Title: Light Author: Rob Cham Publisher: Adarna House, Inc Publication Date: October 4th, 2016 Genre: Silent Comic My Rating: 4/5 stars Links: Goodreads . Amazon Blurb: This wordless comic book follows the exploits of a backpack-toting adventurer in a quest to find a mysterious treasure. Framed in black, the illustrations offer delightful bursts of color and are sure to entertain readers of any age. My Review: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange with an honest review. This is my very first silent comic, and I wasn't disappointed ! I fell in love with the illustration work. This comic shows how a picture is worth a thousand words.The color switching from one contrast to another , was highly appreciated. I highly recommend swapping instantaneously through such pages , to enjoy a short stop motion animation. I wish I understood why he killed a lot, or what lead to having such creatures guiding the elemental crystals. Definitely a little bit of too much violence for kids; there is a lot of killing that happens one after another. I give it 4/5 stars. About the Author: Rob Cham is a freelance illustrator, designer, and comic artist who's done illustration works for notable publications and magazines like Rouge, Smile, Esquire, the Philippine Star. He has also worked with brands like McDonald's and Adidas. Cham has also worked with various government agencies, namely the Department of Social Welfare and Development as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs.
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Title: Heart and Brain ( Gut instincts ) Author: The Awkward Yeti, Nick Seluk Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing Publication Date: October 18th, 2016 Genre: Comic , Humor My Rating : 5/5 stars Links : Goodreads . Amazon Blurb: Heart and Brain: Gut Instincts is the follow-up to the tremendously popular New York Times bestseller, Heart and Brain: An Awkward Yeti Collection. The Awkward Yeti's Heart and Brain comics perfectly illustrate the ongoing, internal struggle betwixt head and heart. Heart and Brain: Gut Instincts features the same lovable characters as the first book and introduces a host of other vital organs like insatiable Tongue, irritable Bowels, and abused Stomach. My Review: I received an e-ARC of this comic from the publisher via NetGalley , in exchange with an honest review. Nick Seluk will capture your attention, mock your guilty pleasures, and make you L.O.L ! If you have ever heard Selena Gomez's " The Heart Wants What it Wants", then you know who usually wins the battle of "Taking the best, practical decision VS taking the most fun one." This comic will perfectly show you that this isn't an equation that can be balanced. The right action to take can not be presented as a monopoly ; it basically differs from one scenario, to another. Think of it like a seesaw . We get to see this in how Brain and Heart discuss matters. Mostly, they disagree and see things differently ; but sometime, they get to learn from each other. In this second issue, we get to see how the Gut reacts to every day activities that we usually engage in. In my opinion, it is a smart, entertaining representation of what happens inside the body. I believe this could be a very beneficial way to educate people, both young and old. Visual stimulation is, in my opinion, the best way to learn . I absolutely loved this comic. It made laugh at this generation's social norms, experience life from the point of view of different organs, and fall in love with biology again. I can't wait to read the next issue. Listen to your Gut Instincts & pre-order your copy. I give 5/5 stars. About The Awkward Yeti: The Awkward Yeti encompasses multiple series by cartoonist Nick Seluk. The ongoing self-titled strip, The Awkward Yeti, follows Lars the yeti as he experiences everyday social awkwardness at work, in his social life, even while dating. The popular spinoff, Heart and Brain, follow the inner dialogue between the cynical, society-influenced Brain and the impulsive, optimistic Heart. Together, the three characters were metaphorically inspired by the concept of the Id (Heart), the Ego (Lars) and the Superego (Brain) but have developed their own personalities over time. In addition to the two regular series, miscellaneous comics explore life, science and many other topics through ridiculous personification of organs, animals, and even rocks. Title: Sun Dragon's Song #1 Author: Joyce Chng Publisher: Rosarium Publishing Publication Date: September 21st 2016 Genre: Fantasy, Dragons My Rating: 3/5 Links: Goodreads . Amazon Blurb: More than anything, young Ho Yi wishes to become a Sun Dragon Rider, the courageous human guardians of the magnificent beasts that roam the sky and keep watch over the land. But confined to crutches, bullies giving him a hard time, and his parents being away at war, Yo Hi is up against almost impossible odds! Can he still keep hope alive, while suffering in his tiny village, to become the valiant hero only he feels he's destined to become My review: I received an e-ARC of this book from Rosarium Publishing via NetGalley, in exchange with an honest review. A great plot with an Asian protagonist who faces bullying, and feeds the dragons. That sounds very intriguing , but I believe that we should have seen