place and the first big realization happens the story found a quick, enjoyable pace. I was drawn into the world and bought both the magic system the author created and how the people in the world reacted to it. Motivated characters, good dialogue, decent plot devices: All fine.
Near the end there was a psych-out, near ending. You know the sort of thing where stuff is climaxing all around the characters and it seems like the end is nigh, but something goes just wrong enough and you're like, oh there's still a good 80 pages left anyway, no chance was all that denouement. That would have been all well and good, but there was a moment between our two lead characters that I'm not sure was entirely earned at that point. They finally slept together and to be honest it was kind of weirdly shoe-horned in at this point in the story because we were so far removed from their inciting incident when the passionately made out after "sharing too much magic" earlier. I suppose I understand the author trying to time some threads back together and give us a moment before all hell really breaks lose, I'm just not sure it worked for me.
I'm also not going to comment on how this thing wrapped up, because I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it. At first, I was like ‘nah, not really satisfied', but when I had some time to sit with it I felt better about where this story landed. I think the author spent enough time leading us to this place and laying the ground work for how the magic ties to the people and the land, but I still can't say whether or not I feel good about it.
Glad I read it, certainly deserves the praise I've read for it, would recommend it. Still processing the ending for myself.
Holy hell, this was intense. I see this book was pretty well loved by friends I have on here and now I know why. Mark Waid pulls off a very impressive trick with this book: he gives the characters the same amount of humanity and texture he is capable of when he's at his highest form, but instead of a charming, amiable hero we get one who has snapped and gone rogue. It's like if Superman quit fighting for truth, justice and the American way and instead did whatever the hell he wanted including leveling entire cities.
No one can stop Plutonian, like no one at all. No other heroes, villains, governments: no one. What do you do when a god decides to no longer be benevolent?
I'm not saying this is a wholly new idea, but it's incredibly well executed here. I read this in one sitting and immediately downloaded the next volume. PLEASE read the Afterward by Grant Morrison as well as he does a better job articulating what was great and special about this story from Waid and why it's important.
“Grant Morrison writes a crazy dark book where bizarro things happen” doesn't really narrow down the list of titles you could be talking about. That holds true here, but in a different way than usual. The story is about a former cop turned hit man who starts seeing a tiny flying blue unicorn who needs him to come save a little girl (he's her imaginary friend.)
- No super heroes, no one with powers, just a burn-out trying to settle a score with the mob who gets pulled into a much bigger problem. - Here's the thing, it's actually pretty compelling. I mean, it's incredibly bloody and violet and the language would make a sailor blush, but we knew that from the author's name on the cover.
The character's motivations all feel genuine and the writing supports most of their choices. There's 1 big reveal that I clocked fairly early on, but that didn't in anyway hurt the story for me or feel less interesting. I kind of want to watch the show adaptation now to see what was kept. Being a huge Patton Oswalt fan I had no trouble hearing his voice for Happy the unicorn and that didn't hurt either.
This story is the best kind of nuts. It ratchets up from the first volume, as any good story should.
Plutonian's old team is trying to find a way to stop him and spare humanity is unpredictable wrath. That is all the more I am going to say without spoiling anything that happens here. It's emotionally dense and has a couple of fulfilling twists.
I really recommend this story for anyone who's looking for a comic that confounds stereotypes or expectations. It's prime time Mark Waid writing and story telling.
I'm 100% investing in this now.
This was pretty great! (thanks Alisha for the recommendation) There's plenty of intrigue around this “orphanage” and the caretaker. The short synopsis is 3 of the oldest kids in the house discover things aren't at all what they appear to be and decide to hatch a plan. Too vague, too bad! This one is crazy easy to spoil, so you'll just have to trust me that it's worth checking out.
The art swivels back and forth between sort of cute/kid friendly to nightmare stuff meant to set your danger-alarm off. The tension that builds here really sets up Vol 2 beautifully as I'm absolutely furious about reaching the ending and being left on a cliff-hanger.
