Graphic Novel – Page 26 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: Positively Izzy

Title: Positively Izzy
Author: Terri Libenson
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Release Date: May 1, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Award-winning comics creator and author of the bestselling Invisible Emmie Terri Libenson returns with a companion graphic novel that captures the drama, angst, and humor of middle-school life. Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier, Jennifer Holm, and Victoria Jamieson.

Middle school is all about labels.

Izzy is the dreamer. There’s nothing Izzy loves more than acting in skits and making up funny stories. The downside? She can never quite focus enough to get her schoolwork done.

Bri is the brain. But she wants people to see there’s more to her than just a report card full of As. At the same time, she wishes her mom would accept her the way she is and stop bugging her to “break out of her shell” and join drama club.

The girls’ lives converge in unexpected ways on the day of a school talent show, which turns out to be even more dramatic than either Bri or Izzy could have imagined.

Review:

This is a good book about middle school.

I liked that these girls had to deal with conflicts like getting poor grades and being grounded. These are real things, which could mean that you miss out on school events.

Brianna’s mom works at her school, which I think was kind of obvious from the way she acted at the beginning. But we had to wait a while for the big reveal that her mom is a teacher. I think she was overreacting to that. My mom worked in my school office for many of my elementary school years, and it was so handy to have my mom there! I loved it. If I felt sick or needed anything, I could always go downstairs and see her.

I liked the big reveal at the end of this book. I was wondering through the whole book what the connection between the two stories was, and I liked the ending. However, I wish we didn’t have to wait until the very last page to figure it out.

Review: Secret Coders (Secret Coders #1)

Title: Secret Coders (Secret Coders #1)
Author: Gene Luen Yang, Mike Holmes
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel
Publisher: First Second
Source: Library
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Welcome to Stately Academy, a school which is just crawling with mysteries to be solved! The founder of the school left many clues and puzzles to challenge his enterprising students. Using their wits and their growing prowess with coding, Hopper and her friend Eni are going to solve the mystery of Stately Academy no matter what it takes!

From graphic novel superstar (and high school computer programming teacher) Gene Luen Yang comes a wildly entertaining new series that combines logic puzzles and basic programming instruction with a page-turning mystery plot!

Review:

I really enjoyed this book!

It shows kids how to use coding in the real world, not just on a computer. Actually, there weren’t any traditional computers in this book. The kids found a robot, which would respond to commands that were programmed into it. The janitor used the robot for practical reasons, like cleaning the yard, but also for secret reasons too.

There was a twist involving a teacher that I didn’t see coming. There is also a mystery that involves Hopper’s father. I have no idea where that storyline is going to go, so I really want to continue the series.

The story ended on a cliffhanger, so I’m going to have to read the next one soon for find out what happens!

Review: Heavy Vinyl, Vol. 1

Title: Heavy Vinyl
Author: Carly Usdin, Nina Vakueva
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Source: Library
Release Date: April 24, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Chris joins the staff at her local record store, she’s surprised to find out that her co-workers share a secret: they’re all members of a secret fight club that take on the patriarchy and fight crime!

Starry-eyed Chris has just started the dream job every outcast kid in town wants: working at Vinyl Mayhem. It’s as rad as she imagined; her boss is BOSS, her co-workers spend their time arguing over music, pushing against the patriarchy, and endlessly trying to form a band. When Rosie Riot, the staff’s favorite singer, mysteriously vanishes the night before her band’s show, Chris discovers her co-workers are doing more than just sorting vinyl . . . Her local indie record store is also a front for a teen girl vigilante fight club!

Follow writer Carly Usdin (director of Suicide Kale) and artist Nina Vakueva (Lilith’s World) into the Hi-Fi Fight Club, where they deliver a rock and roll tale of intrigue and boundless friendship.

Review:

I loved this book!

The girls are hilarious. I was surprised at the introduction of their fight club. At first, it seemed like they were just working in a record shop, but then it turns out that they have a secret fight club where they fight against injustice. It’s a great twist on a traditional girl power story, since they have a secret identity where they fight crimes.

