Dragon Age, Volume 1: The Silent Grove by David Gaider & Alexander Freed, illustrated by Chad Hardin

Pub date: July 25th, 2012.

Author website.

Available in print for the first time, Dragon Age: The Silent Grove is the perfect introduction to BioWare's dark fantasy universe In this essential, canonical story from David Gaider, lead writer of the games, King Alistair, accompanied only by rogues Isabela and Varric, embarks on a quest deep inside the borders of Antiva - a nation of assassins Together, they will encounter a prison break, dragons, the mysterious Witch of the Wilds, and one of the greatest secrets in the history of the world. (goodreads.com)

I'm falling more and more in love with comics the more I read them.    This is such a great introduction to this whole world and it's left me feigning for more.  Between the artwork and the snark I really couldn't get enough of it.

It's a fully realized world that gives me everything I'm looking for in a fantasy (kind of like Gaider tapped into my head and pulled out my fantasy needs) without overdoing it.  There's magic and sorcery and dragons and villains and damaged heros and anti-heros but none of it seems overdone.  Unlike some fantasy it's not trying too hard at all.  In fact it's barely trying because it really doesn't have to.  The world feels effortless.  From the beginning I'm in the middle of it, I believe in it and it keeps me reading.

The three main character are all absolutely amazing.  Alistair is a total snarker which, for a king in fantasy, at least in my experience, is a no-go.  An unserious king?  No way.  Way, Ted!  It's like if Simon Pegg wrote a fantasy this would be it.  Alistair knows what he needs to do and tries his damndest to get it done but holy shit if things don't get in his way.  He emotes a little, cracks jokes to himself and then sets back out again barely feeling set back but maybe just a little.

Isabela is a total hardass chick that I'd like to get to know more about.  She's a pirate, captain of her own ship and damn it all if she doesn't remind you about her fists of glory and the fact that she can nail you to a wall.  But she's not so tough as to be obnoxious.She falls a few times and while she's not the kind of person to constantly take help she knows when she needs it and begrudgingly accepts.  She's also one to readily offer her help.  For a price, of course.

And Varric?  The snark-master dwarf?  I don't know how you have comedic relief in something that's kind of a comedy already but Varric is it.  The quips he kept coming out with had me laughing out loud.  Literally.

Here's some snarkxamples (snamples?) -

06/09	page 79		96.0%	""My name is Alistair Theirin and I'm king of Ferelden. Long live the king, long may he reign! And so forth. Pray to the maker he doesn't do something stupid…""
06/09	page 68		83.0%	""Evidently we're going to ask Claudio how it feels to be stabbed in the chest.""
06/09	page 39		48.0%	""That sound is coming closer." "What do we do?" "Brown our trousers.""

One is Alistair, two is Isabela and three is Varric.  I need more DRAGON AGE.  Sooner rather than later.  Like fantasy?  Like humor?  Like a story that doesn't take itself too seriously?  DRAGON AGE. Now.

Ban Factor: High - Fantasy world with no Christianity, magic and dragons.  It's just far to much for small minds to process.

Year of the Beasts by Cecil Castellucci

Pub date: May 22, 2012.

Author website.

Every summer the trucks roll in, bringing the carnival and its infinite possibilities to town. This year Tessa and her younger sister Lulu are un-chaperoned and want to be first in line to experience the rides, the food . . . and the boys. Except this summer, jealousy will invade their relationship for the first time, setting in motion a course of events that can only end in tragedy, putting everyone's love and friendship to the test.   Alternating chapters of prose and comics are interwoven in this extraordinary novel that will break your heart and crack it wide open at the same time.  (netgalley.com)

Now I'm kinda torn on YEAR OF THE BEASTS.  On one hand I liked the voice and the storytelling, along with the set-up of the story itself, how it alternated between prose and comic.  On the other hand I just wasn't all that thrilled with the story and ended up thinking is was a bit melodramatic.

The whole carnival aspect that the blurb emphasized is really minimal.  It happened at the very beginning of the story and while it was the catalyst for the story to move forward the way it did that's the end of its relevance.  Ultimately this story, based on the comic portion, is far more rooted in Greek myth than anything fanciful like a carnival.  Not that there's anything wrong with that but it makes the blurb slightly misleading.

