The Creeps: Book 1: Night of the Frankenfrogs

author: Chris Schweizer
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2015/09/30
date added: 2015/09/30
shelves: children-s, graphic-novels
review:
'The Creeps: Book 1: Night of the Frankenfrogs' by Chris Schweizer feels like not the first book in a series even though it is one. Regardless, it's a fun romp full of weird creatures and gross situations.

The Creeps are a bunch of misfit kids with varying talents. At the beginning of the book, they've obviously been in trouble for something, so the school is making them fill in for the school custodian. One of their jobs is to bring in the frogs that the Biology lab will be dissecting. When the frogs go missing, The Creeps decide to go looking for the absent amphibians. They find themselves crawling around in the sewers along with super rats, strange creatures, and the Frankenfrogs in the title. There are a lot of suspects, so who is in charge of the newly reconfigured frogs?

My inner 5th grader liked the characters and the kind of gross fun they get into in this graphic novel. I was confused because it seems like there is an earlier adventure that happens before this book. The art is ok, but a little loose on style. It's easy enough to follow what's going on, but some panels seem a bit overly busy. I'd like to read more adventures of this clever band of misfits.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from ABRAMS, Amulet Books, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


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The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow

author: Howard Chaykin
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2015/09/30
date added: 2015/09/30
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow' is a Story starring the Shadow as written and drawn by Howard Chaykin. While the story warmed up for me at the end, it just took too long for me to recommend it.

It's the early 1950s. The war is over, the world is recovering, and the Shadow is thinking about retiring. While he is enjoying time off, strange things are happening. A huge stack of gold appears to have been stolen by being miniaturized. Also, there are a pair of people up to no good who seem to be showing up everywhere Lamont and Margo seem to be at. The action takes place in New York, London, Paris and finally Moscow, where a catastrophic plot is uncovered. Who can save the day if the Shadow is truly retired?

It's a bit too wordy, and it's sometimes confusing because things are happening offstage. The characters look strange, like they all have mouths full of food. The colors were muddied in my review copy so that the whole thing came across as overly dark. When they get to Moscow, the font used for characters speaking Russian was a bit puz‌zling to figure out. The book includes the original art and in it's uncolored state, it looks so much better. The characters still have a chipmunk cheek look to them, but the lines are cleaner. I really like the character of The Shadow. I just wish this story had been better.

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


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Skip School, Fly to Space: A Pearls Before Swine Collection

author: Stephan Pastis
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/28
date added: 2015/09/28
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Skip School, Fly to Space: A Pearls Before Swine Collection' by Stephan Pastis is a collection of the hilarious comic strips. Totally fun for kids and anyone else who likes memorable characters.

Rat and Pig are friends. Rat is a troublemaker and his usual foil is gullible, earnest Pig. Poor Zebra just wants to be a good neighbor, but his neighbors are the mostly stupid crocodiles who are always trying (and failing) to have Zebra over for dinner. We see the crocodiles form a superhero team called the Fantastic Four, but there are only three of them (they aren't that fantastic at math, apparently). We see Goat try unsuccessfully to intervene on Rat's mean behavior to Pig. We meet Kiko the Cactus who just wants a hug.

I felt for poor Pig who is not so bright, but is sincere and put upon by his friend. I absolutely loved the crocodiles and I would laugh out loud just about every time they showed up. This is a great collection of cartoons for kids of any ages, and I had a great time reading it.

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


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The October Faction Volume 1 (October Faction, #1)

author: Steve Niles
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.81
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/28
date added: 2015/09/28
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'The October Faction Volume 1' by writer Steve Niles and with art by Damien Worm is a creepy atmospheric graphic novel about a family of monster hunters.

Frederick Allan was a monster hunter. He and his ex-partner, Lucas, haven't talked in a long time. That could be because Lucas is a werewolf. Frederick's children Geoff and Vivian seem to have his talents for finding trouble and they want to get into the family business. When their mother is attacked by something strange, they get a chance to help fight back against it.

I love the mood of this comic. It's all creepy houses, and ethereal ghosts floating around. The main story has elements of pain and loss. I really liked what Steve Niles has created here. The art by Damien Worm has a darker color to it, and the art fits very well with the story being told. I liked the sharp lines on the werewolf, and some of the other ghosts and creatures. They lent an extra menace to the art. It's well done, and I would definitely like to read more.

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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You Don't Say

author: Nate Powell
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.17
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/24
date added: 2015/09/24
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'You Don't Say' is a collection of shorter rare and unpublished works by Nate Powell. He's the artist behind 'March' along with other things. Think of this more like a sketchbook and a glimpse into an artist's work and you may like it as much as I did.

The pieces are from the years 2004 to 2013. They are all rather short. There are unfinished ideas, alternates for published works and unpublished works that were done as art exercises. During part of this time frame, Nate worked as a support provider for adults with developmental disabilities, and some of that influences some of the work. Song lyrics feature in quite a few, including one where he challenged himself to use only the song lyrics for dialogue. A couple are from a friend who tells about Halloween in a very white town, and also attending a Santana concert with her father and getting the death stare from Santana himself.

I love his work on March, and he has a great style. The work here is a little looser in style, but that also lets the work meander over the page without boundaries. Some of the stories are a bit harsh, quite a few have a distinct humor to them. All of them feature a paragraph or so from the artist to give context to how they came to be. It's a pretty interesting look at a pretty talented artist and I'm glad I got to read it.

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


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Just to Be Clear: Writing What You Mean

author: Lynn McNamee
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2015/09/24
date added: 2015/09/24
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'Just to Be Clear: Writing What You Mean' by Lynn McNamee is a short work with perhaps a confusing title. It's actually book four of the Beyond the Style Manual series.

The book seeks to correct sentence grammar errors. Topics covered include Dangling Participles, Misused Participial Phrases, Vague Antecedents, and more. There are examples given along with quizzes for most sections. For the quizzes, sample sentences are given and the reader has to decide if they are written correctly, and, if not, prompted to rewrite them.

At only 42 pages, it is pretty short, but at less than a dollar, it offers some helpful advice. I just wish the title were a bit clearer. It's part of a larger series, and that should be more apparent, and the subtitle should be clearer on what the focus of this volume is on. Yes, it is on clearer writing, but it seems to be mainly in sentence modifiers. Nevertheless, the samples, advice and quizzes are all helpful.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Red Adept Publishing, LLC and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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They're Not Like Us, Vol. 1: Black Holes for the Young

author: Eric Stephenson
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/24
date added: 2015/09/24
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'The Devil's Only Friend' by Dan Wells is the 4th book in the John Cleaver. This book falls into the urban fantasy genre with lots of monster

John Wayne Cleaver hunts down demons, but to the outside world, he appears to be a monster himself. The demons he's been hunting have killed most of the people in his life. Now, he finds himself on a special government team. Along with that, he finds himself with a new roommate, which is against John's wishes. John's got a gift for finding the demons and the FBI needs him, but he's not so sure he needs or wants the FBI. When a bunch of children in hospitals start to get sick and die and when a demon calling himself the Hunter shows up, John finds he is the only person able to find and stop them.

This book starts a new trilogy in the series. I like the character and I like that no character is safe (except probably our strange hero). The humor and gore are balanced right, and the writing is pretty good. I'll be looking to read more in this series.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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