Comic Adventures Issues #44

I read a lot of comics and rarely review them here on the blog. That's because I really don't have a lot to say for an entire post.  So I thought I would review several comics on one post.  I will still review graphic novels on their own now and then, but this is where I will talk about super-hero type comics (DC/Marvel) or sequels to some that I have already reviewed.

This issue I talk about The Gigantic Beard that was Evil, Batman Vol 8 Superheavy,  Y: The Last Man, and  Aquaman volume 7.

This graphic novel was crazy!  I'm so glad I discovered it.  The artwork is amazing. The comic is about a guy, Dave, who lives in a place called Here. It a town where everything is normal and nothing is different. Everything is perfect... reminds me a little of the Lego movie where everything was awesome.  Dave is a little different from the other people.  He has a nose hair that won't go away.  Every time he cuts it, it grows back. The town fears a place called There.  There is where bad things happen, though no one really knows what. No one has been there and returned.  There is supposed to be full of chaos. One day... Dave has terrible things happen. That hair that keeps growing back suddenly grows out of control! His hair causes a lot of drama in the town where everyone starts to stand outside Dave's house to watch his uncontrollable beard. His beard is eventually outlawed because it can't happen Here.  The town comes up with a plan to make sure Here is protected.  The story is a little preachy but really a nice tale of people conforming to what society wants.   5 out of 5

So I've been trying to finish the Batman series in the new 52 and maybe they just need to end it.  Batman has been replaced by Jim Gordon.  It's like Bruce Wayne get amnesia but then doesn't.  He has no interest in being Batman again.  Jim is chosen to be the new Batman and so now he's out and about trying to fight crime. Chosen by some group called Powers Corp.  I had to look at other reviews and realized I wasn't the only one who didn't know who that group is.  I guess it's being introduced in this comic.  Whatever. There is a sunflower villain in this comic.  I wasn't sure what I was seeing at first.. but yeah, a sunflower.  Bloom is his name.  He hands out seeds to people and it gives them superpowers. Bloom is going to be in the next volume and I would be interested in seeing where that villain goes.  Sometimes having the same villain over and over again gets boring.  Bloom is taking a chance on an entirely new villain which can be hard to get used to when I'm so used to all the villains from before.

2 out of 5

I remembering hearing so much about this comic so I had to go and read the first volume.  I've been waiting a while to write up some reviews and honestly I can't remember anything about this comic.  I have to go back and look at reviews to refresh my memory. So all the men in the world die, except one. This one man wants to go and find his girlfriend so he sets out into the world.  While out and about he meets all kinds of women.  Including a group who swears that if they find any living men they are going to murder them.  I thought this was odd because don't they want to populate the world again? Or just have a relationship with a man?? The even cut off one of their boobs so they are able to shoot at these men better because apparently women warriors used to do this.  I think I had planned to read more into this series but I totally forgot I was even reading this series so I'm going to just pass.  Which is really too bad because I've been trying to read more outside of superhero comics.

2 out of 5

This issue seemed to be a filler volume.  A story we have read before.  Aquaman's wife wants to kill him and she is taking over Atlantis. He is banned from Atlantis for not wanting to take over another world. Arthur never really questions why he's called a traitor for this. The people from Atlantis who are on Arthur's side still kind of think he's a traitor.  They never really take his side until things are revealed.    Mera's sister Siren is in this volume and I did enjoying that.  This volume kind of goes way off topic from the story we've been following since volume 1. The artwork is changed up in this volume, it is much darker. Justice League makes an appearance which was the best part of the comic.  I'm not too worried about finishing this series since the New 52 is coming to an end so I'll for sure finish out Aquaman.

3 out of 5

This counts for 45 comics towards my 2016 Graphic Novels Challenge.

