Good Graphic Novel Reviews

Girl Genius

2011-08-23T21:52:00.001+12:00

Written by Kaja and Phil Foglio, drawn by Phil Foglio and coloured by Cheyenne Wright.

Girl Genius Volume 6
Agatha Heterodyne And The Golden Trilobite

Rating: Young adult upwards. Would let children read, they just might not understand it.
Genre / themes: Mad science, alternate histories (Europe, Queen Victoria mentioned), steampunk and politics.
Art level: Colour, consistently good art if you like the style.
Number of Books: Ongoing series, unfinished. Currently nine published books.
Other notes: Husband and wife team. Webcomic.

A long-running and entertaining webcomic, the story of young Agatha Heterodyne's journey to rescue herself, discover who she really is, and take over the known world (mostly by accident so far), while making loyal friends, engaging in hilarious exchanges, becoming the minion of a cat and finding minions of her own and of course, constantly inventing various mechanisms of Mad Science, is one of the most popular webcomics online. The black and white first book has finally been republished with a better quality publisher and I can now happily send people to buy the series!

Agatha Heterodyne is a student at Transylvania Polygnostic University in Beetlesburg when she gets caught up in her professor's attempt to control hivers (slave wasp-type creatures, a weapon left over from wars with the Other). Her pent-up sparkiness causes her to create a clank in her sleep and she gets swept up in a case of mistaken identity, by the terrifying and mostly all powerful Baron Wulfenbach. After escaping from his airship, she is adopted by a circus, has many adventures and starts uncovering her true identity. All around her, politics and power games erupt and continue, and mad science bursts out of every cranny! Matters only get funnier when she meets the Jagermonsters - who swear loyalty to her as a Heterodyne heir.

A very practical, stubborn heroine with a lot of pent-up Sparkiness (i.e. Mad Science), Agatha is an entertaining protagonist who wins friends and hearts as she goes. The Foglios, a husband and wife team, also publish less... family friendly works, such as the XXXenophile comics and this shows in the style of the female characters - but it's a family friendly comic, very colourful and unique.

Award winning

Girl Genius has now won a Hugo Award. for the third year running. Runners up were the previously reviewed Fables and Schlock Mercenary.

Volume 10, Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse won Best Graphic Story in 2011, following in the footsteps of Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm and Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones.

Buying the books
The first edition of Girl Genius has finally been republished in colour as Girl Genius, Vol. 1: Agatha Heterodyne and The Beetleburg Clank - and more importantly, with a better printer! The last version (titled Girl Genius: Omnibus Edition #1) fell apart at the binding after a single reading, and as it was my father's christmas present I wasn't too happy about that... It was also a tiny a5 book, which was very hard to read considering how small the black and white illustrations were. The first part of Girl Genius was drawn in black and white, and then the colour part at the end was printed in greyscale, of all things! Be very careful buying second-hand books, if you're getting the first volume!

However, the second book onwards (and now the new first book) were much higher quality hardbacks, twice the size (although thinner obviously) and in lovely colour.

Digger

2011-06-03T18:55:00.008+12:00

A story of wombats and gods

By Ursula Vernon

Digger, Vol. 1 by Ursula Vernon

Rating: Young adult-adult

Genre / themes: Gods, demons, wombats, saving the world. Culture clash. Anthromorphic animals.

Art level: Very good. Black and white.

Star Rating: 5/5

Number of Books: Three so far, still ongoing.

Other notes: Webcomic, but moves too slowly page by page to follow as it updates. Artist creates fascinating art and has also published children's books. Definitely a series that Pratchett lovers will enjoy (the author is a fan and it shows).

My Review
Ursula Vernon is an artist who takes the unusual out the other site - her quirky illustrations (such as the 'lolwut' biting pear of Salamanca) are famous on the internet. Digger is her Discworld-esque, thoughtful, dark webcomic about a wombat who ends up roped into a quest to destroy a living god, and is very practical about it.

Much, much better in book format, as its pages move too slowly for a webcomic, this book is entirely black and white inside.

Three books published so far...

Elfquest

2011-05-26T18:39:00.002+12:00

The classic fantasy graphic novel! Complete with elves.

By Wendy and Richard Pini

Rating: Young adult-adult

Genre / themes: fantasy, alternate earth, space travel, elves, nature, questing

Art level: Good, western, fairly pretty. Older books in black and white, newer editions in colour.

Star Rating: 4/5

Number of Books: Four 'complete' archive books, but a LOT of smaller books. Has been republished in various forms and series.

Other notes: Self-published originally. Husband and wife team. 'The' classic fantasy comics for many years.

My Review
The elves of Elfquest originally landed on the World of Two Moons (not exactly earth, but close) from space, and over the years were gradually pushed into the corners by the emerging humans, and became more specialised and smaller. They began as the etheral and slender High Elves, but when the books begin, they have become the dark-skinned sunfolk, the swarthier wolf riders (the main focus of the story), and other varieties. After being driven from their forest home, the Wolfriders leave in search of a new home, the original High Ones and the crystal palace they landed on earth in - discovering their heritage, making new allies (and lovers) and surviving the deadly Winnowill, trolls, weather, fire, treachery and humans along the way!

