Bully Eater, Volume 1 Review

Bully Eater, Volume 1. Raymond Brown. 2016. CreateSpace. 198 pages.

Rating: 2/5

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaways for an honest review.

I don't really read manga, but I thought I would give this book a shot. This story is about a young man that has been accepted into an elite martial arts academy. He has earned the name Bully Eater because he has a complex in which he feels compelled to stand up for people that cannot defend themselves. This has caused him to get into numerous fights.

He is really trying to get his feet under him in the first volume. After being accepted into the academy, all of the potential entrants have to pass a test. The protagonist spends most of the rest of the volume getting to know other students and getting into fights.

The manga art style doesn't appeal to me usually, and that holds true here. The characterization is okay, but there isn't a lot of plot to speak of. The other thing that irked me is that there is a bit more grammar and spelling mistakes than I'm used to seeing in the graphic novel format. Normally I'd be forgiving for some errors, but the amount I saw became a little distracting.

Wytches, Volume 1 Review

Wytches, Volume 1. Scott Snyder, Jock, Matt Hollingsworth, and Clem Robins. 2015. Image Comics. 192 pages.

Rating: 3/5

Wytches is about a world where witches are real, but not the way we normally think about them. The women with pointy hats and dancing naked in the woods are simply worshipers of the real deal. These are monsters that will grant any wish as long as someone is pledged to them.

There is a slow development into this though. We start out with the Rook family, who recently moved to Litchfield, NH due to an incident with the daughter and a classmate. This starts the play on who the witches are, which isn't fully revealed until much later. The characters are really well done, from the Rooks to the inhabitants to Litchfield and beyond. The creators show a lot of their lives and build up suspense to the creepy bits.

The art plays into this quite a bit too. I had a problem with the paint splashes on a lot of the pages. Rather than adding to the creepy factor, they detracted from the impact of the images. I felt like the illustrations got buried at times. I would have rated this higher if it wasn't for that.

The i Word: Image Expo Sessions #3 of 4

The latest edition of the i Word, Image Comics' official podcast, is the third panel recording from the 2016 Image Expo. The creator list on this one is pretty good, including Ed Brubaker and Brian Azzarello. This discussion focused on creator collaborations, such as how they choose to work together and what goes into the process. It wasn't quite as interesting as I was hoping, but the Q&A at the end more than makes up for it. Check it out on the Image website, Libsyn, or iTunes.

Batgirl, Volume 1: Batgirl of Burnside Review

Batgirl, Volume 1: Batgirl of Burnside. Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, Babs Tarr, and Maris Wicks. 2015. DC Comics. 176 pages.

Rating: 5/5

This is another fantastic take on Batgirl. It is much different from the previous series led by Gail Simone. The creators use the same background material, but do not rely on it quite as heavily.

To start, Barbara Gordon moves to Gotham's hipster neighborhood, Burnside. This gives the creators an opportunity to change the supporting characters, the locations, and Batgirl herself. I thought this was a great way to modernize the series in some ways. There is a lot more use of real world tech and Barbara is presented more as a young woman than a female version of Batman. Plus, she recreates her costume into something more fitting to the setting.

Batgirl's maturity level might be lower than previously shown. It works well within the story the creators built though. She becomes a celebrity in Burnside and relishes it. That theme of whether she should be in the spotlight and how it affects her performance is carried throughout the book. It even ties into interactions that she has with her friends. The villains are pretty low key, which is fine for the overall plot. They are appropriate based on the big reveal at the end of the arc. I wasn't sure what to think of Hooq, an online dating site that pervades the area, but it actually helps move things along.

Previous comics set in Gotham are much darker in tone and coloring than this one. I thought the shift to something lighter was great. It allowed the creators to go in different directions than other DC stories have done. And it feels like they had a lot of fun creating this book. The absence of a big named villain doesn't lessen the book in any way.

Gaijin: American Prisoner of War Review

Gaijin: American Prisoner of War. Matt Faulkner. 2014. Disney-Hyperion. 144 pages.

Rating: 3/5

This book was okay. It takes a different approach than I've seen for the Japanese internment camps during World War II, and I liked that aspect of it.

The story is about a half-Japanese boy and his white mother that are sent to an internment camp because the government suspects the father of being a spy. The treatment of the boy before going into the camp and when he is there is similar because he is a bit of an outsider in both cases.

I enjoyed the illustrations very much. They captured the feeling of the story well and work for the target audience, middle grade readers.

What didn't work for me was the motivation the protagonist has for some of his actions. There is some reference to bullying and peer pressure, but the other influences in his life seemed like they would outweigh both of those based on what is presented. I felt like this could have been expanded upon to make his choices more plausible. I also would have preferred to see more of the conditions within the camp and how they changed as the war progressed.