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Title: Stars Above
Author: Marissa Meyer
Pages: 400
Published: February 2nd 2016 by Feiwel & Friends
Source: Library
Links:  goodreads,

The enchantment continues.... The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies? With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles. -- The Little Android: A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles. Glitches: In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch…. The Queen’s Army: In this prequel to Scarlet, we’re introduced to the army Queen Levana is building, and one soldier in particular who will do anything to keep from becoming the monster they want him to be. Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky: Thirteen-year-old Carswell Thorne has big plans involving a Rampion spaceship and a no-return trip out of Los Angeles. The Keeper: A prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, showing a young Scarlet and how Princess Selene came into the care of Michelle Benoit. After Sunshine Passes By: In this prequel to Cress, we see how a nine-year-old Cress ended up alone on a satellite, spying on Earth for Luna. The Princess and the Guard: In this prequel to Winter, we see a game called The Princess The Mechanic: In this prequel to Cinder, we see Kai and Cinder’s first meeting from Kai’s perspective. Something Old, Something New: In this epilogue to Winter, friends gather for the wedding of the century..

Some of you may have noticed I haven't posted a book review in a while.  It was this book that kind of gave me the burn out.  I started to write the review for this book and just didn't know what to say. Not that the book was bad or anything but just I had nothing to say about it.  I hadn't run into a book yet that I just really had nothing to say about it.  So maybe this book was really just middle of the road for me.

I'm a little sad that this is the last book in this series, but at the same time I'm glad. I like when a series actually ends and doesn't go on and on and on (I'm looking at you Stephanie Plum).  This book is full of short stories.  I love short stories.  They are like a break from long novels.  I don't always love when an author wraps up characters nicely.  Sometimes you should just finish a novel and leave it.  JK Rowling keeps trying to wrap up Harry Potter and I'm like it's done.. leave it!  These short stories are actually pretty good.  Some not so relevant to whole overall arc of the series so those maybe could've been left out.  I'll do a short review on each story:

The Keeper:
This story is about Michelle Benoit and how she ended up being the caretaker of Cinder. We also learn more about how Scarlet comes to live with her.  Really a great background into this whole part of the story.  I often wondered about the way Scarlet comes to stay with her grandmother.  Though it is a little surprising she never discovered Cinder.

Glitches:
This story focuses on Cinder and when she first arrives to live with Adri and the family.  This one could've been just left up to the reader's imagination.  It is interesting to read about Cinder not remembering anything from her past but I didn't think it needed a whole story of it's own.  I suppose it was to make the reader feel bad for Cinder and how she grew up but I think that was explained enough in the main stories.

The Queen's Army:
This story is about Wolf and how he ends up in the queen's army.  It was really touching to read about his family, especially his brother.  Now this story about the sad background of a character was totally worth the read, unlike Cinder's story.  Wolf's background wasn't exactly touched on in the main series. I do think siblings always compete with each other whether they mean to or not, but to compete to a level where you really dislike the sibling is just sad.

Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky:
This was my least favorite story in the series and I really didn't see how it related to the whole overall series.  It's about Captain Carswell being basically a player in high school.  He ends up falling for a girl who is a little nerdy.  The most important part of this story I suppose is how much pressure Carswell's dad puts on him to do well in school.  Which eventually causes Carswell to rebel.  I knew some people in high school like this.  Their parents kept them so sheltered that once they were able to do what they wanted, they ended up going way to far with their freedom.

After Sunshine Passes By:
This is the story about how Sybil puts Crescent into the satellite.  Here is another good background story.  I was interested to know how Crescent ended up where she did. Crescent really had no idea that she was going to end up in the satellite.  She had thought she had done all this hard work for the Queen and then ended up in some sort of bubble for the rest of her life. She really thought she was going to Earth.

The Princess and the Guard:
This story focuses on the reasons why Winter never used her Lunar gift. Unfortunately, Winter uses her gift to try to save a servant from killing herself only to find out that the servant was bring severely abused and Winter only prolonged it. It just goes to show that we really don't know what's going on behind closed doors. We also find out about Winter's scars on her face.  Such a great background story.

