Graphic Content

Back in September, I stopped being able to go into town every week to buy comic books. There are two reasons for this: time, and money. I was minding my niece twice a week, and couldn't always arrange to get out on the other three days of the week when I wasn't minding her. I sometimes had to go into work, or help around the house. Life got in the way, and by October I stopped trying. The money side of this was my plan to save. It turns out it's impossible to save money when you're buying a lot of comic books every week on a small budget.

I decided I would finish reading Young Avengers, because it was ending. Aside from that, I was turning to graphic novels and trade collections.

This began with one I'd wanted to read for a while: Morning Glories. Alongside that, I had Preacher. I've read a lot more of the former than the latter, but I have volume 2 of Preacher waiting for me to get around to.

It wasn't enough, though. I needed more titles, more variation, and not the standard Marvel and DC Superhero stuff. I was beyond superheroes, because reading the older stories would only remind me that I wasn't reading the newer stuff. Plus, I wanted to try something new (to me).

Enter Sandman. Enter Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Enter Haunt and Y: The Last Man.

I've finished the first volumes of Sandman and Buffy, and I'm currently reading Y, and I can safely say I'll be returning for more in the very near future. But they're not all I've got. I have a volume of The Unwritten calling my name from my shelf. I have the first volume of The Walking Dead to read. I have a couple of stand-alone graphic novels that are crying for me to read them.

I am turning to graphic content.

Sometimes, I mean that literally. Let's look at it this way. Of the ones I've read in the past few months, Y is the least violent, Sandman the least obviously violent (because, well, people going a bit mad in it... and stuff.) Buffy is necessarily violent, given the titular character's titular role. Morning Glories is outright insane, and people usually get shot or get ghostly-demon-weirdness hands forced into their brains. Because FUN!

And Preacher? Well, it's emotionally disturbing on a whole new level of violent. When the Word of God is taken literally in the first volume, things get messy pretty quickly. And it's wonderful.

I've found that reading graphic novels is a lot more relaxing that anything else at the moment. It's easier on the eyes, in terms of the density of the text, which is good for me. With a lot of morning traffic outside my bedroom, I don't get too many lie-ons. My eyes end up tired by, like, eight at night, and that's on the days I don't end up in front of a screen all the time.

The problem is that I'll very quickly run out of things to read. So, I need suggestions. If it hasn't been mentioned above, I probably haven't read it. If it's a particular arc in a superhero story (for example, World War Hulk, The Dark Phoenix Saga, etc.) I'm not interested. I want to be able to pick up volume one and enjoy for what it is, not for where it fits into a whole other story.

So, what do you recommend?

My Top 13 Books of 2011

Stealing an idea from Pinkies Blog I have My Top 13 Books of 2011. Most were published before 2011, but having only read them this year, my experiences with them can be considered fairly new. Why thirteen and not ten? Take a look at book one on the list (which is, otherwise, in no particular order.)


Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson. She was one of those authors I was following on Twitter before ever having read her work. Funny, insightful and responding to tweets from her fans, I had to give her a read. And I loved it. This is one for the YA fans, full of adventure, a bit of romance, an awkward teenager (weren't we all one?) and lots of travelling.


Will Grayson Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan. I'll admit, I was a little bit worried about this one, given I had never read anything by the latter, but that didn't stop me giving it a read and falling in love with it. I love the ideas around friendship, the acceptance of people who are different, the excitement of the idea of the Tiny Cooper's musical and the sense that I wanted things to go well for everyone, if Will Grayson would just stop being an idiot. Again, one of the YA fans.


The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Can I pronounce his surname? No, but I can try! Did I love the book? Indeed I did. I was in dire need of something that might remind me of John Green's books, remembering his other three books too well, still, to read them again. So I Amazoned them, found what other people were buying, and found this one. It's a little bit weird, and the character can be a little bit annoying, but then I realised something: I can also be a little bit annoying. (Understatement?) A good book, though not as similar to John Green's books as I thought it might be.


