November TBR (Comics)

    I hope everyone had a great Wednesday.  Today I'm bringing you the second half of my TBR for November.  I'm keeping with the theme of "continuing series," so most of this list will consist of comics meeting that criteria.  Let's get to it.

(goodreads.com)

    "Remember, remember the fifth of November..."  Obviously I had to add V for Vendetta by Alan Moore in here since I haven't read it yet.  I will be watching the movie tonight as well, but I wanted to read the comic to get a different perspective on the film.  It's similar to what I did with Hellboy last month.  Similarly, the comic differs from the movie, but the plot remains the same: in a totalitarian version of a future England, fascism runs rampant and the city begins to rebel against the authoritarian rule of Parliament.  I can't wait to read this!

(goodreads.com)

    Fables is the first series I'd like to continue this month. Vol. 9 is where I left of in this series and I've been meaning to continue for ages but I've always been distracted by other things.  I'm really looking forward to picking this back up and finishing it.  I believe we will see conflict between Pinocchio and the other Fables as he continues to work with his father, who is also the evil Adversary.  We will also see Bigby come to terms with his father, the North Wind, as he and his family set off to find him.  It should be a good time.

(goodreads.com)

    I left off in Saga on volume four, which isn't too far behind I think.  I believe this is where Alana and Marko go into hiding (in plain sight?) while their daughter Hazel grows into a toddler.  I am in love with this series, so if you haven't picked it up yet, DO IT NOW.

(goodreads.com)

    East of West is one series I wasn't initially drawn toward, but was recommended to me by many friends.  Although I didn't like the first volume as much as the other comics on this list, I still want to give the second volume a try to see if I can keep going with it.  This volume will continue the story line from the first one, where Death will set out on a quest to find his son and prevent the Apocalypse from transpiring and the other three horsemen from succeeding.

(goodreads.com)

    Although I've already read the first two volumes of Wayward, (up to issue #10), issue #11 comes out on November 18th, so I plan on reading that one once it comes into the shop.  The perks of working at a comic store is that you get dibs on all the new stuff when it comes in without having to buy it outright!  I just wish this series would hurry up and put out more than one issue a month...  Plus, LOOK AT THAT GORGEOUS COVER ART!!

    There you have it, my November comic book TBR.  Have you started any of these series?  Do you remember the fifth of November?  What series, book or comic, are you trying to finish?  Let me know in the comments below.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

October Comic Book Wrap-Up

    Hello everybody!  October is already winding down and it's been a bit of a tough month for me, reading-wise.  I admit that I've been more focused on reading my books, since I allowed myself a lofty goal of ten, (which I still didn't meet due to unforeseen circumstances I'll elaborate on Thursday), so I didn't put as much effort into reading comics as I have in the past.  That being said, I managed to get four of my six picks done this month and I'm very happy with that.

(goodreads.com)

    Hellboy:  I wanted to read this obviously because of my love for the films as well as the month being solely about Halloween, so this fit in really nicely with the theme.  I was pleasantly surprised by the story and how truly dark it was, which is what I was hoping for.  It was very similar to the movie, considering the movie is loosely based on the comics, but still had it's differences.  For instance, there is absolutely no romantic interest between Red and Liz in the comics, as it had been in the films.  Also, I do wish Professor "Broom" had more of a role in the comics because I was so enthralled by his presence in the films.  I thought his short time in the beginning of the first issue pegged him as a helpless and crazy old man instead of the proud and investigative explorer scientist we know from the movies.  Also, his relationship with Red is more fatherly in the movies; although he does mention in the comics that they had more of a father-son relationship, there was no time to really develop that claim.  Overall, I gave Hellboy Vol. 1 4 out of 5 stars.

(goodreads.com)

    Hellboy and the B.P.R.D:  This was a comic I was excited about reading at the beginning of the month, so I'm glad I was able to get to it.  This comic is not related to the films at all, which was probably why I was so excited about the premise.  This comic takes place in the 1950s during the aftermath of the war.  Hellboy is a young man, (I think even possibly a teenager, since the other guys all refer to him as "kid"), who gets to go on assignment with the military members of the beginnings of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense.  I loved the slight difference in art style to this one as opposed to the original comic series as well.  There is a lot of mystery and sabotage and I liked how vulnerable Red was at the beginning, trying to find out his place among the team, outliving most if not all of them in the end.  I gave this one 4.5 out of 5 stars.  I was very impressed with how good this was, I just wish there was more of it.

