Akira (Volume 3) - Katsuhiro Otomo

This was my first manga I got to read on my new tablet. I was happy it worked out so well. 

In the continuing saga of Akira and Tetsuo, this volume focuses on Akira. There are a lot of people after him, some of them don't even know what he looks like. Two different groups of children are tracking him down, and the city is under attack. Strong robots are on the streets, and you don't want to break curfew. At the end, the groups come together, and Akira's power is unleashed.

Tetsuo doesn't really pop up much in this one. He's probably recovering from the whole "arm torched" thing. I was really involved in this one, and I have the next one ready to go on my tablet! Good Book!

Ultimate Hawkeye #1 - Jonathan Hickman

This was a hardback my daughter had lying around, so I read through it.

Hawkeye is on a mission from Nick Fury to grab a serum. Some high-powered enemies are attacking and taking over SEAR, and it's a problem the leaders there created.

I wasn't a big fan of this one. Hawkeye is a character that rides a line between sarcasm and one-liners most of the time. In this, he jumps over the line and turns into a putz. At one point, he tells Fury, "She was already pregnant." Umm, what? 

And this is going to sound crazy, but I think the number one thing that bothered me about this Hawkeye? His hair. On the cover, it's not too bad, but inside it's awful. And I'm not a fan of his suit. Where's the signature purple?

The story itself sounded like it could've been interesting. The villains, especially the more open-minded of the two Xorn/Zorns (I can't remember which one was which) was really a cool character, and I was somewhat curious to see where that went. But I don't think I can deal with this version of Hawkeye. I'm glad my daughter doesn't have more of this series, so I don't feel obligated to keep going.

Hawkeye (2012-2015) #1-4 - Matt Fraction & All-New Hawkeye #1 - Jeff Lemire

This is one of the Hawkeye series I needed to catch up on. It's my daughter's favorite. It's numbered 1-5, but the fifth one is actually the beginning of a different series, so that was weird. I wish they would name these things better. Seriously, trying to differentiate this one from all the other ones was fun.

Anyone who watched the Hawkeye TV show will see all the little details that inspired the show. It's not even close to being beat for beat, but I like that. The overall story was really great, and I can't say enough about all the different perspectives. My favorites were the one with Lucky, the Winter Friends, and the one with sign language. It was great how Kate ended up sticking with Clint, even though she did take a break in LA for a while. I'll talk about the other one separately.

For some reason, the All-New Hawkeye #1 was styled and labeled as part of the series I was reading, so I ended up reading the first part of a series we don't actually have. I was really struck by the watercolor style used for the past in that one. The "present" problem with the kids reminded me of Akira, where kids have exceptional powers, and people are trying to use them as weapons. The art wasn't as good compared to the past in my opinion. This series is by Jeff Lemire and has five books.

When Kate was done in LA, she mentions trying to find her father, but this series doesn't really follow up on that. From what I was able to find out, supposedly it's in Hawkeye (2016-2018), a series focusing on Kate Bishop and has three books. It's by Kelly Thompson. Good grief, there has to be a better way! Hawkeye first appeared in comics in September 1964. He joined the Avengers in May of 1965, but we're still labeling the series "Hawkeye." We should be to the point where we use colons! Hawkeye: My Life As a Weapon would have been a great title. Ok, I'm done ranting now.

I really liked the Hawkeye series. I don't know that I'd keep going with the Akira-esque series, even though the art was really cool at times. I never figured out why All-New Hawkeye was labeled as part of the original series, but it was worth the read. Good Books!

Daemons of the Shadow Realm #1 - Hiromu Arakawa

I've been reading Fullmetal Alchemist on WebToon, and I saw this manga recommended. I finally got around to reading the first volume.

Yuru lives in a small, mountain village where his sister, Asa, is kept behind bars. One day, "dragons" come and attack the village. Yuru's world is torn apart. The girl he thought of as his sister is an imposter, and he's introduced to his Daemons, Left and Right. They escape the mountain, and from there, it's time to discover the truth.

This surprised me. It's got some elements that are unusual and really creative. There were some little notes at the end that I'm glad I didn't miss. They explained some things that were pretty important and worth knowing. I liked how everyone's Daemons were different.

I'm excited to learn more about Yuru, Asa, and the world they live in. The first book didn't really get into too much of the details, it didn't really have time, but it'll be cool to read more in the future. At present, there are only 10 volumes, but this manga is still ongoing, so I may eventually catch up to this one. Good Book!