The Mechanic:
This story goes way more into detail about the day that Kai meets Cinder.  This was another story that I don't think really needed to happen.  We could really just figure this all out in our minds.  Though I suppose it's still sweet to read the details about that day.  Iko has always been an annoying character to me in this book series.  I know she is supposed to be the comedy but she just comes off as annoying.  She makes a fool of herself in front of Kai as usual in this story.

Something Old, Something New:
Wolf and Scarlet are getting married.  I'm not totally surprised by this.  There were a lot of characters in this book who are probably going to get married. This was a story with a big bow on it.  We get to visit all the characters again after all that happened in the series. This was a good story and should've been included at the end of Winter. It was like visiting old friends and I'm glad this story was written.

After reading all the background stories I wonder if Meyer always planned on writing these backstories.  They must've popped in her head as she was writing the book and then she jotted them down for a later date.  I don't think I've ever read a book full of background stories about all the characters in a series.  Since the author basically wrote this boo for her fans I will give this a higher score.  Only because it is very obvious that this is a book for people who need their favorite characters stories wrapped up. I would've been find without this book.

3 out of 5 stars
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Fairest by Marissa Meyer  
Winter by Marissa Meyer

Pokemon Go Book Tag

Pokemon Go Book Tag

I really like Pokemon Go, so when I saw Aentee's book tag, I had to participate!  I am so excited about this.  I haven't done a book tag before, honestly because they never interested me.  But I've been playing Pokemon Go (though I have slowed down to be honest) and thought this would be a lot of fun to do. I was never interested in Pokemon before this game came out.  I haven't even watched a full episode of the cartoon.  But I do love gaming.  So... I followed the crowd and downloaded this app.  Enjoy! 

The Game:  The character I picked at the beginning of starting the game was an accident.  I downloaded the app and started playing and didn't realize I had even picked a character. Squirtle was my first character. 

The Book: Thinking back to the book that started me on reading, well there isn't just one.  I loved reading in middle school and Fear Street was my go to series.  Then in high school I stopped reading and in college I read Salem's Lot and fell in love with reading again. 

The Game: I thought Pikachu was really hard to get then when I went to certain places in town I discovered that he's in a lot of places. Though I still don't have enough to evolve him yet. Plus I love how he says his name!  It's so cute. 

The Book: A classic??  For me it would be Dracula by Bram Stoker.  I really love that book. It's classic horror. Plus some of the illustrated editions out there are great.  I remember when I first read the book I went up to the library and found it there.  That was before I used the holds option and would just go up to the library and browse around. 

The Game: Ughhh the Zubat.  Those dumb things are everywhere and I waste sooo many balls trying to catch them. Just awful.  Errrr... I really don't think the powerful ones are much better either. 

The Book: I did lose interest in Twilight.  I'll be honest.  I really liked Twilight when I read it.  Then it became a movie and it became this and that.  Then the author wouldn't publish the book from Edward's point of view.  I think it just all turned me off. 

The Game: I want this guy!  I didn't even know Ditto exists. Is it a evolved Pokemon??  Who is this guy??

The Book: Humm.. this is a tough one.  

The Game:  I think people are getting Snorlax from the eggs you walk around to hatch.  I haven't found one of him anywhere.  But I do know people who found him in the 10 K eggs (I have yet to get a 10 K egg). 

The Book: A large series?  Well... Wheel of Time seems like a large series.  Terry Brooks books seem long to me too. There are just some fantasy series out there that go on and on.  

The Game: What!  Who is this Gengar??  I need him.  I am falling behind on finding some of these hard to get Pokemon. 

The Book: I think recently Winter by Marrisa Meyer kept me up reading.  I wasn't scared kept up... just couldn't stop reading type of kept up late into the night. I mean... when you realize you are only 100 pages to the end of the book how can you just stop reading???

The Game:  I love these guys.  I have no idea about Pokemon lore though.  Are they like a male and female couple??  I don't have mine evolved to this yet though. In fact, I am not even halfway there. I have about 25 candies for each of these guys. 

