[ARC REVIEW] Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope by Berkeley Breathed

Title:  Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope

Author:  Berkeley Breathed

Genre:  Humor / Politics / Satire / Animals / Friendship / Relationship

Year Published: 2016

Year Read:  12/28/2017 

Publisher: IDW Publishing

Series: Bloom County Relaunch #1

Source: eARC (NetGalley) and Library

Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Some Language and Sexual Dialogue)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I would like to thank NetGalley and IDW Publishing for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Introduction:

Now, I will admit that I had never read the “Bloom County” comics before, even though I had heard of the series way back in the 1990s.  I guess it was because that by the time I started reading newspaper comics, “Bloom County” had all but vanished from the strips and I was not able to read the series then.  So, imagine my surprise when I found out that a) the author of the “Bloom County” comics Berkeley Breathed, had decided to bring this comic series back to the pages in his newest comic book called “Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope” and b) NetGalley has given out this book for readers to check out!

What is this story about?

After twenty-five years of the “Bloom County” comic strips going out of the pages, the Bloom County gang has finally come back with new adventures and are trying to get used to all the new technology, such as social media and dealing with all the political drama in this modern-day world!

What I loved about this story:

Berkeley Breathed’s writing:  Wow!  I never would have thought that there would be a day where I would actually read Berkeley Breathed’s legendary comic strip “Bloom County” and now that day has finally come!  Berkeley Breathed has done a brilliant job at writing this comic book series as the humor is sharp and witty and I really enjoyed the way that the satire on the modern-day era is handled in this series as I found myself laughing at each jab at the current state of politics.  Now, I will admit that I do not normally read many books or comic books that deal with politics because most of them tend to be a bit too one-sided for my tastes.  However, Berkeley Breathed was able to make the political satires in this comic be more hilarious and memorable as it managed to poke fun at both liberals and conservatives and that really amused me!  I really liked the fact that the comic is written in a way where you do not have to read the previous “Bloom County” comics to get the characters or the setting.  The fact that the characters felt the same way as they did decades ago except for the fact that society has changed over time, really made reading this comic a pleasant experience for me!  I also loved the way that Berkeley Breathed wrote each character, especially Bill the Cat and Steve Dallas as all the characters were hilarious and entertaining to read and I especially enjoyed their interactions with each other, especially with how Steve usually acts like a jerk towards the other characters, but is still on friendly terms with them.

Berkeley Breathed’s artwork:  Berkeley Breathed’s artwork is hilarious to look at as all the characters are drawn in a semi-realistic way and yet, the images of Opus the Penguin and Bill the Cat are much more cartoonish than the human cast and they really stand out in the artwork.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like language and sexual dialogue, this comic strip does have some language such as the constant usage of the “a” word and also there are some sexual dialogue littered throughout the comic, mainly coming from Steve Dallas himself as most of his story arcs involve him trying to get a date with various women.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope” is a fantastic continuation of the “Bloom County” comics and anyone who is a huge fan of the “Bloom County” comic series will surely enjoy this graphic novel!

You might also like:

• The Far Side Gallery by Gary Larson

• Garfield Gets in a Pickle by Jim Davis
• Lio: There's A Monster in My Socks by Mark Tatulli

[ARC REVIEW] The Frog Prince by Mike Klaassen (@bookunleashed, @BookBaby)

Title:  The Frog Prince

Author:  Mike Klaassen

Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling / Historical Romance

Year Published: 2016

Number of Pages:  114 pages

Date Read: 9/24/2017

Publisher:  Bookbaby

Source:  eARC (Book Unleashed)

Content Rating:  Ages 8+ (Some Intense Moments and Rude Behavior)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

I would like to thank Book Unleashed and Bookbaby for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Now, I have been reading the Brothers Grimm fairy tale classics for many years and I have seen many retellings of their fairy tales such as “Rumpelstiltskin,” “The Bremen Town Musicians” and “Snow White.”  But, I had never read a retelling of the “Frog Prince” before and when Book Unleashed gave me a free copy of Mike Klaassen’s retelling of “The Frog Prince,” I just had to check this book out and man was I blown away by this interesting retelling of the classic story!

