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- Wet Moon Volume 2 (10)
- Unseen Feet (Wet Moon)
- By Ross Campbell
- Finished on Jul 25, 2011
  
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Wet Moon Volume 2

I attempted to borrow volume 1 of this series from the library but they gave me vol 2 instead. Not having read the first one it was still easy to follow. I really liked it. While the characters didn't really do much besides talk and drink coffee it felt incredibly real. The art was an interesting st ... (continue)

I attempted to borrow volume 1 of this series from the library but they gave me vol 2 instead. Not having read the first one it was still easy to follow. I really liked it. While the characters didn't really do much besides talk and drink coffee it felt incredibly real. The art was an interesting style, I must admit I thought the characters lips looked really strange but then the level of detail on their skin made them seem really realistic. But I'm definitely going to have to read more of this series.

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— Jul 31, 2011 | Add your feedback
- 馬爾谷福音 (6)
- By 思高聖經協會
- Finished on Jul 15, 2011
  
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馬爾谷福音

This is a Traditional Chinese comic version of St Mark's gospel. I decided to read it as I need more practice reading traditional Chinese characters and thought that as I knew the gospel quite well already it should make it fairly easy to read. However, I found that I still needed an English transla ... (continue)

This is a Traditional Chinese comic version of St Mark's gospel. I decided to read it as I need more practice reading traditional Chinese characters and thought that as I knew the gospel quite well already it should make it fairly easy to read. However, I found that I still needed an English translation to read along side of this. I think this was partly due to the phonetic translations of all the names, places and Jewish words. It was good practice despite that though.
It made me realise how odd Mark's gospel is, so much casting out of demon (though that did make for some neat looking pictures!) Also I don't think I'd ever realised before that Salome was supposed to be there at the cruxifiction and the resurrection, just the two Marys. Which I thought was very interesting, though I wished they'd explained how she went from wanting John's head to being there! But then women really just aren't as important as men in the gospels!
This version also features explanations by a cartoon priest about the different events in the gospel, but I must admit I skipped most of those! I also have Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian Chinese comics. Now I think I need to read one of those for a bit of balance!

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— Jul 24, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Vol. 1 (3)
- By Andy Seto, Wang Du Lu
- Finished on Jul 14, 2011
  
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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Vol. 1

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍)the movie is the reason I started to get interested in Chinese history and language. I hope to someday be able to read the original novels by Wang Dulu, but my Chinese isn't quite up to martial arts novels yet. I can however manage comics. I found an English tran ... (continue)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍)the movie is the reason I started to get interested in Chinese history and language. I hope to someday be able to read the original novels by Wang Dulu, but my Chinese isn't quite up to martial arts novels yet. I can however manage comics. I found an English translation of a Hong Kong comic adaptation of the novel and bought it in the hopes that it would help me track down the original Chinese version. (Which sadly seems out of print). The comic itself is very pretty, it has a good use of colour, Su Lien is very pretty (though Li Mu bai is kinda funny looking). I'm not sure how well martial arts work in comics, you loose all the beautiful fluidity of the moves. Plotwise it seems like the story has been really simplified too. However, it was nice to see the earlier lives of the two main characters. I will definitely have to see if I can find the original versions of these.

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— Jul 16, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Life of the party (3)
- By Mary Fleener
- Finished on Jul 25, 2011
  
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Life of the party

I really did enjoy this graphic novel. I enjoyed the insane art style that got progressively more fucked up the more emotional or high someone got. It was amusing and honest without being overly emotional. It didn't hit me on the same level as some comics but I still really enjoyed it. Mary while be ... (continue)

I really did enjoy this graphic novel. I enjoyed the insane art style that got progressively more fucked up the more emotional or high someone got. It was amusing and honest without being overly emotional. It didn't hit me on the same level as some comics but I still really enjoyed it. Mary while being a hippie and hanging out in Southern CA and marrying a surfer still showed that subcultures are much alike. The stories were vaguely chronological, starting with Mary as a young girl and then getting into playing gigs and drugs, and then married. But the dates of when they were written weren't in order. It made me really want to find other things by her. But she doesn't seem to have many books that are availble now.

