Top of the Pile 5/18/16

The book that made it to the top of my pile isn’t necessarily one I would normally pick up. I would have picked Civil War II #0, since that’s going to be the big bad Marvel summer storyline. But instead I read Future Quest #1. I did this because I’m giving it to a colleague here at work (she’s a big Hanna Barbera fan).

Future Quest is a new comic where DC plays around with old Hanna Barbera properties. In this book, Johnny Quest and his crew meet up with Space Ghost, Birdman, The Herculoids, and other cartoon classic adventure characters from back in the day. This first issue, written by Jeff Parker, is setting everything up. Something is breaking through to Earth and Dr. Quest is determined to find out what’s happening before his nemesis Dr. Zinn does. And of course, it’s all the super, outer space type characters that are popping into Johnny’s world. So far, it has potential. But like many stories that has tons of characters, we’ll see how Parker is able to enhance the story without getting too bogged down.

The artwork is done by Evan “Doc” Shaner and Steve “The Dude” Rude and keeps with the style of the old cartoons. I actually think Steve Rude has been practicing drawing Space Ghost for almost his entire life. But they make use of all the great designs from the cartoons, as well as a sad timely shoutout to Darwyn Cooke, who I guess helped with some of the designs.

So I’ll check back and see if my colleague wants me to continue picking up these books for her. If so, I’ll more than likely give them a read before handing them over. Otherwise, I don’t know if I would add this to my regular comic purchases.

Other books this wee:

Civil War II #0

Snow Fall #4

Wonder Woman #52

All-New Wolverine #8

Old Man Logan #6

Top of the Pile - 4/13/2016

It’s kind of a thing in literature these days to have unreliable narrators. Books like Girl on the Train tells the story through the eyes of a character who is completely within her own world. So the cool part is finding out what “really” happens in the story, because you can’t trust the person telling it to you. The one main character in the Marvel Universe that this happens to is Moon Knight. That’s why this book was my first read this week.

I have mentioned my fondness for the writing of Jeff Lemire, and he now is taking up the insane world of Marc Spector, the Moon Knight. In this book, Marc is in a hospital getting beat up by orderlies. Marc then learns from his doctor that he’s been in the same hospital since he was 12 and Moon Knight is just a delusion. He doesn’t remember anything and still hears the voice of the Egyptian god Khonshu, guiding him to fight his way free from his captivity. So, what is “really” happening? Since it’s a comic, we assume that there really is a god and that Manhattan is being overrun with flying dog headed warriors. But that would be crazy. Right?

The artwork by Greg Smallwood with colors by Jordie Bellaire is pretty cool. During the flashback sequences, Greg uses a colored pencil style where the lines are not smooth and inked. (Kind of like Gene Colan back in the day) And even plays with the panels. There is one page where Marc is going through electroshock and the panels form a large exclamation point. One thing to note is that reading this through Comixology, I didn’t see this element. But on looking through the print book, it was very obvious and made the page more dramatic.

So I will definitely continue picking up Moon Knight. The character is bat shit crazy, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Jeff Lemire tells his story.

Top of the Pile - 4/6/2016

The book that landed the top of the pile this week is Black Panther #1. Not because of the character or his place in the whole Marvel Universe, but because of the writer, Ta-Nehisi Coates. He is not a comic book writer, but rather a poet and journalist who is best known for writing the best selling Between the World and Me.

This book raises some interesting questions. What does it mean to be a king today? How does one rule over people when they have absolute power? What responsibilities does the Black Panther have with his country?

Though the first issue was really cool, it is just the setup for what hopefully will be a good story arc. Ta-Nehisi, for his first try at comic book writing, is pretty good. Often when a non-comic writer first starts writing for comics, they tend to be much too wordy not letting the pictures add to the narrative. But with this book, a good portion of the story is conveyed wonderfully by Brian Stelfreeze.

Interestingly, this book was pulled automatically by my local comic shop because the last time Black Panther was in his own book, it was penned by the best selling novelist David Liss. And with this new book, another famous non-comic world writer is making his mark.

Top of the Pile 3/9/2016

The All-New Wolverine wound its way up to the top of my pile this week. With the cover by Bengal having a Charlie’s Angels vibe, that was the main reason for me to read this book first.

