comic book superheroes

All posts tagged comic book superheroes

SHADOW AVENGERS – Carrie Harris

Posted by Daniel on August 1, 2022
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Doctor Strange has been preparing for the arrival of Dormammu – a being who rule the Dark Dimension – and formed the Shadow Avengers as a small, super-hero army to do battle with the dark entity and his supporters when the time comes. The team consists of Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and the Black Panther.

The reluctant, anti-hero Venom is one of the first to have an encounter when he sees Loki (under Dormammu’s control) dumping toxic waste into the city water supply from an Oscorp vehicle. There’s a bit of a battle and then Loki disappears into a magically created portal.

The showdown is nigh and our newly formed group of superheroes, used to working alone, will have to find a way to work and trust one another to save the world from the Dread Sorcerer Dormammu.

This is a children’s book … or a middle-grade reader, at least.   It’s written ‘down’ just a little. This is the sort of book one expects to see in one of those school book order flyers (I loved when we got those!) or featured on an endcap of a library shelf taking advantage of the timeliness of the book and the hope that the subject will keep youngsters reading.  There’s nothing wrong with this thought, but this is taken to an extreme, trying to appeal to all potential readers and not just those who already love these movies (and just who would that be?).

The book spends too much time in idle chit chat – Spiderman and Ms Marvel getting to know each other for an entire chapter, for instance. This doesn’t advance the story or the plot, but it does fill in some gaps if you don’t know who they are.

Of course if you know who they are already, it really drags the story down. This should be as fast-paced as the movies with a breather for some Spidey sarcasm now and then.  Superheroes! World-consuming villainous plans! Evil being from another dimension! Must stop! Must protect!  And what we get are a lot of conversations between the superheroes as they get to know one another.

It’s comic-related and it’s connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so these books will sell, and sell well. I only wish we were hooking young readers on stories that engage.

Looking for a good book? Shadow Avengers by Carrie Harris does provide readers with another opportunity to read the further adventures of some favorite comic book characters, but it’s not particularly thrilling despite all the action going on.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

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Shadow Avengers: A Marvel: Crisis Protocol Novel

author: Carrie Harris

series: Marvel Aconyte Novels

publisher: Aconyte

ISBN: 1839081023

paperback, 352 pages

SUPER BOYS – Brad Ricca

Posted by Daniel on November 20, 2019
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Well this was informative!

It’s pretty hard not to know who the character of Superman is, but naming the creators of Superman might be much more challenging to most people.  Fans of comics and graphic novels likely already know of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and even someone like myself – very much on the outer fringe of comic/graphic novel reading – knew about the long battle Siegel and Shuster had to retain (or regain) the rights to the character.

Biographer Brad Ricca has done some exhaustive research and we get a look at these two young men from their early school days, to the high school days when the early characteristics of Superman could be found.

Starting as a fan and writing letters science fiction magazines, it was clear that Jerry was a go-getter and a planner and he thought he’d get rich writing stories. When he Jerry met Joe, he saw someone who could illustrate his stories and together, like many high school boys who dram of making it big doing something they love, the multiple ways that a dream can crash never occurred to them.

Small successes built up and they were producing stories for comics at a fantastic rate, and making good (for them, at the time) money.  But it was a difficult period in publishing (when isn’t it?) and sometimes they worked on hand-shake agreements or with promises for more later.  And through innocence and bad choices, they gave away their rights to what would become one of the most iconic figures in all of pop culture. And once those rights were gone, Jerry and Joe weren’t essential to be part of the story-telling process, and while their creation would make millions of dollars for a publisher, Joe and Jerry were often challenged just to find work.

Joe and Jerry’s story is quite sad, and not all that unusual for those working in this industry. Much of their later lives are spent challenging the rights to Superman and trying to get their due and even now, at the end of this book, their families are trying to get these rights maintained.

The story of the lawsuits goes on a bit too long for me – though I recognize that this is what consumed Jerry for much of his life.  Still, I found his early years – the environment in which he grew to become a writer – the most fascinating.

This is a really well-written biography. It is thorough and doesn’t really manage to take sides (in the debate about rights ownership), which is nice.  Yes…it’s about Joe and Jerry and there is going to be some bias toward their being allowed to cash in on their character, but Ricca himself doesn’t outright say that.  He lets Jerry say it.