Really looking forward to the next volume and highly recommended for anyone considering a manga for their next read.
Scarlet is back to hold dishonest cops and a broken system accountable. There isn't a ton to say about this volume as it's a seamless continuation of the first part story where we find out what happens when the people stand up to the mayor and police force. This volume spends more pages on a shorter time frame, but the build up and character development is great. We get to know some more members of team Scarlet and the tension built along the way helps the ending feel justified.
Looking forward to the conclusion of the story and, as always, grateful for Alex Maleev and his amazing art.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
What did I just read? No, really. What was that? It starts out as a batsh*t story about the world's most interesting man who is trying to have his life story documented and it showed some (weird) promise. Then it suddenly devolves into a self-indulgent reflection on what life means and what's any one person's story really worth. I don't know what Joshua Williamson was personally working through when writing this, but I wish him luck and good mental health because this was some “teenager figuring out how big the world is and how small they are” banality.
WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY too much nudity for sheer shock value in a book that really spent a lot of time trying to throw weird shocking things at you. I'm not trying to be a prude when I say that it was over the top, it was just trying to provoke a reaction in case the mummy-ninjas didn't get one.
I was intrigued by this and then I was just disappointed by this. It had all kinds of potential, but just couldn't figure out what it wanted to be or say.
... what a weird way to start 2019
I received an ARC from NetGalley and First Second Books in exchange for an honest review
I read this without having any idea who the intended audience was and that may have colored my reading. As an adult who has been a fan of Jeff Buckley's for years, this really missed the mark for me. I tried to remind myself that I might be biased due to my love for the subject and entered with too-high expectations. For a YA audience who isn't as familiar, this might have been a great read and the art was really outstanding. I enjoyed that it was only blues and whites, but really had an almost musical flow to it. That was the defining characteristic of the book for me.
I think the important part of the cover is where it says: “Based on the Jeff Buckley Story” as this should have tipped me off. It reads a lot like a biography, but it feels somehow incomplete. At the very least there are sections that feel very superficial and we don't dive deeply into Jeff relationships with some of the people in his life. I don't know how many creative liberties were taken with his story, but again, as an adult I felt like there were parts just missing that would have filled out the story.
This isn't a bad read, but for me it was unsatisfying. I would still recommend this to our YA readers and see if it sparks their interest in one of my all time favorite singer/songwriters.
If you were wondering what Trevor Bruttenholm's first field mission looked like, you've found it! This book serves as an introduction to several characters who'll feature prominently in early Hellboy stories, such as Bruttenholm, Rasputin and Kroenen.
I read some reviews for this that were really down on it and I can understand some of the frustration. This isn't a deep dive into Hellboy lore as much as an introduction to people we already know. It's a very quick read and by no means a must-read for the series. There isn't anything here that is critical to understanding the Mignola-verse, but that didn't make it less entertaining. The art switched up a couple times and I wasn't thrilled, but again it didn't ruin anything.
If you love the world of Hellboy, this is worth the time. If you're waiting for the second coming of Mignola's original masterwork you'll be disappointed. I'm in for this universe and I'm glad I read it.
This book was bananas. Petit (out titular hero) is the smallest child born to an extended family of inbred giants (Ogres) who rule over a land of humans that they eat.
...Did all of that land? No? Good, it's only going to get weirder.
The art in this book (by Bertrand Gatignol) was the saving factor that helped me stay with any of this. It is largely a book about the crazy family dynamics of which giant is bigger than which and how do they feel about humans. Petit is human sized, but he's raised in conflict by his Aunt, who loves humans, and his mother who eats them. There is a lot of gory eating of human parts and more sex than was warranted from this bonkers story. There is a lot of violence towards women in here fwiw.
I read a description of this book that end with the line: “A dark fantasy breathtakingly illustrated like a grown-up Disney feature for the Game of Thrones audience.” which is some supremely insipid marketing-speak for ‘We have no idea how to sell this book or who it's for and French people are way out there.'