This is issue number 6 in the All-New Wolverine title. Logan isn’t Wolverine anymore. Instead its Laura Kinney, also known as X-23, who has taken up the mantle of Wolverine in the post Secret Wars world. And this is the conclusion of a pretty good, but very derivative story. In this story line, it turns out there is another secret science group making clones of clones as assassins. And coincidentally, the clones happen to be of the new Wolverine. And in this book, Wolverine and her sister-clones take their vengeance out on the scientists and security who created them.

The writing by Tom Taylor is, again, ok. Nothing too over the top. But nothing horrible either. The plotline gets wrapped up tightly. But the one good thing is that he isn’t too wordy. He allows the artist, David Lopez, to carry some of the storytelling.

So I don’t know if this was the best book I picked up this week, but it was the first one I read.

Others I picked up:

Descender #11

Detective Comics #50

Doctor Strange #6

The Mighty Thor #5

Spider-Man/Deadpool #3

Old Man Logan #3

Deadpool #8

Legend of Wonder Woman #3

Uncanny X-Men #4

A-force #3

Top of the Pile 2/10/2016

This was a large week where I picked up some issues that I missed last week. (Though I didn’t review it, last weeks first read was Mirror #1 by Emma Ríos and Hwei Lim.) And this week was another Image book, Descender #10 by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen.

Descender is a comic set in the far future, where aliens and artificial intelligence are normal. And interplanetary travel is common. There is an A.I. in the form of a boy named Tim-21, and he seems to be the key to the survival of all life in the galaxy.

There are many aspects of the book that I like. After 10 issues, you begin to have a feeling of the motivations of all the characters. And as Jeff Lemire does with his much of his writing, relationships are the driving motivator for almost all the story actions. Tim-21 was left abandoned on a mining colony and only had a digging robot and a mechanical dog as companions. After decades of being alone, Tim-21 is found by two humans, Tesla and Quon (Mom and Dad?). Both of which have family backstory that affect their attitude and actions. Tim-21 also has an older “brother”, Andy, who is a grown man and is searching for his “little brother”. And Lemire ties this all this relationship mess together in a galaxy threatening story.

And the art by Dustin Nguyen is, in my mind, almost the exact opposite in style for a hard science fiction story like this. He uses watercolor and pastels. With almost minimal background details, and wonderful character designs.

For these reasons, Descender made the top of my very large stack this month.

Other titles I picked up this week:

Velvet #13

Batman #49

James Bond #4

Manhattan Project: The Sun Beyond the Stars #4

A-Force #2

Injection #7

All-New Wolverine #5

Detective Comics #49

Uncanny X-Men #3

Deadpool #7

The Legend of Wonder Woman #2

Spider-Man/Deadpool #2

Top of the Pile 1/27/2016

The comic that made it to the top of my pile this week was Old Man Logan #1. Marvel is doing the “All-New All-Different” thing after the extended Secret Wars shakeup. And with Old Man Logan, what was a stand alone story by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven now becomes a regular Marvel series.

Written by one of my favorite storytellers, Jeff Lemire, Old Man Logan is lifted from the Mark Millar world of desolation into the contemporary Marvel world. This makes it seem to be Logan’s past, since the people in the Millar world who are dead are still alive in the Marvel world. And events that destroyed the civilizations in the Millar world haven’t happened in the Marvel world. Confused? Yeah, me too.

But I trust Jeff Lemire. He is great at telling time travel stories. (Check out his book Trillium) And he doesn’t skimp on the wild nature of Logan. Indeed, the title of this story is “Berserker”. Old Man Logan, once he believes he is in his past and can correct the future, immediately makes a list of people to kill to ensure that his bleak future doesn’t come to pass.

The artwork is by Andrea Sorrentino and it is really good. Not a typical “Marvel” style, he uses softer colors and a lot more shadows. We don’t really see Logan’s full face with it mostly concealed in darkness. The fight sequences are highlighted with sound effects, which makes them feel more kinetic. And though his expressions are subtle in a realistic style, his figures are really nice and substantive.

