Review Time! - Thor: Dueling With Giants by Keith R A DeCandido

Title: Thor: Dueling With Giants

Author: Keith R A DeCandido

Genre: Kids, Fantasy, Media Tie-In

Series: Tales of Asgard Trilogy (#1)

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.

This novel is a media tie-in to Marvel's Thor, but it's based more on the comics than on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU.)

Now, that doesn't mean there's huge differences between the Thor of the film and the Thor we find here, but there are differences - it's widely accepted that Loki's adopted, and Frigga is not Thor's biological mother, to name a few.

Premise:

Loki is bored. Which of course spells mischief for Asgard and The Mighty Thor.

Prepare for frost-giants, trolls, and a bunch of fighting.

Best bits:

This is one of those books for when you just want some derring-do and stabby action.

(And who doesn't want some stabby action occasionally?)

Loki manages to steal the show (again!) and add just a dash of emotional heartache/feels parental-wise (again!)

This is a skill that Loki has.

This book may be handy for tempting the reluctant aged-9-or-10-plus reader (especially boys, given that it can often be a struggle to get them to read) into reading.

Because we all know that the little monsters angels like some stabby action adventure.

And 10 year old me was a stabby-books kinda gal. I would've loved this book as a kid.

LOOK AT HIS MAJESTIC PLASTIC COUNTENANCE MORTALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Note to self: less coffee.)

Not so great bits:

In places, the level of language and vocabulary felt maybe a little advanced for the target audience.

I think maybe the author struggled with the balance between a formal Asgardian dialect, and the audience, and while it's largely OK, it does slip in places.

Also - the women in this book? Either saintly mothers, and a stand in for damsels-in-distress when needed, or Sif - who is essentially 'one of the boys' and resents any reference to her being, y'know, (*whispers*) female.

While I understand that Norse mythology (where all the Asgard Marvel stuff essentially stems from) isn't exactly resplendent with complex female characters, I would've liked gender stereotypes to be just a little less rigid here.

And, of course, some parents will never be OK with violence and battles and the like (though the kids will love it!)

Verdict:

I would've liked more Loki and less gender stereotypes, but I can't lie (unlike a certain trickster,): I enjoyed the hell out of this book!

(Yay stabby-ness!)

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

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Graphic Novels

This week I've reviewed two pretty cool (and fairly different to each other,) graphic novels.

Disney's Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Vol 1 (US) (also available in a 2 volume collected edition: US - UK) by Jun Abe is a manga graphic novel from Tokyopop. Alice fans will love it.

Check out my review here.





Luna the Vampire: Grumpy Space (UK - USA ) by Yasmin Sheikh is full of a quirky and off-beat sense of humour that suited me down to the ground (or should that be 'up to space'...?)

You check out my review of Luna's wacky adventures here.






I also read Monstress, Vol 1: The Awakening (UK - US) and IT'S SOOOOO GOOD!

I'll be fangirling over it writing a review of it soon. But... WOW! Really. Wow.





Other Stuff




Michelle @ Tea & Titles wrote a fab post about 'The Cutest Comics of Ever: Part 1' which included comics that I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for from now on :)

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Patrick Lenton wrote a fab article on why we should #GiveCaptainAmericaABoyfriend - and I totally agree!

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Tom Felton - Draco Malfoy to a generation of people  - is joining the cast of The Flash (*does a li'l embarrassing fangirl dance*)

I'm so chuffed! TOM'S GONNA BE IN THE FLASH!!!!  fjngoeirnyheouh!!!!

via GIPHY

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• Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) Luna The Vampire by Yasmin Sheikh
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Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Disney's Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Vol 1

Title: Disney's Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Volume 1

Author: Jun Abe

Genre: Graphic Novels, Manga, Fantasy, Media Tie-In

Series: Disney's Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Amazon:
2-volume edition - US - UK

Vol 1 - US
Vol 2 - US

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.

