Graphic Novel Review: Saints

Saints
Boxers & Saints, Book 2

Author: Gene Luen Yang
Pages: 176
Publisher: First Second
Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Read: September 4-5, 2013
Source: Finished copy from publisher

Description from Goodreads:
China, 1898. An unwanted fourth daughter, Four-Girl isn't even given a proper name by her family. She finds friendship—and a name, Vibiana—in the most unlikely of places: Christianity. But China is a dangerous place for Christians. The Boxer Rebellion is murdering Westerners and Chinese Christians alike. Torn between her nation and her Christian friends, Vibiana will have to decide where her true loyalties lie . . . and whether she is willing to die for her faith.

Boxers & Saints is a groundbreaking graphic novel in two volumes. This innovative format presents two parallel tales about young people caught up on opposite sides of a violent rift. Saints tells Vibiana's story, and the companion volume, Boxers, tells the story of Little Bao, a young man who joins the Boxer Rebellion. American Born Chinese author Gene Luen Yang brings his trademark magical realism to the complexities of the Boxer Rebellion, and lays bare the universal foundations of extremism, rebellion, and faith.

Previous Book in Series:
1: Boxers

First Sentence: "I am my mother's fourth daughter, born on the fourth day of the fourth month and the only one of her children to survive past a year."

Review:

Saints is a companion graphic novel to Boxers, which takes on the opposite perspective: that of a secondary devil. This terminology may not be familiar to you, so allow me to explain. A secondary devil is a Chinese person who has converted to Christianity, thus aligning themselves with the foreign devils. Saints covers the same time period, but has only one moment with the same scene happening, though it does offer further insight into the events of Boxers just the same. Though they're companions, I do think reading them in this order does work slightly better.

In Boxers & Saints, what Yang really digs into are people's motivations. How does an unassuming Chinese boy grow up to kill his countrymen as a Boxer? Why would a young girl convert to Christianity, rather than sticking to the gods of her country? Yang doesn't set out to teach the reader exactly what happened; there aren't any specific dates or anything like that. Instead, he shows the feelings and the ways of thinking that led to the bloody battles and the hatred. Boxers & Saints are nuanced, subtle and thought-provoking.

The main character of Saints made a brief appearance in Boxers, as the girl young Little Bao wanted to marry when he grew up because her face resembled an opera mask. Four-girl, so called because she was the fourth child to the family and believed to be a devil and to represent death, has no true name and is not beloved of her family. She tries to get them to accept her, but all they see is how she falls short. As a child might, she begins to act out for attention, by making a devil face. Her mother, sick of the comments from others about Four-girl's devil face, takes her to a Doctor, who happens to be a Christian, and he convinces her to stop with the devil face.

When Four-girl learns about the foreign devils, she is thrilled and eager to learn about their religion. Though she doesn't necessarily find the Bible compelling, what she gets from Christianity is the acceptance she's always craved. On top of that, they finally give her a name: Vibiana. Though Vibiana does not entirely understand Christianity or what the stakes are, her new religion is so important to her, because these people, these foreign devils, accepted her where her own family would not. That's why she would put her life on the line rather than renounce her faith.

As I mentioned in my Boxers review, the Boxers would put on the guise of Chinese gods, but, in Saints, you can see that there are actual humans fighting the battles. With this technique, Yang makes it clear that the guises of the gods are metaphorical, the boys so convinced of their victory because they have their gods' approval and support.

Similarly, Vibiana has visitations from Joan of Arc and even Jesus. The one from Jesus is fascinating, as he has the same eye marked on his hands that the old man who gave Bao the method to take on the guise of the gods had. I'm not entirely sure what point Yang is making with this, perhaps that all religion comes from the same source? The reason I bring this up at all when I'm not sure myself is to show how complex Boxers & Saints are and how well they will fuel discussions. I could see them being an excellent classroom resource, a fun, easy read that looks at the Boxer Rebellion, war and religion in an entirely different way than a textbook.

I did personally like Saints slightly less than Boxers. This may be because there's a good deal more text in this one, and it does lean a bit towards YOU ARE LEARNING NOW, as Vibiana is instructed in the ways of Christianity.

Boxers & Saints are best read together back to back, so the reader can fully flesh out the commonalities between the two and look at the many nuances. They're fairly light on text and heavy on character motivations.

Rating: 3.5/5

Favorite Quote:

"Joan: 'Shhh! My king receives his crown!'
 Vibiana: 'Ah. So the ugly man gets a fancy new hat.'"

Graphic Novel Review: Boxers

Boxers
Boxers & Saints, Book 1

Author: Gene Luen Yang
Pages: 336
Publisher: First Second
Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Read: September 4, 2013
Source: Finished copy from publisher

Description from Goodreads:
China,1898. Bands of foreign missionaries and soldiers roam the countryside, bullying and robbing Chinese peasants.

Little Bao has had enough. Harnessing the powers of ancient Chinese gods, he recruits an army of Boxers - commoners trained in kung fu who fight to free China from "foreign devils."

Against all odds, this grass-roots rebellion is violently successful. But nothing is simple. Little Bao is fighting for the glory of China, but at what cost? So many are dying, including thousands of "secondary devils" - Chinese citizens who have converted to Christianity.

First Sentence: "Spring is my favorite time of year."

Review:

Back in grad school, I had my first experience with Gene Luen Yang's work when we read his most famous graphic novel thus far, American Born Chinese. Though disparate in subject matter, Boxers does have something in common with his prior work, the magical realism that Yang brings to bear even on historical or contemporary subjects. In Boxers, Gene Luen Yang manages to pack quite a punch with his spare prose and straight forward drawings.