Ordinary Review

Ordinary. Rob Williams and D'Israeli. 2014. Titan Comics. 108 pages.

Rating: 4/5

Ordinary is about a man with no powers in a world where everyone has powers. The blurb makes it sound like the people with powers have been around for a while, but it comes on rather suddenly.

There is a group working to find out if there is a way to reverse the process. Meanwhile, Michael Fisher sets out on a quest to find his son, who he hasn't seen in quite some time because his divorced wife has custody. Michael is a plumber and doesn't really have anything going for him. This is driven home from the very beginning.

Some of the "powers" that people acquire are amusing, albeit not very useful. The illustrations are great for displaying the different powers and what would happen if everyone could suddenly do something special.

I like the take the creators took on this story. They made an effort to keep the possibility of gaining powers fairly realistic. The story is also contained, which is nice to see within the superhero genre. I would have liked more development for some of the characters and the world in general. An extra 20 pages could have helped here.

The i Word: The Image Expo Sessions #2 of 4

This week on the i Word, Image Comics' podcast, is the second recording from Image Expo 2016. These recordings are panel discussions with multiple comics creators. I enjoyed this one more than the first one. I was able to differentiate between the creators when they were speaking a bit better for one. The audience was a bit more engaged for the question and answer portion at the end as well. This fueled the discussion and brought out some interesting conversation.

You can find the recording at Image, Libsyn, or iTunes.

Americus Review

Americus. MK Reed and Jonathan Hill. 2011. First Second. 224 pages.

Rating: 5/5

I wasn't sure what to make of Americus at first. It begins with a couple of young teens discussing the new book in their favorite fantasy book series, a la Harry Potter. The story doesn't take off until the conservative mother of one of the boys finds out he is reading these books.

From there the story explodes into a tale about censorship and the importance of public libraries. It doesn't sound like the most interesting plot, but the creators do a great job of keeping it engaging. One way they do this is to shift between the story in the town of Americus and the story within the fantasy series that is under scrutiny.

They also show the protagonist grow over the course of the story. He is moving from middle school to high school, without the support of his best friend, and the thing he values most, reading, is being attacked. There isn't really an opportunity for him to be complacent. Also, the people around him become supports that he didn't expect to find.

The illustrations are nicely done, though I don't recall anything that blew me away. It can be a bit cartoony, but that fits with the themes and the target audience.

Free Image Comic: Codename Baboushka #1

Codename Baboushka: The Conclave of Death #1. Antony Johnston and Shari Chankhamma. 2015. Image Comics. 33 pages.

Rating: 4/5

Codename Baboushka is about a Russian countess who fled to the United States for asylum. Now she is being blackmailed by a secret government agency to become a spy and assassin that will carry out missions that could hurt the government's reputation.

The first chapter is a great introduction to the character and the series. There is the implication that she has a criminal background and we get to see her in action pretty quickly. Her skills and resourcefulness are impressive. It shows her recruitment and first mission, which makes the story feel well put together. The only downside is that there wasn't enough background info on the contessa, but that happens with such a limited format. I hope to see that expanded in later chapters.

A digital copy of the first issue is available for free from Image and Comixology until 4/27/2016. I recommend listening to this podcast with Antony Johnston related to the series.

Marvels Review

Marvels. Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross. 2014. Marvel Comics. 400 pages.

Rating: 4/5

I read the 10th anniversary edition of Marvels, which featured a bunch of neat extras, like a list of comics that influenced this book and the progression of the original idea to what eventually was published.

Marvels is about an every day person living in a world full of superheroes. He is a reporter, which gives him a little more access to these powered individuals. The book covers four major events: the Human Torch vs. the Sub-Mariner, the mutant threat, Galactus, and the death of Gwen Stacy.

I really liked the approach used here. It gives an ants eye view of these titans rather than following on their shoulders. There are times where our guide losing his objectivity, which is probably part of what makes him likeable. There are some tender moments as well that emphasize that these are people being affected by the Marvels as the reporter calls them.  The story based on the reporter would have worked better for me if I hadn't read Civil War: Frontline recently, which is another Marvel Comics work that uses a similar feature.

The art is fantastic. This edition shows a lot of the effort that Alex Ross put into recreating some classic scenes. I didn't feel like his style was the best for this story though. It shined for the big images and felt out of place for the many of the panels that were more story focused.

It is a great homage to the early Marvel stories. You don't need to be familiar with those stories to enjoy this book.

