billyjepma's reviews
630 reviews

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A very good book with very, very good writing. It doesn’t all come together—the ending is a little glossy for my taste, and the genre elements don’t quite mesh with the historical fiction as cohesively as I hoped—but LaValle’s writing and characterizations are so sharply nuanced and textured that I was always invested in the story, even if I never felt compelled to rush back to it—which is why it took me a month to finish it. If anything, I wish it had been longer. With some more space to explore the setting, enrich the character dynamics, and delve into the themes, I could see the story becoming something really immersive. But as it is, LaValle accomplishes a lot in under 300 pages and delivers another tonal masterpiece that strikes a nearly perfect balance between the various genre, thematic, historical, and even political edges it’s engaged with. 
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Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A towering, alienating, raging tapestry of the violent, bloodthirsty heart of the American condition. It’s a nightmarish read, one that forces you to wrestle with its foggy, murky plotting and aimless pacing—there’s a reason it took me months to finish. But that’s part of the nightmare McCarthy is cataloging for us, and his disdain is palpable even (especially?) as he coldly pontificates on the situation of the men his story follows.  

“In the days to come the frail black rebuses of blood in those sands would crack and break and drift away so that in the circuit of few suns all trace of the destruction of these people would be erased. The desert wind would salt their ruins and there would be nothing, nor ghost nor scribe, to tell to any pilgrim in his passing how it was that people had lived in this place and in this place died.”

There are a lot of quotes that speak to the intent of this book—a book I might someday understand better—but that one might be the one I latch into. McCarthy understood violence and its roots in the masculine soul better than almost any other American writer.
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Saga, Vol. 11 by Brian K. Vaughan

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Maybe it’s a side-effect of finally reading the series more-or-less as it comes out, or maybe the second half of the overall series is taking some time to find its footing again, but Saga is in a strange place right now. The momentum is janky, and the plot often feels like it lacks focus. It’s not uncommon for the book to flow untraditionally, but after two volumes into this new “era,” I still don’t feel like there’s a driving force. The subplots and supporting cast are benefiting from this—especially in this volume—but it’s still strange to have the core family so adrift in their own narrative, even if it does make sense contextually. I just want something more from it, if not on a plotting level, then on a subtextual one. This collection of issues does take some steps in that direction, thankfully, so maybe things will pick up steam from this point forward. 

And yet, even with those not-insignificant qualms, this remains a banger of a read. I continue to bristle at some of Vaughan’s writing and use of tone, but the interconnected story he and Staples have created is just about as dazzling as it’s ever been. Staples’ art is among the best in the business, as always, and I’m always impressed with how she manages to iterate while still maintaining the ironclad consistency she’s had for all these years. My misgivings (or maybe impatience) with the state of the story aside, I’m still enamored with the series and its unique brand of crude, chaotic, heartfelt adventure and bloodshed. This outing gets a 3.5/5 from me, but I’m adding some extra points  because of issue 65, which is structured and paced so well I almost forgot to breathe. 
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Daredevil: To Heaven Through Hell, Vol. 4 by Chip Zdarsky

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another really strong entry in a really good series. I keep waiting for it to hit the highs I’ve occasionally seen it heralded for, and they haven’t come, but it’s a testament to how solid and commitment the writing and art—even when it’s not Chechetto, although his work remains the highlight—that I’m still as into it as I am. Every time I pick up the next volume I’m reminded why I keep coming back. The plotting is still mostly fine, in my opinion, with some good themes (that still don’t double-down on themselves the way I want) to back it up. It’s ultimately all about the character dynamics, anyway, which Zdarsky handles so well that they all feel tactile and genuine in ways a lot of superhero stuff doesn’t.
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The Legacy of Yangchen by F.C. Yee

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A very solid step-up from the first book. It takes the relatively lacking stakes and character dynamics of the last one and successfully elevates them to the level of the thematic and narrative material around them. I love how these books are leaning even harder into the political undertones of the animated series by prominently featuring marginalized characters in leading roles, avoiding easy cliches, and consistently casting the government, authorities, and the rich as antagonists. And they’re not shallow antagonists, either. The villains aren’t as compelling as in the Kyoshi books, but they’re still effective and have complicated believable motivations. I also like how the conflict requires intellectual fortitude over “let’s see who the better fighter is.” I’ll continue to read as many of these as they put out. 
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Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Volume 1 (Phase II) by Toni Bruno, Michael Atiyeh, Daniel José Older

