Rick and Morty: Lil' Poopy Superstar Vol. 1

author: Sarah Graley
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2017/02/28
date added: 2017/02/28
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Rick and Morty" Lil' Poopy Superstar Vol. 1' by Marc Ellerby with art by Sarah Graley and Mildred Louis is my second graphic novel based on a series I'm not familiar with. I didn't mind the first one, but didn't care much for this one.

Summer Smith is jealous of her brother Morty and his relationship with his grandfather Rick. They have all the fun (or so Summer thinks). When she gets a chance to help out a strange alien named Mr. Poopybutthole, she takes it. What follows is a series of adventures where the reader doesn't know if the character wants to be found because he's famous, or found because he is the object of murderous rage. Summer gets to be a hero, but will that be enough to make her grandfather notice her?

The character's name is pretty dumb and the reader knows it because it is used over and over again, as some sort of blunt trauma joke. There are some things to be said about the nature of celebrity here, but they get buried in tasteless moronic humor. I was not impressed.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press, 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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Batman, Volume 1: I Am Gotham

author: Tom King
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2017/02/26
date added: 2017/02/26
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Batman, Volume 1: I Am Gotham' by Tom King, David Finch, and a host of other people has Batman facing an unusual challenge: a hero who thinks Gotham should be saved from Batman.

Batman thinks about his secession. He can't be Batman forever, but where does that leave the city? He takes on Duke Thomas, but now there are two new heroes in Gotham: Gotham and Gotham Girl. Their story seems familiar, but they seem to see Batman as an obstacle to saving the city. Batman sees them as potential allies to his fight, but they may be too powerful and too set in their own agenda.

It's a big sweeping story and I liked it quite a bit. The introduction of these two characters is done well, and there are a few villains that serve their purpose. I like how Alfred even has a role to play. There are some nice surprises in this story.

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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Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure

author: Cube Kid
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.34
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2017/02/24
date added: 2017/02/24
shelves: children-s
review:
'Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure' by Cube Kid is a kind of mashup of the video game Minecraft and the book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

The diary in the title is being kept by a villager named Runt in Minecraftia. He leads a decent life except for the zombies trying to get over the walls and the other perils. He heads off to school to learn things, but what he really wants to be is a warrior like Steve. What he doesn't know is that Steve thinks all of this is a game. As Runt learns, we follow his progress in the different skills like building, crafting, fighting, etc. He has a rival at school, but also friends.

I think it will be a fun series for a certain age kid. There are some pretty funny things that happen and plenty of drawings along the way. Runt is a likable young character and I found myself rooting for him. I enjoyed this.

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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Hell's Marshal (Hell's Butcher #1)

author: Chris Barili
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2017/02/24
date added: 2017/02/24
shelves:
review:
'Hell's Marsal' by Chris Barili is a tale out of the Weird West combining gun fighting action and a bit of horror.

Frank Butcher is in Hell. The real one. His days are spent being tormented. Based on what he did to get there, he is okay with this. When the soul of Jesse James gets loose, Frank is sent to bring him back. Bringing Jesse back won't be easy, but with a small team of other tormented souls. They want redemption, but Frank just wants to go back to suffering. Jesse has other plans as well. Can Frank and his crew do the job?

It's an over the top story that's got a pulp feel to it, but that works. The characters are pretty interesting. It's weird that one of them comes back as a coyote, and the others as human, but the coyote also serves it's purpose. It looks like this is the beginning of a series, and it's not a bad premise. A fun quick story.

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


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The Light Ages (The Aether Universe, #1)

author: Ian R. MacLeod
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2017/02/24
date added: 2017/02/24
shelves:
review:
'The Light Ages' by Ian R. MacLeod doesn't feel much like light reading, but it's an enjoyable story for the right reader. Think of Charles Dickens meeting up with an alternate England powered by a kind of magic crystal.

The book follows Robert Borrows who was born on sixthshiftday in the grimy factory town of Bracebridge. His early days are accompanied by the sounds of the factory as it churns outpower for the wealthy. Shoom, boom. Shoom, boom. What's being manufactured is a byproduct of a magical crystal known as Aether. Robbie sees his father's hard life of working and his mother's odd ties to this aether. He also meets a strange young girl that he will run in to as he gets older.

As he gets older, he rails against a system that uses men up and supplies the wealthy with strange and useless toys. He tries to fight the corruption he sees, and finds that his life is tied to the life he once knew and the strange girl named Anna.

It's a large novel that feels somewhat like something from the 19th century. That's a complete compliment to the author. I don't know that I ever felt any connection to the main characters beyond a sense of pity. That might be where the book failed me, but I did enjoy the journey and this strange alternate take on the Industrial Age.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Open Road Integrated Media and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Equinoxes

author: Cyril Pedrosa
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2017/02/23
date added: 2017/02/23
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Equinoxes' by Cyril Pedrosa is the graphic novel equivalent of an independent film. I liked it, but ultimately didn't love it.

The story is split up into the four seasons. The characters at first are independent and it's not known what connection they'll have throughout the story. There is even a wordless story that begins each season, and that even finds a way to tie in.

The characters range from a young girl with a camera who takes candid photos of people and writes stories about them, a divorced man, a retired politician. The events range from a field trip, to a hike up a mountain to a protest against the building of an airport.

I really liked the art style. The story is good too, but can feel a bit vague and disconnected. Things begin to make sense evenutally, but at 336 pages, it takes a while.

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


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Superman, Volume 2: Return to Glory

author: Gene Luen Yang
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.61
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2017/02/20
date added: 2017/02/20
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Superman, Volume 2: Return to Glory' collects Superman issues 45-52 and Annual 3 and it tells quite the tale.

Events leading up to this collection have Superman's identity outed by something called Hordr_root. His Clark Kent identity as well as his job are gone. So are most of his powers. He finds himself adrift and alone. This leads him to an underground fight club in Oakland called Mythbrawl where he makes ends meet by fighting little known gods from other countries.

He is on the trail to Hordr_root, and this leads him to who is behind Hordr_root, Vandal Savage. Vandal got his powers in the comet that was supposed to wipe out Krypton. Instead the comet was diverted and headed to Earth instead, and Vandal Savage found it. Now he wants to create an army of super beings out of his descendants.

In a last ditch effort, Superman tries to get his powers back in the most extreme way possible, using kryptonite. Will that fix things or be the end of Superman?

The only problem with a major story-line like this is that it tends to spill out into other books. This means that there are times when things happen in other DC titles that are not included here. Sometimes there is a recap to catch the reader up. Sometimes there isn't. This leads to gaps in the story.

But the art is consistent good across the artists here, as is the writing. It turns into a moving story and I can't wait to see what's next.

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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