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— Jul 31, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Promethea (38)
- (Book 4)
- By Alan Moore
- Finished on Jul 9, 2011
  
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Promethea

As I didn't go to London Film and Comic Con this weekend I decided to treat myself going to Forbidden Planet and picking up the next Promethea book. While not quite as good as three this one was still very enjoyable. Promethea and Barbara continued their journey up the Kabballa tree and exploring th ... (continue)

As I didn't go to London Film and Comic Con this weekend I decided to treat myself going to Forbidden Planet and picking up the next Promethea book. While not quite as good as three this one was still very enjoyable. Promethea and Barbara continued their journey up the Kabballa tree and exploring the higher realms where things were disjointed and creepy but also VERY happy. The art in this book is really amazing, the layout and colour schemes really blending perfectly to each imagined realm, and the details in the "real world" and wonderful too.
Alas I did notice a flaw in the Chinese they used in the page of many people praying in many languages. (It was a literal english to chinese translation but unfortunately you don't use the very "am" the same way in Chinese). But at least it wasn't as Eurocentric as the history of the world!
I'm enjoying this series quite a lot. I like the essays on what magic is and how imagination relates to and shapes reality and the journey of life. I also like the struggles of the main characters back on "earth". I think more than the other books this one captured their lives better. I also really liked Sophie's reunion with her mom (and dad) and cried lots! I'm looking forward to finishing this series soon.

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— Jul 11, 2011 | Add your feedback

- Blue Monday, Vol. 1 (5)
- The Kids Are Alright
- By Chynna Clugston-Major
- Finished on Jul 9, 2011
  
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Blue Monday, Vol. 1

A friend recommended this when I was looking for graphic novels written or drawn by women. Unfortuantely I really didn't care for it at all. It was taking the 80s troupe of high school girls and making them into Brit pop and post punk 80s music. But it was just SO suburban American and the kids were ... (continue)

A friend recommended this when I was looking for graphic novels written or drawn by women. Unfortuantely I really didn't care for it at all. It was taking the 80s troupe of high school girls and making them into Brit pop and post punk 80s music. But it was just SO suburban American and the kids were so straight laced it hurt! The first three adventures were basically rock and roll high school retold and cleaned up! The young 15 year old, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke and definitely doesn't have sex, is obsessed with getting free tickets to see Adam Ant in concert. (Why she doesn't already have tickets isn't explained - at least this was covered in R&RHS!). I mean it was obviously the authors tribute to things she liked, but it was just boring, it was like despite loving all this music, they'd not actually understood the point of any of the lyrics! It was in all ways the opposite of Love and Rockets.

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— Jul 10, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Fun Home (154)
- By Alison Bechdel
- Finished on Jun 26, 2011
  
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Fun Home

1 person find this helpful

I don't know where to start with this review. This book was a wonderful example of non-linear narrative. The story jumped around in time from episode to episode but while the story didn't progress in time the depth and understanding of the people and their relationships in it increased with each ne ... (continue)

I don't know where to start with this review. This book was a wonderful example of non-linear narrative. The story jumped around in time from episode to episode but while the story didn't progress in time the depth and understanding of the people and their relationships in it increased with each new chapter revealing another layer of depth. Each chapter also had it's own literary theme, referring to a novel the author or her father liked and how it reflected their lives. (I must admit I found the Proust one the most dull but that's probably cause I've not read Proust). It was a very interesting, honest and insightful book. Definitely one I'd recommend.

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— Jun 27, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Luba in America (1)
- By Gilbert Hernandez
- Finished on Jun 22, 2011
  
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Luba in America

After reading quite a lot of new graphic novels lately it was really nice to come back to a familiar series it felt like coming back to old friends. Gilbert's art will never be as lovely to me as Jamie's but nonetheless I really found myself enjoying these stories. The main character was actually no ... (continue)

After reading quite a lot of new graphic novels lately it was really nice to come back to a familiar series it felt like coming back to old friends. Gilbert's art will never be as lovely to me as Jamie's but nonetheless I really found myself enjoying these stories. The main character was actually not Luba but rather her niece Venus, who told many of the stories. Normally I don't much care for kids' perspectives but I really liked Venus. She liked (gay sex) comic books, drank coffee and smoked, got teased at school, and was interesting and amusing without being a stereotype. Her perspective on all her mad relatives was really good too.
It had been awhile since I read the books before this, and I must admit there were some things I'd forgotten. Like the order of Luba's kids, it seemed like some should be older than they were. Another confusing thing about the stories was that time jumped around quite a bit. (Some of which was identifiable by the size of Venus' mom's boobs) I think my favourite thing was that all Luba's kids (with one exception) turned out to be gay. Dorallis remains larger than life, I hope that one day she turns into a real character but at the moment she's very much her larger than life tv personality. Fritiz gets more development as the S&M sex crazed psychotherapist. I particularly liked the story of her as a young punk. In fact all the back stories were enjoyable. It seems the more they delve into the past the worse it gets. But that's probably ok.
I'm enjoying Gilbert's stories more and more as they develop. I'm really looking forward to the next two in this series.