I enjoyed the mystery of Rosie Riot’s disappearance. It was strange that she suddenly disappeared without a trace. I didn’t like the subplot of the bands being brainwashed. The explanation for that wasn’t believable.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Review: This One Summer

Title: This One Summer
Author: Jillian Tamaki, Mariko Tamaki
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: First Second
Source: Library
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It’s their getaway, their refuge. Rosie’s friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose’s mom and dad won’t stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. It’s a summer of secrets and sorrow and growing up, and it’s a good thing Rose and Windy have each other.

In This One Summer two stellar creators redefine the teen graphic novel. Cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, the team behind Skim, have collaborated on this gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about a girl on the cusp of her teen age — a story of renewal and revelation.

Review:

This is a great summer story. It deals with mature problems that aren’t always in teen/preteen novels.

The two characters are preteens. They are just going through puberty, since they are always talking about getting boobs. That part was funny. I really liked Windy. She was a comic character. She was always dancing and being silly, but sometimes others laughed at her, rather than with her.

There are different pregnancy issues in this book, which kids may not learn about in health class, but they can happen. Rose’s mom wanted to have another baby, but she couldn’t. She had miscarriages. Her insistence on having another baby made Rose feel like she wasn’t enough of a daughter for her. Rose and Windy like the cute boy who works at the convenience store. They overhear his conversations with his friends about another girl, who he got pregnant. The boy, called the Dud, refused to speak to her after he found out she was pregnant. He wasn’t nice, and the girls didn’t like him so much after that, but that is a real problem that some girls have to deal with.

The graphics were also amazing. There was a lot of movement in the pictures, along with sound effects. It really looked like they were moving sometimes. The short panels that moved like a flip book also created movement in the illustrations.

I really liked this graphic novel. It was emotional and serious, but there were some funny parts as well.

The Archies & Other Stories

Title: The Archies & Other Stories
Author: Mark Waid, Alex Segura, Joe Eisma
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Archie Comics
Source: Library
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Join in the fun of THE ARCHIES along with BIG MOOSE along with the horrific JUGHEAD: THE HUNGER in this graphic novel collection spotlighting Archie Comics’ hit one-shot series!

THE ARCHIES: Follow Archie’s quest to make his songwriting dreams a reality, and see what happens when the rock ‘n’ roll dream starts affecting his relationships with his closest friends. Join co-writers Alex Segura and Matthew Rosenberg (Marvel’s Kingpin, Rocket Raccoon) and artist Joe Eisma (Morning Glories) for a power-pop one-shot that goes loud on the music, fun and friendship.

BIG MOOSE: Riverdale’s resident jock gets the spotlight in this special one-shot where everything’s Moose! Stories by Sean Ryan, Ryan Cady and Gorf with art by Cory Smith, Thomas Pitilli and Wilfredo Torres!

JUGHEAD THE HUNGER: Jughead Jones has always had an insatiable appetite… but what if his hunger came from a sinister place? When a murderous menace is on the prowl, taking the lives of some of the most well-known and esteemed inhabitants of Riverdale, Jughead and his family’s dark legacy comes to light. Join writer Frank Tieri (Wolverine) and artist Michael Walsh (Secret Avengers) for this horrifying one-shot for TEEN+ readers.

Review:

This graphic novel is a collection of three comics from different Archie Comics series.

The story The Archies is about the creation of Archie’s band. Archie agrees to play a gig, before even creating a band, so his friends have to come to his rescue. It is a typical Archie story, where he makes a mistake and then his friends help him figure it out.

The story Big Moose is about the character Moose. He has to manage his busy life of school work, sports, home life, and his relationship with Midge. This story was a series of shorter comics which were like the original Archie comics that I read when I was a kid.

The story Jughead The Hunger was by far the most surprising one! In this story, there is a killer in Riverdale who is murdering various members of the town. The killer ends up being a werewolf, whose family has a legacy of lycanthropy. This story was unlike any Archie story I’ve read before because one of the main characters became a werewolf and a killer.