more of the story, understood more about the world where Ho Yi lives in ,before wrapping part 1 up. I will definitely keep an eye for the next book. I truly believe that this story could go places. I give it 3/5 stars. About the Author: I am Singaporean. I write SFF and YA. ;) I also write urban fantasy under J. Damask. Title: DayBlack ( Vol: 1) Author: Keef Cross Publisher: Rosarium Publishing Publication Date: August 21st 2015 Genre: Sequential Art, Comic, Paranormal Format: e-ARC My Rating: 5/5 Links: Goodreads . Amazon Blurb: Beneath the polluted clouds of DayBlack, Georgia, exists a murderer. After hundreds of years of killing to survive, he no longer wants to simply exist . . . he wants to live. DayBlack is the story of Merce, a former slave who was bitten by a vampire in the cotton fields. Four hundred years later, he works as a tattoo artist in the small town of DayBlack. The town has a sky so dense with pollution that the sun is nowhere to be seen, allowing Merce to move about freely, night or day. Even darker than the clouds are the dreams he’s been having that are causing him to fall asleep at the most awkward times (even while he’s tattooing someone). As he struggles to decipher his dreams, someone from his past returns with plans for him—plans that will threaten his new way of life and turn him back into the cold-hearted killer he once was My Review: DayBlack is officially the best comic that I have read in 2016!! (so far!) From the illustrations, to the plot, to the diversity, this Comic bares it all. The author, Keef Cross is a tattoo artist, and he doesn't shy away from displaying his creative tats with the readers. They are stunning ! I really loved the fact that the main character is a POC. In short, an exquisite , weird, diverse, and intriguing read. I highly recommend reading this book . It contains some mature content, so it is not for everyone. About the Author: I make art, it's truly an escape. An escape from stereotypes and expectations put on "black art" and it's creators. It seems like most people are comfortable seeing black people portrayed walking to church, playing a jazz horn, braiding hair on the porch and things of that nature. There isn't anything wrong with that, but that's not all we are, and that's not all we do. Similar toblack cinema and radio, audiences have gotten used to and even anticipate these redundant one sided offerings of black life. Growing up being influenced by Ralph Bakshi, Vaugn Bode', Wendy Pini, and Robert Crumb to name a few, really shaped my visual aesthetic, and tone of my paintings, but even more so, my approach to creating my comic book, "DayBlack". I found that those underground comics of the 70's always had one foot in sexual raunchiness and drugs, and another foot in social commentary, a combination that fascinated me as a kid. Who knew that in those adult comics I hid from my mother, I would find my individual voice and style. I'm all about pushing progressiveimages and ideas about my people to the forefront whenever I get the chance. TV, radio, and film won't do it, but I feel like art is the last medium that has been corrupted the least, and with the help of other like minded artists who aren't afraid to challenge these notions of what black art is and can be , we can help change the way the world sees us, and the way we see ourselves, one gallery at a time. Title: Malice in Ovenland Author: Micheline Hess Publisher: Rosarium Publishing Publication Date: August 31t ,, 2016 Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Fairy tale spin off Format: e-ARC My Rating: 4/5 stars Links: GoodReads . Amazon Blurb: Lily Brown is a bright, curious, energetic young girl from Queens, New York. When her mom forces her to stay home for the summer and do chores, Lily fumes. Little did she know that the greasy oven in the kitchen was going to give her more excitement and adventure than she could possibly handle. My Review: I received an e-ARC of Malice in Overland from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange with an honest review. This was a fun,interesting, and gross fast read. As you can see from the title, this is a spin-off of Alice in wonderland. We follow Lily as she falls down her mother's OVEN, and discover that creature have been living there all along. It all looks like Trouble ! Trouble ! Trouble ! This comic captured my attention right from the start; I am pretty sure that kids would enjoy reading this either alone, or with their parents. The comic is based on foreshadowing some of what we have learned in elementary school like evolution and things like that. It also perfectly highlights the fear of trying something new . The author is a person of color, and so is the main character. How often do we see POC on the cover of books & comics??? This is definitely an #OWNVOICE book ! The fact that the author is also the artist blew my mind. It is hard for me to find a comic with nice and clear illustrations, but I loved the ones in this The only thing that I didn't like was something that happened just before the climax was resolved. I wasn't able to notice how Lily discovered the "SECRET ". I give it 4/5 stars. About the Author: Born and raised in NYC, Micheline Hess works as a designer at a prominent ad agency and spends her spare time developing graphic novels, short stories, and interactive iBooks for kids. She has always been interested by the portrayal of black people in visual narrative like comics and movies and is constantly endeavoring to weave her own sense of humorous story-telling into both her personal and sometimes professional work. Micheline is most adept at creating characters and stories that provide a safe and fun way to inspire young children, especially girls. Through colorful flights of fun and fancy, she hopes to encourage a stronger sense of self-love, friendship, and a hunger to embrace all things new and different in the world around them. Title: I.D. Author: Emma Rios Publisher: Image Comics Publication Date: June 28th 2016 Format:eARC Genre: Dystopia, Comic My Rating :3/5 stars Blurb:
