[BOOK REVIEW] Wolverine: Old Man Logan by Mark Millar

Title:  Wolverine:  Old Man Logan

Author:  Mark Millar

Artist: Steve McNiven


Genre: Superhero / Action / Adventure


Year Published: 2009


Year Read: 2012


Series: Wolverine


Publisher: Marvel Comics


Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Gory Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 
 

Brief Introduction:

Now, everyone knows that I am a huge fan of Wolverine, so when I heard about this unique little story called “Wolverine: Old Man Logan,” I just had to try this comic out!  Luckily, I was not disappointed with this story as “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” was one of the most intense and possibly terrifying stories I had ever read about Wolverine!  With spectacular writing from Mark Millar and dramatic artwork by Steve McNiven, “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” is definitely one comic book you just have to check out!

What is the story?

In the future world, the United States is being ruled by the villains of the Marvel Universe (Dr. Doom, Norman Osborn and the Kingpin) and all of the superheroes were killed off, except for two heroes: Wolverine and Hawkeye!  Wolverine is now living peacefully with his family as he swore off ever using his claws ever again since a horrible incident happened that dealt with him using his claws.  One day however, the evil Hulk Gang wanted their payment in rent from Wolverine and if they do not get their rent money, they will kill Wolverine’s family.  So, Wolverine goes on a cross country journey with his partner, a now blind Hawkeye, to get some money for Wolverine to pay the rent.  Unfortunately, even though Wolverine is trying to live a peaceful life, he will soon realize that in a world ruled by villains, he will always be a target and he might have to compromise his stance on not fighting anymore once his life and family are being threatened!

What I loved about this comic:

Mark Millar’s writing: After reading Mark Millar’s fantastic run on “Ultimate X-Men,” I just knew that I had to give this book a try and when I did, oh my goodness, I was totally blown away by this story!  Mark Millar had done a fantastic job at giving us a really dark and dystopian world where super-villains ruled the United States and Logan decides to give up being “Wolverine” after a tragic event happened in his past.  I loved the way that Mark Millar developed Wolverine’s character and the fact that there would be a day where I would see Wolverine become a pacifist was really surprising to me.  I also enjoyed the back story about why Wolverine became a pacifist and what happened to him in the past was a truly terrifying and emotional moment in this book that will make you really sympathize with Wolverine’s predicament.  I also loved the idea about this being a “what if” story about what would happened if the super-villains ruled the world and all the super heroes were killed?  It rose up so many interesting scenarios in this comic about what the super villains would do once they take over the world and how the world would look like.  Apparently, the world is full of people being killed for no good reason and the endless changes to the United States such as California now being called “Hulkland.”  I also loved the way that Mark Millar portrayed Hawkeye and Wolverine’s relationship with each other as Hawkeye is always cheerful and can still fight extremely well even when he is blind and I loved the fact that they still remain friends after all the hardships of living in a villain ruled world.

Steve McNiven’s artwork: Steve McNiven’s artwork was just so fantastic in this comic! I loved the way that Steve McNiven made the characters looks extremely realistic.  The characters’ facial expressions are done extremely well as there are shadows on the characters’ faces whenever they are having dark thoughts.  I also enjoyed how detailed the bloody scenes were as blood squirts everywhere whenever the characters are cut up as it gives the scenes a much more frightening feeling.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this book:

~A huge warning for anyone reading this comic~

This comic has oodles and oodles of blood and gore throughout!  I had never seen a “Wolverine” comic that had so many scenes of people being killed in the most brutal ways (being cut up) and anyone who does not like seeing any kind of strong violence in a comic might want to skip this comic.  Also, there is some language in this comic, although not as strong as something you would see in Scott Snyder’s “American Vampire” or Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series, so for anyone who does not like reading language in a book, they might want to skim over these words.  I took off half a star because I felt that the beginning was moving a bit too slow and it was not until the middle of the story where things really started to pick up.  Also, the story might be a bit confusing for anyone who does not read “Avengers” or any other Marvel comics since it manages to combine most of the Marvel characters into one story (I know I got really confused when the Avengers were mentioned since I barely read the “Avengers” comics (big X-Men fan here).

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” was a really interesting read for me since I usually do enjoy the usual dystopian future storylines and this one was really creative and unique to read through.  Wolverine fans will definitely enjoy this fantastic one shot story of everyone’s favorite claw wielding mutant!

[BOOK REVIEW] The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems

Title:  The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?

Author:  Mo Willems


Genre: Animal / Food / Humor / Manners


Year Published: 2012


Year Read: 2012


Series:  Pigeon

Publisher:  Disney-Hyperion

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 3+ (Some Rude Behavior)

After reading Mo Willems’ classic “Pigeon” books, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” and “The Pigeon Wants a Puppy,” I wanted to check out more books from this series!  So, I picked up Mo Willems’ most recent book from the “Pigeon” series, “The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?” and I really enjoyed it!  “The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?” is a fantastic read for children who are fans of Mo Willems’ “Pigeon” series!

