Bag of Marbles, A: The Graphic Novel

author: Joseph Joffo

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.50

book published: 1973

rating: 4

read at: 2013/10/11

date added: 2014/03/09

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

This review is for a new graphic novel interpretation of the novel 'A Bag Of Marbles' by Joseph Joffo. It tells the story of how his Jewish family survived and escaped from occupied France during World War II.



When Nazis threaten Maurice and Jo, their father has a plan. He's already migrated from Russia to Paris to escape other problems, so he is used to running. And he's sent Jo's 2 older brothers on ahead. The boys have to make their way south through the border of occupied France without papers and only their ingenuity to get them by. There are narrow escapes, clever plans, heart-warming reunions and tragedy.



The art by Vincent Bailly is great, keeping the art light and then ominous then light as the story changes tones. It's a rough subject, but it's a good story and is accessible to middle grade children. The original novel has been translated into 18 languages, and after reading this, I can see why the story has endured.





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Doomsday.1 (Doomsday.1, #1)

author: John Byrne

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.56

book published: 2013

rating: 0

read at: 2014/03/08

date added: 2014/03/08

shelves: graphic-novels

review:







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Club Monstrosity (Monstrosity, #1)

author: Jesse Petersen

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.90

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/03/07

date added: 2014/03/07

shelves:

review:

A group of monsters hiding in a modern city meet once a week in a church basement. It's a support group for the struggles they go through, but after all the years, it's gotten a bit tedious. Members include a mummy, a vampire, a werewolf, Jekyll & Hyde, and an invisible man.



When the invisible man turns up dead, it's suspicious. When the leader of the group, a blob called Bob, also ends up dead, it seems like someone is hunting the monsters down. Not only hunting them but matching their deaths with the ones in "their stories." They way they die in their respective books or movies. It's a lighthearted detective novel with a hint of romance and lots of humor. There is a sequel and this book does have an open ending.



The characters are interesting and quite human, in spite of their monstrous lives and pasts. It's all about what makes us different, what we do to fit in and the people we surround ourselves with to make our lives interesting. I really liked it.



I was given a review copy of this book by Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this book.





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Smart Machines: IBM's Watson and the Era of Cognitive Computing

author: John E. Kelly

name: Wayne

average rating: 2.87

book published: 2013

rating: 3

read at: 2014/03/04

date added: 2014/03/04

shelves: non-fiction-computer

review:

Smart Machines: IBM's Watson and the Era of Cognitive Computing by John E. Kelly and Steve Hamm is a quick but fascinating read. It talks about where we are currently with the state of computing and how our needs are being quickly outstripped by technology that has served us well for many years. It talks about conceptual ideas for what computers could do for us in the near future. It purports that computers wouldn't become as cognitive as humans, but that new computing styles could work side by side to assist humans.



IBM's Watson is discussed. This is the computer that was featured on Jeopardy a few years ago playing, and winning, against Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings. The development of Watson as well as ideas for what it could possibly be used for are discussed. As well as how to change computer processors. We have miniaturized processing to the point where it is no longer effective. We are losing computing power instead of gaining it. We need to rethink computing and develop quantum computers. This is a concept thought of by physicist Richard Feynman and we are now on the verge of seeing it as a reality.



The whole book feels like a commercial for IBM, but there is a fair amount of innovation going on with IBM, so it's not completely invalid. And in such a short book, I'm not sure how wide you could go with other companies' innovations. I found it fascinating and exciting.



I was given a review copy of this book by Columbia University Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read this interesting book.





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Dejah Thoris and the Green Men of Mars Volume 1

author: Mark Rahner

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.56

book published: 2014

rating: 3

read at: 2014/03/05

date added: 2014/03/05

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

Dejah Thoris is the princess of Mars from the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. In this graphic novel, Dejah and her people of Helium and the green skinned monstrous looking Thark race have come to a truce. It is a time of peace and Dejah and John Carter are getting ready to celebrate. On a peacekeeping tour, Dejah is kidnapped by Voro, a Thark bent on a gruesome goal.



Voro is a butcher. Rather than any reward or ransom he thinks he could get, his plans are to sell parts of Dejah to the highest bidder for them to eat. He already has captured a number of Helium women and they are in various states of harm. Can Dejah escape this monster and get back to John Carter? Can this shaky truce withstand such horror?



I've read a previous Dejah Thoris graphic novel, and while it was good, this one was much better. You get to see Dejah as a warrior and she is in a pretty horrific predicament. If you've read the books then the familiar characters are here, and you know the state of dress, or rather undress, that the people of Barsoom are in. There is a cover gallery that features alternate and more risque covers. I like what Dynamite has done with this series and would like to read more.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.







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The Sixth Gun, Vol. 5: Winter Wolves

author: Cullen Bunn

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.14

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/03/02

date added: 2014/03/02

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

The Sixth Gun, Vol. 5:Winter Wolves is, obviously, a continuation of the series. It's sort of a weird West story where magic and magical creatures exist. The main story line involves a series of six guns that can do extraordinary things. There are people who want to either possess the guns for good or evil or who want to outright destroy them. Often these people find themselves on the same side as they battle bigger things.



There are a couple story lines in this volume. In one of them, two people, Drake Sinclair and Becky Montcrief, find themselves in possession of 5 of the 6 guns. This makes them a highly sought after target. They find themselves trapped in an alternate world that is frozen. They are trapped by a wendigo that wants to make a trade.



In another story, 2 men and a mummy are being chased by agents of a group called the Sword of Abraham, who want to acquire the guns for their own means. There is a mad chase and an interesting culmination to that story line.



I found the story engaging, but it has lots of flashbacks, so it doesn't move the story forward as much as some might like. I love the combination of western and supernatural. Cullen Bunn's story is tight and full of surprises. Brian Hurtt's illustrations are crisp and scary. I loved the art and look forward to more volumes of this story.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.







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B.P.R.D.: Vampire

author: Mike Mignola

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.86

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/03/01

date added: 2014/03/01

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

B.P.R.D.: Vampire follows events in B.P.R.D.:1947. B.P.R.D. is the paranormal organization that Hellboy is part of and in these stories he's still quite young, so the stories are about other members of the organization.



This story involves a young sailor named Simon Anders who seems to have two demonic sisters trapped inside him. He decides to go in search of the vampires behind these spirits. The question is if he will get lost in his quest for vengeance or if he can rid himself of the two spirits living inside.



I've read a few of the B.P.R.D. series. They are all informed by the art of Mike Mignola, so even though there are different artists, there is an overarching cohesive look to the series. I really like that approach. The artists on this 5-issue series are Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, Brazil's Wonder Twins. Their work here is gruesome and dark and I quite liked it.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.





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