Showing posts with label Graphic Novels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Graphic Novels. Show all posts
Monday, May 28, 2012
Review of Bloody Chester by J.T Petty and Hilary Florido
Title: Bloody Chester
Author(s): J.T. Petty and Illustrated by Hilary Florido
Release Date: July 3rd, 2012\
Format: Paperback First Edition
Source: Publisher (In exchange for an honest review)
Publisher: First Second
Pages in This Edition: 143
Rating: 3/5 Stars
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"A deliciously gruesome horror tale set in the old west.
This isn’t John Wayne’s heroic old west.
This is the real deal: a filthy, disease-ridden frontier populated by losers, lunatics, and murderers. And when you’re a skinny teenager with no family and a name like Chester Kates, your options are limited. It’s stand up and fight or roll over and die, so Chester, aka “Lady Kate,” is set to fight until it kills him.
It isn’t much of a life, but it’s at least straightforward.
Until things go all cockeyed when Chester is hired to ride his horse (also named Chester) to a ghost town and burn it to the ground. Except the ghost town doesn’t just boast a tidy collection of mangled corpses: it also has three living inhabitants . . . who won’t be budged. But Chester’s been hired for a job, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t burn the town to the last cinder.
Thing is, he may just be damned if he does.
This horror-Western-mystery graphic novel will send a thrill—and a chill—down your spine. Funny, fascinating, and downright horrible, this is a book that keeps you turning the pages."
Author(s): J.T. Petty and Illustrated by Hilary Florido
Release Date: July 3rd, 2012\
Format: Paperback First Edition
Source: Publisher (In exchange for an honest review)
Publisher: First Second
Pages in This Edition: 143
Rating: 3/5 Stars
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"A deliciously gruesome horror tale set in the old west.
This isn’t John Wayne’s heroic old west.
This is the real deal: a filthy, disease-ridden frontier populated by losers, lunatics, and murderers. And when you’re a skinny teenager with no family and a name like Chester Kates, your options are limited. It’s stand up and fight or roll over and die, so Chester, aka “Lady Kate,” is set to fight until it kills him.
It isn’t much of a life, but it’s at least straightforward.
Until things go all cockeyed when Chester is hired to ride his horse (also named Chester) to a ghost town and burn it to the ground. Except the ghost town doesn’t just boast a tidy collection of mangled corpses: it also has three living inhabitants . . . who won’t be budged. But Chester’s been hired for a job, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t burn the town to the last cinder.
Thing is, he may just be damned if he does.
This horror-Western-mystery graphic novel will send a thrill—and a chill—down your spine. Funny, fascinating, and downright horrible, this is a book that keeps you turning the pages."
Review:
I love gore (even though I might not like to admit it) and love graphic novels (now that I don't mind admitting) so I figured this would be a good match for me. Bloody Chester is a western though, and I haven't really read many, so that was the one thing that I was apprehensive about.
This book didn't really wow me or turn me off to westerns. It seemed relatively to period, and the expressions seemed right for the time frame. Though the cursing was fairly frequent, I didn't might much because of the context, something I know that others will find offensive. The "N" word is used and the "F" word is used multiple times. Know that if swearing or racism even in period context bothers you, this isn't the book for you. The book also isn't for people who don't like a little blood and guts. But if you picked up the book and realized that its title was "Bloody Chester" and didn't think there would be a little gore then maybe you had unrealistic expectations. It definitely lived up to it's name.
Now to talk about the characters. One of the things I most enjoyed about this book was the development of Chester's character. You can tell in the beginning that he had little to no hope for the future and is willing to do almost anything. But as the story progresses, you can tell that he develops how he sees himself and the world around him, and he develops his own sense of self and of what's right and wrong. Though this graphic novel is incredibly short, you really manage a full range of emotion and development with his character.
Sadly, I think the other characters weren't as developed as they could have been. The character Potter, for example, could have had been developed way more. From the small samples that I got, I could tell he was a witty and sarcastic person, but that's really the only side of him we see. The same goes for the character of Caroline. I really wish that we could have learned more about her life and seen more sides of her.
The plot was fine, though the ending for me was a little weak. I also wished there was some more explanation. The way the whole thing was closed out was kind of vague. But maybe that's so the reader can draw their own conclusions. I usually like those open-ended type of things, but I didn't so much here.