When the Duckling ends up getting a cookie because he politely asked for one, the Pigeon ends up getting angry at the Duckling and starts complaining about why he did not get a cookie.

What I always loved about Mo Willems’ works in children’s books is that he knows how to make sarcasm into its own breed of humor and still make it appropriate enough for young children to understand.  Told in the same vein as the previous “Pigeon” books with the Pigeon always complaining about not getting things his way, Mo Willems makes this book extremely hilarious and cute at the same time as the Duckling easily gets a cookie for being polite, while the Pigeon does not get a cookie.  I loved how Mo Willems’ writing is simplistic yet hilarious to read through as there are only a few sentences per page and it is mostly dealing with the characters making statements about getting a cookie.  I also loved the fact that the story pointed out that the reason why the duckling got a cookie was because he asked politely (a point he constantly makes to the Pigeon) and that is a positive aspect to the story that I really enjoyed since it would teach children about being polite when asking for things they want.  It was extremely hilarious seeing the Pigeon over react (as usual) to the Duckling getting a cookie while he in the past never got anything he wanted.  Mo Willems’ illustrations are simplistic and yet cute to look at, especially of the image of the duckling himself as the duckling is yellow, has big blue eyes and a small round body.

Overall, “The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?” is a truly clever little story that every fan of Mo Willems’ “Pigeon” series should definitely pick up!  I would recommend this story to children ages three and up since the story is appropriate for small children; unless the Pigeon’s hyperactive behavior is a bit too much for smaller children.

[BOOK REVIEW] American Vampire Volume 4 by Scott Snyder

Title:  American Vampire Volume 4

Author:  Scott Snyder

Artists:  Rafael Albuquerque, Jordi Bernet, Roger Cruz and Riccardo Burchielli


Genre: Horror / Action / Adventure


Year Published: 2012


Year Read: 2012


Series: American Vampire #4


Publisher: Vertigo Comics

Source:  Library

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

Brief Introduction:

Wow!  I had never seen a comic book series get better and better over time since Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series and Joss Whedon’s run on “Astonishing X-Men!”  Scott Snyder continues to amaze me with his stellar storytelling in the “American Vampire” series and the fourth volume is definitely one of the best volumes I had read so far in this series! With brilliant writing from Scott Snyder along with fantastic artwork from Rafael Albuquerque, Jordi Bernet, Roger Cruz and Riccardo Burchielli, “American Vampire: Volume Four” is definitely one volume that will not disappoint you!

What is the story?

In this volume, there are a total of three stories that each details all the characters’ progression into the 1950s:

The Beast in the Cave:  This story is about how Skinner Sweet and Jim Book were once as close as brothers, but when the Indian Wars broke out and a new threat is unleashed, Jim and Skinner’s relationship with each other might never be the same again.

Death Race: Meet Travis Kidd, a nineteen year old teenage boy who not only sports a Greaser look and lives in the 1950s, but he also happens to be one of the best vampire hunters ever around and he has a vengeance with one vampire in particular.

The Nocturnes: Meet Calvin Poole, an African-American man who has a tough life in the 1950s as blacks were frowned upon in society and he is constantly harassed by the citizens because of the color of his skin.  However, what the citizens do not know about Calvin is that he is apart of a secret organization that hunts vampires, while also harboring a dark secret about himself.

What I loved about this comic:

Scott Snyder’s writing:   Man, Scott Snyder just continues to amaze me with his stellar writing!  Scott Snyder has cleverly weaved a fictional tale with historical elements that affects the characters’ situations.  I really enjoyed the fact that we are learning more about Skinner Sweet’s past as he was involved in the Indian Wars and his relationship with Jim Book, which we learned about in the previous volumes.  Scott Snyder has done a fantastic job at providing a broad back story about Skinner Sweet and as I start learning more about Skinner Sweet’s back story, I start to understand more about where his vicious nature was coming from and how he affected history in many different ways.  Probably my most favorite story in this entire volume was the one regarding Travis Kidd, as his story was the highlight of this volume (his picture is even on the front of the cover)!  I loved the way that Scott Snyder developed Travis Kidd’s character as he is not shown as a stereotypical “greaser” boy, but hearing his tragic back story regarding his parents really made me feel so much sympathy for his character and I also loved the fact that Travis Kidd is able to take down any vampire he comes across!  I also enjoyed the way that Scott Snyder told Calvin Poole’s story and I felt sympathy for him as he had to suffer through racism in the 1950s and I also loved his dark past storyline as it really made him stand out as a character.  I still enjoy the way that Scott Snyder weaves fictional characters into historical elements like the Indian Wars and the racism and prejudice that dominated society around the 1950s and is still able to focus on the characters trying to fight off vampires without using real life historical figures in the story.

