The Dying & The Dead -- Issue #01

In the first issue, even though its double the length of any regular single issue, still, classically don't really know what is going on yet. At the begging of the issue a man and woman are getting married but the day goes to hell when a massacre takes place at the wedding with a twist of who done it. As the reader, we are introduced to lots of secrets that had been kept from characters, coming to light. Additionally, a man is given the opportunity, at great cost to help save his dying wife from cancer. There is a 'death' type character who is relating to the man, seems to be thousands upon thousands of years old, but hasn't aged a day over 40.

The artwork is really beautiful. It's really hard to get into a story or not just from one issue. Especially these types of issues that are meant to be cryptic and suspenseful so that you as the reader is like WHAT JUST HAPPENED - sign me up.

Not yet feeling this way quite yet, but I will read more of this because I can see it could get good.

Promethea -- Volume 1

This story follows a college aged girl, Sophie Bangs who is writing a paper about Promethea, a character who has shown up in various stories throughout history without the multiple authors being aware of the similarities between the characters they created on their own.

Sophie is intrigued by these connections and thinks that there has to be more than just coincidence with the reoccurence of Promethea, and gets in way over her head when she starts to get wrapped up in the story.

The story itself is set in 'futuristic' 1999 New York City, which is cool. Everything is very punk rock and neon. Even though it was actually written from 1999 to 2005, it reads as slightly outdated. It feels like it was written further back than that, thinking about how crazy and futuristic the early 2000s would be.

I think the idea behind this story is interesting, Sophie Bangs and Promethea are two really strong, well written characters, but there is something that makes me feel like I can't get into it as much as I could. I think it is probably the artwork. There is a lot of fantasy going on in this story, but there are a lot of scenes where fantasy and reality are meeting together and getting blurry. There isn't really a blur though, it seems too rigid and structured, visually speaking. I'm looking for more Dali and less Winsor McCay. Need more chaos to get down with this story that is entirely based around imagination and the limits of your own mind.

Amulet Book 1 -- Graphic Novel

After the tragic death of their father in the beginning of the story, brother and sister Navin and Emily move to the country with their mom. The house they now live in has been abandoned for years, along with the mystery of the sudden disappearance of its previous owner, Emily's great-grandfather.

Through a series of magical events, Emily, Navin and their mother find themselves in a fantasy world with adventure, mystery and danger. A necklace that Emily found in her great-grandfathers house gives her special powers and she must use these new powers to save her family from danger AND MORE.

This book is super crazy popular and I can definitely see why. I think there are 6 total books right now - gotta read em all. ALL AGES! Very cool!

Prophet - Volume 1

I did it. I read it. I didn't not like it, but I also just didn't get the story enough to care, truthfully. I can now say that I have read it, and for those that like Farel Dalrymple's art, I can understand why you would want to read this because it is visually beautiful. The writing is just too fucking cryptic for me to get into.

Not much to say about this because I didn't retain a lot of information from this story.

Little Nemo Return to Slumberland - Issue #01

Directly inspired by Winsor McCay's original comic strip from 1905 (seen in the first picture, full list of original comic strips here ), Little Nemo is a story of a boy who is chosen by the princess of Slumberland to be her playmate, but each night when an attempt is made to bring Nemo to the fantasy world, he is woken abruptly and unable to make it to the dreamland!

This story is so beautiful and Gabriel Rodriguez does a really spectacular job at re imagining the original artwork of McCay, while still being true to the original line quality and detail that make these illustrations so remarkable.

This is my favorite story line that I have read thus far. And while I do appreciate the new writing and art, I think the original is more fitting for the storyline. I'm glad I read the first issue though, and thankful that it lead me to Winsor McCay!

Feathers - Issue #01

Had to make this huge because !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It follows a boy named Poe, covered in feathers, fathered by a man named Gabriel who found Poe in the streets abandoned as a baby. Poe lives in the slums of the city, known as the Maze. Poe meets a new friend named Bianca, an upper class, very privileged but adventurous young girl who has run away from her father while visiting the Maze for their first time. 