Though I learned about the Boxer Rebellion in college, I'll admit that my memories thereof are limited at best. Based on extensive research (okay, I checked Wikipedia), Yang actually fits in the main historical points without being at all tedious or lecturing. Basically, Yang has perfected the ability to teach without seeming like he's teaching, which is ideal for the intended audience. He conveys the difficult times that led to the rebellion, the drought and the negative impact foreigners were having in China, through the lens of the life of one young boy who grows up to head the rebellion.

Little Bao did not start out as a remarkable boy. He lived in the shadow of his older brothers and had his head in the clouds, fancifully imagining himself the character in an opera. With Little Bao's optimism, to some degree never shed throughout his journey, Yang captures the wholehearted believe the Boxers had that they would be victorious. In no way did they imagine that their gods would let them lose or that foreigners could truly take over China.

Remember how I mentioned the fantasy angle? Well, in Boxers, the beliefs in local gods, the beliefs being challenged by the conversion to Christianity coming with the influx of foreigners, are manifested physically. Yang literally pits the old gods versus the imperialist forces. Through a mystical process, Little Bao and his friends are able to transform themselves into gods of China, and fight with a strength much bigger than their own bodies and kung fu training give them. It's a bit strange, but I think Yang makes it work, and this technique adds a lot of color and vibrancy to the otherwise fairly spare Boxers, highlighting the colorful culture that is being suppressed.

However, Boxers does not preach. Yang, unsurprisingly given the dual nature of this release - Boxers being paired with Saints from the other side of the conflict, presents a balanced view. He makes it quite clear that horrible acts are perpetrated by both sides. If anything, Yang shows how horrible war is. Little Bao, once so innocent and fanciful, does brutal things, as so all of the Boxers. Bao must choose between love and war, and each time he chooses war and China. Boxers is surprisingly dark, intense and bloody, but done in a style that I do not think will overwhelm most readers.

Gene Luen Yang's Boxers confronts subject matter not covered enough in western culture with an even, honest hand. He adds in fantasy to the history, making for a more metaphorical and more visually exciting read. The focus on visual over narrative storytelling will make this a great read for both more reluctant readers and those at a higher reading level.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote: "'For China?! What is China but a people and their stories?'"

Review: Fun Home

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Author: Alison Bechdel
Pages: 232
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Read: May 18, 2013
Source: Friend's library (since mine didn't have it)

Description from Goodreads:
A fresh and brilliantly told memoir from a cult favorite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books.

This breakout book by Alison Bechdel is a darkly funny family tale, pitch-perfectly illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic drawings. Like Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, it's a story exhilaratingly suited to graphic memoir form.

Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian home, a third-generation funeral home director, a high school English teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with his male students and a family babysitter. Through narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and fiercely funny, we are drawn into a daughter's complex yearning for her father. And yet, apart from assigned stints dusting caskets at the family-owned "fun home," as Alison and her brothers call it, the relationship achieves its most intimate expression through the shared code of books. When Alison comes out as homosexual herself in late adolescense, the denouement is swift, graphic -- and redemptive.

First Sentence: "Like many fathers, mine could occasionally be prevailed on for a spot of 'airplane.'"

Review:

Though this may not have been hugely apparent on my blog, overwhelmed as I am by review copies, I dearly love graphic novels and manga. In an effort to try to fit more of those in, my first selection was Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, an autobiography in graphic novel format. Someone on Twitter recommended this to me (Ceilidh of The Book Lantern, perhaps?), and I convinced my friend to ILL it from her library, since my local library charges for those. In Fun Home, Bechdel confronts her sexual journey and her lingering emotions about her father in a lavishly written, darkly humorous comic.

The title Fun Home comes from the fact that her father ran a funeral home, as well as working as a high school teacher. I could not help but be reminded of the show Six Feet Under, which does have some parallels to Bechdel's life experience, certainly in tone and themes, like homosexuality and a truly fucked up family.

Bechdel's identity as a lesbian woman is tied up with her thoughts of her father. She feels that her butch identity developed in contrast to his own sissy-ness; these words are her own and not mine, by the way. Her sexuality and his death will always be linked in her mind too, because of the circumstances of his demise, though the connection seems tenuous at best. This, though, is how the human mind works, implying causality and taking on guilt where none needs to exist, a negative side effect as seeing ourselves as the center of the universe.

Bechdel tells the story of her coming of age in the 1970s with a big emphasis on literary references. She's definitely appealing to a well-read and educated audience. Having not read Proust or Ulysses, there were numerous references I'm sure that I missed out on, and I imagine the constant use of comparison to literary figures would be frustrating for those unfamiliar with the texts mentioned. I really liked this technique, however, the way that Bechdel set herself apart from her own story and analyzed it like fiction. In fact, she even includes snippets from her diary and her father's letters, considering the hidden meaning within them precisely the way she was skeptical of doing with literature in her college English courses.

Bechdel's writing is gorgeous, complex and drenched in meaning. Both the pictures and the words combine to tell the story. Sometimes in graphic novels, the text takes a back seat to the images, but not here. That every word was carefully chosen is obvious. I just loved her writing and had to sit back and chew on some of the sentences, because they were just so beautiful.

Autobiographies and biographies have been one of those forms of writing I've never had much interest in, but Fun Home was fascinating, so I may have been too hasty to dismiss them. My friend who borrowed the book for me said Bechdel also wrote one about her mother, who's a secondary character here, so I'll have to check that out.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote: "Sometimes, when things were going well, I think my father actually enjoyed having a family. Or, at least, the air of authenticity we lent to his exhibit. A sort of still life with children."

