Savage Review

Savage. B. Clay Moore, Clayton Henry, and Lewis Larosa. 2017. Valiant Entertainment. 128 pages.

Rating: 5/5

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Savage is an exceptional addition to the Valiant universe. It's about a young man whose family was marooned on an island, similar to Lost. He grew up there hearing stories about where his family came from, and now he is looking to return there. He just needs to go through dinosaurs and a tribe of men to do it.

This is a very art forward series, which is fantastic. It is light on exposition as a result. However, what might have been presented through dialogue or caption boxes is picked up by the artists. There is a lot more subtlety to the story this way. The creators don't tell the reader much about Savage, but there is tons that is shown. Sometimes it is obvious, like the scars on his body, but not always.

The place where he lives is brutal and he responded in kind. At times this makes the art fairly graphic. I don't see it as being gratuitous though. There are times where the creators could have gone in different directions and the choices they made show a bit of restraint. The violence is not over the top and serves a purpose.

The art is beautiful in this book. I love that Clayton Henry and Lewis Larosa split the work. One drew the current period on the island, while the other drew flashbacks that lead up to current events. This gives a clear distinction between events without having to use captions to inform the reader. The styles are different, with the present being grittier and the past shown crisp and clean. The color work is wonderful. The extra pages showing process from layout to inking to coloring are amazing. These have shown up in some other Valiant books and I love them because you can see how the art changes through the process.

You should read this because who doesn't love dinosaurs? But seriously, it shows a lot of what Valiant has to offer without being wrapped up in their main set of series. For a silent and aloof character, Savage grabbed my attention and I want to read more.

The Flintstones, Volume 1 Review

The Flintstones, Volume 1. Mark Russell and Steve Pugh. 2017. DC Comics. 168 pages.

Rating: 4/5

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a little leery of licensed series like this, but I found Flintstones to be surprisingly enjoyable. It contains a lot of social commentary, which works really well. Overall the book takes the cartoon and modernizes it and makes it more grown up.

The characters get some added dimensions, particularly Fred, Barney, and Wilma. This gives the series some needed depth. But some of the side characters made the book fun. There are cavemen, aliens, a religious leader, and "appliances" that round things out and add humor. My biggest complaint about the story is that the five issues contained in this volume aren't really connected. This works great for reading single issues, where you could just pick one up without missing what came before or after. In this format I was left wanting more. Each issue is a well-crafted, self-contained story.

I am split on the art though. For the most part, it is wonderful. However, sometimes the characters, particularly Fred, seem off. I'm not sure what it is exactly. Probably just odd proportions in some of the drawings. It didn't happen a lot, but it was noticeable and could be distracting. The rest of the art is great though. The references slipped into the background images are superb.

This is a great book to read for some fun and social commentary. It made me laugh numerous times and is worth picking up for that alone.

Harbinger, Volume 1 Review

Harbinger, Volume 1: Omega Rising. Joshua Dysart, Khari Evans, and Lewis Larosa. 2013. Valiant Entertainment. 128 pages.

Rating: 4/5

I've already read the second volume in this series, so I knew where this was going. It was still enjoyable though. The book does exactly what a first volume should do: introduces the reader to the characters and the world they operate in while setting the stage for things to come.

Peter Stanchek has superpowers and has been hunted along with his friend Joe for a while. When someone new approaches him that has abilities similar to his own, Peter can't resist the offer to join him. That man is Toyo Harada. I love the approach that is taken with him because it lays out reasons for the things that he does. This encompasses the businesses that he has amassed to bringing Peter under his wing.

The book also introduces characters that have an impact on a number of other Valiant books. It even sets the seeds for the animosity between the Harada Group and Project Rising Spirit (see Bloodshoot, volume 1 for more on them).

Anyway, the writing is good. The characters are believable and their speech is natural. I thought the book was a little lacking because it is setting the stage for things to come. It is more important as a way to get familiar with the Valiant universe and learn about Peter Stanchek than as a separate story. I like the art too. It fits perfectly into the style that Valiant has applied across its books. Definitely a good place to start with these characters.

X-O Manowary, Volume 2 Review

X-O Manowar, Volume 2: Enter Ninjak. Robert Venditti, Lee Garbett, Stefano Guadiano, Moose Baumann. 2013. Valiant Entertainment. 112 pages.

Rating: 5/5

Enter Ninjak is a great follow up to By the Sword. Aric of Dacia is trying to find his place in the world after being displaced in time, while the Vine (the aliens that captured him and killed his family) hire an assassin to kill Aric and take back the Manowar armor.

