Posted July 14, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Foxes in Love
Genres: Graphic Novels Pages: 114
Series: Foxes in Love #3 Rating: 
Synopsis: This is a simple comic about simple foxes. Come join Green and Blue once again for their simple adventures through everyday life in the third heart-warming volume of Foxes in Love.
Toivo Kaartinen’s Foxes in Love is an adorable comic with a simple format. It doesn’t really have a story, it just follows two foxes (Green and Blue) and their daily lives, their quirks, their problem-solving techniques, their silly conversations, etc. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen one of their comics and thought, “yep, this is just like me and my wife.”
I feel like the strips are really best experienced one at a time, or a few at a time, rather than in a book like this — I like having the collections, because the internet for sure isn’t forever, but because there’s no story and the character development is more cumulative than chronological, it’s not so much one for sitting down and reading straight through.
If you’ve never given Green and Blue a try, then I recommend it! Take a look.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, Toivo Kaartinen
Posted June 23, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 1 Comment
Foxes in Love
Genres: Graphic Novels Pages: 114
Series: Foxes in Love #2 Rating: 
Synopsis: This is a simple comic about simple foxes. Blue and Green continue their simple adventures in the second volume of Foxes in Love. This series is a heartwarming and humorous collection of comics exploring family, life, and relationships, told by two foxes living their lives together.
Volume 2 contains 9 exclusive comics which were never released online as well as 8 colorized comics which were previously only released in black and white.
I absolutely adore Toivo Kaartinen’s Foxes in Love comics. I’ve read most of them, over time, but I was glad to get a copy of this as well to keep on my shelf and support the author. The comics are sometimes just funny, sometimes really romantic, sometimes a little bit profound… it’s a mix.
It’s perhaps best not to read the whole thing in one sitting: charming as the comics are, they don’t have a storyline or anything, and it can get a little “samey”. I picked up volume 3, but I’ll give it a little time before I read it.
Obviously you can also just follow the comic online in various places if you want to see if it’s to your taste.
Rating: 5/5
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, Toivo Kaartinen
Posted May 31, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
We Only Kill Each Other
Genres: Crime,
Graphic Novels,
Historical Fiction Pages: 136
Rating: 
Synopsis: With World War II on the horizon, Nazi sympathizers and fascists have taken root on American soil in alarming numbers, intending to push the U.S. towards and alliance with Germany.
When the lone hope of stopping the American Nazi movement falls to Jewish-American gangsters currently entrenched in a violent turf war, the gangsters find that there’s only one thing they hate more than each other: Nazis.
We Only Kill Each Other is set during the run-up to World War II, featuring two Jewish characters who are asked to use their skills (beating people up, intimidation and other forms of violence) to defuse the Nazi presence in their city in the US. They’re at loggerheads, however, and make unlikely allies.
It’s not a period I read much about, and as the narrative makes clear, there are no heroes here — these guys are not upstanding normal citizens, but a thug and a gang boss who happen to be Jewish. I read it more because it was there and I could read it for free than out of interest in the story based on the summary, so it’s worth keeping in mind that I’m not exactly the target audience.
And indeed, I found it mostly just… alright? The characters bonded in the end (because of course), and they did indeed manage to beat the Nazis (good) at least in this limited way (thwarting an assassination that would’ve been great for them). The art and writing were okay, but nothing that stood out. I admit to very little knowledge about the quality of the representation of the Jewish characters and whether it plays into any stereotyping.
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, crime, graphic novels, historical fiction
Posted April 29, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Oddball
Genres: Graphic Novels Pages: 112
Rating: 
Synopsis: In addition to their honest and insightful humor, Sarah's Scribbles comics also contain a social conscience, touching on different issues of personal and societal importance. When it comes to humorous illustrations of the awkwardness and hilarity of millennial life, Sarah's Scribbles is without peer.
I’ve always been quite fond of Sarah Andersen’s style and work, and seen a fair bit that’s relatable in it, so having realised that I never picked up Oddball, I was eager to dig in. To say I was disappointed wouldn’t quite be right: as ever, I liked her style and enjoyed her sense of humour.
That said, it’s a collection of loosely connected one-page comics, connected largely by Sarah Andersen’s personality — and knowing her work pretty well, even the ones I’d seen before felt pretty familiar.