This is apparently Vol 1 and I am on the fence about if I'll read the next one. MOSTLY because when this ended, I'm not sure I cared. As an audience we're made to sympathize and care for Petit several times as he's picked on and threatened, only to have him make some big choices that aren't really justified or followed up on and only serve to make him less likable. I get that he's trying not to become a monster, but he leans into it several times without any real provocation.
- I really don't know man, I'm going to have to sit with this a while. It was so different than most graphic novels I've read I'm still trying to parse whether or not it was good and I'm just not used to it's style or if it really was just a weird, Brie-fueled hallucination.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Lion Forge in exchange for an honest review
This was hilariously funny and sadly all too necessary. I love the humor writing McSweeney's compiles and because of them, this book was on my radar. I bought this for our library after the first 5 pages. It's smart, funny, and shorter than I was ready for because of how much I enjoyed it.
Possibly my favorite part: There is a call to action in the end! The authors took the time to help us think about what we do next if we ground our teeth at the truths they skewered just pages before. A quick read with long lasting ideas disguised by sharp wit and spot on satire.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ok, re-read time. I originally received an ARC via NetGalley and it was incomplete. If you read my incredibly whiny review of that one you saw that my biggest complaint was that since I didn't have the ending I had no idea what all of this had been working towards. It was impossible to feel invested in these characters. The complete edition is, in fact, everything I hoped for from other's reviews. [a:Mitch Gerads 6051426 Mitch Gerads https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is the real hero of this book. His art has an amazing texture to it and his ability to convey so much emotion with so little movement was wonderful. King has writing a pretty cerebral book (shocking, right) and I don't know that this book wins Eisners without Gerads' deft and vibrant work. There is a short primer on the New Gods in the introduction so that this isn't entirely from left field. I was certainly one of the uninitiated before this, but it didn't keep me from enjoying the story or learning who these weirdos were. An interesting read (if you're not turned off by King or the idea of this character which is apparently a thing looking around here) and one that I'm glad I re-read.
This started out silly and fun enough, but I'm not entirely sure what book this wants to be. The art by Scoot McMahon was my favorite part of this book by far. I wasn't in love with some of the backup story artists, but most were serviceable (see Shan Murphy & Yehudi Mercado.) The tone for this was kind of all over the place and I don't know that I'll read it with my 6 year old. Milo's mom is seemingly the only character who's all that great as a person. I'm not saying all kids books need to have morals and lessons, but there wasn't anything resembling that here and it didn't feel like free-wheeling fun which might have excused that fact.
I really wanted to like this more and share it around, but I was left with that sort of flavorless-non-fat-frozen-feeling: I should have enjoyed this and I didn't dislike it, but I'm somehow still unsatisfied. Would 100% try other Lion Forge comics with Scoot's art.
Received a review copy from Lion Forge and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The first time I saw this book I wasn't sure I was interested just based on the description. I love this artistic team and wanted to have faith, but wasn't sure if I was going to get it for our library. Fortunately, I was able to get an ARC from Netgalley and I had worried needlessly.
BMB has some good ideas and an interesting story to tell. He employs a narrative device where Scarlet talks right to the reader, but not like Deadpool might. It's earnest, sincere. I read a special edition with notes from the author and he compared it to the way John Cusak talks to the audience in the movie High Fidelity, which works well here. It pulls you into the story early and indicates that this won't be business as usual.
Alex Maleev is in fine form here. Something about his work feels both lived in and frenetic at the same time. Like there is a lot going on in the world, even if there is real weight there.
Glad I was surprised by this and looking forward to Vol 2!
Received an advance copy from DC and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book won't be for everyone. It just can't be. BUT IT WAS ALL KINDS OF WRITTEN FOR ME!
Oh man, Snagglepuss as a Tennessee Williams analog set in the middle of the House Un-American Activities Committee communist witch hunt? Why does this premise work?!?!?!
