Review | The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg

The One Hundred Nights of Hero

by Isabel Greenberg

My Rating:

From the author who brought you The Encyclopedia of Early Earth comes another Epic Tale of Derring-Do. Prepare to be dazzled once more by the overwhelming power of stories and see Love prevail in the face of Terrible Adversity! You will read of betrayal, loyalty, madness, bad husbands, lovers both faithful and unfaithful, wise old crones, moons who come out of the sky, musical instruments that won't stay quiet, friends and brothers and fathers and mothers and above all, many, many sisters.

If you say: lesbian retelling of The 1001 Nights, I say: gimme gimme gimme!

When it comes to fairy tale retellings I usually end up reading the Brothers Grimm with a fresh lick of paint, so to read a story inspired by The 1001 Nights instead is always refreshing. To read a retelling with the added twist of LGBT+ protagonists is even better - frankly I think we need more LGBT+ retellings in the world.

I haven't read Isabel Greenberg's The Encyclopedia of Early Earth but I know it was very popular upon its release, but I heard so many people talking about The One Hundred Nights of Hero, and plenty of people including it in their list of favourite reads of 2016, that I couldn't resist picking a copy up for myself. It's been a while since I read a graphic novel and reading this one was like reading Through the Woods meets Nimona: it's a gorgeous tribute to the power of storytelling (and what is The 1001 Nights if not a testament to the power of a good story?) that's both bittersweet at times and brilliantly funny at others.

Hero and Cherry are lovers in a land where women are second-class citizens, and when Cherry's idiot husband makes a horrible bargain with his idiot friend that said friend won't be able to seduce Cherry over the course of one hundred nights, Hero, who works as Cherry's handmaiden, tells the 'gentleman' stories that distract him from his less-than-noble quest. The novel subsequently weaves in and out of stories with women at their centre, stories that are both dark and whimsical.

I love the clever ways the stories link to one another, the way they cross the line between fantasy and reality in Hero and Cherry's world, and the art style is lovely. Reading this has definitely made me want to check out more of Greenberg's work in future.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the ending, but I had to give The One Hundred Nights of Hero five stars; it's funny and heart-warming and just so darn good. If you haven't read this yet, I highly recommend it!

Review | Lumberjanes, Vol.2: Friendship to the Max by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis and Brooke Allen

Lumberjanes, Vol.2: Friendship to the Max

by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis and Brooke Allen

My Rating: 

Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are not your average campers and Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady-Types is not your average summer camp. Between the river monsters, magic, and the art of friendship bracelets, this summer is only just beginning. Join the Lumberjanes as they take on raptors and a sibling rivalry that only myths are made of.

Check out my review of Lumberjanes, Vol.1: Beware the Kitten Holy here!

I wasn't 100% sure if I was going to read the second volume of Lumberjanes, because while I enjoyed the first volume I didn't think it was anything amazing. I'm glad I did decide to carry on, though, because this volume was a lot of fun, and I definitely enjoyed it more than I enjoyed the first.

One of the big problems I had with the first volume was that I found it very hard to differentiate between the five girls, but I think the second volume did a much better job of giving each of them different personalities; I particularly loved Jo, Molly and Mal, and I like Jen a lot, too.

There are two things I really love about this series: the first is the sense of humour, which just tickles me, and the second is the amount of colour crammed into each and every page. It's so much fun to look at because there's never a boring page, even if the characters aren't doing anything particularly interesting in that scene.

I also can't fault a story that's so enthusiastic about female friendships, and how important friendship is, even if it is sometimes a little cheesy.

The only reason I didn't rate this volume any higher is simply because the plot was just a bit... odd. I didn't see it coming at all, which in many ways is a good thing, but it seemed a bit random. I dunno. I enjoyed it more than the first volume, but compared to other graphic novels out there Lumberjanes still hasn't wowed me yet. I think I'll continue with the series, though!

Review | Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona

by Noelle Stevenson

My Rating: 

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

It's no secret that 2015 was the year I really got into graphic novels, and while I love series like American Vampire, Rat Queens and Ms. Marvel, if I had a choice I'd much rather read a standalone graphic novel such as Through the Woods, Skim or Jane, the Fox & Me which are all graphic novels I enjoyed in 2015.