The Elfquest books are classics that have only gained in popularity in the 25 years since theywere first self-published - the story of Cutter and Leetah, the mysterious High Elves and the rough and ready wolf riders is both fantasy, fun and tragedy, wrapped up in some very pretty artwork. I really enjoy these books, and most people have heard of them by now!

Much like the Sandman series, Elfquest has been republished in individual graphic novels, volume compilations, and finally, larger definitive 'Archive' versions. Some are full colour and some are not, so check the descriptions!

The Elfquest Archives Compilations

The Sandman

2011-05-19T18:10:00.001+12:00

An epic, surreal, slightly macabre, beautiful and thought-provoking series

by Neil Gaiman (and assorted artists)

Rating: Adult

Genre / themes: gods, mythology, alternate reality, psychology,

Art level: Variable. Distinctive characters, but a lot of people don't like the art. Very dark tones for most books, even though they are usually in colour.

Star Rating: 4.5/5

Number of Books: Was released in single comics, then twelve collected graphic novels. Four huge ultimate editions available, and a smaller Death one.

Other notes: Neil Gaiman is one of the Gods of writing :D

My Review
Gaiman's Sandman series was a long-running comic which opens up a clever, dark, often satirical world that is full of short stories of sad or ordinary or miraculous people, and is connected by the great deeds and brief appearances of the Endless - Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, Destruction, Destiny and Delirium.

Sometimes the stories are tragic, or horrible, they focus on people's lives as they live and die, write books, touch magic, have sex, retreat from society. Sometimes the stories are utterly mundane, sometimes the characters save the world. Sometimes they're metaphorical - the famous writer who keeps a muse trapped in the attic, the woman who suffers a debilitating disease and retreats from society (but is actually turned into metamorphic warrior by the sungod Ra).

...and I just found this awfully fun dissertation on DeviantART looking at The Kindly Ones in the Sandman books.

The Sandman series is HUGE - the complete comics collection was recently released as the Absolute Sandman books - four enormous volumes bigger than my cat, and another for Death's miniseries. But it's also available in twelve 'normal' sized graphic novels, and a 'collected dustcovers' book. It was originally published - for years - in single comics, which can still be found on eBay.

The Absolute Sandman editions

Order the Sandman books from The Book Depository and get FREE shipping!

The Absolute Death volume is high quality and focuses only on Death herself - but it's also pretty short. It's only worth it if you can afford it, as there isn't enough exclusive content to make it worth buying for that alone. That said, the format is very nice, so if you can afford it, it's better quality than other options.

(Also, the price has dropped a lot on Amazon - it started out at $100!)

V For Vendetta

2011-05-12T16:51:00.005+12:00

A clever and dark futuristic England, and the downfall of its dictatorial political regime

by Alan Moore

Rating: Adult

Genre / themes: Politics, freedom, terrorism, Guy Fawkes, Future England.

Art level: Basic, gets the job done. All black and white and quite small.

Star Rating: 4/5

Number of Books: One.

Other notes: Very thick book, a lot of writing and talking. 'Classic' of graphic novels. The recent film starring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman was based of this book. Alan Moore also wrote Watchmen

My Review
Another book by Alan Moore, V For Vendetta was recently made into a fantastic film featuring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman. Futuristic England is in the grip of fear and dictatorship, and V is the mysterious terrorist who decides to bring back the memory of Guy Fawkes and free England. A very good book, and again, like Watchmen, not for kids.

A thick book, with small black and white illustrations and a lot of text, this is a very interesting book to read and well deserves to be ranked up with classic novels (I'd put it well above The Great Gatsby for example!)

This isn't light reading, but it's one you'll go back to.

The film of the book

V for Vendetta (Widescreen Edition)

The recent movie, starring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman, is one of my favourite films. It neatens up the storyline (of course) but is still very effective - dramatic, with sword fights and bullets, classical music and explosions, mysterious masks, government cover-ups, medical testing, plagues, people being 'disappeared', the Voice of London, murders, and imprisonment. And roses.

Three of my favourite parts include the explosions to music, the story of the woman who was questioned and executed for loving another woman, that Evey found (...for three years I had roses and apologised to no one) and of course V's entire speech from his very vivacious and veritably versatile first appearance:

V: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villian by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. (he carves a "V" into a sign) The only verdict is vengence; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. (giggles) Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

Evey: Are you like a crazy person?

V: I'm quite sure they will say so.

Gunnerkrigg Court

2011-05-05T16:39:00.003+12:00

Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 1: Orientation

The greatest webcomic ever published. I recommend this to everyone!

by Tom Siddell

Rating: Any age. Technically young adult, but I really would give this to almost anyone.