Star Trek: Manifest Destiny #1 Review

Star Trek: Manifest Destiny #1. Mike Johnson, Ryan Parrott, and Angel Hernandez. 2016. IDW Publishing. 24 pages.

Rating: 3/5

Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first issue in a new Star Trek comic series. The character art is based off the latest movie franchise.

The Enterprise crew encounters Klingons after investigating a distress signal. It features Dr. McCoy pretty heavily, especially in the pages leading up to the ship receiving the distress signal. The characters were represented pretty well, both in the art and their behavior. That includes the Klingons as well as the Enterprise crew. The art didn't wow me at any point though and the story seemed pretty standard fare for the setting.

It is an okay introduction into this new series. I've watched most of the Star Trek movies and shows, but this just didn't hook me well enough to want to keep reading.

Paper Girls, Volume 1 Review

Paper Girls, Volume 1. Brian K. Vaughn, Cliff Chiang, and Matthew Wilson. 2016. Image Comics. 144 pages.

Rating: 4/5

Disclaimer: I received an e-copy through Net Galley for an honest review.

Paper Girls is about four young ladies that happen to have paper routes in the late 1980s. It takes place the day after Halloween, beginning very early in the morning. The girls are Erin, Mackenzie, Kaje, and Tiffany. After they meet, some strange stuff starts happening.

I enjoyed the story quite a bit. There are aliens, time travel, and a theme about apples. The girls' reaction to these events seems natural for them. We get more background on Erin and Mackenzie than the other girls, and what we know about them makes an impact on their choices. It builds to a great ending that left me wanting to read more.

Stylistically, the art was different but fitting for the setting. There are some gorgeous images as well. The different forces at work in the book are represented well and made distinctive through the artwork and dialogue choices.

There is some strong language and one of the girls smokes, but the story itself is definitely accessible for teens.

Octopus Pie, Volume 1 Review

Octopus Pie, Volume 1. Meredith Gran. 2016. Image Comics. 200 pages.

Rating: 3/5

Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

I'm not usually a fan of webcomics. Partly this is because the format tends to leave the story a little more disjointed than traditional comic books. I noticed this a few times here as well. Despite this, I enjoyed this book quite a bit.

The story is about Eve, a New Yorker that works at an organic grocery story, and her stoner roommate Hannah. They do have some wacky adventures, but for the most part this is about the young women and trying to navigate through their relationships. They face problems with work, significant others, their friends, and each other.

The story is a little rushed at the beginning to bring the girls together and move things along. It reads pretty smoothly and it made me chuckle a few times. When it slows down though, it can drag a bit. Overall I enjoyed reading it and would read the next volume if I get a chance. Those that are interested can check out the series here.

Moon Knight, Volume 3 Review

Moon Knight, Volume 3: In the Night. Cullen Bunn and Ron Ackins. 2015. Marvel. 112 pages.

Rating: 3/5

Check out my review of Moon Knight volume 2.

I really like Moon Knight, but this volume didn't do him justice. This is more a collection of stand alone stories than a continuous arc. The creators on this one, which are different from each of the previous two volumes, do a good job portraying the character. I especially liked the art.

If there is any connecting factor to these stories, it is the heavy presence of Khonshu, the Egyptian god that turned Marc Spector into Moon Knight, and his followers. It fleshes out more of Moon Knight's world in that regard. The stories just ended up feeling more about that aspect than about Moon Knight himself.

A decent end to this series. Not as robust as previous Moon Knight books, but still worth a read for fans.

The i Word: The Image Expo Sessions: 1 of 4

This week on The i Word there is a discussion panel from the Image Expo. This is the first of four podcasts that will be released from the Image Expo. I liked the discussion panel because there was a lot of input on the creative process from a variety of comics creators. Some of the creators talked more than others, which isn't unexpected. There was some great discussion on how creating comics is similar to architecture, the writing process on comics compared to films, and an excellent response to an audience member's question on how they choose what to write about.

I was only familiar with one of the creators on this panel, so I have some work to do in familiarizing myself with some of the others. The only thing I didn't really like about the panel format in podcast form is that it took me some time to associate voices with the correct name. It is worth a listen though.

Check it out on the Image website, Libsyn, or iTunes.

Preacher, Book One Review

Preacher, Book One. Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. 2009. Vertigo. 352 pages.

Rating: 2/5

Preacher is the story of Jesse Custer, a pastor at a small town church. This book collects the first two volumes in the Preacher series. In the first arc Jesse goes on the run after the town is wiped out, encountering his old girlfriend and an Irish vampire along the way. The second arc returns him to his childhood home.

My first impression was that the art is similar to the Sandman series. When an agent of Heaven comes to Earth, it reminded me of the Lucifer series. That is really the only similarities to these other two series. Which is unfortunate because it does not hold up as well as either of them.