I’ll tell my comic shop owner to add Old Man Logan to my sub and when it get collected into a trade, I’ll let our teen librarian know it’s something we might want to pick up for the library.

Otherwise, it was a large week for me.
Batman #48
Deadpool #6
Wonder Woman #48
Angela: Queen of Hel #4
Black Magick #4
Chew #54
Monstress #3
The Legend of Wonder Woman #1
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #3

Saga #33

Top of the Pile 1/13/2016

Top of the pile this week is the final issue of the Secret Wars mini-series from Marvel. With delays and extensions, we finally read the conclusion of the multi universe altering storyline from Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic and Ive Scorcina. With this being the last book in the series, my explanation will have some spoilers. But I’ll try and keep them not too blatant.

I’ve always like the work of Jonathan Hickman. It’s almost always really out there in its scope. He takes huge, horrible, existential situations and boils the solutions down to individual choices and actions. And in Secret Wars, after destroying all the different universes with in the Marvel continuum, he stages a fist fight between Reed Richards and Dr. Doom for the fate of everything, That’s pretty cool.

The artwork, by Esad Ribic with color by Ive Scorcina is interesting. Certainly not the classic Marvel/Kirby style. Esad uses softer lines and the colors Ive selected are more subtle. The draughtsmanship is excellent with characters displaying strong emotions both in their facial expressions as well as their body language. But it does lack some of the kinetic feel of Marvel books. But for this story, the action pack fist fighting isn’t necessary.

I’ll ask out teen librarian to pick up the collected volume of Secret Wars for our collection since it’s the latest in the re-defining of the Marvel Universe. And I suspect it would be a popular book among our teen readers here.

Other books I picked up this week:
All-New Wolverine #4
Injection #6
Descender #9
Paper Girls #4

Top of the Pile 1/6/2016

DC is releasing a 6 issue limited series for Swamp Thing, written by Len Wein and art by Kelley Jones. This made it to the top of my pile based on the names of the creators. Len is the creator of Swamp Thing along with Bernie Wrightson back in the 70 as a horror type comic. And then later, with Alan Moore and Steve Bissette, the Swamp Thing book changed into a supernatural type thing. However, this new book seems to be going back to its roots as a horror book.

Len has been in the business for a long time and is among the demi-gods of comics. I grew up reading his books without knowing or caring who created them. I just liked reading cool stories. Later, as I started looking at the bylines of books that I liked, Len was one name I saw quite a bit.

With this new Swamp Thing book, I mentioned that it’s going away from the Alan Moore/Vertigo style and more into a horror type read. The issue read much like the old Tales from the Crypt EC titles from the 50s and 60s. Swamp Thing is a normal guy turned into a creature. He has the same human emotions and is not portrayed as an Earth avatar with god like powers of all the plants on the planet. Instead, Len has Swamp Thing solve a mystery of a missing/dead/zombified college student.

The other really cool thing about this book is the artwork by Kelley Jones. I have enjoyed his work since his Deadman limited series’ from the early 90s. His style is perfect for horror comics, and is matched well with this book. The dark shadowing and distorted figures raises the tension in the story. And he draws gore and guts almost as good as Bernie Wrightson.

So with all this going for it, I’m looking forward each month to a tight, supernatural story that fits in 6 issues.

Other books I picked up:
A-Force #1
Deadpool #5
Detective Comics #48
Doctor Strange #4
Uncanny X-Men #1

Top of the Pile 12/31/2015

Since we’re coming into a new year, I’m going to try and post weekly as I pick up my subs each week. Call it a resolution…

So the top of the pile this week is Black Magick #3 written by Greg Rucka with art by Nicola Scott. The main reason I picked this one was because of the artwork by Scott. But before I begin describing her art, let me relate a little about the story Rucka has devised.

Black Magick is a police story set in contemporary times. Rowan Black is a detective who works robbery/homicide, but also has magical powers which she keeps hidden from her work colleagues. By this third issue, we find that Rowan is being targeted by some other unknown magic group. The plot is moving along at a good clip as elements are moving into place to cause Rowan all types of trouble in later issues.

