Graphic Novel Review - Exquisite Corpse - Pénélope Bagieu (Author & Illustrator)

Graphic Novel Review - Exquisite Corpse - Pénélope Bagieu (Author & Illustrator)

Translated into English by Alexis Siegel 

Recommended for YA/Adults

I received an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks,

French graphic novel author and illustrator Pénélope Bagieu isn't well known in the UK (this is her first English-languge release, I believe) but based on this quirky and charming tale of a young girl falling in love with a reclusive author, her recognition deserves to grow enormously.

22-year old trade rep Zoe is fed up with her job and her life with an abusive boyfriend, so when she happens upon reclusive author Thomas Rocher she finds her mood greatly improving. However, everything is thrown upside down when she learns the incredible truth; Thomas supposedly died several years earlier! 

There's a charm running throughout this book that reminds me of French art-house flicks that I've come across before, with the love story of an unlikely couple played out with warm humour. Zoe is desperately in need of something new and exciting, as is Thomas if he's to find inspiration for his next novel. Thomas' editor (and ex-wife) is also around to throw a spanner in the works, and it seems unlikely that there's going to be a happy ending (I won't spoil whether or not there is one, and for whom). Zoe has a bit of manic pixie girl about her, Thomas is clearly batshit crazy on a liberal-arts level, and ex-wife Agathe is suitably snotty to her former love's new squeeze, and the way they play off each other is very well written indeed. The illustrations are offbeat and quirky and fit the text well; in short, everything is very well done and blends together beautifully. I also had to smile at the ending, with it's mini-twist giving a satisfying conclusion.

If I had one complaint, it's that it almost flies by too quickly. leaving me utterly charmed but finished in about 20 minutes. No, I don't know how it could have been extended, but perhaps then it's to the author's credit that I feel like I'm left craving more. I'll certainly be using this as an example to people in the library for a quick and easy introduction to graphic novels that aren't all about superheroes.

Credit as well to the translator, Alexis Siegel, because without a good translator it wouldn't have worked so well.

A lovely (quick) story that left me with a glowing smile!

4/5

Exquisite Corpse is published on 5th May 2015 by First Second Books

Book Review - Pop Babylon - Imogen Edwards-Jones & Anonymous

Book Review - Pop Babylon - Imogen Edwards-Jones & Anonymous

Recommended for YA/Adults

I love the Babylon series. They're informative, funny, well-written, and always about areas that I know are going to have interesting stories. Pop Babylon is no exception, as you can well imagine the tales of celebrity-excess that are brought up within it's pages, as we follow the fictional (but based on real events told to the author by those in the business) year in the life of a band manager, as he tries to put together a new boy band to rise to the top of the charts.

Imogen Edwards-Jones has to be one of the best authors for getting me to pick up a book and then wondering where the hell the time has gone, as I always find myself completely glued to the text and desperate to know what real-life story is going to be re-told next. With Pop Babylon, she confirms a lot of what we expect to be true (the alcohol, the drugs, the groupies etc.) with a lot that we might not have realised about (what tricks you need to get your band to be signed) and breakdowns of the costs of working in the music business. Whilst I was mainly reading it to see just how shocking the stories of rock and pop excess were going to be, info about the breakdown of how profits are divided and shared amongst all relevant parties was both interesting and shocking when you learn just how little some pop stars actually earn for their work.

The Babylon series is so different from a regular non-fiction account as they really do read like stories themselves. I'm always eager to pick up another Babylon-account (I'm eyeing up Restaurant Babylon on the shelf as I type), and I'm forever putting them out on display in the library to encourage others to try.

You can't go wrong with something like this.

5/5

Graphic Novel Review - Twisted Dark Volume 2 - Neil Gibson

Graphic Novel Review - Twisted Dark Volume 2 - Neil Gibson

Recommended for 18+

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks.

I really enjoyed Volume 1 of Twisted Dark, a collection of short horror stories by Neil Gibson and a revolving team of writers; the twists were good, the writing was excellent, and some of them were genuinely heartbreaking. So I was delighted when I had the chance to review Volume 2.