All My Friends Are Superheroes, by Andrew Kaufman. I think I found this book in the same way as Chbosky's novel, though I can't be sure. It's a short book about a man who has a lot of friends, all of whom are - you guessed it - superheroes. Except, you know, they're not. Not really. You'll understand when you read the book, and I highly suggest you pick it up ASAP.

Everyman, by Philip Roth. A lecturer of mine, and head of the English Department in my college, recommend Roth to me as an author, just generally. I had seen his latest novel, Nemesis, in the shop where I work, but as much as I loved the look and the idea of the big yellow hardback, I was not willing to spend the money I didn't have on it. So I went looking for another book, and found this. A fairly short read, kind of depressing, but highly enjoyable.

Raggy Maggie, by Barry Hutchison. While he released a couple of books this year (one of which I still haven't even bought! Shame!), this one still stands out for me as his book of the year. Yes, it came out in 2010. No, I didn't get it until February. It was freaky in all the right places, and really made me look at toys in a different light! A fantastic children's horror that will scare the adults in the house! Don't miss out on the fun!


The Warlock, by Michael Scott. Definitely one of the best books in the series. With everything coming to a finish, I was drawn in to the building climax. I love his system of magic, his mix of myth and history, the realism of the settings (since he describes real-world settings as exact as he can). I just really love this series! Plus, I got to interview him about it later and find out his little secrets!

Sh*t My Dad Says, by Justin Halpern. I'm not one for biographies, really, but I saw this book and had to give it a shot. Easily one of the funniest books I've ever read, without losing the warmth and comfort of the father-son relationship that becomes more evident as the book goes on. You really get a sense of what his dad is like from his little quips about everything in life. I read it in one sitting, which I'd previously only done with Harry Potter books when I was obsessed with them!

Plague, by Michael Grant. With this series getting creepier by the instalment, the FAYZ is falling apart. Well, not literally. But you get the point. Dystopia is just about all it's cracked up to be, when hunger, power-outages and bad politicians are the least of your problems! This is a series to watch, as society is pulled apart piece by piece.

One Red Paperclip, by Kyle MacDonald. Again, a biography. I saw this one when it first came into my shop, way back when, and did't buy it. It went off the radar, I could never find it, and then my brother got it for me online. It's a fantastic little book, full of enthusiasm and excitement, adventure and Canada. God I love Canada! This one's worth checking out just to see how someone goes from a paperclip to a house in a year!

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Yep, a graphic novel! I loved the film, and then I found the book, so I had to get it. Had to. Literally. I couldn't stop myself picking it up and paying for it. Some dark, nerdy force had taken over and made me buy this book, then made me laugh with all the humour of the film in book form, with hilarious looking characters and a whole load of crazy. And chords to the songs. Oh yes. It's that cool. Definitely read it and watch the film. It will change your life.*

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This was on my reading list in first year in college (and I'm old now - third year!) but I couldn't get into it. Then John Green (yes, that guy who wrote the book mentioned above) encouraged all of Nerdfighteria to read it. And I did. And I loved it. And I John agreed with the points I made about the American Dream in the comments section of the video on YouTube. And I am aware that there are far too many conjunctions in this paragraph. But that's enthusiasm for you. Loved this book, and even though the ending can be a little bit odd, it's worth the read (even if you just want to read about the worst case of drunk driving in literature.)


Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. Unlike Pinkie, I have no problems mentioning a book I read for college. It was on our Gothic module, and while it took me a long time to read (because of the plethora of assignments popping up throughout the year... and a trip to France) I loved every bit of it. I made a point of reading it every morning with a cup of tea on the bench outside the college as a way of starting the day, until it got too cold and wet to continue doing that. Once you get used to the way it's written (there's a narrated story, within a narrated story, within a letter), it's a very enjoyable book, and it's no wonder it's lasted this long. What surprised me most was the way in which Hollywood has distorted the idea of Frankenstein over the years, making him out to be a blood thirsty monster from the off-set. To really understand the monster, and to get an insight on humanity that's as true now as it was when Shelley wrote the novel, you have to read this book.

