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michaeljohnhalseartistry's reviews
111 reviews
Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat
1.0
Today is a great day, because I finally finished C.S. Pacat's Captive Prince Trilogy. I should be clear, it's not a great day because I've come to the close of Damen and Laurent's story and loved the ride, it's not a great day because I was so moved by this book that it lifted my spirits and made me warm and fuzzy inside. No, it's a great day because I can finally put this train-wreck of a series aside and NEVER read it again.
I might be a bit of a tough critic, I have very high expectations for the books I read, the music I listen to, the movies I watch, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been called a movie-snob in the past (mostly by people who love the Transformers movies... so... I'll live), but this trilogy was, without a doubt three of the worst novels I've ever read, and I've read some bad novels. I DO feel bad saying that, because as an author myself, I know how much you put into your work, and you want everyone to love it as much as you do, and I'm sure Pacat is a kind, and great woman who poured her soul into this trilogy... it's just not for me.
I was a bit hesitant at first to pick up this series. Upon my initial investigation of the series I read a lot of good reviews and things about it, but I came across one write-up that classified it as "Young Adult". And I don't read YA, I never really have. Sure I've read the Harry Potter books, the Twilight Saga, The Chronicles of Narnia... but I didn't, actually enjoy them. I might love Harry Potter and the world around it, but those books were tough to get through. I think it's because I sort of missed that YA phase in my own reading history. I went from reading beginner chapter books, and middle-grade novels to reading Shakespeare, Jane Austin, and J.R.R. Tolkien, and I remember it being a big jump at first. When I was in grade 7 we moved to a new city, and as a result I went to a new school. At this new school, my English teacher Mrs. Crosby immediately tossed us into the world of Shakespeare and classical literature... in grade 7, because she thought we could handle it. At first I couldn't it. I was completely lost, the very first time I read The Lord of the Rings I had no clue what I was reading. But I'm a quick learner, and by grade 8 I had forgotten all about YA novels.
In terms of Pacat's writing style, her characters, her plot... The Captive Prince Trilogy is definitely YA, but content-wise, it had some VERY adult themes. The trilogy tells the story of Prince Damen, forced to be a slave in a neighbouring kingdom after his brother usurps the throne. Damen thinks he has to keep his identity secret, because he was responsible for killing this neighbouring kingdom's crown prince in a past war. Damen finds himself the slave of that prince's younger brother Laurent, a cold, calculating prince who is struggling to keep his throne from an overzealous uncle. Both Damen's and Laurent's cultures are incredibly sexual, and slowly over the course of the books Damen and Laurent fall for each other... which results in some very steamy and shocking scenes. The series has been described as "slave porn", and opinions on the series seem very polarized. People either love it, or they hate it. I hated it, as much as I was confused by it. Pacat's writing is... not good. She can barely put together paragraphs, she has these weird jumps between scenes, where nothing changes. For example, in King's Rising, she has this scene jump:
"He heard the shocked murmurs, the outbreak of sound as he spoke, his words, clear and unmistakable.
'I am Damianos of Akielos, and I surrender to my brother.'
The soldiers were nervous.
Damianos. In the moments before they hurriedly ushered him through the gate, the crowd grew. Damianos."
It's the exact same scene... There should be no break... and she does this EVERYWHERE. Not only that, her dialogue is a mess, she leaves almost every other sentence unfinished and assumed we know what she means. Her character development is poor, and her characters themselves are complete idiots. Damen is dumber than a post. And while plot-wise, she has a really good story, there just isn't enough mastery of either the world or language to really make it an epic tale. It's YA fantasy... with very adult themes.
However, in this final book, King's Rising, Pacat did surprise me with a couple of lines that I absolutely loved. I even underlined them, that's how much I loved them and was impressed by them. I've written them below:
"The inches of air between them were nothing, and everything."
And:
"...Damen was lost to it, his whole body given over, the first deep pulse of his own climax just one part of a choking pleasure that took him, overwhelming and bright, into oblivion."
YES, that second one is a little sexual, WE'RE ALL ADULTS, GET OVER IT. I just found the imagery and metaphors in both sentences very pleasing and delicate. And to me it really showed that Pacat, if she really tied, could write something with more emotional depth and meaning, which is what I wanted SO BADLY from this series.
Overall, I don't think I'd recommend this series, and I doubt I'll be returning to it. However, I'm happy to be finished with it and able to move on to something else.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND MY OWN NOVELS, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
http://michaeljohnhalse.wixsite.com/michaeljohnhalse
I might be a bit of a tough critic, I have very high expectations for the books I read, the music I listen to, the movies I watch, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been called a movie-snob in the past (mostly by people who love the Transformers movies... so... I'll live), but this trilogy was, without a doubt three of the worst novels I've ever read, and I've read some bad novels. I DO feel bad saying that, because as an author myself, I know how much you put into your work, and you want everyone to love it as much as you do, and I'm sure Pacat is a kind, and great woman who poured her soul into this trilogy... it's just not for me.
I was a bit hesitant at first to pick up this series. Upon my initial investigation of the series I read a lot of good reviews and things about it, but I came across one write-up that classified it as "Young Adult". And I don't read YA, I never really have. Sure I've read the Harry Potter books, the Twilight Saga, The Chronicles of Narnia... but I didn't, actually enjoy them. I might love Harry Potter and the world around it, but those books were tough to get through. I think it's because I sort of missed that YA phase in my own reading history. I went from reading beginner chapter books, and middle-grade novels to reading Shakespeare, Jane Austin, and J.R.R. Tolkien, and I remember it being a big jump at first. When I was in grade 7 we moved to a new city, and as a result I went to a new school. At this new school, my English teacher Mrs. Crosby immediately tossed us into the world of Shakespeare and classical literature... in grade 7, because she thought we could handle it. At first I couldn't it. I was completely lost, the very first time I read The Lord of the Rings I had no clue what I was reading. But I'm a quick learner, and by grade 8 I had forgotten all about YA novels.
In terms of Pacat's writing style, her characters, her plot... The Captive Prince Trilogy is definitely YA, but content-wise, it had some VERY adult themes. The trilogy tells the story of Prince Damen, forced to be a slave in a neighbouring kingdom after his brother usurps the throne. Damen thinks he has to keep his identity secret, because he was responsible for killing this neighbouring kingdom's crown prince in a past war. Damen finds himself the slave of that prince's younger brother Laurent, a cold, calculating prince who is struggling to keep his throne from an overzealous uncle. Both Damen's and Laurent's cultures are incredibly sexual, and slowly over the course of the books Damen and Laurent fall for each other... which results in some very steamy and shocking scenes. The series has been described as "slave porn", and opinions on the series seem very polarized. People either love it, or they hate it. I hated it, as much as I was confused by it. Pacat's writing is... not good. She can barely put together paragraphs, she has these weird jumps between scenes, where nothing changes. For example, in King's Rising, she has this scene jump:
"He heard the shocked murmurs, the outbreak of sound as he spoke, his words, clear and unmistakable.