Genre / themes: magic, science, boarding school, orphans, spiritual and mythological themes

Art level: Very high, improves dramatically over time and went from 'good' to amazing. Unique, both manga and western. Books in colour.

Star Rating: 5/5

Number of Books: Two published so far, ongoing series. Book number three, Reason, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Other notes: webcomic, won several awards, and I wrote a complete lens about it. Books are hardbacks and very high quality printing.

My Review
Gunnerkrigg Court is the book I would give to almost anyone. The story of self-possessed Antimony Carver, who arrives at the mysterious school of Gunnerkrigg Court after her mother dies, you could tentatively compare it to Harry Potter (and fans of Harry Potter books would definitely enjoy it). But Gunnerkrigg Court is unique, and mysterious, and keeps you guessing constantly without ever frustrating you entirely.

Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 2: Research

It was also the winner of a bunch of webcomic awards in 2008 and 2009, and was listed as one of the 2010 Top Ten Graphic Novels for Teens by the ALA.

While I'd happily give it to children, it's definitely intelligent and complicated enough to be an story for adults. And the art is beautiful - it starts off good, then evolves to mindblowing. The book is also very high quality - a small, heavy hardback in full colour. This is one of the books that I buy, and will buy, automatically as each book is released.

There are two books out so far, and I own both of them.
The second book came out at the start of 2010, and was titled 'Research'. It was even better than the first book - Tom Siddell's art started off good, and becomes incredible. I've already read everything online so far, but I'm still definitely buying the third book when it comes out - this is a story that is worth re-reading in physical form.

Fables

2011-04-28T16:10:00.007+12:00

A new fantasy series about fairytale characters, and their refugee community in the real world

by Bill Willingham and various artists

(principal artist Mark Buckingham)

Fables Vol. 4:
March of the Wooden Soldiers

Rating: Young adult to adult.

Genre / themes: Alternate fairy tales, alternate universes, refugees, urban fantasy, modern world.

Art level: Good, coloured, western.

Star Rating: 4/5

Number of Books: Currently 14, nearly completed (I haven't been able to read the last couple of books yet).
Also a spin-off series of nine books called 'Jack of the Fables'

and a single spin-off title, Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love

Other notes: Variable books quality and length, but gets into its stride later in the series. Worth reading as an entire series.

The Fables books are a very new graphic novel series, and definitely worth picking up. The books are extremely variable in both length and quality - but skipping any isn't the best idea, as there is an actual narrative storyline! The first book is probably the least impressive, but later ones definitely make up for it! (I wouldn't recommend the first book alone, but I strongly recommend the entire series)

Fables is the story of the Fables - story book characters, fairy tales and myths - Snow White, Baba Yaga, Bigsby (the Big Bad Wolf), Prince Charming, Shere Khan, Bluebeard, Geppetto and Pinochio, the major King Coal, and the frog prince, to name but a few. They are refugees, fleeing a terrible army, who have established a city in the real world and are trying to get by without being noticed.

Fabletown is initially run by the affable and portly major, King Coal, and his ruthless secretary, Snow White. Bigsby, oncet he Big Bad Wolf, and the son of the North Wind, plays the sheriff, and the rest of the fables make up the diversity of the rest of the community, that they try to keep in line and out of site of the Mundanes. All signed a compact forgiving past crimes, and swearing to obey the laws of Fabletown. The (visually) non-humans live up on the Farm, also a source of tension.

The books follow both their individual adventures (Jack, knave of many stories, from tarts to beanstalks, wanders off to make himself a movie star at one point, and the first book revolves around the apparent murder of Rose Red), the politics and life of Fabletown (an uprising on the Farm, Prince Charming's election campaign), and the actual war with the Enemy (both in their homelands, and when spies and armies invade Fabletown).

The entire published Fables series in order, from left to right

Watchmen

2011-04-21T03:54:00.008+12:00

The classic gritty mockery of the superhero genre

by Alan Moore

Rating: Adult.

Genre / themes: Realistic/psychological take on superheroes, modern day, urban,

Art level: Functional. A couple of decades old and it shows. Everything is quite crammed in, and the colours look faded compared to today's books.

Star Rating: 4/5

Number of Books: One.

Other notes: The recent film Watchmen was based on this book. Very large thick book, considered one of the classic greats of graphic novels. In the top 100 novels of Time magazine.

Watchmen : Amazon Blurb
Has any comic been as acclaimed as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, but Watchmen remains the critics' favorite. Why? Because Moore is a better writer, and Watchmen a more complex and dark and literate creation than Miller's fantastic, subversive take on the Batman myth. Moore, renowned for many other of the genre's finest creations (Saga of the Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, with Eddie Campbell) first put out Watchmen in 12 issues for DC in 1986-87. It won a comic award at the time (the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards for Best Writer/Artist combination) and has continued to gather praise since.

