Tag: Comics/Graphic Novels

BOOK REVIEW – Monstress, Vol. 1 : Awakening (Monstress (Collected Editions) #1) by Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda

July 31, 2016 / Anna

Monstress, Vol. 1 : Awakening (Monstress (Collected Editions) #1)
by Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900’s Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steampunk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both. Entertainment Weekly praised MONSTRESS as “one of Image Comics’ most imaginative and daring new series” and dubbed it the “Best New Original Series” in their year-end “Best Comics of 2015” list.

Collects MONSTRESS #1-6

Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening was… weird, but dark and pretty good?

There’s no hiding that the plot is convoluted… at best, and if there was such thing as a CONFUSING ALERT!, I would raise it instantly. Indeed Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening doesn’t burden itself with simple details like chronological order and basic knowledge before throwing you in the meat of the (epic fantasy-like) action.

Keyword being : HUH?!

And then, there are these cat-ish info-dump pages at the end of every chapter (issue) : Oh my GOSH. MY EYES. Too long, too tiny, too much.

However, despite the general confusion and slowness, in the end I’m eager to know where the story will go… especially after THAT. BIG. CLIFF. DAMMIT.

Overall, the characters are very interesting and pretty fun to follow :

First a kickass heroine…

… teamed-up with an adorable fox girl… Awww <3

… a talking cat…

… also, a monster…

… and many complex villains. What more could we want?!

See above. Mix everything. You’ve got your world.

Want more details, do you? Alright. What you need to know is that the world is separated into two parts (so far), the Human World (with witches) and the Arcanic World (with old gods, animal-head people). Because differences and greed always win, once upon a time there was a war (of course there was). Finally, because those in power are often morons, they built a wall (of course they did). Oh, and the talking cats somehow achieved the status of wise entities at some point during the History. Don’t ask me when, though (info-dumping cat pages, remember?) They even go so far as calling themselves Masters *snorts*

As the plot, the world is interesting and complex, yet so very confusing at first.

Remarkable. Stunning. I loved it to pieces, okay?

Sources :
– Flower doodle : http://www.vecteezy.com/flourishes-sw…
– Other vector images (edited by myself): Free vector art via Vecteezy.com

BOOK REVIEW – Deadpool: Secret Invasion (Deadpool Vol. II #1) by Daniel Way & Paco Medina

June 9, 2016 / Anna

Deadpool : Secret Invasion (Deadpool Vol. II #1)
by Daniel Way, Paco Medina
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
The Merc with a Mouth is back, even deadlier and more deranged than before! The planet has been invaded by Skrulls, everything's gone topsy-turvy... but, in Deadpool's world, that just means it's Monday! Crazy times call for crazy men, but c'mon, this guy's insane! Like it or not, Deadpool may be the only person on the planet who can save us... but who's to say he wants to?

I’m going to tell you a story (aren’t you lucky) : there was a time in my life when I ~~was an arrogant bastard~~ genuinely thought that I had a great sense of humor.

I knooooow. Girl gotta see the truth now.

But let’s stay focused, alright? So. That time, long long ago. God, such a good time. I could make fun of these silly, ridiculous French movies whose “jokes” (we’re gonna need the quotations marks at this point) either appalled me or … WELL, I won’t talk about those I still don’t understand (shout out to French readers here : Asterix new movies like really guys, really, in which world are they necessary really). I could also laugh at every TSTL moment in horror movies (I miss those, actually).

I really liked the HAHAHAHAHAHA NOPE bubble I built to myself. Sometimes I even shared it with fellow great-sense-of-humor people (alright, my boyfriend).

I am sorry to have to inform you that this time is forever over, because I read Deadpool: Secret Invasion, and I LOVED it. I have no shame.