The Book: One true pairing is what OTP is.  Yeah I had to google it.  I'm not a romance reader so I had no idea.  Well.... I'll pick a couple from comic books.  Superman and Wonder Woman.  Mainly because my husband is Superman and I'm Wonder Woman and we are a perfect match. 

The Game: Yes Rapidash!  I only have one so far but this is almost my favorite Pokemon (other then Mew).  He's just so sparkly. 

The Book:   Fast paced read?  I think the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich is fast.  I could really sit here for about 4 hours and read those books start to finish.  It's nice though sometimes to go from a long series novel to a silly detective story. 

The Game: Eevee!  So cute.  I was able to collect these pretty fast and I have all three evolved forms.  Someone told me you had to do a trick to get each type (fire, water, electricity) but when I evolved each I just automatically got all three types.  Not sure if that is normal or not.   The trick is you are supposed to name them something to do with their element.. google it.  Not sure if that's true. 

The Book: Never get tired of spinoffs?  That's tough because most series run their course.  I am probably copying most comments but Harry Potter is always fun to read.  I read the Cursed Child and enjoyed it.  I also loved the newest book in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King so I am hoping he has more stories buried in his mind for that world. 

The Game: Ughhh!  I think maybe one time I got something cool.  I think it was a star fish.  I live in a land locked state so we don't get a lot of water types here. I still haven't had a 10 k egg yet either.  I would like one of those. 

The Book: I don't really like debut novels.  I typically stick to authors I know who already have books out.  So... this one I really can't answer with a great book. 

The Game: I used up my lures pretty fast.  I didn't realize how hard they were to obtain without putting money into the game (I refuse). Soooo now I just go to super busy places and use the lures that someone else has thrown out. Is that cheating???  

The Authors: I don't buy any books hardly ever.   They all come from the library.  But my pretty much only auto-buy author is Stephen King.  I will buy his books!!  I would love to own all his books someday. 

The Game: I don't know much about these birds. Where to get them?  Do they evolve?  I mean... I'm just trying to catch all the basic Pokemon. 

The Book: I think Marissa Meyer's new book Heartless about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland might be overhyped.  But I can't wait.  It's supposed to be a standalone book too, not a series.  We'll see.  I'm sure if it's successful there will be a series come from it. 

The Game: The servers are getting better.  A lot of people have stopped playing the game now that the hype has died down.  I even saw an article today talking about how many people have stopped playing it.  It's in the millions. Of course there's been tons of updates since the game's release so I am sure that has helped too. 

 

The Book:  Game of Thrones... need I say more?

The Game:  I have only found ONE Magikarp.  ONE PEOPLE!  It was in a random place too.  You need soooo many candy to evolve this guy and it may never happen in my lifetime. 

The Book: Miss Peregrine's Home for Pecular Children by Ransom Riggs really impressed me.  I was interested in it for the creepiness but had no idea just how cool the story was going to be.  I only hope the film lives up to the book.  I've seen a lot of movies based off YA books just flop on the screen (5th Wave was terrible).   

The Game: I think I heard these don't actually exist in the game.  But Mewtwo has always been my favorite Pokemon.  I never was into Pokemon but when it was popular years ago I was working at Blockbuster video and learned about Mewtwo.  So cute! 

The Book: There are so many collector's editions.  I do want to own all the Dan Brown books in the editions that include all the pictures so I know what pieces of art and locations look like.  Those collector editions are reasonably priced and books I can afford. 

Suicide Squad Movie Review

Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad.  It was the movie I had been anticipating all summer.  I know this review is late and yes I did see it opening night. The week the movie was coming out I was starting to get worried.  The reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics wasn't that great.  But... I never trust the critics.  Sometimes, they can't stand a movie but the general audience loves it. Still I was nervous. If you google Suicide Squad reviews right now all you are going to see are the negative reviews from the critics.  Honestly this movie was good.  No it's not the caliber of Marvel movies... but I still thought as a comic fan it was good. 