Together the two are now on a journey of a lifetime, running from danger and experiencing a world that is brand new to both of them.

It is super SUPER SUPER SUPER, and the artwork is absolutely beautiful. Awesome article with writer, Jorge Corona and a sneak peak of the first issue!

(This is the variant cover by Ken Niimura, which I think I have to buy because !!!)

The Wrenchies -- Graphic Novel

The story starts out with two young boys who find themselves at the entrance of a cave in the woods. They enter and their lives and the world as we know it are changed forever!!!!! This book is SO DENSE I should have read it twice in a row. It is so full of imagery and symbolism, references to other literature, movies and sub culture.

The story follows a group of young children who call themselves The Wrenchies in a time where children are the only humans left. 20 somethings get changed into demons/zombies who work for the adults, and the children plan to kill them all in order to stay alive on the shit world they live in now.

We catch up with the first two boys later on in the story and find out that the reason the planet is like this is because of them, and the only way to save Earth and help it to heal is to find the two boys. The Wrenchies is a story of magic, fantasy, regret and youth. Its no wonder this book cannot stay on our shelves for more than 1 day since it came out in September. I think this book is going to be a classic.

Ody-C -- Issue #01

Psychedelic fantasy art in combination with the epic retelling of Homer's Oddysey = mind blowing.

I liked this for a number of reasons !!

1. At the front, there is a massive fold out timeline of events for where the story takes place including color coded key with a map of the galaxies with a giant 6 page spread on the reverse side. It introduces the story really well, as well as a taste of the really beautiful artwork.

2. The artwork in this is really something else. From what I've read so far in the first month of comic books, this is my favorite artwork. Each page is unique in it's layout format, which makes it exciting to read, not that typical grid format is boring, but I don't think that would have worked well for this story because it is so dramatic and fantastic. Each page has so much color and there is so much depth and layering to each page, it really is a beautiful work of art. There is so much going on, but Ward keeps everything so well balanced with his use of line.

3. Gender roles reversed! Though it is the retelling of Homer's Oddysey, all of the men are now women so REALLY every character that you are reading about in this issue is female, powerful, strong, complex character. Fraction said he wanted to create a futuristic Wonder Woman type set of characters for his daughter to look up to. They are not overly sexual or dramatically 'feminine' like most female roles in comic books, but they are also not just a mirror image of their male counterparts from the original Oddysey with breasts. They are women, which, I obviously think, is really cool.

God Hates Astronauts - Issue #01

 This comic is insane and perfect.

Nothing in this storyline makes any sense and somehow everything makes total sense.

I should say that this is not for certain types of people for sure, but those that grew up finding stupid cartoons like Spongebob Squarepants or Captain Underpants hilarious, like myself, this garbage is for you and it is not garbage, its gold.

My favorite character is the 3D ghost who gives back stories when necessary and pops in every now and then just to say hi.

The whole thing is a trip.
and I'm very down.

Saga - Trade Paperback - Volume 1

"Looks like a lot of weird sex" - my boyfriend after flipping through it

First trade paperback I've read. Co-workers and customers alike said I should read this first because it is right now the most popular storyline out right now. And I can totally see why.

The characters are really likeable and with the story being narrated in the future by the young child, you can tell that this baby is going to see some real shit and! live to tell you about it! Which rules!

The main couple has a Romeo/Juliet love story which rules because forbidden love is universally captivating.

This book is set in a fantasy realm, but like most well-written fantasy realms or science fiction stories, the characters are dealing with core issues that humans can relate to. I found these characters to be very charming and likeable.

When I first learned about the concept of trade paperbacks vs single issue comics, I didn't understand why someone would wait until the trade came out and then read everything all at once. After reading the first trade of Saga, I completely understand. One single issue is NOT ENOUGH, NOT EVEN CLOSE TO ENOUGH of the amount of Saga I want/need/must read. But I need to cool it or else I will catch up and then have to wait like everyone else.