Having started out as a webcomic, Nimona already had a pretty substantial fanbase before it was published, but it was on my radar for a while before I finally picked it up. I'd heard nothing but good things about it, but I think that's what had me scared to read it - I can't help being a little wary of hype. Then I finally decided to just go for it and got my hands on a copy.

And? I loved it! In fact Nimona is probably one of the best graphic novels I read last year.

Firstly, I love Stevenson's art style; it's super cute and bright, and though it's fairly simple art compared to some other graphic novels out there she still managed to convey a lot through it. Add to that some dialogue that's both funny and, at times, heartbreaking and you've got yourself a darn good graphic novel.

I have to be honest, at first glance I thought Nimona was going to be light-hearted and bordering on the silly, but I am happy to admit I was wrong. This story is a lot more thought-provoking and tender than I expected it to be, and I so appreciated that; Stevenson takes fantasy and fairy tale tropes, mocks them, and then turns them completely on their head. I love that Nimona doesn't take itself seriously, and because it doesn't when Stevenson does tackle the darker parts of her story it feels more genuine.

Basically, I'm glad I finally decided to pick this up and I'll definitely be gobbling up more of Stevenson's solo work in future. If this is on your radar but you haven't gotten to it yet, I recommend it!

Review | Wytches, Vol.1 by Scott Snyder and Jock

Wytches, Vol.1

by Scott Snyder and Jock

My Rating: 

Everything you thought you knew about witches is wrong. They are much darker, and they are much more horrifying. Wytches takes the mythology of witches to a far creepier, bone-chilling place than readers have dared venture before. When the Rooks family moves to the remote town of Litchfield, NH to escape a haunting trauma, they're hopeful about starting over. But something evil is waiting for them in the woods just beyond town. Watching from the trees. Ancient...and hungry. 

I'm a big fan of Snyder's American Vampire series, so when I discovered he was writing a new series all about witches I had to check out his take on one of my favourite supernatural creatures.

The first volume of Wytches follows the Rook family - Charlie, Lucy and their daughter, Sailor - who've moved to a new town after Sailor was badly bullied by a girl who subsequently went missing. Naturally, the new town isn't quite the fresh start they expect it to be...

My favourite thing about this graphic novel is definitely the relationship between Charlie and Sailor; I've got a soft spot for good father and daughter relationships, and Snyder writes banter really well. His characters sound like people. It was also great to see a lead character who struggles with anxiety the way Sailor does. It would have been nice to learn a little more about her because at times it felt as though she was defined by her anxiety, and though I know from experience how much anxiety can take over your life it doesn't make you incapable of having hobbies and interests, but a lot of the story was focused on the idea of conquering fear with the help of others and on your own, which I really appreciated.

If you're looking for the kind of witches we're used to - pruned old hags or tempting sorceresses - you won't find them here. Snyder and Jock have created a whole new kind of witch, more of a whole new kind of creature than a warped version of us, but there are still certain allusions to the typical witchcraft we're used to that I thought were slotted quite nicely into the narrative. On the whole, though, these things are an entirely different form of effed up. They're pretty gross, actually, and some of the art is really quite creepy - Jock did a good job!

This volume is very much an introduction. There's still a lot left unexplained and undiscovered, the whole volume felt like a prologue for an upcoming story, so I didn't love it. I do think it has a lot of potential, though, and I'll definitely be picking up the next volume, because Snyder's American Vampire series only continued to expand and improve after the first volume and I'm hoping this series will do the same.

If you're into horror or you'd like to see witchcraft handled in a different way, I recommend checking this out - especially as Halloween approaches!

Review | Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

Skim

by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

My Rating:

"Skim" is Kimberly Keiko Cameron, a not-slim, would-be Wiccan goth who goes to a private girls' school in the early '90s. When her classmate Katie Matthews is dumped by her boyfriend, who then kills himself -- possibly because he's (maybe) gay -- the entire school goes into mourning overdrive. It's a weird time to fall in love, but that's what happens to Skim when she starts meeting secretly with her neo-hippie English teacher, Ms. Archer. But then Ms. Archer abruptly leaves the school, and Skim has to cope with her confusion and isolation while her best friend, Lisa, tries to pull her into "real" life by setting up a hilarious double-date for the school's semi formal. Suicide, depression, love, homosexuality, crushes, cliques of popular, manipulative peers -- the whole gamut of teen life is explored in this poignant glimpse into the heartache of being 16.