'I am Damianos of Akielos, and I surrender to my brother.'
The soldiers were nervous.
Damianos. In the moments before they hurriedly ushered him through the gate, the crowd grew. Damianos."
It's the exact same scene... There should be no break... and she does this EVERYWHERE. Not only that, her dialogue is a mess, she leaves almost every other sentence unfinished and assumed we know what she means. Her character development is poor, and her characters themselves are complete idiots. Damen is dumber than a post. And while plot-wise, she has a really good story, there just isn't enough mastery of either the world or language to really make it an epic tale. It's YA fantasy... with very adult themes.
However, in this final book, King's Rising, Pacat did surprise me with a couple of lines that I absolutely loved. I even underlined them, that's how much I loved them and was impressed by them. I've written them below:
"The inches of air between them were nothing, and everything."
And:
"...Damen was lost to it, his whole body given over, the first deep pulse of his own climax just one part of a choking pleasure that took him, overwhelming and bright, into oblivion."
YES, that second one is a little sexual, WE'RE ALL ADULTS, GET OVER IT. I just found the imagery and metaphors in both sentences very pleasing and delicate. And to me it really showed that Pacat, if she really tied, could write something with more emotional depth and meaning, which is what I wanted SO BADLY from this series.
Overall, I don't think I'd recommend this series, and I doubt I'll be returning to it. However, I'm happy to be finished with it and able to move on to something else.
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND MY OWN NOVELS, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
http://michaeljohnhalse.wixsite.com/michaeljohnhalse
The Goddamned Volume 1: Before the Flood by Jason Aaron
2.0
Set in the days prior to the Biblical flood that covered the earth and washed away the unholiness that had become humanity, The Goddamed is a fictional account of Cain, the son of Adam, who for 1600 years has sought death, but been denied it by God. Cain committed the first murder (of his brother Abel), and as punishment is refused his own death. He's watched the world waste away into the cesspool that it is during the days before the flood. While he searches for the Nephilim in the hopes that their "semi"-divine power will end his life he comes across Noah, a vicious slaver who's collecting animals and building his famous ark, and finally finds something to live for.
Witten by Jason Aaron and illustrated by R.M. Guéra for Image Comics, The Goddamned was first released in 2016 and made numerous top comic lists for that year. When I picked it up, I had no idea what it was about, It was one of the comics I purchased following my $5000 win at Chapters last Christmas when I was exploring the realm of comic books, something that has always intimated me. I grew up on Star Wars comics and that's it. How was I supposed to know what was good or not?
But the premise of this comic book series hooked me. Growing up hearing about the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah, I was always interested in that time following the murder of Abel, and the flood. The Bible doesn't go into great detail of that time, but mentions things like the Nephilim and the wickedness that had taken man, and for some reason I always wanted to know more about that time. What was so horrible about the earth that God wanted to wipe it clean? And what/who were the Nephilim, what did they look like? Were they the race of giants from the Bible? Were they something more mythical and powerful? That whole span of 1600 years is steeped in mystery and fantasy, and as a fantasy author, I just find that era interesting, and I love the various interpretations of both Noah's story and the culture of man before the flood. For example, I loved Darren Aronofsky's 2014 film Noah... and I don't know anyone who liked it, it's just an interesting time period when things were so different.
While I liked the premise of The Goddamned, I was a little let down by the comic as a whole. Remember, I'm new to comics (and also a hard critic), and the more I read them, the more I wish they were graphic-novel-ish. I'm often left unsatisfied by the pacing of comic stories, I want something meaty, something in depth, and often comic books feel a little shallow and quick. I basically want a literary novel with pictures, that's what I'm looking for, and I rarely get something like that. Pacing aside, I was also a little let down by the story as a whole. It has an amazing premise, with an interesting lead character, and even the portrayal of Noah is interesting and unique, but there's hardly any depth to these characters, I never felt connected to either Cain or Noah, or anyone else for that matter, It seemed more interested in portraying shocking visuals that help depict how far man has fallen, than creating any character depth. I also didn't really enjoy the writing... It didn't feel genuine to me. I mean, every other word was a curse word. I don't have anything against cursing, but when every single character's dialogue is weighed down by it, it almost feels a little unintelligent to me. On the other hand, I loved Cain's internal dialogue, it really showed how torn he was as a man, how depressed he was, and how he felt like the world being in the state that it was in, was all his fault.
That being said, I am curious to see how the story progresses from here and I will definitely be continuing with this comic series. I think I just to lower or change my opinions when it comes to reviewing comic books, because I think I go into them expecting some literary classic illuminated with images, and that's just not realistic. But I'm also new to comics, new to the medium, new to comics outside of the Star Wars universe, and I'm slowly learning to change my expectations and try things out of my science-fiction/fantasy norm. So who knows, I could come back to this comic in a few years and be blown away by it!
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, PHOTOS, AND MY OWN NOVEL SERIES, CHECK OUT:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
Witten by Jason Aaron and illustrated by R.M. Guéra for Image Comics, The Goddamned was first released in 2016 and made numerous top comic lists for that year. When I picked it up, I had no idea what it was about, It was one of the comics I purchased following my $5000 win at Chapters last Christmas when I was exploring the realm of comic books, something that has always intimated me. I grew up on Star Wars comics and that's it. How was I supposed to know what was good or not?
But the premise of this comic book series hooked me. Growing up hearing about the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah, I was always interested in that time following the murder of Abel, and the flood. The Bible doesn't go into great detail of that time, but mentions things like the Nephilim and the wickedness that had taken man, and for some reason I always wanted to know more about that time. What was so horrible about the earth that God wanted to wipe it clean? And what/who were the Nephilim, what did they look like? Were they the race of giants from the Bible? Were they something more mythical and powerful? That whole span of 1600 years is steeped in mystery and fantasy, and as a fantasy author, I just find that era interesting, and I love the various interpretations of both Noah's story and the culture of man before the flood. For example, I loved Darren Aronofsky's 2014 film Noah... and I don't know anyone who liked it, it's just an interesting time period when things were so different.
While I liked the premise of The Goddamned, I was a little let down by the comic as a whole. Remember, I'm new to comics (and also a hard critic), and the more I read them, the more I wish they were graphic-novel-ish. I'm often left unsatisfied by the pacing of comic stories, I want something meaty, something in depth, and often comic books feel a little shallow and quick. I basically want a literary novel with pictures, that's what I'm looking for, and I rarely get something like that. Pacing aside, I was also a little let down by the story as a whole. It has an amazing premise, with an interesting lead character, and even the portrayal of Noah is interesting and unique, but there's hardly any depth to these characters, I never felt connected to either Cain or Noah, or anyone else for that matter, It seemed more interested in portraying shocking visuals that help depict how far man has fallen, than creating any character depth. I also didn't really enjoy the writing... It didn't feel genuine to me. I mean, every other word was a curse word. I don't have anything against cursing, but when every single character's dialogue is weighed down by it, it almost feels a little unintelligent to me. On the other hand, I loved Cain's internal dialogue, it really showed how torn he was as a man, how depressed he was, and how he felt like the world being in the state that it was in, was all his fault.