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— Jun 23, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Essential Dykes to Watch Out for (26)
- By Alison Bechdel
- Finished on Jun 21, 2011
  
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Essential Dykes to Watch Out for

I'm not used to reading strip comics, and even though these were 1 page rather than a few panels it did seem really strange to have such short adventures. I did really enjoy reading these. The introduction itself made me cry! And there were some very touching moments in the stories. It really was on ... (continue)

I'm not used to reading strip comics, and even though these were 1 page rather than a few panels it did seem really strange to have such short adventures. I did really enjoy reading these. The introduction itself made me cry! And there were some very touching moments in the stories. It really was one big soap opera with continuing storylines and no real building of climaxes or conflicts but rather just a continuation.
It surprised me a little in the begining how political everyone was, always marching, protesting or belonging to different groups. Of course it was also interesting to see how much this changed over the years. It seemed in the later issues there was hardly any community activism, instead all the characters just sat around being angry at the tv.
For me the best issues were the ones from the late 80s and 90s. It was interesting to see the love lives and problems which were very much how I remembered the 90s. The crazy food, the how will I ever affoard healthcare?, the "does she like me?". However as the characters aged (with the exception of library school) I found it much harder to identify with them and feel sympathy for their problems. It became very suburbanised with the couples moving to the suburbs, lots of kids and babies, and divorce and middle age problems. Plus my favourite character Louis was hardly in it at all except as a mouth piece for trans gender issues. Then I found the comics from the 2000s with George Bush particularly depressing. It seemed to cease to be about the women but much more as a reaction to the politics (and was a great reminder for why we left america when we did). For me it was sad as it was a lot of people frustrated and upset but not doing anything as it seemed like the political problems were just too big for them to do anything about. SO it became very depressing. I missed the feminists who thought they could take on the world.
The frustrating thing for me about this collection was that it was just a collection, there would be gaps of 2,3 issues between pages sometimes which I found quite frustrating (As an obsessive completest). I borrowed this copy from the library and I think I will try and go back and buy some of the earlier collections in their entirety instead of buying this edition.

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— Jun 22, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Promethea (99)
- (Book 3)
- By Alan Moore, Mick Gray, J.H. Williams III
- Finished on Jun 16, 2011
  
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Promethea

This was without a doubt the best of the Promethea books I've read. I was a little put off by the Tarot history of the last book. But this one more than made up for it. It had me in lots of tears at one point as it was so sweet and sad. But it was a lovely portrayal of the symbolism of magic and the ... (continue)

This was without a doubt the best of the Promethea books I've read. I was a little put off by the Tarot history of the last book. But this one more than made up for it. It had me in lots of tears at one point as it was so sweet and sad. But it was a lovely portrayal of the symbolism of magic and the things you have to go through and the way life is. There were also fun parts with a new promethea who was quite violent. I'm now looking forward to the next two books.

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— Jun 17, 2011 | Add your feedback

- Alan Moore's Light of Thy Countenance (9)
- By Alan Moore
- Finished on Jun 16, 2011
  
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Alan Moore's Light of Thy Countenance

This is a truly wonderful comic. Felipe Massafera's artwork is just gorgeous, in some places it is truly stunning. Alan's prose is also beautiful almost every line is gorgeous. A book about the evils of television where television is a deity for the 20th century. It's done perfectly. The beauty of t ... (continue)

This is a truly wonderful comic. Felipe Massafera's artwork is just gorgeous, in some places it is truly stunning. Alan's prose is also beautiful almost every line is gorgeous. A book about the evils of television where television is a deity for the 20th century. It's done perfectly. The beauty of the language and the art turn it into modern myth not a preachy lecture. I totally loved this. I need to find more comics drawn by Felipe Massafera, I think I've seen him before and really liked him then too.