The actors were great in their roles... except Will Smith.  I'm sorry but when I see him act lately all I see is Will Smith and not the character he is acting.  Otherwise Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn was amazing.  Personally I also really liked Jared Leto's portrayal of Joker was a new take that impressed me. I wish the film had utilized the Joker more.  I feel like since he was the big villain in the previous Batman films Suicide Squad decided to not go this route. The problem with this film I do think is that the plot was a little bit too much for people who have never been introduced to these characters before.  The villain was weak too. WEAK!  I don't even know if the villain exists in the comics or was made up for the film?  I've seen people saying this film is worse the the Green Lantern film.  Um... did we watch the same Green Lantern movie???

Eventually I know DC is going to pull together their movies.  It's just DC is trying to speed it's way into the movie world and not really giving character development a go.  I do hope to see more Harley Quinn in other movies, and possibly this Joker. One can only hope!

I give this film a B

Sunday Post

Let's chat about what's going on this week... on my blog.. on other blogs... on the internet... and just everywhere!    I link up my post to Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Reader.

It's been a busy summer of traveling.  I find when traveling I never get any reading done.  I used to listen to audio books long road trips but I decided this last road trip that I was going to just listen to music.  I went to the Denver Comic Con in June which was a lot of fun.  I really enjoy going to comic cons.  I would like to get back out to the San Diego one again soon. Unfortunately there weren't a lot of authors there. Terry Brooks was there and I saw one of his panels but I haven't read his books so I don't go to his book signing.   I went to the Beauty and the Beast broadway show.  I really enjoyed that one.  Hamilton is coming to my town next year and I really really hope to get tickets.  Though it is going to be next to impossible I know it.  

🌹Tale as Old as Time🌹#beautyandthebeast #broadway

A photo posted by Wsbronco (@wsbronco) on Jun 10, 2016 at 10:36pm PDT

I have of course started playing Pokemon Go. I really enjoy it and am surprised at all the hate this little game gets. We were at a restaurant  recently were there were a couple stops for the game and this lady who brought out our food was like this is horrifying!!  Um.. and we were sitting right there playing, bringing business to the restaurant. I've been out walking even more and enjoying time with all my friends.

I'm finishing the last book in the Lunar Chronicles series.  The review for that should be up soon! Happy Sunday!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

Title: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J Maas
Pages: 404 pages
Published: May 7th 2013 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens 
Source: Owned
Links: goodreads

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

I have been meaning to read this series for years. I am so glad though that I waited since most of the books in this series are finished (I think there is one more). I thought this was a fantastic fantasy story. I really cared about the characters.  The book covers the plot quite well too.  The politics, religions, history, everything was in this novel.  I didn't feel though like the information was forced on the reader... it went into the story flawlessly.  The main character is Celaena Sardothien, and 18 year old female assassin. She is captured and it in a prison camp.  She is then recruited to become the King's Champion but competing with some of the strongest men in the Kingdom.  If she wins...she will become the King's assassin for 4 years and then be free.  If she loses she'll be sent back to prison. While this contest is going on Celaena discovers some ancient evil magic in the kingdom that must be stopped.

The romance in this book is really good.  It's a love triangle but not one.  Meaning the three don't all love each other at once.  Everyone is honest and doesn't fight each other for love.  It is done quite well. I am hoping in the next book that there is more background on these main characters.  I would love to know where they all come from.  I like that she likes boyish things and girly things.  It reminds me of myself.

I am hoping that we get more of the assassin of Celaena in future books.  The one scene in the book when she was supposed to become all badass things happened to where she couldn't go all out. I really wanted to read about her being like the guy in the video game Assassin's Creed.  I really read mixed reviews on this book so I think you either like it or don't like it.  No in between.   I think the book was fun, fast-paced, and just a good read.  If you are looking for something with a serious assassin this is not the book.  Can't wait for the next one!

