The Art of 5th Cell

author: 5th Cell

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.00

book published: 2012

rating: 4

read at: 2014/11/10

date added: 2014/11/10

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

'The Art of 5th Cell' is a graphic celebration of an innovative game company. Their games on multiple platforms are creative and fun to play.



Five of the company's games or game franchises are featured in this book: Scribblenauts, Lock's Quest, Drawn To Life, Hybrid and Run Roo Run. From game conceptual art to magazine covers and promotional art and comics. Their ability to create recognizable art on smaller platforms is a highlight, but their work on Hybrid has detailed armor and guns that players can customize their avatars with.



The book concludes with an extended Edison Yan sketchbook with more concepts, and there is a list of all the 5th Cell original games, as well as ideas that didn't make it to game format. It's an interesting look into a game company. I always enjoy seeing what might have been and trying to see how the artists make decisions based on playability. Fun stuff.



I received a review copy of this ebook from Diamond Book Distributor, Udon Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1pL8FXv

Good-Bye Geist

author: Ryo Hanada

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.00

book published: 2012

rating: 2

read at: 2014/11/10

date added: 2014/11/10

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

'Good-Bye Geist' is part of GEN Manga's indie manga line. It's part of a series of manga that are usually only traded among manga artists. This one left me a little flatter than some of them.



A young high school girl named Yuki is being filmed on a train by a mysterious boy. She is also groped on the train one day. She has her friends ride along to watch over her, but they can't always do that. Along with these events are a series of animal murders. These also occurred seven years previously. Could all these ominous events be linked?



I found this story to be a little harder to follow. Part of it was an art style that made it tough to decipher what was happening, and part of it was a story that was a little incoherent in places. The art is good enough, and the story premise seemed good, but when it was all done, I couldn't piece it all together. Your mileage may vary.



I was given a review copy of this manga by Diamond Book Distributors and Gen Manga Entertainment in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1tAUoqY

Vs Aliens

author: Yu Suzuki

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.08

book published: 2011

rating: 3

read at: 2014/11/08

date added: 2014/11/08

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

'Vs Aliens' by Yu Suzuki is a manga story that might be perfect for younger teen readers. It had an interesting mystery and the kind of charm that older readers might be too jaded to enjoy.



Kitaro is approached by a girl named Aya in his school that is convinced another girl is an alien. Kitaro is a bit nervous approaching the supposed alien, Sana, because she is pretty. He also finds himself attracted to Aya, which gets him some teasing from the other boys. But the mystery deepens, and Kitaro, Aya and Sana find themselves on the run. Is it real or a hoax? Will Kitaro be able to help Sana or even tell her he likes her?



It's a cute story that moves along well enough. The story elements involve young crushes. The SF elements are fairly light and it's a light story by the time it's all done.



I received a review copy of this manga from Diamond Book Distributors, Gen Manga Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read this fun manga.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1tsw7U3

The Field

author: Ed Brisson

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.25

book published: 2014

rating: 4

read at: 2014/11/08

date added: 2014/11/08

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

'The Field' written by Ed Brisson and with art by Simon Roy is fast and over the top. It has some strange twists and turns, but I ended up liking it.



An amnesiac wakes up in a field in just his underwear. Nearby, a phone starts ringing and sending him text messages from someone unknown. The first message warns him about getting in the car that's coming for him, but he finds himself getting in the car anyway. He finds himself in the company of a crazy person who thinks the underwear clad guy is important. The story gets violent and strange before it's done with a crazy Bible salesman, bikers and violent Trekkie cosplayers.



It's a fun ride and I liked it, but it doesn't complete in these first four issues. Where the story is left is a little disatisfying, but I'd read the next volume. The art is a bit garish, but that totally fits the over the top story elements. Violence and profanity abound, so reader beware.



I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1Es8xiw

Denslow's Night Before Christmas

author: Clement C. Moore

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.33

book published: 1823

rating: 4

read at: 2014/11/06

date added: 2014/11/06

shelves: children-s

review:

Over my many years on the planet, I've seen and enjoyed many illusrated versions of Clement C. Moore's 'Night Before Christmas.' but 'Denslow's Night Before Christmas' might be my very favorite version.



W.W. Denslow is the original illustrator of the L. Frank Baum Wizard of Oz books, and his illustrations there are iconic and classic. In 1902, he illustrated this famous Christmas poem, and his illustrations are full of charm and whimsy. Drawings spill across the pages with all kinds of details. The drawings of a happy, mischievous looking St. Nicholas are a bit different from our modern Coca-Cola inspired Santa, but they are nonetheless familiar. There are scenes of sleeping mice, and a boy in a dog-pulled sled, but my favorite might be the candy dancing over the children's heads.



Denslow's style is so classic and expressive, and this version from Dover is a great reproduction of the original version from 1902. There is a foreward by Grace Duffie Boylan. I think this is the version I need on my coffee table this holiday season.



I was given a review copy of this ebook by Dover Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this fun ebook.







via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1tjBOUi

V-Wars Volume 1: Crimson Queen

author: Jonathan Maberry

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.60

book published: 2012

rating: 3

read at: 2014/11/06

date added: 2014/11/06

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

'V-Wars' gets the graphic novel treatment. For those not familiar with the series, they are are linked stories about a virus named ICE that turns people into vampires and a series of linked characters that show up in some of the stories. Based on genetics, people can be turned into a variety of vampires based on their bloodline.



Professor Swann is a main character of the series, and this book gives some background on him that I didn't know. He is at the forefront of trying to understand and find a way for the vampires (bloods) to live peaceably with the humans (beats). He is embedded in a military unit that is at the front of what seems to be a vampire war. There are groups of people trying to push war to the forefront, and as hard as Swann tries, his words seem to be more and more futile. It all culminates in a confrontation that will leave Swann with some choices to make.



It was an okay story, but I think I prefer the prose versions over this graphic novel version. I felt like the art was a bit weak, and the story seemed a bit overly long. Most of the V-Wars stories I've read have been more concise and punchy. Still it's interesting to see this in a graphic novel and for Swann to take center stage.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors, IDW Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1tjynNg

The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books

author: Azar Nafisi

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.98

book published: 2014

rating: 4

read at: 2014/11/03

date added: 2014/11/03

shelves: non-fiction

review:

'The Republic of Imagination' by Azir Nafisi ('Reading Lolita in Tehran') is an impassioned plea for literature in her adopted home of America. In an era where bookstores are closing, schools are moving away from literature, and we are more distracted, she makes the case for why literature is vital to a society.



The book takes three novels and makes her case: 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain, 'Babbitt' by Sinclair Lewis, and 'The Heart is a Lonely Hunter' by Carson McCullers. Each has parallels to our day whether it is showing how materialism and the pursuit of the newest gadget is as American as a pervading sense of isolation even while we are in a crowd. She talks about how literature can get us beyond lists of facts into a new place where we can meet characters similar and dissimilar to us. She rails against the common core and how it turns it's back on literature in favor of a more factual, science based education, and what we lose with that.



Intertwined with her explorations are stories and people from her real life. From a childhood friend with terminal cancer to friends made during protest marches in the States. The true stories show how literature can provide us with perspective and understanding. It's a much more personal book than I anticipated when I read about it, but that's not a bad thing at all. Literature should connect to us at a personal level as it does with this author.



I received a review copy of this ebook from Penguin Group Viking, Viking Adult and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this fine ebook.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1wZawdg