Decelerate Blue by Adam Rapp

Title: Decelerate Blue
Author: Adam Rapp
Illustrator: Mike Cavallaro
Length: 199 pages
Published: February 2017

In this dystopian world, life has become so accelerated that the focus of everything is on speed and efficiency. In speech, contractions are mandatory, adverbs are discouraged, and when you finish speaking you say "Go." Cool things are called "hyper" and movies are 14 minutes long. Angela discovers a resistance movement underground, where people are trying to slow down by never using contractions, sitting and reading, and lowering their heart rates. There's a bit of a young love story in there too.

I think this is a great concept for a dystopia, but while I enjoyed this graphic novel I feel like a novel might have done a better job of exploring the world a bit more. Lots of aspects of the world are hinted at but never explained, like how everyone talks about "guaranteeing their Guarantees" and people say "Go, Guarantee, Go!" to each other. What is the Guarantee Committee? What is the Database? These questions are never answered. The dystopian feel was good, but in my opinion a good dystopia has details.

The same is true of character development. I wanted to get to know the characters more (except the surprisingly many unpleasant characters in the underground; what's up with that?). Also, the plot goes at a good pace but then suddenly all the big stuff happens and the book is over!

So ultimately, I enjoyed this book, but I wanted MORE of everything.

Oh, also, the underground deciding to all take drugs together at the same time without really getting a chance to even see the effects of it made them seem a little less like a resistance and a little more like a cult. So that was a strange direction for them to take.

3 stars.

Wars in Toyland by Joe Harris

Title: Wars in Toyland
Author: Joe Harris
Illustrator: Adam Pollina
Publication Date: July 10, 2013
Length: 104 pages

After Matthew's brother disappears, his toy soldiers carry him off into Toyland. There's Matthew discovers that his brother is being held captive by Roxbury, the teddy bear dictator, and he and the toy soldiers launch an assault on the teddy bear's fortress.

This story was rather strange and confusing at times. But there were also elements I really liked. The relationship between Soldier John and Brittany, two of the toy soldiers, was really endearing.

The art is where this book really stands out. It manages to take a world of toys and give it a dark, dystopian feel.

3 stars.

Check out the book trailer below:

Full disclosure: Free ebook copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.

Uglies: Cutters by Scott Westerfeld

Title: Uglies: Cutters
Author: Scott Westerfeld and Devin Grayson
Illustrator: Steven Cummings
Publication Date: 2012
Length: 176 pages

Uglies: Cutters is a graphic novel retelling of Pretties by Scott Westerfeld, from Shay's perspective. It's the sequel to Uglies: Shay's Story. Shay's story in Pretties basically consists of her rejoining the Crims, and starting up the Cutters, a group of Pretties who cut themselves in order to achieve the mental clarity that's so difficult for Pretties to reach.

I pretty much had the same issues with this book as I did with Uglies: Shay's Story. Basically, all the people look the same, which is a particularly big problem in a book like this, where looks are very important to the characters.

Also, Tally really did all the interesting stuff in this part of the story. So watching Shay is not really that great. She doesn't know what's going on with Tally most of the time, so we just catch glimpses of that stuff, and meanwhile, Shay just goes about her business, doing stuff with the Crims, etc. So it's not as good a story as Pretties is.

2 stars.

7 Generations by David Alexander Robertson

Title: 7 Generations: A Plains Cree Saga
Author: David Alexander Robertson
Illustrator: Scott B. Henderson
Publication Date: September 26, 2012
Length: 128 pages

This graphic novel includes several stories, following one Cree family through the generations. The framing story is a mother telling the stories to her son, who just tried to commit suicide. He gains strength through learning about his family's past.

This was a really beautiful story. There are really painful parts in it, from the Europeans bringing smallpox, to the horrors of the residential schools, yet throughout there is still a sense of hope and strength, often coming from the characters' connection with their past.

The art, by Scott B. Henderson, is also lovely. From the simple facial expressions to the intense vision quests, it really brings the story to life.

5 stars.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Vol. 1, adapted by Denise Mina

Title: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Vol. 1
Author: Denise Mina (adaptation)
Publication Date: November 13, 2012
Length: 146 pages

Note: I'm reviewing this as an adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, so I'm assuming some familiarity with the plot of the novel.

This is the first of what will be a six-volume graphic novel adaptation of Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy. It basically covers the part of the first book before Mikael and Lisbeth cross paths.

The one issue I had with this graphic novel is that a few too many liberties were taken with the plot for my liking. For example, in the novel, Lisbeth gets a new guardian because Palmgren had a stroke. In this book, Palmgren is shown talking to Lisbeth about her new guardian, seemingly perfectly fine. But if he was fine, why would she get a new guardian? Also, at times the characters seem like exaggerated versions of themselves, presumably because several hundred pages of narration is being crammed into a short graphic novel.

