Until There Was You

I never would have read Soppy until I fell in love.  Had a been forced to read it, I would have hated it and mocked it.  I loved this book.  If you are in love, you will love it, too.  If you love "ordinary time" with the one you love, you will especially love this book.  What a love story.  Only thing is, David Levithan would hate this book.  The female character is drawn so that she looks a bit overweight!  He would have a field day saying how lazy she is!

Haunted

I just couldn't rate Ghosts because while I found the sisterly relationship to be super well done the cultural appropriation really bugged me. But I don't think that Raina Telgemeier meant any harm. But yet I really think it is important to make note of it and to recognize that it just isn't okay to do that. For a much better understanding about all of this, please read here.  But man, it is a shame because there is a lot of good stuff in here.

A great book but now I will take a little break

I have been getting obsessed with the Rick Geary Treasury of Victorian Murder graphic nonfiction titles.  I do need to take a little break from them, but I will definitely go back to them soon, maybe around Halloween, which is fast approaching!  The last two Sundays I filled the pulpit up at Bradford Woods Community Church and that was my focus on off-work hours.  My reading slowed, so now I need to get back into it will full-force and and obsession of any kind is never good when trying to expand my reading experience!  

I think A Treasury of Victorian Murder MIGHT have been the first in what has become a series of individual graphic works, like the ones I have talked about here:  the assassination of Garfield and H.H. Holmes and Madeleine Smith.  I say might because I still don't understand the whole language and set up and organization of graphic works, like compendiums and collected volumes and things like that!

In any case, this volume featured there creepy stories:  the murders of brother and sister, Nick and Mary Ryan, the murderous Dr. Pritchard, and Mary Pearcey.

James A. Garfield

Last year I read The Destiny of the Republic and loved it.   As I mentioned back when I reviewed it, it made me want to visit his home in Mentor, Ohio.  Well, finally I did!  Below are some pictures from the trip that I made with mom and Lobster!  It was so worth it!  The tour was excellent. At the gift shop I picked up the book The Fatal Bullet:   the assassination of James A. Garfield.  It was a really, really well done graphic non-fiction and now I want to read the whole series that Rick Geary has done.

Nate

I was wrong.  I thought Big Nate was a Diary of a Wimpy Kid rip-off.  I had no idea that it has actually been a comic strip since 1991!  I am very embarrassed and ashamed of those feelings!  I thought that a lot of this was funny, but the reason I didn't love it was that Nate is a jerk, really.  Greg can be jerky, but Nate is always a jerk, it seems.  There is a difference.  It is that whole Ramona vs. Junie B. deal.  But I will read the next one to give him a chance! 

Very Depressing...

This has been a harsh winter, indeed, so maybe it wasn't the best time to read Stray Bullets.  This was the first volume, and I guess having the word nihilism in the subtitle, was a clue!  But I still didn't even realize how dark and depressing these stories could be.  Again, this is not for kids.  Not really even for teens.  Not really even for adults, maybe!  Just dark and miserable stories.  I don't know if I could recommend this to anyone!  Good stories, but super-dark.  The art was very good.  But I felt sick after reading it.

What a nut!

Ayn Rand. Of course I've heard of her, but I've never read Atlas Shrugged, while most folks I know have.  I never really knew much about her, so I figured this little free comic book on The Comixology app would be a nice introduction and then maybe I would go from there.
I am so glad I read this first!  I was drawn by the fabulous title of the series Action Philosophers!  How cool is that?  Now that I've read a seven or maybe nine page comic book about Ayn Rand, I think I am all good.  She really isn't my style.
At all.

Adventures in Arkham

As I mentioned before, I am kinda on a graphic novel kick.   Specifically I requested from the library all of the Arkham Asylum books I could find.  Arkham Asylum:  A Serious House on a Serious Earth was really good but hard to follow actually.  The Joker's words were a little too hard to read for my old eyes.  Maybe that means I am too old for comic books?  Not because they are immature.  Again, these comics are not for little kids!  Anyway, the edition I had from the library was the fifteenth anniversary edition and it had the full script in the back which was really cool.  Is Batman crazy?  I guess I never thought much about him before, but he certainly does seem a little crazy.  I feel sorry for him though, he is a poor dude, who tries his best but is still in a bad way.  When you read this you also start to feel bad for mostly everyone!
Arkham Reborn is another one that is really good, but also not for adults and there was much in it that I didn't understand.  I enjoyed it a lot, but I have to say that I didn't enjoy it enough to dig deeper into the whole Batman world.  No offense, Big Bat Guy, I am just content to know you are out there, keeping us safe.

