6'7" and Green

Terra Graphic Novel Review

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Erica

Terra Erica gives this comic three stars

Terra by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Art: Amanda Conner

I picked up this trade after really enjoying this creative team’s run on Power Girl. This was, however, in no way near the quality of that title. Yay for writers improving (this happens Pre-Power Girl), but I’m kind of sad this title’s not better than it is. Even Conner’s art seems a little more cheesecakey.

I’m really glad that the editors included the Supergirl issue which introduced this version of Terra. It helped better set the context of the tale. Especially given that I’m essentially reading this story backwards.

Things that I really liked:

Most of Conner’s art was excellent. I do love how she draws expressions. Especially on Power Girl.

I loved the beginnings of Terra and Power Girl’s friendship. Continue reading →

Posted in DC: Terra | Tagged Artist and Writer: Amanda Conner, DC: Geo-Force, DC: Power Girl, DC: Richard Faulkner, DC: Supergirl, DC: Terra, DC: Veronica, Writer: Jimmy Palmiotti, Writer: Justin Gray | Leave a comment

iZombie (vol 2): uVampire Graphic Novel Review

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Erica

iZombie (vol 2): uVampire Erica Gives This Comic Four Stars

iZombie (vol 2): uVampire by Chris Roberson
Art: Michael Allred

iZombie continues to be packed with a lot of different storylines and tales to tease out of it. Allred’s art is still beyond awesome, and one of the most enjoyable parts of the book.

I love the story about Gwen as a human, which worked as both nice insight into her pre-death (definitely not one who believed in monsters) and as an introduction to Tricia, her former best friend.

The entire story of Spot and his grandfather Marvin was a little weak. As much as I appreciated backstory on Spot, it was a little too much all at once. We found out about Spot’s childhood, his entire relationship with his grandfather, how he became a wereterrier, and how he met Gwen and Ellie.

I’m still not quite sure why Spot didn’t go to Ellie earlier about advice Continue reading →

Posted in Vertigo: I Zombie | Tagged Artist and Writer: Michael Allred, Vertigo: Claire, Vertigo: Ellie, Vertigo: Galatea, Vertigo: Gwen Dylan, Vertigo: John Amon, Vertigo: Marvin, Vertigo: Nemia, Vertigo: Spot, Vertigo: Tricia, Writer: Chris Roberson | Leave a comment

Cairo Graphic Novel Review

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Erica

Cairo Erica Gives This Comic Four Stars

Cairo by G. Willow Wilson
Art: M.K. Perker

I continue to love the magical realist stories told by Wilson, especially in how her characters adapt to the world that doesn’t necessarily behave in the ways they think it should. She uses magical realism as a great tool to show the different qualities and personalities of the various characters and of her setting, Cairo.

Perker’s art is wonderful here. And I really appreciated the black and white art instead of it being colored. I felt that it allowed for more detail to pop in his work. As much as I enjoyed his pencils in Air, I almost like them better here. And I feel having the book in black and white makes me focus more on the characters’ different features than using short-cuts based on coloring like “so-and-so has brown hair.” Which that Perker can make them all look different enough from each other to be distinguishable speaks volumes of him as an illustrator.

Okay, onto Cairo‘s story… On one hand, I love what Wilson says about Cairo and the changing Arab world in the story; but the ending, it kind of kills it for me. Continue reading →

Posted in Vertigo: Cairo | Tagged Artist: M.K. Perker, Vertigo: Ashraf, Vertigo: Iblis, Vertigo: Jibreel, Vertigo: Kate, Vertigo: Nar, Vertigo: Shaheed, Vertigo: Shams, Vertigo: Tova, Writer: G. Willow Wilson | Leave a comment

I, Zombie (Vol 1): Dead to the World Graphic Novel Review

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Erica

I, Zombie Erica gives this comic five stars

I, Zombie (Vol 1): Dead to the World by Chris Roberson
Art: Michael Allred

This is such a fun comic. It’s wondrously stylized and a gorgeous comic book. I, Zombie is a beautiful read. Even if it is about an undead woman that eats brains.

Roberson does a great job at setting up the characters. I appreciated that not all of them had met before, and that they all had different levels of knowledge about the supernatural. In five issues, Roberson sets up a lot of plots and a lot of stories that I can see becoming different arcs of the book.

Gwen as a character has a lot of heart. Continue reading →

Posted in Vertigo: I Zombie | Tagged Artist and Writer: Michael Allred, Vertigo: Diogenes, Vertigo: Ellie, Vertigo: Gwen Dylan, Vertigo: Horatio, Vertigo: John Amon, Vertigo: Nemia, Vertigo: Spot, Writer: Chris Roberson | 2 Comments

Hark! A Vagrant Graphic Novel Review

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Erica

Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton Erica gives this comic five stars

Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton

I can’t recommend this book more. Hark! A Vagrant is a brilliant collection of Beaton’s web comics. I’ve been reading her web comic for a while, and it was great to re-read some of my favorite ones and to discover new-to-me ones. Anyone who enjoys a literary, historical, or Canadian joke will appreciate this collection.

(Jason, who a scientist, was not so entertained by these jokes; mostly because he didn’t get a lot of them, and he doesn’t like when that happens. Liberal arts, ftw.)