The artwork (I can't go without mentioning this in a graphic novel review) was fine. I especially liked the artwork of scenes that took place at night. I really admire the shading and depth that went into them. The violent scenes had just enough detail to make you cringe but not to make you puke. I think that the characters could have had more expression on their faces some of the time, but overall the illustrations worked fine and added to the story as a whole.
Read Bloody Chester if you too like graphic novels and don't mind some swearing and gore. I defiantly need to put a note that this book (while having NO sexual content) probably isn't for kids younger than 14.
--Alexis
Monday, February 20, 2012
Review of American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Title: American Born Chinese
Author(s): Gene Luen Yang
Release Date: September 5th, 2006
Publisher: First Second
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
Pages In This Edition: 240
Rating: 4/5
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"A tour-de-force by rising indy comics star Gene Yang, American Born Chinese tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he’s the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny’s life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax. American Born Chinese is a 2006 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature, the winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, an Eisner Award nominee for Best Coloring and a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year."
Review:
When I picked this up I had no idea what it was about. Misty from The Book Rat had been hosting a graphic novel week, and this was one of her picks for her favorite graphic novels. Usually I love what she recommends, so I thought I would give this a try. Also, since this is a graphic novel, I knew it wouldn't take me long at all to read it.
Within the trip home from the library and about ten minutes at home on the couch, I had finished this book. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting. What I was expecting was a light read with some great art. What I got was a look into what being different meant, and what some people who do to change it, and great art. I can't really same much about the plot, because the whole thing is kind of confusing until near the end. The end itself is something I could never have guessed. It's pretty crazy.
Basically (without trying to spoil anything), American Born Chinese follows three main characters on a quest to find themselves. It's full of funny moments, insightful moments, and great full-color art that had me wishing that I was better artist myself. :( Oh,well.
If you like graphic novels and haven't read this one yet (I can't believe I hadn't considering the fact that it won the Printz award. I LOVE Printz award winners.) then you NEED to pick it up. It's probably the most insightful graphic novel I've ever read.
--Alexis
Author(s): Gene Luen Yang
Release Date: September 5th, 2006
Publisher: First Second
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
Pages In This Edition: 240
Rating: 4/5
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"A tour-de-force by rising indy comics star Gene Yang, American Born Chinese tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he’s the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny’s life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax. American Born Chinese is a 2006 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature, the winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, an Eisner Award nominee for Best Coloring and a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year."
Review:
When I picked this up I had no idea what it was about. Misty from The Book Rat had been hosting a graphic novel week, and this was one of her picks for her favorite graphic novels. Usually I love what she recommends, so I thought I would give this a try. Also, since this is a graphic novel, I knew it wouldn't take me long at all to read it.
Within the trip home from the library and about ten minutes at home on the couch, I had finished this book. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting. What I was expecting was a light read with some great art. What I got was a look into what being different meant, and what some people who do to change it, and great art. I can't really same much about the plot, because the whole thing is kind of confusing until near the end. The end itself is something I could never have guessed. It's pretty crazy.
Basically (without trying to spoil anything), American Born Chinese follows three main characters on a quest to find themselves. It's full of funny moments, insightful moments, and great full-color art that had me wishing that I was better artist myself. :( Oh,well.
If you like graphic novels and haven't read this one yet (I can't believe I hadn't considering the fact that it won the Printz award. I LOVE Printz award winners.) then you NEED to pick it up. It's probably the most insightful graphic novel I've ever read.
--Alexis
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Review of Americus by MK Reed and Jonathon Hill
Title: Americus
Author(s): MK Reed and Jonathon Hill
Format: Paperback
Release Date: August 30th, 2011
Publisher: First Second
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review
Pages In This Edition: 216
Rating:
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary taken from Goodreads:
"Neal Barton just wants to read in peace. Unluckily for him, some local Christian activitsts are trying to get his favorite fantasy series banned from the Americus public library on grounds of immoral content and heresy. Something has to be done, and it looks like quiet, shy Neal is going to have to do it. With youth services librarian Charlotte Murphy at his back, Neal finds himself leading the charge to defend the mega-bestselling fantasy series that makes his life worth living."
Review:
I've really been getting into graphic novels lately because they display ideas in a way that print books just can't; they give the reader images to follow along with and explore without the reader themselves having to create the images. They're fun and quick, and I really like the genre as a whole so far.
Americus is definitely one of the best graphic novels I've read. It deals with an issue that sadly has been making the news quite frequently: the banning of books in public libraries. Neal is faced with a conundrum when his best friend's mom decides that his favorite books series is preaching witchcraft to kids.