I'm pleased to say that this is more of the same, in a very good way. The notes at the start mention that lots of fans originally complained that the stories were too dark when Volume 1 was originally published, and so they tried to lighten some of them here, which to be honest I can only really see in the story about a bullied high schooler gaining revenge through a science project ('The Experiment'); the rest are just as twisted and haunting as in the first volume, with three in particular standing out for me as top notch: 'Becoming a man', about jealousy within a tribe when one person is chosen to reach manhood over another, did a great job of swerving away from what you are certain is going to happen, only to come back in an even more terrible way at the end; 'Popular', about a girl who cares more about being popular online than with anyone real, and learns the trouble of online stalking firsthand; and 'Smile', which I have to say left me feeling shaken and nauseated, about a woman confessing to a murder.

With that last story, it got me thinking again about what exactly constitutes going 'too far' in books (or indeed any media). Now, I'll roll my eyes at anyone who watches all the way through a TV show only to complain about it afterwards instead of just turning over and ignoring it - in fact, I think they present very real danger to artist creativity. You also get the ridiculous like Janet Jackson's exposed nipple at the Super Bowl (wasn't that the most complained about TV event of all time or something ridiculous?). I do, however, have sympathy for people who are left feeling genuinely upset having read or seen something, which is how I felt with 'Smile' - as a parent myself, anything where children come to harm makes me upset, particularly where the parent is neglectful or uncaring as happens in this circumstance, and in all honesty I wish I hadn't read that one. BUT, I don't see why I should complain about it - it's in a book called Twisted Tales for crying out loud, so it's not as if I wouldn't see any warning coming that some of these stories might leave me feeling a little bothered. Crossed is a graphic novel series that comes up time and time again for pushing the boundaries of taste and decency, and having read a lot of that I can agree that I felt physically sick having read some of it, but again I knew that it was a story that many people said went too far and that's the reason I chose to read it, so I don't see what right I have to complain.

Anyway, I'll finish that strange little off-topic rant there, and confirm that despite me feeling blue after reading 'Smile' (which, despite that, is a great story in itself with a twist that I didn't see at all), this is a second volume of crackingly twisted tales that have left me wanting more.

One confession I do have to make is that in both these volumes the reader is told that the stories are connected through some of the characters, with the connections becoming more apparent as time goes on, but that I still haven't spotted a single one! Not sure what I'm doing wrong here but I'm missing something that I'm sure makes it an even better read! Might have to read them all through again to start catching hold of some of them.

If you like your tales dark and twisted, then the Twisted Dark series is definitely for you. Great to see a British comic publisher putting out quality stories like this.

5/5

Graphic Novel Review - Twisted Dark Volume 1 - Neil Gibson

Graphic Novel Review - Twisted Dark Volume 1 - Neil Gibson

Recommended for 18+

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks.

Anyone up for a dark and depressing collection of tales? Thought so!

Twisted Dark is well named; a collection of short horror stories written by Neil Gibson and illustrated by a revolving team of artists for British comic book publisher T Pub, this was originally released back in 2010 if what I've seen online is true. I might have missed it back then, but I'm damn pleased to have found it now, because this is a cracking little collection of stories that each deliver a chilling twist, in the same manner of Twisted Tales from Pacific/Eclipse Comics in the 1980s, which are some of my favourites. From a (very) young suicide case, to the corruption of a worker in appalling conditions, each story drags you in before delivering the knockout blow in the final couple of pages.

There's a couple of stories that I wasn't quite so taken with (? about a disillusioned train 'pusher' in Japan for one), but the aforementioned story of an Indian construction worker who tastes power after living in appalling conditions is very chilling, and the woman with a mental illness who makes her seek attention at the expense of her own family is heartbreaking, particularly for anyone with children. You certainly won't come out of reading this with a grin on your face feeling positive about the world, but then who the hell picks up a book called 'Twisted Dark' expecting it to be uplifting?

I believe there's six volumes altogether, and I intend to try and catch them all (a quick glimpse at the Forward for Volume 2 suggests that it's a little more lighthearted in places due to numerous fan requests to lighten the tone, so we'll see how that affects it) - I heartily suggest you do, too!

5/5

Graphic Novel Review - Death Sentence - Montynero (Author) & Mike Dowling (Illustrator)

Graphic Novel Review - Death Sentence - Montynero (Author) & Mike Dowling (Illustrator)

Recommended for 18+

Well, that escalated quickly!