But as I mentioned, it was the artwork that compelled me to put this book on the top of my pile. Scott uses an almost grey palette with just a touch of color to highlight magical elements, which is pretty unique in the comics world. Also, she uses some really dynamic angles to best portray emotions. And best of all, there was a multi-page section without dialog where Rowan sets up some magical wards on her home. With fantastic detail, this section was a joy to look at.

The other books I picked up this week were:

The Wicked + Divine #17

Tokyo Ghost #4

Morning Glories #49

James Bond #3

Wonder Woman #47

All-New Wolverine #3

Nova #3

Daredevil #2

Might Thor #2

Back to School Graphic Novels

School is something every kid knows about. Getting good grades. Eating school lunches. The pressures of fitting in. Does the girl you like, like you back? The usual things. And when you put them in crazy space places or different circumstances, all the usual school stories take on a little extra fun and meaning. Here are some poignant fantasmical school books we have here in the library.

The Jedi Academy series by Jeffrey Brown

Roan, a young Padawan, is at Jedi school on Coruscant. Trained by master Jedi knights (including Yoda) in the ways of the Force and all the other training a Jedi needs. In the first book Star Wars: Jedi Academy, Roan really wanted to go to pilot school like his brother, father and grandfather. But after being denied admission, he is then invited to attend Jedi Academy.
 

This book is uber popular at the library. Anything Star Wars is always checking out. And add that it’s a fun, readable comic story about an awkward middle school student. What else could be more attractive you a teen boy? With fun art, interesting narrative interjections (like comics from Roan’s strip Ewok Pilot) and seeing his report cards (with the comments from his instructors), I happily tell patrons about this book and often need to place holds on them.
 

Another fun space school book which is still really cool but a little less well known in the Astronaut Academy books by Dave Roman. Unlike the Jedi Academy books, there really isn’t one main character we follow through the school year. Instead we are introduced to the whole class with their own little chapters. And what’s really interesting is that (like in a real school) they all interact with each other.
 

Told in short little vignettes, Dave Roman weaves a story that seems very disjointed at first but congeals into an overall picture of what Space Academy is all about. With a huge nod to Japanese pop culture, both in the art style and the many easter eggs from anime and manga, any patron interested in our manga books should definitely check this one out. I try and let people know about this book too but it’s a little tougher sell than Star Wars. But I hope they will realize how fun this book is.
 

Who would think that the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra was a good shot with a laser gun?  In Cleopatra in Space by Mike Maihack, we find teenage Cleopatra (who doesn’t like algebra) is studying for when she will become a leader. Transported into space, she is then assigned to a school where she learns that she still doesn’t like algebra. But she is good at combat training.
 

This book is a good introduction to the world Cleopatra inhabits. We meet her teacher and classmates as well as get an inkleing of some deeper mystery. With a kinetic style, the action is very well done. This is the most super-hero in style of the books. I would certainly recommend it to any young lady looking for an action comic with a strong female lead, even though she isn’t the best at her academic studies.
 

Some other books that are not yet in our library collection (but should be soon) also have school as a subject. One is a sweet graphic novel titles El Deafo by Cece Bell was recommended by my colleague Allison. Autobiographical, El Deafo tell the story of Cece losing her hearing as a young child and then showing how she handled the change during her first few years in school.
 

Like the other books on the list, Cece’s art is also very cartoony. The designs are simple, yet expressive enough to convey the emotions in the story. Though this pre-published copy wasn’t in color, it still was very interesting to look at. I can’t wait to see the completed published version.

Top of the Pile - 7/3/2014

Uncanny X-Men #23 and #24

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Kris Anka

Marvel Comics

The very provocative, minimal cover is what made me put this on the top of my pile this week. I’ve been behind picking up by stack from the comic shop (with Comic Con and everything) so officially issue 23 came out a couple weeks ago and 24 today, which was good since it ended in a big cliffhanger.

In these issues, the main plotline involved the reading of Charles Xavier’s will. With the first couple pages showing the resident Marvel lawyer who isn’t Matt Murdock, Jennifer Walters (She Hulk), to preside over the reading of the last will and testament of Prof. X. But of course all the people named in the will need to be present, and since the whole breakup of the mutant clan and Cyclops on the outs from pretty much everyone else, that is there the tension in these book lay.

