When preparing to write this review, I got quite a surprise. I searched in the archives on my blog and on Goodreads to find my review of the first Hark! A Vagrant book and discovered that not only had I not reviewed it at any point, but I hadn’t even entered it as read on Goodreads. I have absolutely no idea why, as I got the first book back in 2011 and was extremely happy that Kate Beaton was finally collecting some of her amazing […]
I see where we were going with this one, it just didn’t get me there.
I really WANTED to fall in love with Nimona. It seemed like such an obvious pairing: Nimona the impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy and Lord Ballister Blackheart, a villain with a vendetta. These two setting off to prove the heroes aren’t always heroic? Done. But… I only liked this one and caught myself more than once skipping ahead to “get on with the story”. What were my problems? Inconsistent backstory and inconsistent characterizations. From the beginning we learn that while students at […]
Five stars for Kamala; two for this particular book.
This rating might surprise even the casual comic reader, as the Kamala Khan version of Ms. Marvel is generally lauded and respected as a fun character and a breath of fresh air. While I would give the charming Kamala (and her dad) five stars, I didn’t enjoy the slow storyline of volume one. I also don’t like the art in the book. Alphona is a definitely talented artist; I simply would’ve chose a different art style for the book (more like this or this). For those unfamiliar […]
Shaky start, terrible wardrobe, but a promising series
This was a fun start to a graphic series and I’ll probably check out the second volume just to see where the story goes and if the writing continues to get stronger. I almost put this one down after a couple of pages, but I’m glad I stuck with it because it definitely improved. The Rat Queens are a group of 4 women working as for-hire monster killers. They’re a diverse group. There’s Hannah the slightly unhinged Elven mage, Dee the human who left a […]