Wolf

author: Shige Nakamura

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.20

book published: 2012

rating: 4

read at: 2015/01/10

date added: 2015/01/10

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

'Wolf' is a Gen Manga title that I enjoyed quite a bit. There is a little uneven storytelling, but overall, it's pretty good.



Naoto is an angry young man taking a train to Tokyo with a mission to kill a man. On the train, he meets a likeable enough innocent bumpkin named Shota who is also on his way to Tokyo, but he wants to become a sumo wrestler. When Naota gets to Tokyo, he and Shota part ways and Naoto finds himself at a boxing gym and face to face with the man he is there to kill.



Things don't work out perfectly for Naoto, but they kind of do. He finds friends in the gym who think he might make a pretty good boxer. Naoto takes that path so that he can build strength for his eventual revenge.



The tale that unfolds is not unpredictable, but I found it a little heartwarming and I liked it. Shota shows up occasionally, but I was kind of hoping for more of him. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more of him. Maybe he'll make his way to another book. I liked the art and found it easy to read and follow. I've enjoyed the Gen Manga series that I've read so far.



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 review this manga.





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Mind the Gap, Volume 1: Intimate Strangers

author: Jim McCann

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.75

book published: 2012

rating: 4

read at: 2015/01/08

date added: 2015/01/08

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

'Mind the Gap, Volume 1: Intimate Strangers' is a mind trip. It's also not a complete story arc. I don't think that should stop you, but it's something you should know going in.



Elle Peterssen comes from a wealthy family full of not so nice people. She is also in a coma. She is still an interesting character because she's in a strange out of body state. Her best friend is trying to figure out how this happened to Elle, and Elle is also trying to find the person that put her in a coma. The problem is there are a lot of suspicious characters. There is also a larger subplot happening, but it doesn't get too far off the ground in this book. Throughout the book there are song lyrics from various eras. I think this might hold clues, but they weren't revealed as of yet. Maybe they are just there to be cool.



I liked the story, but it was a bit too nighttime soap opera for me (think Dallas or Dynasty). I really liked the art, and the covers are really, really great. If I saw this on the newsstand, I'd pick it up just for the covers. I think I'd like to read more and find out what happens to Elle.



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.





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Wizzywig: Portrait of a Serial Hacker

author: Ed Piskor

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.66

book published: 2012

rating: 4

read at: 2015/01/08

date added: 2015/01/08

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

'Wizzywig' by Ed Piskor is a graphic novel that gives some of the early history of hacking. It does it in a style that moves between past and present. I liked it, but I didn't totally love it.



Kevin "Boingthump" Phenicle is a curious young boy growing up in the 1970s. At some point he ends up in prison, because we learn this in the first couple pages. Kevin as a younger kid was bullied, but it doesn't seem to phase him because he's got such a curiosity for things around him. That curiosity is for things like lock-picking and scamming bus drivers with discarded transfer tickets. He moves on to using dial tones generators to make free phone calls ("phreaking"). When he gets his first computer, things heat up more. He finds the world of the BBS, and starts selling copies of computer games to his friends.



Added in to this are the rumors of what Kevin can do. The media reacts to the unknown with it's typical fear. Unfortunately, this is about where my review copy ran out of pages, but I do want to find and read the rest of this graphic novel.



Ed Piskor is an artist who has worked on Harvey Pekar's "American Splendor" and the art reflects that sort of ugly character style. It suits the story really well. In the segment that I got for review, the story is a little patchy and seems to jump around, but it did hold my interest and I'm glad I got to read it. Now to find the rest of it...



I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Top Shelf Productions and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this fine graphic novel.





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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time

author: Paul Allor

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.64

book published: 2014

rating: 4

read at:

date added: 2015/01/05

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time' collects 4 issues of the series. Each issue is a different time period, and a different team of writers and artists. I kind of liked it.



Issue one dumps us right in the middle of our turtles runing from Utrom riding dinosaurs (Utrom is the race of aliens that Krang is from). A character I wasn't familiar with named Renet shows up and seems to be responsible for the time displacement, but it seems like she's still having problems. The turtles find themselves in medieval Japan and seeing a chance to change their lives by altering an event from their past. Aboard a sailing ship full of privateers, they help a crew fight off pirates, including one wielding a strange, futuristic weapon. The final issue finds them in a strange future with other anthropomorphic creatures. This strange future may have been caused by one of the guys, so soul searching is required.