Definitely worth reading.

Looking for a good book? Super Boys by Brad Ricca is a solid biography of the creators of Superman, from their early days before Superman, to their decades-long battle for the rights to their greatest creation. It is fascinating and well written.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster–the Creators of Superman

author: Brad Ricca

publisher: St. Martin’s Press

ISBN: 0312643802

hardcover, 423 pages

JUDGE DREAD: YEAR ONE: CITY FATHERS – Matthew Smith

Posted by Daniel on August 5, 2019
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

So, perhaps I shouldn’t have tried reading this book.  I am not really very familiar with Judge Dredd from the comics or graphic novels or even with the movie version. But I wanted to be. I had made an assumption that a book with “Year One” in the title would help me better understand the character and the world. Perhaps, for those already familiar with this series it offers some new insights into the character, but as a new reader, I felt that there were too many references for the insiders.

It is Joe Dredd’s rookie year as a Judge in Mega-City One (in the year 2080). He is young, ambitious, and a stickler for the law. Apparently that’s not the case for older Dredd. A Justice Department spy has been brutally murdered and Dredd gets a surprise education in the workings of the underworld and the black market as well as the political maneuverings of the government he works for.

I read an interesting science fiction book, but I think I have more questions about the series than I got answers.

I think that what this taught me was that books based on comic books are best left to those who are already familiar with the characters and that if you want to learn more you really need to seek out back issues or older graphic novels. As a stand-alone novel, this was just average fare.

Looking for a good book? Judge Dredd Year One: City Fathers by Matt Smith, Michael Carroll, and Al Ewing is based on a comic series and familiarity with the series is recommended before venturing here.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Judge Dredd Year One: City Fathers

authors: Matt Smith, Michael Carroll, and Al Ewing

publisher: Abaddon Books

ISBN13: 9781849974493

Kindle edition, 128 pages

HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS

Posted by Daniel on February 18, 2019
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

What is it about He-Man and the Masters of the Universe that it manages to have a lasting appeal?

I was not aware that there had been a newspaper comic strip (daily and Sunday). 1,674 days worth of comic strips. So when I saw that Dark Horse gathered as many of these strips as possible (all but thirty-five are reprinted and of those that are missing a synopsis of the story is in its place) I was eager to get my hands on this.

A daily comic strip is a very unique and challenging way to tell a story but as you read through this volume you come to see that authors Jim Shull and Chris Weber and artist Gérald Forton did a really remarkable job telling stories in this method. It becomes even more impressive when we learn through the different interviews included that these stories had to be cleared not just from the editor and publisher, but also by the controlling toy company that often wanted to feature a new item that would soon be for sale.

The interviews here are with Weber, Forton, colorist Connie Shurr (the early colors in the Sunday strips are quite remarkable and notable), and strip editor Karen Wilson.

I asked at the top here why He-Man has such a lasting appeal.  Editor Karen Wilson may have answered that in her interview when she says:

There’s something in our culture that appreciates heroes who act with fairness, justice, equality, and compassion. Although powerful, He-Man and She-Ra look out for the needs of the marginalized, the suffering, those seeking justice. They use their power for good, not evil. They are not self-serving. They only use violence as a last resort. They use their smarts and their wits. … They are also brave. Strong. And still have a sense of humor.

This was a really fabulous read and it deserves to be on every shelf of every comic book, comic strip, television/media fan who enjoys a good story with wonderful art.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

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He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Newspaper Comic Strips

authors: Jim Shull and Chris Weber

artists: Gérald Forton and Connie Shurr

publisher: Dark Horse Books

ASIN: B01NAVEJQH

Kindle Edition, 496 pages

THE SPECTACULAR SISTERHOOD OF SUPERWOMEN – Hope Nicholson

Posted by Daniel on October 10, 2018
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, GRAPHIC NOVEL, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

GRAPHIC NOVEL WEEK

Of course this isn’t, technically speaking, a graphic novel, so why should I include a review during my Graphic Novel Week? As the subtitle boasts: “Awesome female characters from comic book history.” Every character mentioned here comes from comics, whether strips or books, print or digital, and comics of course, are the root of the graphic novel.

