BOOK REVIEW for "Sheets" by Brenna Thummler

***(3) out of 5 stars!

SUMMARY:

Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she's worked for. 

Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world. 

When their worlds collide, Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt's Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day. While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to maintain.

Sheets illustrates the determination of a young girl to fight, even when all parts of her world seem to be conspiring against her. It proves that second chances are possible whether life feels over or life is over. But above all, it is a story of the forgiveness and unlikely friendship that can only transpire inside a haunted laundromat.

REVIEW:

This is a cute, heartbreaking and heartwarming tale about a young girl and a young ghost.  The pacing for this tale was soooooo sllll-oooow!  I just about fell asleep several times in the first half or so of the storyline; which is generally quite a feat while reading a graphic novel.  It was just extremely boring without a whole lot of anything going on.  

About the only thing that kept me going was my anger at how badly everyone in the book treated Marjorie.  From kids her age to adults who should have known better, they were basically all a bunch of jerks, with very few exceptions.  I really wanted to bash in some animated heads at several points during the narrative.  Of course, Wendell isn't treated too much better in his world.

Once the two meet and start working together, things greatly improve for both of them.  Thank goodness!  Once we discover the fact that they did and how they knew each other previously, things start to fall into place even more.  And they eventually are able to achieve a rather nice, if bittersweet, happily ever after, or at least happily for now, ending.  

I was also not impressed with the graphics.  Although the muted color schemes were attractive, I found the drawings themselve to be very simplistic.  The humans especially just look quite odd.  

Basically, this book just didn't "speak" to me all that much.

I received a free eBook copy of this title from NetGalley, 

and have willingly provided an honest review.

#Sheets

BOOK REVIEW for "The Castoffs, V.1: Mage Against the Machine" by MK Reed (Author), Brian Smith (Author & Illustrator), Molly Ostertag (Illustrator), & Wyeth Yates (Illustrator)

***(3) out of 5 stars

SYNOPSIS:

Twenty years ago, mages fought for their survival against the Surrogate, a hive-minded robot army that consumed everything in its path. Now, a trio of young apprentice mages must cross the ruined forests to deliver a magical cure to a nearby town. But the girls couldn't be more different. Charris, a hotheaded fighter with elemental powers, Trinh, a shy mage who can literally turn invisible, and Ursa, a healer with more power than she lets on. The three girls must learn to trust and rely on each other if they're going to save the village!

~

REVIEW:

The first several pages of this graphic novel are totally confusing and disorienting.  And I’m not only talking about the fact that when I read the galley proof the coloring had not yet been done, so it was just a hideous YELLOW and black.  Blech!  But the story begins in the midst of a great battle with a bunch of protagonists that we don’t know.  Maybe due to the coloring issues, they are almost indistinguishable from one another; and there are far too many of them to keep track of.  Also, I didn’t have a clue what was going on or who was doing what. 

After this initial blip, the story seemingly reverts to an earlier time, the coloring is complete for the remainder of the book, and you can actually tell who is who and what is going on.  The three main individuals of the tale - Charris, Trinh and Ursa – all have very different appearances, personalities and abilities.  All of which help make them distinguishable characters.  But none of them is exactly what they seem when the story begins.  They are definitely a mismatched group, assigned by their leader Leda to work together and journey to a distant town to deliver some supplies.  However, they end up falling into a lot more intrigue than just the simple task they are supposedly assigned.  Along the way, they slowly get to know each other, accept one another, and eventually work fairly well together. 

The ending is rather confusing, and is definitely a cliff-hanger.  However, I am sure that more will be revealed in later editions of the series, and I can’t wait to read them to see how the characters and their story unfold.  

I received an eGalley copy of this title from NetGalley and have willingly provided an honest review. 

BOOK REVIEW for "Look" by Jon Nielsen

***(3) out of 5 stars

SYNOPSIS:

Artie is a droid programmed to endlessly perform a single task left in a world abandoned by humans. He is starting to wonder what meaning his task has. But when he and his only friend, Owen, a robotic bird, cast aside the only lives they've ever known in search of a brighter future, they encounter others that want nothing but to hold tight to the past. Join Artie the Robot and Owen the Vulture for a light-hearted, sci-fi adventure as they journey far and wide for the answer to one of life's greatest questions: "Why are we here?"

~

REVIEW:

This is a cute but strange tale about a world seemingly populated only by robotic creatures of various sizes and types.  Arties attempts to discover the true reason behind his endless task of traversing the desert.  There seems to be a vast conspiracy hinted at for the cause of it.  However, no clear answer or reason ever seems to be arrived at.  