This is a great collection to read before choosing to start one of these series. I will definitely look for the Jughead series to see what happens next!

Review: Invisible Emmie

Title: Invisible Emmie
Author: Terri Libenson
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

This is the story of two totally different girls—quiet, shy, artistic Emmie and popular, outgoing, athletic Katie—and how their lives unexpectedly intersect one day when an embarrassing note falls into the wrong hands.

Review:

I really liked this book, until the ending.

It is a good comparison between a shy, quiet girl and the outgoing popular girl. However, I don’t think that Emmie’s position in the school would change so much in just one day. She experienced every emotion possible, from jealousy to anger and loneliness.

I found the ending super creepy! I’m going to spoil it here, so if you want to read the book, stop reading now. In the end, the popular girl, Katie, ended up being all in Emmie’s imagination! It’s like the cliche ending of “it was all a dream.” It turns out that Emmie sketched Katie and imagined her saying everything that Emmie couldn’t say. I was so disappointed in this because all along it seemed like Katie was a real person in the school!

I will admit the ending was surprising, but I found it creepy and strange too!

Review: Herakles Book 1

Title: Herakles Book 1
Author: Edouard Cour
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Lion Forge
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Author Edouard Cour revisits one of the greatest Greek myths by painting the often-heroic Herakles as, well . . . somewhat of a jerk. Crude and stubborn at times, in little glimpses we meet a man—half-human, after all—with a psychology more complex than he appears, entangled in guilt over the ghosts who have haunted him since childhood. A mournful sadness seizes him as he crosses the fleeting silhouettes of a woman and her three children. “Friends or foe, all those who cross his path end up stiff and worm food,” comments Linos, the ghost of his childhood music teacher.

Brimming with pathos and dark humor, this portrait of Herakles is a graphic whirlwind leaving little respite and often revealing beautiful surprises.

Review:

I love Greek mythology, but the story of Heracles is one that I never read.

I think this book is meant for fans of the story, rather than new readers. I know the general story, that he had to do tasks, but not specifics. I was confused through most of the story, especially by all of the different characters. There was a glossary of characters at the end of the book, but it would have been much more helpful at the beginning.

Herakles wasn’t a likeable character at all. He was a jerk most of the time, and pretty gross. He also passed most of his tests by fluke, and without using much skill.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me.

Review: Bad Girls

Title: Bad Girls
Author: Alex de Campi, Victor Santos
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Gallery 13
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this heart-pounding, starkly colored, and visually stunning graphic novel, three women have twelve hours to get out of Cuba with six-million dollars on the night of New Year’s Eve 1958.

Gangster’s moll Carole, jazz singer Taffy, and mambo queen Ana all have their reasons for needing to escape the El Eden Casino in Havana. And on the tumultuous night of New Year’s Eve, when Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista flees the country and the nation falls to Fidel Castro, they get their chance…with the help of six suitcases filled with stolen dirty money. Of course, it’s one thing to get the cash…and quite another to get off the island alive.

From the Eisner-nominated writer Alex de Campi and virtuoso artist Victor Santos, this story of three strong and multifaceted women struggling to leave their pasts behind in a tension-filled getaway is timely, fast-paced, and gripping.

Review:

The description of this book makes it sounds like an Oceans Eleven-type heist. But it wasn’t quite like that. There was a lot of murder and politics involved.

I found many of the scenes confusing. The style was a little noir and a little art deco. The scenes were done in monochromatic colours with a lot of shadows, so it was hard to distinguish between characters unless you look very carefully. The men all looked alike and wore similar suits so I got them mixed up, but the women wore different dresses and had different hair styles so it was easy to differentiate between them.

There was a lot of tension in this book. There were some murders and an attempted rape. Some of these scenes were hard to read. There was also a lot of political upheaval in terms of the communists taking over Cuba.