(goodreads.com)

    Shutter:  Honestly, I just read this one today during work, so it's still fresh in my mind.  This series seems to be about an alternative Earth future where dinosaurs and mythological creatures and talking skeletons exist in harmony with humans.  The story follows a young woman named Kate and she ends up getting dragged into a situation involving her father and her mystery siblings.  She has a side kick in the form of a talking cat clock that looks like Felix and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.  He made this comic for me because he's a glass-half-full sort of personality, plus he's a talking cat clock.  I was also intrigued by the fact that this human woman, ex-explorer, can co-exist in a world where a humanoid fox warrior can ride a triceratops shooting a machine gun.  There was also a lot of diversity in this comic, like Kate having a trans best friend and her father being red-headed and white while she is dark haired and dark skinned, (I'm not going to guess her ethnicity, but she's at least really really tan).  Regardless, the story was mostly easy to follow, except for some times when it wasn't.  Sometimes the text ran together too much for my tastes, but I was able to pick it up and continue without too much confusion.  I ended up giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars, but I am planning on picking up the second volume to continue with the series.

(goodreads.com)

    TMNT: Change is Constant:  This series I had started years ago and never got to finish, so I thought I would.  I love me some Ninja Turtles, so obviously this was a no-brainer for me.  I love them as I knew them in cartoon form from 2007, so I have always been interested in reading the original comics, (now that I have a few), and reading about them in alternative time lines and worlds.  This story line takes place in a world where Splinter and the turtles still start off as lab experiments in StockGen, Baxter Stockman headquarters, and are taken care of by April O'Neil.  Ninjas of unknown origin end up stealing the turtles, with Splinter sabotaging their efforts and knocking them all into a storm drain.  A cat ends up walking away with Raphael before transforming into a humanoid figure, leaving Splinter with only the other three.  In the present day, the brothers are searching for Raph while Raph scours the streets for food until he finds Casey Jones and they team up before running into the cat again, who was also effected by the mutagen.  This was an interesting arc because I've never thought of the turtles not being together as a family.  Since Raph has been separated, this may effect his judgement and character in later issues once he is reunited.  I'm still getting used to seeing them all in red bandannas, but I gave this 4 out of 5 stars.  I'm planning on picking up more TMNT comics in the future to check out other story lines as well.

    Well, that's all I was able to read this month for comics.  I'll try to be more invested in my comic book reading next month as I work on continuing series that I've already started.  Check back next Tuesday when I lay out my TBR list for the month of November!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Comic Book Wrap-Up

    Hello everybody!  I thought for this week I would do something a little different and split up my September wrap-up.  I read a lot of books this month, so I didn't want to overwhelm anyone by creating an enormous wrap-up post next week.  I think splitting it up will be easier and it could definitely be an option that I return to in the future if I overstep my reading goals by a lot, (which I definitely did).  So here are the comic books I read this month and what I thought of each.

(goodreads.com)

    The Wicked and the Divine was the first comic I picked up this month.  I ended up reading both volume one and volume two.  I will say I had high expectations for this going in because of it's reputation in the reading community.  Every 90 years, 12 gods are resurrected as humans for only two years, in which they rule the world as pop-star celebrities.  They have a lot of influence and a lot of power and are governed by an overseer to make sure they stay on track.  Laura, a local fan-girl from London gets wrapped up in this world to escape her own mundane life.  There were things I liked and didn't like about this series.  The first couple issues were confusing to me a little bit and I had a hard time following the course of the panels as they moved throughout the story.  Some of the characters seem a bit too stuck-up for me and the way they talk in riddles is extremely irritating.  There's also a lot of references to sex, drugs, vulgar language and violence, which I'm not bothered by, but it seemed unnecessary here most of the time.  When the gods perform for the masses, it acts as a release for the fans, more or less an orgy or rave.The premise is what kept me interested and the second volume was better than the first.  I will keep going with this series, but I gave the first two volumes 3.5 out of 5 stars.

(goodreads.com)

    Wayward is amazing!  This comic is right up my alley in terms of genre and premise.  I knew I would like it before I picked it up and I was not disappointed.  I also ended up reading further into this series than I planned, volumes one and two.  It was totally worth it and I can't wait to read the third!  A girl named Rori moves from Ireland, where she lived with her father for most of her life, to Japan, where her mother lives.  Rori is an interesting character in the sense that her heritage makes her an outsider and her relationship with her mother is already strained because they don't see each other that often.  I found Rori to be somewhat relatable, until she started exhibiting magical/psychic abilities.  I'm still not sure what's going on with these kids, whether it's a spiritual kind of power or not, I'm still not sure.  By volume two, the gang is together and we can see a clear picture of this team of theirs and how it operates.  I did think that at times this comic sped things up for the sake of getting to a certain point in the story, mainly in the second volume.  But overall, I found this spin on traditional Japanese mythology rather enjoyable.  I gave volumes one and two 4.5 out of 5 stars.