It's no secret that I've become a big fan of graphic novels this year, and while I love some of the series I've been reading - Rat Queens, American Vampire, Saga - every now and then I love to read a graphic novel that stands entirely on its own, like Jane, the Fox & Me, and now Skim.

I only became aware of Skim when I saw Mercedes @ MercysBookishMusings talking about it over on YouTube, and I was immediately intrigued. I trust her reviews - she's not afraid to call out bullshit! - so when I found a secondhand copy of Skim for a really cheap price I went ahead and bought it, and I'm glad I did.

At first glance Skim looks like a really angsty, depressing story about being a teenager. I mean, just look at that synopsis! But even though it dealt with a quite a few serious issues, it was still fun and relatable and, more than anything, incredibly honest. There's quite a bit of talk about suicide after a classmate's boyfriend kills himself, but, contrary to what all of the teachers believe, that doesn't make every student in the school want to commit suicide. They acknowledge it as a sad event, but also acknowledge that none of them really knew him, possibly not even his girlfriend, and get on with their lives.

What makes this graphic novel so honest is that it's told entirely through Skim's diary entries. Her thoughts are personal and teenage and real; I believed everything Skim wrote because she never sounded like an adult trying to sound like a teenager. She's never belittled or presented as melodramatic, and I really appreciated that.

When I first opened it I was a little disappointed to discover that the art is black and white, but it didn't bother me like I thought I would; after a while I forgot that had ever even been the minor issue that it was, and I ended up really enjoying the art style. No two people looked the same, there was a whole variation of body types, and I think the style and mood of the art fit the story perfectly.

So I really enjoyed this one, and I'd recommend it! I'd like to check out more of the Tamakis' work in future.

Review | American Vampire, Vol.4 by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Jordi Bernett

American Vampire, Vol.4

by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Jordi Bernett

My Rating:

AMERICAN VAMPIRE flashes back to two very distinct points in American history. The first tale comes from the early 1800's with the "The Beast in the Cave" featuring art by the legendary Jordi Bernet (Torpedo, JONAH HEX). Learn about the original American Vampire, Skinner Sweet, and his involvement in the brutal Indian Wars, and an ancient evil hidden in the heart of the Old West. Plus, more about the man Skinner used to call his best friend - James Book!The second tale comes straight from 1950s America, where AMERICAN VAMPIRE is terrorizing the suburbs with hot rods, teenyboppers and fangs! "Death Race" focuses on ferocious new vampire hunter Travis Kidd - but what is his connection to Skinner Sweet? As the story comes to a violent end, a sworn enemy's identity is finally revealed, and lots of blood is spilled!

Considering how much I enjoyed Volume 3 (reviewed here!) of American Vampire I was bound to pick up the next instalment as soon as I could afford to - I love graphic novels and I'm happy to pay a little more for them than I would for any other book, but when you need to catch up on a series and buy three at once it gets pretty pricy pretty fast!

A part of me was hesitant to pick up Volume 4 because I loved Volume 3 so much, I was worried I'd somehow find this volume hugely disappointing because it wasn't the previous one, but I ended up enjoying it quite a lot. After the sheer awesome that was the previous volume, I think Snyder's decision to take a break from those characters was wise; instead our first story in this volume shows us James Book and Skinner Sweet in their youth - it was nice to see a pre-vampire Skinner and a not-dead Book! - the second took us to the '50s and introduced another new character: Travis Kidd, and the third showed us something of Calvin Poole and the racial tensions in mid-20th century America, with just a brief glimpse of Pearl and Henry.

My favourite story in this volume would have to be Travis Kidd's, which surprised me. I was a little wary going in that Travis was going to be a very typical character; a Skinner Sweet in miniature, only with less fangs. Instead he was an interesting character with an interesting set of wooden teeth, and I loved the James Dean, rebel without a cause vibe to his story which really suited the era it was set in. I look forward to seeing what he gets up to next.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the first story which explored the history between Book and Skinner. I feel like too many enemy stories start out with two guys who were 'once like brothers', so I was a little disappointed Snyder decided to go down that route for these two, but having said that the two of them once being like family does make their inevitable war against one another all the more bittersweet.