This book mixes intrigue and action. We learn more about the Vine and get to see the Valiant universe begin to expand. One thing I enjoy about this series is that it mixes genres fairly easily. Volume 2 continues the sci-fi elements from the first volume, but it replaces the historical fiction aspect with a mystery/thriller portion. That shift doesn't feel out of place at all. It actually helps drive the story in this second arc. I was definitely interested in picking up volume 3 after reading this. It sets things up nicely.

Dark Matter Review

Dark Matter. Blake Crouch. 2016. Crown. 352 pages.

Rating: 5/5

This book is amazing. It starts out normally enough: Jason Dessen is a physics professor that has a nice meal with his family and then heads off to have a drink with his buddy. After that is just goes off the rails.

Two things need to be said about this book though. First, it is a love story. That is basically the whole drive behind the main character's actions. He consistently says what he wants. Second, it is a science fiction book. I would not describe it as hard science fiction, so it can be easy to understand despite some out there concepts that are used. Now either of these could be off putting or be an excuse for someone not to pick up this book. Don't allow either of those to be a reason to pass this up.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book is that it was an exploration of choices. Some of these are conscious and others are not, but they are the things that shape our lives. What Crouch does here is look at how those choices change us. The big decisions clearly make an impact, but he finds a way to show that even small decisions that we might not give much thought to can make us who we are. And he does it in a way that is accessible. That is another thing I noticed while reading Dark Matter. It is extremely reader friendly. I wanted to keep reading this book, even if I should have been going to sleep. So unless you need to catch up on sleep, I recommend checking it out.

February 2017 Comic Bento Box Review

The theme for the February 2017 Comic Bento box is "builders". These books feature some interesting ideas and worlds from a variety of comic creators. They showcase the range that comics can take. This box holds some cool looking books.

First up is Habitat by Simon Roy. As an original world, this book explores some intriguing ideas. From the art I can tell this mixes an ancient looking civilization akin to the Mayans with sci-fi/technology. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out as the protagonist finds the world he though he knew crumbling around him.

Next is 4001 A.D. (Matt Kindt and Clayton Crain; Valiant Entertainment). I've read this one before, but I am looking forward to coming back to it again at some point. I will probably read the other books featuring Rai before I pick this one up. The book is set roughly 2,000 years in the future in the Valiant universe. Similar to what I picked up from Habitat, the story revolves around a significant change in the status quo. Rooting for the underdog is encouraged with this book. I loved it for the art, which takes on an anime style with a color palette trending toward purples and blues. There are some great splash pages that showcase the ideas behind this book.

The book I am most looking forward to from this box is Wild Cards: Hard Call (George R.R. Martin, Dan Abraham, and Eric Battle; Dynamite). I love this series. This is the first comic adaptation I've read from it, but the premise behind the books is great. An alien virus is introduced to Earth that transforms people in strange ways, essentially creating superheroes. This book is set roughly 60 years after the first book. It features a murder and a resurgence of the alien virus. The version shipped with the Comic Bento box is a hardcover, which is excellent quality. The art looks fantastic too.

Last up is Invincible Iron Man: Reboot (Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez, and Mike Deodato; Marvel). Brian Michael Bendis has written some great books in the Marvel universe, so I am excited to see his take on Iron Man. As the title indicates, this is a fresh look at the character. It doesn't start from the beginning though. I like the art from my initial flip through the book. It appears that Tony Stark is suffering a bit, but it's nothing he can't overcome.

Sweet Tooth Deluxe Edition Book 3

Sweet Tooth, Deluxe Edition: Book 3. Jeff Lemire. 2016. Vertigo. 368 pages.

Rating: 5/5

I am going to be brief. This book is fantastic. It adds in some new elements that round out the story, while wrapping up earlier issues. The epilogue in particular was wonderful. The relationship between Gus and Jeppard comes full circle. If you made it this far you will want to finish the series off.

Sweet Tooth Deluxe Edition Book 2 Review

Sweet Tooth Deluxe Edition, Book 2. Jeff Lemire. 2016. Vertigo. 256 pages.

Rating: 5/5

Sweet Tooth is a fantastic series by Jeff Lemire. I am a huge fan of pretty much everything I've read by him. This book really expands on the first one in some great ways. The reader gets to learn a bit more about the characters. Jeppard gets a nice treatment that explains quite a bit about what happened at the end of the first book and gives some insight into his relationship with Gus.

The series gains some direction in this book. The first book created the problem, while this one gives the characters the first pieces of understanding and resolving it. And the book begins to explore Gus's connection to everything that has happened with the hybrids and the disease that is killing humanity. There are some detours along the way. I like how these fit into the story and expand upon various elements. It gives some of the characters to develop more naturally.

