Review: Red Thorn Vol. 2 Mad Gods and Scotsmen

First off I have to say I absolutely loved the first volume of this series. I was super impressed as it seemed original and pulled some fascinating folklore into it. This was the first book of 2017 that I gave 5 stars to on Goodreads. So, of course, I really wanted to read more in this series. I have included the review I did of the first volume just so you get an idea of how much I enjoyed it.

I know that the second volume has been available for quite awhile now, but I decided to read other stories so that I may savor the anticipation of reading this series. I finally got around to reading this recently, and I felt very let down. Not only was this nowhere near as good as the prior volume, but apparently this is the end of the series??? Or at least that was the impression the ending of this volume gave me. If that was not the only gripe I had it would be fine, but events in this book seemed to jump scenes with no real explanation or reason for why whole scenes seemed to fast forward at times leaving me confused and thinking how did that happen. This read as if they decided to end the series before this was even written and fuddled through writing this that they made for awkward progression through the finishing of it. I decided to rate this 3 out of 5 stars only because I really enjoyed the first volume, but this was not what I had hoped for in a conclusion.

Review: Clean Room Vol. 1 Immaculate Conception

This was on my recommendations list for quite awhile before I finally got around to reading it. I mean the title seems not to lead to any real clues as to what it's about and the cover seems kind of generic. So that was why I was not in a big rush to read this. But this is not too bad. I totally did not expect it to be what it is. Which is kind of hard to explain and even harder to pinhole this into one genre alone. I would say Weird fiction is the best match as it combines elements of horror, the supernatural, and possibly science fiction....along with a good dose of mystery and suspense.

The story revolves around a few major players who are apart of the mystery which I will not go into detail as that would spoil part of the charm of this book. Others have compared this to Fatale, and I can see the comparison being a worthy one, as that series also relied heavily on supernatural and mystery elements to keep the reader interested. But with this being said this is not a book for everyone. It does contain mature subject matter and at times disturbing scenes/imagery. I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. Some folks loved this and others just didn't like it. I thought it's a decent enough read and I will continue on with the next 2 volumes although I did find some things kind of silly.

Click the above link to purchase your own copy. 

Review: Lost Boys Vol.1

So I'm pretty sure like others who are fans of vampire fiction and the classic cult film of the same title ...I was super excited when I saw that Vertigo was publishing this. First off I have to say I loved the film. This not so much. The art was kinda blah. None of the characters looked like the people from the film. I mean didn't the artists reference the film this was based on??? But as if just the art was the only bad thing about this dream turned into stale reality. The plot was very rushed and just kind of felt dull. I do not know that I will rush out to read the next volume if this series continues. I was generous with my Goodreads rating and gave it a 3 out of 5 stars.

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Weekly Wrap Up of Comics 3/13/15

The books I read this week -

1. 2.  3.4.

5.  6. 7.

The Unwritten : The mystery, fun and a boy Wizard

So Goodreads recommended The Unwritten to me, and since I have been reading comics that they recommend I decided to give it a try.

The first volume really had me in awe. I had fallen hard for this book, and the reasons for this were mostly because of the mystery of just what was the true reality behind this story.

Here is my review of the first volume.

So being that I loved the first volume I couldn't wait to get into the second volume, and I enjoyed it, but it just seemed to lack something that I quite couldn't place my finger on. This didn't discourage me, because let's face it not every part to a series is going to be great.

So then I got to volume three, and was let down hard. So the author no longer eludes to the mystery of the main character being a boy wizard, but he is the persona from the story books. Plus there was supposed to be this big reveal about Lizzie Hexam, and her background story, which turned out be nothing but a cheap "choose your adventure" spin. There was no clear answer to the background of this character, and no matter how many ways you tried it, as they were all varied.  This gave me the impression that the author didn't take the role of this major character that seriously, and why should I the reader either.

Even after all of this I picked up and started to read what I later discovered was to be a prequel to the whole series, and some had said was the book that should introduce new readers to the storyline.  I will admit that I had to drag myself through this read, as I found the whole "boy wizard" theme with latin spells too be really silly and frankly very immature for a mature recommended story.  This is probably one of the main reasons why I have yet to read Harry Potter.  So I was very disappointed by the maturity level of what should have been an adult book. It seemed as if the author is only trying to appeal to the Harry Potter fans, and I may read another volume, but this is one series I could care less to finish in it's entirety. 

I had found out from researching this book that the whole series was "never intended" to be like Harry Potter, but I kind of doubt that. The author had said that the main point of this series was how a child could have a book series fashioned after them and the fame of dealing with that. He used the example of Chris Milne, who was the basis for Christopher Robin in the Pooh books. I also discovered that this story later crosses over with another Vertigo series that I enjoyed in the beginning Fables.

Ideas lead to Revolution

I just recently finished reading the first volume of a series written by Grant Morrison. In this book the notion that writings of several authors over the course of time have shaped our world in ways that we tend to overlook. I had never really thought of this before and I would have to agree that it is right. Ideas from people such as John Lennon, Mary Shelley, Marquis De Sade, and some others I cannot recall at the moment have changed the way society as a whole views the world.  Morrison used these ideas as the main tool to explain how his secret society called The Invisibles have created revolutions versus the ones who would seek to enslave us. This team almost seem like outcasts, as it consists of some homeless people, and one is a transvestite. Legends, and old forgotten religions, and a little bit of surrealism made up another part to this book. It is a unique book that at one point reminded me of The Clockwork Orange, as the juvenile prison was brainwashing boys. It was an average read for me one that I didn't really think was great , but didn't suck. I think I may finish reading the whole series at some point.

Cybernetic Weapons of Mass Destruction

Earlier today I had finished reading We3, which is a Vertigo graphic novel consisting of three comic book issues. Being that it is Vertigo this is intended for mature readers. The story is about kidnapped pets who have been transformed into battle armored, and wired for control killing machines. I have heard rumor of the US military wanting to do something similar with dolphins, but whether that is true or fiction is not the point. I'm guessing that is what inspired the writers of this story to create this to begin with.
There is not much for dialog , and most of the book consisted of action scenes some of which are from the view point of a security camera. The animals are used experimentally to see if the idea of using modified animals can be used in combat situations, and after they complete a mission they are to be decommissioned (killed). The doctor who was in charge of the animals decides to let them go, and just like "Homeward Bound" decide they want to go home. Not having a clue as to where home is, and with the government after them is the main theme of the book. I found this to be a fascinating what if scenario, and was a very entertaining read. Bonus for the happy ending. I have rated this 4 stars on goodreads.