Despite this obvious flaw in the narrative, it was a cute book, fairly entertaining, with clean and concise graphics.  The best part of the entire work is the exploration of the friendship between Artie and Owen and how it came to be.  The end sees nothing much resolved, but the two friends once again happy in each other's company.

I received an eGalley copy of this title from NetGalley and have willingly provided an honest review. 

REVIEW of "Scooby Apocalypse, Volume 1" by Keith Giffen and J.M. Dematteis, with illustration by Howard Porter

****(4) out of 5 stars!

SYNOPSIS:

Fred. Daphne. Velma. Shaggy. Scooby-Doo. 

Roaming the globe in their lime-green Mystery Machine, 

they've solved countless crimes and debunked dozens of sketchy supernatural shenanigans.

But what if the horror was real?

Something terrible has transformed our world, 

turning millions of people into mindless zombie hordes. 

And only five people -- well, four people and one mangy mutt -- 

have the smarts, the skills and the sheer crazy courage to stare down doomsday.

Can these pesky kids and their canine companion 

-- using every incredible contraption in their arsenal -- 

defeat the evil that has overwhelmed planet Earth? 

We've got only one thing to say about that: ZOINKS!

From comics mastermind Jim Lee,

 and the superstar creative team of 

Keith Giffen (JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001), J.M. DeMatteis (JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK) 

and Howard Porter (JLA) comes SCOOBY APOCALYPSE, 

a whole new spin on the most beloved paranormal investigators in history. 

Get ready to give Scooby Snacks a whole new meaning! 

(SCOOBY APOCALYPSE, VOLUME 1 collects issues #1-6.)

REVIEW:

I must admit that I wasn't prepared to like this latest version of the mystery-solving group of young people.  It just seemed like too big of a stretch from what I was used to seeing.  But it turned out to be a fun and interesting new take on the traditional Scooby-doo story. 

The graphics were bright, clear and easy to absorp.  There weren't many scenes that were hard to decipher.  And all of the characters were distinct enough as to be discernable.

The characters were unique and original enough that they created their own personas.  And yet they were similar enough to prior incarnations that they were still recognizable. 

The premise of the series - that something terrible has transformed the world and turned everyone but them into mindless zombies - is definitely a twist on the usual scenario where the gang unmasks the monster as a fake. 

While this reading didn't get far enough into the actual story for them to make any definitive discoveries about what is going on, it did provide enough nuance and innuendo to hint at an actual purpose and plot. Hopefully, future editions will shed more light on everything.  

I received a free eGalley copy of this title from NetGalley 
and have willingly provided an honest review.  

REVIEW: "Charlaine Harris' Grave Surprise (Harper Connelly graphic novels, #2)" by Charlaine Harris, with Royal McGraw and Ilias Kyriazis

***(3) out of 5 stars

Apparently, this is the second in a series of graphic novels about the Charlaine Harris character Harper Connelly.  Despite not having read the preceding story, I had no trouble jumping into the events of this tome.

Harper is a young woman who has a sincere gift – some would call it a curse – of being able to locate dead people and to read their last thoughts.  While this can prove useful in some circumstances, especially in her business of helping loved ones find closure for people who have disappeared.  In this instance, it appears to put her at a disadvantage as Harper is suspected by the police of some untoward involvement in the discovery of a missing girl’s body, in a 150-year-old grave.  Things only get more complicated when a third body is discovered in the same grave; and Harper is saved from becoming yet another one, by a most unlikely source. 

I quite liked the storyline in this narrative.  Although many of the points were easily guessed, there were some twists and turns that weren’t easy to see coming. 

The characters were interesting and mostly believable.  Although there is a dynamic between two of the main characters that I found rather disturbing. 

The graphics, for the most part, were clear and discernable.  Although there were occasional weird marks, especially on the characters’ faces, and they often wore very weird, exaggerated expressions.  The color palette was mostly dark and brooding, which did occasionally make it hard to distinguish what was going on.  There was also an awful lot of narrative, which was encased in little hard-to-read pink boxes.

All in all, though, a pretty good read for a mystery graphic novel with a bit of suspense and paranormal intrigue thrown in.  

I received a free eBook copy of this title from NetGalley, 

and have willingly provided an honest review.

REVIEW: "Prime Baby" by Gene Luen Yang

***(3) out of 5 stars

A cute tale about a mean big brother who thinks his annoying little sister is an alien.  Well... turns out he's sort of right!  She's actually a gateway between dimensions, allowing aliens to enter our realm by, basically, being blarfed out of her mouth, tiny little space-ships and all.  Big brother's dreams of saving the planet or gaining world dominion are dashed, however, when the aliens in question turn out to be missionaries, wanting only to spread the word to the world about smiles and happy feelings.  Needless to say, big brother does some more rude things to his precious little baby sister, but sibling love does come through in the end.

