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 Even though it was actually written from 1999 to 2005, it reads as slightly outdated.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.

Amazing Spiderman -- Volume 1

Spiderman is BAAAACK. Didn't know he left, but apparently (says my coworker prior to me reading this), Doctor Octopus switched his brain with Peter Parker's brain because he believed he could be a better Spiderman than Peter.

This volume starts off with the switch back, so Peter is back in his own head and realizes everything the Doc has done as Peter, which is actually a lot. He got a ton of degrees and started his own factory making science experiments with a ton of people and they are working closely with Spiderman, making uniforms and equipment for him. Peter also has a girlfriend now that he has to break up with because it is his coworker and he realizes that Maria really was interested in Doctor Octopus.

The city didn't like the Doctor's take on Spiderman's 'friendly neighborhood attitude', so Peter must now win back the approval of the city and repatch his friendship with Black Cat.

We are also introduced to Silk, a girl who got bit by the same spider as PETER DID 10 YEARS AGO, EXCEPT SHE WAS KEPT IN A ROOM THIS WHOLE TIME AND NOW THANKS TO PETER SHE IS FREEEEEEE.

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.

Hawkeye - Volume 1

 

'My Life as a Weapon' intruduces us to, Clint Barton aka Hawkeye, a self made Avenger, doesn't really have 'superpowers' per-say but is incredible at using the bow and arrow, (kind of like Oliver Queen in Arrow, but Clint Barton is cooler in my opinion). The young Kate Bishop is his partner in crime. Even though she is a lot younger than him, she isn't really his sidekick or his protege, because she is already crazy good at bow and arrow and fighting and defending herself, but she also is usually the one helping Clint get out of any trouble that he has shimmied his way into. The two work together to steal from the rich and help those in need. A modern day Robin Hood and Little John duo. They are really cool together, and Matt Fractions writing makes this story really humorous and fun to read. Not as serious or dark as you would expect, but still really gripping and intense.

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.

Southern Bastards - Volume 1

Friday Night Lights meets No Country for Old Men. A perfect partnership of small-town-everyone-knows-everyone-romanticism and one-lonely-and-angry-dude-out-for-justice.

An old man returns to his hometown to clean up his deceased fathers house and realizes that things are exactly as they were when he left 40 years ago, but worse. The football coach is leading a crime mob in the county, eating bbq by day, burying bodies under the bleachers by night.

Earl only planned to stay for 2 days to pack everything up but a series of events makes him change his mind. Letting his anger get the best of him, Earl stays in this small messed up town in Alabama to get some answers and try and free the town of the crime that has consumed it the last 40 years.

I think this story is absolutely crazy, and I'm very into it. Almost every other word is a swear word or slang or offensive in some way, and there is a lot of blood and violence, but the way that its written is exciting. The art fits the story so well, it is like these two Jason's were made to work together.

Batman Eternal - Volume 1

So GOOD WHY IS IT OVER

I think its such a neat idea that DC put out three, one year long, weekly stories. Waiting a whole month (or sometimes more if an issue is pushed back) feels like such a tease. I like the idea of only having to wait one week for the next issue to come out.

My coworker recommended me this volume to read which is issues #1-21 of Batman Eternal. The story arch started in March of 2014 so it has a few months left. I think they are on issue #37 right now. So its all current stuff and the idea is so awesome.

I am really into the idea of having multiple artists and (one main, but some other co-writers) writers working collaboratively on one story so it can continue to come out each week. I felt like the story writing was cohesive throughout but sometimes the switch of artists was hard to get used to. I felt like for the most part, everyone's characters looked the same but Jason Bard looked so different each issue it was hard to get past.

This story has some MAJOR plot twists which I am down with but also struggling currently because this volume ended with a major one, and volume 2 doesn't come out until the summer so that means I have to get single issues starting with 22 and read from there on because I must know whats up with Jim Gordon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I also found that this book introduced a lot of characters (like most superhero universes do) but something that is helpful for me to do is read it, and any character I don't know, I write their name down and then cross reference it with wikipedia if they keep coming up and I'm still confused about who they are. I found it to be really helpful for characters like Jim Corrigan and Red Hood who I didn't know before. But! In reading about Jim Corrigan, I realized that I already DO know his character from reading the first issue of Gotham at Midnight. But I had no idea of his importance or back story then.

Anyway, very cool read. I also now am super interested in one of DC's other year long story archs, Futures End which is about Gotham but is set 5 years into the future. I don't see how everyone can keep these stories straight because they are all about the same place but totally different things happening at one time.

Buddah -- Osamu Tezuka

I found myself really enjoying this mirror manga. Tezuka explains the origins of Buddism and the birth of Gautama Budda in his own unique way. I was surprised with how violent and graphic the story was, but enjoyed the back history and side stories of each character.