Other story threads include the emergence of a new mutant and the hunt for Mystique after she held Dazzler captive. Bendis is great at keeping all the crazy super stuff within a human mentality. Consequently, the most ridiculous situations still seem “normal”. People are sad, upset, angry, confused at the reading of the will, like any family member would be after losing a loved one. This touch makes Bendis’ writing always interesting.

And for Anka’s art. It is very good. I initially picked up this book for the work of Chris Bachalo, but Anka has a similar style. Bold lines, broad colors,, clear action, it was easy on the eyes and exciting to look at.

For adding this series to a library. with ongoing books that is always a tough call. Like genre novels in a series, where does one start and stop the collection? Subject wise, it’s fine for any graphic novel area in a public library. But again, if it’s popular, fans might ask for the entire run in trade paperback.

ComicCon Preview Night

The first part of ComicCon consisted of getting my badge and wandering the exhibit hall on the "preview" night. I enjoyed seeing all the people lining up for the Hasbro and Mattel toys. My comrade Scott was able to pick up the exclusive Adventure Time book, signed by Pendleton Ward, for his little ones. I instead grabbed the unsigned copy of the same book. My exclusive that I had to get was the metallic painted bishojou Spider-Woman from Kotobukya. Which I was successful.

I'm really looking forward to the next few days. Have planned the Scholasic publisher get together, the One Ring luau in the hotel next door and the Heroes Beerfest, it should be a busy schedule. And in the meantime catch some panels, pick up swag and buy some cool shit. Panels include the obligatory comics in libraries as well as comic publisher "what to expect to see" talks. And I

also want to check out the NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast panel. This should hopefully keep me away from all the scary celebrity mad houses.

Let you know how the next couple days go....

Top of the Pile - 7/16/2014

The Wicked + the Divine
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Jamie McKelvie
Cover Artist: Matthew Wilson
Image Comics

Image manages to produce the most interesting comics. I know, that’s not a controversial statement. With their books being the must have, sold out, crossover potential works, I usually try and pick up at least the first issue of whatever they put out. And with The Wicked + the Divine, I was impressed enough to get the second issue.

After reading the first issue, I noticed the writer is Kieron Gillen. I’ve been keeping my eye out for his name ever since I realized that he wrote the recent run of Journey into Mystery from Marvel. The basic story of The Wicked + the Divine is from the point of view of a young girl who gets mixed up with “the Pantheon”. A dozen divine characters, who are pop stars, and have godlike powers. In the second issue, we learn more about the members of the Pantheon and how they became what they are. And Kieron is slowly revealing the cast of characters, reminding me of how the Endless were revealed in the Sandman books. It builds of an element of interest as new, strange elements are added into this so far amorphous story.

The art by Jamie McKelvie is very clean and detailed. Traditionally drawn without excessive exaggeration or embellishments. There aren’t any whacky angles or bizarre framing. It’s just good narrative illustration. Where the art excels is in how he depicts faces. With strong emotions, the reader can see that the characters know more that what the plot is telling us.

As I mentioned, I’ll continue picking this book up. And I would consider buying it for our library collection when it comes out in trade. It could potentially go into an older teen collection, but instead I would err on the side of safety and ask to have it shelved in the non-fiction area.

Top of the Pile - 10/23/2013

Velvet #1
by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting
Image Comics

Ed Brubaker, with his new book Velvet, is writing spy fiction now. Like his hugely successful noir book, Fatale, Velvet is his attempt to tell a tale of espionage from the heyday of the cold war, the early 1970s. Velvet is the name of the main character, Velvet Templeton, who is the secretary to the head of the most elite spy group, ARC-7.  But as the book starts, one of the most experienced agents gets murdered while on assignment in Paris and as  the investigation into how such a thing happened to a highly trained agent, Velvet gets a little too close to the truth and ends up in a very touchy situation.

I’ve liked Brubaker’s work for years. Initially with his run on Daredevil and Iron Fist, and later his crime/noir books, he is one writer I always look for. He is able to adapt his style to whichever genre he is writing. With Velvet, we hear the inner monologues of Velvet as she pieces evidence together. The dialog isn’t anachronistic to the time period he is writing. And the pacing is at a good clip here we are introduced to all the characters.