REVIEW: Bera the On-Headed Troll by Eric Orchard

***(3) out of 5 stars

Bera is a humble troll, who minds her own business and grows pumpkins for the king in cheerful isolation on her little island.  Then one day she happens upon a human baby who needs rescuing.  Since everyone else in the land of the trolls wants the baby dead, there's nothing else for Bera to do except return the adorable little thing to the humans.  Like it or not, she's gone and found herself a quest, especially after all the heroes she tries to enlist to assist prove less than helpful.  Needless to say, Bera's life is never the same again.

I wasn't crazy about this graphic novel, even though I had heard many positive things about it and really wanted to like it.

The drawings are reminiscent of "Nightmare Before Christmas," and just not to my taste.  I found them messy and often hard to decipher.  Also, the weird color palette of only oranges, browns and whites gave a weird, surreal and rather depressing atmosphere to the entire work.

Many things, both big and small, are never explained.  For instance, there is talk among the main characters about the baby being stinky and what to do about it, and in the next scene they are mentioning that diapers were packed for an impending trip, with no explanation of how they came to figure this out.

The whole story just seems convoluted and unnecessarily confusing, and the whole endeavor just proves to be quite pointless in the end.  Still, Bera is quite a loveable character (especially for a troll), and you can't help but root for her to succeed in opposition to the formidable forces allied against her.

REVIEW: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy by Mike Johnson & Ryan Parrott, with illustrations by Derek Charm

****(4) out of 5 stars!

I really enjoyed this comic. I am a "Star Trek" fan from way back, and I always enjoy a new take on that world, even this strange new incarnation. The visuals here were bright and clear. It was easy to tell the characters apart; which is often not the case in graphic novels and is a particular pet peeve of mine. Of course, the fact that many of the main players were species other than human did kind of help in that regard. The storyline was unique, interesting and exciting, yet easy to follow. I did think that the insertion of the crew from the Enterprise was an unnecessary distraction and meaningless bridge to the storyline of the new academy cadets. But other than that, I really enjoyed the work; so much so that now I want to go out and find all of the others in this series so that I can read them as well!

REVIEW: Ghostbusters: Who Ya Gonna Call? by Erik Burnham

***(3) out of 5 stars

This book is in much the same vein as Ghostbusters International, except that it is set in the groups' regular hometown. I still do not like the artwork style at all. The characters had strangely pointy facial features that are really annoying. And I couldn’t ever tell Peter and Ray apart. The cover photo appears to be of a Slimer with a female Ghostbuster from the recent gender bending movie. But there were no such characters in the book, so I'm not sure what that was all about. There did seem to be more of a storyline to this installment, which was a welcome relief from International. But there were still too many side plots and characters that didn't seem to fit in or be going anywhere.  Okay enough for a light read, but definitely not a lot here.

I received a free e-book galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Enemies Old, Enemies New by Kevin B. Eastman & Tom Waltz (Authors), and Mateus Santolouco & Dan Duncan (Artists)

***(3) out of 5 stars

This story was just a little too... well... WEIRD for me! Okay, not that the entire concept of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles isn't sufficiently weird in and of itself. But this version throws in a whole reincarnation aspect that I found very hard to buy into. That whole spiritualist side just didn't seem to jive with the general freaky science experiments vibe of the story. I did enjoy the usual banter between the brothers. My favorite line (poor English aside): "Cripes, who'da thought Nerd Ninja and Captain Butt-Kiss would be even more annoyin' when they're not arguin'?" I wasn't too impressed with the graphics. The turtles all looked exactly like, and without their voices to differentiate them (like in the shows), it was impossible to tell them apart. And many of the other characters were just weirdly drawn. Splinter looked like a mutated dog, not a rat; and Hob's cat face was just plain disturbing. The drawings of the Parkour were very strange as well, and you never do discover how he fits into the story. I hate how the ending of these comics/graphic novels are never really an ending. Even if not exactly on a major cliff-hanger, there is more of the story left untold than resolved. The apparent connection to April in this incarnation is quite intriguing. And Casey's character is very sympathetic and rather funny, especially in the closing line of: "I just wish I never taught her how to punch, 'cause somethin' tells me when she wakes up... she's gonna break my face." Overall, a good, entertaining read, even if a bit weird in the backstory arena, and with graphics that could use some improvement.

