1301. My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Book One

What can I say about this book that would not sound corny or extreme to either side of the graphic book reading public?

This book is a Graphic Novel.
This book is a Regular Novel (at almost 300 pages)!

Does it succeed in being a Graphic Novel?

Apparently, Emil Ferris, first and foremost is an artist, mainly a graphic artist. Yet, she in not an graphic book industry veteran. She has not worked for Marvel or DC Comics for years. So, in other words she's not a Comic Book artist. Yet, as a Graphic Novel, this book succeeds beyond expectations. In reality, it reinvents the Graphic Novel. Ms. Ferris, not being associated with the comic book industry has done something here that has never been done before. She writes a novel, turns it into a graphic novel and in so doing rewrites the tropes and manners of writing a graphic novel. Her pencils are incredible. She has a style that I have seen before, but I have never seen them done so well, with such humility, and such perfection. There are pages that buzz with so much detail it forces you to dive into the page. Literally run your eyes up and down every single pencil mark.

And the drawn characters sparkle with an authenticity, with an individuality and with a humanity all their own. I was astonished at the crispness of the looks of the main characters. I could read emotions and thoughts in their faces. Those faces have so much to tell. And what a telling it is!

But does this book work as a story, as a traditional Novel?

Beyond any one's wildest imagination. This is a complex story, mainly centered around young Karen Reyes and her notebook drawings of monsters as she investigates the death of a neighbor. Her story covers many events that took place in the 1960s, but also flashes back to 1930s Berlin, following the life story of the dead neighbor. Between those two places, Ms. Ferris weaves a surprising griping drama, that is part family drama, commentary on society, historical retrospective and a monster story.

There are monsters in all of us the story seems to say...but we fight to keep them at bay. For some of us though, the monsters are what propel us every day, hiding our true faces, or maybe, after consideration, revealing that the monster is our only face.

If you have never read a Graphic Novel in your life, this is the one to pick-up.
If you want to read a really good book, get this one.
And, if you want to take a peek at your own monsters, read this book.

I can't more highly recommended it than giving it a 5 star rating:

Bravo, Ms. Ferris. Bravo!

1300. Rocket Girl, "Times Squared", Volume 1

Going into this Graphic Novel I knew nothing about the artist or the writer. There was just something about a girl using a rocket pack to fly. As I got into the story, I found it to be an interesting Science Fiction themed story from a future that took a slight turn. So, this is NOT a comic book about a Superhero, but rather, it's a story about a 15-year old NYPD officer from the future. And there is Time Travel. This girl, teenager, cop knows what has made her future so wrong, so she decides to go back to 1980s NYC to fix it. And while there, she still tries to be a cop. Of course, that simply won't work... A teenage cop? No one can accept that in 1980s America. So, what is Dayoung Johansson, the heroine of this comic to do?

Read this book -- It has a price of only $9.99. It collects volumes 1-5 of the ongoing comic book series. I recommend it.

1225. JSA: Darkness Falls

This second chapter of the "Justice Society of America" return is OK, with some new characters entering the fray, but not as good as the previous volume.

Enjoyed it.

Three-and-a-half stars.

1224. JSA: Justice Be Done

So, for the return of the JSA, an excellent first chapter. What is the JSA you ask? It is the "Justice Society of America" or in more simple terms, the "Justice League's" little brother. You might not like the characters or heroes that serve on the JSA, but in many respects they are more interesting than Superman, Batman, etc.

So anyway, this TPB (trade paperback) collects the issues that re-introduced the JSA. And the story itself is pretty good.

Four stars.

1022. Hana-Kimi: For You in Full Blossom # 1

Those who know me -- especially those who know me well -- know that I love almost all things Japanese, particularly Animation (called Anime) and Comic Books (which in Japan are called Manga). So, of course I have boxes and boxes of Comic Books going back a few decades, my prized possessions being some "Daredevil" issues from the "Frank Miller era". Unfortunately, some of those, got lost in a big move some years ago. Although lately, I have only been buying Graphic Novels and not individual Comic Books, I have delved or experimented with Japanese Comic Books.