I would like to see more of Mimiteh in future, a Native American vampire who seems like a cool, but lethal, lady. I'd love to know if she and Skinner have ever crossed paths.

I liked the way Calvin's story played around with prejudice, and also introduced us to what seems to be a new species of vampire. Snyder just keeps on expanding this world he's created, and I love how his imagination works.

My main criticism of this volume, and the reason I didn't rate it as highly as the previous, was simply because there weren't enough ladies in it for me. I wasn't too keen on the fate of Piper, Travis's 'girlfriend', and there were times when I felt Mimiteh was rather sexualised, but that could just be me being very picky. Pearl and Felicia usually have quite a bit of 'screen time', so I suppose it's only fair the boys get some, too!

I'm still loving this series, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the next volume!

Review | Lumberjanes, Vol.1 by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis and Brooke Allen

Lumberjanes, Vol.1

by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis and Brooke Allen

My Rating: 

At Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's camp for hard-core lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together... And they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here. 

Maybe it's just me, but lately I haven't really been wowed by anything I've read. As soon as I learned about Lumberjanes I wanted to get my hands on a copy of it; the idea of a summer camp in which a group of teenage girls fight monsters sounded right up my street, so I preordered it, and after I fell in love with Rat Queens and Ms. Marvel earlier this year I was eager to pick up another graphic novel full of ladies!

Sadly, I was a little disappointed with this one. That doesn't mean I didn't like it, because I did. More than anything I thought this was very cute; the art was cute, the characters were cute, and the sense of humour was very cute. It didn't make me laugh in the way Rat Queens does, but I'd be a big fat liar if I said it didn't coax the odd grin out of me. Plus, if I'm being honest, it was quite nice to sit back with a graphic novel where the whole world wasn't in danger.

In fact Lumberjanes, for me, felt very reminiscent of some of the fun animes I watched during my teens, such as School Rumble and Ouran High School Host Club; entertaining, lively stories that bordered on silly but managed not to go overboard by adding in dashes of tragic backstory or issues that brought the characters tumbling into our reality. Lumberjanes is no different. Yes, the humour is gloriously cheesy and there are monsters, but it's also another wonderfully diverse series including POC and LGBT* characters, and that always makes me happy.

I was just expecting something more from it. I wanted it to completely surprise me like Rat Queens did, which might well be why it didn't. I didn't find the characters as memorable as the ladies in Rat Queens; despite all of them looking completely different, I struggled to distinguish them from one another and still probably couldn't tell you even one of their names. I think a lot of this has to do with all of them sharing the same sense of humour, which was a very fun sense of humour, but it didn't make it any easier to tell them apart. I felt very much like these were characters rather than living, breathing people.

However, this is only the first volume and there's certainly a lot of potential for some great character development. Perhaps I'm just being a little hard on it!

So Lumberjanes didn't blow me away, but I did enjoy it and I will be carrying on with the series, and if you prefer your stories to be more playful than end-of-the-world epic then this is a series for you!

Mini Reviews | Misfits, Foxes + Witches

I'm back today with some mini reviews of some recent reads. You can find my last lot of mini reviews here!

Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Lolly Willowes is essentially about a spinster who, after years of being used as a babysitter for her various nieces and nephews, makes a pact with Satan and becomes a witch. Y'know, just your classic modern classic storyline. For the most part I did enjoy this book; I thought Laura was a charming protagonist, and while some parts of the story were quite sad other parts were fantastically funny, but I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped I would. The book just got a little too weird for me near the end, which is saying something; I quite like weird books, but this one took such a turn that it suddenly felt like I was reading a different book.

My rating: 

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Unfortunately I didn't like this one very much. I found my copy of Stargirl in a local charity shop a few years ago for only 99p, and I decided to pick it up because it had been one of those books I'd seen everywhere as a pre-teen. Stargirl basically tells the story of Stargirl, the new girl at school, and how the rest of the school reacts to her... herness. The main character (whose name I've already forgotten) ends up falling for her, and I'm not going to bother explaining the rest because I'm already bored thinking about it.

I can totally see why this is often read in school, and I got what it was saying, but Stargirl was such a Manic Pixie Dream Girl and I'm really not a fan of that trope. If I'd read it when I was younger I think I might have liked it more, but I just feel like Spinelli went a bit too far trying to make Stargirl 'quirky' and 'unique'.