My Review
Any list of graphic novels must include this. A gritty and cynical take on the popular (and often happy and mindless) superhero comics that became popular, Watchmen follows the story of a group of vigilante superheros years after their boom-and-bust fame, and the intricate plot they either get caught up in, or mastermind, to fix their miserable world. The art is a little outdated, but not as badly as a lot of comics from that period - it takes a little adjustment, but works well enough not to spoil the story, and the dark, slightly distorted feel works well for everything set within the city.

Not for younger readers, this is very definitely a book for adults, and is big enough to take hours reading. And yes, it was the source material of the recent movie. I've put it first on the list because, although I prefer his other major graphic novel V for Vendetta, it is his best known and most recommended book!

Strangers In Paradise

2011-04-14T03:18:00.005+12:00

A tale of two girls in love, and the guy who loved them too. Also, crime, art, and growing up

By Terry Moore

Strangers In Paradise
Pocket Book 1

Rating: Young adult-adult

Genre / themes: Love, growing up, crime (mafia/drugs/prostitution), relationships, lesbian/bisexual, modern day America.

Art level: Good. Black and white.

Star Rating: 5/5

Number of Books: . Individual comics collated into nineteen graphic novels, also collected into six small pocketbooks.
Check the book order here

Other notes: Self-published. Lots of flashbacks and forwards. Music and poetry a major theme.

Strangers in Paradise: Amazon Blurb
Katchoo is a beautiful young woman living a quiet life with everything going for her. She's smart, independent and very much in love with her best friend, Francine. Then Katchoo meets David, a gentle but persistent young man who is determined to win Katchoo's heart. The resulting love triangle is a touching comedy of romantic errors until Katchoo's former employer comes looking for her and $850,000 in missing mob money. As her idyllic life begins to fall apart, Katchoo discovers no one can be trusted and that the past she thought she left behind now threatens to destroy her and everything she loves, including Francine. This is the first edition in the series - don't miss it!

My Review

I LOVE this series.

Strangers in Paradise is the love story of Katchoo - a violent, intelligent, artistic blonde, with a troubled past and future, and Francine - the girl she grew up with, who's sweet and kind, has body image issues, and dreams of Mr. Right and the house with the white picket fence. It's also the story of art galleries and mobs, cancer and babies, death, guns, and school plays. Strangers in Paradise is kick ass, and philosophical, tasteful and sexy. The art is brilliant, and Terry Moore's lines are some of the few that make me want to draw cartoons instead of paintings.

The story of Katchoo, Francine and David is a brilliant graphic novel series. The explosiveness and the gentleness that is Katchoo will capture your heart and her story, and the story of her friends and love, interweaves deftly between art gallery, mafia, high school flashbacks, marriage, loss, jealousy, threesomes, death, and trust. This is an epic series. You can also read a bit more about Strangers in Paradise here.

The collected pocketbooks of Strangers In Paradise

The Strangers in Paradise: Treasury Edition is basically an edited version of the entire series in one book, with extra drawngs and cover art. Good for the beginner or collector, but the individual books are better for the entire story.

For a more in-depth review of the Strangers in Paradise books, the music and the order of the entire nineteen large graphic novels (among other things!) check out this site on SiP.

Check out the review of Strangers In Paradise at Good Lesbian Books
Along with more lesbian graphic novels

Schlock Mercenary

2011-04-07T03:10:00.003+12:00

Space-going mercenaries tough it out with teraporting, aliens, guns and lots of humour

by Howard Tayler

Schlock Mercenary (6):
Resident Mad Scientist

Rating: Young adult-adult

Genre / themes: Science fiction, mercenaries, spaceships, traveling the galazy, crdue and advanced humour, AIs, robots, aliens, BIG guns

Art level: Terrible, but functional. The drawing style does actually suit the story and the characters - one of the only webcomics where the art doesn't impede the enjoyment of the strips. All in colour.

Star Rating: 4.5/5

Number of Books: Six so far (ongoing).
Books are not numbered in the title, the order is :
* The Tub of Happiness
* Teraport Wars
* Under New Management
* The Blackness Between
* The Scrapyard of Insufferable Arrogance
* Resident Mad Scientist

Other notes: Also a webcomic that updates daily, self-published.

Schlock Mercenary: The Tub of Happiness: Amazon Blurb
Welcome to Tagon's Toughs, a mercenary company whose newest recruit is almost as much trouble as the new owners. They want to revolutionize space travel. Schlock just wants to hurt people and break things. This 240-page volume takes the reader back to the very start of Schlock Mercenary, and then some. It opens with nine pages of all-new strips telling the story of how Schlock came to enlist, and then forges onward chronologically from the very first strip. It also includes concept sketches, commentary, excellent guest art, deck plans for the Kitesfear. If you've been waiting to devour this Schlock Mercenary from the very beginning, the wait is over: grab your big spoon and dig into the Tub of Happiness.