Young Prince Gerit was out playing around the bog near his father’s kingdom when suddenly, he falls into the bog and could not get out of the water.  Then, an old woman named Wibke came along and noticed that Gerit was in trouble.  Gerit desperately asks the old woman to help him out of the water and Wibke promised that she will help the prince if the prince promises her that he will take care of her for the rest of his life.  Of course, Gerit does not want to take care of the woman, but he agreed to the bargain anyway and Wibke helped Gerit out of the water.  Then Gerit tried to break his promise to Wibke by running off to the castle, until Wibke transformed Gerit into a frog and she states that the only way that Gerit will turn back into a prince again is if a princess comes along and kisses him three times.  So, Gerit goes on a long journey to find a princess who is willing to kiss him three times and Gerit stumbles upon a kingdom that is ruled by his father, King Egon’s enemy, King Torsten and he finds out that King Torsten has a daughter named Anneliese.  Now, Gerit tries to make an effort to get Princess Anneliese to kiss him three times or else, he will remain a frog forever!

Wow…just wow…I never would have thought that I would read a retelling of “The Frog Prince” with so much energy and emotion!  Mike Klaassen has done a fantastic job at retelling this classic fairy tale as he gives a more contemporary and in-depth spin to the story.  I loved the fact that the story is told from the point of view of the Frog Prince himself and this made Gerit into an extremely interesting character as we get to see how he was like before he turned into a frog and we also get to see his struggles in becoming a frog and trying to find a way to change himself back into a prince.  I also loved the character development that both Prince Gerit and Anneliese go through as they both started off as royal brats who only thought about themselves and believe that they will get anything they want because they are of royalty.  However, the events of the story caused the characters to grow and understand the harsh situations that they are thrown into, such as the fact that their kingdoms are being involved in a war and how both Gerit and Anneliese may have to sacrifice their happiness in order to save their kingdoms.  I loved the way that Mike Klaassen developed Gerit and Anneliese’s relationship with each other as I enjoyed the interactions that the two had with each other, such as playing ball together and talking about their favorite books.  I also felt that Gerit and Anneliese’s growing relationship with each other was developed in a natural way and it felt more real than in the original fairy tale as the two did not love each other at first, but started developing feelings for each other over the course of the story, which I found to be pretty refreshing!

The only problem I had with this book was that the ending felt a bit rushed.  It felt like they wanted to quickly skip to the ending of the original fairy tale and did not developed the resolution of the story a bit further to see how the actions of the characters would affect the overall scheme of the story.

Overall, “The Frog Prince” is a brilliant retelling of the original fairy tale and anyone who is a huge fan of the “Frog Prince” will easily enjoy this book!

 You might also like:

• Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

• Cinder by Marissa Meyer
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[BOOK REVIEW] True Paranoid Facts! by Calvin Zeit and Henrik Drescher

Title:  True Paranoid Facts!



Author:  Calvin Zeit



Artist:  Henrik Drescher

Genre:  Nonfiction / Humor / War / Politics

Year Published:  1983

Year Read: 3/11/2017

Publisher: William Morrow and Company, Inc.



Source:  Purchased



Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Violence,  Sexual Situations and Nudity)



Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

I must admit that I was on a shopping spree on Amazon for books that were obscure and out of print and I happened to stumble upon this really obscure book called “True Paranoid Facts!”  “True Paranoid Facts!” is a factual book that was written by Calvin Zeit along with artwork by Henrik Drescher and the only reason I bought this book in the first place was because of Henrik Drescher’s artwork and I actually found this book to be quite an interesting read!

Basically, this book is filled with facts that deal with wars, historical figures and nuclear weapons that were relevant during the 1980s and these facts include:

“You can run, but you can’t hide.”

“Most wars in history have been fought over RELIGION!”

“Valley of the Dolls is the best-selling novel in the history of the world!”

“YOU are your own worst enemy!”

“Love is never having to say you’re sorry.”