I never got into this one. None of the characters are particularly likeable. They've all done some horrible things, which isn't enough for me to write them off, but I never saw any redeeming qualities to them. These are characters obsessed with sex, drugs and violence with no remorse for the way they treat other people, including each other. It felt like the creators were going for shock value with a lot of these characters.

Beyond that, the story didn't excite me either. There are signs of potential, but there is no focus. It begins with a plot centered around the absence of God from Heaven and the escape of an entity capable of rivaling God's power. It switches gears to the life of Jesse Custer and slows way down. There are elements of the first plotline throughout his story. It just wasn't enough though. Since I didn't like the main character, the book never hooked me. The best part for me was the development of the friendship between Jesse Custer and Cassidy.

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans Review

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Don Brown. 2015. HMH Books for Young Readers. 96 pages.

Rating: 4/5

Wow. The subject matter is pretty intense. It begins with the formation of Katrina, touches briefly on the storm's movements, and goes into the devastation it caused and the aftermath.

This is told from a distance rather than being a singular story of someone's experience during the tragedy. The creator does a great job of showing how people from disparate backgrounds had similar experiences once the storm hit. There are some words from people that lived through the events peppered throughout the book, but those are used to move the story along.

The format Don Brown uses works quite well. The graphic format conveys how horrible things were, but it felt like he held back at some points. Since this is geared for younger readers (12+), it makes sense that some things are glossed over. This was very well researched and is true to my memory of the events. Drowned City is easy to read and contains some very powerful images. It is a fantastic tribute to those that went through this disaster, including the people that pulled together to help out.

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face Review

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face. David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, and Carmine Di Giandomenico. 2010. Marvel. 112 pages.

Rating: 4/5

This is the second volume in the Spider-Man Noir series. These are set during the early 1930s in the midst of the Great Depression. I liked this better than the first volume. The characters are established in the setting and it feels less like a rehash of earlier works with just a superficial change to the art.

Peter Parker is still Spider-Man here, and other classic characters are present as well. I enjoyed Felicia Hardy as a bootlegging club owner and her portions of the story were fun. Robbie Robertson brings up the question of race and how people are being treated, which segues greatly into the introduction of Doctor Octopus.

The creators make the story feel true to the time period, which is really important for something like this. Showing the hardships that people are facing, the racial animosity, and the rise of the Nazi party grounds the story and gives it authenticity. Sure, there are outlandish elements. That should be expected in a superhero story though. The art and the dialogue support that noir feeling.

This is different from other Spider-Man stories, which is a good thing. Marvel went out on a limb with this series and it worked pretty well.

Facebook page

I got around to setting up a Facebook page for my blog. Feel free to follow me there.

Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin Review

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin. Jim Butcher, Mark Powers, and Joe Cooper. 2013. Dynamite. 152 pages.

Rating: 3/5

The Dresden Files is a book series featuring the character Harry Dresden, who is the only private eye in Chicago that is also a wizard. This means pretty much every case he gets involves magic or the supernatural in some way. He can be gruff and a bit of a smart mouth, much like the PI characters that he is based on, but his heart is in the right place.

This is set shortly after the second book in the series, Fool Moon, but it isn't necessary to read either of the first two books to enjoy it. The premise to this story is that a family in Boone Mill, MO is cursed and recently members of the family have been found dead. A deputy from the town asks Harry for help, and they soon discover that a ghoul and a goblin are involved in those deaths. Harry is out of his element a little bit here as he tries to stop them away from his home turf, but he always does some improvising so he gets by just fine.

There are moments where I feel the creator would have gone more in depth in his normal format. Overall I liked the story. It felt true to the character and setting that the author created. The art threw me a little bit because Harry didn't look how I imagined him and I thought there wasn't enough variation in the images used for his spells. The drawings of the Blue Beetle, Harry's car, and Bob, his magical assistant that is trapped in a human skull, were spot on.

Fans of the series will enjoy this addition and newcomers might just whet their appetite for more of this character. Anyone that enjoys a good detective/mystery story should be able to get into it as well.

The i Word: Brandon Graham

The i Word is the official podcast of Image Comics. Each episode is an interview with a comic creator that features a discussion on their work as well as something that they are passionate about. The latest episode spotlights Brandon Graham, who has worked as a cartoonist on Island and Prophet.

The discussion with Graham was fantastic. He talked a bit about ways that he has played with the comic medium and used it in ways that you can't really do with other forms of entertainment. This has inspired me to check out some of the books he has worked on, particularly Island, because of the freedom that the creators get. This podcast is great for anyone that is interested in hearing about the creative process for comics. The secondary topic is on the video game Doom, which is pretty silly, but it works well with the rest of the conversation.