My Review

Schlock Mercenary has terrible art, but it gets the job done - this is one of the best webcomics around. You should buy this for anyone who likes scifi, mercenaries, humour, big guns, stealing, time travel, and aliens who not only look like a pile of poop, but would eat it too. Full color illustrations that grow strangely in your affections as you read and very ...unique characters.

Schlock , the title character of Schlock Mercenary, is a rather unique alien - a carbosilicate amorph - that looks... well, like a toilet joke, and is basically indestructible. He has an almost religious love for plasma cannons. He signs up to a crew of tough space-going mercenaries and havok and politics ensues as they fly around the galaxy embroiled in politics, one step behind their last paycheck and always looking for bigger guns to play with. It is satirical, sarcastic and punny.

The stories range from little sideplots (often amusing) involving the jobs the crew takes on, and galaxy-spanning politics and machinations that they step into, break and run away from (such as the gatekeepers and their sinister behind the scenes cloning and control over galactic travel). Some of the science fiction gets a little wordy but Howard Tayler manages to explain what a teraport is (for example), while lightly glossing over the more boring details, so this shouldn't impede enjoyment.

All the books published so far, in order

Doll

2011-03-31T03:02:00.002+13:00

A thought-provoking and slightly sadistic manga on what it means to be human

by Mitsukazu Mihara

Doll -Softcover Volume 1 (v. 1)

Rating: Adult

Genre / themes: androids, science fiction, Japan, humanity, psychological, death,

Art level: Good (manga style), black and white

Star Rating: 4/5

Number of Books: Six, complete series.

Other notes: Short stories with emerging common characters and themes, 'adult' Chobits. Dolls with no will or emotions/modifications to them.

Doll: Amazon Blurb
In these haunting tales, dolls--human-like androids--have an uncanny way of working themselves into the lives of their masters: A woman develops an unusual closeness to doll that she takes beyond the grave...A man wants to make his doll into the perfect human lover...A father buys his son a doll to help him get over the death of his mother. Doll examines the question of what it means to be truly human.

My Review
The second manga that I recommend (the first was Lady Snowblood by Kazuo Koike) Doll is for older readers. It has very pretty - and highly stylised - manga-style art with Gothic Lolita designs (big eyes, long legs, very pretty faces on everyone). It's also an intelligent pyschological twister that I rate well above Deathnote, but is a fair bit more mature - think Chobits for adults!

The six Doll books tell the different stories - that gradually and subtly intertwine - of people, scientists and very realistic androids. Twisted little stories about replacements for lost parents, creating the ideal lover, and what it really means to be human that gradually culminate into a macabre and thoughtful anthology. Definitely not for younger readers.

The complete 'Doll' manga series

Lady Snowblood

2011-03-24T02:38:00.003+13:00

The manga that inspired the films of Kill Bill

Written by Kazuo Koike

Lady Snowblood Volume 1 (v. 1)

Rating: Very definitely adult. Violence and sex.

Genre / themes: Vengeance, historical Japan, assassin.

Art level: Manga, high quality, scenes and flow seem cinematically scripted by the author. Black and white.

Star Rating: 4.5/5

Number of Books: Four. Completed.

Other notes: Inspired a (not so good) film of the same name, which
led to Kill Bill. Kazuo Koike also wrote Lone Wolf and Cub.

Lady Snowblood: Amazon Blurb
From the pen of Kazuo Koike, of Lone Wolf and Cub fame, comes Lady Snowblood, the manga that eventually would become an inspiration for director Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill blockbuster films. A story of pure vengeance, Lady Snowblood tells the tale of a daughter born of a singular purpose, to avenge the death of her family at the hands of a gang of thugs, a purpose woven into her soul from the time of her gestation. Beautifully drafted and full of bloody, sexy action, Lady Snowblood lives up to its title and reputation.

My Review
Lady Snowblood is the only manga I ever truly loved (although I also recommend Doll), and fits neatly into four volumes. The story of an assassin for hire, hunting down the people who destroyed her mother's life, Lady Snowblood is the story Kill Bill was (tentatively) based on, very evident in the design of the covers. Lady Snowblood was also the name of an earlier film adaptation.

A brilliantly drawn black-and-white manga full of blood and nudity, Lady Snowblood has both plot and character development, and I thoroughly approve of the artwork. it is not for younger readers nor for the faint of heart. Her trade is, after all, assassination, and being an attractive young woman, she often uses nudity as a distraction.

The stories skip along, mostly detailing each job - destroying a yakuza gangs that a museum can be built, exposing a blackmailing pornographic photographer, assassinations, lovers, traveling around. It actually takes some rereading to realise how subtly the stories are often connected, and which are simple 'jobs' and which are actually the pursuit of her vengeance. It is both well written and historically accurate - set in the 1890s of Japan, and the growth of Yuki ('Snow') as a person adds an extra layer of depth to the story.

The black and white style is simplistic and effective, and very graceful - in most cases, it helps reduces the impact of the violence, as the blood is not red, and the flesh is plain white.