OK, we have some stuff to get clear straight-off:

This manga is made up of two volumes (oddly enough, Vol 1 (US,) and Vol 2 (US,)) and is also available in a collected edition of both volumes (US - UK.)

From what I can make out, here in the UK (and probably a lot of other countries,) it's currently only available in the collected 2-volume edition (in English, anyway.)

I received a review copy of the first volume, so that's what I'm reviewing here.

This is a manga adaptation of the movie adaptation (UK - US) of the classic book (UK - US).

It reads right-to-left in traditional manga-style.

Right, we all got that? Great.

Premise:

Alice Kingsley is a girl trapped in society's expectations. Then... then she sees the rabbit.

What follows is a trip to Underland, an adventure, a prophecy, and the chance to be 'the Right Alice;' prepare for impossible things.

Best bits:

The combination of Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton, and a manga-style just works. Ok?

There's something about this which is just... right.

The character design is spot-on - not least in terms of The Hatter and the Red Queen.

The right level of detail is carried throughout - highly intricate in the places where it needs it, and less dense in the places that need a lighter touch.

The whole thing is deftly carried out with skill and a real love of the vivacity of the source material.

Basically, I loved it.

Not so great bits:

In places, I felt like this was so true to the film, that I could quote some lines before I read them, and that did take a little of the sparkle out of things.

But this is a tie-in with the film, and you're going to expect an element of this at the least.

There's the odd drop of violence here and there, but nothing beyond what's in the film - if you know the film, you know what to expect, and it's fans of the film that're going to be the main audience here.

Verdict:

Alice fans rejoice!

The artwork is beautiful, and the combination of elements astounding.

Any Wonderland fan will love it.

Goodreads (Volume 1) – Tokyopop Catalogue (Volume 1)

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Comics Wrap Up - It's Much Better To Face These Kinds Of Things...

Due to a quirk of the Comics Gods, all of my comics-y goings-on this week have been in the 'Other Stuff' category.

(Dammit Loki! Stop messing with my sh**! I said I was sorry already!)

My 'Other Stuff' category is what most people would call Miscellaneous - the category where all the stuff I'm too confused or lazy busy to put into other categories goes.




There's still some very interesting cr*p going on in this week's wrap-up - so take a look! XD





Other Stuff




This week, I read a Thor tie-in novel: Thor: Dueling with Giants (UK - US) by Keith R A De Candido.

This is the first book in a trilogy of 3 kids' novels - Marvel's Tales of Asgard - and I'll be reviewing it soon. :)

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There's good news for fans of diversity in comics this week:

Marvel announced plans for a new Inhumans character and series: Mosaic. A new black superhero, Mosaic's alter-ego is a basketball player named Morris Sackett.

Elsewhere, Mark Millar has announced new runs of both the Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl series, with the title role of Kick-Ass being taken up this time around by an African-American woman.

It's uber-good that comics creators are finally waking up and smelling the under-representation in the industry, but there's still undoubtedly a ways to go.

Progress, though my dearest nerdlets! Progress!

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In #GiveCaptainAmericaABoyfriend news:

Sebastian Stan spoke briefly about his views on Stucky; his comments were positive, and probably about as enthusiastic as you can get while towing the studio-line.

A gay porn parody of Civil War seems to have decided to use the hashtag for marketing.

I have no issues with porn in itself (as long as it's safe, sane, consensual, and non-exploitative,) but am majorly p**sed off that they're using the tag.

People have been working to get this seen as a serious campaign, and throw light of the lack of LGBTQ+ representation and relationships in mainstream media; adding porn to the mix runs the risk of cheapening the issue in the eyes of many.

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Nadia Bauman at Women Write About Comics wrote a piece about the treatment of Russian culture and history in graphic novel Codename Baboushka Vol 1: The Conclave of Death (UK - USA.)

(You can see my review of Codename Baboushka Vol 1 here.) 

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Johanna at Comics Worth Reading spread the news that awesome Welsh actor Michael Sheen will be directing a film adaptation of Dark Horse Comics' title Green River Killer (UK - US.)