Hope Nicholson’s The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen is an astounding historical look at some of the stronger female characters to appear in comics since the 1930’s. Not all of them are “superwomen” – as in, a hero with super powers – but all should be considered “super women.” The collection is culled by Nicholson, a publisher and comics fan, and is certainly somewhat subjective, but the research here … the uncovering of some old and often forgotten characters is really tremendous. I’ve highlighted a good number of these characters with the intentions of looking to read their adventures.  Unfortunately most of them published before 2000 are not reprinted and difficult to find (which makes it more interesting to get this glimpse of them).

But as with nearly any collection of this sort, those of us with even a modest, minimum knowledge of comics will wonder why some are included and others are not.  Where’s Veronica from the Archie comics, if Little Lulu is the “Hero of the Decade” for the 1930’s? And Barbarella and Vampirella make the list, but Storm and Kitty Pryde of the X-Men don’t?

In some cases Nicholson seems to go for the obscure over the famous – though not always.  We still get Ms. Marvel (times two) and Batgirl and Witchblade and Silk Spectre.  We even get Maika Halfwolf from the graphic novel/comics series Monstress (volume two just won a Hugo Award this week as I write this) which shows how current Nicholson is on her reading.

I enjoyed learning about a lot more strong female characters in what I have always perceived as a male market (Nicholson puts that into perspective as well) and the history of the characters, and why Nicholson believes they are strong characters, despite (sometimes) being overly sexualized in appearance or character.

Part of what makes this such a delightful read is Nicholson’s casual, friendly demeanor in her writing style.  Her commentary (I almost consider them ‘asides’) are usually sarcastically fun (“I guess reading tales about making our with your dead best friend’s husband is fun for the whole family”).

I’m not sure that I’m interested in knowing more about all the characters revealed here (“One story features Nibbil engaging in balloon sex – that is, sex with word balloons”), but my interest is piqued with most of these superwomen.  Thanks, Hope Nicholson, and I’ll look forward to a Volume 2!

Looking for a good book? The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen by Hope Nicholson is a wonderful history of strong women in comics from the 1930’s to today.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters from Comic Book History

author: Hope Nicholson

publisher: Quirk Books

ISBN: 1594749485

hardcover, 240 pages

STAN LEE: THE MAN BEHIND MARVEL – Bob Batchelor

Posted by Daniel on September 26, 2017
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, GRAPHIC NOVEL, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Like many baby-boomers, I grew up reading comics and thinking of Stan Lee as that crazy but lovable uncle who knows how to talk to kids.  Plus, he worked in comics – how cool is that?!

While I was big into comics for much of the 1970’s I didn’t really stay with it, but I did hear rumors of frustrations between different members of the artistic staff (writers and artists) and Marvel – and by extension, Lee.  Bob Batchelor’s biography addresses some of this, which I found interesting, and typically seemed to relieve Lee of any wrong-doing (though it does mention that the memories of those days may not be the most clear in anyone’s memory).

I enjoyed getting the scoop on Lee’s early days, particularly his war years, which was something I had never known about.  First – I didn’t even know there was such as a thing as ‘playwright’ as an official Army designation.

Even as a teen reader of comics, and despite my appreciation for all things Lee and Marvel, I was never a fan of Lee’s actual stories. He seemed, to my teen mind, too obvious and gregarious.  But reading through this biography I have a new appreciation for the quickness by which he wrote, practically keeping Marvel running single-handedly during some of its earliest days.

It takes a great deal of hubris to be able to run a company the way Lee managed to do, especially in the early days, and we see that hubris later on as Lee lends his name to new companies – including one that appeared to be nothing more than a ponzi scheme to capitalize on his name.  While his cameo appearances in the Marvel movies are a truly fun nod to the early Marvel days and lead a new crop of Marvel fans to meet that crazy, fun uncle, there is a certain amount of excessive pride going on there as well.

The book is easy to read and Batchelor moves through the different periods of Lee’s work life quite smoothly.

What we don’t get, however, is almost as interesting.

We don’t get much of Lee’s early life, other than how it seemed to inevitably lead to his taking a job with a publisher. We don’t get much of his personal life other than that he married. In this sense, the book isn’t so much a biography of Stan Lee the man, but Stan Lee the driving force behind Marvel and a comic renaissance.  Maybe there is no difference?

All in all, a good read, though I can’t imagine it will be the last or most definitive look at the comic/pop icon.