Review: Drama

Drama

Author: Raina Telgemeier
Pages: 233
Publisher: Graphix
Source: Library

Description from Goodreads:
PLACES, EVERYONE!

Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon Over Mississippi, she can't really sing. Instead she's the set designer for the drama department stage crew, and this year she's determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn't know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen. And when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier!

Review:

Rarely do I read books spontaneously, outside of my anal-retentive reading schedule. Even though I wasn't supposed to read Drama according to my schedule, I had placed a hold for it at the library after reading April's review of it on Good Books and Good Wine. I picked it up from the library and proceeded to look guiltily at it for the duration of the checkout period. I have to return it in a couple of days, so I decided to just go ahead and take the hour or so to read it. I am so glad that I did, because it was such a cute, sweet graphic novel and made a nice change from the darker reads I'm working through at the moment.

As the title suggests, this graphic novel centers around a middle school theater production. This year, the school play is Moon Over Mississippi, a Civil War musical full of romance and drama. Of course, there's even more drama off-stage than on, which is super accurate for theater productions everywhere, I think. I love how much detail there was into the production of the costumes, the set, the lighting, etc. The characters really got to show off their passions, and the theatrical stuff was obviously important and not just there to serve as a backdrop to the romantic drama.

When the story opens, the heroine, Callie, is walking home from school with Matt, her friend and also the lighting designer, and Greg, his baseball-playing brother. Greg has just been dumped by his girlfriend Bonnie, and Callie, who has had a crush on him for a while, goes for the opportunity. I freaking love that Callie is the kind of girl who goes for what she wants, who will risk embarrassment or rejection. I'm not like that, but I really admire her for it. She's also the kind of girl who will get up on stage and audition (badly) to make a friend feel better. Callie has serious guts.

Unfortunately, things don't turn out quite the way she hoped. Rather than making her his girlfriend the next day, Greg ignores her and, when she confronts him, tells her that he's getting back together with Bonnie. She doesn't have too much time to mope, however, because she has big dreams for her set design and plenty of work to do to achieve them. Also, she meets cute twin brothers, Jesse and Justin, interested in helping out in the theater.

Drama captures the emotional confusion of high school and the limited time span of middle school crushes. When I was that age, like the characters here, I had SO MANY CRUSHES. Seriously, I had like no type at all. That's one thing that rings false in a lot of the YA books that I read: the characters are always so set on one person and in love forever. Let's be honest, most teens have so not made up their mind, attention drifting from one person to another. Callie feels drawn to several different guys, and some of the other characters are also unsure which romantic interest to pursue. On top of that, the story is totally lgbt-friendly, which I love.

If you like theater and cuteness, I definitely recommend Drama. It's such a quick read and it made me smile many times.

Rating: 4/5

Spy - The Seatbelts

The Coldest City

Author: Antony Johnston
Illustrator: Sam Hart
Pages: 172
eGalley Acquired from: Oni Press via NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
November 1989. Communism is collapsing, and soon the Berlin Wall will come down with it. But before that happens there is one last bit of cloak & dagger to attend to. Two weeks ago, an undercover MI6 officer was killed in Berlin. He was carrying information from a source in the East — a list that allegedly contains the name of every espionage agent working in Berlin, on all sides. No list was found on his body. Now Lorraine Broughton, an experienced spy with no pre-existing ties to Berlin, has been sent into this powderkeg of social unrest, counter-espionage, defections gone bad and secret assassinations to bring back the list and save the lives of the British agents whose identities reside on it.

Review:
The history major in me could not pass up this particular graphic novel. Although the Cold War is not one of the time periods I especially gravitate towards, it is definitely a great era for spy drama, which is what The Coldest City is. There's as much drama, backstabbing and mystery as an episode of Alias. Well, maybe not quite that much, or quite that colorful, but still quite dramatic.

All of that drama, though, is told in a very detached style. Most of the story is told in flashbacks as Broughton, the female spy sent to Berlin to see what's going on after the death of an agent, gives her report to her superiors at MI6. The graphic novel really had a noir feeling I thought, which was only exacerbated by the black and white illustrations.

The artwork did not particularly appeal to me, although it did complement the atmosphere of the story. The images are very shadowed and obscured, rather like the truth. I appreciate them for that, but, aesthetically, they're not especially pleasing.

The one thing that I really felt made this graphic novel stand out was, for me personally, a big plus, but could, for another reader, be a serious detractor. Johnston does not just do all of the dialog in English; the language spoken by the character is the language on the page. This is not especially unique. What is unique is that there is rarely any translation offered. If you don't speak that language, it's all up to the context or an online translator for you. Most of the non-English parts were German, which, conveniently enough, is the other language I know, so I was fine and really enjoyed this. Had I not spoken that language, I think I might have been annoyed and frustrated, because the parts in German are not always simple and easy to derive from context.

All in all, I came away feeling rather meh about this one. The story didn't feel quite fleshed out enough for me to really feel wowed. However, I think it could have some definite appeal for fans of spy stories.

Rating: 2.5/5

Hippy, Hippy Shake - The Beatles

Baby's in Black:
Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart Sutcliff and The Beatles

Author: Arne Bellstorf
Pages: 199
ARC Acquired from: First Second via NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
A fascinating, exhilarating portrait of the Beatles in their early years. 