In the prose portion Tessa ends up making herself a rival to her sister, who ends up getting the guy she has a crush on.  And it begins to develop as your standard sibling rivalry except it's a little more one-sided.  Tessa finds herself inferior to Lulu in looks and personality and whatnot.  But Tessa ultimately finds her own boy.  He just turns out to be someone that "isn't acceptable" to the crowd she hangs out with so she hides him.  And he kind of wants to stay hidden, refusing to hang out with her while with her friends.  A bit of a douche.  He redeems his douchiness towards the end of the story but ultimately he's a pretty big dick, saying that he just CAN'T go out with them as a group, blah, blah, emo, blah.

The comic portion runs along side the prose, telling it in a fashion that was so over the top melodramatic that I had a hard time getting over it.  Tessa's Medusa and has to wear a scarf over her hair in order to keep from turning people into stone while Lulu, the beautiful mermaid, gets adored and praised to the point of suffocation.  It was just a little much for me.  Trust me.  I had, and still have, body image issues, but Medusa?  Seriously?  It seemed a little too much for me to swallow.  Great art and everything but it elevated the story to a point just left of ridiculous in my eyes.

The ending had me crying.  Without a doubt it was pretty heart-wrenching.  I did like the way Tessa recovered from it though.  The event at the end changes a lot of people's lives and it opened up their eyes to a greater world.  The ending, really, was spot on.  I couldn't have asked for a better one.  If there was less melodrama leading up to it I probably would have liked it better.

Tessa and Lulu were sort of flowy characters, swirling around each other pretty seamlessly as the story progressed.  They fed off each other, each being strong when the other was weak, providing a homeostasis within the story itself.  But it does get thrown off and people have to adjust.  It's all in how they adjust to that wrench that reinstates that kind of nirvana.  Leading into the ending again it all fit.  Homeostasis was rebalanced, tenuously and for the time being.  But I'll take it.

See what I mean about torn?  I liked it but I kinda didn't like it.  The voice was phenomenal.  I loved how the story was told when it was in prose.  In comic it was a bit much but the art was fantastic.  The plot itself was kind of dull, nothing that hasn't really been done before but the ending blew me away a bit.  Not expected at all.  So can I recommend YEAR OF THE BEASTS?  Probably.  The only way to know if you'll like it is to read it.  I obviously can't tell you one way or another.

Ban Factor: Low - I really don't know what would get banner panties in a twist in this one.  The characters talk about kissing but that's the extent of the sexuality.  Medusa turning people into stone?  Can be horrifying.  Not much by the way of swearing though.  A little bit but you'd need to dig to find it.

HP Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror

Published May 1, 2012.

Publisher website.

H.P. Lovecraft is known as one of the key founders of modern horror, cited as a major influence by many prominent authors, such as Stephen King. In collaboration with renowned Lovecraft historian and literary caretaker Robert Weinberg, IDW is bringing you the definitive Lovecraft comics updated for a 21st century audience. Adapting "The Dunwich Horror" and "The Hound," a new vision of Lovecraft emerges, courtesy of Joe Lansdale and company!  (netgalley.com)

I am truly a terrible horror fan because I've never read any of HP Lovecraft's works.  Not a one.  I know OF them.  Just haven't indulged.  So a visual of THE DUNWICH HORROR?  Yes, please.

There wasn't anything about this comic that I didn't like, really.  It's a first in a series and it sets up the story really nicely.  The Dunwich Horror itself is a killer inter-dimensional being (another thing I know about Lovecraft, he was all about other dimensions) that's invisible in our world.  And it definitely got some creep factor on with the art.

Of the story itself there's just enough dialogue there to set the story up.  There isn't too much dumping and you get enough to know just enough of what's going on and what's left in the dark is pretty horrifying.  You don't know too much about the characters at this point but I would hope they'd get on with it quick since they're dying already!

The art had some squick factor going along with it.  Lovecraft is pretty gruesome stuff and this comic was not shy about putting that onto the page.  But don't confuse it with gore.  That's not what I would call it.  What you do see is horrifying and I can still see it when I close my eyes but it's not overwhelming to the point where it cancels itself out.  For me too much gore and it ruins it.  Too much gore means that's where the emphasis is because the story itself kind of sucks.  Not with THE DUNWICH HORROR.  The gross that you see compliments the story that you're getting.  It's symbiotic.  And cramps the heart a little.

A definite read for any horror fan, this first book of THE DUNWICH HORROR will certainly get those spiders crawling up your arms and will probably make you spiral into a state of paranoid psychosis.  I mean, an invisible, inter-dimensional being tearing people apart?  Not even air is safe!