Mostly, the Japanese Comic Books that I read are titles that I became aware of because of the Anime, meaning, the Japanese Animation came first, or if there was a written form before it was animated, I did not become aware of it, until the animation became widespread. Lately, one of my Bookmooch friends convinced me to take a chance at this title.

Shojo Manga is written to appeal to both a male and a female audience, and of course it has no Science Fiction, or robots, or aliens, or anything else like that. Still, I always like to experience the Japanese view of the world. And thus, I read the first volume in what I believe is a very popular series.

This has an interesting premise: Mizuki, is a female Japanese-American track-and-field star (up-and-coming, as they say) who falls in love with a Japanese boy Izumi Sano. Why did she fall in love with Izumi? Well, Izumi is himself, a track-and-field star, a high jumper actually, who Izumi noticed at an international meet. So, Izumi, wanting to be near him, gets a transfer to his high-school in Japan. From a strange quirk of fate, they end being roommates... the complication of course being that Izumi school in Japan is an all boys academy. So how will Mizuki go to school there? Well, she passes herself off as a boy.

That is the beginning of the plot. There are two main sub-elements that take place. Mizuki has to hide her identity, of course (though the school nurse/doctor who is gay, finds out pretty early that she is a girl). The other sub-plot is that Izumi does not want to compete in the high-jump anymore, but his girl-friend is trying to convince him otherwise. To top it off, Mizuki's fair features have brought her attention with some of the other boys, one of them thinking he might be attracted to him (her -- he doesn't Mizuki is a girl, so he thinks he's gay!)

So, will Mizuki be able to hide her identity from her schoolmates? Will she be able to "fight off" Izumi's girlfriend? Will she be able to turn away her boy suitor in the school?

It's a quick read, and I did enjoy it a bit, but I was not the target audience. Personally, I'd be much happier reading G.T.O. or InitialD. Still, I'll give it 3 stars out of 5 for style and for the themes it tackles. I don't know if what American teenagers read tackle subjects like this.

1008. Wandering Star (Volume One)

The "Wandering Star" Graphic Novel (GN for the un-initiated) by Teri Sue Wood, follows the story of Cassandra, daughter of the president of the United Nations in the year 2192. After a long World War, and after making contact with aliens, humanity fights a war with the Bono Kiro, a war like race, that the Galactic Alliance does not want to deal with. Yet, the lowly Earthlings manage to defeat them...

But, I am getting ahead of myself. In this book, we do not find anything about that first war with the Bono Kiro. Instead, we find out about Cassandra's first year at the Galactic Academy where all the sons and daughters of planetary leaders attend school. And although Earth provided a big service by defeating the Bono Kiro, Earth's people are still treated as second hand citizens.

Cassandra receives a lot of abuse from schoolmates. Especially Mekon DZN Appogand and his sister Lindi. But Cassandra manages to maintain her composure and temper not succumbing to the Earther stereotype of a hot-tempered human. She eventually makes some friends in the form of Madison (who empathic), Elli (an energy being) and Graikor. Graikor and Elli are building the spaceship "Wandering Star" (namesake of the GN). And thus the adventure begins.

Overall, this is a nice little Graphic Novel, done in Black & White, sometimes the preferred method of artists to communicate with the public. Why do I say that? Well, sometimes, when the full color palette is available, the artists go wild and overwhelm us, wanting to prove their prowess at their art. Yet, with this B&W style, we are able to see facial expressions, interactions between individuals, emotions on people's faces and other details, such as scenery, machinery, etc., that is important to the storyline.

Having said that, I was a bit disappointed at times of the way that Cassandra was drawn. It could be that I was overwhelmed by the effect of the older Cassandra reliving and recounting events in the past, when she was just a teenager. The differences between were striking. Yet, I also saw differences between the way present day Cassandra was drawn from panel to panel.

Having said all that, my complaint is a rather minor one, because this is really a very good GN, and I highly recommend it to every one. I hope to soon read Volumes 2 & 3.

3 stars out of 4.