Love, Lydia - Notes from a geeky, plus sized artist.: Comics of Many Kinds

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Comics of Many Kinds

Hi  everyone,

I'm back with some more comic reviews!  We'll start off with Lumberjanes Volume 1 by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Brooke A. Allen.  This is a fantastic comic that's great for all ages, and follows the adventures of a group of five girls at their summer camp.  The woods are full of mysterious stuff, and this camp holds both secrets and excitement as the girls start exploring.  They're a very diverse group in both looks and interests/talents, which makes them great role models for younger readers and a pleasure for those seeking more realistic characters.  I can't wait for the next one!

Bride of the Water God Volume 1  by Mi-Kyung Yun, is a Korean graphic novel about a yound woman named Soah who is chosen to be sacrificed as a bride to the water god.  She is indeed taken to him, but who he is and the place she now lives is more complex than the villagers might have assumed when they sent her off.  She begins to meet the inhabitants of her new home in the first book.  This book was a harder read, because Korean books are harder to translate to English.  Supposedly this is one of the better translated ones and I still find it hard to follow at times.   If you're experienced reading manga and want to branch out I think it's a good start, but it's not for beginners.

Bride of the Water God Volume 2 picks up with more of the delicate art and Soah getting to know and starting to fall for the man who might be her husband?  It's rather confusing for her, but she's starting to find her place within the house of the gods, and the story starts to pick up.  It's no easier to read, but I find it interesting enough that I'll be sticking with it for at least another volume.

The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 1 by Kore Yamazaki  I know the title of this is a bot similar to the one above however they only have a bit of plot that's similar.  Chise has lived a hard life and she makes the choice to change her circumstances.  She ends up bought (weird, but voluntary) by a very powerful old wizard.  She's whisked away into a world full of magic, and if you love Harry Potter it's likely you'll enjoy this!  Her master teases that she will be his bride, yet she is also his apprentice and a powerful magic wielder in her own right.  This book is Japanese, and mostly set in the UK.  I loved this and am eager to get the next volume.

Avengers & X-Men: Axis by Rick Remender, Adam Kubert, and Leinil Francis Yu is a Marvel event book that I've heard had mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed.  I think part of the problem was how the situation was set up, but most of that is in another book, so I didn't worry too much about it and took this arc for what it was.  And it's a fascinating look that brings out dark in the hearts of our best characters and brings morals to the ones we thought the furthest from them.  I agree with some of the reviewers who would have liked more in depth stories with some of the characters....like Loki for instance.  I really enjoyed it, and recommend it heartily if you're familiar with the basic cast of characters in the Marvel universe.

Secret Wars by Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck, and Bob Layton is a volume we read for last months Word Balloons meeting at Fight or Flight Comics.  I tried so hard to read all of this one, but the dialogue was so bad.  It was written mostly in 1985 (it's a pretty big volume) and was the first big Marvel crossover event.  So it's a big part of their history as a company and all, and many people around my age get nostalgic for this sort of classic comic feel.  And the art isn't particularly bad, it's just more the classic style rather than the more realistic paint colors we see in recent comics.  I'm glad I read what I could to see some of the history, but I'm glad we've made progress too!  I can't recommend this one unless you have a kid who likes comics (it's pretty tame) and won't mind the corniness or you have a nostalgia you need fulfilled.



On another note I really need to get these posts written ahead of time so when I have a health issue I'm not up late trying to write when I don't feel well.  However, this one's done and I'll see you again Friday!

Love,
Lydia

2 comments:

  1. Lumberjanes looks like a cute and fun read. It was one of the titles I was looking at when I started to look into comics a few weeks back.

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    1. It really is! I highly recommend it if you like cute things and adventure!

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