Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War

author: Mike Johnson
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.83
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2016/06/26
date added: 2016/06/26
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
In comics, the world of crossovers can be a mixed bag, but I'm happy to report that 'Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War' was a pretty decent story by Mike Johnson with art by Angel Hernandez.

When events in the Green Lantern version of Earth spill over into the Star Trek universe, things take a crazy course. An abandoned asteroid is found with a dead body by a Star Trek away team. In front of the body are some colorful rings. The crew takes the body and the rings back to the Enterprise. When the rings become activated, it's interesting to see who gets chosen. The rings have innate personalities of love, hope, war, etc. and this leads them to some likely bearers on both sides. When Hal Jordan shows up to figure things out, he meets a headstrong Captain Kirk who wants to know what has happened to his crew. Meanwhile, the Klingons, Romulans and Gorns now have powerful rings and want to use them to dominate the galaxy. Can the crew of the Enterprise and the Green Lantern Corps stop things before they go too far?

You'd think this would be a natural crossover, but when I first heard about it, I was a bit skeptical. I've read good and bad crossovers in the past, but I thought I'd give it a try, and I'm glad I did. Along with an interesting story of cosmic size, the art is really quite nice.

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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Dark Island, The (Three Thieves)

author: Scott Chantler
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2016/06/25
date added: 2016/06/25
shelves: children-s, graphic-novels
review:
'The Dark Island' by Scott Chantler is book six of the Three Thieves series. I came late to the party, but I really enjoy all the volumes of this series that I've read.

Dessa, along with her companions Topper and Fisk, has been looking for her brother. In the last book, they were given a ride by pirates to the flying island of Astaroth. Now they have to find a way onto the island. Once they get there, they find that it's being run by someone called the Toymaker and he has some unusual guests on his island.

Meanwhile, Dessa's brother Jared's story is told in parallel. He is captured by guards and as his story comes out, there are things he's seen that have the guards intrigued. It seems that there is mystery afoot and Jared is still in danger.

I love the art and the colors. I really like the characters and the weird adventures they have in this world. This is definitely a series I'd recommend to young readers looking for graphic novels to read. The adventure reminds me of the kinds of things I liked at that age (and still do!).

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


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Black Jack Ketchum

author: Brian Schirmer
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.38
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2016/06/25
date added: 2016/06/25
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Black Jack Ketchum' by Brian Schirmer with art by Claudia Balboni takes a historical figure and events, and puts a weird West twist on things.

Tom Ketchum is mistaken for an outlaw named "Black Jack" Ketchum. It's easy enough to do since they look similar and have the same last name. He sets about to clear his name. Along the way he is aided by a talking gun, a mute girl toting a rifle and a strange gambler. He is running from the faceless Judge. He does this by using old West saloons as portals (since they are all mostly the same, apparently). There are flashbacks and flash forwards, and the whole thing kind of keeps you guessing until the end.

Each issue starts with real history. We learn about the real Ketchums and the sad fate that Tom had. The art is interesting. The story is good, but perhaps a bit confusing in places. Still, I give it a solid plus for the effort. It seemed to be lacking something for me to really love it, but I do like what they tried to do here, and weaving in actual historical figures is a plus.

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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Pixar Manga Collection: Finding Nemo

author: Ryuichi Hoshino
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2016/06/25
date added: 2016/06/25
shelves: children-s, graphic-novels
review:
'Pixar Manga's Collection: Finding Nemo' by Ryuichi Hoshino is a really nice adaptation of the Pixar movie.

Marlin is an overprotective father with a son named Nemo. Nemo goes off to school, and ends up getting captured and put in a fish tank in a dentist's office. Marlin will stop at nothing to find his son, and his journey will teach him a few things while he's at it. He's joined by short termed memory Dory and meets memorable characters along the way.

The manga starts with a description of the characters as well as the type of fish that they are. The fish descriptions were a really nice addition to this book. The artwork is very good. The art looks more like the Disney art than a traditional manga, but you read the book the same way. This would be a fun way to introduce manga to young readers, and it's a faithful retelling of the story.