My rating: 

Jane, the Fox & Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault

I was dying to get my hands on this graphic novel as soon as I saw it, and eventually decided to treat myself. I thought it was a beautiful little story, and parts of it, for me, were very emotional because it hit so close to home. Essentially this is a story about a young girl, Hélène, who is being bullied by girls who used to be her friends; in particular they make fun of her appearance and she has terrible body confidence and self-esteem issues. She starts reading Jane Eyre, and Jane helps her. I thought the art style was lovely, and I particularly loved how the sections in the real world were very muted but the sections in which Hélène was reading Jane Eyre were brightly coloured. The only reason this missed out on five stars was because it didn't blow me away, but I think that might be my own fault as I was expecting rather a lot from it!

My rating: 

Have you read any of these? What have you been reading recently?

Review | Rat Queens, Vol.2: The Far-Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth by Kurtis J. Wiebe, Roc Upchurch and Stjepan Sejic

Rat Queens, Vol.2: The Far-Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth

by Kurtis J. Wiebe, Roc Upchurch and Stjepan Sejic

My Rating: 

This booze-soaked second volume of RAT QUEENS reveals a growing menace within the very walls of Palisade. And while Dee may have run from her past, the bloated, blood-feasting sky god N’rygoth never really lets his children stray too far.

You can check out my review of Rat Queens, Vol.1: Sass and Sorcery here!

As I'm sure many of you know I read the first volume of Rat Queens back in January and absolutely adored it, and I've been anticipating the release of the second volume ever since. Volume 2 takes off immediately from where Volume 1 left off, and I still love this world and these characters - not to mention the humour!

More than once I genuinely laughed out loud while reading this curled up on my sofa, meaning I got a few odd looks from my family; Hannah is the Queen of Sass and her attitude warms the cockles of my cold, black heart. I love her relationship with Sawyer too, because I'm weak for a good ol' fashioned OTP. The same goes for Violet and Orc Dave - in fact I love Orc Dave.

As is usually the case with graphic novels, the plot of Volume 2 was a little bigger than that of Volume 1; I can tell this is a series that's going to continue to expand and grow, and I like the direction it's going in. I really enjoyed the glimpses into Hannah and Violet's pasts we were shown in this volume, and I'd really like to know more about Hannah's mother who seems like a very cool lady, but what I loved most was that we saw a little more of Dee. I look forward to continuing to learn more about her in future, because what we learned in this volume was pretty darn cool; I particularly loved the way she talked about how the religion she was raised with is still a part of her, and she doesn't have to discard her entire culture just because she disagrees with a part of it.

Honestly, the only real flaw I found with this volume was that it wasn't long enough. I want more, and I want it now!

If you haven't read this series yet, read it!

An Interview with Sam Roads and Kat Nicholson!

I had the pleasure of chatting to Sam Roads and Kat Nicholson, the creators of the brand new comic Silicon Heart.

1. First off, tell us a little bit about yourselves and Silicon Heart.
   
   
   Sam: I'm Sam, the writer. My background is in game development, including some award-winning The Lord of the Rings products. My first graphic novel, Kristo, told The Count of Monte Cristo, set in Soviet Russia. Silicon Heart is my second.
   
   
   Kat: I'm Kat, the artist. I work as a freelance comic-artist/illustrator and have worked on titles such as Transformers, Spiderman, Thunder Cats, Dream Works Tales, Moshi-Monsters, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and more. :)
   
   

   
   January is a bullied teenager who finds solace in the embrace of Synthetic Being Rho. Her friends and family are unready to accept this, but when January takes a stand against the prejudice of the law, no-one is prepared for what happens next...
   
   
   

   
   
2. How did the two of you come to work on this project together? Was it an idea that you initially developed together, or was it something one of you thought up and then went out looking for an artist/writer?
   
   Sam: I generally write stories with some socio-political aspect. Silicon Heart was a direct response to an internet meme, which showed inter-racial marriage protestors from the 1960s, gay marriage protestors from the modern age and a slogan saying “Imagine how stupid you are going to look in 40 years.”
   
   
   
   
   
   
   I wondered what a 2045 society might be prejudiced against, and human/synthetic relationships seemed to fit the bill.
   
   I was really impressed with one particular piece Kat had uploaded to Facebook and I cold-pitched the story to her. She draws with great expressiveness and even her storyboards jump with emotion and energy.
   