I did really like the "feel" of this book. It felt like Stieg Larsson's work. So it was true to it in that way. In particular, I really liked the art (by Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti). It was always clear who was who, which is my basic standard by which I judge comic book art (because so much of it fails at this).

4 stars. Because even though there were problems with it that I'm thinking of as I review it, while reading it I did have a good time.

Uglies: Shay's Story by Scott Westerfeld

Title: Uglies: Shay's Story
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publication Date: February 2012
Length: 208 pages

Uglies: Shay's Story is a graphic novel retelling of Uglies, from Shay's point of view. So, we get to see Shay befriending the Crims, meeting David, learning wilderness survival skills, etc.

I had big issues with this book. The writing was fine, and it was cool to see the other side of the events of Uglies, but I find it hard to believe that Scott Westerfeld actually signed off on this art.

First of all, everyone looks the same. I know, I know: I complain about that with all graphic novels. It's true I'm not the best at telling people apart in drawings. But in this story, it's particularly important for people to look different. Honestly, the uglies and pretties look pretty much the same. Which basically defeats the whole point of the books.

Also, Dr. Cable; this one, it's like they messed up on purpose. In the back of the book, there are early sketches, and notes about how Scott Westerfeld told the artists how to improve the look of the characters to be true to the books. From the notes: "She's a middle pretty, and Scott wanted her to look forty to fifty years old." Buuuut, Dr. Cable is not a Middle Pretty; she's a Special. That's kinda important to her character.

2 stars.

This book counts for the 2012 A-Z Book Challenge.

Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories by Zack Whedon

Title: Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories
Author: Zack Whedon
Publication Date: 2010
Length: 78 pages

Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories is a graphic novel, which collects a few short stories about the characters in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (which you should watch, if you haven't already).

The first story is called Captain Hammer: Be Like Me! Captain Hammer narrates it, talking about how awesome he is and urging people to do their part fighting crime, by doing things like reporting your friend who's good at science, because he might be a supervillain. It's basically an intro to the character, and is pretty funny.

The next story is Moist: Humidity Rising, which is Moist's origin story. I'm glad they included this, because I always wondered about Moist in the movie, and what his deal was! I won't spoil it for you, but I will tell you that Moist was actually once a very dry child.

Penny: Keep Your Head Up is a cute little story about Penny, and how she's too busy with all her volunteer work to date anyone. Her attempt at a date does not go well, but things look up at the end.

The Evil League of Evil is a look at some of the members of the E.L.E., and also shows us a bit more about Johnny Snow, who's only mentioned in the movie.

The last story, Dr. Horrible, is the longest. It shows us how Dr. Horrible became a villain (and his reasons are pretty legit!), and continues through his rivalry with Captain Hammer, leading up to probably not long before the movie.

This collection was really entertaining. I enjoyed the little references to the movie, and getting some back story for the characters, including some more minor ones. This is a must-read for any Dr. Horrible fan!

5 stars

Xoc by Matt Dembicki

Title: Xoc
Author: Matt Dembicki
Publication Date: July 25, 2012
Length: 120 pages

Xoc tells the story of a great white shark who is on a long journey. Along the way, the shark is joined by a turtle, whose fin has been damaged by a boat. As the two travel through the ocean, they encounter many dangers, from natural predators to floating garbage patches.

This book would be a good introduction for kids to the negative effects our pollution has on the oceans. Although, some explaining would be required, since I doubt most kids could recognise the oil barrels and other dangers, and they aren't really explained in the book, since everything is from the point of view of the shark, who doesn't know what these things are.

I liked the turtle, and I enjoyed the interaction between the two characters, but the story fell a bit flat for me. And the way the shark talked was too unnatural to be able to read smoothly. (I know, I know, what's unnatural speaking for a shark? But I found the ellipses tiresome. "How much farther... do you plan... on following me?" I didn't quite get what the author was going for with that.)

2 stars, which are entirely for the delightful turtle.

This book counts for the 2012 A-Z Book Challenge.

Full disclosure: Free e-book copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.

Charmed Season 9 Volume 1 by Paul Ruditis

Title: Charmed Season 9 Volume 1
Author: Paul Ruditis
Publication Date: February 15, 2011
Length: 144 pages

Warning: This is a review of a graphic novel that takes place after the end of the Charmed television series, so it will definitely contain spoilers from the show!

The Charmed Season 9 comics take place shortly after the end of season 8. I'm not sure exactly how long after... at one point near the beginning it says that their lives have been demon-free for a year and a half, and I would think they'd be demon-free pretty much from the end of the show, but Wyatt and Chris are definitely a good 6 or 7 years older than the babies they were in season 8! Anywho, it's a while after.

This book is the perfect continuation of the series. It made me feel like I was right back watching the show. And I love seeing more of the kids that the Charmed ones have, that you catch a glimpse of at the end of the last episode. I finally know their names! And in general just seeing more of all the characters I love is great (seriously, they dated so many losers, but I was SO HAPPY with the guys they all ended up with!).