Looking for a good book? Bob Batchelor’s biography Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel is a nicely written and well-researched look at the man who, in his mid-nineties is a living pop icon.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel

author: Bob Batchelor

publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN: 1442277815

hardcover, 260 pages

WHAT IS A SUPERHERO? – Robin S. Rosenberg & Peter Coogan, editors

Posted by Daniel on July 17, 2017
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, GRAPHIC NOVEL, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

You can hardly turn around today without seeing a movie or television show featuring a superhero and they’re often on the covers of magazines and there are novelizations of their stories.  And of course there are the comic books and graphic novels from which many of them sprouted.  But what is a superhero?  Such is the general question asked and addressed in the collection of essays edited by Robin S. Rosenberg & Peter Coogan.

There is a strong collection of writers included here, musing on what makes a superhero and the social issues surrounding a society’s reasons for having superheroes.  The collection includes essays from those who might understand the genre the best – writers of superhero stories such as: Stan Lee, Dennis O’Neil, Kurt Busiek, Joe Quesada, and a few others.

I was impressed right out of the gate with Peter Coogan’s article, “The Hero Defines the Genre, the Genre Defines the Hero.”  I’d like to quote from the article but the truth is I would simply copy the eight pages and reprint it – the article was packed with thoughtful reflection and commentary.  Coogan clearly understands the modern mythology of superheroes.

I did a lot of comic book reading in the 1970’s so it’s no surprise that talent from that era has a big impact on me.  And perhaps it’s because of this that I found Denny O’Neil’s article, “Superheroes and Power,” so meaningful.  After all, who should know how to write about superheroes and their power than someone who did it so well?  His words can be applied not just to superheroes, but to any character who is worth writing about.  I really appreciated his comment:

A writer fails the genre when a story depicts superheroes who are weak or do not use their powers. What makes a character interesting (both superheroes and other types of characters) is what he does to solve problems. You give him a knotty situation and he gets out of it. Well, by definition, superheroes use extraordinary physical means.

While I’m only pointing to two articles, this is one of those rare collections in which there are no duds.  Every essay is thoughtful and well articulated.  I gained some insight and felt that I left the book smarter than when I started.  I like that feeling.

This book contains the following:

Foreword – Michael Uslan
“Introduction: What Is a Superhero?” – Robin Rosenberg & Peter Coogan
Super and Hero: Powers and Mission
Section Introduction
“The Hero Defines the Genre, the Genre Defines the Hero” – Peter Coogan
“We Could Be Heroes” – Will Brooker
“What is a Female Superhero?” – Jennifer Stuller
“Straddling a Boundary: The Superhero and the Incorporation of Difference” – Clare Pitkelthy
“Save the Day” – A. David Lewis
Context, Culture, and the Problem of Definition
Section Introduction
“Superheroes and the Modern(ist) Age” – Alex Boney
“Heroes of the Superculture” – Richard Reynolds
“Superhero by Design” – John Jennings
“The Experience of the Superhero: A Phenomenological Definition” – Dana Anderson
“What is a Superhero? No One Knows—That’s What Makes ‘em Great.” – Geoff Klock
Superheroes Need Supervillains
Section introduction
“Why Supervillains?” – Paul Levitz
“Superheroes Need Supervillains” – Frank Verano
“Superheroes Need Superior Villains” – Stanford Carpenter
“Super and Villain: A bad guy with superpowers” – Curtis Deis
“Supervillains Who Need Superheroes (Are the Luckiest Villains in the World)” – Andrew Smith
“Sorting Out Villainy: A Typology of Villains and Their Effects on Superheroes” – Robin Rosenberg
From the Experts: Comic Book Writers Define the Superhero
Section Introduction
“More Than Normal, But Believable” – Stan Lee
“Making the World a Better Place” – Jeph Loeb
“Nobility of Purpose” – Danny Fingeroth
“Superheroes and Power” – Dennis O’Neil
“The Importance of Context: Robin Hood Is Out and Buffy Is In” – Kurt Busiek
“Superheroes Are Made” – Tom DeFalco
“Extraordinary” – Joe Quesada
“The Superprotagonist” – Fred Van Lente
“Superheroes and Supervillains: An Interdependent Relationship” – Ivory Madison