Meet the Beatles . . . right at the beginning of their careers. This gorgeous, high-energy graphic novel is an intimate peek into the early years of the world’s greatest rock band. The heart of Baby’s In Black is a love story. The “fifth Beatle,” Stuart Sutcliffe, falls in love with the beautiful Astrid Kirchherr when she recruits the Beatles for a sensational (and famous) photography session during their time in Hamburg. When the band returns to the UK, Sutcliffe quits, becomes engaged to Kirchherr, and stays in Hamburg. A year later, his meteoric career as a modern artist is cut short when he dies unexpectedly. The book ends as it begins, with Astrid, alone and adrift; but with a note of hope: her life is incomparably richer and more directed thanks to her friendship with the Beatles and her love affair with Sutcliffe. This tender story is rendered in lush, romantic black-and-white artwork. 

Baby’s In Black is based on a true story.

Review:
You can probably tell that I am a huge music fan. Well, what you may not know is that I grew up a child of the 60s/70s so far as musical taste goes. Until sixth grade, I didn't really have a conception of 'modern music,' because I listened to what my parents listened to: oldies CDs and the oldies radio station, which tragically went out of business some time in high school. Although my tastes have diversified, I will always have a soft spot for music of that time period, and some of it will always be a favorite. Primary among my favorite bands, oldies or not, are The Beatles. Thus, upon spying this graphic novel about The Beatles in NetGalley, I just had to have it, and First Second was kind enough to approve me.

The cover is a bit misleading, though. The marketing makes this appear to be more about The Beatles than it actually is. The real story that the graphic novel is telling is that of the romance between Stuart Sutcliffe, bassist for The Beatles during the time when they were playing in Germany, and Astrid Kirchherr, a photographer. Reading real life love stories is always so charming, although they are not as neat and happy as fictional ones.

Now, I know I said that this isn't ABOUT The Beatles, but there is still so much to be learned about their early days in here. As a fan who doesn't research music history much, I found those details fascinating. The Beatles were implicated in a fire in Hamburg! Weird, right? One thing I learned, which I should have known, was that The Beatles smoked constantly. I mean, obviously I knew that, but, in my mind, no one smokes, so that reminded me why I would not want to go back in time and hang with The Beatles.

The one thing that I did not, personally care for was the artwork. It's very crude and simplistic, and just did not jive with me at all. However, I do imagine that Kirchherr would approve. Art is a very personal taste, so you should really take a look for yourself. It's just like what you see on the cover.

I wanted to know more and to test the accuracy, so I consulted my good friend Google and found this awesome article from the Daily Record, which pretty much sums up this period in the history of The Beatles, who thankfully changed their name from The Quarrymen. So cool! Also, I would recommend doing a search for Astrid and The Beatles, because you can see a bunch of pictures of her and pictures she took, which is just amazing.

A graphic novel weighing in at just 200 pages, this is a really easy read. Beatles fans, you should definitely check this out!

Rating: 4/5

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Play Ball

Authors: Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir
Illustrator: Jackie Lewis
Pages: 144
ARC Acquired from: Oni Press via NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
Most girls, when they get to a new school, just want to fit in. But Dashiell Brody isn't like most girls. A natural at softball, Dashiell discovers her new school has a championship level baseball team, and Dashiell wants to play ball. One girl's quest to play the national pastime with the boys will turn her family, her school, and her state upside down. 

Great underdog story featuring strong female leads. According to Little League baseball statistics, approximately 100,000 girls are currently playing in their organization. Excellent for summer reading lists through libraries and schools.

Review:
This is my third experience with the graphic novel-writing team of DeFilippis and Weir. Previously, I read some Amazing Agent Luna and the first volume of The Avalon Chronicles. Although Play Ball was pretty cute, it's definitely my least favorite of the bunch.

The story was definitely sweet, and I appreciate the feminist element. Speaking of which, this really did always bother me. Why do girls play softball and boys baseball? The heck is that about? Girls can't hit a smaller ball? I believe this to be false. The genders should play the same sports. I really don't see why there should be a sport just for boys or just for girls unless anatomy comes into it, which...gross. I'm even bothered by the fact that women and men mostly do different gymnastics stuff, not that I feel like any woman should resent not having to do the rings except on principle. Also the pommel horse one. Those are stupid.

I feel like I've lost track of what I was talking about. Um, to sum up that meandering rant, girls are awesome and they should be allowed to play any sport they damn well please! The plot line may sound vaguely familiar to anyone who saw A League of Their Own, which is also about women playing baseball, although not a high school girl on a boy's team. Take that movie and add a soupcon of She's the Man. You've pretty much got Play Ball.

That's the real issue I had with this. It doesn't do anything new or innovative. From the opening chapters, I knew EXACTLY what was going to happen. And I was right about every bit of it. I do want to offer props though for the fact that Dashiell (who is awesome for wanting to go by a unique name) has a male best friend, with whom she didn't have to have any sexual tension. So glad when pop culture doesn't subscribe to the When Harry Met Sally mentality, even though I love that movie.

Wow, I am really easily distracted today, huh? Oh, what's that over there? A puppy? *runs after puppy* Book review. Right. I should wrap this up before I find myself discussing my policies on the space program or something.

The art for Play Ball also really didn't work for me. When reading something graphic, the art is often a clincher on my enjoyment level, because, well, it's kind of the point. It's not terrible, and might appeal to some, but I preferred the look of The Avalon Chronicles myself.

Play Ball is a sweet, fun, fast read that I recommend to people who feel like a quick dose of girl power.