Even though it was a fairly large volume, I'm still not really sure who each of these characters are in relation to the origin of Buddism, which is intriguing. I read about them for the entire volume, but still not sure what their part is in all of it. Interested to find out each person's part.

I think this is the first volume of 7, and I am super eager to read the rest of the volumes. The illustrations are really beautiful and I LOVE the way that all of the animals are drawn - similar to Disney style of animals from Bambi and Fox and the Hound, super big eyes and so so so cute.

Deadly Class - Volume 1

Deadly class is a really awesome read.

The story follows one boy who used to be homeless at his new school where he and his classmates are training to be assassins. It is a very graphic story, but that should be assumed

I would definitely continue reading this story, because of the art. My favorite part of this volume was the coloring. Most pages are monochromatic, which I find to be really balanced and easy to look at, and the color hues that were used look so nice against the black ink. There are scenes throughout with only hues of complimentary colors which looks amazing, and the second half of this volume the crew is in Vegas and are tripping on acid -- the colors and drawings are remarkable.

I found myself really liking this story. The main character is likeable even though he is clearly a psychopath. He is definitely troubled but even still, you find yourself wanting him to be safe, be okay, stay out of trouble.

Captain Marvel - Volume 1

 I wanted to know more about female lead superhero's so my co-worker recommended Captain Marvel.

This is one of the first superhero comics I've ever read so I was very overwhelmed. The way the story was laid out and the graphics seemed really busy to me, compared to the other comics I have been reading, overall I found it to be confusing because all these new superhero characters were popping in and out, and I had no idea who they were! 

I haven't read anything about Guardians of the Galaxy or seen the new movie so this was my first introduction to these characters so I really didn't know much about what was going on or how they were all connected to each other.

Even though I felt intimidated while reading this, I still enjoyed it. Captain Marvel is one bad bitch who is best buds with her cat and loves being a pilot over everything else. She leaves her hot boyfriend on earth so she can pursue her dreams of going to space and learning more about herself (which rules!!). She seems to have a large passion for those who are less fortunate and believes in loyalty and justice. One groovy gal.

Mind MGMT - Volume 1: The Manager

 Mind MGMT - Volume One: The Manager

While reading through this I was very interested with the themes of dreams and mystery and mind control, it reminded me of the TV show LOST which I am, to put it lightly, very into. Then! After I was done I read the forward to the book, which was written by one of the co-creators of LOST. WHICH IS CRAZY I THOUGHT THE FLIGHT 815 THING WAS JUST ME BEING A FREAK ABOUT LOST. But I feel like definitely now, it is something else. Something cooler.

While reading this collection, I found myself becoming very into the story. But a lot was going on with the story and it wasn't as fast of a read at I thought it was going to be. It is not a light read at all, it was in fact very dense.

I read half the book one day before work and told my manager that I wasn't able to get through the entire book overnight. He then told me that there are three story lines going on at the same time. The first is what you are reading, the second is what you are seeing, and the third is the secret story written in the binding of the book.

I hadn't noticed the third story at all so I'm really glad I was able to finish the book another day. I also hadn't thought about how what I was reading and what I was seeing really were two different stories. My imagination was following so closely with the narrative that everything seemed to flow together really nicely, less needed to be said because of how descriptive the imagery was.

Can't wait to read the other volumes of this. A very cool story.

Batman - Court of Owls Volume 1

"We are who we choose to be, Bruce. Not the role the past says we should play." - Dick Grayson

 I had my third day at work on Wednesday and while I've been reading a number of different story lines for homework, I told my manager that I am really very intimidated by superhero comics. He gave me Batman, Court of Owls to read, said it was a good starting point.

WAS HE RIGHT OR WHAT

First of all, this was amazing.

I wasn't too familiar with the storyline of Batman because I've only seen the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, so Dick Grayson (Nightwing), Tim Drake (Red Robin) and Damian Wayne (Robin) were all new characters for me. They weren't really in this volume too much but I'd like to learn more about their characters/what their scene is to the overall Batman story. The idea of someone or a group of people (the Court of Owls) knowing more than Batman about Gotham city is scary and intriguing, and the Court of Owls is a whole group of villians, not just one villian, so Batman really has no idea who they are or where they are or what is even going on!

Last night before I started reading this I was thinking to myself, I can just go online and watch a classic Batman movie to learn more about Batman, being a whiny 21st century baby who can't use their own imagination. But luckily, my computer battery was dead and I have lost my charger so I had no choice but to read this and I feel bad for ever thinking that I might not be into this storyline. Let me say it again...

I AM SUPER DOWN WITH THIS BOOK. The writing is incredible, from the very beginning I was hooked. I feel like I need to get the second volume immediately and forgo all other plans for the rest of my life until I have read everything in this series.

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.