I received a pdf version of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Warship Jolly Roger, Book 1: No Turning Back by Sylvain Runberg (Author) & Miquel Montllo (Illustrator)

***(3) out of 5 stars

While “Warship Jolly Roger” was no “Firefly,” it was quite a bit better than I anticipated. I expected a story patterned after some pirate tale of the past, or a “Moby Dick” wannabe tale, or some such. But while it did have common elements of such classic adventure tales, the story seemed genuinely unique and original, with a fresh setting of its own. 

The main storyline centers on Confederation Commander Jon T. Munro, who is given a life sentence in prison for a war crime which he was forced to commit. As the action begins, he seizes the opportunity of someone else’s failed prison break to secure his own escape. Of course, this takes the assistance of a small ragtag group of fellow cons, all of whom prove to be interesting characters in their own right. 

There were a couple of points that were definite negatives for me. The switching back and forth in time from different perspectives is quite confusing; if I’d been aware of how much it would be used, I would have created a flow-chart when I started the book. Also, there was a considerable amount of violence, almost of which was quite gruesome and bloody; unnecessarily so, in my opinion. 

I was impressed with the general outline of the plot though, and intrigued by the characters. I am definitely curious to see where the story goes from here!

I received a free eBook version of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Time Trial #1 (The CHRONOS Files) by Rysa Walker (Creator), Heather Nuhfer (Writer), and Agustin Padilla (Illustrator)

****(4) out of 5 stars!

Having not ever read anything from Rysa Walker’s CHRONOS FILES universe, I was a bit lost reading this first issue of the new stand-alone comicbook series, even though it was obviously created with newbies like me in mind.  Basically, the entire episode was minimal back-story, trying to get the reader familiar with the main characters and their world.  But I found it rather lacking in that area; more depth - both about Clio and the other main players, as well as their world - would have been greatly appreciated.  Still, it was an enjoyable enough story, and the time-travel aspect is definitely appealing.   I anticipate that future issues will have much more actual plot, which I look forward to reading.  

The graphics are well done, clear and concise, for the most part; but no so overdone as to distract from the happenings.

I received a few copy of this Issue #1 from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Raising Dion # 1 by Dennis Liu (Writer) & Jason Piperberg (Illustrator)

****(4) out of 5 stars

This was a good opening comic with pleasing graphics. However, there was so much time devoted to the backstory that, other than the promo material, you don't even know what the story is actually supposed to be about! I hope that there are future editions though, and that this situation is remedied in them. It seems like a great premise:  Nicole, a young black woman, as a single parent, trying to raise her 7-year-old son, Dion, who has superpowers.  It would be good to see more of what Raising Dion is really all about.

I don't recall where I first heard of this book, but I received a FREE ebook copy - and you can as well! (at least as of the time of this posting) - at: www.dennis-liu.com. 

REVIEW: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: Castaways by David McDonald

**** (4) out of 5 stars!

A story with clear plot-lines, believable situations and straight-forward action. I could visualize the characters from the movie and hear the dialogue in their voices most of the time they were speaking, especially when they were interacting with one another. The only character who really seemed a bit lacking in this regard was Drax, but he also played a very small part compared to the other central characters. The explanation of the happenings on the planet was well thought out and plausible, although the final battle did seem a bit too easy. All in all though, a good, fun read!

I received a free eBook copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Ghostbusters International (#1) by Erik Burnham

** (2) out of 5 stars

I just was not impressed with this work! 

First of all, the artwork was horrible.  I did not like the style at all.  All of the characters had strangely pointy facial features.  Janine was rendered just absurdly ugly and weird looking.  And I couldn’t ever tell Peter and Ray apart.

The story seems to begin in the middle of a plot in motion.  There were several characters that it seemed we were supposed to know, but I didn’t have a clue as to who were they. 

The scene of negotiating the international deal was simply boring and dumb.  And there didn’t appear to be any reason for the Ghostbusters to be there.

The story itself seemed like it could have been going somewhere, but the galley I read ended before anything really became clear. 

All in all, a huge disappointment!

I received a free e-book partial galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

REVIEW: Faith, Vol 1: Hollywood & Vine by Jody Houser

**** (4) out of 5 stars!

Definitely a fresh take on an old story!  I was pleasantly surprised to learn of this new superhero whose character is uniquely her own.  First there was a new superhero Canadian young woman (Superhero Girl), then a Muslim teen girl (Ms Marvel AKA Kamala Khan); and now this overweight, young adult woman from Valiant Entertainment.  Talk about turning the genre on its ear!  No more are all the heroes these pasty, middle-aged, white dudes in tights.  I love it! 