Rating: 3/5

The Bad Beginning - Thomas Newman (from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events)

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things
Courtney Crumrin, Volume 1

Author: Ted Naifeh
Pages: 128
Publisher: Oni Press via NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
Presenting the initial Courtney Crumrin miniseries in a new digest-sized format. Courtney's parents have dragged her out to a high-to-do suburb to live with her creepy Great Uncle Aloysius in his spooky old house. She's not only the new kid in school, but she also discovers strange things lurking under her bed.

First Sentence: "'Careful now.'"

Review:
The Courtney Crumrin series reminds me a lot of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Of course, Courtney's an only child and her parents are still alive, only they're completely useless, which is why they move in with the creepy as hell old uncle. Another difference, too, is that the uncle, so far at least, does not really appear to be evil. Everyone else in the series sure does though. Oh yeah, and there are monsters, but some of them are nice.

You may be thinking 'hey! that really doesn't sound too much like the Lemony Snicket books,' which would be somewhat justified based on that description. However, there's something about the tone and even the illustrations that called it to mind constantly. From the creepy tower Uncle Aloysius lives in to the dark humor, I would definitely recommend this to fans of that series.

While I was definitely entertained by the story, I wasn't a fan of the artwork. Well, I mean, the buildings and stuff were fine, but the people. They just were not working for me. They all look like something out of a dream, perhaps one inspired by The Scream. Here's a sample image, just so you know what's I'm talking about.

Here's what bothers me about this. Let's start with Courtney, the girl in the middle, who's probably the most normal looking character in the series.  She actually doesn't inspire nightmares and is, in some scenes, almost cute looking, in a moppet sort of way. However, she doesn't have a nose, not just in this picture, but in any of them. Where did it go? Then on the left, you have a boy (I can only tell the gender by the uniform), we have a guy with empty, soulless eyes. Many of the characters have eyes like that, like she attends a school of zombies or brainwashed kids. On the right is a guy, who is supposed to be Mr. Hottie-Face, and he does somewhat resemble Spike from Buffy, but he also looks like an alien or a snake. I mean, his ears...they are pointy, even more so in some other images. I expect that if he opened his mouth, he would have sharp teeth with which he will chomp on your soul, which is probably what happened to the kid on the left.

All of that said, the art totally fits the story, since it does have a vague nightmarish quality to it, and real monsters do abound. However, it just seems odd that the monsters are so much less intimidating than the humans, which may in fact be the point. Actually, that's a message I can get behind, since so many people suck.

This was fun in a very creepy way. This appeals to the kind of people amused by children getting eaten or babies being replaced with a changeling. If you like Neil Gaiman's work for children, especially Coraline, you may want to give Courtney Crumrin a try. I think I'll be checking out volume two. Who knows, we might even find out what monster took Courtney's nose!

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote: "Courtney didn't like babies at the best of times. As far as she was concerned, anything that existed solely to emit drool, vomit, ghastly odors and loud, annoying screams was more trouble than it was worth."

Little Red Bird - Dave Matthews Band

Ichiro

Author: Ryan Inzana
Pages: 282
ARC Acquired from: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
Ichiro lives in New York City with his Japanese mother. His father, an American soldier, was killed in Iraq. Now, Ichi’s mom has decided they should move back to Japan to live with Ichi’s grandfather.

Grandfather becomes Ichi’s tour guide, taking him to temples as well as the Hiroshima Peace Park, where Ichi starts to question the nature of war. After a supernatural encounter with the gods and creatures of Japanese mythology, Ichi must face his fears if he is to get back home. In doing so, he learns about the nature of man, of gods, and of war. He also learns there are no easy answers—for gods or men.

Review:
Ichiro opens with an old Japanese legend about a tanuki, a raccoon that can shapeshift and often takes the form of a teapot. The tanuki forms the frame story for Ichiro, and it is also amusing and magical.

What Ichiro is really about is Ichiro, a young boy who idolizes his father. He wears his dads old sunglasses and constantly reads an old military book of his dad's that he found. Because he misses his dad, who he barely remembers, he romanticizes war and is bored by most everything else. He gets sucked into the realm of the gods, because of that tricky tanuki and gets a lesson in war and humanity.

The drawings are really cool, although I wish I had been able to read a finished version, since the digital galleys just don't quite have the quality of a printed graphic novel. The best part of the artwork was definitely the color. Inzana clearly has a flair for it; I love the contrasts between scenes in shades of grey, scenes with just one color popping brightly and scenes just bursting with color.

Rating: 3/5

"Guns and gods and little red birds
A comfort to count the battles won after the war is lost"

Existentialism on Prom Night - Straylight Run

Tina's Mouth

Author: Keshni Kashyap
Illustrator: Mari Araki
Pages: 250
ARC Acquired from: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
For her course on existentialist philosophy in her sophomore year of high school (she goes to the fanciest of schools), Tina is writing a diary to Jean-Jacques Rousseau about her thoughts regarding existentialism and trying to discover herself. Accompanying, the entries are her illustrations.

Review:
First of all, I feel the need to emphasize how much I wish I could have gone to a high school with classes specifically on existentialism and Russian literature. I went to a good high school, but not that good. Also, I am super envious of her project being to write a journal that the teacher has promised not to open and read. He must, though, right? Otherwise, I bet about half of the students who had chosen that project wrote nothing.

Anyway, I loved this. Tina was a really believable heroine, suffering through such angsty teen problems as friend breakups, boy drama and family crises. The bits on friendship were really hard-hitting and realistic, as I should know having had many such issues of my own.

Another main theme of the book is diversity and not making assumptions based on race. For example, Tina is Indian. Everyone keeps asking her stupid questions about things, particularly religion. Her crush throughout the book is even laboring under the delusion that she is a Buddhist (she's not; she's a atheist).