The third book, Retribution, is a bit cruder than the rest (in case you prefer to avoid more explicit stories) and less serious - she hunts down a famous (and famously eccentric) writer and persuades him to publish her story in order to flush out her remaining targets - but the art is beautiful still. Or, as an Amazon reviewer puts it "Compensation for their dumbing down a fairly smart series comes in Kamimura's artwork, more cinematic than ever, full of marvelous viewing angles, perspectival effects, and purely visual storytelling; Koike presumably scripted these wordless aspects, too. So, hats off again, gentlemen."

If you think this is up your street, I thoroughly recommend it.

The four books of the Lady Snowblood manga

A Distant Soil

2011-03-17T02:29:00.003+13:00

A very pretty black and white series of telepathy and aliens
by Colleen Doran

A Distant Soil: Coda (Book 4)

Rating: Young adult.

Genre / themes: Fantasy, science fiction, some yaoi, rebellion

Art level: Good. Detailed inking - all black and white, Western comics style.

Star Rating: 4/5
Best Other Work in the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards 2001

Number of Books: Four, completed.

Other notes: Being released as a webcomic by the author.

Distant Soil Vol. 1: Amazon Blurb
The story of a young girl who is born the heir to an alien religious dynasty, is one of comics most lavish and romantic sagas, listed as one of the five best books for teenage girls by Sassy Magazine. A never-before-published A Distant Soil short story and the first 11 chapters of the science/fantasy series are collected in this 240 page trade.

My Review
A Distant Soil is the story of two children with telepathic powers who are rescued/recruited by aliens, in a complicated and desperate game of politics. It will probably appeal more to girls initially, unless you are buying it for the art - and the art is very pretty, so if you're artistically inclined I do recommend it. It's a little old-fashioned in style, particularly the way Liana is drawn (and by old-fashioned, I mean '80-90's comics). You can actually check it out here on Colleen Doran's site, as she's uploading it slowly as a webcomic. Of course, like almost all such stories, it's much easier to read in print. Colleen Doran has also illustrated for Marvel and DC.

It starts with two children - Liana and Jason - running away from an institute, who are mysteriously rescued by a pair of aliens (who basically look like humans... ). turns out their father wasn't human, Liana is an Avatar, and the current Avatar is trying desperately to both protect her, and use her to help break the hold of the current selfish, cruel and hedonistic Hiercracy, who intend to kill her - because she's preventing their Avatar using his power by existing. The children (well, young adults) get separated and Jason is enlisted into a rebellion, while Liana and and some hand-picked humans are taken back and snuck into the top level of government. among these humans is a random knight - the Arthurian Sir Galahad, plucked by chance and magic into the modern world.

The people and the backgrounds are beautifully drawn, and the book feels like a real work of love (I say 'book', rather than 'books' because only the first one ever made it into a library in New Zealand near me - there are four volumes. But I think they would all be similar). Recommended for readers of Mercedes Lackey and Marion Zimmer Bradley.

The complete series of A Distant Soil

The Fascinating Madame Tussaud

2011-03-10T02:22:00.003+13:00

The Fascinating Madame Tussaud:
Expresso Collection by Rene Follet

A historical and biographical graphic novel of a real life person by Rene Follet

Rating: Young adult-adult

Genre / themes: History, French Revolution, Madame Tussaud

Art level: Very good - beautiful art by Rene Follet

Star Rating: 4/5

Number of Books: One

Other notes: The best parts are the art and the history lesson. The storytelling itself is less impressive (limited by translation and possibly by the facts)

Amazon Blurb
Paris, 1793. Marie Crossholz manages the wax museum set up by her father. In exchange for bribes, some executioners allow her to mould the faces of guillotined aristocrats. . . After the French Revolution, Marie Crossholz becomes Mrs. Tussaud. Disappointed by her marriage, she leaves for London with the ambition to create a wax museum there. New struggles and other tumultuous adventures await her. . . Thirty years later, in 1835, she inaugurates the famous Tussaud Museum of Baker Street in London, which today continues to grow with new celebrities and attracts millions of visitors! Publish Post

My Review
This historical graphic novel tells the story of Madame Tussaud's life; it starts in France where she makes wax likenesses of heads, during the Revolution, after which she flees to England and finally establishes her famous waxworks. The story is interesting, historically, but stays true to the original story (which isn't always the best possible plot!). It was originally written in French and it's possibly that it reads better in its original language. The artwork needs no translation, however - it is incredible - expressive, lovely to look at, and perfectly suited.

The story starts off exciting - the young Madame Tussaud tries to keep together the family business in Paris, making wax heads of executed nobles during the Revolution, but then intrigue rears its head and she is forced to flee to England. Here the story meanders somewhat, as Madame Tussaud travels around in a caravan, and grows older, showing off her wax likenesses. However, chance and fortune gives her the chance to open her own display and establish her famous Wax Museum.

I love this for the art, and that's why I'd buy it, if I get the chance.

