Comics Wrap-Up - Any Dream Will Do

I actually don't have much comics-y goings-on for you this week, but I did read a couple of single issues:

Single Issues

I read Alganon #1 - a one-shot from DC.

This is actually based on some sort of free game? I'd never actually heard of it before, but the art was fairly cool.

The plot was a bit 'and now, for no reason, here's this monster we didn't mention before!' but I assume that's because of the free-based-ness.

I also read Dreamless... which is kind of... stunningly beautiful.

Seriously, every panel was like an oil painting.

And the whole concept of an American girl and a Japanese boy sharing one alternating life - when he's awake, she's asleep and dreams his life, and vice versa - and then just wanting to be together because they were MADE FOR EACH OTHER GODDAMMIT! ;)

So, yeah... I enjoyed that one! Lol.

Amazon link (full graphic novel): UK - US

And that's it, dearest nerdlets! This week was short on the comics-y-ness *shrugs* - happens sometimes!

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Comics Wrap-Up - Something Strange

Film Trailers

A bunch more Doctor Strange trailers/clips for you guys:

I actually saw Doctor Strange on Monday - it was awesome BUT there are two things which CAN'T be ignored:

Tilda Swinton's character is whitewashed. (I love her, but it's true.)

And this film fails Bechdel.

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Get your act together Marvel.

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And there's a new Wonder Woman trailer:

Looks pretty cool, and clears up that this is supposed to be WW1 not WW2.

(The uniforms still look more WW2 in places guys, I know, but *sighs* anachronisms)

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And the trailer for Logan came out last week!

This is the wonderful Hugh Jackman's last film as Wolverine :'O

It looks really awesome, and I always love me an Old Man Logan storyline.

(Oh, and the reason he looks older than Prof X? That's because he is older than Prof X - see X-Men Origins: Wolverine for details ;P )

Single Issues

This week I read Suicide Squad #1 of the 2011-2014 run. (US link)

One thing in particular I liked about this issue? Diablo doesn't speak much English in stressful situations (because why the hell would he?!)

Graphic Novels

This week I reviewed Who Killed Kurt Cobain?: The Story of Boddah by Nicolas Otero (UK - US.)

It's an interesting read, but I did have some issues with it. Check out my review here.










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• Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Who Killed Kurt Cobain?: The Story of Boddah by Nicolas Otero

5 Spoopy Book-To-Film Adaptations For Halloween

Hello dearest nerdlets! Halloween is coming up (which, if you've spent 5 minutes on social media lately, you've probably noticed,) so I decided to give you a little list of 5 book-to-film adaptations in the Halloween-y spirit!

1. The Crow

The adaptation of James O'Barr's amazing graphic novel is a) violent and b) awesome. Not for kids, this is... rough... but is still, most definitely, worth the watch.

Brandon Lee played the title role of Eric Draven, and, infamously, was sadly killed on set by a freak set of circumstances which resulted in live ammo being used. He was amazing in this film.

Amazon: UK - US

2. Secret Window

This comes from a Stephen King short story/novella-type-thing called Secret Window, Secret Garden, and stars Johnny Depp.

Book nerds will especially love this one (yes guys, I know my audience dammit!) because it follows a writer, and deals with imagination, the power of stories, and characters/plot.

The denouement (fancy words!) is different in the short story - but, to be honest, I love both (but did find it ironic that a plot obsessed with story endings changed the ending of the story.)

Amazon: UK - US

3. Harry Potter (series)

Yes, this counts! There are witches and wizards and sh**!

And not everyone wants things to be too scary on Halloween - so, to them, I give the notion of a Harry Potter marathon. My gift to you. ;)

Amazon: UK - US

4. Interview With The Vampire

My friends, Lestat started my love affair with all things vamp, and to that I will always thank this film (which I saw before I read the book! Shocking! But I actually do that a lot.)

Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt playing two exceptionally sexy vampires - truly, what more could you want?

And yes, the queer aspects of the story are toned down - but there is no denying* the homoeroticism here. (Fans self.)