The fact that people want to ban any book at all from the hands of someone who connects to it horrifies me. That was probably one of the major reasons this book interested me; it got into the brains of both sides of the argument. It even managed to do this in a way that I wasn't personally offended or turned-off by, which can be hard to do as a book with this subject manner.
The plot mainly centers around the fight to save the books, but it's also as much of a coming-of-age story as it is a book about an important political/social issue. Even though I'll never know what it's like to be a 14 year-old boy, I did know what it was like to be a 14 year-old girl, and Reed captures the awkward development of coming into high school age perfectly. This of course made me love Neal as a character, and I was rooting for him the whole time.
The artwork was probably the only thing that I wasn't totally excited about. It was fine, and often times very expressive, but personally I did prefer the style that much. Not to say someone else wouldn't. Personally, they just weren't my favorite. But the story was so great, that it didn't really bother me that much.
Of course the important take-away and moral message anybody would get from this book is that fact that nobody knows what a book can mean to person. Books can and do change people's lives every day, and nobody has the right to take that away from someone. A parent can "ban" a book in their own homes, but to expect everyone around them to follow their definition of what's wrong and what's right is something I don't think I'll ever understand.
Overall, I thought Americus by MK Reed and Jonathon Hill was a great graphic novel with an important message, and I would recommend it to anybody who likes a good coming of age story that happens to feature an awesome sub plot that includes a witch that may or may not be half dragon...(I didn't mention that earlier huh?)
--Alexis
What do you think about books being banned in public libraries?
Author(s): MK Reed and Jonathon Hill
Format: Paperback
Release Date: August 30th, 2011
Publisher: First Second
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review
Pages In This Edition: 216
Rating:
 | | | /5 |
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary taken from Goodreads:
"Neal Barton just wants to read in peace. Unluckily for him, some local Christian activitsts are trying to get his favorite fantasy series banned from the Americus public library on grounds of immoral content and heresy. Something has to be done, and it looks like quiet, shy Neal is going to have to do it. With youth services librarian Charlotte Murphy at his back, Neal finds himself leading the charge to defend the mega-bestselling fantasy series that makes his life worth living."
Review:
I've really been getting into graphic novels lately because they display ideas in a way that print books just can't; they give the reader images to follow along with and explore without the reader themselves having to create the images. They're fun and quick, and I really like the genre as a whole so far.
Americus is definitely one of the best graphic novels I've read. It deals with an issue that sadly has been making the news quite frequently: the banning of books in public libraries. Neal is faced with a conundrum when his best friend's mom decides that his favorite books series is preaching witchcraft to kids.
The fact that people want to ban any book at all from the hands of someone who connects to it horrifies me. That was probably one of the major reasons this book interested me; it got into the brains of both sides of the argument. It even managed to do this in a way that I wasn't personally offended or turned-off by, which can be hard to do as a book with this subject manner.
The plot mainly centers around the fight to save the books, but it's also as much of a coming-of-age story as it is a book about an important political/social issue. Even though I'll never know what it's like to be a 14 year-old boy, I did know what it was like to be a 14 year-old girl, and Reed captures the awkward development of coming into high school age perfectly. This of course made me love Neal as a character, and I was rooting for him the whole time.
The artwork was probably the only thing that I wasn't totally excited about. It was fine, and often times very expressive, but personally I did prefer the style that much. Not to say someone else wouldn't. Personally, they just weren't my favorite. But the story was so great, that it didn't really bother me that much.
Of course the important take-away and moral message anybody would get from this book is that fact that nobody knows what a book can mean to person. Books can and do change people's lives every day, and nobody has the right to take that away from someone. A parent can "ban" a book in their own homes, but to expect everyone around them to follow their definition of what's wrong and what's right is something I don't think I'll ever understand.
Overall, I thought Americus by MK Reed and Jonathon Hill was a great graphic novel with an important message, and I would recommend it to anybody who likes a good coming of age story that happens to feature an awesome sub plot that includes a witch that may or may not be half dragon...(I didn't mention that earlier huh?)
--Alexis
What do you think about books being banned in public libraries?