Black Widow & Hawkeye: Broken Arrow - Stephanie Phillips

Hawkeye is a fan favorite here in this house. Way back in 2019, I said, "I did read a few of the comics, but I'm not as keen on them." (Living in a Marvel House, May 1, 2019) Wow, how times have changed. Now, I don't only read comics, I watch anime and read manga. I've probably surpassed my kids with my dedication to all three of those genres. Surprisingly, I hadn't actually read my daughter's Hawkeye comics that she already had before picking this up. I'm working on remedying that now.

Black Widow and Hawkeye always seem to be pulling each other out of trouble. It's a cycle that never seems to end, but neither of them are going to leave the other one out to dry. Clint is in real trouble this time, and it seems like everyone wants him dead. Natasha has an extra boost, a symbiote, who she's working on controlling, and it's going to play a vital role in bringing this crisis to a resolution.

I'm not a hardcore comic person. I don't keep up with every release, so at first I thought I was missing something. Apparently, the only thing I needed to catch up on was Natasha's symbiote. I appreciated the way the past and present were meshed together, and I liked the art style. I thought it was a good story, and it gets a Good Book! review from me.

Lucifer (Volumes 1-3) - Mike Carey

I am a big fan of the show Lucifer. It got me interested in the world of Sandman, and then I decided to dive into the minor character of Lucifer. For some reason, I didn't review the first two volumes when I finished them, so I'm going to ignore the story for the most part and focus on my overall impressions.

Lucifer has left Hell and opened his nightclub called Lux. He isn't completely separated from the "family drama," though. It follows him everywhere and won't leave him alone.

I was all in after the first volume. I liked the story, and the way the character was used. It was pretty creative. As I went through volume two and then this past one, I was noticing that Lucifer wasn't really going through any kind of noticeable arc. One of the things that draws me to characters is their reactions to the events and how those shape them. Lucifer just kind of stays the same.

I wasn't planning on comparing this character to the show, because they're not the same at all, but the show Lucifer excels in one thing in particular: growth. Lucifer has a therapist on the show, and while he doesn't seem to learn anything from her, he still ends up growing. Unfortunately, by the end of the third volume, I could see no real growth in his character, so I think this is where I think my journey with comic Lucifer ends.

Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz

This is one of the paperbacks I picked up at HPB. I was recommended this particular book by my uncle. My history with the author made me extremely wary to pick this up. When I was a teenager, I somehow got my hands on a Koontz book that scared the crud out of me. All I remember is that it had something to do with rats, and my mom ended up taking it away from me. My uncle assured me this one wasn't as scary.

Odd (yes, that's really his name) has a special gift. He can see the dead. It doesn't always feel like a gift. At the beginning, Odd is solving the murder of a young girl. Later, dark beings he calls bodachs start to pop up around town, and he links them to a mushroomy-looking guy.

Odd has some friends around town who are aware of his gifts, but certain people only know different parts of the truth. With his friends by his side, alive and dead, he's going to try and prevent a tragedy from destroying his town.

This book was really good. The end wasn't what I was expecting at all, and I love that. It wasn't a fairy tale ending, so that was somber, but I wasn't scared. This book is actually part of a series. Odd Thomas has seven novels, two novellas, and three graphic novels. I might read more of the novels one day. I will say, this is one of the genres I have to be in the mood for. Not necessarily because of the supernatural aspect, but happy endings are my thing. Odd Thomas does his thing, but people still get hurt. 

The writing in this was good. There's a reason Koontz is a bestselling author. The story kept me engaged, and I give it a Good Book! review.

Six Days of the Condor - James Grady

After watching the movie, Three Days of the Condor, I was curious about the novel and where the other three days went.

Malcolm goes out for lunch and comes back to find his whole CIA group has been murdered. He goes on the run and basically takes a woman hostage. She ends up falling in love with him and helping him. There are double agents, but Malcolm has no idea where they are or what to do. His department was just reading books and looking for patterns.

The first part of this book was a mini autobiography of the author and his journey getting this book published. I thought that was really interesting. I started to wonder if it would be more interesting than the book itself.

It wasn't quite better, though. It might have something to do with the fact that this book is so short. At 192 pages, you wouldn't think it would have time to waste on sex scenes or describing strep throat symptoms, but you'd be wrong. The sex scenes weren't overly long, though, thank goodness. Just weird. I did find out what happened in those other three days - he was in bed. For the above stated reasons.