Trip to the Asylum

No, not this one, which I have been to before and recommend the trip.  Nor this one, which I went to before it was torn down and isn't there at all anymore.  But Arkham Asylum, which is fake, but has two great LEGO sets.  The latest, Breakout and the 1996 set.   Here is a great video comparing and contrasting them from the awesome, BrickQueen.  Arkham Asylum:  Living Hell is also described on this page.  I was visiting my friend Jay in the hospital and one of his friends gave him this book.  I wanted to read all of the Arkham Asylum-focused books because they just seemed so creepy.  And they are!  A LOT of dark stuff in here, but if you like dark stuff, I highly recommend! 

No More Worries

Finished The Good Neighbors tonight with the third installment, Kind.  I also found out what kith means!  I gotta say that it wrapped up nicely, but I still am sticking with a 3 out of 5 star rating for each of the books and a 3 overall.  I did like the story.  One reviewer on goodreads.com said that it was a good story that  maybe didn't have the right format.  That kinda makes sense to me.  It IS a good story, so I want to read more of Holly Black.  And you can't beat the art work.  Excellent.  But overall, it just didn't go deep enough for me.

Define "good"

I admit that most of my fairy knowledge comes from Disney.  Tinker Bell and those chicks in Sleeping Beauty, who I just learned are named Flora, Fauna and Merryweather.  I know Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan were around a long time before Disney made them into cartoons, but I admit, it is the Disney fairies that I know and love.  I always thought that three Sleeping Beauty faires were named Bibbity, Bobbity, Boo!  Ha!
So as I am reading The Good Neighbors Book Two:  Kith, I am thinking, "good" neighbors?  Dudes these fairies are evil!  And they are!  And while I don't believe in fairies, I have to say I just felt a little weird about calling out the fairies as evil.  The ones in this book are pretty scary!  I was glad I got my hands on the second book so quickly after finishing the first.  Looking forward to the final one.  Only thing is, still not quite ready to change a 3 star rating to anything higher, but maybe after the third!  And what is a Kith?

And Like a Good Neighbor...

It was Barry Manilow who wrote the State Farm jingle.  I think everyone knows that.  I never knew that faires were called "good neighbors."  The Good Neighbors: Kin is the first graphic novel in a series of three by Holly Black.  The art work is done by Ted Naifeh.  It's the story of Rue, who has a LOT going on in her life.  Her mother is gone, and she might be a fairy.  Her dad is accused of killing one of his students and his wife (Rue's mom.)  Also, Rue is starting to see things, vines, horns on people, that kind of thing.  I only gave this three stars, but I bet I will be giving it more than that once I read the second and third books, which I will, for sure!  Very captivating and original and I loved the art work.

My Little Runaways

Great song and ask the gal from Countdown believed, Del Shannon...dreamy. The Runaways are a comic I have been following for a few years now. Homeschooling collects Runaways #11-14. I liked the story a lot better than some from the recent past but the art just didn't do it for me, especially Chase, who used to be so cute but now he looks like a Disney Prince. If they'll keep writing, I'll keep reading, though. I will just imagine Chase the way he looked back in the beginning!

FINALLY!

I have waited so long for the next graphic novel in the Sons of Liberty series!  The first one was so terrific.  Death and Taxes is the second installment and I read it way too quickly because now, who knows how long I'll have to wait for the third!
The runaway slaves turned super-powered superheroes are in Boston right at the time that things are heating up with the Stamp Act.  Great series!
As a side note, you will notice that my book title links will no longer be going to my local online catalog.  Sadly, it isn't dependable.  From now on they will link to Hennepin County Library System's pretty fine catalog.  On their site you'll also find some great book lists as well!

An Odd Halloween

This is the second graphic novel featuring Odd Thomas. I had to wait for it and there's still a waiting list at the library, so I guess and I'm pleased that this is a popular series, because I'm looking forward to reading more. I do love the Odd Thomas books, even though every knows Dean Koontz can be preachy.  These two graphic offerings have been less so, which makes them even more enjoyable. I especially loved Odd is on Our Side because it is set during Halloween. The Halloween decorations in town of Pico Mundo are most cool. Most cool. In this story Odd and his soul mate, Stormy, battle something evil that is threatening the lives of children during the town's Halloween celebration. The mystery is not a difficult one, but original in the way it plays out. There is humor and more in the story. I sped through it and hope the third one will be out soon.