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Comics Wrap Up - A Town Called Alice

Graphic Novels

This week, I've gone ever-so-slightly head-over-heels for Alice in Wonderland in all its shapes and forms.

I saw Alice Through The Looking Glass (highly recommend!) early in the week, and also read Jun Abe's manga edition of the first film.

This is a release from our beloved Tokyopop, recently resurrected by the grace of a major contract from Disney.

Just to make it clear this manga is made up of two volumes (oddly enough, Vol 1 (US,) and Vol 2 (US,)) and is also available in a collected edition of both volumes (US - UK.)

From what I can make out, here in the UK (and probably a lot of other countries,) it's currently only available in the collected 2-volume edition (in English, anyway.)

Apologies if any of that explanation was a load of cr*p - this is just how I understand things to be.

I read a review-copy of the first volume - and will be reviewing it very soon :)

What I can tell you right now though is that I loved it! XD

Single Issues

Comics marked * are free in Kindle format at the time of writing

I haven't read many single issues in a while, but decided to read a few short ones this week - including yet more Alice in Wonderland-style goings-on (Alice seems to be a favourite of retellings in comics.)

Beyond Wonderland #0 (of 6)* (UK - US) is the prologue to a very interesting looking series about Alice - aka Calie - a young woman who escaped Wonderland once, and is in danger from what she left behind there...

Escape From Wonderland #0 (of 6)* (UK - US) is another prologue - this one to the series that follows Beyond Wonderland.

By the time Escape From Wonderland comes along, our Alice has a very definite no-sh** attitude, and a taste for uncomfortable corsetry.













The Stuff of Legend: The Dark #1 is the first part of Volume One (UK - US) of the series.

Just from this first issue, I'd say that it's kind of like a sepia Toy Story... only with a scary freaking monster who steals children. Intriguing, no?







Other Stuff

twenty one pilots released the official video of their Suicide Squad song, Heathens. I'm actually fairly loving this song.

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Caitlin at Words and Other Beasts wrote a fab review for X-Men: Apocalypse. 

And she agrees that Quicksilver was awesome. Because he was.

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I watched this awesome 'Toon Sandwich' X-Men: Apocalypse trailer parody (and laughed a lot!)

NSFW due to swearing and adult humour, mm'k?

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The awesome comics publishers Dark Horse have launched an adult colouring book line.

The line starts with Avatar: The Last Airbender (Available for Pre-order: US,) and Serenity (Available for Pre-order: US.)

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Film Trailers

A teaser for the upcoming Captain America: Civil War -

Not sure that I can't take much more of this - release the film damn you!



Graphic Novels



On Tuesday, I reviewed Golem (US - UK) by Lorenzo Ceccotti (LRNZ.)

This is a dystopian graphic novel which I kind of had mixed feelings about. You can check out my review here.

What I will say is that Golem has some truly stunning full-page artwork which, to me, made the whole thing worth the read.



This week, I read Paper Girls Vol 1 (US - UK) - a Brian K Vaughan title that I stupidly thought I wouldn't like.

I did like it. I liked it a whole damned lot.

My review for Paper Girls will be up sometime next week... when I've finished writing it!


Other Stuff

The lovely Olivia from Olivia's Catastrophe told me about DC commissioning YA novels based on a lot of their characters. So, I had to look it up, didn't I?

Over on Comics Alliance, I found the full story - including that the authors involved are Marie Lu, Leigh Bardugo, Matt de la Peña, and Sarah J Maas. Which should make a lot of you guys very happy.

So my TBR isn't thanking them, but still looking forward to it.

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I also read this post by B C Kowalski about how geek/nerd culture is all-inclusive and THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FAKE GEEK GIRL.

Oddly enough, I couldn't agree more.

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• Comics Wrap Up - Better the Devil You Know



The Month in Review(s) - February 2016

Ah, February - a month of storms and Valentine's cards. And books of course.

