Review: Freaks of the Heartland by Steve Niles

Grade A review of Freaks of the heartland by Steve Niles & Greg Ruth
Publication Date: July 11, 2012 (of the hardcover edition that collects all 5 stories. You can still elect to buy each part separately if you want to read right away)

Blurb from Goodreads: Under the weathered skies of America's heartland, and in the wounded hearts of every family in one tiny rural town, a terrible secret has been kept for too many years. Now, a young boy named Trevor must try to keep his younger brother Will from falling victim to the worst fears of a troubled town that can't begin to understand the tragic secret that binds its families together.

Pros: Exceptionally moving - Greg Ruth's images are so clear, each brush stroke stands out. These dark stories are best illustrated by the stark lines of each panel. A pervading sense of horror keeps you turning the pages, waiting to see what happens next!

I had to go back and read again from cover to cover the next day once the story sank in. The looming house in a grassy plain, the lone kid dreading his home - each picture just pulls you in.

Cons: None that I could find! If I had to nitpick, I'd say that categorizing this as horror might mislead some of us - this is a genre-transcending story.


I'd recommend this to: Especially for those who think horror is gory.


You can preview it here and buy it on amazon here.
Thanks to Darkhorse comics & NetGalley for the review copy

BRIEFLY ABOUT STEVE, the author:
"I'm a writer. I write comics, novels and films. I like reading, writing and watching Horror
I'm credited among other contemporary writers as bringing horror comics back to prominence, authoring such works as 30 Days of Night, its sequel, Dark Days, and Criminal Macabre." 

What official websites think:

http://www.readaboutcomics.com/2004/02/11/freaks-of-the-heartland-1/
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/871081.Freaks_of_the_Heartland

Review: Mike Norton's Battlepug

Grade: B (3 Stars) for Mike's graphic novel, releasing July 17th, 2012

The epic tale of blood and drool begins here! Join Molly and her dogs Mingo and Colfax, as she recounts the legend of "The Warrior and the Battlepug" - a tale of a fearless barbarian, his trusty and freakishly large pug, and evil baby harp seals. This volume collects the first year of Mike Norton's Battlepug - the perfect opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the fan-favorite webcomic by Mike Norton, Allen Passalaqua, and Crank

The Story is told to two dogs, Colfax and Mingo, by their owner Molly.


Plus:

Love the interaction between the dogs - super snarky and just like two siblings quarreling.
Also - Happy Killer Baby Seals (tm) are so funny!
What fantastic colours! Highlights are the humour, and terrific artwork. The conan-the-barbarian body and fighting style of our hero on the pug is great to look at!

Minus:
The fable our narrator tells is an over-used plotline. The gathering of a band, the omens and prophecy, were a little too obvious. Perhaps the artwork and design took precedence over plot and storyline? Why did Molly have to narrate while naked? No explanation, aside from the obvious appeal to a male reader.

Overall/Recommended to:
This is MUST read for all pug-owners, naturally. I'm not myself going to read the rest of the comic (available at the website below) right now, the storyline didn't leave me wanting more.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dark Horse comics for the copy to review.


Where to find Battlepug:

On Goodreads
Mike's online ongoing Battlepug comic

Early Review & a new Genre: Giant's Beware!

Having a kid means one of the first things I wonder is "What should I read to him?" The obliging people at NetGalley let me request children's books too, so here is the first Children's book review at E-volving Books!

*drumroll please*
Presenting Giant's Beware, a Graphic Novel Written by Jorge Aguirre; illustrated by Rafael Rosado
Goodreads rates it a 4.0

Blurb: "Make way for Claudette the giant slayer in this delightful, fantastical adventure! Claudette’s fondest wish is to slay a giant. But her village is so safe and quiet! What’s a future giant slayer to do?"

Call Giant's Beware a kid's book is possibly a misnomer here, this is a comic for all ages. I for one thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and smiled, giggled and D'awwww-d my way through the graphic novel. The story line is simple enough for anyone to understand, and the graphics are AMAZING!
I'm going to stop talking now and show you a strip from the author's website:

Interesting tidbit: 
The authors/illustrators etc collaborated using DropBox!
To see the first few pages and to Purchase:
 http://us.macmillan.com/giantsbeware/RafaelRosado
Read more at Goodreads
Thanks to NetGalley for the review e-copy. 

Girl Genius! New book coming out

The most vibrantly coloured, vividly-told steampunk Webcomic out there - Girl Genius - is releasing book 2 in 10 days. 


