Friday, January 19, 2018

Review: Graphic Novels Part Two

Hey everyone! I figured that since I had a fair amount of things to say about quite a few different graphic novel standalones and series, I'd split it up into two reviews. This is part two!

Here is the link for part one!

Image result for sagaSaga Vol 1-8 by Brian K. Vaughan
       I've seen everyone on booktube reading Saga on and off for the past few years, so I figured I'd give it a go and see how it was, and just, WOW.
The artwork in the series is absolutely amazing. It's consistent, and all the characters are drawn beautifully. (This series is definitely a mature series, however).
The storyline is completely perfect. It's a story about aliens in space, travelling the galaxy, as well as a war happening between a planet and its moon, and how everyone in the galaxy can be affected in a negative way because of it. It's a story about war, sadness, and guilt, but also about love and how anything can be overcome by it.
The characters are amazingly well thought of. Every single character is weird and different (as they should be - they ARE aliens), but they are also so well developed, and they still develop a lot throughout the story. Everyone is connected in some way, and even though some characters only see each other once in awhile throughout the volumes, they still are all connected and are affecting each other in some way or another.
Overall, every single volume is amazing, and I know I'm going to be reading and rereading them time and time again.
Overall - 

Image result for archie mark waidArchie Vol 1-4 by Mark Waid
       I used to read the Archie comic books when I was a kid, and I have such fond memories of going to flea markets at the cottage and buying boxes of old Archie comics, and I'd sit on the porch or in the woods by a stream and spend the rest of my time at the cottage reading them. With the new Riverdale TV show that came out (and yes, I do watch it - a guilty pleasure of mine) I missed the Archie comics, so I figured I'd pick up the new graphic novels.
The artwork is the same idea as the original comics, but there is a modern spin on it. I liked how they stayed true to the characters (Betty and her cars, Jughead and his crown, etc.) and how they didn't change anything massive or drastic.
The plots of the graphic novels, the storylines themselves, are different from the original comics, but in a good way. They all focus around one massive problem, and it is usually solved by the end of the novel, and another problem occurs. I enjoyed the plots themselves because they reminded me of the originals and they still had a bit of a modern spin on them.
The artwork itself was also enjoyable, and just like the plots, is similar to the original comics but with a bit of a twist on it.
Overall - ★★★★☆

Paper Girls Vol 1-3 by Brian K. Vaughan
Image result for paper girls       The first novel of this series I had a lot of mixed feelings about. I knew going into them that they were supposed to be strange and that the reader was supposed to struggle a little bit in the first volume, but honestly, I had zero idea of what was happening. The only reason the first volume for me got two stars instead of one was because the art work was really pretty and I loved the style.
That being said, going into the second volume was a lot easier, because I had some idea of what was happening, and I knew it was going to be super weird. The second volume was better than the first because I was able to follow it a lot better, and the third was better than the second for the same reason.
The only problems I have with this series is that they are so fast paced, that something will happen and you don't have a chance to understand what is happening before something else crazy happens. I personally love fast paced novels, but these are on a whole different level.
The art work in this series is the only reason that I kept reading them after the first novel. The art work is futuristic while being older, and I love the style. Also, as I said above, I LOVE Saga, and knowing that Brian K. Vaughan had his hand in this series really helped to keep me reading.
I'm going to keep reading this series as it comes out, and see where it goes and how my views change as I get further into the series.
Volume 1: 
Volume 2: 
Volume 3: ☆.5

No comments:

Post a Comment