That is one of the most bat-sh*t insane premises for a comic I've ever heard/read/written, but it 100% worked for me. The inclusion of other beloved Hanna-Barbera characters made this both weirder and better. I'm having a hard time pinning down why this was as entertaining and compelling as it was because, true to their animated origins, none of the animal characters wore pants. ALLLLLL the humans around them wore pants. What is happening here?
I don't know. If the premise intrigued you at all, I heartily encourage you to check this out. Please. I need to talk about this with someone. Anyone. I can't get the “Insert Author” feature to work on Goodreads right now otherwise I'd tag Mark Russell here. He's doing something incredibly interesting with these Hanna-Barbera/DC titles. I'm totally picking up his Flintstones next. I hope the dialog and subtext are as good their as they were here.
I was genuinely curious if this was going to be interesting enough for me to get for the library. Azzarello and Risso have good track record, but I figured I would read it first.
-That was a good call, cause this is just kinda bad. It wants to be several things all at once and never really gets anywhere. The premise itself isn't bad, but it's sooooo meandering that it never works up any steam. The end tries hard to compel you to come back for more with some big twists, but at least one of those is no surprise and the art get so muddled and almost unintentionally funny that it really died out. I was in and out of this for a while waiting for it to really grab me, but mostly I'm just sad this never really went anywhere.
-Jeff Lemire writes a compelling family drama with weird window dressing set in space.-
Pretty good hook right? (and, no surprise, it's a great read) - What takes this premise from ‘good' to ‘Great' is Dustin Nguyen's art. This story wouldn't have the heft/weight that it carries without it.
There are plenty of world and character details in what he puts on the page, but the soft edges of the water color used and depth/saturation of page really makes this unlike anything else right now. It gives outer space a starkness that no other book set in space that I've read has had. It somehow informs the tension in the writing and emotion of the scenes. It also makes this climactic volume all the better and all the more engrossing.
This is certainly the close of a big chapter in the Descender world, but gratefully it's also a launching pad for the next big part of this world. I really loved this whole first arc and I'm genuinely excited for what's next. I really hope this creative team stays together for the long run because together this is greater than the sum of it's parts. (and they're pretty impressive parts)
This was a short run, but it's pretty satisfying. Vision is a character I find incredibly interesting and I was immediately drawn to the idea of this story. What would a family created by his AI be like, even if given their own “free will?” I think Tom King did some pretty layered and emotionally impressive things with this family. That's not at all surprising from him, but my attachment to Visions family; Virginia, Viv and Vin (and I suppose the dog too) was not something I really expected. This isn't really an action-packed comic. It's not really a “hero” comic. It's more of a family tale or one of lessons learned. If you're looking something unusual or different, this is a good read.
The short version of a review for this book is: Witches be crazy.
Impressively detailed art that crosses back and forth between black/white and color in the most effective way I've ever seen. The story is an interesting take on magic and while the dialogue is sometimes a little uninspiring the ceiling for the premise is so high I'm willing to let it go to see where this winds up. Totally worth your time for something different in the best way possible.
It feels weird to use a word like nuance when talking about a comic who has giant monsters fighting heroes over several pages where no words are spoken, but moves like INFERIORITY ANNIHILATION, DARK BODY QUAKE TIGER FIST, DARK BODY PHOENIX RISING FIST, and DARK BODY FLYING DRAGON FIST are thrown around. However, that's what happens here in Vol 14. We learn more about the Monster Association and what they are up to, we find out that Suiryu has a heart somewhere in there after all and we, surprisingly, don't get all that much time with Saitama. True to form though, the time we do get with him is fantastic and really rewarding.
I don't think I have to sing the praises of this series any more than I already have, but if you haven't given this series a chance due to the manga-0f-it-all, please do. I owe my friend Alisha a debt of gratitude for introducing me to this series as I don't know that I would have tried it on my own. Don't be the dummy I was, the art alone here is worth the price of admission.