I really love how this first story arc has something to do with the Source. It's hilarious, because how many times did they vanquish the Source in the show? Oh my goodness, so many times! And just like in the show, they're like "seriously? Didn't we vanquish him?".

My only complaint is the one I have with most graphic novels, and that's the art. Don't get me wrong, the art is nice, but once again, some of the characters look the same! Piper and Phoebe look nothing alike in the show, yet I had a hard time telling them apart in the comics. Same problem as with most of the Buffy comics. But props for not overdoing the cleavage, so the art still beats a lot of comics. :)

Definitely recommended for fans of the show! Oh, and you can totally still read it without having seen the show, because at the beginning there's this big Book of Shadows section that has information on a lot of characters, and summarises the major events of the show. So don't think you have to watch 8 seasons of tv just to read these graphic novels (though the show is awesome, so you totally should)!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Volumes 1-6 by Joss Whedon (and others)

I decided to combine all the volumes I've read so far of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 8 into one review, mostly because I read the first 3 before I started this blog, so never wrote reviews for them.

Buffy season 8 takes place (obviously) after the end of season 7 of the show. OK, this is gonna be impossible to do spoiler-free, so if you haven't finished Buffy (the show) yet you should just stop reading now because there be SPOILERS ahead!

OK, so Buffy is at the head of a huge army of Slayers that has bases and squads all over the world and it's pretty awesome. They're up against an Initiative-like military organisation, as well as a mysterious masked Big Bad named Twilight. Those guys might all be working together? I tend to get confused about people's allegiances. There are various subplots along the way, including Buffy going to the future and meeting Fray (awesome) and the Slayers going to Tibet and making what I feel was the most stupid decision in the history of the Buffyverse (not so awesome).

The writing is amazing. Even the parts that are written by people who didn't write for the show are great. The characters talk exactly how you would expect them to, with just the right amount of wittiness.

The art is of mixed quality. I tend not to keep track of who the artists are for each chapter (I'm not a big comic person), but I do know that there are some parts where everyone looks like they should, and others where they're unrecognizable. There were a couple times when a chapter would end by just showing a character and you're supposed to be like "omg it's him!" but instead I was all "wait, who is that?" Because the guys all look the same, except for Xander and Giles.

 

Honestly, I think that if the plot and the writing and everything were exactly the same, but it was in the form of a tv episode (or maybe a novel; I haven't read any Buffy novels yet, so it's hard to say), I would have nothing bad to say. I think all my issues stem from my confusion, which is largely caused by difficult-to-recognise characters. This is the problem I have with comics.

So, the first three volumes were my favourites, and they all get 5 stars. No complaints there. The next three were confusing for me, though I think the sixth one was less so than the fourth and fifth. I'm hoping for more awesome ahead with the last two volumes in the series, which I'll hopefully be getting for the Winter Holidays!

Fray by Joss Whedon

Title: Fray
Author: Joss Whedon
Artists: Karl Moline (Penciller), Andy Owens (Inker), Dave Stewart (Colourist), Michelle Madsen (Colourist), and Michelle Madsen (Letterer)
Publication Date: November 2003
Length: 216 pages (paperback)

I read Fray last year, but decided to give it a reread before starting Buffy Season 8 Volume 4, because it has a connection to Fray and I wanted to refresh my memory. It was every bit as good as I remembered.

The book takes place hundreds of years in the future, when the Slayer line has ended and been more or less forgotten. But now, vampires have started coming back into the world, so another Slayer has been called: Melaka Fray. But Fray hasn't had the dreams that Slayers normally have, giving them a sense of their purpose and heritage.

Fray is a great character. Joss Whedon imbued with aspects of both Buffy and Faith, creating a young woman who's strong, clever, witty, and doesn't take crap from anybody. Most of the other characters are either bad guys, or good guys that I just don't feel a strong attachment to, with the exception of Loo. This is Loo:

She is the most delightful character ever. Fray calls her "Rocketmouth" because she talks in long incoherent string of often unrelated topics. This is Loo meeting Urkonn for the first time:

The one problem I've had both times I've read this book is that I tend to get a bit confused about people's intentions. That's probably just a fault of my own, but I find it hard to know at times what people's motivations are, and where they sit on the spectrum between good and evil. This also might be because I don't read a whole lot of comics, so I sometimes find them a bit harder to follow than novels.

As for the art, I have nothing but praise. Fray is what I wish every female superhero was. She's tough and beautiful, while having a realistically shaped body, and wearing clothes that actually make sense for her profession. No impractical high heels for Fray! Also no unrealistically big boobs. This is one of the things Joss Whedon insisted on, which is just one of the many things I love about Joss Whedon.

Overall I give Fray 4 out of 5 stars. It only lost one because it occasionally confused me. Highly recommended for any Buffyverse fan, but it's accessible to people who aren't familiar with the Buffyverse, too.