Freakangels

2011-03-03T02:05:00.007+13:00

A steam-punk webcomic of psychic teenagers after Armageddon

by Warren Elli and Paul Duffield

Freakangels Volume 1 Hardcover
by Warren Ellis & Paul Duffield

Rating: Young adult-adult (violence, nudity)

Genre / themes: Steampunk, science fiction, post-apocalyptic, telepathy

Art level: Good! Full colour, although the colours are generally muted this suits the story

Star Rating: 4.5/5

Number of Books: Ongoing series. Five books published to date.

Other notes: From a webcomic. Won "Favourite Web-Based Comic" Eagle Award and Nominated for "Best Comic/Graphic Novel" British Fantasy Award in 2010. Available in paperback and hardback.

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"23 years ago, twelve strange children were born in England at exactly the same moment. Six years ago, the world ended. This is the story of what happened next."

Freakangels Volume 1
My Review
Freakangels is a published webcomic, however it was designed for the graphic novel format from the start. A mature story that contains violence, guns, nudity and promiscuity (in the case of one or two characters), Freakangels is amazingly drawn and very well written.

It is the story of the Freakangels - a group of children born with unusual powers, that they used to change the world, and are now trying to cope and make amends by helping hold together a small community after what was effectively the apocalypse. Each of them has their own problems, each is a very distinct personality, and none of them really have any idea of what their powers mean or where they'll end up.

There are books being released regularly, in both hardback and paperback.

The available Freakangels books to date

Paperbacks

~$12-14

Hardcovers

~$20

$48 for signed editions

Coraline: The Graphic Novel

2011-02-24T01:47:00.007+13:00

Coraline: The Graphic Novel

A creepier young adult novel about a girl who wanders into the shadowier side of her life

by Neil Gaiman

Rating: Young adult (older children will enjoy it, but it may be a little creepy for them, adults should also enjoy it)

Genre / themes: Family, supernatural, alternate reality, imagination

Art level: Pretty good. Not outstanding, but not bad either. All in colour, quite flat looking.

Star Rating: 4 Stars

Number of Books: One.

Other notes: Adaptation of Neil Gaiman's original novel (which won the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novella for the year 2003, and also won the Locus Award, the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Work for Young Readers and the 2002 British Science Fiction Award for short fiction) and recently made into an animated film in 2009.

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The Coraline novel is also available for the Kindle.

My Review

Coraline is for older children, young adults and anyone who likes Gaiman's slightly scary take on everything he writes. I got my dad this for his birthday, and it has been reread by both siblings and him several times since then - and is looking a bit battered! Coraline is a little girl who is lonely and imaginative and wanders into the wrong part of her new house - where she meets her creepy Other Mother and Other Father.

Her Other Mother at first provides her with everything she wants, including a great deal of attention - but then gets too creepy for Coraline, who runs home. Unfortunately, her Other Mother doesn't approve of this, and steals her parents away. Coraline has to return and face down her Other Mother in order to rescue them. If she can find where they are hidden.

The other Coraline books, and the movie.

Serenity (Firefly): Those Left Behind

2011-02-17T01:26:00.012+13:00

The graphic novels that tell the story between Firefly and Serenity

Serenity, Vol. 1:
Those Left Behind

Rating: Young adult-adult

Genre / themes: Sci-fi, theft and petty crime, spin-off of Firefly.

Art level: Good. Colour.

Star Rating: 3.5/5 Stars. (plus a bonus 0.5 for being Firefly related)

Number of Books: Three so far, but I'm counting The Shepherd's Tale (a prequel) separately for the purposes of this review. So, two in the 'sequel' series.

Other notes: Picks up right after the last episode of the Firefly television series. Written by Joss Whedon and one of the writers of Firefly. Not mindblowingly awesome, but pretty darned good. With the exception of The Shepherd's Tale

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My Review of Books 1 and 2

Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind

Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days

Unlike the Buffy books, the two Firefly spin-offs - actually designed to fill in the gaps from the cancelled episodes - are worth reading for their own sake. The art is pretty good, the wit is witty, the criminals are criminal and our heroes are... well, the criminals.

It's the same familiar cast of Captain Mal Reynolds, his crazy crew, and the two stowaways, Simon and River. They pick up odd jobs, get in trouble with the law, and try and keep River away from the government.

The series is oddly constrained by the fact that it has to keep everyone alive and in the state they were at the beginning of Serenity, but does well enough within those boundaries. The first book is a good bridge/introduction between the Firefly television show and the film Serenity, with Agent Dobson (the Alliance spy from the very first episode) reappearing, and Inara leaving at the end of the book - although the second book is better.

Book Three Review

Art level: Bad, monotonous colour.

Star Rating: 2.5/5

I recently had the chance to read Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale (in the library, of course). It was very disappointing, and I'd give it 2.5 stars. While the cover is nice enough, and it was a hardback, I got through the whole story in less than ten minutes. I'm a fast reader, but I expect my graphic novels to last me at least twenty!