I laughed like a maniac at this –

They wiiiiiiiiill *giggles*

and also that –

(don’t ask, I don’t knoooooow)

and yeah, I might have laughed at that too –

I loved Deadpool: Secret Invasion, when really, the whole thing is relatively plotless (excuse me : episodly driven), repetitive and gratuitously violent. Yet I want more, and if not for the fact that every woman must have a 100D (not that there’s something wrong with big breasts or sexy outfits per se, OF COURSE, I just felt like women were objectified this way, and I don’t like it, sue me) it would be a full five because trust me, when June comes, I’m so freaking tired that nothing works.

The moral being : My sense of humor sucks.

BF : Or perhaps you should sleep more than 4 hours a night.

OKAY. OR THAT.

I still don’t like Taxi, Mickael Young, Cyril Hanouna, Christian Clavier, etc etc…. (French will KNOW).

*shudders*

I may not have changed that much after all.

BOOK REVIEW – I Hate Fairyland, Vol. 1: Madly Ever After (I Hate Fairyland #1-5) by Skottie Young

May 28, 2016 / Anna

I Hate Fairyland, Vol. 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
From superstar writer and artist Skottie Young (Rocket Raccoon, Wizard of OZ, Fortunately, The Milk), comes the first volume of an all-new series of adventure and mayhem. An Adventure Time/Alice in Wonderland-style epic that smashes it's cute little face against grown-up, Tank Girl/Deadpool-esque violent madness. Follow Gert, a forty year old woman stuck in a six year olds body who has been stuck in the magical world of Fairyland for nearly thirty years. Join her and her giant battle-axe on a delightfully blood soaked journey to see who will survive the girl who HATES FAIRYLAND.

“Is anyone ever really ready for a riddle? They’re kind of the worst, right?”

Who never dreamed of getting sucked into the Wonderful World of Fairyland?

That would be Gertrude. Do not fear, though, because as always in Wonderland (or whatever its name) she only has to find the Key to come back to her world.

Meanwhile, Gertrude can embrace all the joy and fluff and RIDDLES and – IT’S BEEN TWENTY-SEVEN FLUFFING YEARS, during which Gertrude offered the ~~worst~~ better of her ~~awful~~ wonderful personality to Fairyland’s inhabitants –

Alright, she might be *a little* bitter –

But the girl’s stuck into her 8 years-old body and you know, WHO WOULDN’T BE BITTER?

Alright. That girl. ANYWAY. Skottie Young raises valid questions, if you ask me : Aren’t all these colors just too BRIGHT for the human brain? Don’t you want to shoot that guy over there who’s narrating your tale ON LIVE? Aren’t riddles just FLUFFING ANNOYING?

I Hate Fairyland, Vol. 1: Madly Ever After is violent – bloody gore, even – full of cursing and oh so impertinent. If I can’t say that I loved it, because there’s just so much slash and kill I can take, and if the humor was a little too much on the ew, gross side for me, I still enjoyed all the references thrown into the story and –

I LOVE LARRY. Gertrude’s (forced) guide shows the perfect kind of blasé sarcasm I adore. Every one of his deadpan remarks are one million times funnier than Gertrude’s over-the-top craziness.

Here you go.

BOOK REVIEW – Deadly Class, Vol. 1: Reagan Youth (Deadly Class #1-6) by Rick Remender

April 25, 2015 / Anna

Deadly Class, Vol. 1: Reagan Youth by Lee Loughridge, Rick Remender, Wesley Craig
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
It’s 1987. Marcus Lopez hates school. His grades suck. The jocks are hassling his friends. He can’t focus in class. But the jocks are the children of Joseph Stalin’s top assassin, the teachers are members of an ancient league of assassins, the class he's failing is “Dismemberment 101,” and his crush has a double-digit body count. Welcome to the most brutal high school on earth, where the world’s top crime families send the next generation of assassins to be trained. Murder is an art. Killing is a craft. At Kings Dominion School for the Deadly Arts, the dagger in your back isn’t always metaphorical.

➊ A tale of survival

Tell me, fellows readers, what are you ready to do to survive? What happens when the only hope life can give you is to eat expired chili and to fight with an old homeless over your fucking shoes? When the only choice offered to you is to attend an assassin school or to wait for a ~~painful~~ death to come?