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Review of Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
Title: Anya's Ghost
Author: Vera Brosgol
Format: Hardcover Graphic Novel
Release Date: June 7th, 2011
Publisher: First Second (An Imprint of MacMillian)
Source: Library
Pages In This Edition: 224
Rating:
/5
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn’t kidding about the “Forever” part . . . Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who’s been dead for a century. Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya’s normal life might actually be worse. She’s embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she’s pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend—even a ghost—is just what she needs. Or so she thinks. Spooky, sardonic, and secretly sincere, Anya’s Ghost is a wonderfully entertaining debut from author/artist Vera Brosgol"
Review:
This is the first graphic novel that I've ever read, and I'm happy to say I'm not disappointed! I was afraid that if I read something that was written and illustrated by the same person, It would be lacking in the plot department. And I was SO wrong.
There were plot twists in this one even I wasn't expecting. I'm usually one of those people who's good at predicting what comes next. (I hate that I am most of the time.) But Brosgol managed to pull the rug from right under my feet quite a few times! And the ending was so creepy there aren't even words to describe it. I don't want to give anything away, but for awhile there I was afraid that I was going to have nightmares. And that's what adds the real horror elements; the pictures.
The pictures were my favorite part of the book, which I'm guessing is a good thing considering that it's a graphic novel. There were times that there weren't even any words on a page, but the way the pictures came together made it easy to understand and follow along. I was never left guessing "Wait, what happened there?" The whole thing was great, and seemed to flow together in perfect harmony.
Anya as a main character was also amazing. She was believable, and that's one of my favorite traits in a book character. Anya has her flaws, but she also seems to have a good grasp on what's right and wrong, so she had me rooting for her the whole book; I wanted her to be happy, to solve the mysteries that may present themselves...
A note on graphic novels: don't flip through the pages. YOU WILL BE SPOILED. Trust me on this. I learned the hard way
In summary, Anya's Ghost was an amazing graphic novel as far as I'm concerned, as it pulled together the best of both worlds; amazing plot and characters, and breathtaking art. I would recommend it to anybody who likes and good story, and to reluctant readers too. I picked it up and finished it in an hour.
--Alexis
P.S. Have you entered my current giveaway yet? Enter HERE.
Author: Vera Brosgol
Format: Hardcover Graphic Novel
Release Date: June 7th, 2011
Publisher: First Second (An Imprint of MacMillian)
Source: Library
Pages In This Edition: 224
Rating:
 | | | | |
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn’t kidding about the “Forever” part . . . Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who’s been dead for a century. Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya’s normal life might actually be worse. She’s embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she’s pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend—even a ghost—is just what she needs. Or so she thinks. Spooky, sardonic, and secretly sincere, Anya’s Ghost is a wonderfully entertaining debut from author/artist Vera Brosgol"
Review:
This is the first graphic novel that I've ever read, and I'm happy to say I'm not disappointed! I was afraid that if I read something that was written and illustrated by the same person, It would be lacking in the plot department. And I was SO wrong.
There were plot twists in this one even I wasn't expecting. I'm usually one of those people who's good at predicting what comes next. (I hate that I am most of the time.) But Brosgol managed to pull the rug from right under my feet quite a few times! And the ending was so creepy there aren't even words to describe it. I don't want to give anything away, but for awhile there I was afraid that I was going to have nightmares. And that's what adds the real horror elements; the pictures.
The pictures were my favorite part of the book, which I'm guessing is a good thing considering that it's a graphic novel. There were times that there weren't even any words on a page, but the way the pictures came together made it easy to understand and follow along. I was never left guessing "Wait, what happened there?" The whole thing was great, and seemed to flow together in perfect harmony.
Anya as a main character was also amazing. She was believable, and that's one of my favorite traits in a book character. Anya has her flaws, but she also seems to have a good grasp on what's right and wrong, so she had me rooting for her the whole book; I wanted her to be happy, to solve the mysteries that may present themselves...
A note on graphic novels: don't flip through the pages. YOU WILL BE SPOILED. Trust me on this. I learned the hard way
In summary, Anya's Ghost was an amazing graphic novel as far as I'm concerned, as it pulled together the best of both worlds; amazing plot and characters, and breathtaking art. I would recommend it to anybody who likes and good story, and to reluctant readers too. I picked it up and finished it in an hour.
--Alexis
P.S. Have you entered my current giveaway yet? Enter HERE.
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- Alexis Ladig
- Hi I'm Alexis and I love sharing my love of reading and writing with the world.This blog is an outlet for me to express myself and my opinions, and show other bookish people some awesome things to explore in the world of literature!
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