The artwork by Steve Epting is also very fine. And as it turns out, I’ve been enjoying his work for a while also. Most recently from the Fantastic Four and FF books. His take on the spy story is interesting. There are many great novels and movies with spies, but some of them from the 70s could be really campy and silly (think Matt Helm meets Modest Blaise). But instead of going all pop-art and platform shoes, he and Brubaker go for a more realistic, darker tone. Almost every page is full of shadows. Dark offices and rain filled streets are where most of the action in this book takes place. And with Velvet’s streak of white hair on an otherwise raven do, she comes across as a super femme fatale. Really cool.

I really like this book so far and will definitely continue picking it up. As for the library, I would certainly consider purchasing the trade paperbacks. If the story continues to maintain its quality, I would recommend it highly to our patrons who like our spy books.

Kick Butt Graphic Girls

One of my colleagues is selecting and ordering some graphic novels in her larger selection area of recreation, creative and performing arts. However, she doesn’t really like comics and when she receive them, she floats them to me (knowing I love comics) to examine and evaluate. And recently we received a book called “Over the Wall” which tells the story of a normal girl who is strong and goes on a quest and overcomes insurmountable odds to succeed. And this made me think, we have in our collection several wonderful graphic novels that show strong girls and women taking names and kicking butt.

“Over the Wall” by Peter Wartman is set in a mayan type village and it starts where a girl writes a note to her parents explaining that she’s going to search for her missing brother. The boys of the village, when they turn 16, are sent to enter the old, abandoned city where demons are caged. And as the girl entered the city, her wit, quick actions, gumption and help from a no name demon, allow her to prevail. Wartman’s art is very good too. With purple hues, there is very little color used. But I think this style makes the designs he created stand out a little better than if they were in full color. Also, his characters are very expressive. With large eyes and great expressions, the emotions of the characters is easily read.

As I was reading “Over the Wall”, I was thinking, “this is just like another graphic novel, ‘Zita the Spacegirl’”. Created by Ben Hatke, Zita is a story about a girl and her brother who get teleported to a strange alien planet with strange alien creatures. Kind of like the cantina on Mos Eisley, you can tell Hatke had fun with the unique designs of everything. In the story, Zita’s brother is grabbed by some tentacle monster with a diving bell head. And for the rest of the book, she is on a quest to reunite with her brother and get back to Earth. The style of this book is vastly different than “Over the Wall”. With vibrant colors, the alien worlds and creatures are super interesting. And the action he shows is very fast paced and dynamic.
 

Another new graphic novel recently came across my desk with the same theme of a kick butt woman called “Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant.” By Tony Cliff, we meet first the Turkish Lieutenant, Erdemogul Selim, describing to the Sultan a woman they have captured and all her outlandish claims. With extensive training from all over the world along with a flying ship, she plans on stealing valuable works from the Sultans library. From there, the action becomes fast paced and two fisted. Selim is dragged along, first unwillingly and eventually  whole heartedly, as Delilah travels and plunders from dangerous characters. With its exotic settings (both geographically and chronologically), any fan of adventure, young or old, would do well picking up this book for a fun read.

Other great graphic novels with kick butt protagonists:

Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead by Steve Pugh

Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi

Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III

Top of the Pile - 10/9/2013

Three
Writer Kieron Gillen
Artists Ryan Kelly and Jordie Bellaire
Published by Image

Every comic fan knows the battle of Thermopylae from the Frank Miller story 300. Spartans holding off Persian hoards, protecting the nascent Greek city-states from being conquered. But in the afterward of this comic, Kieron Gillen, who mentions Millers work, explains that he wanted to tell the story of the Spartans that were living behind its citizens. The Helots, who were the peasants or serfs of Greek society and were the lowest caste.

So in this first issue, we learn how barbaric the citizens were as they hunt and murder helots as they work in the fields. And we meet three individuals who seem to rise above their station in life. Klaros, a crippled, bitter man. Damar a woman who seems sympathetic to Klaros’ plight. And Terpander who is best described as a type of malcontent. I assume we’ll get to follow their paths as they try and survive and thrive is a society where they are basically outcasts.

