Review: The Weatherman Vol. 1

This was recommended to me by an app I use to read digital comics, and I'm glad I decided to check it out. Weatherman is set sometime in the not too distant future where mankind has colonized the galaxy...well at least our region of it. Most humans live on Mars and Venus. The story reminded me very much of a PKD( Philip K. Dick) story much like "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale" (Total Recall/film adaptation) with the art style being similar to Tank Girl. This story takes place in a world where a terrorist organization has decimated the Earth and basically wiped out the entire population of that world. The people of this future are left to pick up the pieces and mourn the loss of loved ones from Earth.

In comes Nathan Bright a mild-mannered doofy Weatherman. Out of nowhere, he's accused of being the mastermind to have destroyed the Earth under another name, and someone who looks totally different from him. Is it mistaken identity? Or is he really Ian Black from the terrorist organization that destroyed the Earth and all of its inhabitants? Things go from mundane to topsy turvy for the weatherman and things are not what they had seemed. Can an ordinary weatherman be something much more than he appears, and can he help save the Colonies from the terrorists?

I found this very enjoyable. I loved the art style which held on to that futuristic kinda look with bright neon colors. The story was fast paced, and not boring at any time. This had me locked in and ready for more. Can't wait for the next volume in the series. So if you're a fan of Dick's strange science fiction worlds, and the zaniness of Tank Girl than I highly recommend checking this new series from Image comics out. I rated this 4 out of 5 stars on Goodread.com. 

Review - Aleister & Adolf (NSFW)

I came across this either as a recommendation or while browsing for graphic novels to read. But the title caught my attention. I have had an interest in the occult since being a teen, and of course, hearing about Aleister Crowley from so many rock sources such as Ozzy Osbourne, and Led Zeppelin, etc. Who hasn't heard the song Mr. Crowley? Below is a YouTube video if you have never heard it :x

But alas this is a review about the graphic novel Aleister & Adolf, and not Crowley. I will admit that I am not a big fan of black and white comics. And this one did start out kinda weird, disjointed and slow to start. But I kept on reading it, and it grew on me. The basic idea behind this is that Crowley being a mage, and master of the occult was sought out to work against Hitler. With the use of icons and semiotics the tide of World War II could be turned. Being skeptical and thinking this was just for the story I researched this and yes this was based on a true story. I had heard that the occult was something Nazi Germany was researching but didn't realize just how deep they were into it. Realizing this was based on a true story and getting a glimpse into the mysterious Beast along with the surrealistic/psychedelic artwork I was hooked. 

So as you can see from the above sample of the artwork this is a mature title. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this title and rated it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. If you are into historically based on true story graphic novels then this is where it's at. Or if you are into trippy art and or the occult you may enjoy this too. 

International shoppers get your copy here - http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=geekpron

Review: Dark Knights Metal

I received a review copy for a fair an honest review. Upon reading this trade I feel that this was much better than the prior Road to Metal. This was way more structured and in retrospect, I wonder if Road was mashed together at the last minute to make this series seem more complete. I do have to say at times I really enjoyed the metal(rock) theme, but sometimes the font was a bit hard to read due to it being too jagged and rock looking.

Right off we are introduced to the action as the Justice League are battling on War planet and in an almost Voltron moment they build a giant robot to save the day. 

But hold tight kids we have even more intensity when we meet the evil versions of Batman from the multiverse who serve the dark lord, Barbatos (see first pic above). This really made this trade enjoyable for me. I love alternate versions of my fave comics heroes. Each evil Bats has his side to the story, and why they are doing what they can to assist in unraveling the universe. The payoff for this book was so much better than the lead up to this. I do think they should have combined what I think may have been the other stories to make 2 more volumes fo this storyline into this book. It seemed to rush through to the end rather quickly just as I was getting into it. I really enjoyed this and rated it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. If you are an alternate universe fan this will be the series for you to check out. I am looking forward to reading the other 2 volumes in this storyline and hope they are just as good as this if not better. 

International shoppers get your copy here - http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=geekpron

Review: Dark Days - Road to Metal

I do not read monthly issues as I prefer to wait and read stories in trade paperback format. But a few of my friends who do read single issues raved about this storyline so much that I just could not wait for it to be released in trade paperback. I'm extremely thankful that Netgalley gave me the opportunity read and review this series for a fair and honest review.

So my anticipation for this series was at the peak. Upon reading the introduction to the series I am kind of not sure what to think. I mean new story....new content, and a whole new world, right? But first off I'm not sure if this was planned years or months ago or if it was a spur of the moment change in the continuum. I say this because this collects a lot of portion of different storylines that they are suggesting elude to this main storyline. Some I can say sure I see a connection but others seem to be a stretch. For instance, the crisis of the multiverse is a portion of this collection along with some other Batman stories that had me wondering and shaking my head. I felt this didn't really run cohesively the transitions between linked stories was very rough. The Bruce Wayne lost in time story makes sense to be a part of the greater storyline. But the Endgame and the Joker poisoning Gotham had me baffled. Don't get me wrong this isn't a bad collection as I did reading the original new story that ties this all together. I hope that s the series goes this will flesh out that way it should and be a great story that my friends raved about. I decided to rate this introduction trade 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. 