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Another very fun, light read. The Adventures line of the series is arguably better than the main, Marvel series because, unlike the latter, this one has genuine personality and charm. It’s relatively light on story, though, so as much as the breeziness is a feature, it does keep things from leaving more of an impression (for me, at least). Eager to keep going with it!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski

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adventurous funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump and wanted something light and easy to help me shake myself out of it, and this fit the bill. I enjoy the hell out of these books, even if that enjoyment includes a decent pile of caveats. Sapkowski isn’t the greatest writer, nor is the content of his writing unquestionable (just look at the content warning at the bottom 🙃). But other than that, the actual story and characters represent something pretty damn close to the platonic ideal of fantasy adventure for me. Swashbuckling action, dry humor, lots of lore, a side of politics, and a badass protagonist who is also an idiot—what more could you want?

This is a nice continuation for the series, too, even if it does march in place narratively. There’s very little new ground covered, and you can feel the gap left by the temporary sidelining of Yennefer and Ciri. But the books are also best when Geralt is front and center, as he’s the character Sapkowski’s dry, sarcastic voice is most suited for. It’s nice seeing Geralt develop a little as a leader, as he (very begrudgingly and with plenty of angst) develops camaraderie with some new allies who perfectly fit the vibe of the series. 
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House of X/Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

For what is quite possibly (probably?) the first X-Men comic I’ve read, this is stellar. A dense, rich, often convoluted, but always compelling exercise in how to properly “reboot” an iconic, long-running series. I read a lot of comics with the expectation that most of them won’t be very good, so it’s always exciting to find myself immersed in a book that isn’t content to coast off its brand and name recognition. Despite my lack of history with the X-Men books, I still knew enough to find my way into Hackman’s story, which would be laudable on its own considering how much ground its lore covers. Chunks of it definitely went over my head—although it seems that was probably the intent, too—but the emotional, thematic, and narrative foundation rarely wavered for me. Not everything comes together since this is, by design, the inception of something larger. But even with the semi-unfinished nature of the series’ conclusion, it still feels satisfying, for the most part. It’s probably not an ideal reading experience for anyone looking for a one-and-done book, but for me, it absolutely worked as intended. I was interested from the start, and by the end, I was wholly immersed and ready to dive into the rest of Hickman’s run with the series. 

The book has a ton of visual heft, too, which gives the environments and other settings a properly epic scale. I don’t always love this kind of style (I’m not educated enough to verbalize it, but it seems like the inks and/or colors are heavier), but this is the best it’s looked, I think. It’s a grand, dramatic book, and Larraz gives it the visuals to match, so even if the style and moments of action aren’t always my favorite, it’s still a winner. 
Batman: The Knight by Chip Zdarsky

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Ironically, this Bruce Wayne story is a better Batman comic than the Batman comic Zdarsky is writing in the main series right now. It’s brooding and angsty, but never to an egregious degree. Zdarsky is playing to his strengths—this feels very in line with his Daredevil work—and leans into the gritty, adjacently-YA nature of a 20-something Bruce Wayne traveling the world to train himself into what he’ll eventually become. I like how talkative this Bruce is, I like how pretentious he can be (especially since Zdarsky is self-aware of that pretension, even if the character isn’t), and really like how well Zdarsky’s voice works for this brasher, more raw incarnation of the character. There’s lots of fun to be had, as the growing cast of supporting characters are all excellent and do a great job drawing out different parts of Bruce’s evolving persona. It’s also surprisingly violent at times, with more bloodshed and grit than I expected going in, which also lends the series an edge that I liked. There’s not anything altogether new or fresh here, admittedly, so anyone hoping for a reinvention of Bruce’s early days will be disappointed. But I love seeing different teams put their little spin on familiar material, so I had a great time. 

It’s Di Giandomenico’s art that elevates this, though. As much as I enjoyed Zdarsky’s writing, the art and coloring (from Ivan Plascencia, who always delivers) draw out the best parts in the script. They give the story its grit, showcasing plenty of impressive physicality in the action and training scenes but also a hefty dose of emotion, too. Those emotions can be exaggerated—the grimaces can occasionally swallow entire faces—but feel aligned with the tone Zdarsky’s shooting for. The whole thing has some anime influences, honestly, which I can see not working for everyone, but it was something I very much vibed with. This is definitely a book I’ll be adding to my shelf.
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