Catwoman: Election Night (2016-) #1

author: Meredith Finch
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.36
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2016/11/05
date added: 2016/11/05
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Catwoman Election Night' by Meredith Finch is a pretty good story. It includes a backup story from the Prez miniseries by Mark Russell that was pretty awful though.

In the Catwoman story, Selina Kyle has a flashback to living in Miss Kitty's home with other girls waiting to be adopted. She is bullied by one of the girls. In the present, Gotham is having a mayoral election with the Penguin running for mayor against a woman named Constance Hill. Catwoman is investigating the whole thing. There seems to be an odd connection to Miss Kitty's house and a wall that the Penguin wants to put up. The truth will solve an old mystery, but who will become the mayor of Gotham?

The backup Prez story has to do with hat guns and birth control candy and too many white old men making the rules. It is so blatant in the message it is making that it feels like blunt force trauma to read it.

The Catwoman story was a bit subtle with a similar message and it was better done. The Prez story didn't have the same feel or art, or even a specific election theme, so it was hard to feel any tie in. Buy it for the Catwoman story, unless you're a bigger Prez fan than I am.

I received a review copy of this issue from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. thank you for allowing me to review this issue.


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Death of Hawkman (2016-) #2

author: Marc Andreyko
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.00
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2016/11/05
date added: 2016/11/05
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Death of Hawkman #2' by Marc Andreyko continues the miniseries. I was really enthusiastic over the first issue. I was less so over this one.

The story continues on Rann as Adam Strange and a very wounded Hawkman recover from a fight. The story flashes back to the seemingly unprovoked attacks on Rann by Thanagar. Adam Strange finally finds his wife, but something has happened and Katar seems to be at the center of it. While Katar gets a dressing down by his superiors, and Rann protests the violence from Thanagar, Adam Strange is finding himself having to pick different sides from his wife.

I do like a story with Adam Strange and Hawkman. I also know things are advancing plotwise. The art was just as good as the last issue. And yet, I didn't feel as enthused as I did with the first issue. I do want to finish reading the series.

I received a review copy of this issue from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this issue.


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Vigilante: Southland (2016-) #1

author: Gary Phillips
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.62
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2016/11/03
date added: 2016/11/03
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Vigilante: Southland #1' by Gary Phillips caught my eye based on the description, but I should have probably kept on looking. This book is kind of a mess.

Donny is an ex-athlete who spends his days shooting hoops and getting high. His girlfriend Dorrie is more politically active and tries to get Donny involved. He doesn't get involved in time to help her, and now he's trying to find out what happened to her along with his estranged father. He finds out something about her that may help him in his fight for justice.

And it's a big mess. The plot kind of jumps around. The racial stereotypes abound. The whole thing feels like it could have been written in the 1990s. It feels that dated. The art isn't bad, and I was hoping it would deliver more based on the premise, but I was wrong, and I'm disappointed.

I received a review copy of this issue from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this issue.


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Ghoul Scouts: Night of the Unliving Undead

author: Steve Bryant
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.60
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2016/11/03
date added: 2016/11/03
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Ghoul Scouts: Night of the Unliving Undead' by Steve Bryant with art by Mark Stegbauer and Jason Millet is a group of scouts that track down the paranormal. This time around it's zombies, and the Ghoul Scouts didn't exactly go looking.

Outside the town of Full Moon Hollow, Paranormal Capital of the World, a couple groups of scouts are camping. When zombies suddenly show up, the boys fight them off and wonder where everyone else has gone. They run into a couple of girls in their own scout group and decide to team up to find out what is happening. One thing they notice is that all the zombies are heading East. They decide to head the other way and find out what is going on in town. Armed with a frying pan, a slingshot, a potato gun, a baseball bat and a stick, they are able to fight their way to town. What is causing this and where is everyone?

A zombie story for kids seems a bit weird, but it works. Each included issue has a glance at the creative process that goes into creating a comic. I found these to be pretty great. The creators hint at other things to come in this ongoing series. The characters are likeable enough, but I found the action to feel repetitive with each of the 5 kids getting to hit a zombie with their weapon of choice. It repeated enough over the 5 issues that it wore on me a bit. It's good for what it is, and young readers should like it well enough if they are in to monsters.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Action Lab, 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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Insider Baseball: from Political Fictions (A Vintage Short)

author: Joan Didion
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2016/11/02
date added: 2016/11/02
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'Insider Baseball: from Political Fictions' is a Vintage Short written by Joan Didion. It's from a book of political essays, and seems timely to be released in our current political season in the US.

Didion spent time covering the Dukakis campaign about 30 years ago when he was running against George H. W. Bush. I appreciated that while the book shows that the entire process would seem to be contrived, the writing lacks the kind of sneering cynicism that it might show if it were written by someone today. The title has a double meaning that refers to a staged game of toss on the tarmac of an airstrip as well as the sort of insider it takes to play this political game.

It would seem that things haven't seem to have changed much, except that the political rivalries seemed a bit gentler. It's also interesting that we continue to play this game knowing that it's all being artfully presented to us by the media.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing em to review this ebook.


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Hollywood Cafe: Coffee with the Stars

author: Steven Rea
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2016/11/02
date added: 2016/11/02
shelves: non-fiction
review:



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Frostbite #2

author: Joshua Williamson
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.57
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2016/11/01
date added: 2016/11/01
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Frostbite #2' by Joshua Williamson with art by Jason Shawn Alexander continues the icy action in a world that is dealing with an ice age.

Keaton promised to get Vic to Alcatraz, but we knew in issue one it wasn't going to be easy. In a world suffering an ice age, warmth is the new currency and it seems to be lacking in everyone. In this issue, they are looking for new transport in a Los Angeles that is 10 degrees Fahrenheit. With Keaton suffering from Frostbite, the clock is ticking. What do you think the chances are that finding a vehicle will go easy?

It's a cool premise (no pun intended) and the book makes me cold just reading it. I like the premise. It's hard to know if I like the characters yet after two issues, but the art and story have kept me interested in this strange, icy California. The cover is a bit odd, but the smiling yellow sun references an odd place to shop for supplies in the story.

I received a review copy of this issue from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this issue.


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