A dystopian tale that analyzes the conflict between perception and identity through the struggle of three people who consider a 'body transplant' as a solution to their lives. My Review: I received an eARC of I.D. from Image Comics via NetGalley in exchange with an honest review. This Comic is about 3 people who are considering to have a body transplant to escape a specific aspect of their lives. The whole point of this transplant is to offer a new life to each individual, but it isn't 100% safe. We get a peak on why each person wants to undergo this surgery, and see their lives after they body transplant. The ending was a major down-fall for me because so far, this is a standalone . So much is still to be uncovered in this story. The illustration was accurate and beautiful, but a bit unclear. The drawing being in only black and orang-brown was a bit tiring to the eyes. I give it 3/5 stars. Title: King #1 Author: Joshua Hale Fialkov Illustrator: Marcelo Maiolo Publisher: Jet City Comics Publication Date: August 19th , 2016 Genre: Sci-Fi, Comics Format: e ARC My Rating: 3/ 5 stars Blurb :
From critically acclaimed comic book writer Joshua Hale Fialkov (The Bunker, Echoes, and I, Vampire) and superstar artists Bernard Chang and Marcelo Maiolo (Green Lantern Corps, Batman Beyond) comes a postapocalyptic action/adventure comedy. King just wants what anybody wants: not to get fired, eaten, or forced to mate with a cheetah lady. For Earth’s sole human survivor after the apocalypse, life among Los Angeles’s strange new populace ain’t easy. Working for the LA Department of Reclamation, King gets a lot of crappy jobs going on quests and searching for artifacts from the “old world,” which can range from the mythical (Excalibur!) to the absurd (an iPod shuffle—which, let’s be honest, was a terrible, terrible invention). The commute can be a real pain in the asphalt, too; the 405 freeway is filled with mutants, monsters, mayhem, and tentacled Elder Gods. And that’s all before you hit the horrors of the San Fernando Valley. As the world’s freakish inhabitants battle for supremacy, King searches for the “seed of life,” which may give Earth the second chance it probably doesn’t even deserve. My Review: This comic is about King, the last human alive after LA was destroyed. He lives with mutants, and other weird beings that are not human. His quest is to find a way to restart life again. I enjoyed reading this post- apocalyptic comic; the story and the creatures are very creative concepts that I enjoyed learning about. The illustration were perfect in this comic. I am definitely going to keep an eye for the next issue. I give it 3/5 stars. Author: David Lapham Tt h Title: Murder Me Dead Publisher: Captin Publication Date: January 30th, 2002 Genre: Graphic Novel, Comics, Mystery My Rating: 2/5 stars ( D+) Blurb: Hanging from the ceiling fan in their lavish Hollywood home. That's where Steven Russell finds his estranged wife, a tear-stained note in her pocket pouring out years of pain and regret. Is it suicide? My Review: This comic is influenced by the old times and the old movies. It focuses on human traits such as being naive, curious, abusive, abused, in love, selfish,and much more. In my opinion, the author has failed to show these characteristic in a proper way.Most of the reactions to certain events were unrealistic.Even the most naive person would wake up after being showered with lies for like a zillion times. I did not like the characters. They seemed to show how second chances should be a really REALLY fresh start. You can't go from not caring to absolutely loving in one day and continue to be that through out the long run. Change is supposed to come over time accompanied with a some screw ups! And then the mystery of a murder that no one seems to actually investigate. One group thinks that only one person did it, the others think that it was a suicide. I did not see any investigations happening or suspects being questioned . Is not this supposed to be a murder mystery. Then comes the big ending; I honestly have no idea what that was supposed to mean.I did not understand what the ending was supposed to explain. If someone did, please help me understand the ending. Now, speaking of the illustration, I think it was good. I like the drawings and scene building. However, there were sometimes conversations that were not very clear. I am not sure if it was done on purpose or just a mistake. I gave this book 2/5 stars and a D + according to my rating scale. |
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