Category: Graphic Novels

Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels

REVIEW: Blacksad (Blacksad #1-3) by Juan Diaz Canales

Posted on by elishasbookreview

9781595823939*No Spoilers*

Private investigator John Blacksad is up to his feline ears in mystery, digging into the backstories behind murders, child abductions, and nuclear secrets. Whether John Blacksad is falling for dangerous women or getting beaten to within an inch of his life, his stories are, simply put, unforgettable.

If you are looking for a good crime noir, you have found your book.  Blacksad is a private investigator trying to navigate his way through the Cold War era America. With racial tensions and political tensions at their highest, it makes Blacksad’s life even more complicated.

This is rated M for Mature for nudity, language, and some violence. I just thought this needed to be stated just to be on the safe side.

I can relate to Blacksad in the fact that he’s just trying to live a decent life and maybe one day write a memoir that will be turned into a fiction novel. He is jaded by the world around him but is still open to having a serious relationship in his life.

This graphic novel demonstrates how high the communist threat actually was. It paints a grim picture of the past, and also possible future. Public hangings just on the slight suspicions of them having communist ties. This paints the story into a very dark tone.

I am not going to spoil anything because you need to read this book in order to fully enjoy it! The stories go along nicely and the artwork is fantastic!

I would highly recommend this for graphic novel readers as well as readers of Cold War era fiction. I would be very interested in reading the next volume of this series. I haven’t decided whether I’m going to review it or just read it for my personal enjoyment. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Manga

REVIEW: Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace Vol. 1 by Saito Tatsuo

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No major spoilers*

Marika Kato is your average third-year student at Hakuoh Academy, busy with homework, leading the school’s yacht club, and working part-time at the Lamp House café. But that’s not all to Marika’s life—she’s also a space pirate! As the captain of Bentenmaru, a privateer pirate space-ship bearing a letter of marque, Marika takes on a job involving a staged attack on a luxury cruiser, where she finds a mysterious young boy on the run and a new task for the crew of the Bentenmaru.

Along with the trend of manga with funny titles. I thought I’d read this just for giggles. I was sadly disappointed, this was a very loose story and lacked much of a real plot. One of the reasons being is you don’t see Marika at school very often, and you only see her with the Yacht Club one time throughout the story.

Even though I have some more negatives, I want to touch on something positive with this story. I did like the idea that the characters’ jobs were to stage attacks on luxury cruiser class spaceships, while the concept was good and there were at least a couple of attacks staged I found the story to be lackluster overall.

To conclude this one, I might read the second one in the series to see if the pace does pick up and actually manage to hold my interest more than this book did. Although I would recommend this book to manga readers that are a fan of the sci-fi genre and consumers of the manga art style. Overall it’s not a terrible book, but it’s not the best manga I’ve come across.

Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Marvel Comics

REVIEW: She-Hulk: Law and Disorder (She-Hulk Vol.1) by Charles Soule

Posted on by elishasbookreview
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*No Major Spoilers*

Jennifer Walters is a lawyer by day and a superhero when she’s away from the courtroom. In this graphic novel, she leaves her job at one of the big law firms and starts her own private practice.  Her first client? The son of Doctor Doom, she has to help him with getting asylum in the state of New York. As the case wraps up a much larger case comes along to unfold that has conspiracy and magic written all over it. Will Jennifer and her friends make it out alive?

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The first thing I want to touch on that I didn’t really like was the artwork, I didn’t really like how they made her look like a monster because in other comics about her she looks like a tall, green babe, so the consistency wasn’t there for me.

The story, on the other hand, I really did like because of any story involving Doctor Doom is more interesting than any of the Fantastic 4 movies so far. In the story without giving too much away, She-Hulk traveled to Latvaria to fight some of Doctor Doom’s Doombots. She succeeded by destroying Doombot after Doombot and then coming upon Doctor Doom himself and reasoned with him about his son.

With this book taking place in the standard Marvel Universe, this is her own unique storyline that is a different take on the She-Hulk from most of what is out there.

In conclusion, I really did find this book enjoyable overall even though the artwork didn’t really catch my fancy. I would recommend this book to just about any Marvel fan. If you have an interest in the Marvel Universe and you’re more concerned with story than the artwork then this a good story to check out!

Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Manga

REVIEW: Pokemon Sun and Moon Vol.1 by Hidenori Kusaka

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Spoilers*

The beginning on this ongoing series involves Sun, the delivery boy. He meets Moon, a girl on a mission to deliver a Pokemon, Rotom, to Professor Kukui. While on a mission for an odd job for the local gang, Team Skull, things go haywire and a plan is set to get revenge on Sun.

This manga reminded me of the relationship between Ash and Misty in the Pokemon anime. Sun is a bone-head who is living life by the seat of his pants. Moon is one that’s level-headed and know what she’s doing. She studied to be a pharmacist, and she can make various medicine to help both Pokemon and people.

I enjoyed this manga even though it was short. I hope this series gets better as it goes on. I might review Volume 2. The main underlining story with Team Skull seems to be interesting.

I would recommend this for Pokemon lovers and manga alike.

Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Marvel Comics

REVIEW: Spider-Man/Doctor Strange: The Way to Dusty Death by Stan Lee

Posted on by elishasbookreview
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*No Major Spoilers*

A saga of life, death and obsession decades in the telling! The sorcerer Xandu is desperate to restore the love of his life to the land of the living – and he needs the Wand of Watoomb! But time and again, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man stand in his way. Xandu’s quest to revive his beloved will involve another arcane artifact – the Crystal of Kadavus – and even drag the Scarlet Witch into the action! But will Xandu’s plan result in all life as we know it crumbling into dusty death?

This graphic novel includes several, complete, and epic stories involving Spider-Man and Doctor Strange teaming-up to fight off the monsters and demons that go bump in the night.

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I enjoyed this collection greatly. The stories were in-depth, and I enjoyed every single one of them! I love Doctor Strange, he is so odd, and yet very kind. His power in the mystic arts is very powerful because he doesn’t use it for personal gains.

The main story I found to be fulfilling and enjoyed the wild ride. The illustration of the other realms was bright, colorful, yet terrifying at the same time. Xandu is a villain who has a reason for being “evil”. His backstory I found to help his character development greatly.

I would recommend this for comic book lovers. I think this is a great start to Doctor Strange, or Spider-Man if you are still unfamiliar with their characters.