That being said, I am curious to see how the story progresses from here and I will definitely be continuing with this comic series. I think I just to lower or change my opinions when it comes to reviewing comic books, because I think I go into them expecting some literary classic illuminated with images, and that's just not realistic. But I'm also new to comics, new to the medium, new to comics outside of the Star Wars universe, and I'm slowly learning to change my expectations and try things out of my science-fiction/fantasy norm. So who knows, I could come back to this comic in a few years and be blown away by it!
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, PHOTOS, AND MY OWN NOVEL SERIES, CHECK OUT:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3.0
This is going to be one tough review. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger's most famous work had been on my "to be read" list for years, but I kept putting it off. After finishing the horrible Captive Prince Trilogy I decided to step away from fantasy and read something classical, so I picked up Catcher in the Rye and at first I wasn't too impressed, in fact I hated it. For about 75% of the book I was struggling just to push my way through to the end, and then, towards the end of the book, something changed...
The Catcher in the Rye tells the story of Holden Caulfield a teenager from New York describing events that happened a year prior following another expulsion from a private school. Throughout the book we learn about his family, his older brother D.B., a writer, their younger sister Phoebe, and their brother Allie who died prior to the events in the novel. Holden himself is something of an odd character, he seems at odds with everyone around him, seeing them as "phoneys", is a compulsive liar, filled with angst, and the subject of alienation, whether by his own doing or not, and severely depressed.
Throughout the first three quarters of the novel I hated Holden, I could NOT stand his character, I hated how the novel was written from his perspective, it was layered with repetition, hypocrisy, and angst that I just didn't connect with. Holden's the type of character who thinks he's the greatest person in the world, capable of everything and better than everyone else, he's a braggart and a liar. He says a lot of stuff like:
"One thing I have, it's a terrific capacity. I can drink all night and not even show it, if I'm in a good mood. Once, at the Whooton School, this other boy, Raymond Goldfarb, and I bought a pint of Scotch and drank it in the chapel one Saturday night, where nobody'd see us. He got stinking, but I hardly didn't even shot it. I just got very cool and nonchalant. I puked before I went to bed, but I didn't really have to–I forced myself."
He just has this high opinion of himself, this arrogance that made me so sick of him. I shared my dislike of the book on Instagram, and a few people messaged me and said that they had read it as a teenager and that Holden had really resonated with them, and that got me thinking. Had I read The Catcher in the Rye as a teenager, full of angst, emotion, thoughts of alienation, I probably would have loved the book. I would've felt like Holden was a mirror of my own ideals and personal alienation.
But then something switched three quarters of the way through... You know how emotional states can change your opinion of a movie or a book? I have a feeling that's what happened here. There was this part in the book when Holden snuck back into his family's condo and woke up his sister Phoebe to talk with her. Phoebe is one of the only people in the book that Holden holds in high regard. They get into a fight about Holden being expelled and Holden tries to explain to her how everyone was just fake and phoney and how he couldn't deal with it, and Phoebe says, "You don't like anything that's happening." And she tries to get Holden to think of something that he actually likes, and he can't really think of anything. Throughout the whole narrative he's always talking about how depressed he is, and how depressed everything makes him, and I think it wasn't until that moment when his depression and his emotional mood really became real for him, and resonated with me. Here is this guy who's charismatic, easy going, pretty intelligent, but he's trapped in this awkward stage in his life and doesn't know where to go, and doesn't really have any friends or anyone around him, and everything he sees depresses him. He's not quite clinically depressed, but he is trapped in this melancholic state that he can't shake... or even really wants to shake, and that really resonated with me. As he's about to leave his family's condo he breaks down and starts crying, for no reason, something he repeats at the very end of the novel after meeting up with Phoebe again and watching her go around and around on the carousel. I like to think that these episodes were brought on by his depression, pushing to the surface and suddenly manifesting themselves in tears. First when he realizes there's something wrong, and second when he mourns his own naivety and youth while watching Phoebe on the carousel.
After leaving his family's place he spends some time at his old English teacher's apartment... which gets a little awkward at the end, but before it goes south, the teacher, Mr. Antolini gives this speech that I absolutely loved:
"This fall I think you're riding for–it's a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling ins't permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement's designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn't supply them with. Or they thought their own environment couldn't supply them with. So they gave up looking. They gave it up before they ever really even got started. You follow me?"
Now a lot of people have speculated what this "fall" means, some say it's Holden's academic achievements that have fallen apart, while others interpret it as the fall of Holden's mental health on account of his depression and dismal world view. The latter is how I interpreted it. Suddenly, I saw the whole novel in a different light. I saw Holden, not as an angsty delinquent, but as a morosely depressed individual trying to cling onto something, while also trying to separate himself from a world he wants no part of... and that resonated so strongly with me.
By the end of the novel, I had really changed my opinion of the whole book. Is it one of my favourite novels? Not by the a long shot. But is it terrible? No. In fact, if you can get over Holden's constant cursing, his hedonistic and bratty teenage nature that shines throughout the beginning, it's a really great novel about the slow and debilitating mental spiral that leads to depression and a crippling mental state brought on by teenage angst, alienation, and growth. It's definitely a novel I will read again... though not too soon!
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
http://michaeljohnhalse.wixsite.com/michaeljohnhalse
The Catcher in the Rye tells the story of Holden Caulfield a teenager from New York describing events that happened a year prior following another expulsion from a private school. Throughout the book we learn about his family, his older brother D.B., a writer, their younger sister Phoebe, and their brother Allie who died prior to the events in the novel. Holden himself is something of an odd character, he seems at odds with everyone around him, seeing them as "phoneys", is a compulsive liar, filled with angst, and the subject of alienation, whether by his own doing or not, and severely depressed.
Throughout the first three quarters of the novel I hated Holden, I could NOT stand his character, I hated how the novel was written from his perspective, it was layered with repetition, hypocrisy, and angst that I just didn't connect with. Holden's the type of character who thinks he's the greatest person in the world, capable of everything and better than everyone else, he's a braggart and a liar. He says a lot of stuff like:
"One thing I have, it's a terrific capacity. I can drink all night and not even show it, if I'm in a good mood. Once, at the Whooton School, this other boy, Raymond Goldfarb, and I bought a pint of Scotch and drank it in the chapel one Saturday night, where nobody'd see us. He got stinking, but I hardly didn't even shot it. I just got very cool and nonchalant. I puked before I went to bed, but I didn't really have to–I forced myself."