I think ultimately, at least for me, it’s a bit one-note, and of a muchness with her other collections.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, Sarah Andersen
Posted April 22, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Breaklands: The Chase
Genres: Fantasy,
Graphic Novels Pages: 120
Series: Breaklands #1 Rating: Synopsis: One hundred and fifty years after the end of the civilization, everyone has powers. Some big, some small, but you need them just to survive in the new age. Everyone except Kasa Fain. Which is a problem when her little brother, who has the potential to reshape the world, is kidnapped by people who intend to just that.
Breaklands Season One is the start of a three-volume journey that struggles a bit to really differentiate itself from the crowd. It’s enjoyable enough in an uncritical, “hey-ho let’s read a quick adventure” way, but most of the details are going to blur into the aether for me within a week or two more. A boy with mysterious powers gets separated from his older sister (who has no powers), and she chases after him, assembles a ragtag crew to help her find him, and of course gets into trouble along the way. Don’t hurt her brother, or she’ll hurt you!
Oh, and she does, after all, have powers. Etc, etc.
There are things I wondered about a bit with this, and it was mostly about the supporting cast and how they came to be where they are. Ruth in particular, I felt like he spent a lot of time being beaten up (and beating others up), but in the end all we know is that he’s indestructible. But what drives him? The book doesn’t care much.
Technically I’ve read all three volumes, but I don’t think I’ll review the other two: it goes where you would expect it to, pretty much how you’d expect it to. Maybe for younger readers (or less prolific readers), it’d come as more of a surprise, and I’m sure there are readers out there who’d love the series.
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, Justin Jordan, Rachel Deering, Sarah Stern, SF/F, Tyasseta
Posted March 28, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
The October Faction
Genres: Fantasy,
Graphic Novels Pages: 139
Series: The October Faction #3 Rating: Synopsis: Merle Cope and his frightful family have been destroyed and Fred Allan has been rescued. Now that the kids have proven themselves, the whole Allan family is back in business, ready to take on the monstrous, paranormal, and downright strange.
I’m still not really sure what to say about Steve Niles’ The October Faction — it just doesn’t get beyond “okay” for me, yet it is a little bit addictive to keep on steamrolling through the volumes. The fast pace helps: I raced through the second, third and fourth volume, reading them pretty much back to back.
There is a little bit of a development with a certain relationship here, which is kinda cute and makes a lot of sense — though there’s been a lot of rushing with the character development, this didn’t come as a surprise.
And again, the art is kinda growing on me. It makes perfect sense for the story, at any rate.
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, Damien Worm, SF/F, Steve Niles
Posted March 24, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Britannia
Genres: Fantasy,
Graphic Novels,
Historical Fiction,
Mystery Pages: 112
Series: Britannia #1 Rating: 
Synopsis: On the fringes of civilization, the world's first detective is about to make an unholy discovery...
Ruled by the Fates. Manipulated by the Gods. Commanded by Caesar. In the year 65 A.D., one's destiny was not his own. At the height of Nero's reign, a veteran of Rome's imperial war machine has been dispatched to the farthest reaches of the colonies to investigate unnatural happenings... In the remote outpost of Britannia, Antonius Axia – the First Detective – will become Rome's only hope to reassert control over the empire's most barbaric frontier... and keep the monsters that bridge the line between myth and mystery at bay...
I’m not entirely sure what to make of some of the very positive reviews of Britannia. I really didn’t get along with it, but I guess it’s a matter of taste. Personally, I found that it was very heavy on male-gazey stuff (did we really need to see multiple terrified naked or near-naked women? methinks someone’s kink is on show), and while the art tells the story well, it wasn’t a style I really enjoyed, and sometimes I had trouble telling the characters apart.
As far as the plot goes… well. I’m very eyebrow-raise-y about the concept of the Vestal Virgins having a special codex that mostly teaches you how to be Sherlock Holmes (but has maybe a few magical effects as well? hard to tell how seriously to take those screens and whether there’s some metaphors going on there). Referring to Antonius as the “detectioner” just… cringe. I cringed deep in my soul.
And it didn’t feel totally coherent, to be honest. What is Orkus exactly? How are the different manifestations related? Obviously these are questions that might well be answered in later volumes, but I just wasn’t sure of the ground we’re starting from.
Overall, there are some bits here that could’ve been intriguing, but in the end, not for me. I won’t continue reading the series.
