Review: Grumpy Cat

Title: Grumpy Cat, Volume 1
Author: Ben McCool
Genre: Comic
Series: Book 1 in The Misadventures of Grumpy Cat and Pokey
Pages: 104
Release Date: February 16th 2016
Publisher: Dynamic Forces
Summary: Dynamite proudly presents the comic book misadventures of Grumpy Cat, featuring "The World's Grumpiest Cat" and her brother, Pokey! With her ever-present pout and sassy disposition, Grumpy Cat has won the hearts of people everywhere. Now, her unbearable cuteness and infectious sourpuss are featured in an all-new, all-sensational collection of comic stories, sure to make fans of all ages laugh! If you love the memes, the videos, and that irresistible scowl, then get ready for the wildly fun antics of Grumpy Cat and Pokey!(via Goodreads)

My Rating:

| Goodreads | Amazon | My Goodreads Review | 

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley from Diamond Book Distributors, so thank you very much to them! 

This was not quite what I expected, although after revisiting the NetGalley page it made more sense. It is actually classified as 'Children's Fiction'. I was expecting more of the ironic internet meme type of Grumpy cat, where this was a very juvenile, Grumpy cat who actually reminded me a lot of Garfield. There were a lot of stories in this comic and I think it would be perfect for a young reader maybe in the 8-12 range. For me, however, I found it a little bit tedious. The art was wonderful, and had so many different feels that really brought the stories to life. I probably won't continue on in this series, but I would recommend young readers consider picking this up!

Did you ever pick up a book, only to find it's geared for a completely different age group?

Review: Deep Dark Fears

Title: Deep Dark Fears
Author: Fran Krause
Genre: Comics
Pages: 144
Release Date: September 29th 2015
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Summary: A charmingly creepy collection of 100 illustrated comics based on idiosyncratic and universal "deep dark fears." We all have weird fears, from getting sliced to ribbons in subway station revolving gate to getting turned around by the wind while swimming and going too far out to sea. Based on the wildly popular eponymous Tumblr, Deep Dark Fears explores our odd, creepy, and hilariously singular fears. Animator, illustrator, and cartoonist Fran Krause brings these fears to life in vividly illustrated comics based on real fears submitted by readers (plus a few of his own). These "deep dark fears" run the gamut from unlikely but plausible to completely ridiculous, highlighting both our deeply human similarities and our peculiar uniquenesses. (via Goodreads)

My Rating:

| Goodreads | Amazon | My Goodreads Review | 

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley from Ten Speed Press, so thank you very much to everyone involved!

This was quite a lovely book about all the, you guessed it, deep dark fears that people have. I can'd decide if the book was terrifying because there were things I never thought to be afraid of, or comforting knowing that I am not the only crazy person out there with this fear. 

The illustrations were wonderful and the layout was great! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the Gashlycrumb Tinies because it has that same lovely dark humor to it!

Review: New Suicide Squad Vol. 1: Pure Insanity

New Suicide Squad Vol. 1: Pure Insanity by Sean Ryan, Jeremy Roberts

I received this as an advanced reading copy from DC Comics through NetGalley, and I would like to first thank them for the opportunity to read this comic.

This is the first 'The New 52' DC comic that I've read, so I was actually a little bit lost. I think that is honestly mostly because I am used to novels, where you pick up book 1 and read from 1 to 3, or 7, or whatever. The comic book world, I've found works a little bit like this: 'Oh! number 27, 15, 8, 42, and 9! I haven't read any of these but know basically what happens! I must buy them!' That being said this was pretty easy to pick up on what was happening in them. 

I just heard that there will be a Suicide Squad movie so I'm pretty excited about this! I think it was a great introduction to what the series (line?) is all about. I particularly loved Harley Quinn! The Joker's daughter was really interesting too, and it really makes me want to read some other comics about him!

The publishers requested that all reviews be held until publication, which it is now available! However, as I wasn't sure if these were all published together or not, I will not go into any plot specifics, but rest assured it was really good. The art was beautiful and I actually read the whole thing in just one sitting!

This seems like a really great place to start if you are looking to start comic books, but I'm no expert! I particularly love that there are not really any 'good guys' in this. 

How do you all feel about gray area villains and heroes? 


New Suicide Squad Vol 1 on Goodreads
My review on Goodreads

Review: Muirwood: The Lost Abbey

Muirwood: The Lost Abbey by Jeff Wheeler, Matt Sturges, Dave Justus, and Alex Sheikman

I received this graphic novel as an advanced reading copy from Jet City Comics through NetGalley, so a big thank you to whoever approved me!

I saw this book on NetGalley and thought it had a pretty interesting summary. I've been looking for a few good science fiction or fantasy series to read and this one promises to be an intro/prologue to the Muirwood series so I thought I'd give it a try. I was pretty glad I did too!

There is a really good chance I will pick up this series! I like the basis for this story and I love that I can already tell it's a very well flushed out world (although I did not fully understand it yet) I think that someone who has already begun the series would be able to appreciate it a lot more than I could, so I will defiantly have to revisit this once I have a few of the main books under my belt!

I think that the art was very interesting, it reminded me of a stained glass window at times. There were lots of dark outlines with blurry middles. I'm not sure if I liked that or not, but it was beautifully done. 

There is a lot of potential here and I hope that the next installment does not disappoint! I will absolutely be continuing on with this series and encourage anyone who likes the Muirwood books to pick this up!


Muirwood: The Lost Abbey on Goodreads
My review on Goodreads