What really made this book pop, though, were the illustrations. I just loved them. They really do make the journal look like something a teen (a much more artistic one than I ever was or could have hoped to have been) would make. So much of her personality shines through the illustrations. I bet they look stellar in the actual book (as opposed to the e-galley).

Even though the story does not actually involve prom or prom night, I couldn't pass up the only song currently in my music library about existentialism. There may not be singing in the book, but, hey, you sing with a mouth right?

Rating: 3.5/5

"Sing me something soft,
Sad and delicate,
Or loud and out of key,
Sing me anything,
We're glad for what we've got,
Done with what we've lost
Our whole lives laid out right in front of us"

Firestarter - Jimmy Eat World

Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Promise, Part 1

Author: Gene Luen Yang
Illustrator: Gurihiru
Pages: 76
ARC Acquired from: Dark Horse Books via NetGalley

For those who don't know, there's going to be another Avatar television, featuring Aang's granddaughter, the new avatar. This is the first in a series of graphic novels that will connect (in some fashion...I'm not sure whether the whole span of time will be covered or not) the old show with the new one.

This volume focuses on Zuko in his new role as leader of the fire kingdom. He fears that one day he will become like his father, a terrifying despot bent on world domination, so he forces Aang to promise to kill him, should that be the case. Will this be necessary? Will Aang have the stones to follow through if it is?

The first 15 pages of the story summarize the plot of the show (3 seasons in 15 pages...right), mostly by using the intro of the show. Much is made of Aang and Katara as a couple, but I still don't buy it. Like Sokka, the whole thing gives me the oogies. Zukatara all the way!

The rest of the tale talks about the first issue to come up in world politics after the change in power: the Fire Kingdom colonies in the Earth Kingdom. The people of the Earth Kingdom want them gone, but some of them do not want to go, because they have lived there for over a century. Can this be sorted out without war?

So far, I'm definitely digging getting more Avatar. However, I have to say that I think the fact that the volume consists of only 80 pages is seriously lame. More next time, guys!

"I'm a twisted firestarter"

Reading Rainbow Theme Song - Tina Fabrique

The Avalon Chronicles, Volume 1:
Once in a Blue Moon

Authors: Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir
Illustrator: Emma Vieceli
Pages:
ARC Acquired from: Oni Press via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Every night, Aeslin Finn's parents read to her from a story about a magical land called Avalon. They told her tales of the lovely lady Dragon Knight and her love, the prince of the land, and how together they battled against the evil warlord Khrom. After her father died, in rather mysterious circumstances, her mother refused to let her read any more of this series. Then one day while walking home from school, Aeslin and her best friend spot a weird little shop that has never been there before. They enter and Aeslin finds the sequel to the book her parents read her as a child. At home, she opens it, begins to read and disappears into its pages. Avalon is much more real than she ever knew.

Review:
If you've been following along with my blog, you probably already know that I am a huge sucker for books about books, so I loved this right from the beginning. Thank you, authors, for taking Aeslin away from a life of drooling over the vain popular jock and giving her a life of being a badass dragon rider. Well, hopefully, she will be in later volumes, as she's not yet; that, too, is good, though, since it would be weird if she progressed too fast.

The story thus far is very predictable, but I loved it anyway. There's some serious woman power going on in this series, plus magic, dragons, battles and books. For some future drama, I anticipate a possible relationship betwixt Aeslin and a soldier for Khrom. He's so hot that I would support such a terrible idea. Speaking of which, I really liked the illustrations.

One cool feature in here is that you travel from world to world through books. Just as Aeslin read the book about Avalon to travel there, she has to read a book about her life on Earth to travel back to her regular life. I loved this, because it creates a fun duality, wherein both are equally real or one is only a story in a book, only which?

If you enjoy fun, adventure graphic novels, this is definitely a good read. I look forward to reading more of the series. Also, this is my second positive experience with DeFillipis & Weir (I read a couple volumes of Amazing Agent Luna a few years ago), so you may want to keep an eye out for them.

"Butterfly in the sky
I can go twice as high
Take a look
It's in a book"

Zen Brain - Nada Surf

Brain Boy Archives

Author: Herb Castle
Illustrators: Gil Kane, Frank Springer
Pages: 182
ARC Acquired from: Dark Horse via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Brain Boy is the code name for a young man imbued with special brain power, thanks to the car accident that killed his father and sent electricity through his pregnant mother. Recruited by a secret government agency, which masquerades as an organization for anthropologists, Brain Boy faces down a number of serious threats to the safety of mankind during the comics' six issues.

Review:
The comic was published during 1962 and the artwork is reminiscent of that of the original Superman comics (Gil Kane). This should give comic book readers some idea of what to expect from Brain Boy Archives. Of course, some things one never expects, like aliens that vaguely resemble gooey green cats trying to take over the world via the water supply. If someone tells you to swim in the lake, don't do it.

Brain Boy's mind powers permit him to do some cool things, like communicate telepathically with other telepaths, read minds, get people to do his bidding and even fly. His flight rather resembles that of a Dalek, creepily enough. For the most part, I found the Brain Boy comics pretty silly and not necessarily in a good way. His adventures include the aforementioned alien attack, taking on an evil dictator and battling a telepathic t-rex. For reals.