*although, someone I went to school with did think they were 'just being friendly' - because, y'know, we all stroke our friends' faces lovingly and breathe lustily in their faces every now and then. (Eye rolls.)

Amazon: UK - US

5. Constantine

The Bestie would kill me if this wasn't on the list.

Therefore I give in to the higher power that is my friend's wrath, and give you this comic-book-based tale of hell and damnation. Plus Keanu Reeves. #JobDone.

Oh, and I've actually reviewed this! (I really need to do more bookish film reviews... I just keep forgetting!) You can check out that review here.

Amazon: UK - US

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Comics Wrap-Up - Girl Power

Single Issues

I was uber-uber-uber-impressed this week with independent Pakistani free-for-all web-comic Raat.

This features a strong female lead, who fights crime on the streets of Karachi. And with a strong style, and a distinct voice, I hope it goes far :)

You can check out the series' website @ raatcomic.com and follow on Twitter @raatcomic

Other Stuff

When catching up on my comics-y blog-reading, I came across this post by Laura Harcourt @ Women Write About Comics.

It discusses the problems of race in the superhero TV show Supergirl - and how the diversity of the show can be expanded.

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(Just to be clear - I love Supergirl. I also love this post. It doesn't undermine Supergirl, just points out places where the show can make things better.)

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Also on Women Write About Comics is a post by Doris V Sutherland about a more distasteful side of comics.

Apparently there's a dude in America who likes to write comic-strip style Christian fundamentalist tracts.

Now, neither I nor anybody else would mind if these were just happy little stories celebrating the Christian faith.

Unfortunately, as can be seen in the post, they are pretty horrible things which claim that Halloween, neo-paganism, Harry Potter, etc., are all demonic and evil.

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This is particularly unfair for people who practice Wicca, witchcraft, or any other type of neo-paganism (which is completely unlike fantasy-story witches - can we please differentiate between folklore, fantasy fiction, and real people who follow real pagan religions? Thanks.)

Whenever I see something as ignorant as this bloke, I really want to bash my head repeatedly against my laptop!!!

That's about it for me this week guys: be excellent to each other!

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Month in Review(s) - September 2016

September was the month that various sh** hit various fans.

In case you're not caught-up on all the goings-on of the bookish online community, let me briefly summarise:

• Some people questioned authors about the lack of diversity in their books (no matter you're opinion on this, those people had the right to ask the questions.) This resulted in trolling.

• There was a video on BookTube (the bookish portion of YouTube,) by a horrible person who sees diversity as a dirty word, and is generally a bigoted jerk. She then took offence when it turned out a lot of people didn't agree with her.

• White supremacist & Nazi trolls decided to spread their racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, etc. hatred by trolling members of the online bookish community. Most of these people were also Trump supporters.

• A US library magazine called VOYA showed some of the worst customer service you can imagine in their response to criticism of their apparently bi-phobic reviewing.

...I think that covers most of it. It was an... interesting month.

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But we, as a community, are pulling through this... I hope.

As far as my blogging stats go this month, things have been good :)

I discovered an acronym for my blog which had been staring me in the face the whole time - DORA. Which I will now be using when Diary of a Reading Addict is too long-winded.

I passed 30k page-views for the first time (!!!!) and now see between 100 and 300 page-views on a typical day :)

I gained a handful of followers on BlogLovin and Twitter, though not as many as I would've liked.

I also noticed something in terms of my Twitter followers, which kind of upset me.







Whenever I tweet about anything to do with LGBTQ+ issues, I lose 2-3 followers; that's per tweet where I mention queer issues, characters, books, etc.

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At first I thought it was just coincidence - but after that it became too regular, and I couldn't believe it was coincidence any more.

It's not like I tweet about LGBTQ+ an excessively large amount... is it? I don't think I do.

Anyway, I figure I'm better off without followers like that. As upsetting as that is.






But I just want to thank all the people who do read this blog, like and RT my tweets, comment on my posts, and continue to follow me.