He just has this high opinion of himself, this arrogance that made me so sick of him. I shared my dislike of the book on Instagram, and a few people messaged me and said that they had read it as a teenager and that Holden had really resonated with them, and that got me thinking. Had I read The Catcher in the Rye as a teenager, full of angst, emotion, thoughts of alienation, I probably would have loved the book. I would've felt like Holden was a mirror of my own ideals and personal alienation.
But then something switched three quarters of the way through... You know how emotional states can change your opinion of a movie or a book? I have a feeling that's what happened here. There was this part in the book when Holden snuck back into his family's condo and woke up his sister Phoebe to talk with her. Phoebe is one of the only people in the book that Holden holds in high regard. They get into a fight about Holden being expelled and Holden tries to explain to her how everyone was just fake and phoney and how he couldn't deal with it, and Phoebe says, "You don't like anything that's happening." And she tries to get Holden to think of something that he actually likes, and he can't really think of anything. Throughout the whole narrative he's always talking about how depressed he is, and how depressed everything makes him, and I think it wasn't until that moment when his depression and his emotional mood really became real for him, and resonated with me. Here is this guy who's charismatic, easy going, pretty intelligent, but he's trapped in this awkward stage in his life and doesn't know where to go, and doesn't really have any friends or anyone around him, and everything he sees depresses him. He's not quite clinically depressed, but he is trapped in this melancholic state that he can't shake... or even really wants to shake, and that really resonated with me. As he's about to leave his family's condo he breaks down and starts crying, for no reason, something he repeats at the very end of the novel after meeting up with Phoebe again and watching her go around and around on the carousel. I like to think that these episodes were brought on by his depression, pushing to the surface and suddenly manifesting themselves in tears. First when he realizes there's something wrong, and second when he mourns his own naivety and youth while watching Phoebe on the carousel.
After leaving his family's place he spends some time at his old English teacher's apartment... which gets a little awkward at the end, but before it goes south, the teacher, Mr. Antolini gives this speech that I absolutely loved:
"This fall I think you're riding for–it's a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling ins't permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement's designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn't supply them with. Or they thought their own environment couldn't supply them with. So they gave up looking. They gave it up before they ever really even got started. You follow me?"
Now a lot of people have speculated what this "fall" means, some say it's Holden's academic achievements that have fallen apart, while others interpret it as the fall of Holden's mental health on account of his depression and dismal world view. The latter is how I interpreted it. Suddenly, I saw the whole novel in a different light. I saw Holden, not as an angsty delinquent, but as a morosely depressed individual trying to cling onto something, while also trying to separate himself from a world he wants no part of... and that resonated so strongly with me.
By the end of the novel, I had really changed my opinion of the whole book. Is it one of my favourite novels? Not by the a long shot. But is it terrible? No. In fact, if you can get over Holden's constant cursing, his hedonistic and bratty teenage nature that shines throughout the beginning, it's a really great novel about the slow and debilitating mental spiral that leads to depression and a crippling mental state brought on by teenage angst, alienation, and growth. It's definitely a novel I will read again... though not too soon!
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
http://michaeljohnhalse.wixsite.com/michaeljohnhalse
ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times by Andrew MacLean
3.0
When I was researching comic books and graphic novels that weren't superhero based, and were must reads for science-fiction and fantasy fans, Andrew MacLean's ApocalyptiGirl kept popping up. I thumbed through it once or twice in the store before finally deciding to get it, but upon reading it, it gave me very mixed feelings.
The comic is set in a distant future when earth's society has collapsed into tribal groups after a devastating war over a powerful energy source. In this world Aria, our main character, is searching for something while fixing up an old robot-like machine, and singing French aria's to her found cat Jelly Bean. It started off SO strong. Aria is an incredibly likeable character who, while narrating, realizes she's narrating to herself, and points it out. She has conversations with herself, because, aside from Jelly Bean, she hasn't had anyone to talk to in six years. Through her you get a little bit of backstory on how the earth collapsed, how society fell, and the unique geographical landmarks that were a result of the war. There's conflict between her and one of the tribes, we see her searching for something, something that isn't revealed until the end, but it feels like it's all leading up to an incredible story.
But it doesn't...
The second half of the story rushes to a dull end, where nothing from the first half really matters. There's zero character development, there's zero character interaction, the backstory that was explained in the beginning has nothing to do the rest of the story, even rebuilding the robot, something we see her doing throughout the first half, doesn't come to much. In the end it gets destroyed anyway. The ending felt so rushed, and that's something that I've learned about comics, that more often than not, they feel rushed and lacking in the story and character department. ApocalyptiGirl would have flourished as a large graphic novel, or a serial comic book series, but instead it's a stand-alone where nothing really happens.
HOWEVER, ApocalyptiGirl does have one strength that's very strong. The artwork. It's a blend of appealing manga and wood-block style art that is super clean and eye-popping and reminded me a lot of Pendleton Ward's Adventure Time. And anything that reminds me of Adventure Time can't be all that bad. In fact, throughout the first half, when I was enjoying the comic, I wished MacLean would produce an Adventure Time-type show for this story. The artwork is so intriguing and so unlike the comics I've read thus far... it's just too bad that there's no story within the pages. It's all flashy, beautiful art with no sustenance.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
The comic is set in a distant future when earth's society has collapsed into tribal groups after a devastating war over a powerful energy source. In this world Aria, our main character, is searching for something while fixing up an old robot-like machine, and singing French aria's to her found cat Jelly Bean. It started off SO strong. Aria is an incredibly likeable character who, while narrating, realizes she's narrating to herself, and points it out. She has conversations with herself, because, aside from Jelly Bean, she hasn't had anyone to talk to in six years. Through her you get a little bit of backstory on how the earth collapsed, how society fell, and the unique geographical landmarks that were a result of the war. There's conflict between her and one of the tribes, we see her searching for something, something that isn't revealed until the end, but it feels like it's all leading up to an incredible story.
But it doesn't...
The second half of the story rushes to a dull end, where nothing from the first half really matters. There's zero character development, there's zero character interaction, the backstory that was explained in the beginning has nothing to do the rest of the story, even rebuilding the robot, something we see her doing throughout the first half, doesn't come to much. In the end it gets destroyed anyway. The ending felt so rushed, and that's something that I've learned about comics, that more often than not, they feel rushed and lacking in the story and character department. ApocalyptiGirl would have flourished as a large graphic novel, or a serial comic book series, but instead it's a stand-alone where nothing really happens.
HOWEVER, ApocalyptiGirl does have one strength that's very strong. The artwork. It's a blend of appealing manga and wood-block style art that is super clean and eye-popping and reminded me a lot of Pendleton Ward's Adventure Time. And anything that reminds me of Adventure Time can't be all that bad. In fact, throughout the first half, when I was enjoying the comic, I wished MacLean would produce an Adventure Time-type show for this story. The artwork is so intriguing and so unlike the comics I've read thus far... it's just too bad that there's no story within the pages. It's all flashy, beautiful art with no sustenance.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
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Through the Woods by E.M. Carroll
2.0
Through the Woods is a collection of eerie, chilling, and horrific stories that comes from the imagination of celebrated Canadian graphic novelist Emily Carroll. It tells five different stories, all set within the wooded countryside and illustrated in Carroll's very artistic and unique style. The art style is unlike anything I've seen before (granted my comic book/graphic novel experience is quite limited), but she has a very fluid, animated feel to her work. It's not realistic at all, but very flowing, abstract, and really reminded me of the artwork seen in the children's book Madeline. It's very whimsical and child-like, despite being down right terrifying at times.