Looking for a good book? The collection of essays, What Is a Superhero? edited by Robin Rosenberg and Peter Coogan is a thoughtful reflection on superheroes – who are our modern mythological figures.  The book is highly recommended.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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What Is a Superhero?

editors: Robin Rosenberg & Peter Coogan

publisher: Oxford University Press, USA 

ISBN: 0199795274

hardcover, 175 pages

MARVEL’S CAPTAIN AMERICA: SUB ROSA – David McDonald

Posted by Daniel on March 17, 2017
Posted in: CHILDREN'S, ENTERTAINMENT, YA. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I approached this book with trepidation after being less than impressed with the other two volumes in this ‘series’: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Castaways and Marvel’s Thor: Dueling With Giants. My caution was confirmed.  This book is a bit better than “Castaways” but not quite as interesting as “Dueling With Giants.”

Here, Captain America is asked to look after the niece of Maria Hill … a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.  Hill’s niece developed a computer program and now she’s being threatened. But walking around in his Captain America costume would draw attention, and so it is Steve Rogers who does the babysitting.

This book suffers from the same issues that plagued the other two mentioned above.  Dull, lifeless, and the known characters don’t seem much like those we’ve come to know through the comics or the movies. Rogers/Cap acts like the jocks that used to pick on him when he was a scrawny kid.  He also never seems comfortable around the computer genius, Katherine.  Surely this was intended to be a relationship in the making with hero and damsel skirting the sexual tension between them. But for this reader, it never works.

Katherine has no character.  She’s a stereotypical computer nerd, and then she’s the stereotypical young woman being pursued by bad guys.  Cap has no interest in her, and for good reason, but it also means there’s not much to the story.

This is a case of way too much narrative.  We’re told almost everything and get to experience almost nothing.  Instead of being pulled in to a story – and a book based on a comic book superhero and a movie action thriller hero, we should very much be drawn in to this story – we are told to sit back while a story is explained.  This is not the way to get teens interested in reading and not a particularly good way to get the older, more dedicated comic book fans to follow along.

I’m disappointed that this was such a dud.  I really have liked a number of comic book hero-to novel adaptations and would have loved to have added this to my list of interesting comic-related books.

Looking for a good book?  Marvel’s Captain America: Sub Rosa by David McDonald is not a particularly good substitute for the adventurous comics or the thrilling movies.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Marvel’s Captain America: Sub Rosa

author: David McDonald

publisher: Joe Books Inc.

ISBN: 1772752010

paperback, 240 pages

FUTURE QUEST, VOLUME 1 – graphic novel

Posted by Daniel on February 15, 2017
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

GEEK OUT!  THIS IS AWESOME!

It is great to be in a time when it’s fashionable to admit to being a geek.  In my youth I often tried to hide the fact that I was ‘into’ geeky things, but the geeks have taken charge (thanks Steve Jobs and Bill Gates) and we can cop to our geeky passions.

Being a product of the 1960’s, I grew up with some pretty awesome television programming.  TV was my babysitter (as it was for many latch-key kids).  And if television was a babysitter, Hanna-Barbera was the sitter I most relied on to keep me entertained.

Future Quest takes many of Hanna-Barbera’s finest sci-fi/adventure characters and brings them together in one series  under a very believable (given sci-fi storytelling) plot.  Essentially – a rift in the space/time/alternate universe continuum threatens multiple worlds and is bringing a wide variety of creatures and heroes to Earth.  Dr. Benton Quest is on the case, but so is the evil Dr. Zin, who is hoping to tap into the power for his own nefarious purposes.

If there’s a heroic character more attuned to the teenage boy than Jonny Quest, I’d love to know who it is.  Centering the story around the Quest family is ideal and will hopefully bring new, young readers to the graphic novel format and should appeal to we older folk who can renew our early geek days as Jonny Quest followers.

My other favorite from the Hanna-Barbera canon is The Impossibles.  Most people don’t remember them, but they had a mighty impact on the pre-pubescent me so to see them again was a real thrill.

Author/creator Jeff Parker has clearly done his homework on all these H-B characters and has managed to give us an origin story for them – origins that were pretty opaque prior to this. Although the story-line for The Impossibles did not fit as clearly in the over-arcing story as some of the others, it was still very enjoyable and fun to learn of an origin for their abilities (and the addition of the new member is quite welcomed).