“Happiness is just the absence of pain.
It’s the best I can hope for.”

Just picture it. You’re alone. Cold. Hungry. Desperate. Feeling guilty and useless. Here comes a bunch of crazy teenagers who ask you to follow them. What do you do? Do you follow them, even if it maybe means losing yourself even more? FUCK YEAH.

➋ Sarcastic humor and irreverent ton everywhere. Hey, we’re talking about an assassin‘s school, so obviously, don’t expect regular high school drama.

– Wait a minute, oops, actually, YES, expect it : girls drama, bullying, social groups, assignments – Just keep in mind that every single event can lead to some messed-up and bloody situation. Be prepared for drugs, blood, and many good laugh nonetheless.

➌ A world building is absolutely amazing : Welcome to San Francisco in the late 1980s!

➍ Friendship and amazing characters. Strangely ~~because we’re talking about crazy fucking teenagers, duh~~ what I loved the most was to follow these characters and to see the growth of their friendship. To be frank, it’s really, really rare that I find myself connecting to comic books characters. For real, I end underwhelmed most of the time with comics, because I struggle to feel, to root for the characters. While here, it seems that I couldn’t get enough of them.

➎ Marcus.

Yep, the guy won his own special place in my heart. Indeed there’s nothing that I like more than characters with ambiguous morality, that’s why I adored this little guy who’s not completely evil but who’s able to follow harsh paths in order to save himself and to be finally accepted. Moreover, I really have a soft spot for lonely, broken and slightly hopeless male-leads, I have to admit. ~~And he’s freakin hilarious on acid.~~

“Given what we’re about to do — I shoud feel like a terrible person.
But I don’t.
Morality’s just comfort food — It holds no meaning outside of our minds.”

Verdict: In my opinion Deadly Class offers everything I need to love a story : great characterization, suspenseful plot, enthralling world and so freaking fun, not to mention the ability to make the reader think – about this life, about the importance of friendship and the choices we make every day. Bravo.

BOOK REVIEW – Saga, Volume 2 (Saga #7-12) by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

February 12, 2015 / Anna

Saga, Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Thanks to her star-crossed parents Marko and Alana, newborn baby Hazel has already survived lethal assassins, rampaging armies, and horrific monsters, but in the cold vastness of outer space, the little girl encounters her strangest adventure yet... grandparents.

Mesdames et Messieurs, I’m pleased to announce that… this awesomeness of a book is my first 5-stars rating for a graphic novel! Prepare yourself for the love!

✭ Remember how I was amazed by the storyline of the first Volume? Scratch that : this one is even better. That’s simple, we never seem to be able to breathe the whole time and the alternative POV bring more tension to the story, until we just can’t put it down. Moreover, Hazel’s narration, slightly ironic, allows us to see things differently – to produce a more complete picture of the consequences of those actions. I’m not going to lie, her comments cracked me up. Oh! And we get to learn how Marco and Alana met! How awesome is that?

✭ What can I say? I’m in love with these characters. First, Alana. Oh, this wingy could be my BBF : she’s funny, brave, fierce, yet she loses her confidence sometimes (what? Create a belly button can be scary!) but never let someone belittle herself and the choices she made. As for Marko, well, is it bad if I’m a step away from adding him in my book boyfriend list? I know, I know, horns and all that stuff, but I can’t help, he’s all kind of adorable, naturally charming, and I found myself swooning more often than not. Yep. Swooning. If I had a couple of hours to write this review (which I don’t), I’d add words and words to describe how much I enjoyed following Isabelle (best babysitter ever), The Will, his tentacles partner… But the only thing you need to know is the fact that there isn’t any useless character, as they all bring something fascinating to the story.

✭ Let’s talk about my favorite moments, shall we? → Don’t get fooled, the numbers here do not correspond to a rank or something like that : I’m fully unable to do something as accurate as a ranking, duh.

1) Let’s spread the love with the meet-cute