Next year, I'll have lots of books to read that I've been really looking forward to. Expect a lot of excitement online when John Green's latest book, The Fault in Our Stars arrives at my house, as well as a look at Michael Scott's adult horror, Barry Hutchison's Doc Mortis, Herman Melville's Moby Dick and Maureen John's The Name of the Star, just to name a few. 2012 is going to be a big year!


*May not actually change your life.

Review - Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

A while ago, there was a film called Scott Pilgrim Vs the World. It starred Michael Cera, it was hilarious and it made me want to read the graphic novels that it was based on. I didn't know then that I would enjoy them so much, or that the six graphic novels were made into one film - that was kind of a bummer, because I really wanted to up my dosage of Pilgrim. Still, I've only read one of the graphic novels, so I have five more to keep me amused. As always, start with volume one: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.

It's in these pages that we first encounter Scott, his Rating (note: I will probably end up giving everyone I know a Rating if I get really, really bored) of Awesome and the two girls he dates: Knives Chou and Ramona Flowers. And, you know, the League of Evil Exes. They're sort of the bad guys. Basically, if he doesn't defeat Ramona's seven evil exes, he can't date her. And by defeat, I mean in a battle to the death. And they're weeeiiird.

What did you think of the graphic novel?
I don't think the word hilarious even does it justice. I would have to give it a rating of Awesome for being so funny, easy to read and bringing me back to the days when I would play computer games all day (wait... I still do that...). Also, seeing as Scott lives with his gay friend who owns everything of value in their apartment, it makes me feel better about my current living situation (the smallest room in the house, living with my parents... my windows froze over on the inside on Christmas morning!)

Also, the series is set in the magical land of Canadia. Love it!

How do the characters compare to others you've encountered?
Scott is unlike anyone I've ever read about. He's hopeless at relationships, mostly clueless, but he plays bass and can kick just about anyone's butt. Ramona reminds me of Margo Roth Spiegelman, except she's somehow cooler. Also, she skates through an interspace highway. That's awesome.

How does the book compare to everything else...ever?
Considering its size, it packs a mighty punch. Yes, there are mighty works of literature that speak a whole lot more about wider subjects, but nothing quite tells a love story in video game format via graphic novel like the Scott Pilgrim books. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a book like these ones. And I work in a bookshop.

What did you think of the film adaptation?
Based on my reading of volume one, I can say easily that the film sticks fairly closely to the books. Most of the same lines are used, the actors cast look remarkably like the drawings and they deliver the comedy and the heart of the graphic novels perfectly! As far as adaptations go, it was one of the best I've ever seen (and I've done modules in college where we look at the original text and compare it to the adaptation!). As a film by itself, it was still brilliant. Neither of my brothers read the graphic novels and they still loved the film. It has its own unique, quirky charm that you just don't get in most films. And I go to the cinema almost every week, so I'm fairly sure of myself when I make that claim!

Who would you recommend this too?
People who like graphic novels are obviously the first people I would suggest this to if they haven't already read it. Aside from that, teenagers and young adults who like a good laugh when they're reading will enjoy this if they can get over the fact that it's a comic. Anyone who enjoyed the film is bound to like the book, too. It's an easy read, not too long and given they're only published in paperback, it's fairly cheap, too!

What's next?
Well, I have to write twenty three thousand words over the next four days, so I won't have a new review until next week. I do have books lined up to review, though, so there shouldn't be many/any delays in getting it online. If you're wondering what the writing is all about, it's Camp NaNoWriMo. I stopped writing for a while, so now I have to play catch up to finish the challenge. I'll be writing this book at a fast pace until it's finished, too, so people who are used to seeing me online a lot may not have the pleasure of my company. Or the displeasure... let's be fair, not everyone likes me (of those, most just don't know me very well). So, until next time (hopefully my victory blog post on Sunday!), happy reading!

Review - The Age of Apocalypse (X-Men)

One thing quite a few people know about me is that I have a lot of interest in comics. Truth be told, I know more about them than I have right to: I never really read them. I decided to change that, and ignoring my reading list altogether I read The Age of Apocalypse epic in the X-Men series of comics from Marvel, including the Prelude. Originally I had planned to review each of the four volumes in turn, until I realised that they were almost impossible to distinguish between.