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


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Ghostbusters: Who Ya Gonna Call?

author: Erik Burnham
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.86
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2016/06/25
date added: 2016/06/25
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Ghostbusters: Who Ya Gonna Call?' by Erik Burnham and Dan Schoening collects issues 13-16 of the Ghostbusters series.

The book opens with the Ghostbusters helping a fellow ghostbuster set up shop in Chicago. The problem he has is all the city's union rules. After hearing about that, the guys are happy to get back to New York, where they find things are surprisingly quiet. It seems that a new group of ghost hunters, The Ghost Smashers, has set up shop and has a new way of dealing with paranormal problems. The real problem turns out to be the way they are "disposing" of ghosts, which turns into a bigger story. The issue finishes with another plot that finishes the book with Winston and a ghost that seems to know Winston's name.

The problem is that the book feels like the middle issues of a series, which is exactly what it is. Sure, there is central storyline in the book, but there are these odd bookends in the front and back. Compounding that are story lines that are being set up that don't make much sense unless you are more familiar with the series as a whole. It's enjoyable enough on it's own, but it's not much of a standalone. Additionally, the cover art isn't reflected by what happens in the book and feels like a marketing grab based on the new all female Ghostbusters movie about to hit theaters.

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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Not Today, Celeste!: A Dog's Tale about Her Human's Depression

author: Liza Stevens
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2016/06/25
date added: 2016/06/25
shelves: children-s
review:
'Not Today, Celeste!: A Dog's Tale about Her Human's Depression' by Liza Stevens is a very accessible way to talk with children about people in their lives who might be going through depression.

Dog Celeste had a good life with her owner Rupert, until one day, something changed. Rupert still did everything he always did, but Celeste begins to notice that he's not eating and he doesn't want to play and he even gets angry with Celeste. When human Lily shows up, Celeste tries to get her to help with Rupert. The book ends on an up note as Rupert gets the help he needs and seems to get better. There is always the possibility that depression will come back, but Rupert and Celeste seem better able to handle it.

There is an excellent guide for parents, carers and professionals at the end of the book by Dr. Pooky Knightsmith which gives great discussion ideas and the kinds of things that go through children's heads when they have depressed people in their lives. The book stresses that it's nothing Celeste did, and I applaud that. The illustrations are colorful and Celeste is a fun character to see the story through. I think this would be a brilliant and very helpful picture book for a child in this situation. Very well done.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Jessica Kingsley Publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Murder by Remote Control

author: Janwillem van de Wetering
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at: 2016/06/25
date added: 2016/06/25
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Murder By Remote Control' is a collaboration between international writer Janwillem van de Wetering and his neighbor, artist Paul Kirchner. The book did very poorly during it's initial publication, but this reprint should bring new life to a story that feels just as fresh and interesting today.

The story starts with the murder of Mr. Jones who is out on a lake and is killed by a remote control airplane. There are plenty of suspects in the area and lots of motives. Mr. Jones was not a very nice guy, so his greed or disregard for the environment could have been his undoing. An unusual detective is sent to solve the murder. One who sees things differently. He definitely feels like a precursor to Agent Dale Cooper of the Twin Peaks TV series. The residents/suspects are all oddballs and recluses, and each have their own reason for despising Jones. The detective finds his way into their lives and heads to uncover the truth.

The art is alternately very normal and also strangely surreal. There are full page panels that have a strange symmetry. In a brilliant afterword by Stephen R. Bisette, written just for this edition, we get a look at the influences of artist Paul Kirchner. There is a definite Wally Wood style, but "this murder mystery erupted into a panoramic visionary tableaus, delirious visual and conceptual detours, stream-of-consciousness pageantry and lunacy at the turn of a phrase." It's quite unsettling, but I rather liked it. I'm glad this book got a reprint. I really feel that it was quite ahead of it's time, but might find new appreciation now, when the story has not aged a bit.

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


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