   Kat: Having worked on kids comics for a good many years I was looking for something a bit more grown up, with more substance to it to sink my teeth into … Sam pitched Silicon Heart at exactly the right time, and I've been loving working on it so far! :D
   
   Here's the picture that caught Sam's eye if you're interested. It's a very personal piece, which again gave me the impression that Silicon Heart was the right project for me. :)
3. What have been the most enjoyable and the most challenging aspects of putting this together?
   
   Sam: The best part has been watching Kat exceed my imagination with her depictions of Jan and Rho. The challenging part has been raising the funds. We put together issue 1 ourselves, but we're going to need backers for a Kickstarter to get issues 2-4 made.
   
   Kat: For me one of the most challenging parts of the project has been capturing Rho's expressions! He's a very low-emoter, and coming from an animation background I tend to draw BIG emotions, so even when I thought I was toning things down with Rho I was still often giving him too much emotion for Sam's vision. Drawing him is just so much fun though, the two of them (Rho and Jan) together are just so sweet. :)The great bit for me is always getting feedback; both from Sam and from our readers, it's wonderful to hear of people enjoying the world you've helped to create. :)
   
4. What have been the benefits of working on a project with another person?
   
   Sam: One person can play a melody. Harmony requires two.
   
   Kat: (Sam's yet to hear me sing) ;) Seriously though, Sam's right - I could never have written a story like Silicon Heart, but I'm glad to be able to contribute to the project with my art. :)
5. What are your future plans for Silicon Heart? Would you like to see it become a long-running project or is it more of a standalone piece?
   
   Sam: The first goal is to get the whole story made. If that happens, I'll look into whether the art-house indie publishers are interested, both in the UK and in the US. A goal beyond that might be to seek an adaptation to radio or TV.
   
   Silicon Heart is a complete story, but we know of at least one of the secondary characters whose story might be worth telling. Several of our fans have expressed an interest in hearing more about the world of Silicon Heart!
6. It's so important to help out independent projects in the arts. Tell us how we can help Silicon Heart!
   
   Sam: Please check out our kickstarter. :)
   
   Kat: And if you like it, please tell your friends about it! The more people see the project the more chance we have of being able to complete it :)

Thanks very much to Sam and Kat, who are both lovely and have both worked so hard on Silicon Heart. It can be so difficult for artists to create what they love - especially in a society that believes artists should work for free - so if Silicon Heart interests you and you're in the mood to support an independent project, head on over to their kickstarter!

Find out more about Sam and Kat here and here!

Review | American Vampire, Vol.3 by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Sean Murphy

American Vampire, Vol.3

by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Sean Murphy

My Rating:

In the Pacific, Pearl's husband Henry joins a clandestine group on a secret mission to Japan to hunt a new breed of bloodsucker. Meanwhile, Skinner Sweet has plans of his own...

And in Europe, vampire hunters Felicia Book and Cash McCogan go behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Romania in search of a rumored vampire cure. 

I'm so glad I decided to carry on with this series because if I hadn't I wouldn't have read this, which has definitely been my favourite volume of the series so far.

I continue to be very fond of Pearl who, when faced with some difficult choices, still managed to do the right thing even when it was hard. What I love most about Pearl's story arc is that this is the story of an immortal woman and a human man in a relationship, rather than the other way around as it so often is. Even more so, she isn't overtly sexualised or treated like a no-good temptress; Pearl may be a vampire, but she's still a woman who loves her husband, and it was a nice change to see the man of the relationship struggle with the idea that his wife will stay young forever while he continues to age. 

This story included more Skinner Sweet, too, who is a favourite of mine; he's just such fun to follow even though he's basically a terrible person, and I loved the glimpse into his past we were given through his reunion with his old flame, Kitty.

What surprised me most about this volume, however, was how much I enjoyed the story involving Felicia and Cash, who we meet properly in Volume 2. (I say 'properly' because we get a glimpse of Felicia at the end of Volume 1). I enjoyed their story in Volume 2 but I didn't think it was particularly spectacular, this story I loved. Felicia is on her way to becoming one of my favourite characters - there's something about her that reminds me a little of Tanya Huff's Vicki Nelson or Suzanne Collins's Johanna Mason, both of whom I love - and her chemistry with Cash was wonderful. I'd happily watch a crime caper drama starring the two of them playing good cop/bad cop.