(goodreads.com)

    The Woods was also an enjoyable read, but for different reasons.  I was drawn to the plot initially, because the artwork isn't really my style.  I also read volumes one and two of this series.  An entire high school gets transplanted onto a different planet in a foreign galaxy and while the adults stay inside and come up with a plan of action for survival, a group of teenagers venture out into the unknown wild for answers.  I thought the characters were really dynamic and diverse and they were introduced perfectly to the reader.  I also think the small conflicts between characters are genuine and develop the story further.  It's definitely getting weird, so I'm curious to see where it goes from here.  I gave this series 4 out of 5 stars so far.

(goodreads.com)

    East of West was the comic I wasn't exactly too keen on, but I ended up not hating it like I thought I would.  It still isn't really my preferred genre, but I thought I could work around that for the story.  I only read volume one of this series because volume two wasn't available to me, but it still packed a punch.  I was a bit confused at the beginning with the important business people or the believers of the apocalypse or whoever they are meeting and discussing things.  I also don't know if I'm totally invested in the story yet.  The artwork is breathtaking and I was able to follow the panels as they went along, but the story itself was a bit weak for me.  I know it's the beginning, so I'm assuming it gets better from here, but I can't get around the wild-west apocalypse vibe of this series, which I hate.  My favorite part of this entire comic so far was Death reuniting with his Chinese wife.  The volume did end on an interesting cliff hanger, so I will most likely pick up the second volume once it's available.  I gave this series 3 out of 5 stars so far, but I'm hoping it gets better and grows on me in time.

(imagecomics.com)

    Last, but not least, a comic I wasn't planning on reading but I'm so glad I picked up, was Mythic by Phil Hester and John McCrea.  In a world where scientific explanation rules, MYTHIC defies explanation with magic.  Everything we know and understand is a lie.  When magic breaks, the Mythic teams fix it.  This is very much along the lines of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, which I LOVE.  A rag-tag team of misfits fighting monsters is right up my alley, so I'm glad this gorgeous cover art caught my attention.  I love the story so far and the mystery involved, so I'm excited to see where it goes from here.  This is a fairly new series by Image comics, so the fourth issue just came out yesterday and the fifth will be out in the middle of October.  I rarely find a series that I like that's brand new, but I'm intrigued!  I gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

    That's all I read for comics this month.  I have a longer list of comics I want to pick up for next month that are a little different, since I'm sort of following a theme next month for Halloween.  October will be my scary-reads month, where I'll get out of my tiny comfort zone and read some scary things.  I will also be bringing you my wrap-up for the books I read this month next week and I read a total of six books, including the rest of the Throne of Glass series, so be on the lookout for that on Tuesday.  My TBR for October will be Thursdays post, so I'm hoping to set my reading goals higher.  If you have any comic recommendations for me, please leave them in the comments below!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Comics as Literature

    Hey guys!  I'm finally able to post on a Tuesday again, so hurray!  It has been busy around here since I started my new job and I'm still adjusting to the schedule, partially because I now have a schedule and partially because my schedule has been subject to change on a whim, so bare with me.  If you haven't been paying attention, I now have a part-time gig at my local comic book store.  It's great because I get to hang out with some cool nerdy people and I get to sample the comic books I like while I'm working.  I have been working on my reading goals for comics and I'm happy with the progress I've made so far.  My husband is also thrilled, seeing as he never thought this day would come!  I'm very much a literary junkie, so diving into the comic book world has been an interesting experience.  So I thought I'd talk a little bit about that today.  I'll give you some common comic book terminology, some tips for getting started if you're new to this type of reading, and give you some recommendations on publishers and titles you should check out.

(screenrant.com)

    First of all, comic books are not just about super heroes.  Yes, a good portion of them are centered around super heroes and those have seen a resurgence in recent years due to the success of the Marvel cinematic universe, among others, but comic books are just as diverse as regular books.  It took me awhile to realize this, but comic books have genres just like novels do and are separated by publisher.  Each publisher has its own take on the genre, some choosing to focus more on the super heroes, like Marvel and DC, while others focus more on the supernatural and the futuristic, like Image and Dark Horse.  Comic books are not just for people who love super heroes.  If you're curious to see if the movies are anything like the comic book versions, prepare to be disappointed.  The cinematic universe you have come to love is not as accurate to the comic book as you may think.  Although Marvel has done a fantastic job staying true to some of the story lines in the comic books, there are twists and turns they have to make in the cinematic and TV universes to keep that go against some of the comic books.  For example, (SPOILERS ahead for those of you who care about reading Captain America: Civil War before the movie comes out), Captain America is supposed to die at the end of the Civil War comic book arc.  That being said, I don't think Cap will end up dying at the end of the movie because Chris Evans is still signed on for a couple more movies.  So this goes to show that sometimes the movies don't always reflect what happens in the comic books.