We jump right into the book with a whole lotta action and a ton of questions.  The action eases up only for the necessary background information to be delivered and the occasional origin story, but Parker does a great job to deliver all of this fairly seamlessly so that it doesn’t feel like a massive interruption in the narrative. He is clearly familiar with the comic-book/graphic novel format and works well within it.

The art by Evan Shaner, Steve Rude, Ron Randall, and Craig Rousseau is quite good.  It captures the essence of the 1960’s television characters to which so many of us are familiar, but steps it up to a slightly more realistic look.

Reading through this book, my excitement level was on high and I really felt like a kid again.  This is just an all-around wonderful graphic novel.  The story is incomplete here, which I don’t mind in the comic/graphic novel format.  In fact I’m hoping that this series never ends because I want to keep living in this pure, adolescent joy for as long as possible.

Looking for a good book?  The graphic novel Future Quest brings together many of the wonderful Hanna-Barbera cartoon heroes into one universe to fight off a common foe.  It is an exciting story, well-told and drawn and will appeal to the new reader as well as to those who remember when these heroes first graced the airwaves.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Future Quest, Volume 1

author: Jeff Parker

artists:  Evan Shaner, Steve Rude), Ron Randall, Craig Rousseau

publisher: DC Comics

ISBN: 1401268072

paperback, 176 pages

MONSTRESS #5 & #6 – graphic novel/comic

Posted by Daniel on October 4, 2016
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I absolutely love how this story is developing.

For those of us used to reading the longer format (graphic novel), reading this as individual comics gets frustrating because it is over so quickly.  Still, writer Marjorie Liu manages to pack a lot of information and story build into a short space.  In this issue we learn a little more about Maika and her past, though there is still some question about just what has happened to her.

The art is still beautiful and I’m really captivated by this story.

There isn’t much more to say about a single issue, except that the short history lesson at the end of the regular part of the story is really helpful to understanding much of this world.

I look forward to the next issue, which would be the final issue for the first graphic novel.  If I were buying comics, this would be one of the few titles on my list.

Looking for a good book?  Monstress #5 is an all-too-brief comic book in the Monstress series, which prompts as many questions (or more) as it answers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Monstress #5

author: Marjorie Liu

artist: Sana Takeda

publisher: Image Comics

paperback, 33 pages

This really is one of the better comics/graphic novels I’ve read in some time.  The world-building is phenomenal, the characters are all tremendously unique and unforgettable, and the art is absolutely stunning.

In this sixth issue of the comic (the end of what would be the first volume of the graphic novel), Maika confronts the monster within her, and just a little bit becomes slightly more clear.  Who is the enemy and who is a friend is still confusing to me, but perhaps there isn’t anyone who is all good or all bad.

The little fox-child that most people are going to find so adorable, finally manages to stand up for himself, and I suspect he’s going to play a bigger role in this ongoing story than I first imagined.

You won’t find a comic or graphic novel that is more beautiful to look at – every … single … panel.  Though it’s also dark and grim and you’re as likely to be staring at body parts as you are these gorgeous art-deco-like illustrations.

Liu is weaving a twisted and tight tale and I want to press on – I want to just keep reading.  If you pick up the first issue and read all the way through to the end of this volume, you’ll likely want to keep going as well.

Looking for a good book?  Monstress (Vol 1) is the one graphic novel that you will want to read this year.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Monstress #6

author: Marjorie Liu

artist: Sana Takeda

publisher: Image Comics

Kindle edition, 33 pages

MONSTRESS #3 & #4 – comic book

Posted by Daniel on September 30, 2016
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Issue #3 of this outstanding comic, Monstress, brings back the excitement (and evil) that made the first issue so thrilling.

We get more questions than answers, but they are the questions the reader has likely started to ask – who is Maika?  Where did she come from?  Can she control her own abilities?  Why does the fox-child stay with her when s/he is so frightened by Maika?  Because these questions are beginning to come out in the comic itself, we have reason to believe the answers will be forth-coming.

Once again, the art is tremendous.  This is worth buying for the art alone, though artist Takeda (and author Liu) don’t hold back from the gruesomeness that evil often brings.  This is very likely something that will keep some potential readers away. But if your constitution is strong enough, this is definitely a book worth reading.  The graphic novel will be out soon and it is best to start at the beginning with this series.  The most frustrating aspect here is the fact that these comics are only 20+ pages long!