The artwork for this book is very good. The orange and black cover is striking and caught my eye on the shelf at the comic shop today. Inside, the artwork is broad and strong. The colors and inking stylistically are thick and dark making for a powerful narrative. The character designs and good too. The helots are gaunt and emaciated while the Spartans are muscley and buff. We feel for them.

I will continue picking up this title. I like Gillen’s work and think he’s a fine storyteller. And the historic subject of Ancient Greece is very different and pretty cool. As of the first issue, I don’t see anything objectionable for a library collection. Certainly not for the juvenile section, but so far, it’s fine for the YA area.

Library Review - Wasteland Book 8: Lost in the Ozone

Wasteland Book 8: Lost in the Ozone

Written by Antony Johnston

Art by Russel Roehling

Published by Oni Press

What’s interesting about letting non-comic loving staff members select graphic novels for the library is that they would pick up things you would never even consider. Wasteland book 8 is a perfect example. It isn’t from the big two publishers. It doesn’t have a super-famous writer or author. And it’s book 8 in a series where we don’t have books 1 through 7. Regardless, my colleague thought enough of the review for her to select this for our collection.

So I gave it a read and was entertained. Wasteland takes place in a post apocalyptic world that looks like the video game Fallout meets Sergio Leone. As the back cover blurb says, “Michael and Abi’s journey through the desert, in search of the fabled land of  A-Ree-Yass-I, draws near to its conclusion”. And the meet up with small communities of humans, as well as mutants, bears, sand-eaters and other dangers. Pretty straight forward as far as plot goes. However, picking up this book near the end is a little frustrating. However, the story did reveal itself and eventually by the end I think I have an understanding of the overall plot and characters.

The one thing that I thought was really cool was the artwork by Russel Roehling. It reminded me of the Mad cartoonist Jack Davis or Jijé western works. Done in black and white, there is drama in the art. Characters expressions are often exaggerated and the details are wonderfully rendered.

As for our library picking this up, I think it was a good thing. It’s going to be catalog into the adult non-fiction area because there are a couple f-bombs. Also, I don’t think we’ll be working our way back to fill in the beginning of the series, so putting it in a less conspicuous place might help from others experiencing the lack of completeness frustration. But if the books ever come on sale or I see them for 50% off at a con, I might consider grabbing them for myself.

Top of the Pile - 9/4/2013

Amelia Cole #10: Hidden War Part 4

Written by D.J. Kirkbride and Adam Knave

Art by Nick Brokenshire

Colored by Ruiz Moreno

Lettered by Rachel Deering

Published by Monkeybrain Comics
 

This selection is a little different because it’s an electronic comic book. I’ve been picking up books on sale and recently “subscribed” to a couple of e-comics that are digital first books, and Amelia Cole is one that I’ve been picking up.

When this comic started, it told the tale of Amelia who lived with her aunt Dani and she was able to travel in two different worlds, one with magic and one without. During a crisis, she gets transported to a third world where magic is only for a few and they are the rules while non-magic people are of a lower class.

The Hidden War is the second story arc and Amelia has appointed “The Protector” by the leaders. She has a problem with the class system and rails against the superior attitudes magic users have for normal people, but feels it’s best to be close to power and try and make changes within the system. And in this issue, we see how desperate normal humans are as Amelia saves the city from a terrorist plot.

This made it to the top of my pile this week over other books like Chew and the 3D DC Villains books mainly because of the artwork. The story by D.J. Kirkbride and Adam Knave is really good. The action and humor is tight while they put enough in each issue to propel the story along nicely. But I really like the art by Nick Brokenshire and Ruiz Moreno. Richly detailed and clearly laid out, the story flows well. With fun easter eggs too, though it’s only 12 pages long, these comics take a little longer to check out the contents of each panel.

I would certainly recommend this book for a public library. Rated 12+, it’s one of those every more common book where it’s kind of like a superhero title, but with a strong girl doing her best. And it looks like IDW has released a print copy so I’ll have to ask our YA librarian to pick it up.