Calvin Zeit has done a great job at detailing various facts that were relevant during the 1980s and compiling them into this graphic novel that is more aimed towards adults than anything, especially if you have knowledge about the Cold War paranoia going on during the 1980s.  I like the fact that Calvin Zeit provided some source notes at the end of the book that details where he researched the facts in this book as I wanted to know where these facts had stemmed from and how authentic they were during the 1980s.  There were also some facts that I found surprising as I did not know about some of these facts until I read this book such as “Valley of the Dolls” being the best-selling novel in the history of the world or that Nancy Reagan is more popular than Mother Teresa.  Henrik Drescher’s artwork is as usual humorous and bizarre to look at as the artwork is mostly rendered in black and white colorings and the characters shown in this book are exaggerated beyond comprehension.  One of my most favorite images in this book is the image of the food coming after a man as the facts state about how some foods contain dangerous and poisonous chemicals that could kill a human being and the image of the food coming alive really reinforces that fact.

The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because I felt that the information in this book were a bit outdated.  Of course, since this was written during the 1980s, this cannot be helped, although it still bothered me a bit when I look at information like “Valley of the Dolls” is the best-selling novel in the world and you look at the current best-selling books and that fact has changed dramatically over the years.  Also, just because the cover of this book looks extremely humorous, does not mean that this book is for younger readers.  This book contains lots of violence and nudity and that might make some readers uncomfortable if they do not like such elements in a story.

Overall, “True Paranoid Facts!” is an interesting book if you are looking to see what kind of facts about war, nuclear weapons and historical figures were relevant during the 1980s.  I would recommend this book to fans of books that deal with the society of the 1980s!

You might also like:

• Turbulence: A Log Book by Henrik Drescher

• Tales from the Crib by Henrik Drescher

• Gruesome Guide to World Monsters by Judy Sierra

[BOOK REVIEW] Saga Volume 5 by Brian K. Vaughan

Title:  Saga Volume 5

Author:  Brian K. Vaughan

Artist:  Fiona Staples

Genre:  Adventure / Family / Fantasy / Science Fiction

Year Published:  2015

Year Read: 7/21/2016

Series:  Saga #5

Publisher:  Image Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 17+ (Strong Language, Gory Violence and Nudity)

 

Introduction:

 

OH YEAH BABY!

Another fantastic volume of “Saga” from the great mind of Brian K. Vaughan?  You bet I will check this new volume out as soon as it was released and I was seriously blown away by this action packed volume!  “Saga: Volume Five” is another awesome installment of Brian K. Vaughan’s legendary comic book series that is definitely worth its weight in gold!

What is this story about?

After the disastrous falling out between Marko and Alana in the previous volume, Alana, Marko’s mother and Hazel find themselves being kidnapped by Dengo, the janitor robot who kidnapped Prince Robot IV’s newborn baby in the last volume.  This then leads to Marko being forced to work with Prince Robot IV in order to find their missing families.  Meanwhile, Gwendolyn, Sophie and The Will’s sister The Brand, set out on a journey together to retrieve a cure that will help save The Will’s life, but the journey is going to be pretty dangerous for the three (four if we are including the Lying Cat) travelers! 

What I loved about this story:

Brian K. Vaughan’s writing: As usual, Brian K. Vaughan’s writing is spot on and I really loved the fact that this volume was much more action driven then the previous volumes, which were mostly character driven and we actually get to see several characters really kicking some serious butt in this volume!  I just loved the way that Brian K. Vaughan really made Alana into such an awesome fighter in this volume as it was hinted at early on that Alana used to be in the military and we finally get the chance to see Alana’s combat skills displayed in this volume, especially when she tries to protect her daughter Hazel from various people who want to harm her.  I also loved the fact that Marko is still trying to find Alana and Hazel again as it showed how much he really cared about his family, despite his fight with Alana in the last volume.  It was also heartbreaking learning about Marko’s backstory and why him accidentally hurting Alana had such a tragic impact on him and how he tries to make amends for what he had done to Alana.  I really enjoyed the side story involving Gwendolyn, Sophie, the Lying Cat and the Brand trying to find a cure for the Will, who was injured a few volumes ago. I really loved the relationship between these four travelers as it shows that they all cared about the Will in their own way and are willing to work together to obtain the cure needed to help the Will.  The only thing that got me about this volume was that I did not see one single appearance from my favorite ghost girl Izabel…OH IZABEL! WHERE ARE YOU!?