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— Jun 17, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Sandman: Endless Nights (179)
- By Bill Sienkiewicz, Frank Quitely, Glenn Fabry, …
- Finished on Jun 11, 2011
  
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Sandman: Endless Nights

I must admit I stopped paying attention to what Neil Gaiman was writing after American gods so was quite surprised to find this new Sandman collection in the library. I have always preferred Neil's comics to his novels but I must admit I found this a little disapointing. The collection was a story f ... (continue)

I must admit I stopped paying attention to what Neil Gaiman was writing after American gods so was quite surprised to find this new Sandman collection in the library. I have always preferred Neil's comics to his novels but I must admit I found this a little disapointing. The collection was a story for each endless. It seemed like Neil still doesn't quite know what to do with Destruction (linking his story with more Delerium) and Destiny's part was tiny. Overall I think Despair's was the best. Not a story but just a collection of incidents and people at their end with disturbing images to go with it. I also liked Delerium's story, but then I admit she is my favourite. Dream's story was quite interesting, a very early tale of the Endless. Death's was ok though I think it was ruined by the artist who drew death looking too different and much less cute than normal. The great thing for me about the Sandman comics were the ordinary people whose lives got caught up with the extra ordinary. There really didn't feel like that much here and most of the stories just seemed too short and too shallow. Definitely prefer the earlier stories.

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— Jun 14, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Violent cases (91)
- By Neil Gaiman
- Finished on Jun 2, 2011
  
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Violent cases

I must admit I find gangsters and serial killers almost as boring as super heroes but I really loved this comic nonetheless. First off it has absolutely gorgeous artwork by Dave McKean. I always used to be so disappointed by Sandman when he’d do the amazing covers and you’d open it up and there woul ... (continue)

I must admit I find gangsters and serial killers almost as boring as super heroes but I really loved this comic nonetheless. First off it has absolutely gorgeous artwork by Dave McKean. I always used to be so disappointed by Sandman when he’d do the amazing covers and you’d open it up and there would just be incredibly normal comic book art inside. But this was the total opposite of that. Not quite black and white but minimalist and beautiful and strange. The story by Neil Gaiman was quite lovely, here there were none of the fantastical elements that had become standard in his stories nowadays, just a guy remembering things from his child hood that were fucked up. It was simple and disturbing and really well done. Definitely one I’d recommend. (I had borrowed this from the library too but Bill thankfully already has a copy so I don’t have to buy my own).

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— Jun 14, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Wonder Woman (2)
- Love and Murder
- By Jodi Picoult
- Finished on Jun 1, 2011
  
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Wonder Woman

I know that I don’t like Superhero comics but I’ve been re-watching the 70s Wonder Woman TV show and loving it so much that I thought I’d give a Wonder Woman graphic novel a try. I really did not like it at all. First of all Wonder Woman had turned into EMO Wonder Woman, which while it works ok for ... (continue)

I know that I don’t like Superhero comics but I’ve been re-watching the 70s Wonder Woman TV show and loving it so much that I thought I’d give a Wonder Woman graphic novel a try. I really did not like it at all. First of all Wonder Woman had turned into EMO Wonder Woman, which while it works ok for a young Peter Parker, is rather annoying in someone whose supposed to be much older and wiser. I was also surprised by how full of just action scenes the comic was. The plot seemed largely an excuse for a battle. I didn’t like the sexist male that somehow Wonder Woman was attracted to. That and the art was very lame. At least I got this from the library so didn’t have to pay for it and can return it and now I know that I don’t have to try reading any more. I will now return to avoiding super heroes as they just don’t interest me at all.

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— Jun 14, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Finsternis 01- Iren (2)
- By Christophe Bec
- Finished on Jun 1, 2011
  
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Finsternis 01- Iren

This was a lovely dark fantasy graphic novel. The art was well done, many pages lacked dialogue but rather just told the story through pictures. The setting was a beautiful walled city surrounded by lava that looked like something from a John Martin painting. The plot was about a kingdom that had be ... (continue)

This was a lovely dark fantasy graphic novel. The art was well done, many pages lacked dialogue but rather just told the story through pictures. The setting was a beautiful walled city surrounded by lava that looked like something from a John Martin painting. The plot was about a kingdom that had been taken over be "creatures" which were really dragons but despite that it definitely felt more warhammer than D&D. There were two different stories, one about a young boy with strange powers and one the main city facing invasion. The only problem was that unlike, Ich de Drache, there were no important female characters at all. With the exception of the Black Company it seems almost impossible to have dark apocalyptic fantasy with strong women characters (this is where you all tell me I'm wrong and that X also counts).

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— Jun 3, 2011 | Add your feedback