I was surprised by how much I did enjoy their story because I've always been rather wary of stories that combine the supernatural with Nazi Germany. I don't know why I dislike that combination so much; I don't know whether it has something to do with implying the supernatural cheapens the horrifying events that actually happened during this period of our history. For whatever reason, though, it didn't bother me here at all - possibly because Hitler himself doesn't make an appearance, and Snyder has combined vampirism with history so flawlessly throughout the series that it doesn't feel like vampires have been thoughtlessly tacked on to Nazi Germany.

I really enjoyed this volume, and I'm looking forward to continuing the series!

V is for Vaughan | Blogging from A to Z

Saga
by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

I've gotten really into graphic novels this year - I've been reading a bunch of them - and I was super pleased when, at the start of this year, I was finally able to get my hands on Saga. Why? Because I started my job in December, and at the beginning of 2015 I got my first lot of wages - huzzah!

I ended up buying the first three volumes of Saga from Waterstone's in York while I was visiting my best friend for New Year's, and after I got home I read all three of them in one sitting. After that, I naturally ordered Volume 4 and read it pretty much as soon as I got my hands on it, and now apparently I have to wait for Volume 5 which, frankly, can't get here fast enough.

I'm not sure if Saga is my favourite graphic novel series - I also started Rat Queens this year, and unfortunately Rat Queens is very, very hard to compete with - but it definitely comes in at a close second. Vaughan's dialogue is witty and natural, and Staples's art is just beautiful; she has such a fantastic imagination for science fiction, so even if you don't think Saga would be your kind of thing you should pick up a copy just to see the way she's designed the characters.

Bring me Volume 5!

Mini Reviews | Aliens, Vampires and Fairy Tales

Sometimes I have enough to say about a book to warrant a full review, and other times I don't but I still want to share my thoughts somehow. I've been reading a lot of graphic novels recently, and while I've enjoyed the majority of them I haven't found much to say individually about all of the ones I've read. So today I'm going to do three mini-reviews for three graphic novels I've recently read!

Copperhead, Vol.1: A New Sheriff in Town by Jay Faerber, Scott Godlewski and Ron Riley

I knew absolutely nothing about this graphic novel until it was recommended to me on Amazon, described as a story about a single mother who moves her and her son to a new planet to work as a sheriff there and deal with everything from alien hillbillies to a local massacre. I really enjoyed it; it was a lot of fun, I liked the art style and I liked the world. If you're a fan of aliens and cowboys, or a fan of female-led sci-fi, then I'd recommend checking this one out. I'm hoping there'll be another volume out later this year!

My Rating: 

American Vampire, Vol.2 by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Mateus Santolouco

I read American Vampire, Vol.1 last year after finding it in my local library. Check out my review here!

I wasn't sure if I was going to carry on with the American Vampire series at first, until I realised the fact that it kept popping into my head despite having read the first volume back in October had to be a sign that it was time to track down Volume 2. Sadly Volume 1 was the only one my library had, so I used trusty old Abebooks and found a couple of secondhand copies of Volume 2 and Volume 3 in really good condition. I really enjoyed being back in the world of American Vampire; it's easy for me to get bored by vampires, but I think Scott Snyder's created something really different with this series, and that's special. I'm definitely going to be continuing with this one.

My Rating: 

Fables, Vol.1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham, Lan Medina, Steve Leialoha, Craig Hamilton and James Jean

Unfortunately I didn't like this very much, but considering the reviews I'd seen I didn't expect to, which was the main reason I found myself a secondhand copy rather than spending a bunch of money on a shiny new one. I just wanted to see what it was like for myself. I love Bigby Wolf - I have a big crush on him in The Wolf Among Us - but I didn't enjoy any of the characters in the graphic novel as much I did in the game. It almost felt as though Willingham was playing paint by numbers with fairy tale characters; he made sure they were all there, but he didn't really take the time to make any of them three-dimensional. I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it either. I just felt kind of 'meh' about the whole thing. Needless to say I won't be carrying on with this series, because judging by the reviews it only continues to get worse...

My Rating: 

Have you read any of these? What are your thoughts?