I have enjoyed Lemire's art. It might not be everyone's taste (I admit it took me some time to get used to it), but at this point it feels right at home with this series. It provides a down to earth quality that meshes well with the mentality of the characters.

This is the middle book of the series. If you've made it this far, you'll want to see it through to the end.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk Review

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk. Kathleen Rooney. 2017. St. Martin's Press. 304 pages.

Rating: 4/5

This is a great book. Lillian Boxfish is a very interesting lady, beginning with her name. She worked in advertisement for Macy's in the 1930s and holds herself to a stylish standard despite being in her 80s. She is so strong willed, which would not work quite as well if we didn't get an opportunity to see inside her head. We get to see her vulnerable multiple times. I love her approach to these situations, especially later in the book because they show off her personality so well. The fact that she is based on a real person tops things off nicely.

It is the last day of 1984 and we get to see Lillian reminisce about her life: work, love, family, ups and downs; pretty much everything. This is her life present for the reader in all its normalcy. And that might sound boring, but it is told so well. The book is very compelling. Her walk around Manhattan is wonderful because it presents a balanced view of the city. There are good, bad, and mundane things that happen to her. It is an interesting journey that she takes, and I'm glad I got to ride along.

There are a few minor points that I want to discuss though. First, the book is split between the past and the present. At first this isn't really made clear. It works as it is written, but I feel like there could have been a little bit added to the first couple chapters to help clue the reader in to that distinction. Second, there are a few times where the writing feels odd. There are a couple times that I can remember where a sentence was laid out in a way that felt out of place. Not a big deal, but it was noticeable. Lastly, the scene from the first chapter is fantastic. While it is very simple and short, it informs a lot of what happens throughout the rest of the book. I was glad to see it tied into the story without drawing attention to it.

Sweet Tooth Deluxe Edition Book 1 Review

Sweet Tooth, The Deluxe Edition: Book 1. Jeff Lemire. 2015. Vertigo. 296 pages.

Rating: 5/5

Gus, aka Sweet Tooth, is a human-animal hybrid. These hybrids started appearing right around the time that a deadly disease with no known cure started rampaging through the human population.

Gus has lived a sheltered life. His innocence is part of what makes this book so great. There are some terrible events that occur in this book, but it is all new to him. He lived in the wilderness with his father for his entire life. Despite what his father tries to teach him, he doesn't really understand what is going on outside the small tract of land they call home.

This is contrasted by Jeppard, aka the Big Man. He is a gruff person that protects Gus from the beginning. He adds a worldly and deadly presence to the book. The relationship started here between Gus and Jeppard is wonderful. Lemire has a way of drawing out the characters and getting the reader attached, even if they do something awful. I think that is part of the reason I love his books.

The art is pure Lemire. His style is very distinct. Anyone that has read his Essex County books (and if you haven't go read those right now) will recognize the art. The characters are drawn in a similar fashion. He captures the feel that we expect when society collapses. The art and the character actions work together to get the setting right.

Afterworks, Volume 1 Review

Afterworks, Volume 1. Robert Kondo and Louis Gonzales. 2006. Images Comics. 152 pages.

Rating: 3/5

I don't have much to say about this one. It is another anthology from Image Comics, so there are a bunch of shorter comics pieces in here. They are all from different members of the animation industry. There is quite a range in the stories and the artwork. A couple of them were really good, and none of the stories were bad, but for the most part they just didn't stick with me.

March: Book One Review

March: Book One. John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. 2013. Top Shelf Productions. 128 pages.

Rating: 5/5

March provides a wonderful insight into the civil rights movement in America. The book is set up in a frame narrative. There is the present day section that shows a couple of boys getting to meet John Lewis and hear some of his story. That story takes up the majority of the book and details how he got involved in the early days of the civil rights movement.

This gives a lot more depth than I've been exposed to previously on the topic. Plus, it shows how people reacted to the movement on both sides without focusing on the big names. The people you'd expect to see associated with the movement do make appearances, but this is about more than their stories. The struggle that these activists had to face are put front and center. They faced trade offs when deciding whether they should be involved or not.

The art didn't strike me in any particular way. It portrays the mundane really well. You can get a sense of the people and the places involved without the illustrations distracting from the message. I imagine that is a tough thing to pull off.

This is the first book in a trilogy, and it does a great job whetting the appetite for more. It makes the topic accessible and the impact is quite powerful. I will definitely pick up the rest of the set.