Unfortunately, this book isn’t for me. It wasn’t the type of story I usually like, but I’m sure other readers will enjoy it.

Review: Archie: The Married Life Book 1

Title: Archie: The Married Life Book 1
Author: Michael E. Uslan, Paul Kupperberg, Norm Breyfogle
Genre: Comics, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Archie Comics
Source: Library
Release Date: October 4, 2011
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Find out what happens after the “I do”s!

Delve deeper into all of the emotion and drama surrounding two different choices: Archie’s decision to marry sultry debutante Veronica Lodge versus his decision to marry sexy girl next door Betty Cooper. How do his choices affect not only Riverdale, but the world and everyone around him? Is it a match made in heaven? Will he find that he can’t put a price on love?

Collects the first six chapters of both Archie Marries Veronica and Archie Marries Betty, the most critically acclaimed storyline Archie has ever published, as originally seen in the newsstand magazine Life with Archie.

Review:

I loved Archie comics as a kid, and I still love them today.

This book about an adult Archie reminded me of the show, Riverdale, which I’m obsessed with. It had some of the same subplots, such as Mr. Lodge buying lots of property in Riverdale and an important mayoral race. There were mature themes explored in this story, such as marriage, death, and losing jobs. The comics I read as a kid were more optimistic and innocent. The worst thing that happened was that Cheryl Blossom would come to town and steal Archie from Betty and Veronica. This book shows more of what happens in real life, which was kind of depressing most of the time.

One thing that bothered me about this book was the way that it switched between Archie and Veronica’s married life and Archie and Betty’s married life. Both lives were similar but slightly different. For example in both stories, Jughead was trying to buy Pop’s diner but was struggling to find the money. However, only in one of them does Moose run for mayor. I kept getting confused between chapters because it would alternate between them both. One thing I liked was that there were some characters and events that appeared in both of Archie’s stories, so those things were meant to be. It would have been easier to read if the book was divided into two different sections, one about Betty and one about Veronica, rather than having alternating chapters.

Despite the confusion, I enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Review: Morning Glories, Vol. 1: For a Better Future

Title: Morning Glories, Vol. 1: For a Better Future
Author: Nick Spencer
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Image Comics
Source: Library
Release Date: February 16, 2011
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Morning Glory Academy

One of the most prestigious prep schools in the country…But behind it’s hallowed doors something sinister and deadly lurks. When six brilliant but troubled new students arrive, they find themselves trapped and desperately seeking answers…and escape from a place where nothing is what it seems to be!

Review:

This graphic novel is part teen thriller, part horror. I made the mistake of reading it before bed one night and I couldn’t sleep because there are some particularly gruesome scenes at the beginning, and also because I wanted to see what would happen next.

This first volume set up some potential storylines that could make the rest of the series very exciting. There is a strange connection between all of the new students, because they were all born on the same day. There is also a connection between a Spanish prison in the 15th century and their school. I’m curious to see how these plots develop.

There were some very bloody horror scenes, which I almost had to look away from. One reason why these scenes were disturbing was because the graphics were so good. The images were realistic, so it looked like these things were really happening.

I enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait to find out what happens after the cliffhanger at the end. Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

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Review:

What to read next:

Paths & Portals (Secret Coders #2) by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes

The Friendship Code (Girls Who Code #1) by Stacia Deutsch, Reshma Saujani, and Sisi A. Johnson

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Review:

What to read next:

Goldie Vance, Vol. 1 by Hope Larson, Brittany Williams, Sarah Stern

Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters, Brooke Allen

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What to read next:

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

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What to read next:

The Archies, Vol. 1 by Matthew Rosenberg, Alex Segura

Jughead: The Hunger by Frank Tieri, Michael Walsh

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

Positively Izzy by Terry Libenson

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

Mythic, Volume 1 by Phil Hester, John McCrea

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What to read next:

Mayday by Alex de Campi, Tony Parker, Blond

Smoke 1: Good Boys Grow Up To Be Soldiers by Alex de Campi, Igor Kordey