My review copy was only 88 pages and the page count is listed as 104, so I'm not sure what I'm missing. There is little extra narrative explaining how this happened or why it's happening, but I don't think that's a problem. The art varies wildly between issues, but I also don't think this is a problem. I thought it was a lot of fun.



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





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Corto Maltese: Sous le signe du Capricorne

author: Hugo Pratt

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.22

book published: 1970

rating: 4

read at: 2015/01/04

date added: 2015/01/04

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

'Corto Maltese: Under the Sign of Capricorn' is another reprint of the late 1960s-early 1970s series by Hugo Pratt. The adventure takes place around 1916 in the South Seas.



Corto Maltese, for those unfamiliar, is a mysterious ship captain and sometime ruffian who finds himself in the midst of trouble and always looking for a big score in buried or sunken treasure. He also finds himself on the edges of world conflict as he runs across plotting German captains.



This volume has a few stories, but the main one is called 'The Secret of Tristan Bantam' and concerns a young man who hires Corto Maltese to solve a mystery left behind by his deceased father. This will lead Tristan and Corto Maltese on an ocean adventure with unexpected results. Another story finds Corto Maltese on a beach, being shot at, and no memory of himself or how he got there.



They are high adventure stories from another time. The art is not bad. Corto Maltese is gangly and laid back, usually finding himself leaning against a door frame with a cigarette in his mouth. Sometimes his legs look a little too long and some of the native people are are a bit garish. The depictions of different races seems harsh at first glance, but these characters resonate with wisdom and intelligence, so it makes it's way into less offensive territory (at lease for me). I enjoyed this volume of stories and wouldn't mind reading more of handsome, laid back Corto Maltese.



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





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Thinkers 50 Innovation: Breakthrough Thinking to Take Your Business to the Next Level

author: Stuart Crainer

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.40

book published: 2013

rating: 3

read at: 2015/01/04

date added: 2015/01/04

shelves: currently-reading, non-fiction-business

review:

'Thinkers 50 Innovation: Breakthrough Techniques to Take Your Business to the Next Level' takes a hot business topic and interviews some of the leaders in the field as determined by the Thinkers 50 thinktank. I found it an interesting read, and see where it could be beneficial to businesses.



Each chapter takes a topic, then interviews a thought leader in that topic. Topics include Leading Innovation, Co-creating the Future and Where Innovation Meets Society. Thought leaders include Don Tapscott, Clay Christensen and Gary Hamel among others. The book is designed as an overview of the current state of innovation and why we are where we are. While not providing a complete roadmap, I think the chapters would be helpful for any company leader looking to add and lead with innovation. Also useful is the changing shape of management and how managers need to evolve in leading their teams.



The interviews are question and answer and are interesting due to the weight most of the leaders provide. The outline of the book is good and I enjoyed reading it. I've read good and bad books on the subject of innovation. This one falls slightly above average in that group. I'd recommend giving it a read if you are looking to drive innovation in your company.



I received a review copy of this ebook from McGraw-Hill Professional and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.





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Wit and Wisdom of America's First Ladies: A Book of Quotations

author: Joslyn Pine

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.20

book published: 2014

rating: 4

read at: 2015/01/04

date added: 2015/01/04

shelves: non-fiction

review:

A few years back, I got to go to the Smithsonian American History museum. One of the fascinating things I saw was a display of all the inaugural gowns worn by the first ladies. Due to the fragile nature of the fabric, the dresses were displayed on dress dummies in dim light and appeared to be floating in the dark. In the hushed room, a young boy loudly exclaimed, "Mama! They ain't got no heads!"



With a few exceptions, when we think of the first ladies, I'm not sure we credit them with the intelligence and stamina it surely takes to represent our country. 'Wit and Wisdom of America's First Ladies' sets out to change that over it's short length, and I believe it succeeds. Every woman who was a First Lady in the White House is given and introduction page and a series of quotes attributed to them. This is done in chronological order. You can see the types of things that occupied the First Lady's mind during that time. War, poverty, assassination, illiteracy, and the environment are just a few of the topics that show up in this book.



I enjoyed it immensely. We hear more about the Presidents than their wives, but I was engaged through this entire book. I really liked this chance to get to meet these ladies.



I received a review copy of this ebook from Dover Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this interesting ebook.





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