Ban Factor: High - With people getting ripped apart and big bad nasties that you can't even see?  Far too much for impressionable young minds.

30 Days of Night, Volume 1 by Sam Kieth

Published April 17, 2012.

Author website.

Fright-master Steve Niles returns to the creation that launched his career for an all-new 30 Days of Night series, with warped genius Sam Kieth handling the art duties. Features an all-new cast of characters being introduced to the world of 30 Days of Night for the first time!  (netgalley.com)

I always love a good comic and it's 30 DAYS OF NIGHT so how could this go wrong?  It didn't but that doesn't mean I'm a super fan now either.

This is actually the first 30 DAYS story that I've read so I know I'm coming into it pretty late.  I've seen the movie but I'm pretty sure it doesn't do the comic justice.  So my ignorance aside I did like the story about the website host trying to find vampires and biting off more than she could chew, pun intended.  And the vampires turning on vampires conspiracy going on.  It was all very intriguing and it definitely got me interested in wanting to read more.

But I was kind of turned off by the art.  I just felt it was substandard and didn't provide the story the additional oomph that I think far better artwork would have garnered.  I didn't think there was much depth to the drawings and they ended up being mediocre compared to others that I've seen.  Frankly I'd expect better in such a popular series.  It could have been my on-screen reader.  I did have some issues setting it to a decent-enough size to read the text well enough but it didn't appear to be affecting the images too much.  I'm pretty sure the images were kind of off all on their own.

As a noob to the whole 30 DAYS OF NIGHT series I liked what I read in this volume.  I was interested in the whole works before but I'm even more so now.  Not thrilled with the art, like I said, but it wasn't enough to turn me off the work entirely.  Just kind of blah in comparison to the rest of it.  It's got it's gore, it's horror and for this uber-vampire fan (of the non-sparkly variety) it had the fangs.  I absolutely appreciated that.  A must-read for any true vampire fan that appreciates that vampires are rather ruthless and should probably be feared more than lusted after.

Ban Factor: High - Gore and vampires.  Lots of gore and lots of vampires.  And backbiting, of the literal and figurative sense.  Not nice at all.

Lily Renee, Escape Artist by Trina Robbins

Published November 1, 2011.

In 1938, Lily Renée Wilheim is a 14-year-old Jewish girl living in Vienna. Her days are filled with art and ballet. Then the Nazis march into Austria, and Lily's life is shattered overnight. Suddenly, her own country is no longer safe for her or her family. To survive, Lily leaves her parents behind and travels alone to England. Escaping the Nazis is only the start of Lily's journey. She must escape many more times—from servitude, hardship, and danger. Will she find a way to have her own sort of revenge on the Nazis? Follow the story of a brave girl who becomes an artist of heroes and a true pioneer in comic books. (netgalley.com)

I'm always amazed by the survival stories that come out of occupied Europe, and Lily Renee's is no different. For such a young girl to have to leave home alone, travel to a foreign country where she barely knows the language and try to ride out the war, it's amazing adults were able to do it, let alone a girl that was barely a teenager. But she did it and it really puts the trials in one's life into perspective. Escaping from the Nazis, then from prejudiced English, traveling to America and then fighting adversity to become a pioneering name in comics kind of makes the daily grind of one's life pale in comparison.

But she did it without a thought about it. It was survival mode and Lily did what she had to do to make it. The story is a simple one, told in simple language but it doesn't need to be dressed up. The story itself is already grand. Flowery prose need not apply. Plus the illustrations to go along with it make it stand out all the more. As if you couldn't picture Lily's story in your head just from the words, the images were there to help. Rich and colorful and sometimes frightening, Robbins didn't hold the story back and Timmons and Oh were relentless with the illustrations. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Whereas something like MAUS, while amazing, is probably too graphic for a younger audience, LILY RENEE tells a realistic story without being gruesome so it makes it a little more easily digestible for a younger reader that might not be able to handle the images in like comics. It'll make them see without making them see too much and it does it without sugarcoating. I'd like to see LILY RENEE, ESCAPE ARTIST in all classrooms as a teaching tool, it's just that good. It's just one of many stories coming out of that time and I'm glad it did. It shows a fight of will and of character and I think everyone should be reading stories like this, just to see what real survival is.