A sexually transmitted virus, the G+, gives the victim incredible powers with the downside of only six months of life left to live. When rogue media icon Monty develops powers more powerful than anyone else and threatens an apocalypse, it's up to frustrated artist Verity and fallen rock idol Weasel to put a stop to him. But, with Monty as powerful as he is, do they have any hope?

If I was to sum Death Sentence up in one word, it would probably have to be 'holy-shitting-WTF'; seriously, there are several moments here where you won't quite believe what you're seeing - and I mean that in a positive, keeps-you-gripped, way. Without wanting to spoil the surprises, there are some deaths that you wouldn't dream anyone would ever try and portray in any form of media, that left me literally open-jawed as I double-checked that what I thought had happened had actually happened. Talk about pushing boundaries! And far from being gratuitous and only there to shock, it only serves to enhance the sense of despair and peril that the world finds itself in.

Story- and visual-wise, this is firmly an adults-only story, with none of it holding anything back. From boobs and bums to exploding heads and bodies sliced in half, you're not going to want anyone squeamish seeing this, which is a shame because I was utterly transfixed throughout. It's a nice change having a graphic novel of this calibre set mainly in the UK, and I'm feeling uber-excited having learnt that there's a Volume 2 on its way.

Having a superpowered-STI is an original take on the superpower/mutant staple, and having lotharios such as Weasel and Monty spreading it is sure to come into play in Volume 2, with more and more people affected by the disease. It's truly a graphic novel that I wish hadn't ended, yet I was completely satisfied with the way it did, and looking forward to seeing where the creative team take it in the next volume.

Buzzfeed called this the 'best British comic in years' - they're absolutely, 100%, correct. I'm loving nearly everything that Image Comics are throwing at me at the moment, but Titan Comics have thrown out something that's right up there with the best.

Essential.

5/5

Book Review - On The Island - Tracey Garvis Graves

Book Review - On The Island - Tracey Garvis Graves

Suitable for YA/Adults

Considering the stranded-on-a-desert-island story is such a classic of fiction, and one that I love the idea of, I've only ever actually read Lord of the Flies. Sure, I've watched Lost and The Mighty Boosh, but I've never read Swallows and Amazons and...there are others, right? Really obvious ones? Man, my mind's gone blank and I don't have enough time to spend looking them. Just rest assured that I know there are others. This was sold to me by a friend as 'teen gets stranded on island with hot older lady', and as I can remember my formative teenage years quite well I must say it it appealed to me immensely.

Thirty-year-old English tutor Anna crash lands on a deserted island with sixteen-year-old pupil T.J. during a flight over the Maldives, and the pair are forced to find a way to survive the isolation and wilderness of the unknown, with minimal hope of rescue. In time they'll grow closer as they come to accept the growing likelihood that they'll never return home, but will they even survive till tomorrow with the dangers that a deserted island offers?

Let me say one thing first; I enjoyed On the Island, and I'd recommend checking it out. It keeps you turning the page, the characters are likable and relate-able, and at no point did I think any of the situation was getting unbelievable (they didn't learn to become shark-killing ninjas with spinning blades overnight or anything like that). It gets particularly strong about a third of the way through when Anna and C.J. start to get closer, and continues to be until the end (I don't want to spoil too many plot details here). I wanted to know what happened to them, whether they would leave the island, and I wasn't disappointed in that at all.

Where I need to be a bit more negative is with the first third, and unfortunately it's difficult to say exactly I didn't enjoy as much. The story is intriguing as the crash first happens, it's just that I didn't find the characters as interesting, and it was the situation rather than Anna and T.J. themselves that kept me reading. It's as if all of a sudden I clicked with them a third in, from which point it was great, but I read the first third thinking 'yeah, this is okay, though I might try something else'. Sometimes I suppose it just takes a while to get into a book.

I'm glad I stuck with it, because it's a great read for the final two-thirds, and I feel bad criticising the first third because of it, but I wouldn't want anyone else to think the same and not stick it out. Once I really got sucked into the story it flew by, and I thought it dealt with Anna and C.J.'s situation really well, and ended exactly how I thought it should.

Just don't read it before flying over the Maldives...

4/5