The action was pretty good. There were a few times when I wasn't sure if I was supposed to know who someone was. When an unfamiliar name would pop up, I'd wonder if I was supposed to already know who it was or if it was a reveal. I'll lay that blame on me and my memory. The book ending a bit abruptly, but it still gets a Good Book! review. I still think the autobiography at the beginning is almost just as interesting, though!

Berserk #7 - Kentaro Miura

Just a brief summary for my own benefit.

I was hoping Guts would be able to catch up with Casca in this tome, and as I got closer and closer to the end, I was getting more and more worried. The one thing that gave me a bit of hope was that she wasn't cringing away from him when she actually did see him.

Not sure how I feel about Isidro. Sometimes he seems okay, and other times I want to punch him in the face. It's similar to how I felt when introduced to Puck, the fairy.

I can't fault Casca for retreating into her mind. I swear. It seems like there's always someone or something that wants to "ahem" her. Daggone.

I'm curious to know where we go from here. Griffith popped up briefly, but I didn't really understand everything that went on there. I might have to go through that part again. Egg boy was weird, but what happened to the baby? Maybe these things are answered in the next one, so I've got my peepers on it. Good Book as usual.

And eww. Father Mozgus and his crew were just...eww.

 

Blackout (Cyberpunk 2077) - Bartosz Sztybor

This comic is about a braindance repairman who has a lot of business due to blackouts. They're happening all the time, and no one knows who's behind them. It could be anybody. The repairman has an idea that BD can be used for good. It can be therapeutic, and he tries it out on a friend and gives relief to a man in prison. This gets him in trouble, and he ends up losing his job. Pain pays.

Once I understood more about the world of Cyberpunk in general, this made a lot more sense to me. The end is sad, but not really unexpected. I liked the art style, and the story was surprisingly relevant even though we don't have the technology that's being referred to in the story. The depth wasn't something I was expecting, and I appreciated it for sure. If you're familiar with the world, this is pretty good. If not, you're probably going to be a bit lost. I liked it, though, and it gets a Good Story! review from me.

The World of Cyberpunk 2077 - Marcin Batylda

So, my husband started playing Cyberpunk 2077 a bit ago, and I got the graphic novels from a Humble Bundle a while back. When my husband started playing the game, I was pretty lost. I normally "watch" aka half pay attention, so I wondered if I was missing something. I thought I was reading the graphic novels in order when I started with Blackout, but I was still lost when I finished that one. Fortunately, this was up next.

This novel is set up closer to a magazine that introduces a newbie to the history and current state of things. It talks about politics, tech and the role of corporations. It's thorough and interesting. I think a lot of things would've been clearer to me if I'd read this first before trying to read Blackout, but hindsight is always 20/20.

There's not much to say. If you're interested in learning about the world of Cyberpunk, this is a great way to do it! Good Book!

The Age of Odin (Pantheon #3) - James Lovegrove

This paperback was from the recent trip to HPB. The cover caught my eye, and I like Norse mythology, so I was interested.

Gid and his friend are on their way to join the Valhalla Project when there's a car accident. Gid is pretty banged up, but they figure they can still make it to their destination. When Gid arrives, he's the only one who made it, and he's surrounded by what he believes is a cult. A man in a hat believes he's Odin, the All-Father. Others think they're Thor, Freya and other gods/goddesses from Norse mythology.

When Gid tries to get away, the truth is made very clear to him. From then on, he uses his skills to fight on the side of the Aesir to protect them from the threat that is coming. In the end, do they have a chance against a power that's growing while the powers of the gods are fading?

This book had an interesting story. I really wanted to know what happened next, but I kept putting the book down. Why? Gideon. The main character in this book was such a jerk from beginning to end. He didn't seem to care about much, and his sarcastic quips in every situation grated on my nerves. And one of the goddesses was his lover? Yeah, ok.

I thought the use of technology was pretty cool, and I had no idea this was part of a series when I started reading it. I also wish the main character was slightly less irritating and a complete jerk. Gideon 100% hurt my enjoyment of this book. I also had an issue with the call sign of his friend. Of all the words in the English language, did his friend need to be called Abortion? Anyway, the story had real potential, and I wanted to find out what happened at the end, but the protagonist hampered the story for me.