My favorite jokes are probably the ones about Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters and their books. Mostly, because I’ve always been in agreement with Beaton’s assertion that their romantic heroes were not as romantic as they were played to be. Continue reading →

Posted in Drawn and Quarterly: Hark! A Vagrant | Tagged Artist and Writer: Kate Beaton, DC: Wonder Woman, Writer: Anne Bronte, Writer: Charlotte Bronte, Writer: Emily Bronte, Writer: Jane Austen | 2 Comments

Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life Graphic Novel Review

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Erica

Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life Erica Gives This Comic Four Stars

Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life by Matt Sturges
Art: Kelly Yates and Brian Shearer

This was a cute tale; it didn’t push boundaries in a Doctor Who story. In fact, I could easily see this being filmed for television. I always appreciate a story about fairy tales not being everything they are made of. I also like the idea that holiday planets are not always what they appear to be.

As much as I enjoyed Amy as the self-rescuing princess, I thought Sturges perhaps overemphasized this in Amy’s dialog. Once or twice is enough, but Amy vocalized it over and over. However, I am glad that she did some of her own digging around and trying to help the people escape the tower.

I was worried that Aurelia and the others in the tower had been killed. Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life | Tagged Artist: Brian Shearer, Artist: Kelly Yates, Doctor Who: Amy Pond, Doctor Who: Aurelia, Doctor Who: Callum, Doctor Who: The Doctor, Writer: Matthew Sturges | Leave a comment

Fables: Super Team (Vol 16) Graphic Novel Review

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Erica

Fables: Super Team (Vol 16) Erica gives this comic three stars

Fables: Super Team (Vol 16) by Bill Willingham
Art: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Eric Shanower, Terry Moore, Andrew Pepoy, and Richard Friend

This entire volume of Fables felt like a filler. And not in a good way. There wasn’t anything particularly bad about this volume; it just seemed to not really go anywhere.

It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of Bufkin. First, I don’t like monkeys. And second, I don’t like unnecessary male heroes who have the type of story that a woman character would never have. Now Bufkin is apparently going to take over pan-Oz from its evil rulers. I really hope this storyline is not cut-and-dry or evil-vs-good. (Good, of course, being whatever side Bufkin is on.)

I love the twist that Beast has lost his curse to his daughter, Bliss. I’m really curious at where this will go. Of course, with Bliss being a baby, it’s probably not going anywhere very quickly. Continue reading →

Posted in Fables | Tagged Artist and Writer: Eric Shanower, Artist and Writer: Terry Moore, Artist: Andrew Pepoy, Artist: Mark Buckingham, Artist: Richard Friend, Artist: Steve Leialoha, Fables: Beast, Fables: Beauty, Fables: Bigby, Fables: Bliss, Fables: Bufkin, Fables: Dark Man, Fables: Frau Totenkinder, Fables: Ghost, Fables: North Wind, Fables: Nurse Leigh Spratt, Fables: Ozma, Fables: Pinocchio, Fables: Sleeping Beauty, Fables: Snow Queen, Writer: Bill Willingham | Leave a comment

Madame Xanadu: Broken House of Cards (Vol 3) Graphic Novel Review

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Erica

Madame Xanadu Vol 3 Erica gives this comic five stars

Madame Xanadu: Broken House of Cards (Vol 3) by Matt Wagner
Art: Amy Reeder and Richard Friend

Madame Xanadu was back in form for this volume. Reeder’s art was a re-welcomed addition. She just captures Madame Xanadu and her world so wonderfully. I love the facial expressions and the angles. Friend’s art was also a nice addition to the story.

I loved this 1950s story. It felt right for the era. The focus on the suburban wackiness. The need to have all the newest appliances, the perfect relationships, the dresses, the sexist gender roles, and of course, the casual obsession with Satanism. I adore that Madame Xanadu takes the latter with a grain of salt. She knows this is not “Satan” probably because she doesn’t believe any such creature exists. Continue reading →

Posted in Vertigo: Madame Xanadu | Tagged Artist: Amy Reeder Hadley, Artist: Richard Friend, DC: Martian Manhunter, Vertigo: Betty Reynolds, Vertigo: Madame Xanadu, Vertigo: Morgana le Fey, Writer: Matt Wagner | Leave a comment

The Best and the Worst of 2011 Comic Books

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Erica

Yes, the time has come to say goodbye to 2011 and ring in 2012. Here’s a look back at the Best and the Worst of 2011* Comic Books.

The Best On-Going Series

1. Echo by Terry Moore
Average rating: 4.7/5 stars
Reading rating: Teen
Moore’s Echo finished with a bang (or did it?) this year. A story of Julie, the unlikely superhero, and stopping the end of the world, Moore’s work is consistently great and on-point. For those scared of the tome that is Strangers in Paradise, check out this much shorter work.
Read my reviews of Echo.
Purchase Echo.

2. Punisher by Greg Rucka, Marco Checchetto, Matthew Clark, and Matthew Southworth
Average rating: 4.3/5 stars
Reading rating: Teen
I never thought I’d like a Punisher book as much as I love this one from Rucka. Dive into the gritty world of Frank Castle, his mission, and the fall-out of villains, reporters, cops, and victims. With some beautiful art to accompany it.
Read my reviews of Punisher.
Purchase Punisher.

3. Batwoman by J.H. Williams, W. Haden Blackman, and Amy Reeder Hadley
Average rating: 4.3/5 stars
Reading rating: Teen
The most anticipated comic (for me) ever. Anyone reading my blog is probably not surprised that I love Batwoman. Kate Kane is probably one of my favorite characters ever, and in combination with Williams’ art, this title has been making me very happy. I only want more.
Read my reviews of Batwoman.
Purchase Batwoman. Continue reading →