Manhattan Projects -- Volume 1

 Eh, wasn't down.

Alex + Ada - Volume 1

I have fully learned my lesson on judging a book by its cover this time. I have thought FOR SURE that I was never going to read this book and it would suck and I would hate it, and I regret to inform my past self that I was completely wrong and that I am so down with this story.

I recently watched Black Mirror in its entirety, in one afternoon when I had the flu a few weeks ago and was then recommended to read this book by a coworker on my first day back to work. To me, Black Mirror watches like Twilight Zone, where each episode follows a completely different story, but overall there are general themes that are cohesive throughout.

Alex + Ada seems like it could be a spin-off comic version of an episode of Black Mirror, much more thorough and descriptive, which I really like. What I didn't like about episodes of Black Mirror, the length of detail and abrupt endings,  Alex + Ada fill that void for me, because while the story is similar to the theme of Black Mirror, it also is much more filling and grows more organically for the reader. I just heard though that it is getting cut after 12 issues, which SUCKS because after the first 6, I am really into it. I can't wait to get caught up on this.

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.

Letter 44 -- Volume 1

It is inauguration day for the new President who learns through a letter from his predecessor a huge secret that has been kept from himself and the American people. 7 years ago, construction started in the cosmos by a group of alien beings. Unsure of what they are building, NASA sent a group of scientists out to learn more.

With construction almost complete, and the scientists nearing the spacecraft, the new president must now take over the role of responsibility not just for our nation but for the planet as a whole.

Much less political than I first thought, more sci-fi, thriller. Its super great! This is a story that I feel like most people would get down with, especially if it was a movie. Luckily though, it does exist, so we don't have to wait for it to be a movie, we can read it as a comic!

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.

The Woods - Issue #01

The Woods! So great! Where do all these writers come up with these ideas!

A entire high school in Wisconsin gets abducted/transplanted onto another planet during the middle of the day.

Weird stuff starts happening, the sky goes dark, alien beasts start attacking the school and eating students. A senior student computer geek gathers a crew of misfits to travel to the heart of the woods, as he believes this will lead them to answers about how and why they were abducted.

Definitely will continue reading on, and I'm glad the story took the turn that it did. At first I thought I was just going to be reading about a bunch of high school seniors who don't know what to do after they graduate and try to find where they belong in the world, but luckily for me and luckily for these writers, they have imagination and the story got wild real fast.

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.