Regardless of the artwork, I wasn't overly enthusiastic about this graphic novel as a whole, and unfortunately it was because I found the writing kind of poor... I feel like I'm always saying this, but I realize that with comic books and graphic novels the artwork is meant to speak just as much as the words, but for me, a novelist myself, and someone who reads a lot of novels, I always end up wanting more from the written side. Yes, the images are nice, but if there's not much to the story... it falls short for me. And overall, I was just kind of bored by Through the Woods. There were a few points where the imagery was chilling and a little unnerving, but the writing always seemed to interrupt that horror and suspense rather than enhance it.
Would I recommend Through the Woods? Undoubtedly, Carroll's unnerving imagery and abstract style paints a dark and twisted series of stories. It's like a unique blend between children's book visuals (and writing) and more chilling, adult horror. And those two different elements mixed very well together here. Just go into this graphic novel expecting a fun, light read. Don't expect it to thrill you, frighten you, or be some genre altering work, and you'll be fine.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
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Regardless of the artwork, I wasn't overly enthusiastic about this graphic novel as a whole, and unfortunately it was because I found the writing kind of poor... I feel like I'm always saying this, but I realize that with comic books and graphic novels the artwork is meant to speak just as much as the words, but for me, a novelist myself, and someone who reads a lot of novels, I always end up wanting more from the written side. Yes, the images are nice, but if there's not much to the story... it falls short for me. And overall, I was just kind of bored by Through the Woods. There were a few points where the imagery was chilling and a little unnerving, but the writing always seemed to interrupt that horror and suspense rather than enhance it.
Would I recommend Through the Woods? Undoubtedly, Carroll's unnerving imagery and abstract style paints a dark and twisted series of stories. It's like a unique blend between children's book visuals (and writing) and more chilling, adult horror. And those two different elements mixed very well together here. Just go into this graphic novel expecting a fun, light read. Don't expect it to thrill you, frighten you, or be some genre altering work, and you'll be fine.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
Toil and Trouble by Mairghread Scott
5.0
1 WITCH When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
2 WITCH When the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.
3 WITCH That will be ere the set of sun.
1 WITCH Where the place?
2 WITCH Upon the hearth.
3 WITCH There to meet with Macbeth.
1 WITCH I come, Graymalkin.
2 WITCH Paddock calls.
3 WITCH Anon.
ALL Fair is foul, and foul is fair;
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
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So opens Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's most famous and haunting plays. I, like many others, read Macbeth in high school, it wasn't the first Shakespeare play I'd read, nor would it be the last, but it was one that would stick with me for years to come, and it might even be my favourite Shakespearean play. Macbeth tells the story of the rise and fall of it's title character. After Macbeth receives a prophesy from a trio of witches telling him that he'll become king of Scotland, both he and his wife, Lady Macbeth, are consumed with political ambition and paranoia that eventually leads to his fall from power.
Toil and Trouble takes the Macbeth story and twists it around, changing perspectives from Macbeth to Smertae, Cait, and Riata, the three witches who prophesy Macbeth's assent to the throne. And I've got to tell you, this is an incredible rendition. Written and produced by comic book veteran Mairghread Scott with the help of artists Kelly & Nicole Matthews, and published by Archaia (who publishes comics and graphic novels), Toil and Trouble stays true to the Macbeth story, but adds a whole new level of richness and depth to the story. The three witches are introduced as the Guardians of Alba, or Scotland, who have their hand in every event, making subtle, manipulative changes, but ultimately leaving fate to play out as it will. Inner turmoil in this coven leads to Smertae siding with Macbeth, while Riata plots to overthrow him and place Malcolm (the son of King Duncan) on the throne. The graphic novel doesn't toss aside the original story, nor does it change what was written, it simply elaborates, and it does so beautifully with detailed drawings, complex characterization, and really exceptional writing for a graphic novel or comic.
I didn't know what to expect when I jumped into this book. I glanced through it in the store, and thought it might be interesting to dive back into Shakespeare, but my exploratory dive into comics and graphic novels has been a little... lacklustre. I've talked about this in other reviews, but I think it's because I expect too much out of them. I want the depth and girth of a novel, but with pretty pictures! And lately the comic's I've been reading have been pretty... but seem to lack substance, in my very literary-biased mind. However this is not the case with Toil and Trouble. Here the writing is as meaty, deep, and detail-oriented as the original play it's based off of. I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed this graphic novel, and it's one I highly recommend.
If you're worried that it's written in Shakespearean English... don't be, it's not. And actually, that was the only thing that kind of disappointed me. Scott has written an incredible story, with amazing characters in these three witches, I just wish she had channeled a little more of Shakespeare to write her dialogue. But that aside, it's an absolutely beautiful book, spell-binding and elegant, and definitely one I'll be coming back around to.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
2 WITCH When the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.
3 WITCH That will be ere the set of sun.
1 WITCH Where the place?
2 WITCH Upon the hearth.
3 WITCH There to meet with Macbeth.
1 WITCH I come, Graymalkin.
2 WITCH Paddock calls.
3 WITCH Anon.
ALL Fair is foul, and foul is fair;
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
-----
So opens Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's most famous and haunting plays. I, like many others, read Macbeth in high school, it wasn't the first Shakespeare play I'd read, nor would it be the last, but it was one that would stick with me for years to come, and it might even be my favourite Shakespearean play. Macbeth tells the story of the rise and fall of it's title character. After Macbeth receives a prophesy from a trio of witches telling him that he'll become king of Scotland, both he and his wife, Lady Macbeth, are consumed with political ambition and paranoia that eventually leads to his fall from power.
Toil and Trouble takes the Macbeth story and twists it around, changing perspectives from Macbeth to Smertae, Cait, and Riata, the three witches who prophesy Macbeth's assent to the throne. And I've got to tell you, this is an incredible rendition. Written and produced by comic book veteran Mairghread Scott with the help of artists Kelly & Nicole Matthews, and published by Archaia (who publishes comics and graphic novels), Toil and Trouble stays true to the Macbeth story, but adds a whole new level of richness and depth to the story. The three witches are introduced as the Guardians of Alba, or Scotland, who have their hand in every event, making subtle, manipulative changes, but ultimately leaving fate to play out as it will. Inner turmoil in this coven leads to Smertae siding with Macbeth, while Riata plots to overthrow him and place Malcolm (the son of King Duncan) on the throne. The graphic novel doesn't toss aside the original story, nor does it change what was written, it simply elaborates, and it does so beautifully with detailed drawings, complex characterization, and really exceptional writing for a graphic novel or comic.