While it does give you Shepherd Book's backstory (which did affect how you see him, next time you watch him onscreen), it does it in a way that leaves you feeling cheated. Basically, it is in the format of flashback, after flashback, each only a couple of pages long, jumping further back into his life. And each flashback is just too short. The narrative would have worked better in the correct order, as you could have watched Book grow and change, but the authors clearly wanted the cheap tensions of the 'sudden reveals'. Also, the art felt very dirty, which was probably intentional, to give it a 'gritty' feel. But the result, to me, was a book that looked ugly and slapdash.

And it could have been awesome. Despite the fact that they packed in more than they needed, it could have been an epic story. Only buy it if it's cheap, and you need to complete the set.

The Serenity Graphic Novels So Far

Rapunzel's Revenge

2011-02-10T18:55:00.003+13:00

Rapunzel's Revenge

A red-haired cowboy Rapunzel saves the day!

By Shannon, Dean and Nathan Hale

Rating: Young adult, childrens

Genre / themes: Alternate fairy tale, cowboys and wild west, feminism,

Art level: Very good! Western art style. Colour.

Star Rating: 4/5

Number of Books: Two so far, but this title can be read on its own.

Other notes: Beaten out by Neil Gaiman's Coraline for teen graphic novel of the year (review here).
book/

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My Review
Rapunzel's Revenge is a wild west take on fairy tales. Here, Rapunzel has grown up with her 'mother', the tyrannical Mother Gothel, until she discovers her real mother is a slave in the mines, faces off with Mother Gothel and gets trapped in a giant tree until her hair grows long enough for her to escape (due to Mother Gothel's growth magic saturating the tree). From there, she goes on to save the thief, the day and the kingdom with her hair-whipping skills and sense of justice. The art is very well done, and she makes a nice change from all the blonde princesses!

I love this book! It's a collaborative effort between the author, Shannon Hale, and Dean and Nathan Hale. Admittedly, it's definitely for the 'younger' end of the young adult scale, but the swashbuckling take on the old Rapunzel fairytale is both fun and magnificently illustrated. If you're looking for a Rapunzel Saves The Day book to distract your child from the overly pink Disney Princess version, Tangled, then this is the book you want. There's no pink in it at all!

Calamity Jack

A lot like the Fables books, this is a quirky take on established fairy tales - and has its own roguish Jack and the beanstalk appearance, among other things. The sequel, Calamity Jack (parodying the film Calamity Jane) has a jabberwocky and giants, and a lot more steampunk.

For a longer review and a peek inside the book, check out the Rapunzel's Revenge page! And if you're interested in finding other books about Rapunzel, then look no further than the Books About Rapunzel page.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

2011-02-10T01:15:00.007+13:00

The Long Way Home
(Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Season 8, Vol. 1)

The spin-off comics from the awesome vampire dusting television series from Joss Whedon

Rating: Young adult-adult

Genre / themes: Vampires, Buffy, supernatural, saving the world, normal- 'super' heroes.

Art level: Very variable - mostly quite bad, but the artists change a lot. The season eight books are much better.

Star Rating: 3.5 stars (4.5 stars for season 8)

Number of Books: Seven Omnibuses (one for each finished season) plus individual graphic novels and comics. Season Eight is unfinished, so still only in single story graphic novels.

Other notes: Mostly spin-off stories and retellings of the show, so it's not too repetitive if you've seen the original series. Bonus materials (e.g. original covers) included. Storytelling and art highly variable originally. Season eight only available as graphic novels, due to the television series ending, and much better quality (also actually written by Joss Whedon in many cases).

This is a brilliant gift for a Buffy fan, so-so for anyone else (with the exception of season eight which is pretty awesome)

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My Review
The graphic novel version of the famous television series is collected in seven volumes, plus the eighth season that's still being written. The art doesn't get consistently good until the final season, but we're not buying this for the art. We're buying it for Buffy and the Scoobies.

Some of the artwork or the stories are patchy, as they tend to be collaborations with various writers, but the omnibuses are the best way to collect the Buffy comics - they're even organised into chornological order (story wise). And the story is different enough to be worth reading, and to provide new enjoyment - especially the bonus stories! The stories in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Volume 1" take place before the show's first season, and the other volumes all deviate from the television and include additional stories.

Season Eight - 4.5 stars
From what I've seen of the single graphic novels in the eighth series, the art is incredibly improved, and as it's the continuation of the television series, not the spin-off, and Joss Whedon is actually taking a hand in the plot, I can guarantee that a) it actually has a cohesive story (and is not just a bunch of collectible tales) and b) it's canon, and good.

I actually met Georges Jeanty, the artist who did the pencils for the season eight books, and was impressed enough to buy one of his sketchbooks (reviewed here).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 was shortlisted for the 2008 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards, in the 'Other work' category.

All the BtVS compilations so far (not including season eight)