Rating: 1/5
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, Jordie Bellaire, Juan José Ryp, Peter Milligan, SF/F
Posted March 17, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Stone Star: In the Spotlight
Genres: Fantasy,
Graphic Novels Pages: 123
Series: Stone Star #2 Rating: Synopsis: The nomadic space station called Stone Star brings gladiatorial entertainment to ports across the galaxy. Inside this gargantuan vessel of tournaments and temptations, foragers and fighters struggle to survive. A young warrior named Dail has been drawn into the ring and is trying to prove himself in the Grand Arena, but there are forces on the station determined to see him destroyed as revenge for his father's fighting legacy. Stone Star is a prison and a palace. It's a strange and dangerous home to orphans, criminals, and stowaways all trying to survive, fighting for a bit of fame and fortune before their time runs out.
Stone Star is an action-adventure spectacle bursting with colorful characters and pulse-pounding action! Grab your weapons, gritters, and join the fray!
The second volume of Jim Zub et al’s Stone Star went in a direction that was a bit surprising to me, and that actually piqued my interest a bit more — the plotline was fairly typical up to that point, and then it took what could’ve obviously been a plot device to drive characters apart and ruin everything and… okay, it still caused problems, but not in the most typical way. It gives us a bit more of a glimpse at the character of Volness and what he’s done, which is pretty cool.
Otherwise, the characters etc all continue to be exactly what you’d expect from this kind of story, the story beats are all pretty typical, etc. The art’s okay, and some of the character designs are pretty neat. I’m not totally in love, but I have to give it props for focusing on communication to build trust. Too often lack of communication (“if I tell him, it’ll only ruin things”) is a heavy-handed way to drive conflict in the story.
Plus, there are some interesting hints as to what Dail’s powers might mean. I’d read another volume if it came my way.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, Espen Grundetjern, Jim Zub, Marshall Dillon, Max Dunbar, SF/F
Posted March 11, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
The October Faction
Genres: Fantasy,
Graphic Novels Pages: 140
Series: The October Faction #2 Rating: Synopsis: The Allan family has inducted Dante, a.k.a. Robot Face, into the fold and Geoff and Vivian have begun their training in the family business; monster hunting. All looks well for the Allans, but Sheriff Chambers is slowly catching on to their occult activities. Collects issues #7-12.
I’m kinda hanging in there with The October Faction by Steve Niles et al. This second volume didn’t really assuage my fears about how rushed the first volume felt, or add a lot to the character development, so in a way it’s not really what I’m looking for.
That said, now that I’m used to the artwork it does seem to fit with the story so well it feels wrong to complain. Though sometimes it is so dark and stylised that it’s not 100% clear what’s happening, in places.
All the same, clearly something’s got me curious enough to keep going with reading these. There’s something just compelling enough about the art and the characters, and wondering what bananas thing is going to happen next.
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, Damien Worm, SF/F, Steve Niles
Posted March 3, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Stone Star: Fight or Flight
Genres: Fantasy,
Graphic Novels Pages: 128
Series: Stone Star #1 Rating: Synopsis: A young thief named Dail discovers a dark secret in the depths of Stone Star and has to decide where his destiny lies--staying hidden in the shadows or standing tall in the searing spotlight of the arena. Either way, his life, and the cosmos itself, will never be the same! The nomadic space station called Stone Star brings gladiatorial entertainment to ports across the galaxy. Inside this gargantuan vessel of tournaments and temptations, foragers and fighters struggle to survive.
Stone Star: Fight or Flight is the first volume of a series, which I’d say has quite a “young adult” feel to it (despite the violence etc, there’s not a lot of gore, and the protagonists are young, there’s a mentor figure, etc, etc). The story’s not too surprising: a young scavenger has a surprising power, and ends up using it in an effort to protect a friend who gets dragged into the gladiatorial arena.
The art’s quite clear and easy to follow, unlike some of the other comics I’ve read lately — it’s all pretty straight-forward. I did find that the narrative bubbles felt… unnecessary. Like it was spoonfeeding information that you could also just get from the context.
I’ll probably read volume two because I have access to it and I’m mildly curious about Dail’s powers and why the other gladiators call Volness a traitor, but I wouldn’t be sad about not continuing, either. That said, I think I’m far from being the target audience!
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, SF/F