 

Check out all my reviews from this month...

 



Kids

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (aka just 'The Lightning Thief') by Rick Riordan - Fantasy, Mythology

Adult

Today Means Amen by Sierra DeMulder - Poetry
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Classics, Romance
The Trouble With Wolves (aka 'The Trouble With Weres') by Leigh Evans - Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves, Fairies/Fae
Omega Beloved by Aiden Bates - Romance (m/m,) Paranormal, Fantasy, Werewolves, LGBTQ+, Short Story

Graphic Novels

Grumpy Cat Volume 1 - Kids, Humour, Media Tie-In
Red Sonja/Conan: The Blood of a God - Fantasy, High Fantasy 

Popcorn Reviews (Film)

Seventh Son (2014)

Review (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Grumpy Cat Volume 1

Title: Grumpy Cat Volume 1.

Author: Ben McCool, Royal McGraw, Elliott Serrano, Ben Fisher.

Contributors: Steve Uy, Ken Haeser, Tavis Maiden, Agnes Garbowska.

Genre: Graphic Novels, Kids, Humour, Media Tie-In.

Series: The Misadventures of Grumpy Cat and Pokey! (#1-3.)

Release Date: 16 Feb 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.

It's Grumpy Cat! When I had the opportunity to review this, I just had to. I love kitties, and I love Grumpy Cat with her cute little face.

This is a comic compilation of The Misadventures of Grumpy Cat and Pokey (#1-3) which have several stories in each issue.

Premise:

Grumpy Cat just wants the chance to sleep, eat, and scratch things. Pokey and the dog insist she do something else with her day!

Best bits:

The artwork here is really cute - and the stories are the correct blend of cute, sarcastic, and funny.

The characterisation reminds me a lot of Garfield - which is by no means a bad thing, far from it.

I also love that the dog just wanders around saying, 'Good Dog!'

Not so great bits:

Some of the stories were just a little forced - no more so than many other kid-friendly comics, but I noticed it in one or two.

It probably goes without saying, but if you don't like Grumpy Cat, this isn't the book for you.

Verdict:

A cute and fun compendium that made me smile more than once and is suitable for kids. I love Grumpy.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads

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Books On My 'To-Buy' List

Do you have a 'to-buy' list?

My 'to-buy' list isn't quite the same as my tbr - if I bought everything on my tbr I wouldn't have any money left for things like... food.

Some of them are on my tbr, obviously, but a lot are books that I've already read but want to own so that I can re-read them, or just because I want to know I have them (Don't judge me!)

I really want these books... I'll just have to save my pennies!



Straight James/Gay James by James Franco (UK - US)

You may have noticed, but I really love this book. That's why I want to own it. I want to have a nice paperback copy in my hands :) That came out decidedly weirder than how I intended it to sound.





Crimson Peak: The Official Movie Novelization by Nancy Holder (UK - US)

I've seen the film (UK - US) (Tom Hiddleston - yes, please!) but have heard very good things about the novelisation - which caught my attention, because normally people are a bit like 'Ehhhh...' when it comes to novelisations.







20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (UK - US)

I've read this twice from the library. I love Joe Hill. I love short stories. I love Joe Hill short stories. I really want this book.







Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (UK - US)

Joe Hill + graphic novels = one happy reading addict!






Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (UK - US)

Another book I've borrowed from the library not once but twice, and one I was first inspired to read by the Leo DiCaprio film (UK - US) (yes, sometimes I watch the film without having read the book - please don't hurt me!)


It also started my Dennis Lehane addiction; Leo has a lot to answer for.






Live By Night by Dennis Lehane (UK - US)


Another Lehane book to feed my junkie habits. This is book #2 of the Coughlin series (you can read my review of book #3 'World Gone By' here.)

I love Joe Coughlin; I shouldn't because he's a gangster. But I love him.






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• Review! (Woo!) - World Gone By by Dennis Lehane
• Book or Film? The debate continues!