(toptenz.net)

    Some terminology you should be aware of before we go any further, just in case I bring it up:
  Issue: Refers to one copy of a comic book, usually numbered in order of it's release date.
  Trade Paperback: A compilation of issues, usually in groups of four or five, in order from first to last.  For example, I have a trade paperback of the comic book Fables which includes issues #1-5.
  Arc: A continuation of a story line in any given comic book.  When a story line changes, like when they introduce new characters or change the main character or setting, the arc also changes.  If comic book enthusiasts are looking for a particular "arc" of a comic, they are typically looking for something specific that differs from the main story arc.
  Graphic Novel: These typically get confused with regular comic books.  Graphic novels are comics but in a novel format.  They are usually longer than comics, (comics are more like magazines or periodicals compared to a graphic novel), and contain many graphic images.  I would say most of the time graphic novels are able to stand on their own, meaning they typically don't have multiple issues but I have seen some that do have multiple issues, such as Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang, which has two volumes.

(comicvine.com)

    Although the movie versions of the super hero comics aren't always consistent with their movie counterparts, there are some amazing things happening to change the way we look at super heroes in the comic book world.  Some, if not all comic books go through changes every couple of years or so.  These changes may include killing off characters, like The Wolverine or Robin, or just passing the baton to a new face.  Characters age, they develop other interests and they mirror us in ways that most people don't understand.  The way comic books adjust to the demand they put out is just as impressive as the way comics develop around the changing world around us.  We are always saddened when one of our favorite characters dies in a book or movie, but if and when they are reborn in a new light, we are just as excited, (usually).  For example, Ms. Marvel is about the beloved girl wonder of the Marvel universe as she attempts to control her new powers.  However, in this installment, she is a Pakistani-American.  Thor has also gone through a drastic makeover and is now being represented by a woman, Jane Foster.  After his tragic death, Peter Parker has now handed the mask over to the new Spider Man, Miles Morales, a teenager of African American and Hispanic decent.  There are some incredible things happening in the comic book universes and diversity of characters is only the tip of the iceberg.

    The genres for comic books know no bounds.  There are just as many genres as regular books and they are just as entertaining, if not MORE so, because of all the fabulous artwork included in each issue.  There's horror, like The Walking Dead, (which was a comic book before it was a TV show, by the way), fantasy, (Fables, Sandman, etc.), science fiction, (Saga, The Woods, Low, etc.) and more.  Most of these examples are some that I'm reading currently, but it's what I know.  There are many more offerings out there for any genre you prefer.  I'm eager and willing to explore further into the comics I've come to love as well as the ones recommended to me by friends who know my tastes.  It's easy to connect or transfer your favorite genres of books into comic books.  Independent publishers have more of a variation in genres than Marvel or DC, as far as I've seen.  Publishers like BOOM, Image, Vertigo and more have a wide variety of comics to choose from to satisfy any genre need.

(inbeon.tumblr.com)

    So if you're new to comic books like I am, follow these simple rules: start with a title you may know, either from a cinematic universe you're familiar with, like Marvel, or maybe a TV show you crave, like the Walking Dead.  If you love Star Wars, you'll love Saga.  These will be different from what you're used to, but, as usual, the "book" is almost always better than the movie.  Another tip: make sure it's a genre you enjoy.  I've been loving fantasy lately, so I started there with Fables, which mirrors one of my favorite shows, Once Upon a Time.  I knew I would like it because of the genre, but also because I like the show and it's very similar, but still different enough to keep my interest.  If you stick with those two tips, I promise you you will find a comic you like.  I've begun to branch out to other genres, like science fiction and dystopian fiction, and found that I enjoy them just as much after experimenting first with fantasy.  It's all about your personal preference and what you truly enjoy reading.

    If you're new to comics, I hope that helps.  If you're not, what do you think I should've mentioned?  What kinds of comics do you read?  What about graphic novels?  What recommendations could you give me or others looking to start reading more comic books?  Let me know in the comments below.  If you live in the New England area, my comic book store will have a booth this year at Granite Con, which is in Manchester, NH, so if you're interested, please come by and say hi!  I'll leave the link here if you're interested in learning more about that event.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.