Pestilence, Volume 1 (Pestilence, #1)

author: Frank Tieri
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.37
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2018/02/25
date added: 2018/02/25
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Pestilence, Vol. 1' by Frank Tieri with art by Oleg Okunev is a grim-dark fantasy comic that puts an interesting spin on the Black Death, but is so grim and over the top, that I kept getting pulled away from the story.

In the late 14th Century an ex-crusader named Roderick heads up a motley strike team called Fiat Lux. They are agents of the church. A strange sickness causes those infected to react violently and attack. It is feared that the Pope could be next, so the Fiat Lux team is sent to rescue the Pope and take him to Paris. Everywhere they turn, their are more zombies. The zombies are getting smarter and smarter.

Grim-dark seems to be where fantasy is these days. The stories are dark and violent. They are also full of gratuitous sex and language. I really like the premise of the black death being a zombie plague. I don't mind bad language in the service of a story. I liked the art well enough, especially the covers. The delivery felt a bit over the top, and it ended up not being my sort of thing in the end.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from AfterShock Comics, 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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Voracious: Feeding Time

author: Markisan Naso
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.47
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2018/02/24
date added: 2018/02/24
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Voracious: Feeding Time' by Markisan Naso and Jason Muhr was my introduction to this series. When you come across a premise this ludicrous, you just have to roll with it and hope for the best. I'm glad I did.

Chef Nate Willner has a restaurant and the ability to travel back in time, so his restaurant serves dinosaur meat. In an alternate world, dinosaurs have evolved into saurians and actually have better technology than humans. Nate's hunting is causing dinosaurs in this alternate world to disappear. When two detectives investigate the disappearances, they stumble into Nate and they are understandably not happy.

Craziness ensues, and doesn't conclude in this volume, which was fine. I really liked the writing in this and the art wasn't too bad either. There is humor and emotion in the story and characters that I wasn't expecting.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Action Lab 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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Captain Canuck Vol. 1: Aleph

author: Kalman Andrasofszky
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.89
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2018/02/24
date added: 2018/02/24
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Captain Canuck Vol. 1: Aleph' by Kalman Andrasofszky with art by Leonard Kirk and Adam Gorham is a reboot of the 1970s series. It was much anticipated, but it's just a hot mess.

When we meet Captain Canuck and his support team, they are responding to an emergency call in a gold mining operation. When they get there, they find that people have been turned into some sort of gold zombies from touching the gold. Captain Canuck's suit protects him from this somehow. We find out that the villain behind this is Mr. Gold.

We also get flashbacks about Captain Canuck's origins. Sort of. It's all confusing as to what his powers are and what he does. He seems to be a sort of human shield that refuses to shoot anything, which is fine, but he has an ace sniper on his team, so that sends a weird mixed message. I'm hoping volume 2 clears some of this up a bit more.

The art is not impressive. It's blocky and not really fun to look at.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Chapterhouse Publishing, 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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Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Vol. 1

author: CLAMP
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2018/02/23
date added: 2018/02/23
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Cardcaptop Sakura: Clear Card, Vol. 1' by CLAMP is a manga that's a bit out of what I would normally read, but I thought I'd give it a try. It's filled with all the bubbliness of high school kids having really great days.

First off, if you aren't familiar with these characters, you might be a bit lost, like I was. There are brief character bios (and there are a LOT of characters), and also a bit of a synopsis that leads up to this point. Beyond that, you are kind of on your own.

Sakura is a middle school student who sees magical cards, except this time around they are clear. Her friend Syaoran is back from China. Her brother is a brat to her, even though he is in college. Her mother is gone, and her dad seems to have single parenting wired with all his domestic talents. He doesn't seem phazed by his daughter's weird talents and friends.

The art is pretty cute. I liked the story, even though I was lost through most of it. It's not really my thing, but I'm glad I gave it a shot.

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


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Sakura's Cherry Blossoms

author: Robert Paul Weston
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2018/02/23
date added: 2018/02/23
shelves: children-s
review:
'Sakura's Cherry Blossoms' by Robert Paul Weston and Misa Saburi is a really nice picture book about love and friendship and loss.

Sakura lives in Japan and loves spring when she and her grandmother can have lunch beneath the cherry trees as they blossom. Her life changes when her family moves to the United States. She tries to fit in, but everything is so different. She makes a friend with a neighbor boy who likes to look at the stars. Along the way, they teach each other about looking up and enjoying the transience of life and cherry blossoms.

What a beautiful story filled with really cute illustrations. The book is even composed in a series of Tanka verses and this is explained in the back of the book. Between the pictures and the story, I really loved this seemingly simple picture book.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Tundra Books, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Aglow: A Christmas Fable

author: Bruce Ashkenas
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2018/02/23
date added: 2018/02/23
shelves: children-s
review:
'Aglow: A Christmas Fable' by Bruce Ashkenas tells an interfaith story of faith and friendships.

The statue of Mary at St. Dominic's Cathedral in the Bronx is dirty. Friends Adam and Rafe decide to sneak up on the roof of the building and clean it. When the cleaning is seen as a miracle, Adam, who is Jewish, doesn't understand what the big deal is. Rafe is excited by the changes he sees in his crime-ridden neighborhood. Rafe's brother is in a gang and has a miracle of his own happen along the way.

It's a sweet story and parts of it feel like it's from another time. There is gang violence, but it feels like a gang from the 1950s. There is a video game the guys play, but it feels like an old-school console game. Still I liked this story of Christmas miracles and friendship.

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


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Another Castle: Grimoire

author: Andrew Wheeler
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/02/19
date added: 2018/02/19
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Another Castle: Grimoire' by Andrew Wheeler with art by Paulina Ganucheau collects all 5 issues from the series and tells a great story about a self-rescuing princess.

Princess Misty of Beldora has her life all planned out for her by those around her. When she gets captured by Lord Badlug, he threatens her kingdom unless she marries him. Her own kingdom sends the prince that Misty is supposed to marry after her to rescue her. This is where the story becomes less typical. Misty wants to forge her own path. She wants to get the magical sword and take matters into her own hands. Along the way, she meets a cast of characters who have been stereotyped into their own stories. With Misty's help, they discover new paths of their own.

I liked it. The art and character design feels pretty fresh. The story has an unconventional approach. The characters are all pretty interesting.

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


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