Looking for a good book? Monstress #3 picks up on the excitement of the first issues of this unique comic series and keeps the reader wanting more.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Monstress #3

author: Marjoie Liu

artist: Sana Takeda

publisher: Image Comics

asin: B01AS9WKLO

paperback, 33 pages

Issue #4 of Monstress is as strong a work as was the first issue.

This particular issue gives the reader a good look at the other side of the wall – where ‘monsters’ and creatures of all sorts – the Arcanic – make their plans.  We also get to see more of the monster that inhabits Maika, and how Maika is working to control it.  There are also a few hints along the way as to who Maika is.

The art is still outstanding and it would be worth buying this just for the delicious illustrations (if you don’t mind a little gore once in a while).

The only frustrating thing about this comic is how short the individual issues are.  The graphic novel is soon to be released (or is, by the time this review is published), but the ARC is the individual issues, which is how I have chosen to review this.  But it’s clear, by reading this issue by issue, that the bigger, fuller picture is likely the best way to read this story.

Looking for a good book? Issue #4 of Monstress, continues a highly original, intense story that is beautifully illustrated.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Monstress #4

author: Marjorie Liu

artist: Sana Takeda

publisher: Image Comics

asin: B01C3GD8XE

paperback, 33 pages

MONSTRESS #1 & #2 – comic book

Posted by Daniel on September 20, 2016
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

This first issue of Monstress from Image Comics has everything I love about the ‘indy’ comics companies (if Image can still be considered ‘indy’).  Absolutely stunning art and a story that is dark, dangerous, and so sooo compelling.

Humans, mutants, and monsters live together in a world where the humans have enslaved the mutants and monsters – sometimes selling them, sometimes performing cruel and absolutely inhumane tests on them.

In this first issue we meet Maika, a young girl who looks very human, despite missing an arm, who is sold to a wealthy woman, Lady Sophia.  Maika is placed in a cell, next to a cute little human/fox child, and they watch as other mutant monsters are taken away (and we later see the dissection of one of them).  When the guards come to take away the fox-child, Maika’s power, which she seems to have worked hard to repress, comes through.

This is a horrific story, and there are certainly going to be some who won’t be able to stomach it, but author Marjorie Liu is wise to couch this sort of horror in a fantasy world, even though the same, or worse, has been done by man to man.

Sana Takeda’s art is simply gorgeous.  Too often we see comics and graphic novels in which the cover is stunning but the interior art doesn’t live up to the cover promise.  Not so, here.  This art deco-like, beautiful art is on every age, in every panel.  It is a visual feast of sumptuousness.

I am really hooked, based on this first issue and look forward to issue number two.

Looking for a good (comic) book?  Monstress #1 by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda is gorgeous and terrifying and an absolute page-turner.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Monstress #1

author: Marjorie Liu

artist: Sana Takeda

publisher: Image Comics

ASIN: B016L1SZGC

paperback, 72 pages

After reading the 70 page first issue of Monstress, this 22+ page second issue feels so short.  The story barely gets going when the issue is done.

Issue #1 did an awesome job of grabbing the reader’s attention and introducing a couple of the major players.  Issue #2 now starts to give us a little background on the world in which this is set.  There are humans and there are the Arcanic and they’ve been fighting a war; and there is a wall between the two.  Our protagonist, Maika, is a survivor (barely) of this war and she is on the wrong side of the wall.

Some witches (I think they’re witches) are searching for someone.  A woman identified as “Inquisitrix” finds Maika and the two-tailed cat in the woods.

It’s difficult to really identify with this issue because it’s so much set-up, but author Marjorie Liu has done a remarkable job of keep the reader interested, yet hasn’t given too much away.  There are still more questions than answers and seeking those answers will keep the reader coming back for another issue.

Seeking answers … and the tremendous art.  Once again Sana Takeda is showing us what comics can be. You don’t need to sacrifice quality pictures to move the story along quickly.

I am curious … so curious to see what comes next.

Looking for a good book? Monstress #2 slows down from the pace set in the first issue, but begins establishing the world history and character goals.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Monstress #2

author: Majorie Liu

artist: Sana Takeda

publisher: Image Comics

asin: B018RDD6W0

paperback, 33 pages