zomvi's reviews
111 reviews

CREMA by Johnnie Christmas

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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

3.0

This is a cute fantastical romance with charming art, but unfortunately the pacing and rushed story really detracts from it's full potential.
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At the End of the Matinee by Keiichirō Hirano

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

At the heart of this novel is a romance between two very different people, who are brought together by chance. Unfortunately, they are utterly lacking in communication skills, and spend almost the entirety of the book whining and pining for each other, while going through life separately. On a technical side, its clear the author is quite knowledgeable, and the main characters are fully realized with their own unique interests and personalities, but the tone often comes across as rather pretentious. I did not find the characters likable, whatsoever.
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Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Avengers, Vol. 1 by Yves Bigerel, Steve McNiven, Michael Avon Oeming, Sara Pichelli, Brian Michael Bendis

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

2.5

I found this to be too rushed, and you don't get to spend much time with the characters before the story takes off on the typical Earth-is-in-danger cliché. The humor didn't really land for the most part, and the scenes that should have had a strong emotional impact fail to deliver, again, mostly because everything is rushed and there is very little character development.
Double Walker by Michael Conrad

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is a folklore re-telling that I absolutely, thoroughly enjoyed. The artwork is consistent, expertly done, and really adds a lot of character to this tale. It is set in the Scottish Highlands, as well, so the setting is not as cliché, as in many horror books/movies, and really is a breathe of fresh air for the genre. I took a star off because I didn't really enjoy the subplot of a couple side characters, and the characters didn't make the smartest decisions, as is the case in most horror...
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Savage Game by Shawn Kittelsen, Shahriar Fouladi, Dan Hess, Ryan Kalil

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adventurous challenging dark sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

There are some interesting ideas here, but ultimately it was underdeveloped, the characters were unlikable, and I felt really bad for the animals being spliced and exploited (a theme which is never explored, let alone mentioned).
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Marvel Voices #1 (Free Comic Book Day 2022) by Nadia Shammas, Luciano Vecchio

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inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I liked the idea of a collection like this, but the stories were just too short to leave an impression for the most part. I'm sure all these characters have the potential to be lovable, complex, and authentic, but they definitely need stories that are a decent length and aren't rushed to accomplish that.
The Stone King by Kel McDonald

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

2.0

The story and characters don't receive a lot of development, and there needed to be a lot more world-building as well, to be compelling. The art is consistent and full of character, though. However, I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters, as they are pretty generic, and you really don't get to know them very well. The dialogue also falls a bit flat.
Batman Special Edition #1 (Free Comic Book Day 2021) by Travel Foreman, Tomeu Morey, John Ridley, Jorge Jimenez, Mico Suayan, James Tynion IV

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adventurous dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is more of a teaser for "Fear State" and "I Am Batman", rather than a true first issue comic or one-shot, but the premise for both is intriguing, and the art is outstanding as well.
Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (Free Comic Book Day 2022) by Jonathan Lau, Bruce Jones, Frank Thorne, Cullen Bunn

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

4.0

This is a pretty solid Red Sonja comic; it would be a good pick-up for anyone wanting a quick classic fantasy read.
Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships by Cacilda Jetha, Christopher Ryan

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

1.5

It took me about 3 months to slog through this book; every time I picked it back up, it felt like I was rereading the same passages over and over again, because the authors' constant argument for everything was always: "because bonobos". They did not account for LGBTQ+ relationships for about 99% of the book, and their tone was often condescending and pretentious, and generally cherry-picked information to suit their narrative. The humor felt really inauthentic and did nothing to elevate the writing, either. Overall, the premise is definitely worth reading about, and researching in general, but I would not recommend this particular option.