Review: Injection by Warren Ellis Volumes 1- 3

I recently finished reading the third volume of this series which is weird, different and kinda great. In the words of Image comics taken from their site - "...there were five crazy people, and they poisoned the 21st Century. Now they have to deal with the corrosion to try and save us all from a world becoming too weird to support human life. It is science fiction, tales of horror, strange crime fiction, techno-thriller, and ghost story all at the same time." So yeah it's quite the mix of genres. 

The first volume introduces the concept of the Artificial Intelligence and how it is manipulating the world to create paranormal events, and we meet part of the team responsible for its creation. This was a great start for the series. I thought it was okay but it had enough to keep me interested and wanting to continue on with the series. The second volume introduces yet another member of this team and one who is kind of Hannibal Lector meets Sherlock Holmes kinda vibe. 

This story was way better than the first but left me feeling that the story did not live up to its expectations. The third and I'm assuming final volume (I assume final because the last issue was released in Nov. 2017 and there is no news about a follow up). Was very intense and I felt the story had finally reached its potential. Of course, the third volume ended on a cliffhanger, and I do not know if Ellis will ever finish this story. This last volume had the perfect blend of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, and a nice nod to Dr. Who with a comment from a student about it not really being bigger inside.

I rated the first volume 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads and the other 2 both 4 stars. I really hope that Warren Ellis picks this back up and continues on with this story because it would be bad to end this series just as it started to get good. I also called a few comics shops and there was no word of this very infrequent book coming back.  Below is the complete hardcover edition which features 3 volumes. 


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Review: William Gibson's Archangel

Review: Paper Girls Vol 4

I have to say I loved the first few volumes of this series as I really enjoy time travel stories. This is the 4th volume in the series, and things started to slow down momentum-wise in the last volume. I do know a lot of people have hopped on the hype train regarding this series just because the first 2 volumes feature 80's nostalgia. (To be honest, I don't understand why people who were not alive in the 80's are so obsessed with this time period as it wasn't the best in regards to fashion and music, etc. ) So for those people, the series may be a disappointment for them as this volume takes place in the year 2000. Which discusses the whole Y2K issues.

This volume did reveal more about the time traveler war such as their background and just how they influence the world. I do not care if they ever venture back to the 80's, and I am still interested in this series because it is about time travel and features big fucking robots fighting! Although I still enjoyed this I didn't feel it was a strong volume as the last few ones. I rated this 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. I will continue to read this series as I feel it has great potential and I have always enjoyed Vaughan's writing.

 

Review: The End of the Fucking World by Charles Forsman

I viewed and reviewed the Netflix/Channel 4 series of the same name back in January of 2018. I really enjoyed that and was super impressed so much that it was based on a graphic novel that I just had to read it.
First off I have to say that I base my reviews on the item/title in question and do not let my opinion(s) of previous work to influence my rating.  I say this because these are two separate animals. The filmed version is very different from the graphic novel it is based on. While this is the basis for the series this felt very plain, and quite honestly this was basic AF. Why do you ask do I say it is basic? Because it transitions from scene to scene very fast with no explanation of why things had changed or why the pair of teens are going in the direction that they are going. The TV series fills a lot of these plot holes and is a much better piece of work than this. I also felt that the art was also basic and plain and seemed similar to Charles Shultz Peanuts if he had drawn Charlie Brown as a runaway teen with issues.

Don't get me wrong I take this for what it is and I did enjoy it but do not feel like so many of my friends on Goodreads that this deserves a 4 or 5-star rating. I rated this only 3 stars for the above-mentioned reasons. After having read this I really do not see there being a continuation of the Netflix series, but they did such a great job of writing it ...it is possible to continue on I guess.
UK and Canada get yours here - TEOTFW

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Review: The Vision Vol. 1 Little Worse Than a Man

The Vision was always one of my favorite Avengers long before the movie adaptation. For some reason, he dropped off the radar for a period of time but has returned and he now has another family??? I will admit I was very eager to read this when I saw it. But this was not what I had hoped for. I was hoping that this would have filled in the gaps as to where he has been and how and when did he get a new family? How were they created? We all know that the Vision is based on Wonderman, but where did the basis of his wife and children come from? This book even had an explanation for the dog, but not the rest of the family. Leaving all of this out and turning this into another murder/ someone knows what you did Pinnochio type story just didn't impress me. I thought this was okay for a debut self-titled series, but it left a lot of stuff in the dark. I rated this 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. It's an okay mediocre read if you are looking for more info about this character but will not really answer anything if that makes sense.