Ban Factor: Low - It's a vanilla historical graphic novel free of swears and anything lewd. Unless banners are offended by the troubles of a young girl escaping Nazi-occupied Europe, they're going to keep their grubby hands off of this one.

Witchblade, Volume 1 by Ron Marz, illustrated by Mike Choi

Published January 30, 2008.

Sara Pezzini awakens from a coma and begins anew with a new partner, new precinct, and a new understanding of the Witchblade. (goodreads.com)

That blurb is a little misleading. Sara wakes up from a coma and both her and her current partner are on leave because of recent events. She doesn't actually have a new precinct but she sets out on her own to find out what happened to her. The guy that tags along is doing just that, tagging along. He's not actually her new partner but IAB that was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Beyond that I found the story pretty interesting although I couldn't help but think that I was walking into something that was already going on. Book-wise it doesn't actually appear to be that way but where the story starts, a pivotal moment has already happened and we're made to go along with the main character to figure out what was going on. But plot-wise I do feel like there's genuinely something missing because by this point Sara already has a grip on how to use the Witchblade. She already seems somewhat comfortable with it, leading me to believe that there is more to the story and maybe I'm not crazy thinking I missed a book. Ultimately I think it's just where the author chose to start the story.

Overall the story was pretty interesting. Your standard Catholic Church is plotting to overthrow the world type of story. I didn't mind it. Marz took it to a new extreme that I found entertaining. I would have liked to know more about the Witchblade but I'm guessing that happens in subsequent volumes. But what I did find out I enjoyed. The inklings of history behind it were enough to keep me reading and enough to get me to want to read further into the series.

The dialogue was a bit noir so some of the lines felt like they were pulled from something like Dick Tracey but I didn't disbelieve any of it. None of it was so over the top that it pulled me out of the story or anything. I really liked the characters. Sara was nice and strong with the men supporting her. Couldn't ask for more! :)

The art was beautiful, although I would have liked to see the chicks with bodies that were a little more attainable. I felt like I was looking at parodies of Barbie bodies, they were so disproportionate with measurements. That element had a chance of grating on me if I chose to read further into the series. Just because the women's bodies in this were so ridiculous.

Overall, I liked WITCHBLADE. Didn't take me long to read at all, the plot was engaging, I loved the art and the story was compelling. I may pick up the later volumes when my pile gets a little lower.

Ban Factor: High - The major boobage alone would get one on the banners' "to smite" list. Plus it's all supernaturally and all that. They don't like that. And boobs.

Choker: One of Six by Ben Templesmith and Ben McCool + Contest!

Published March 2010.

It's a comic book that takes place in a gritty, dirty world where sex, drugs, mutants and vampires rule, "where angels go to die." It stars an ex-cop screwed over by his boss, forced into an underbelly world as a dirt-scrubbing PI for the dredge that no one else wants to deal with. Johnny Jackson hates his life. All he wants is his old one back. And he can get it. For a price.

I snagged this at this year's BEA. Funny how every time I hit up BEA I realize more and more how much I like comic books. I was actually wandering around the comics section looking for another signer when I came across Ben McCool who signed off a copy of Choker to me. It's hard for me not to accept a comic. I mean, they're so easy to read!

But this is a good one. It's gritty, it's nasty, it's ugly. The language is foul, the characters are immensely representative of the scuzzy world they live in and yet it's horribly appealing. From jerk-off machines to black market vampire DNA E tabs, if it's underhanded and leaves a layer of grime on your skin, this comic's got it.

It starts off pretty ordinary, with the down and out PI kicked off the force for one reason or another. And while we're introduced to the guy that screwed Jackson over, we don't know why. We just know what Johnny has to do to get his life back and it doesn't look too pretty at all.

Number one ends just as it's broaching the topic of vampire DNA drugs and damn, is it gory. This comic hides nothing. No sparkling glitterpires here. In fact, they would probably get beaten by the Men Plus and sucked up by the Vacu-Corpse 3000 in this blend of science fiction and nightmares of a world.

While the wording is simple, it's hard-hitting, the pictures behind it only slamming it harder. It's nasty, it's disgusting and it's oh so goddamn compelling. I wanted more the second it ended. Hopefully you will too.

Contest Time!!!

Just fill out the form below for your chance to win a signed copy of Choker #1 by Ben Templesmith and Ben McCool! Due to the content, only those 18 and older may enter.