The Adventures of Kung Fu Robot: How to Make a Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Kung Fu Sandwich

author: Jason Bays
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.77
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2018/04/14
date added: 2018/04/14
shelves: graphic-novels, children-s
review:
'The Adventures of Kung Fu Robot: How to Make a Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Kung Fu Sandwich' by Jason Bays makes me want to write my review with lots of exclamation points. That's how tiring the act of reading it was.

Kung Fu Robot is kind of a big dumb hero with a young boy named Marvin as his sidekick. Marvin tries to be the voice of reason, but Kung Fu Robot just blazes on ahead, leaving a wake of mayhem and destruction in his wake. When he decides to make the sandwich in the title, it goes missing. Ninjas have taken it and they work for Kung Pow Chicken. Kung Fu Robot goes after his sandwich with Marvin in tow. All the while, I kept wanting to yell, "just make another sandwich!"

It's loud and bombastic and has a few recurring jokes that it just pounds relentlessly. It's bright and colorful, but there are so many better kids books out there. Still, this may appeal to a certain rambunctious type of kid reader, so who am I to fault it?

I received a review copy of this ebook from Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Big Nate: What's a Little Noogie Between Friends?

author: Lincoln Peirce
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.59
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/13
date added: 2018/04/13
shelves: graphic-novels, children-s
review:
'Big Nate: What's a Little Noogie Between Friends?' by Lincoln Peirce is another consistently great entry in this series.

From school picture day to losing to the worst team around, Nate's life isn't easy. There is tabletop football and teaching nerdy little bookworm Peter how to play hockey. This time around, he also has to say goodbye to Jenny as well. Will she finally actually like Nate?

I've enjoyed every one of these collections. The humor is consistent throughout the series. It's a good one for younger readers (and apparently some older ones as well).

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


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Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living

author: James Tynion IV
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.02
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/13
date added: 2018/04/13
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living' by James Tynion IV is a series of three stories with some interconnection. The theme seems to be how alone you can be, even on a team as amazing as this one.

Tim Drake has been missing and presumed dead. In this volume's main story, we find out what happened in a storyline that spans back and forth through time. Spoiler finds herself intrigued by an idea from Anarky that would build a new type of city underground. Meanwhile, Clayface deals with the monster that he is while trying to find a cure that would return him to being Basil Carlo all the time.

I really enjoyed all three of these stories. This Batman series has a bunch of diverse characters and they are all treated really well. I like the writing that James Tynion IV has done on this series, and I'll be sad to see him go. The art was consistently pretty good too.

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


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Disney Pixar Manga: Wall-E

author: Shiro Shirai
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/12
date added: 2018/04/12
shelves: children-s, graphic-novels
review:
'Disney Pixar Manga: Wall-E' by Shiro Shirai is an adaptation of the Pixar movie that is pretty faithful to the original.

The story starts with an introduction to the different characters the reader will encounter. Then we meet Wall-E, the lone robot left of his type, whose job is the clean up the Earth after humans trashed it. His lone companion is a cockroach, until he meets EVE and he is instantly attracted. EVE has her own plans and they don't include Wall-E. Their adventures lead them into space where the reader finds out what happened to the humans.

After the story, there is some fun Wall-E trivia. There are also character designs and a short comic. My copy included a bonus story from the Manga: Lilo and Stitch as a back up story. I liked this presentation. The story adaptation and the art were good. The bonuses were a fun addition.

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


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Casa Nostra

author: Chris Sarracini
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2018/04/07
date added: 2018/04/07
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Casa Nostra' by Chris Sarracini with art by Nick Kilislian had an interesting premise, but has a weird art style to go with such a dark story.

The story starts with way too much exposition to lead us to our main character. Abandoned by her father when she was a child, she now runs a safe house for criminals in the gangster era. When the inevitable violence happens, they have a friendly "cleaner" who can help them dispose of the bodies.

They take in a violent member of Al Capone's mob and offer to give him a new face, but his uncontrolable anger can't be contained. Now the ladies are out for revenge.

The story skips around a bit and it's confusing. The pretty dolly art doesn't fit the grittiness of the story. These are supposedly tough women, but they have to rely on men way too much. I found that disappointing. At the beginning of the story, we learn that the main character is Asian, but we never learn why that matters. It's a fact that is useless to this story. The story and art are both muddied and not friendly to the reader.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Udon Entertainment, 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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CITY, 1

author: Keiichi Arawi
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.55
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2018/04/07
date added: 2018/04/07
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'City, 1' by Keiichi Arawi is the first manga I've read that had me laughing out loud at the strange characters and situations.

It all takes place in a small section of a city. Midori Nagumo owes money for her rent and her elderly landlady is after her. This sets in motion a chain of events including a restaurant punch card, a friendly policeman, a boy wearing a lucky miniskirt, and a surprising martial arts master. When it's all done, I met quite a few characters and lives in this little section of the city.

I loved the humor and the art style of this manga. A lot of times, the humor can kind of go over my head, but the ludicrous situations and the weight put on normal things made for some great comic setups.

I received a review copy of this manga from Vertical Comics, Kodansha Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


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War Mother

author: Fred Van Lente
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.62
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/07
date added: 2018/04/07
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'War Mother' by Fred Van Lente with art by Stephen Segovia and Tomas Giorello is the return of a character from Valiant Entertainment's 4001 A.D.

It is the distant future, and Earth is pretty uninhabitable. Humans still live on the planet alongside the other mutations that prey on them. War Mother is genetically engineered to protect her group of humans. She and her intelligent gun, nicknamed Flaco, forage for useful items. When a call from a safe haven called Montana comes in, War Mother goes to investigate.

I really liked this story and art combination. War Mother is a really interesting character and it reminded me of other futuristic titles I've liked over the years like Tank Girl and Judge Dredd.

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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