Review | Ms. Marvel, Vol.1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona

Ms. Marvel, Vol.1: No Normal

by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona

My Rating: 

Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City — until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? Find out as she takes the Marvel Universe by storm! When Kamala discovers the dangers of her newfound powers, she unlocks a secret behind them, as well. Is Kamala ready to wield these immense new gifts? Or will the weight of the legacy before her be too much to bear? Kamala has no idea, either. But she's comin' for you, New York! 

What a fun start to a series!

If you've been following my blog for a little while you might have noticed that I've been getting more and more into graphic novels over the past few months, and this year in particular. In January I read all four of the current volumes of Saga as well as the first volume of Rat Queens, so it only seemed right to get my hands on a copy of Ms. Marvel - I'll support anything female-led in the Marvel universe, because frankly the lack of female-led superhero movies is shocking. Thank God for Ms. Marvel and Agent Carter.

Don't even get me started on DC...

Anyway, as much as I enjoy the Marvel movies I don't know if I'd call myself a Marvel fangirl. I'm definitely no expert on the Marvel universe, and Ms. Marvel counts as the very first Marvel comic I've ever read. But hey, I'm not going to let that stop me from giving you an honest review!

I knew from the very first page that Kamala was going to be a heroine I liked a lot. She's a sweetie, and there's something about these stories featuring teenage misfits that call out to the teenage misfit in all of us, whether we're still struggling through adolescence or we left it behind, or so we like to think, years ago. Kamala's an ordinary teenager who's struggling to find the middle ground between being true to who she is, or who she'd like to be, and making her parents proud.

I'm rather ashamed to admit that I don't think I've read a book with a Muslim protagonist before now. That's something I need to change. I loved the way Kamala's family were portrayed; while their religion mattered to them on a personal level, it didn't define them. Kamala's family is a family like anyone else's, and I'm glad they were portrayed as such. That's something all of us need to remember, I think, when we sit down to watch the news.

While there were certain aspects of Kamala's culture that I could understand her frustration with, I loved that her family were still portrayed as likeable people; her relationship with her father, in particular, was very touching, and I look forward to seeing more scenes between the two of them in future volumes.

The only area of this volume that was a little lacking for me was, unfortunately, the plot. Obviously this is only the beginning so I'm sure whatever has started here will continue to grow and grow, but at times this volume felt a little all over the place; Kamala seemed to settle into her new powers fairly quickly, and I expected a bit more freaking out before that happened. Even in a world where the Avengers are real you'd still get a bit of a shock if you woke up with the ability to shoot lasers from your eyes.

All in all, though, I enjoyed this volume, and I'm looking forward to further instalments!

Review | Rat Queens, Vol.1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch

Rat Queens, Vol.1: Sass and Sorcery

by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch

My Rating: 

Who are the Rat Queens? 

A pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they're in the business of killing all god's creatures for profit. 

It's also a darkly comedic sass-and-sorcery series starring Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief. This modern spin on an old school genre is a violent monster-killing epic that is like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack! 

If you're into high fantasy, innuendo, swearing and girl power, then you need to get your hands on a copy of this book.

Rat Queens is a graphic novel series which follows friends Hannah, Violet, Dee Dee and Betty on their escapades. The four ladies are essentially bounty hunters; they go on quests to vanquish evil and kill stuff for a living, and they're pretty good at what they do. In the first volume, however, they begin to realise that they might be causing more harm than good, particularly when it becomes clear that someone is out to kill them.

This volume is so much fun. I laughed out loud more than once, and even when I wasn't laughing I was grinning inanely. By the end of this volume we're left with a lot of questions about these girls, about how they met and what their lives were like before they were the Rat Queens, but there was still plenty to suggest a wider story and a wider world, and to tantalise our tastebuds until the next volume.

I loved the friendship between the four girls and how real they are. Sure three of them aren't human, but none of them felt like stereotypical female fantasy characters, or even stereotypical female characters in general; these women aren't the product of a teenage boy's wet dream inducing fantasies, but well thought-out protagonists who piss all over the idea of the traditional fantasy heroine.

In terms of high fantasy this series feels more World of Warcraft than Lord of the Rings, so if you like your high fantasy quite serious it probably isn't for you, but if you're a fan of writers like Mira Grant and Tanya Huff, or if you're a fan of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' Saga, then you'll love this series!

I can't recommend it more!