Reviews of other books in the series:
Crown of Midnight

Comic Adventures Issue #43

I read a lot of comics and rarely review them here on the blog. That's because I really don't have a lot to say for an entire post.  So I thought I would review several comics on one post.  I will still review graphic novels on their own now and then, but this is where I will talk about super-hero type comics (DC/Marvel) or sequels to some that I have already reviewed.

This issue I chat about Thor vol 2, Cyborg Vol. 1,  Wonder Woman vol 7, and Bodies.

I really enjoyed the first volume of the new Thor.  This volume though was just way short.  I found out who the new Thor is through a spoiler from the comments on my review of Thor Vol. 1. So, I wasn't too surprised when she was unmasked. Dang spoilers.  Anyways.... there were only I think three issues from the main Thor story.  If you don't want to know who the new Thor is stop reading now.  So we come to find out Jane Foster has taken the title of Thor.  I may have enjoyed that more if I could stand her character in the movies... but I just don't.  It is apparent the comic has taken her in a different direction but I've never read Thor before now but she seems to a likable character in the comic.  After this little story line finishes there are three other stories from the world of Thor thrown in.  Not sure what those had to do with anything.  There was a funny story about Thor (the male Thor) out drinking people including the Devil.  I don't think I'm going to continue on in this series though.  This volume just didn't do it for me.  For one thing not enough actual story to the comic... way too short to be collected in a volume. 
2 out of 5

I love Cyborg... but he seems to always be a background character.  So when I saw the library had this on order I knew I had to read it.  Well... the comic isn't what I expected with Cyborg.  Vic Stone/Cyborg's robotic powers are evolving.  So ... he's not exactly the Cyborg we know.  He's trying to learn and figure out what is happening to him.  There is this group called Technosapiens who come to earth to absorb humans... so of course we have a team up with some Metal heroes (which I haven't heard of before but Cyborg knows them???). There was an interesting part where Vic Stone was having some inner dialog... he was talking about how people wonder if he eats, goes to the bathroom, sleeps and even if he has sex.  He does answer these questions so that was a good insight into his character.  I had issues with this comic when we got the whole different dimension added in.  Ughhhh I hate when in order to get a plot going we throw in other Earths.  This volume does cover humans who start to go on the black market and use the technology used to fix Cyborg in the first place and I thought that was a good issue to cover.  Why can't people missing limbs use this technology too.  Why is it saved for only superheros?? 
3 out of 5

I love the Wonder Woman series so much.  What I really liked about this volume is that it takes the many story lines we have going on in the New 52 and tries to streamline them.  Honestly the comic really needed that.  Originally Wonder Woman's comics were having nothing to do with crossovers.  So we just got the story of her dealing with her Greek background.  I loved it.  Then we did start to get some crossover, she is God of War now, she is apart of the Justice League, she is dating Superman, she is trying to be queen of the Amazons.  A lot of plots which must've been hard for the new writer to handle.  The artist has changed and that was the hardest part about this comic for me.  I really really loved the art in the first 6 volumes (see below what WW looked like in the first 6 volumes).  The artist really added to the Greek feel.  I will say though that the new artist does bring Wonder Woman out of the Greek heavy story line.  I think this volume kind of clears the way for Finch (the new author) to take the story in her own direction next volume.

I don't even know what I just read!  I mean... confusing.  So this comic has four stories taking place in different time periods about unsolved murders.  I love the cover.  So pop-art. I remember seeing this around goodreads and blogs.  So I finally made the time to read it. The times periods are 1890, 1940, 2014, and 2050.  The 2050 story completely confused me.  I have no idea what people were saying or doing.  It was like gibberish. I almost feel like I wasn't smart enough to get this book. Reading this comic was seriously a chore.  I am pretty sure all these murders were supposed to be linked through time but who knows??? I didn't care about any of the characters... there were a few sex scenes thrown in for shock I'm guessing.  To try to make this comic more daring then they were already trying to make it.  Didn't work. I just want my time back! I can barely put into words my dislike for this comic. 

1 out of 5

This counts for 42 comics towards my 2016 Graphic Novels Challenge.