Let the countdown begin!

I read this everyday, usually right after lunch - it is such a nice jolt to start the second half of the day with.


The store link - http://us.macmillan.com/girlgeniusomnibusvolumeone/PhilFoglio
Blurb: 
"The Industrial Revolution has become all-out war! Mad Scientists, gifted with the Spark of genius, unleash insane inventions on an unprepared Europe. For centuries, the Heterodyne family of inventors kept the peace, but the last Heterodyne disappeared twenty years ago, leaving their ally Baron Klaus Wulfenbach to maintain order with his fleet of airships and army of unstoppable, if not very bright, Jaeger Monsters. 

At Transylvania Polygnostic University, Agatha Clay dreams of being a scientist herself, but her trouble concentrating dooms her to be a lowly minion at best. When her locket, a family heirloom, is stolen, Agatha shows signs of having the Spark in a spectacular, destructive fashion and captures the attention of the Baron—and the Baron’s handsome young son, Gilgamesh."

Neil Gaiman and The Sandman novels/comics

The amazing Neil Gaiman is back with "The Annotated Sandman" - the first volume is out Jan 10th from Vertigo Comics.
If you haven't heard or read The Sandman comics yet - I would HIGHLY, highly recommend that you go find them at your nearest library right now. I would say book store or library, but they were always too expensive for my then-student's pocket.
Blurb from The Sandman: 

Meet the Endless, a family of immortals that govern all aspects of life and death throughout the universe. However, one of theirown lays captured--Dream, the Lord of Sleep. As Dream makes his escape and returns to his duties after 70 years of imprison-ment, he encounters countless characters from myth, legend and comics, from Lucifer himself to the tragic Greek hero Orpheusto the HELLBLAZER John Constantine.

Right. The blurb tells you nothing.

It doesn't say that the Sandman graphic novels are amongst the most creative works of art you will ever see, anywhere. Just wait till you get into Book 2, and begin to see the genius of the story and characters!


The Annotated Sandman will do a page-by-page discussion on each Sandman comic. The first three pages are available here at tor.com, and we get a sense of the crazy detail and historical references that the Annotation covers.
Read this only after you read Sandman, this would be a great second/third read of the Sandman comics.

Not feeling so well today

I meant to have a nice post today about one of my latest reads (I've been re-reading Elizabeth Moon, and reading Rick Riordan for the first time), but I'm feverish and lethargic.

Perhaps the new Avatar:The Last Airbender Comic I got courtesy NetGalley will be entertaining enough? 
It picks up where the anime series from Nickelodean ends, and is by Gene Luen Yang. I sure hope so!

Review: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 1

From the Publisher: Since the destruction of the Hellmouth, the Slayers-newly legion-have gotten organized and are kicking some serious undead butt. But not everything's fun and firearms, as an old enemy reappears and Dawn experiences some serious growing pains. Meanwhile, one of the "Buffy" decoy slayers is going through major pain of her own. 
The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1) 

Grade A-:
The comic picks up right where the TV series stops - Season 7 ends, Season 8 is seamlessly picked up in comic book format.Since I missed some episodes in season 7, a quick wikipedia refresher helped me remember some of the newer plot twists (Recommended). It is written by Josh Whedon, the creator of Buffy, who has plenty of street cred.
Plus: While the narrative is different, stylistically it is true to the fast-paced, dramatic visual format of the TV series. GREAT GREAT cover art - almost photographic in detail, beautifully drawn. In each section of the comic (Part 1, Part 2 and so on) there is a mini-cover art page, which is stellar work. You can look to the right for a sample.
Witty one-liners that punch through into the heart of Buffy-ness? Action scenes that used Buffy's Scythe? All here and more.

Minus: Felt more like a TV-type pace, than a comic book. There were some cuts in scenes which felt too contrived, had to flip back and forth to get a grip on what was happening. Luckily, being a comic book, this is easy to do! 
Really, almost a positive here, is that you can go back and forth, set the pace at which you read and re-read this story.
My one gripe is that I felt Buffy didn't look too Buffy-like in the comic, I certainly couldn't see Sarah Michelle Gellar there. Covers excepted, of course.

Finally, at 139 pages, this is good value for money.
I'd recommend this to: People who grew up with Buffy on TV, and would like more! 
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. I've already requested for the 2nd of 8 Volumes that make up Buffy Season 8.