Love Volume 4 Review

Love, Volume 4: The Dinosaur. Frederic Brremaud and Federico Bertolucci. 2017. Magnetic Press. 80 pages.

Rating: 3/5

I've read one other book in this series and I think the concept is great. Each book follows an animal over a period of time, depicting its natural environment. The entire story is told using illustrations; there are no words used in the book at all.

Given the format of the book, the illustrations need to be fantastic. I feel that is accomplished in this book. The creators have an opportunity to draw a lot of different dinosaurs in this short work. Those depictions are amazing. They take something that is both familiar and foreign and breathe life into it. The natural surroundings are used wonderfully to highlight the animals and give a sense of the environment.

This volume fell a little short for me because the sequence of events shown in the illustrations didn't always make sense. It's not that they weren't put in the right order, but they jumped around at times where I lost sight of the little guy that is central to the book. These tangents just made it feel less cohesive to me.

The book is all about the art and should be picked up for that alone.

Love: The Lion Review

Love: The Lion. Frederic Brremaud and Federico Bertolucci. 2016. Magnetic Press. 80 pages.

Rating: 3/5

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

This is the third book in this series. I haven't read the first two, so I can't compare it to those. However, the idea behind this is amazing. The book takes the reader through the life of a lion as if it from National Geographic. There are no words in the book at all; everything is conveyed through images. This can work to the advantage of the story, but there are times where things get muddled.

The art is fantastic, which it should be since it is everything to the book. The creators are able to create some very intense emotional moments. Things are tough for these animals and it shows.

For all that, the book didn't really wow me. It sort of felt like I was reading an adaptation of The Lion King that was stripped of its plot. I still enjoyed the book, but it could have used something more.

Klaw: The First Cycle Review

Klaw: The First Cycle. Antoine Ozenam and Joel Jurion. 2016. Magnetic Press. 144 pages.

Rating: 3/5

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy from NetGalley for an honest review.

Klaw is about a young man named Angel from a rich family coming of age in Chicago. It is also about the Chinese zodiac. And were-animals.  These seem like they would be at odds, but they come together well.

The first part in particular is very enjoyable, although portions of it don't fit based on what we learn later. It felt like some of the motivation was lost by the end of the book. There were more errors in the text and the characters acted in unexpected ways at times. Jurion's illustrations of were-animals are superb. There are some great details toward the end of the book that could be missed if the reader doesn't look closely.

There are definitely areas that could have been improved upon, but it was a fun read. Angel's training and development felt like they were inspired by various martial arts films. There is also an influence from the superhero genre on this book. Perhaps a tighter focus by the creators would have led to a better progression through the story.

Golem Review

Golem. Lorenzo Ceccotti. 2016. Magnetic Press. 280 pages.

Rating: 5/5

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

Golem is set in a futuristic Italian state where everyone is hooked in. We see the world through the eyes of a young man named Steno as he goes about his day. Everything is routine until a group of terrorists attack the president.

There is a lot more going on in this book than my brief synopsis states, but it would be hard to give more details without spiraling out of control. Suffice it to say that Steno, the group of terrorists, and the politician that is kidnapped are all connected in an interesting way.

It has a dystopian feel to it mostly because of the militaristic state of the country. The economy has evolved to a point where only a few major corporations supply most of the goods. Logos and references are sprinkled throughout the book to these corporations and other aspects of the story. The way the creator shows things to have evolved feels pretty natural. This is a place that I could see existing at some time.

Another aspect that I liked, but could turn other people off, is the art. It reminded me of an anime from the way the characters and setting are drawn to the overall story. I can see this being made into an animated film or series at some point.