I love you. Each of you is worth 1000 of those homophobic a*sholes.

In a month of trolls, bigotry, and bad news, there were two high-points - my birthday, and you guys.






So, to the books I reviewed this month:

Young Adult

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova - Fantasy, Witches, LGBTQ+

As I Descended by Robin Talley - Ghost story, Horror, LGBTQ+

Adult

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer - Contemporary

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie - Classics, Crime

Comics

The Sun Dragon's Song #1 - Kids, Fantasy

Comics Wrap-Up - Live Without Warning

TV Trailers

Marvel's Agents of Shield will be back soon! ...With Ghost Rider.

Yeah... I'm hoping this will work but... yeah... it's an interesting choice.

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Also in the category of 'oh God, please don't have taken this a series too far' is the up-coming series of Arrow.

I love Arrow. Like, really love it - but we've already come to several natural endings to this series. So please forgive me for being a little wary of this latest continuation.

Single Issues

This week I wrote a mini-review of The Sun Dragon's Song #1 by Joyce Chng and Kim Miranda (UK - US.)

It's a beautiful book, and a great start to the series. The artwork is truly incredible.

You can check out my mini-review here.

Other Stuff

Annnnd this Toon Sandwich spoof of the Justice League trailer made me laugh.

There's a bunch of random violence - just to let you know.

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Mini-Review! (Comics Edition!) - The Sun Dragon's Song #1

Title: The Sun Dragon's Song #1

Author: Joyce Chng, Kim Miranda

Genre: Kids, Fantasy

Series: The Sun Dragon's Song

Release Date: 21 September 2016

Amazon: UK - USA

Verdict:

I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publishers, Rosarium Publishing, via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I know I normally write full reviews instead of mini-reviews when I have an ARC, but this is only a single comic issue, so I figured a mini-review would give me enough time to talk about it. :)

This is the first issue in 'The Sun Dragon's Song' series - and it's a promising start.

First off: the artwork. THE ARTWORK. SERIOUSLY, THE ARTWORK.

It's stunningly beautiful. I would frame any page from this book and put it on my wall. Wow. Just... WOW.

I also liked the slow pace to this first issue, it's very gentle, but not at all boring - which I really like.

Pretty much the only criticism I can make of this book is that some of the dialogue felt a little overly-exposition-based, and perhaps a little forced...?

But overall, that really wasn't a big problem. And I'm being a little nit-picky now, I know; but that was really the only thing that I could criticise.

I just hope the rest of the series is this beautiful! Seriously, it's hard to exaggerate just how stunning this comic was visually.

(And dragons! I mean... dragons!!!!!)

Hopefully our little hero will get closer to his dream of being a Sun Dragon Rider, and prove the a**-holes who make fun of his disability wrong! (Yes, I'm invested in this... very much so!)

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads

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Comics Wrap-Up - And She's Dangerous

Short and sweet comics and graphic novel-y news this week my nerdlets, due to the fact that your resident Bookish Rebel (i.e. me,) has been super-duper busy!

Also (and most importantly!) IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

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Graphic Novels

This week I read Red Sonja: Falcon Throne (UK - US)...

...and fgiotjgiothbembgk this is the Sonja book I've been wanting guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marguerite Bennett is now one of my favouritest people :)

Review will be coming up nearer to the publication date.

Other Stuff

If you haven't seen it already guys - you can check out my list of graphic novels with Latinx main characters here. :)

(Come on - you want to check it out! ;P )

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Sierra @ The Nerdgirl Review wrote a fab review of Giant Days which totally quelled my misconceptions about that being a series about warring giants (yeah... sometimes my brain invents the story it wants...)

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Annnnnd Naz @ Read Diverse Books wrote a great li'l batch of graphic novel mini-reviews :)

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Review Time! - Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Title: Labyrinth Lost

Author: Zoraida Córdova

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Witches, LGBTQ+ (M/F and F/F)

Series: Brooklyn Brujas #1

Release Date: 6 September 2016

Amazon: UK - USA

A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

You know sometimes there are books where you hear the premise and just have to read it?