I didn't know what to expect when I jumped into this book. I glanced through it in the store, and thought it might be interesting to dive back into Shakespeare, but my exploratory dive into comics and graphic novels has been a little... lacklustre. I've talked about this in other reviews, but I think it's because I expect too much out of them. I want the depth and girth of a novel, but with pretty pictures! And lately the comic's I've been reading have been pretty... but seem to lack substance, in my very literary-biased mind. However this is not the case with Toil and Trouble. Here the writing is as meaty, deep, and detail-oriented as the original play it's based off of. I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed this graphic novel, and it's one I highly recommend.
If you're worried that it's written in Shakespearean English... don't be, it's not. And actually, that was the only thing that kind of disappointed me. Scott has written an incredible story, with amazing characters in these three witches, I just wish she had channeled a little more of Shakespeare to write her dialogue. But that aside, it's an absolutely beautiful book, spell-binding and elegant, and definitely one I'll be coming back around to.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
Monstress, Book One by Marjorie Liu
5.0
There are some comics that are just so incredibly beautiful that you don't want to put them down, and Monstress is definitely one of those comics. Monstress is set in an alternate, matriarchal earth full of magic, witches, and anthropomorphized beings known as Arcanics. The Arcanics are ruthlessly hunted and used by the humans, often dissected and studied by this earth's version of the Catholic Church, the Cumea. The story is told from the perspective of one Arcanic known as Maika Halfwolf, a teenage girl with a missing arm who embodies the spirit of an ancient and terrifying old god. While she tries to rediscover her forgotten past, she fights off the Cumea and makes friends with fugitive Arcanics along the way.
Written by Marjorie M. Liu, the story itself is impressive enough, but what makes this comic series one of the best out there is the artwork by Sana Takeda. Takeda's work is breathtaking to say the least, it's highly detailed, elegant, and realistic with a slight anime-feel to it. I've read a few different series this year, but the artwork in Monstress is some of the best I've ever seen.
If you're looking for a light-hearted series, Monstress may not be for you, it is one of the darker storylines and comic's that I've read, which also adds to my enjoyment of the series. While it deals with issues of child slavery, bodily mutilation, and death, which in themselves are pretty heavy themes, they're oddly balanced by the pure beauty of the artwork. I remember one panel in the first volume where a Cumean witch, Sophie Fekete, hold ups the severed head of a cyclops child, a character we last saw alive a few pages before, and the gravity of that panel was beautifully juxtaposed by the ornate details of the artwork, the gold-themed background, and the elegant anime-like style of Takeda's work.
One of my favourite aspects of the Monstress world is the way Liu has written her various factions. While in the first volume the Cumea are the clear villains, Liu delves, ever so slightly, into both the Dusk and Dawn Courts, two warring courts of Arcanics lead by their Ancient ancestors. She could have easily made these two courts the clear heroes within this fractured earth, they are, after all, made up of Arcanics, just like our heroine. But instead Liu taints them with their own questionable tactics and motives. The Dusk Court sought Maika out to kill her, while the Dawn captures and murderers the child survivors of an apocalyptic event that happened years before, in order to pull the truth of what happened from their ghosts. I thought it was brilliant story-telling, here you have these various factions, and it's clear where your loyalties should lie, but Liu makes it clear that everyone has blood on their hands in this dark world, and that there are no clear heroes.
The only place Monstress falls flat in my opinion, is with it's protagonist. Maika is essentially a ball of angst and rage, and not much else. While every other character has interesting pasts, motives, and varying emotional states, Maika is always the same. She's edgy, angsty, and very one-dimensional. Sure there are time when she shows some deeper emotional capacity, but overall she's probably the flattest character in the cast.
This was actually the second time I've read the first volume. I first purchased it last year and flew through it, and recently found the second volume at Chapters and thought I could use a refresher. Monstress was actually the first non-Star Wars graphic novel I purchased, and remains my favourite. I was instantly drawn in to the exquisite art style and well-developed world. The first volume is definitely meatier and more interesting than the second, the second drops some of the more interesting characters that were introduced in the first and concentrates solely on Maika and her travels to the Isle of Bone in search of answers to the questions of what she is, what she was made to be, and why this old god resides within her. The artworks is still beautiful, and the story is riveting, but I missed some of the Cumean characters from the first volume. Despite that, the story and the artwork is enough to keep this comic series interesting and engaging. One of the best I've read, and one I'll continually come back to.
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
Written by Marjorie M. Liu, the story itself is impressive enough, but what makes this comic series one of the best out there is the artwork by Sana Takeda. Takeda's work is breathtaking to say the least, it's highly detailed, elegant, and realistic with a slight anime-feel to it. I've read a few different series this year, but the artwork in Monstress is some of the best I've ever seen.
If you're looking for a light-hearted series, Monstress may not be for you, it is one of the darker storylines and comic's that I've read, which also adds to my enjoyment of the series. While it deals with issues of child slavery, bodily mutilation, and death, which in themselves are pretty heavy themes, they're oddly balanced by the pure beauty of the artwork. I remember one panel in the first volume where a Cumean witch, Sophie Fekete, hold ups the severed head of a cyclops child, a character we last saw alive a few pages before, and the gravity of that panel was beautifully juxtaposed by the ornate details of the artwork, the gold-themed background, and the elegant anime-like style of Takeda's work.
One of my favourite aspects of the Monstress world is the way Liu has written her various factions. While in the first volume the Cumea are the clear villains, Liu delves, ever so slightly, into both the Dusk and Dawn Courts, two warring courts of Arcanics lead by their Ancient ancestors. She could have easily made these two courts the clear heroes within this fractured earth, they are, after all, made up of Arcanics, just like our heroine. But instead Liu taints them with their own questionable tactics and motives. The Dusk Court sought Maika out to kill her, while the Dawn captures and murderers the child survivors of an apocalyptic event that happened years before, in order to pull the truth of what happened from their ghosts. I thought it was brilliant story-telling, here you have these various factions, and it's clear where your loyalties should lie, but Liu makes it clear that everyone has blood on their hands in this dark world, and that there are no clear heroes.
The only place Monstress falls flat in my opinion, is with it's protagonist. Maika is essentially a ball of angst and rage, and not much else. While every other character has interesting pasts, motives, and varying emotional states, Maika is always the same. She's edgy, angsty, and very one-dimensional. Sure there are time when she shows some deeper emotional capacity, but overall she's probably the flattest character in the cast.