The most interesting thing about Brain Boy was the historical time period in which it was written and how that impacted the plot line. Unlike a lot of contemporary comics, the Cold War is neither the main plot line, nor is it ignored entirely. Instead, Castle created another country, Xochtan, which is ruled by the aforementioned evil dictator. Xochtan aims to take over the world via nefarious means, such as tricking the US and the Soviets into turning the Cold War hot. Given that the Xochtanese (?) are clearly of South American descent, I wonder if this is intended to be a comment on Castro's Cuba.

If you enjoy reading old comics, you will be thrilled to check out this brief run for a strange hero, even if it is pretty evident why the series did not last longer. Of course, the $50 price tag may make this a bit less tempting, or just encourage library usage!

"Super brain
Never scared of nothing"

New Soul - Yael Naïm

Lily Renée, Escape Artist

Author: Trina Robbins
Illustrators: Anne Simmons & Mo Oh
Pages: 78 (for the story itself)
ARC Acquired from: Graphic Universe via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Lily Renée grew up in Austria. Her childhood was a pleasant one until Hitler came to power, spreading his control into neighboring Austria. With that came the persecution of the Jews, including Lily and her family. She managed to escape as part of the Kindertransport in 1939. Eventually, she obtained a career in the comics industry.

Review:
One of my favorite historical time periods to read about and study is that of World War II. I also adore graphic novels, so when I saw this one I could not resist. This isn't one about plot or surprising the reader; the publisher's description, like mine, reveals the beginning, middle and end of her story. That's not really what it's about; instead, the focus is on the quality of life she experienced and the success she managed to acquire despite her many hardships.

The art in the novel is beautiful and feminine, looking a lot like a clothing catalog, the kind Lily herself posed for and drew for during her young adulthood. This style fits very well with the story, and gives it an upbeat feel that goes along with the overall message.

This tale touches on the Holocaust, but is not one to read if you want to find out about the many atrocities of that time period. It's just one Jewish woman's story, and she happens to have been, all things considered, very lucky, given what could have happened to her. I like the story for its viewpoint and because I learned about the Kindertransport.

I would definitely recommend this as a good entry into studies of World War II and the Holocaust for children, as it is not at all graphic and gives a basic overview of the timeline, explaining some basic vocabulary. The additional materials following the story itself would also be excellent for such a purpose.

"I'm a young soul in this very strange world
Hoping I could learn a bit bout what is true and fake.
But why all this hate?"

Who Are You - The Who

Green River Killer:
A True Detective Story

Author: Jeff Jensen
Illustrator: Jonathan Case
Pages: 234
ARC Acquired from: Dark Horse via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Detective Tom Jensen has been working the Green River case since early in his career, for almost twenty years. Finally, it seems they may have caught the man who killed 40+ prostitutes in the Seattle area. Unfortunately, this man, Gary, seems unable to recall any details to prove that his confession is true. Have they caught the serial killer or is he still out there?

Review:
Jeff Jensen, the author of this graphic novel, is the son of the detective. He wrote the story as a means of honoring and understanding his father's quest to catch this murderer. The story is, in some ways, like reading an episode of CSI, or perhaps Cold Case. However, those shows generally add really dramatic scenes for, well, dramatic effect. Except for the prologue, however, the scenes in this graphic novel are really understated, more thought provoking and mental than filled with action. The artwork works perfectly with the overall tone of the story.

Green River Killer made for an interesting read, but I, rather like Tom Jensen, am not completely satisfied with the resolution of the murder investigation. There are questions left unanswered that I would be really curious to discover the answers to. Of course, that's life.

"Well, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
I really wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
'Cause I really wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)"

Everyone's a Hero - Nathan Fillion

The Last Dragon

Author: Jane Yolen
Illustrator: Rebecca Guay
Pages: 141
ARC Acquired from: Dark Horse Books via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Two hundred years since all the dragons in Britain were killed, one lone egg that somehow survived hatches. The dragon grows up and begins terrorizing a small town. Desperate, the town sends for a hero, but all they get is a boasting storyteller with big, but untried, muscles. To have any chance of not becoming a tasty dragon morsel, the hero will have to team up with the daughters of the first human victim.

Review:
The Last Dragon is really short, which is good on some levels, but also unfortunate, because I feel like this could have been a really awesome story in novel format or in a longer graphic novel. There really just are not enough pages to establish character or even do justice to the overall plot. Still, the art is beautiful and I enjoyed some of the elements of this tale.

For example, I really like Tansy. She's smart and unique, and, while she needs a hero, she only needs his aid not a whole rescue. I also thought it was so cool how she looked different all the time, depending on her surroundings. She's a human chameleon! How crazy cool is that? I really loved not just this concept, but seeing how the artist managed to depict that in every scene.

To reiterate, this is a lovely graphic novel to flip through, but not long enough to have quite enough substance to be a highlight in my reading history.

"Everyone’s a hero in their own way
In their own not-that-heroic way"

Reavers Chase Serenity - Greg Edmonson

Cowboys & Aliens

Authors: Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Fred Van Lente & Andrew Foley
Illustrators: Dennis Calero & Luciano Lima
Pages: 112
Publisher: It Books

Because of the blockbuster movie (which I want to see but haven't), I was very curious to try this graphic novel when I saw it show up on the list of recent arrivals at my library. I had pretty high hopes for it, because the idea of aliens and cowboys makes me think of space cowboys which makes me think of Firefly which rocks hardcore. The graphic novel is okay, but definitely not of anywhere near Firefly quality.

I am curious to see the movie at some point to see what they did with it, because, as is, it's not exactly two hours with of entertainment and has very little dialogue. I imagine they'll go more into character back stories, as there is none of that here.