This book was like that for me. I'm guessing it'll tempt a lot of other people too ;)

Premise:

'Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives.'

Alex is a bruja (a Latinx witch,) whose Deathday is coming up (this is a lot less fatal than it sounds.)

Her Deathday will mean accepting her powers and her legacy. But... what if she doesn't want to? Is that even an option?

Alex will have to face the consequences of her actions, and, along with local brujo (dude-witch) Nova, will have to face the dangers of the realm of Los Lagos.

Best bits:

I know people say this a lot - but this is a page-turner.

It's pacey, it's got a chatty but fairly confident tone... and you'll totally want to know what happens next.

The rules governing magic here are clearly understood by the author - you're in safe hands, because she knows this world inside and out.

I like the way Córdova blends elements of different Latin American cultures deftly, while also adding her own unique elements - I love it when the author takes the effort to look effortless ;)

I thought Rishi was a quirky bundle of fun (and I'm a big fan of quirky,) and Alex responded in a realistic way to her situation (what teenager wants to be like their parents, after all,) but I actually had a real soft spot for Nova.

Nova is the bad-boy with a heart... or is he? Dun-dun-dunnnnn!

I guess I just felt a connection with Nova - someone who brings light to those around him, but is made dark by doing so. (And hopefully that was suitably vague enough to avoid spoilerage.)

(If you could avoid the urge to psychoanalyse that last paragraph...? Please & thank you!)

The heroine here though is most definitely Alex.

This bisexual Brooklyn bruja is a great blend of power and vulnerability - someone that people can relate to and look up to at the same time. She's awesome.

Not so great bits:

There was the odd moment here where I was like, 'Don't do that. That is a stupid-a*s decision.' They did it anyway.

Sometimes you just can't talk sense into fictional characters, no matter how hard you try ;) But I guess that's part of what makes us so invested in the lovable little idiots.

There is also love of a geometric (i.e. triangular) variety. Less annoying than most triangles, but maybe just a touch rushed-feeling.

And I'm never going to be happy about animal sacrifice being part of the magic system in use in any particular book. It just goes too much against my personal beliefs.

There's violence and blood and stuff - as a warning to those who don't like those things. I didn't notice any swearing - but it's possible the odd word snuck by me.

Verdict:

This is a great book.

And if you're looking for a new fantasy series to get obsessed with?

(Yes nerdlets, I see you! You can't hide from me!)

This is a perfect candidate for your next fandom-level bookish fave.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

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Month In Review(s) - August 2016

August. Ahhhh, August.

(I can't resist a happy-dog-in-sunglasses pic!)

August was actually a pretty good month for me.

Despite how difficult my anxiety made it, I came out as sexually fluid; and that felt great ;)






Blog-wise, less impressive stats than last month. But they were still pretty damn good :)

Over 4k page-views this month, reaching over 25k page-views over-all!!!!!!!!!!! XD I mean - wow! 25k!!!!!! XD XD

(Actually I've now reached over 26k, but 25 is such a round and shiny number, lol!)

And I now have over 950 followers on Twitter.

Things've stagnated a little on BlogLovin' - but still trotting along with a handful of new followers this month :)



And shameless plug time!

The Bookish Diversity Link List 2016 is up and running.

Be sure to check it out, and let me know if you find anything I can add! (It's easier when people help me, lol.)

Kids

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon - contemporary, magic realism

Young Adult

Switched by Amanda Hocking - fantasy, paranormal* (*ish)

Adult

Blood Season by Claire Meadows - poetry

Last Night, A Superhero Saved My Life - non-fiction, essays

Graphic Novels

Limbo, Volume 1 - fantasy*, horror*, crime* (*ish)

Malice In Ovenland by Micheline Hess - kids, fantasy

Kilala Disney Princess, Vol 1 - young adult, fantasy, manga, fairy tale, media tie-in