This was actually the second time I've read the first volume. I first purchased it last year and flew through it, and recently found the second volume at Chapters and thought I could use a refresher. Monstress was actually the first non-Star Wars graphic novel I purchased, and remains my favourite. I was instantly drawn in to the exquisite art style and well-developed world. The first volume is definitely meatier and more interesting than the second, the second drops some of the more interesting characters that were introduced in the first and concentrates solely on Maika and her travels to the Isle of Bone in search of answers to the questions of what she is, what she was made to be, and why this old god resides within her. The artworks is still beautiful, and the story is riveting, but I missed some of the Cumean characters from the first volume. Despite that, the story and the artwork is enough to keep this comic series interesting and engaging. One of the best I've read, and one I'll continually come back to.
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu
4.0
There are some comics that are just so incredibly beautiful that you don't want to put them down, and Monstress is definitely one of those comics. Monstress is set in an alternate, matriarchal earth full of magic, witches, and anthropomorphized beings known as Arcanics. The Arcanics are ruthlessly hunted and used by the humans, often dissected and studied by this earth's version of the Catholic Church, the Cumea. The story is told from the perspective of one Arcanic known as Maika Halfwolf, a teenage girl with a missing arm who embodies the spirit of an ancient and terrifying old god. While she tries to rediscover her forgotten past, she fights off the Cumea and makes friends with fugitive Arcanics along the way.
Written by Marjorie M. Liu, the story itself is impressive enough, but what makes this comic series one of the best out there is the artwork by Sana Takeda. Takeda's work is breathtaking to say the least, it's highly detailed, elegant, and realistic with a slight anime-feel to it. I've read a few different series this year, but the artwork in Monstress is some of the best I've ever seen.
If you're looking for a light-hearted series, Monstress may not be for you, it is one of the darker storylines and comic's that I've read, which also adds to my enjoyment of the series. While it deals with issues of child slavery, bodily mutilation, and death, which in themselves are pretty heavy themes, they're oddly balanced by the pure beauty of the artwork. I remember one panel in the first volume where a Cumean witch, Sophie Fekete, hold ups the severed head of a cyclops child, a character we last saw alive a few pages before, and the gravity of that panel was beautifully juxtaposed by the ornate details of the artwork, the gold-themed background, and the elegant anime-like style of Takeda's work.
One of my favourite aspects of the Monstress world is the way Liu has written her various factions. While in the first volume the Cumea are the clear villains, Liu delves, ever so slightly, into both the Dusk and Dawn Courts, two warring courts of Arcanics lead by their Ancient ancestors. She could have easily made these two courts the clear heroes within this fractured earth, they are, after all, made up of Arcanics, just like our heroine. But instead Liu taints them with their own questionable tactics and motives. The Dusk Court sought Maika out to kill her, while the Dawn captures and murderers the child survivors of an apocalyptic event that happened years before, in order to pull the truth of what happened from their ghosts. I thought it was brilliant story-telling, here you have these various factions, and it's clear where your loyalties should lie, but Liu makes it clear that everyone has blood on their hands in this dark world, and that there are no clear heroes.
The only place Monstress falls flat in my opinion, is with it's protagonist. Maika is essentially a ball of angst and rage, and not much else. While every other character has interesting pasts, motives, and varying emotional states, Maika is always the same. She's edgy, angsty, and very one-dimensional. Sure there are time when she shows some deeper emotional capacity, but overall she's probably the flattest character in the cast.
This was actually the second time I've read the first volume. I first purchased it last year and flew through it, and recently found the second volume at Chapters and thought I could use a refresher. Monstress was actually the first non-Star Wars graphic novel I purchased, and remains my favourite. I was instantly drawn in to the exquisite art style and well-developed world. The first volume is definitely meatier and more interesting than the second, the second drops some of the more interesting characters that were introduced in the first and concentrates solely on Maika and her travels to the Isle of Bone in search of answers to the questions of what she is, what she was made to be, and why this old god resides within her. The artworks is still beautiful, and the story is riveting, but I missed some of the Cumean characters from the first volume. Despite that, the story and the artwork is enough to keep this comic series interesting and engaging. One of the best I've read, and one I'll continually come back to.
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
Written by Marjorie M. Liu, the story itself is impressive enough, but what makes this comic series one of the best out there is the artwork by Sana Takeda. Takeda's work is breathtaking to say the least, it's highly detailed, elegant, and realistic with a slight anime-feel to it. I've read a few different series this year, but the artwork in Monstress is some of the best I've ever seen.
If you're looking for a light-hearted series, Monstress may not be for you, it is one of the darker storylines and comic's that I've read, which also adds to my enjoyment of the series. While it deals with issues of child slavery, bodily mutilation, and death, which in themselves are pretty heavy themes, they're oddly balanced by the pure beauty of the artwork. I remember one panel in the first volume where a Cumean witch, Sophie Fekete, hold ups the severed head of a cyclops child, a character we last saw alive a few pages before, and the gravity of that panel was beautifully juxtaposed by the ornate details of the artwork, the gold-themed background, and the elegant anime-like style of Takeda's work.
One of my favourite aspects of the Monstress world is the way Liu has written her various factions. While in the first volume the Cumea are the clear villains, Liu delves, ever so slightly, into both the Dusk and Dawn Courts, two warring courts of Arcanics lead by their Ancient ancestors. She could have easily made these two courts the clear heroes within this fractured earth, they are, after all, made up of Arcanics, just like our heroine. But instead Liu taints them with their own questionable tactics and motives. The Dusk Court sought Maika out to kill her, while the Dawn captures and murderers the child survivors of an apocalyptic event that happened years before, in order to pull the truth of what happened from their ghosts. I thought it was brilliant story-telling, here you have these various factions, and it's clear where your loyalties should lie, but Liu makes it clear that everyone has blood on their hands in this dark world, and that there are no clear heroes.
The only place Monstress falls flat in my opinion, is with it's protagonist. Maika is essentially a ball of angst and rage, and not much else. While every other character has interesting pasts, motives, and varying emotional states, Maika is always the same. She's edgy, angsty, and very one-dimensional. Sure there are time when she shows some deeper emotional capacity, but overall she's probably the flattest character in the cast.
This was actually the second time I've read the first volume. I first purchased it last year and flew through it, and recently found the second volume at Chapters and thought I could use a refresher. Monstress was actually the first non-Star Wars graphic novel I purchased, and remains my favourite. I was instantly drawn in to the exquisite art style and well-developed world. The first volume is definitely meatier and more interesting than the second, the second drops some of the more interesting characters that were introduced in the first and concentrates solely on Maika and her travels to the Isle of Bone in search of answers to the questions of what she is, what she was made to be, and why this old god resides within her. The artworks is still beautiful, and the story is riveting, but I missed some of the Cumean characters from the first volume. Despite that, the story and the artwork is enough to keep this comic series interesting and engaging. One of the best I've read, and one I'll continually come back to.
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens by Meredith Gran
3.0
I won't write a huge review on this one, I'm a huge fan of Adventure Time, but I find it kind of hard to review something that... well, I'm not really the target audience for. Yes, the show caters to a diverse age-range, it's appealing to younger viewers, while still full of issues and themes that resonate with an older audience, like myself (NOT THAT I'M OLD, I'M IN MY 20s, C'MON). But I felt like this comic series was more targeted towards Adventure Time's younger viewers, and there's nothing wrong with that! It has a great message and classic characters and was generally enjoyable.