 

Review: Happy! by Grant Morrison

First off I have to say this was on my radar, but it was a very long time before I had the opportunity to read it. I liked reading this author's works, and of course, this seemed interesting enough. My local library did not have any copies of this, and I was not sure I wanted to drop money on this book. I then saw an advertisement for the series on Syfy and knew I had to read this soon.

So I discovered my local library finally got a digital copy of this book and I checked it out. The reviews on this book are varied not many people can agree on whether it's good or bad. I will say that this miniseries about an ex-cop turned hitman in search of his daughter is sorta like a more gruesome and vulgar version of Taken....if it was a Christmas special. Having seen the Syfy series before reading the comic originally was something to get used to. As you would know if you have seen the miniseries it is really drawn and dragged out to make for like 8 episodes. The original book is much shorter and does not have as many scenes. Even characters have somewhat different names and looks. A lot of scene differences between the comic and the miniseries adaptation. Each is there own separate animal and when I did my review of this book upon completion I took that into consideration. Some hated this book and some loved it. I will say that the artwork is gritty and definitely leaves the reader feeling a bit of unease as they read it. 

This does have the gritty feel that Morrison is known for writing in his stories, and for that reason, and considering it is very different from its TV adaptation(which is much milder in comparison) I decided to rate this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. If you have not seen the series and have read the book please be mindful that it was tamed down for syndication. 

Kill or Be Killed Vol. 1 Review

First off I want to say that I am no stranger to Ed Brubaker's writing. Honestly, he has written some of my favorite series. One of his most popular being Fatale, which was another story that blended the crime and supernatural to make a fantastic story that many enjoyed.
Kill or be Killed is also a blend of the same elements, but this time around it doesn't have a pulp fiction feel that Fatale had. This book starts out by getting into the thick of it, and then slowly back tracking so that the reader understands just what the main character has gotten himself into. So it's written from the point of view of the guy who is doing the killing. I found the character kind of relatable as he lives a hum drum life and his best friend, who should be with him is with his room mate. Being that his life kind of sucks he decides to commit suicide, but it doesn't work out the way he planned, and next thing you know he has unwittingly made a pact with a devil. In order to keep living, he must take the life of someone deserving of dying...someone bad.

So sometimes due to the main character getting behind sometimes in the direction of the story, it helps for it to be serialized as a monthly comic. If you like action, and movies that have lots of guns, and shooting than this is right up your alley. I loved this book and rated it 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.  I have already started reading the second volume.

Get your copy here by clicking the above image it will take you to Amazon where you can get your own copy. 

Huck: Comic Book Review

The cover alone and the fact that this was written by Mark Millar (writer of the Kick Ass series), had me wanting to read this. I didn't even know anything about this. I almost thought this was a Huckleberry Finn remake for a modern age. But nope that is not what this book is. Instead, this was its own thing. So what is this about you may ask....it's about a simple man named Huck who just wants to do good deeds. He does a good deed every day. I say,simple man because most think Huck is mentally retarded or slow. But I got the impression that he was just a caring person. So if doing good deeds were not an enough he has abilities, unlike a normal man.

I did enjoy this book but it just wasn't great like Kick Ass or Wanted. The art was good, but the story seemed kind of rushed and unbelievable. To be honest it wasn't a very original story either. I sometimes felt like the way people viewed this guy as if he were like Forrest Gump, and the ending part of the story was too alike other types of action movies I have seen. This was a fast read and one that might not be for everyone. I rated this 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

 

Review: Fight Club 2

Pretty much everyone has seen the film Fight Club.  I will admit I enjoyed the film but have yet to read the book that it is based on. But even though I have not read the novel I jumped at the chance to read and review it's sequel.
If you enjoyed the film I do think that you will enjoy this continuation of the story. Sebastian and Marla have moved on from Project Mayhem and even have started a family.

So Sebastian has been trying to keep Tyler buried in his subconscious, by taking his prescribed medications.  But Marla misses the hot sex that she had with Tyler. So she has been tampering with Sebastian's meds. "Tyler Durden Lives"...literally. He comes back and so does all of the madness that we saw in the Fight Club film. If that were not the whole situation but now they have a son, and he is in the middle of this. Which makes for an even more interesting story.

Another thing that this sequel proposes is just who is Tyler Durden? What is he exactly? These questions open up a whole 'nother scenario that I cannot get too deep into, and even cannot share a photo from the series because it is too spoilerly. 

The author, Chuck Palahniuk even stars in this sequel. I know strange, right? I can't talk about his role in this either because of....you guessed it. Spoilers!?!

I know a few fans were disappointed with the way that this ended, but seriously? You cannot take a franchise like Fight Club too serious anyways. Yes, the ending was way over the top , kinda rushed, and dumb. But it is what it is, and I enjoyed the ride there. I decided to rate this 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. I really enjoyed this and I think fans of the film, and possibly the book will too.

Get your copy here-