Cowboys & Aliens has cool art and an even better crazy alternative history. The story is set, for those who don't know, during the manifest destiny days of the United States, wherein cowboys were busy depriving Indians of their homeland. This makes an awesome backdrop for an attempted alien takeover, because of the obvious parallels between the two situations. I applaud this historical comparison.

Mostly, the graphic novel consists of images of battle and frontier ingenuity in trying to defeat the aliens, which is okay, but not super awesome. Overall, I found this to be a very quick, fairly entertaining read with some highlights. Like the ending, which was hilarious.

When Water Comes to Life - Cloud Cult

Avatar: The Last Airbender:
The Lost Adventures

Authors: Aaron Ehasz, Josh Hamilton, Tim Hedrick, Dave Roman, J. Torres
ARC Acquired from: Dark Horse Books via NetGalley

For those of you not familiar with Avatar, you probably should be. It's super cute and deeper than you might expect on first glance. It took a few episodes to grow on me, but, by the end, I was pretty much in love with it, even if my ship didn't turn out (still a little bitter!).

Anyway, The Lost Adventures is, as you may have guessed, little episodes that happen between the episodes or scenes of the show. They span all three seasons, and, as with any collection of stories, some are better than others. For the most part, I give this a big thumbs up. These little vignettes definitely retain the atmosphere of the show, giving the impression that at least some were probably cut from the show for time and are now being given to the fans (just in time to amp up interest for the reboot).

My only complaint is about the two sections which really do not seem to belong in this anthology. Two of the stories are totally amateur hour; the art is awful and the stories unremarkable. When you can make the characters look realistic, why wouldn't you do so? The last story had silly art, but it made sense in context; these other two were trying to be serious and good, but failed utterly.

Avatar fans should definitely give this a looksee, if they want more cute. Now, I really want to watch Avatar (although I won't because I'm working on Party Down and M*A*S*H) and am totally stoked for the reboot!

The Thing That Should Not Be - Metallica

Baltimore, Volume 1:
The Plague Ships

Authors: Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden
Illustrator: Ben Stenbeck
Pages: 130
ARC Acquired From: Dark Horse Books via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
During World War I, a plague struck Europe, effectively ending the war and life as it was previous known. This plague turned ordinary people into man-eating monsters. Regular humans are struggling to survive in this terrifying changed landscape. One man, one-legged Lord Baltimore travels the world killing these demons and searching for one in particular, the scarred one, who he owes an especially painful death.

Review:
The story of Lord Baltimore follows a similar line as that of many antiheroes. He must always be alone and cannot enjoy even a moment's peace. He is haunted and driven by the need for revenge. Without that, he would likely have given up, what with having only one leg and all. Speaking of the one leg, am I the only one who really does not think the device he rigged up would work? This guy needs to step into the Fullmetal Alchemist world and get Winry to make him up a nice leg.

The vampire horde/plague is definitely attempting to capitalize off of the vampire craze, which, I suppose, is understandable. In some ways, he has returned to some parts of the mythology that have been largely abandoned, such as vampires turning into bats, although in this case they totally resembled something more like a werebat than an actual bat. The weirdest thing, though, was the explanation for how the plague began, which seems really improbably to me. Apparently, a vampire bleeding will convert anyone who's dead/dying on the same field to vampirism.

The part that interested me the most, the historical setting for all of this stuff, really did not come into play too much, other than to serve as a breeding ground for said plague. Hopefully, later volumes make use of the time period more. Honestly though, I do now expect that I shall be continuing with this series. It wasn't for me, but I know some people will dig it. For folks who love some serious, grisly action in their comics and antiheroes, definitely give this a go.

"Out from ruins once possessed
Fallen city, living death

Fearless Wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Timeless sleep
Has been upset
He awakens
Hunter of the Shadows is rising

Immortal
In madness you dwell

Not dead which eternal lie
Stranger eons Death may die
Drain you of your sanity
Face The Thing That Should Not Be"

Standing from Once More, with Feeling

Buffy Season 8, Volume 6:
Retreat

Author: Jane Espenson
Illustrator: Georges Jeanty
Acquired From: Dark Horse Books via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
It's time for a showdown with Twilight, although likely not the last one, given that two volumes remain. Twilight has been tracking the slayers' every move, no matter what precautions they put in place. They finally figure out how: their magic. So, off they venture to Oz in Tibet where they learn how to get rid of their magic, but hopes of living a normal life may just be dashed when the bad guys, armed with lots o' stuff find them.

Review:
First of all, let me just say something I've been meaning to since the first volume, but have perpetually forgotten to. I love that the opposing force is called Twilight. I like to imagine that they underneath the suit, the mystery man is a sparkly vampire. I know he's not, but it makes me giggle to think that this is some sort of commentary on the vampire legend of Meyer.

On to more pertinent and analytical comments. This volume is pretty intense. There's a lot of battling, a lot of tension and some bad choices made. Getting rid of their powers seems pretty stupid to me. I see why they're doing it, but what do they really think will happen next? I mean, okay, the slayers are normal girls again and can't be tracked, if they were to get luckier than they did. Then what? There are all of these extra demons running around, there to balance out the slayers. Do they just get to eat everyone?

Slayers with guns as a regular army, kinda funny, but definitely makes me glad that's not what the story was. I mean, there goes the whole point. Ah well. This volume makes me suspect Whedon's trying to tie the series up after the end of the last volume.

To conclude, some questions and frustrations: What happened to Oz? Why's he weird now? Ack, baby! What are you thinking, Xander? I know you only have one eye, but this is a bad idea. Bad Xander.

"You're not ready
For the world outside
You keep pretending,
But you just can't hide"