Girl in Dior
by Annie Goetzinger
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Mechanically well constructed. Beautiful binding, beautiful paper, beautiful colours that suit the 1940s glamour… but, other than mechanics… it was boring. There was no passion or feelings. It just fell flat. I would summarize the story as: “first my life was ok, then it was ok, and then it was ok again.” Disappointing.
The Hypernaturals Vol. 1
by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Brad Walker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Yawn. I had to force myself to finish this volume. This took a critical hit in my estimation due to the poor writing choices.
Some of the art was quite good. If I had to judge it based solely on its art, and erased the text, I might have given it a better rating. But unfortunately, it did have text. The text destroys what could have been a decent story.
First, it is trying too hard to invent a new world through the use of dialogue. Every “science fiction” concept and all common exclamations are replaced with “new” words. It is done with the same heavy-hand of a child’s writings just after they’d discovered the “almighty” thesaurus. This overuse of foreign terms makes the dialogue ridiculous and meaningless. And, there were times when I feel that even the author(s) didn’t know what they meant.
Second, there were several moments in the comic where I couldn’t decide what was being said due to grammar missteps. This isn’t a text-heavy comic. There shouldn’t be so many obvious errors. I kept wondering if they were intended to give the characters a distinct accent. I realize now, that it was just a failure to edit.
So, not only is the comic thick with chunky over-complicated text, but the missing structure doesn’t support it.
Its saving grace are the drawings that tell the story when the text fails to.
I probably won’t be picking up the second volume.
Sex Criminals, Vol. 1: One Weird Trick
by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What is this time-stopping phenomena called? Postcoital euphoria? Afterglow? It’s not a story for kids, and I certainly wouldn’t share it with my mother, but I do think there is something here worth reading. I’m looking forward to the next volume, and I hope that the three white-clad super heroes at the end don’t come off as unbelievable and as corny as when they were introduced. That’s the only thing that could ruin this for me at this point. The artwork is beautiful. And, can I tell you how much I like to see “librarians” with crazy “secret identities”. That’s a scenario that I always find fun to read.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
by Yasutaka Tsutsui
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The stories are perfectly fine, if not a bit short. But the translation is so exacting in its use of language that it becomes a difficult read. It’s not a bad translation, but you can feel the Japanese-ness of it. And because the structure of Japanese is so opposite to the English language what you get are less flourishes of creativity, less mystery, more awkward stops between actions… Once I realized I was essentially reading Japanese in English I could sit back and enjoy the stories.
The Girl who leapt through time was to me the stronger of the two. There was a bit more action and mystery. A bit more tension. It also left me thinking about the idea of education in a world where technology is so advanced.
I didn’t care for the other story much. There was mystery but, the plotting was so linear which curbed all of the tension. I felt that the conflict was rather void. And, the solutions to the problems were extremely juvenile.
Overall I’d say due to the low level of conflict, and the directness of the translation that this story would most suitable for the preteen age group.
Dear Mr. Knightley
by Katherine Reay
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
It was well enough. I was definitely entertained throughout the thing. Certainly too heavy on the Jane Austen references. And, she struggled to make the other fiction references interconnected. Might have done better to lighten up on Austen.
And, can I say how annoyed I was that the author didn’t go for the obvious joke at the end? She spent the entire book quoting Jane Austen like a fiend… went so far as to compare her protagonist to Emma, the benefactor to Mr. Knightley, to have their “shared parents” waiting outside the door during the romantic declaration… and then not say, “we are not really so much brother and sister as to make it at all improper”. Argh! Was that intentional? – Was she just trying to share an inside joke with this Austen fan, or did she really just want to tick me off. I mean, the end needed some levity and, I was waiting for it. And then… there were no more pages, and no more words to read. And, now… I’m not sure what to do with myself.