Fiona Staples’ artwork:  Fiona Staples’ artwork is as usual gorgeous to look at and I really loved the action sequences as you can see the explosions really glow through the pages (which is something I often see with this series all the time) and I really loved the alien appearances of many of the characters, especially of Prince Robot IV with his TV set head!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like strong language, gory violence and graphic images, there are many scenes in this volume where characters are blown up and blood and guts are sprayed all over and some strong language such as the constant use of the “f” word and the “a” word.  Also, there is some nudity in this volume, as well as some sex scenes that might make some people cringe.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, is “Saga: Volume Five” worth picking up?  YES! YES IT IS! Go ahead and pick up this sucker already and be amazed by the wonderful world of “Saga!”

[BOOK REVIEW] Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Title:  Red Rising


Author:  Pierce Brown

Genre: Science Fiction


Year Published: 2014


Number of Pages: 639 pages


Date Read: 4/25/2016   

Publisher: Thorndike Press (Gale Cengage Learning)

Series: Red Rising #1


Source:  Library


Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Gory Violence and Strong Language)

"I live for the dream that my children will be born free," she says. "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them."

"I live for you," I say sadly.

Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."

I have read many books that were similar to “The Hunger Games” and they all had the same setup as the main character has to take down an oppressive government to save their people from a life of ruin. But, Pierce Brown’s book “Red Rising” proved to be something quite unique in the Dystopian future genre!

Darrow was known as a Red, who are a group of people that are set at the lowest caste in their society and they are constantly shown to be mining away in the caves to make the surface of Mars a place for everyone to live in.  Darrow was also married to a young and beautiful woman named Eo who made his life worth living for.  One day however, Eo shows Darrow a forbidden forest that they were not allowed to go into and it was there that she explains to Darrow that he needs to save their people from the oppressive government controlled by the Golds.  Even though Darrow did not want to go through with starting a rebellion, he soon changes his mind when his beloved wife Eo ends up being executed due to them breaking the laws, which included Eo defiantly singing a forbidden song in front of the Arch Governor Augustus.  It was then that Darrow decided to sneak into the Gold Institute by disguising himself as Gold and as soon as he gets into the Gold society, he is immediately thrown into a violent game where the Proctors will determine who the strongest Gold member in the game is and who will become Primus in this game.  Now, Darrow has to use his wits and strength to survive this savage game in order to take over the Gold society and save his people from a life of hardship.

Wow!  I have to tell you that Pierce Brown has most certainly written a truly unique Dystopian future book of the century!  Now, even though I have read plenty of young adult books that has a setting where the characters have to fight an oppressive government to save their people, this book was unique as it took place on Mars and yet, the society that the characters lived in resembles ancient Rome where the characters are forced to participate in violent games where only the strongest will survive.  Pierce Brown has done an excellent job at making this world unique as I was impressed with some of the phrases being said in this book such as “ghostCloaks,” nanoCams,” and “Gas Giants” and it made the book seem authentic in what kind of phrases would be said if humans lived on Mars or another planet.  I also loved the way that Pierce Brown wrote each character in this book as they were truly interesting characters and I like the fact that we get to learn each character’s backstory as it made me get attached to these characters and their goals in life. Probably my most favorite character in this book was none other than Darrow himself as I loved the character progression that he goes through in this book.  It was interesting seeing Darrow go from being unsure of himself in regards to whether or not he can make Eo’s dream come true to eventually commanding his own army to rise up against the Government, which made him into a character I truly root for!  I also loved the characters Mustang and Sevro as they were extremely interesting characters as you truly do not know whether or not they are loyal to Darrow and when you think that they are either betraying Darrow or stay on Darrow’s side, they would pull up surprises that the reader would never suspect!

Anyone who does not like strong language and violence might feel a bit uncomfortable with the fact that there is some strong language in this book, including the “p” word and the “f” word being dropped a few times.  Also, the violence in this book is pretty gory, especially with many scenes of people having their throats or their stomachs sliced by various weapons used in the story.

Overall, “Red Rising” is a truly fantastic book that would make the Dystopian genre proud and I will definitely be looking forward to reading the second book in the “Red Rising” series, “Golden Son!”