Check out this episode on the Image website, Libsyn, or iTunes.

March Comic Bento Review

Comic Bento is a subscription box that selects different graphic novels, usually four, based around a theme each month. The box price is $20.00 per month plus shipping and handling. The price is reduced for three or six month subscriptions. I received a review copy of the March box as my first one. The theme for this box is POWERLESS, rather than featuring characters with superpowers.

The box itself is pretty sturdy. There were some dings to it, but the comics inside were just fine. A piece of packing bubble was used to help hold them in place during shipping. I did some digging on the Comic Bento website and they have a policy to replace any comics damaged during shipping, which is awesome. I love that they provide a double sided card explaining the theme, the reason the books were chosen, and a blurb about each one.

First up, we have Ninjak, a master spy and assassin. He doesn't have superpowers, but he has some help. The character background sounds similar to Batman, so I'm hoping this book will show how Ninjak stands on his own. The cover price on this one is $9.99.

Next, we have Stumptown. This one is written by Greg Rucka, which is a writer I've had a chance to read before. Stumptown is a detective story where our  hero has to find a missing guitar. Sounds pretty interesting from the blurb provided. They picked a nice hardcover volume for this one. Cover price: $29.99.

The third book, Blackcross, is written by Warren Ellis. This shakes things up a little bit by going into the horror genre. Ghosts are wandering around the Pacific Northwest and some ordinary people have to deal with a paranormal killer. Cover price: $19.99.

Finally, we have a book called Ordinary by Rob Williams, featuring a hero with absolutely no powers in world filled with people with powers. I've read a couple other books that follow a similar theme, so I'm interested to see how the creators handle it here. Cover price: $14.99.

Two other things jumped out at me about this box. First, the Comic Bento people chose comics that are published by companies other than the big three (Marvel, DC, Image). Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading most of the material they put out, but I'm always on the lookout for good books from other publishers. Second, there is a nice mix of creators here, some I know and some I don't. I'm looking forward to other boxes that I'll receive when I start up my subscription.

Is it worth it though? Based solely on the cover prices, the value of these comes in at $74.96, while the box costs $20 + shipping. It definitely has a good value. Even looking at Kindle versions of the books, you'll end up coming out ahead. I recommend the Comic Bento subscription if you are interested in getting a variety of graphic novels outside the usual. Looking back at previous boxes, there are books that I've come across on my own, but nothing that I wouldn't be happy to read again.

Expect to see reviews of the individual books over the coming weeks as I get a chance to sit down and read them.

Red Sonja, Volume 3 Review

Red Sonja, Volume 3: The Forgiving of Monsters. Gail Simone and Walter Geovani. 2015. Dynamite Entertainment. 160 pages.

Rating: 4/5

Check out my reviews for Red Sonja volume 1 and volume 2.

This book is a great ode to Sonja, a badass barbarian babe. The story starts similarly to the previous two arcs, but goes in a different direction.

Sonja is in a great place after her work for the emperor in the previous arc. But her fortune quickly changes when she encounters a sorcerer that puts a curse on her. There are a lot more supernatural/fantasy elements in this volume, and this kicks them off.

Once Sonja believes the curse is real, she takes matters into her own hands to put an end to it. This leads her to a confrontation with Death, who bears a striking resemblance to Sonja. We see reappearances of those she has saved in her travels, as well as the appearance of the final man responsible for the destruction of her home and family. Sonja's sacrifice and redemption are a great conclusion for this run. They really showcase the hero that she is, even when she doesn't want to shoulder the burden.

Once again, the alternate cover art is fantastic.

Low, Volume 1 Review

Low, Volume 1: The Delirium of Hope. Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini. 2015. Image. 144 pages.

Rating: 5/5

It is the distant future and mankind is living in the depths of the oceans to avoid the damaging radiation of the dying sun. Probes have been sent out to find other habitable worlds, but so far none of them have reported back.

Most of the events in this book revolve around a single family that have served as protectors of the human communities beneath the waves. A tragedy befalls them and the family is split up against their will.

The writer freely admits that optimism and hope are central themes to this book. I thought the creators did a great job conveying this. The characters aren't static, showing a wide range of emotions and mental states.

Part of what drives the story is that while the rest of humanity sees the coming end of times, this family continues to be motivated by its role as protectors. This allows them to leave their home community when everyone else is locked in.

The art helps develop this world and make it believable. It can take a little getting used to, but there are some gorgeous images and wonderfully created creatures of the deep. There are adult themes with nudity, profanity, and violence.