Review: Shazam!

Shazam! by Geoff Johns
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I've read one or two other books featuring Black Adam, but nothing that really focused on Captain Marvel. This volume serves as an introduction to the characters and also manages to be quite a bit of fun. Captain Marvel is actually a young man named Billy Batson. He's a foster kid that has been bouncing from house to house until the holder of this magical power bestows it on Billy in a last ditch hope that someone will be able to defeat Black Adam.

One of the best things about this book is how Billy acts after getting his powers. It's a more realistic approach to what would happen if a kid transformed like this. That combined with the interactions with the other foster kids he is now living with gives this book it's strength. There are some expected superhero moments throughout, but that is balanced out with Billy getting to act like a kid at times and trying to deal with his living situation. It's a more grounded approach that I liked. I'd be willing to read more stories about Billy if they are like this one.

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Review: Midas

Midas by Ryan North
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

Suppose Midas actually existed. How would that work? What would it do to our world? This book explores those questions and throws a decent sci-fi story on top of it. A crew happens to discover the location of Earth millennia after Midas lived. Their goal: to use him to defeat the empire that is slowly taking over every planet in the universe by any means necessary.

I thought the idea behind this book was fantastic. For the most part, I enjoyed the characters. And the art was pretty good, although it was a bit more cartoony than I tend to go for. Everything that went into the story of Midas and the implications it has for the rest of the story are top notch. I felt like it dragged at times though. This was somewhat made up for by the interactions between the characters. While the idea of this enormous evil empire is nothing original, and the bad guys went over the top at times, it did work for the story.

I'd definitely recommend it for anyone looking for an interesting sci-fi series that is self contained.

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Review: Golden State

Golden State by Ben H. Winters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well that was interesting. The story takes place in a dystopian future in which lying is a criminal offense. It follows a member of a police unit that specializes in detecting lies. A seemingly mundane event starts pricking at Laszlo and as he digs deeper he finds things aren't quite what he believed.

So one of the big things that I enjoyed about this book is that we get to see the world through the eyes of someone that seems to be wholly indoctrinated into this state of being where lying is not permitted. There are times where I wanted to see the story from the perspective of someone who isn't so deeply involved. I don't know that it would have changed the impact of the story much though. I like the way that characters recite facts to each other when they meet instead of the traditional greetings that we are used to. Things like that pop up throughout the book to reinforce that although it seems familiar, this isn't the world we live in. The mystery elements are pretty good.

When we finally get to see the world outside of Laszlo's, it gets a bit weird. I'm okay with it, and I thought the ending worked pretty well with the way it develops, but that shift could be too jarring for some. At a point where the story should start giving the reader answers, it serves to cause more confusion.

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Review: Jem and the Holograms Vol. 1: Showtime

Jem and the Holograms Vol. 1: Showtime by Kelly Thompson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had so much fun reading this book. It's about a group of sisters that have a band and enter a battle of the bands contest that has a record deal as a prize. The girls have to face off against the sponsor of the contest, one of the hottest bands in the world. While the premise is pretty simple, it is well executed. Each of the sisters has their own personality and style.

The best part of this book has to be the art. The color work is phenomenal. It does so much to set the tone of the story and helps to keep it lighthearted. There are some kooky elements to the story that border on tropey. That's okay though because the creators weave that into the story really well. As simple as the plot may seem, it is built up by some of the secondary plotlines.

This is a licensed property, which I had no awareness of before I started reading this volume. I can't say how well it adheres to that license. However, I feel between the introduction and the execution of this story, the creators have a passion for it and did their best to honor it. I would read the second volume of this series.

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Review: From Under Mountains

From Under Mountains by Claire Gibson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wasn't impressed by this book. There are some great artistic moments where the page layouts and the coloring make the story pop. However, I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters. The non-linear storytelling might be part of the reason for that. There is some great world building happening in this series and that is clear throughout. It doesn't fully connect to the events that we see though. The story isn't bad. It could have used a better structure and direction. I feel like this book might benefit from a second reading. Personally, I don't think I will take the time to do so.

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Review: Deadly Class, Volume 1: Reagan Youth

Deadly Class, Volume 1: Reagan Youth by Rick Remender
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I want to start out by saying that I've enjoyed probably everything I've read that Rick Remender has written. I haven't gone out of my way to read his book. They just seem to resonate with me in some way. Deadly Class takes the reader into a school for assassins during the late 1980s. I'm interested to see where it will go based solely on the time period the story is set in. Marcus, who is our hero maybe?, starts out homeless and running from the cops when he gets recruited into this school. Everything that follows encompasses shenanigans that you might expect to see involving the new kid.

The biggest drawback for me in this book is the characters. They all start out quite tropey. Some of them begin taking strides to move past that by the end of this volume though. The other thing that is throwing me off about them is that none of them are particularly likeable. Not surprising since they are being trained to murder people. Maybe these are things that will get addressed further into the series.

Anyway, that's enough of what I didn't care for. I really like the way that the story is structured. It flows pretty nicely and even the off the wall elements make sense within the context of the story. And the art is great. There is some drug use in the book and the art does a great job bringing that part to life. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume, if only to see what crazy stuff Remender decides to jam into the next part of the story.

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Review: Bone Parish Vol. 1

Bone Parish Vol. 1 by Cullen Bunn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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

I liked pretty much everything about this book. It's about a family that is getting into the drug business with a new designer drug known as Ash. Ash is made partially from using the bodies of the dead and creates a hallucinogenic experience involving the person whose body went into it. Of course, there are people trying to muscle in on their territory. And, rightfully enough, it is set in New Orleans.

I had a lot of fun reading this. The characters are well done and I particularly enjoyed seeing the various relationships play out. I'm intrigued by Ash and the slightly supernatural elements attached to its creation. That part of the story works really well for me because it is basically grounded in reality in other respects, so I found it easy to jump into this world and get a sense for how it operated even without knowing everything about Ash.

The art is great. The moments when we get to see Ash in action are particularly good. I like that the art is equal parts dark and bizarre. It sets a good tone that I feel complements the locale. I'm definitely interested in reading more of this to learn about the drug and see how the crime family aspects play out.

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