Honey Blood, Vol. 1
by Miko Mitsuki
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Pretty generic art and story that I just don’t care why – he could possibly like this girl??? So much fantasy, without substance. Because their relationship has an abrupt change at the end of the volume, there is potential the story could become intriguing… but, I don’t have much hope for it.
A Brief History of Manga
by Helen McCarthy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Just picked up a copy of Helen McCarthy’s “A Brief History of Manga” from the library. My impression is that it is 1. totally adorable, 2. visually engaging, and 3. fun fact filled. I also let my sister paruse through it, and she agrees with me. We’re both excited about this mini history.
Because like it’s title, it is exactly what it delivers:
1. It’s Brief. Very Brief!
Each page contains several colour images, an interesting fact, a couple paragraphs on historical trends, and a timeline — and all in less than 100 pages, in a book about the size of an actual manga. Really, you couldn’t have printed a history any smaller.
Actually I love the small package and think it would look adorable on my shelves next to my manga. [now, if only I could find some room…]
2. It’s about manga history.
It is concise, pointed, interesting. The history provides breadth, spanning from the 700s to present day (and the future). And, she really focuses her discussion to manga. Not anime. Which I of course, appreciate.
Did she leave stuff out? Umm… That’s kind of an understatement! But, I learned a few things about manga that I’d never known before (namely some of the early Western influences) and am now very interested in exploring further.
My only problem is that the only action I can take is heading off into “lala land” (aka the library stacks) when I should be studying for exams.
I will be adding a copy to my personal collection. You’d be quite remiss if you didn’t do the same!
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict
by Laurie Viera Rigler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
A light fluffy quick read about a modern woman who “wakes up” in “Jane Austen’s” England in someone else’s life. Wasn’t super substantial (either time, or content) but I enjoyed myself (for the most part).
I did appreciate the fact that the author/main character could quote from Austen’s “smaller” novels like “Northanger Abbey” and “Persuasion”. Austen is NOT only about Pride & Prejudiced people! [<– This is my mini-rant about Austen-inspired novels]
The references get a little heavy in some areas, particularly the end, which unfortunately concludes like a school research paper.
When an Austen fan (me) is reading a story about an Austen fan living in Austen’s world it’s difficult not to be hyper-aware of the wild inaccuracies. I won’t explain them here, because I don’t want to turn my book review into an Austen biography, and because you can have the pleasure of pointing them out yourself.
The story had potential, but I don’t believe was successfully realized. There was a “paralleling” between the heroine’s old life in Modern L.A. and her new life which didn’t seem to have weight – which is probably why the totally expected ending was so unsatisfying. I’m hoping reading the sequel will rectify this issue (or at least soften it a bit) for me.
Overall. I’d recommend this to someone who’s read enough Austen to get the references in the book but wants to spend sometime not thinking too hard.
Status Factory: The Art of Ron English
by Ron English
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m said I didn’t know about Ron English before now. I especially love his playful use of the most famous works of art juxtaposed against the banal. It’s rare these days for art to actually delight and offend me at the same time. He’s really worth looking at!
Pegasus
by Robin McKinley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This isn’t going to be a top pick for me this year. I was immediately bored with the story — at the start, there was nothing to draw me in. No captivating text, no interesting event… nothing! It didn’t begin to catch my interest until closer to half-way through when she eventually goes to visit her friend’s home. And it continued to bore me after she returned again. This book seems to be more of a set-up to a sequel — and you know how tedious that can get. I’ll probably try and read the next one, because the ending is left rather open-ended; and I would like to see the problem resolved.
I guess the most frustrating thing in the book is that there are so many ill-timed flashbacks. If these parts are so important to the story, they really should have been included at the start of the book… when she was still 12. Not later when she was remembering being 12.
It does have nice characters, and a nice setting — and is a fairly easy read. But, I’ve read better YA fantasy than this — and am looking forward to reading better fantasy next time. I’m sure that people who like this author will continue to like this novel, but I (who’ve not read this author before) found it a bit disappointing.
manga hoarder 