They’re broken down into individual stories, following the likes of Cyclops, Havock and Sinister, Magneto and Rouge, Gambit and the Xternals, and a whole cast of characters taken from the comics and thrown into a new story. Everything changes in these comics, the logic behind it all explained in the Prelude. Introduce time travel and things are bound to change. And in the words of my fellow comic book nerd from college, ‘This is their masterpiece.’

How did you find reading comics to reading regular fiction?

It was...different. Essentially, the storytelling falls into two categories: the dialogue and the pictures. It’s literally a case of showing and not telling (except when dialogue and narration has to fill in the gaps for readers). One of the hardest things is getting used to looking at everything on the page in different orders – some scenes spread over two pages, the images being that big, so the whole layout of the comic changes.

As well as that, there’s the issue with reading dialogue and following what’s actually going on. It took me a while to get used to reading what was being said in the right order. This is no fault of the people who wrote the comics, of course; I’m just not that used to reading them. For me, the writing goes right across the page, no pictures.

What did you think of the story?

As I’ve said, this is their masterpiece. Each of the books (Prelude, and Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4) fills us in on the little details: what caused the Age of Apocalypse to come about, how the X-Men planned to stop it, once and for all, what Apocalypse was doing to the world, what was happening to the universe and how they ultimately hoped to stop that, too. I won’t drop spoilers. For fans of X-Men, this is the must-read series of comics. They break open the whole world of X-Men and answer the question: What would happen if Charles Xavier never formed the X-Men?

This really is the ultimate ‘What if...’ story, and it certainly let down a lot less people than House of M and its particular affect on the Marvel universe...

What was your favourite arc, and what was your least favourite?

My favourite would have to have been that which followed Rouge. She was always one of my favourite characters (I know, the outsider being my favourite character... har har har). Again, no spoilers, but there’s a whole new set of stories being told in this group (which still keeps the old favourites around, too, like Storm).

My least favourite... Wolverine. My experience with Wolverine – known in these comics as Weapon X, I might point out – is that he’s the angry, distant type. He fights and he’s looking for answers and God help anyone who tries to get in his way. Well, with certain changes that still follow his character’s general story, he’s a bit annoying in how much he gets down in himself. And he’s missing a hand. That may have attributed to it all (because, you know, his hand is supposed to grow back..?).

Whose story were you happiest with?

This one is difficult... Cyclops has an interesting story, but he still maintains a lot of his usual morals and all that stuff that eventually wears him out. Beast is even more...delightful, we’ll say. I think they did a great job with him in these comics, taking him to an extreme they couldn’t have gotten away with in a different reality. Best of all, though, was Nate Grey. I stumbled across Nate in my extensive reading about X-Men a few years ago and never really understood where he came into the story. Well, AoA answers the very important question of his origins, and goes into some detail on his powers, his life and his personality. And he’s one of the coolest looking characters that isn’t grossly mutated beyond recognition as a human. (The white flick in his hair and the glowing eye certainly did the trick!)

Saddest part of the whole series?

This one would call for a spoiler. No spoilers. Just wait until you get to Volume 4 and you’ll see it all happening. You just have to wonder what made them do it. Then you realise it’s genius, if a little too tragic. You’ll see!

Who would you recommend this series to?

A few groups... firstly, if you like X-Men but haven’t read this series yet: this is for you. Do I have to say it again: It’s their masterpiece! Secondly, to people who generally like comics and haven’t read this series, even if you’re not especially a fan of X-Men. Thirdly, if you like a good story and think you can manage the images (and, can I just say, the artwork is brilliant, so it’s totally worth it), then you should give this series a try.

What’s next?

Well, I can’t possibly answer that for Marvel... they have the most convoluted plots in the world that I will forever be out of my comfort zone with them. I can only hope to catch up on some of the amazing stories they tell. As for me, I’ve got reviews coming up of a children’s book, a graphic novel, a Young Adult novel and a book about writing for children, none of which were on my list. (I think the list is cursed, because I chose too many big books and started reading too many of them at once...)