Finally

For some years now I have been trying to read Coraline.  I finally was successful in finishing the graphic novel.  I first tried to read it when a young librarian gave a book talk on it.  He did a wonderful job, but when I tried to read the actual book, after about three pages I gave up and shouted "BORING" never to return to it until the movie came out in 2009.  I tried again and came up with the same, resounding "BORING"!  I was sure I would never complete it, even though everyone just LOVES it.  When I saw the graphic novel I thought, heck, why not give it a try.
Well, I didn't love it, but I didn't find it BORING!  I did find it overrated.  Much like....The Graveyard Book Controversy (that apparently only exists in my mind).  It's fine.  It is.  Coraline is a girl who feels no one pays attention to her.  She finds a door in her family's flat that leads to nowhere, but then one day it leads to "somewhere" where her "other family" exists.  The other family...well, they ain't so nice.  Especially her "other mom" and so, you can probably guess what happens by the time Coraline's adventure is over.  If you just took a random guess, you would be right.  Yeah, it was ok.

St. Elsewhere

I thought I would try out another comic book and thought that this one had an interesting cover and the art work caught my eye, so without knowing anything about The Elsewhere Chronicles Book One:  The Shadow Door, I took it home and read it tonight.
The story begins with three friends, Noah, Max and Theo watching the burial of an old man lived in a spooky house in town.  As they watch, Grandpa Gabe being lowered into the ground, Gabe's granddaughter, Rebecca comes up to them and introduces herself.  She is apparently from out of town and had never met her grandfather.  Her family is planning to sell the house and all of its contents and go on with their lives.  Rebecca and the boys, however, sneak into the house and discover that it is filled with books written by Grandpa Gabe and also a lot of funky machinery.  One particularly interesting machine looks like a film projector, but it has the ability to take people to another world...Elsewhere, I assume.
Max and Rebecca end up in this world of shadows, filled with dangerous creatures.
The story didn't grab me completely, but it is a short book and I will read the rest.  As of now there are four in the series, so I will keep going and see what happens.

Lizzy Borden

Yes, yes I know the really famous LB spelled her name Lizzie, but the title of this blog refers to these folks.  I am a child of the 80s and my first concert was Iron Maiden.  I've admitted to more embarrassing things.  The Borden Tragedy : a memoir of the infamous double murder at Fall River, Mass., 1892 has a title almost as long as the graphic novel itself.  While I had heard the rhyme, "Lizzie Borden gave her mother, etc, etc." I really didn't know the details of the crime.  I spotted this book on the library shelf and looked at the back where the author/artist had drawn pictures of Lizzie and OJ Simpson and compared the two and I thought, "This looks kinda interesting" and indeed, it was.  Nicely drawn in black and white it is a quick look at the case.  Included in the back of the book are copies of the newspaper articles of the day and a copy of the indictment.   These are kind of hard to read as the print is pretty small and the writing is so different from what we're used to today.  Worth the quick read if you are interested in the case.   Not something to seek out if you have no real interest in the subject.  

You Slay Me...

Batman.  The Killing Joke was recommended to me by a young man at a teen book group led by the amazing Kelly. It is clear then, that I am once again in debt to Kelly for introducing me to some fine reading material.  In this case the material was a bit disturbing, but that's okay!  It was quite good. 

As I have mentioned before, I don't know much about graphic novels and comics, but I know what I like and I really liked this.  Maybe that says a lot for a comic as it is, that a particular comic can become a favorite of someone who isn't all that into comics.  It must be a great comic, right? 

This one must be an especially good comic because it's a Batman one and Batman has this whole big history going on and legions of fans and backstory and frontstory and futurestory.  And I think I've seen maybe one movie, I think and I really know hardly anything about Batman but the tv theme song, but yet, I really loved this comic! 

One word though, it is for sure not for little ones!

The End? Or the End for now

So for now I don't have anymore Runaways to read. I honestly don't know if the comic is still continuing. I don't understand how to interpret comic book issue language! Maybe I will go to new comic store in Sewickley and just ask. I've heard really good things about them. The Runaways, Volume 10 Rock Zombies collects Runaways (2008) 7-11, which is different from the other Runaways because I guess this is Runaways (2008) which means something different! I need someone to help me figure out comic book language!

Anyway, Terry Moore wrote this one, too and it is fantastic! Just like Vol. 9, the writing is totally on! It continues the Howard Stern-esque story and more. The art isn't that great but it isn't terrible. It is infinitely better than the horrible art in the last volume. I really hope The Runaways are still out there fighting crime! I will update when I find out!