One thing that was missing though... that I was really hoping for, was more subtle innuendos alluding to Princess Bubblegum and Marceline's attraction. GAY IT UP, KIDS CAN HANDLE IT, AND WHEN I WAS KID I WOULD'VE KILLED FOR SOME MORE REPRESENTATION. Otherwise, a cute little series that's a great introduction for kids into the world of comics and graphic novels.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
One thing that was missing though... that I was really hoping for, was more subtle innuendos alluding to Princess Bubblegum and Marceline's attraction. GAY IT UP, KIDS CAN HANDLE IT, AND WHEN I WAS KID I WOULD'VE KILLED FOR SOME MORE REPRESENTATION. Otherwise, a cute little series that's a great introduction for kids into the world of comics and graphic novels.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
Star Wars: Darth Vader by Kieron Gillen Vol. 2 by Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen, David Curiel, Frank Martin, Dave Stewart
2.0
Let me preface this by saying I am a huge Star Wars fan. I definitely don’t mean to brag, but when it comes to Star Wars I know more than anyone else I’ve ever known. I’ve read comics, novels, I’ve spent too many hours on the Star Wars Wikipedia site, just reading articles about characters, creatures, history, planets, events. I am a huge Star Wars fan. I’ve mentioned this in other posts, but growing up there were three franchises that I obsessed over. The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and Star Wars. Those three franchises (albeit, I wasn’t AS into Star Trek as the other two until my teenage years) make up the building blocks of my imagination and creative self and so I hold them close to my heart.
That being said… I may not have enjoyed the Darth Vader comics as much as I was expecting to. Before other Star Wars fans go berserk, let me try and explain this. I grew up in the 90s, I was introduced to Star Wars when I was 7 or 8, when the remastered original saga was being re-released in theatres. In 1999, The Phantom Menace came out, and looking back on it now, yes it was a cheesy film, especially when compared to the original trilogy, but I was also 10 at the time, and for me, the prequels were the films that encompassed "Star Wars" as I grew up. Don’t get me wrong, I love the original movies, and while they do a better job in telling a small, character-driven story, the prequels took that tiny universe of the original trilogy and opened it up. I loved the Jedi Order, I loved the Senate, the Galactic Politics, the myriad of aliens, it made the small world of Star Wars something much larger, and for that, I could almost overlook the terrible acting and scripts. When it came to the character of Darth Vader, I was never really afraid of him, people talk about how terrifying of a villain he was, but for me the Anakin Skywalker of the prequels was a much more terrifying and disturbed villain. Darth Vader almost felt like the lukewarm leftovers (maybe he needs another lava-bath). Actually, it wasn’t until Rogue One that I finally felt a little fear for the Sith Lord.
As for the comics, I mentioned to an employee of Chapters one day that I was a Star Wars fan, and they told me that as a Star Wars, it was imperative that I read the new Darth Vader comics. Now… I’ve been shying away from anything “new” and Star Wars, because Disney took the expanded universe that I cherished SO much as a kid and teen and threw it in the trash without a second thought, or thinking about how angry it would make Star Wars fans. But I gave in, and thought I’d give them a read… and man was I bored.
Maybe the story was dull, maybe I just find Darth Vader a little dull, I don’t know what it was. However I do know that these comics lacked the beautiful artwork of the Star Wars comics I grew up with (the Star Wars: Republic comics… which are no longer canon, because Disney is a destroyer of all things) and the fast-paced, action-packed stories therein. The Darth Vader comics introduces us to a smattering of new characters, all of which lack any interesting character traits, and all Vader does is threaten his way through every scene to the point where it gets a little boring. I was hoping to see some humanity brought back into Vader, but instead all we see is more quiet, brooding, simmering anger.
Am I biased towards these new comics? Yes. Am I bitter over Disney’s treatment of the Star Wars franchise? You know it. But I still went into the Darth Vader comics with an open mind, hoping to be shown something new and spectacular. These comics have received a number of great reviews, and I’m sure a lot of people and fans of the franchise love them, but they just weren’t for me… and that’s really all there is to it… I’ll stick with my Star Wars: Republic omnibuses… even though none of that matter anymore.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
That being said… I may not have enjoyed the Darth Vader comics as much as I was expecting to. Before other Star Wars fans go berserk, let me try and explain this. I grew up in the 90s, I was introduced to Star Wars when I was 7 or 8, when the remastered original saga was being re-released in theatres. In 1999, The Phantom Menace came out, and looking back on it now, yes it was a cheesy film, especially when compared to the original trilogy, but I was also 10 at the time, and for me, the prequels were the films that encompassed "Star Wars" as I grew up. Don’t get me wrong, I love the original movies, and while they do a better job in telling a small, character-driven story, the prequels took that tiny universe of the original trilogy and opened it up. I loved the Jedi Order, I loved the Senate, the Galactic Politics, the myriad of aliens, it made the small world of Star Wars something much larger, and for that, I could almost overlook the terrible acting and scripts. When it came to the character of Darth Vader, I was never really afraid of him, people talk about how terrifying of a villain he was, but for me the Anakin Skywalker of the prequels was a much more terrifying and disturbed villain. Darth Vader almost felt like the lukewarm leftovers (maybe he needs another lava-bath). Actually, it wasn’t until Rogue One that I finally felt a little fear for the Sith Lord.
As for the comics, I mentioned to an employee of Chapters one day that I was a Star Wars fan, and they told me that as a Star Wars, it was imperative that I read the new Darth Vader comics. Now… I’ve been shying away from anything “new” and Star Wars, because Disney took the expanded universe that I cherished SO much as a kid and teen and threw it in the trash without a second thought, or thinking about how angry it would make Star Wars fans. But I gave in, and thought I’d give them a read… and man was I bored.
Maybe the story was dull, maybe I just find Darth Vader a little dull, I don’t know what it was. However I do know that these comics lacked the beautiful artwork of the Star Wars comics I grew up with (the Star Wars: Republic comics… which are no longer canon, because Disney is a destroyer of all things) and the fast-paced, action-packed stories therein. The Darth Vader comics introduces us to a smattering of new characters, all of which lack any interesting character traits, and all Vader does is threaten his way through every scene to the point where it gets a little boring. I was hoping to see some humanity brought back into Vader, but instead all we see is more quiet, brooding, simmering anger.
Am I biased towards these new comics? Yes. Am I bitter over Disney’s treatment of the Star Wars franchise? You know it. But I still went into the Darth Vader comics with an open mind, hoping to be shown something new and spectacular. These comics have received a number of great reviews, and I’m sure a lot of people and fans of the franchise love them, but they just weren’t for me… and that’s really all there is to it… I’ll stick with my Star Wars: Republic omnibuses… even though none of that matter anymore.
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse