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Book Review: The Walking Dead, Book Four by Robert Kirkman (Series, #4) (Graphic Novel)
Summary:
After escaping the horrors of Woodbury with two new additions to the group in tow, Rick, Michonne, and Glenn high-tail it back to the prison where they warn the other survivors and start prepping to defend their turf. Meanwhile daily life goes on, including a birth, more missing limbs, and a wedding.
Review:
This entry in the series is mind-blowingly awesome. Kirkman demonstrates that he not only is full of surprises, but also pulls no punches. Our group of survivors have their world torn completely apart. And it’s delicious.
First, we have the return of The Governor, and not as a zombie as I’m sure I wasn’t the only one suspecting. He is back missing an arm, an eye, and (I think it’s safe to assume) a dick. This all just makes him even more ferocious and terrifying than before, although that comes as no surprise considering that he is now the man with no penis. But yes, the full-page shot of him arriving at the prison in top of a tank? Fucking. Awesome.
There’s also a lot more zombie action this time around, although I do wonder why it is in pretty much every post-apocalyptic zombie books, no one calls them what they are? The prison folks say roamers, and the Woodbury folks say biters. Um, hello? They are zombies. Be realistic, people. Distancing yourself from your fears won’t help any. In any case, those of us who are huge fans of zombies are pleasantly greeted with many more and varied drawings of them, as well as attacks on people. Zombie gnawing on a dude’s leg? Yes, please.
On a more serious note, the theme of this entry is war. It’s war on a small scale, but it is still war. This is actually quite cool, because it allows Kirkman to show the dangers of war and truthiness on an easier to understand, up-close-and-personal level. The Governor is smart. He manipulates his people (except those closest to him) into believing that those at the prison are the type of evil that he, in fact, is. They thus go in hell-bent on murdering innocent people, who then have to shoot back to defend themselves. The most powerful moment of this, of course, is when a woman from Woodbury realizes she has killed a baby and essentially loses her mind from the instantaneous guilt. It’s a powerful lesson (or reminder) to readers presented in a unique package. The distancing of the situation from reality by the presence of zombies only allows the clarity of the concept of an unjust war to really sink in.
This is absolutely the best entry in the series so far. I cannot wait to find out what happens to the demolished survivors next. Fans of the earlier books should pick this one up asap.
5 out of 5 stars
Source: Public Library
Previous Books in Series:
The Walking Dead, Book One
The Walking Dead, Book Two
The Walking Dead, Book Three
Book Review: Y: The Last Man: One Small Step by Brian K. Vaughan (Series, #3) (Graphic Novel)
Summary:
Our trio of the doctor, Yorick, and 355 have resumed their attempt to reach the west coast, but get side-tracked when they stumble across the Russian woman looking for the spacemen. Upon learning of the imminent arrival of the astronauts, they decide to join her in journeying to the landing location, which just happens to be nearby. Meantime, the Israeli soldiers, unbeknownst to them, are hot on their tails.
Review:
Many different plot lines collide in this entry in the post-apocalyptic series. We finally find out why the Israelis are following Yorick and meet the astronauts. We get to know the Russian lady, as well as a couple of new scientists at the secret government location.
Most interesting in this book is Yorick’s growth as a character. Although he, to a certain extent, has that slacker mentality that can be so difficult to change, it appears an apocalypse just might succeed in doing so. He takes more assertive action and starts to doubt maintaining his loyalty to his girlfriend/fiancee on the other side of a world full of just women. In a way the story feels like a coming of age one. Yorick going from a boy to a man. Which is kind of hilarious given the setting, but it also works.
The Israeli soldiers storyline question a lot of gender norms thinking. I watched a lot of war movies in my childhood, and here we have soldiers doing basically the exact same thing, only they’re women. Just seeing that impacts gender norm preconceptions of the reader.
Finally, we have the astronauts who have developed an interesting relationship in their extended time away from earth. Their presence and the surprises they bring are the final kick that makes this the best entry in the series so far.
The art continues to be colorful and easy to decipher, plus the last chapter is a bit of a meta romp featuring primarily Yorick’s monkey that ends the book on a light note, but also moves the plot forward in a key way.
Overall, this is a well-drawn, creatively plotted entry in the series that manages to amuse and cause thought-provoking responses simultaneously. Readers of the series will be instantly begging for more.
5 out of 5 stars
Source: Public Library
Previous Books in Series
Y: The Last Man: Unmanned
Y: The Last Man: Cycles
Book Review: The Walking Dead, Book Three by Robert Kirkman (Series, #3) (Graphic Novel)
Summary:
The rag-tag band of survivors have adjusted to living in the prison. One day they spot a helicopter go down in flames. Rick, Michonne, and Glenn head out to check on it and end up finding another group of survivors whose leader is known as The Governor. Unfortunately for them, not everyone has maintained their humanity amid the walking dead.
Review:
This entry in the series puts the graphic in graphic novel. We’re talking mutilation, torture, and rape. Also the usual murders and zombies. It is not a book for those disturbed by those things or who find them gratuitous. However, for those of us who love violence all up in our literature, it’s a squee-inducing violence fest. Although you may not want to read it in public just in case someone glances over your shoulder during the rape and/or torture scenes.
The addition of another group of survivors where everything is not hunky dory and evil has arisen was exactly what this series needed. It shows the very dark possibilities that the group we’ve been following have thus far managed to avoid. It puts things like Tyreese and Rick’s fight in the previous book into perspective. Woodbury and The Governor also demonstrate how key Rick has been to the group’s survival and maintenance of a healthy community. All it takes is one bad apple wanting the power for a bad culture to spring up. It’s a good lesson that’s taught here in a subtle way.
I thought long and hard about how I feel about Michonne’s rape. At first I was angry about it with reactions ranging from, “she’s so strong; it doesn’t make sense” to “oh sure, rape the only black woman *eye-roll*.” But the more I thought about it I realized I was being unfair. In a world gone to hell and full of evil rape is going to happen. Rape happens every day now let alone in a post-apocalyptic world, and Kirkman manages to show it in a graphic novel in a way that is respectful to the victim, which I am sure was not easy to do. The concept of what is happening is clear, but at the same time, the drawings focus in on the victim’s emotions and reactions. Similarly, Michonne is the logical choice because she is the most adventurous of the women. She does not stay at home with the kids while the men run out and do things. She’s a strong woman, yes, but being strong doesn’t stop bad things from happening to you. That said, if you are a person who finds rape scene triggering, you should definitely skip this entry in the series and get someone to sum it up for you.
Overall, this is a strong entry that keeps the series fresh and introduces more drama into the post-apocalyptic world. Fans of the first two books will not be disappointed by this one. Highly recommended.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Public Library
Previous Books in Series:
The Walking Dead, Book One
The Walking Dead, Book Two
Book Review: The Walking Dead, Book 2 by Robert Kirkman (Series, #2) (Graphic Novel)
Summary:
The rag-tag group of survivors of the zombie apocalypse stumble upon a prison with two circles of fences just in time. With the warm weather more zombies are active now that they’re no longer frozen. Of course they also discover locked in the cafeteria three surviving inmates. Attempts to make the odd mix of original survivors, inmates, and the farmers into one group might be a task too huge to overcome. Especially when you add in a mysterious woman who arrives with two pet zombies she leads by chains.
Review:
Now that Kirkman has the post-apocalyptic zombie world firmly established, he is more free to move his characters around within it, seeing how different personalities and mores react to an entirely reordered society. This leads to some interesting storylines, such as the May/December romance, suicide pacts, and the idea of a fresh start for the living inmates. It does, however, also lead to some….overly dramatic speeches, let’s say. One in particular reminded me of the infamous “Live together, die alone” speech from Lost, only this one goes, “You kill; you die!” I had to stop reading for a minute to giggle. The close-up of the sheriff’s overly dramatic face had me in stitches, and I”m pretty sure that wasn’t the intended reaction, lol.
That said, though, all of the drama and death and zombies is exactly what one is looking for in a zombie graphic novel. If anything gives a writer an excuse to be overly dramatic, it’s a rag-tag bunch of survivors of the zombie apocalypse. Death and chaos are what we’re looking for here, while also addressing survival issues like farming and people having nervous break-downs. There’s also a creative zombie lore twist that I won’t spoil for you, but that is highly enjoyable.
Overall, Kirkman finds more stable footing in this second entry in the series. It’s chaotic, high-speed disasters, violence, and sex. If that’s what you look for in your graphic novels, I highly recommend this one.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Public Library
Previous Books in Series:
The Walking Dead, Book 1
Book Review: Buddha Volume Three Devadatta by Osamu Tezuka (Series, #3) (Graphic Novel)
Summary:
Siddhartha is now a young monk pursuing knowledge and education. He runs into a one-eyed monk who attempts to educate him on the concept of ordeals–essentially punishments for the body designed to help attain enlightenment. The childhood of Devadatta is also depicted. He is bullied and becomes a killer at a young age, thrown out to the wolves who then raise him. Thus his hatred of humanity is explored.
Review:
I am consistently finding this series to be decidedly meh, yet I persist in reading it. I think the art is a large piece of why. It’s almost immediately relaxing to look at, so much so that it doesn’t really matter too much to me what the story is that’s going along with it.
I was intrigued to see a “raised by wolves” myth in another culture. It’s interesting that instead of turning Devadatta into a great warrior, though, it makes him hate humans. A great section is where the wolf mother tells Devadatta that humans are the only animals who kill when they are not hungry. The kindness of and lessons to be learned from the animal world is a persistent theme throughout the series that I enjoy.
Siddhartha’s journey here though does not read at all the way I read it in Siddhartha in college. I appreciate that we’re seeing how no one seems to have answers that ring true for him. For instance, he does not agree with choosing physical punishment purely to suffer an ordeal for no apparent reason. It’s interesting to see his nature depicted as one that just happens to be able to sniff out falseness. It’s a different perspective on the Buddha that I value seeing.
It is odd though for a graphic novel series on an important topic like the Buddha’s life to feel as if it is best read by those already educated on the Buddha. I assumed it would read like an easy introduction, but instead it is so subtle and leaves out so many key details that it is actually best read by those already well educated on Buddhism and the Buddha’s life.
3 out of 5 stars
Source: Public Library
Previous Books in Series:
Buddha, Volume 1: Kapilavastu
Buddha, Volume 2: The Four Encounters
Book Review: The Walking Dead, Book 1 by Robert Kirkman (Series, #1) (Graphic Novel)
Summary:
When cop Rick wakes up from a coma brought on by a gun shot wound, he discovers a post-apocalyptic mess and zombies everywhere. He sets off for Atlanta in search of his wife, Lori, and son, Carl, and soon teams up with a rag-tag group of survivors camped just outside of Atlanta.
Review:
I just want to point out that this review is purely focused on the graphic novel, not the tv series. I haven’t even seen more than 10 minutes of the tv show, so remember this is about the books not the show. Thanks! Moving along….
I almost gave up on this within the first few pages, because COME ON. Can we PLEASE get over the whole oh I had a coma and then woke up to a zombie apocalypse trope, please? First, it is so highly statistically unlikely that it was laughable the first few times it was used in my beloved dystopian novels, but at this point it just looks lazy. Come up with some other way to start the apocalypse, ok? I don’t care if your main character is out of touch with reality for a few days because he’s on a drug-fueled sex streak. At least it would be different! Also, a cop, really? You want me to root for a cop? And everyone trusts him because he’s a cop? A cop is the last person I would put in charge if I was a member of a rag-tag bunch of survivors; I’m just saying.
Once we move on beyond the initial set-up though to the group of survivors caravaning their way across America, the story vastly improves. The people are real. They’re scared. They’re angry. The snap easily. They hook up with whoever is convenient (and not necessarily young and hot). They teach the kids to use guns. It’s everything we know and love about post-apocalypse stories.
The artwork is good. Scenes are easy to interpret; characters are easy to tell apart. The zombies are deliciously grotesque, although I did find myself giggling at them saying “guk.” Guk? Really? Ok….
The best part, though, is the people that in your everyday life you are just like, come on, god, bolt of lighting, right here? They’re the ones who get eaten by zombies! It is excellent. So that really annoying chick in camp? Totally gets her head bit by a zombie. It’s cathartic and awesome.
The cast is diverse, and no, the black guy is not the first to be eaten (or the red shirt guy for that matter). It wouldn’t kill Kirkman to be a little less heteronormative, but he’s still got time and more survivors to add.
Overall, this is a good first entry in a zombie apocalypse series. Kirkman needs to be more careful to stay away from expected tropes in the genre and bring more of the creativity it is apparent he is capable of. I recommend it to fans of zombies, obviously. ;-)
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Public Library
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Book Review: Buddha Volume Two The Four Encounters by Osamu Tezuka (Series, #2) (Graphic Novel)
Summary:
The second entry in the novelization of the Buddha’s life takes us through Siddhartha’s youth spent as a prince. He meets a mysterious Brahmin who tells him he is destined to help the whole world, not rule a single kingdom. Siddhartha is weak, frequently sleeps, and has visions. He is discontent as a prince yet reluctant to abandon his people. On an adventure outside the castle walls he meets a grown-up Tatta and falls for a slave woman, Migaila. Conflict between what he believes and his duties as a prince seem central to the plot, yet in fact it is Siddhartha’s reluctance to follow his calling and leave the castle to be a monk that is at the core of the conflict.
Review:
I was pleased to see this entry in the series jump right into Siddhartha’s life instead of those on the periphery, yet Tezuka also brings in the major characters from the first book as minor characters in this one. It works well, definitely better than the first book. However, I am left wondering if the love between Siddhartha and a slave woman was based at all on fact or hearsay or purely came out of Tezuka’s mind. It would definitely give a new perspective on Siddhartha to know he once had an ill-fated love affair.
Although it’s important to know where the Buddha came from, it is difficult and not particularly enjoyable to read about the time in his life when he was a spoiled brat. Siddhartha does not treat his wife or his father well. Although he has natural talents with meditation and visions, he surprisingly lacks compassion for others. One of the things I like, of course, about the Buddha is that he did start out this way. He’s not perfect; he just learned and worked toward Nirvana. So it’s important to see this part of his life, even if it is uncomfortable to read.
I again felt distracted by the characters Tezuka made up though. I wish he had stuck to a straight-forward graphic novelization of Siddhartha or the legends of the Buddha at least. The weakest points of the book are the parts including characters Tezuka made up purely on his own.
The art is again enjoyable but not amazing. The pictures show the story but do not suck you in. They give the feeling of being there to do a job, not necessarily to provide a memorable visual experience to the reader.
Overall, it’s an interesting new way to explore the life of the Buddha, but I would not recommend it to someone completely new to Siddhartha. It is an improvement over the first entry, and hopefully they will continue to improve, but an idea that could have been great is simply average. That’s disappointing.
3.5 out of 5 stars
Source: Public Library
Previous Books in Series:
Buddha, Volume 1: Kapilavastu
Book Review: Buddha Volume 1 Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka (Graphic Novel) (series, #1)
Summary:
The tale of the Buddha’s life is told peripherally to those of fictional, central characters. There is Tatta, an untouchable who can inhabit the bodies of animals. He is joined by Chapra, a slave who wants to become a warrior. Also there is Chapra’s mother and a young monk. Their lives are impacted by the birth of the Buddha.
Review:
I picked this up randomly from the shelf in the library, and I must say I was expecting a bit more focus on the Buddha than is present in the story. Instead this is one of those tales about fictional people living in the shadow of a world-changing person. I honestly was really excited about the idea of the story of the Buddha told in the graphic novel style, so that was a bit of a disappointment to me.
The art style is interesting. Somewhere between manga and more western-style animation. The characters are really easy to tell apart, though, which was a nice change from some manga.
Although the Buddha is mostly gestating and being born during the course of the book, Buddhist ideas are still present periodically in the storyline. One of my favorites is when a saint chastises the monk for how he orders Tatta to use his talents:
To save just one human, you mindlessly harnessed numerous beasts to an impossible task…and killed them one by one! The beasts you bent to your purpose all suffered greatly and died cruelly! You believe that human lives are sacrosanct while animal lives are worthless?!?! You saved [the human], but the beasts that you sacrificed for his sake are now beyond saving. Life is sacred whether or not it is human! (page 350-1)
It was fun to see these sorts of ideals in the context of a story, and I do always enjoy reading a graphic novel. The main story itself fell flat for me though. It mostly focuses in on Chapra attempting to become a great warrior and save his mother from being a slave, which I fail to see how that relates to the Buddha. As I said, though, this book was not what I was expecting, and I don’t tend to really go for warrior/mother tales. Except Oedipus.
Overall, the art is an interesting style and some of the ideas contained within the book are fun to see in fiction, but the main storyline separate from Buddha’s life simply did not resonate with me. Perhaps it will with you.
3 out of 5 stars
Source: Public Library
Book Review: I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly (Graphic Novel)
Summary:
Barbara is a middle school student with one intense focus–she must learn how to kill giants before it is too late. She doesn’t fit in much at school or have many friends, but she doesn’t really care, because she needs to be ready for the giant. The giant is connected to a secret at home, you see, and this secret takes over her life too much to care about all those silly things the other girls talk about.
Review:
I picked up this graphic novel because it was getting tons of buzz as being an excellent graphic novel. I also wanted to know what this big secret was in Barbara’s life. Does the graphic novel address something that isn’t discussed much in polite society but is still an issue for many middle schoolers out there? I was dying to know! Unfortunately, I found myself incredibly disappointed with this graphic novel. I can’t discuss why without spoiling what the giant is, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, skip this review.
I was expecting the giant Barbara is facing at home to be something like abuse or incest. Instead, it turns out Barbara’s mother is dying of cancer. Um. Ok. I’m sorry, a big scary giant doesn’t seem to be quite the right metaphor for a dying parent. What makes this little girl think she can fight death? I guess I just don’t get it.
Additionally, I just really didn’t like Barbara. I honestly get tired of graphic novel writers always making the main character a geek. This little girl–shocker–plays D&D. She is cruel to her classmates. She judges them. She’s even mean to the one girl who for some unearthly reason shows an interest in Barbara and what she likes to do. She, quite frankly, rubs me the wrong way, and I don’t think she’s supposed to.
Then there’s the art. I also didn’t like that, especially how he drew Barbara. Why does she have bunny ears? What’s up with that? The drawing style never feels artistic. Not once did I find myself sucked into the pictures to get further into Barbara’s world. They felt more like badly-done newspaper comic strips than a graphic novel.
Overall, I’m disappointed that I even bothered with this book. It’s one of those few instances when if I’d known the spoiler ahead of time, I’d have saved myself some time. I can’t even imagine handing this over to a middle schooler dealing with a terminally ill relative, because I don’t think it particularly presents healthy coping mechanisms or solutions to unhealthy ones. Why this book is so popular remains a mystery to me.
2 out of 5 stars
Source: Amazon
Book Review: Y: The Last Man: Unmanned by Brian K. Vaughan (Graphic Novel) (Series, #1)
Summary:
The world is changed overnight when all the men and boys in the world mysteriously drop dead. Factions quickly develop among the women between those who want the world to remain all female and those who would like to restore the former gender balance. One man is mysteriously left alive though–Yorick. A 20-something, underachieving magician with a girlfriend in Australia. He desperately wants to find her, but the US government and the man-hating Amazons have other ideas.
Review:
As soon as I heard the concept for this series, I knew I had to read it. Plenty of scifi books have explored other planets consisting entirely of women or an Earth of just women decades after the men died out, but very few go to the immediate after-math of the loss of men. I like that one man is left alive. It lends a scientific mystery to the social aspects of a planet suddenly full of just women. Yorick’s characterization is perfect. He’s laid back enough that there’s not constant angst over the situation, but intelligent enough that he gives the different factions a run for their money. I also appreciate that Vaughan didn’t have all the women suddenly singing kumbaya and holding hands. The fighting, violence, and disagreements among the women are honestly a far more accurate representation of how things work. Women are people, and people fight and disagree. That certainly isn’t a realm that belongs to just men. Vaughan gives an even-handed, fair representation of women covering everyone from women mourning the loss of rock stars to women set world domination and everything in between. I commend Vaughan for that.
The art work is full-color and impactful. Periodically there are full-page illustrations instead of panels. This apocalytpic world isn’t dark. It’s full of light, passion, and energy. Everyone is drawn consistently, and it is not at all difficult to tell people apart. One of the most impactful pages features a close-up of one of the Amazon women with one of her breasts cut (or burnt) off. It’s a very powerful image.
I also appreciated that around 1/4 of this issue takes place in Boston, and Boston is accurately drawn and represented. I love that Boston is key to the story for the scientific community here. It’s tiring always seeing us represented as just the center of the Irish-American mafia. I hope Boston pops up again in future installments. It’s nice seeing my city in print.
Unmanned does an excellent job of quickly setting up the dystopian world where only one man is left alive. The artwork is compelling, and the storyline fairly represents the broad spectrum of female personalities. If the basic concept of this dystopia intrigues you at all, I highly encourage you to try it out.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Amazon
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Opinions of a Wolf 