I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the comic seemed to live up to the hype of its promo description.  While the galley I read contained only the first two volumes of the series (where the actual graphic novel will contain the first four), it still presented enough story to draw me in.  The characters were minimally introduced, the bad guys hinted at but not really explained; basically, the background was set for the anticipated action of the coming battle.  Although only from the intro material did I know that it is an alien invasion that Zephyr (AKA Faith, AKA Summer) will be fighting. 

I did feel like, even though these were the first editions in the series, there was an awful lot of backstory that I should know, even though the reader isn’t really made privy to it, at least not yet.  All the stuff about “psionically gifted ‘psiots’ discovered by the Harbinger Foundation” just left me wondering… Who?  Where?  What now??  But hopefully more of that will be filled in as the series progresses. 

The artwork was clear, concise and easy to follow, with clear definitions between each of the seemingly main and secondary characters, with subtle differences even between some of the minor characters who were apparently supposed to look very similar.

I’m already enjoying Zephyr, glad she dumped her loser ex-hero-turned-reality-TV-star boyfriend, anxious to learn more about her friends and coworkers, and to see if things get more interesting with her new neighbor!  It is definitely invigorating to see the diversity and fresh view that this character brings to the genre.  I can’t wait to read the entire volume, and any that may follow it.

I received a free partial galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Camp Midnight by Steven T Seagle, with illustrations by Jason Katzenstein

****(4) out of 5 stars

I was first attracted to this book on behalf of my son because he is very much into anything paranormal these days.  But I am very glad that I decided to read it because it ended up being so much more than just a monster story!

Really it was the coming of age tale of Skye, a snarky teenage girl with an awful lot of attitude.  Still, she is dealt a rather bad hand when she is forced to spend the summer, supposedly, with her dad and horrible step-mother (or “step-monster” as Skye calls her); only to discover that instead she’s actually being sent away to summer camp.  That she ends up at one full of real monsters is quite ironic.  And that many of those monsters end up being more human than the regular people in her life is also quite telling. 

It was a little unbelievable that Skye was so easily willing to accept that there were witches, monsters and other paranormal creatures all around her; when most humans would have been at least a little taken aback, if not outright scared to death.  It also seemed a bit unlikely that everyone at camp, as well as the reader, pretty much figure out what her best friend Mia really is except for Skye. 

However, the general messages of the graphic novel definitely made it a book worth reading.  Being true to yourself, standing up for your friends, overcoming obstacles – those were just a few of the lessons to be learned.  A great read for anyone looking for a positive, uplifting message, or needing help in finding their true self. 

The resolution of the story, especially in relation to Mia, did feel very rushed, and I wished it had been explored more.  But it was satisfying and totally fit with the overall premise of the situation. 

I did not care for the style of artwork, finding it very messy and annoying.  But it did seem to fit in well with the overall monster theme, especially the limited palette of dark spooky colors. 

There was a definite ending to the story, but also lots of room for future exploration in a possible sequel volume, not least of which was a mystery basilisk still on the loose in the woods around camp…

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a free eBook copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. 

REVIEW: Grumpy Cat Volume 1 by Ben McCool, Royal McGraw, Elliott Serrano & Ben Fisher

*** (3) out of 5 stars

The action of this graphic novel focuses on Grumpy and her brother Pokey.  Before reading it, I was aware of Grumpy Cat as a character and had seen some of the related memes, but that was about all I knew.  First of all, I wasn’t aware that Grumpy was a girl, so seeing her referred to as “she” threw me off a bit.  And while I expected the character to be (obviously) grumpy, maybe rather surly and rude, possibly fairly sarcastic – I didn’t expect her to be as mean and vindictive as portrayed in the book.  I was especially disappointed in how poorly she treated her darling brother Pokey, not to mention Dog.

 

That being said, the many and varied story-lines of the different tales were unique, somewhat unpredictable, and definitely entertaining.  The book was much longer than I had anticipated, and contained a lot more stories than I expected. 

The graphics were excellent.  Even utilizing fairly minimalist backgrounds and a somewhat limited color palette, the pictures came across as fresh and vibrant.  And it is amazing how much emotion can be expressed in even rather basic drawings and a few simple words!

There were just a handful of times when I couldn’t make out the image in a panel, and that probably had more to do with the fact that I read it on my phone.  There were also occasional instances where I felt as though I was missing something.  (Like when they take out one too many panels from the extended version of the Sunday comics and you are left having to fill in the blanks between big jumps in the action sequence.)  And there were a few times also when I felt as though the characters were discussing something as part of an inside joke of which I was unaware.

So, overall, I found it an okay read, definitely entertaining, but nothing spectacular.  But probably for people who are fans of Grump Cat beforehand, this would be an excellent read!

I received a digital ARC of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.