The White Witch - Barbara Cartland

Barbara Cartland needs no introduction. She wrote tons of cheesy romances, and every once in a while, I'll break one out and read it. I also don't look into what the book is about. It's more fun that way. Also, sometimes I like the covers. They can be pretty strange. Take this one for example. What the heck is this woman doing? I've finished the book, and I still can't answer that question!

This book is about a Marquis who believes he's being bewitched by a woman named Locadi. His butler finds a rock in one of his pockets, and since the Marquis has travelled the world, he's suspicious that Locadi is using black magic. To escape her power, he decides to go to his family home in the country.

When he gets there, he finds that his estate in a state he can't understand. The servants are gone, the vicar has left, and the school has shut down. He finds a young woman helping his grandmother with herbs, and he senses that he hasn't quite escaped all kinds of magic.

Flora is just trying to help people the only way she knows how. She's suspicious of the Marquis at first, but he quickly proves himself in her estimation. When Locadi turns up out of the blue, it becomes clear that she's not going to give up her prey easily.

This book was wild. Flora senses that Ivor (interesting name by the way) is being weighed down by an evil and sets out to help him. I don't know why Barbara Cartland used Satan worship in her books, but this book reminded me of The Flame is Love. If you've never seen it (and you probably haven't), it's a terrible movie that stars Timothy Dalton as not James Bond. He's a devil worshipper who kidnaps a virgin (even though those a rare in Paris - it's a line in the movie) to sacrifice to his weird puppet god. Basically the same thing happens here, except Flora will get sacrificed out of jealousy. I wonder if that's a good enough reason for sacrifice? 

Anyway, the whole good magic/bad magic thing was weird. I really didn't care about it either way. I did like that Flora and Ivor weren't doing the whole "look into each other's eyes and swoon" the entire book. They were just working together toward a common goal and only acknowledged feelings later on. I guess they made up for it at the end when they were mumbling about their love for too many pages. Overall, this one was pretty good in the Cartland universe. I haven't read the book for The Flame is Love, but it kind of feels like I've had the experience now. Good Book! (for a certain crowd)

The Secret of the Caves (Hardy Boys #7) - Franklin W. Dixon

Next up in the adventures of the Hardy Boys, they're sent on a mission to find a missing man. Fortunately, for Chet, it leads them to Rockaway, where the Honeycomb Caves are located. It just happens that Chet really wanted to go there to begin with. He has a metal detector and is anxious to use it. Biff is also excited to go to the caves for the fishing. 

The father of the Hardy Boys is checking on some problems at a site where they're building an antenna (I think, I can't remember), but it's being sabotaged. The two cases will end up being connected!

Okay, so I am concerned these people don't know what a concussion is, and it's concerning. Biff gets knocked out TWICE, and the boys are just like, "you'll be good" and "sleep it off." Bad ideas. Then, they just feel comfortable borrowing his speed boat. With the amount of kidnapping, fires, and general chaos that surrounds these boys, I don't think I'd let them borrow anything I enjoyed having. Especially if it cost more than a dollar. Also, Chet gets blown up. Daggone. These friends need to re-evaluate their friendships. 

Anyway, they solve the mystery. As usual. There was a cantankerous hermit, who I loved. I was so bummed when he ended up being part of the gang. That's what you get when you pretend to be a hermit. This book made me angrier than some of the others. I just didn't appreciate the way the boys used their friends. Sure, the kids were willing to help, but the Hardy brothers throw the girls at a potential shady business, one get assaulted - twice, and the other one got blown up. I didn't like this one.

Twelve Years a Slave - Solomon Northup

This book tells the story of a man who was kidnapped from Washington and taken to Louisiana. He spent the next 12 years as a slave, even though he was technically a free man from New York.

There's not much to say about the content. It's about what you would expect. I will say that this is a very well put together narrative. It was easy to read, and it was interesting to see how Solomon (named Platt after he was kidnapped) was able to be reunited with his family after so long.

I can't imagine living through this time period. I know Solomon experienced both the kind and the cruel slave owners, but he shouldn't have had to live through that at all. It's disappointing the people responsible just made up a story to avoid responsibility. Unfortunately, it was all too common, and I'm a little shocked worse didn't happen to Solomon considering some of the incidents between him and the overseers.

I recommend this book if you want an insight into what things were like for people that deserved to be free. Solomon's account is interesting and worth the read. Good Book!