Rafael Albuquerque, Jordi Bernet, Roger Cruz and Riccardo Burchielli’s artwork:  The artwork in this volume was amazing as each artist contributed greatly to the stories in this volume.  Jordi Bernet’s artwork in “The Beast in the Cave” was quite different then from what I usually see from the “American Vampire” series as the artwork is shown in much brighter colors and the characters look a bit generic.  I loved the way that Jordi Bernet gave shadowing to the character’s faces which brought out a dramatic effect to them.  Rafael Albuquerque once again brings true creativity to the “American Vampire” series by doing the artwork in “Death Race” and I loved the dark and gritty feel of the artwork as it greatly complements with the horror story.  Roger Cruz and Riccardo Burchielli’s artwork in “The Nocturnes” were truly well done as Roger Cruz’s artwork makes the characters look truly realistic while Riccardo Burchielli’s artwork is a bit more simplistic, but still has enough dramatic effect to the story.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this book:

For anyone that does not like strong violence, this volume has many gory scenes of characters being bitten by vampires and blood squirting everywhere, so it might be hard to get through those scenes.  Also, this volume has strong language which includes the “s” word and the “f” word, so readers who are offended by coarse language might want to skim over those words.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “American Vampire: Volume Four” is just full of shocking surprises that really has me geared up for the fifth volume and now that this volume introduces new characters Travis Kidd and Calvin Poole, I cannot wait to see where their stories are going to go in the next volume!

[BOOK REVIEW] American Vampire Volume 3 by Scott Snyder

Title:  American Vampire Volume 3

Author:  Scott Snyder

Artists: Rafael Albuquerque, Danijel Zezelj, and Sean Murphy


Genre: Horror / Action / Adventure


Year Published: 2012


Year Read: 2012


Series: American Vampire #3


Publisher: Vertigo Comics

Source:  Library

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



Brief Introduction:

I am definitely on the roll with Scott Snyder’s fantastic series, “American Vampire” and the third volume of this series does not disappoint me!  “American Vampire: Volume Three” is probably the most intense out of the entire “American Vampire” series as Scott Snyder’s dramatic writing and Rafael Albuquerque, Danijel Zezelj, and Sean Murphy’s artwork contribute greatly to this volume!

What is the story?

In this volume, there are two stories being told regarding Pearl and Felicia Book.  In the first story, it is the 1940s when there is war between America and Imperial Japan and Pearl’s husband, Henry Preston, is called into battle to fight off a group of vampires that are sighted on an island near Japan.  Unfortunately, Skinner Sweet happens to be in the same group as Henry and he is planning revenge on Henry and only Pearl can rescue her husband from Skinner Sweet!  In the second story, Felicia Book, the daughter of Jim Book, who was killed by Skinner Sweet, goes on a mission with Cash McCogan to Nazi occupied Romania to find Dr. Erik Pavel, who claims that he has a cure for vampirism!

What I loved about this comic:

Scott Snyder’s writing:   What can I say?  Scott Snyder’s writing for this series continues to get better and better as the characters are thrown into new and troubling situations!  For one thing, I loved the way that Scott Snyder actually made the story progress in the timeline as the setting goes from the 1920s to the 1940s and it really gives the story a more realistic feel to the characters.  It is rare that I see many comic books actually progress the characters forward in time, so this was a welcoming change for me!  I also loved the way that Scott Snyder tied in the historical aspects of World War II into this story without trying to twist the history of World War II.  Usually, the problems I find with stories that has historical elements mixed in with fantasy elements is that sometimes it tries to state that the fictional characters were actually involved in any kind of historical event that happened in history.  What I like about what was being done with combining the historical aspects of World War II with the fictional characters of “American Vampire” is that they never really mentioned any historical figures like Hitler and the stories were more centered on the characters and their fight against vampirism while using the historical elements to bring the reader into a whole new world on the idea of vampires existing in such times.  I also loved the way that Scott Snyder developed the relationship between Pearl and her husband, Henry, as Henry seems to have second thoughts about their marriage since Pearl is a vampire and is much younger than he is and he wanted to feel wanted again.  I also loved the way that Pearl and Henry still cared about each other, despite the fact that Pearl is a vampire.

Rafael Albuquerque, Danijel Zezelj, and Sean Murphy’s artwork: Rafael Albuquerque, Danijel Zezelj and Sean Murphy all contributed greatly to the artwork of this volume as each artwork is scratchy yet dramatic for these stories!  In the story “Strange Frontier,” where it talks about Skinner Sweet’s former lover, I loved the way that Danijel Zezelj made the artwork a bit brighter than what you would normally see in “American Vampire” and I also loved the way that the characters’ faces are shadowed in which makes them look really dramatic.  The only problem I have with Danijel Zezelji’s artwork is that sometimes it is hard to distinguish the characters’ facial features since it seems like their facial expressions are lumped into one expression as there are barely definite linings on the characters’ faces that could really detail their emotions.  Rafael Albuquerque’s artwork is as usual, brilliantly done as the artwork is scratchy and yet, it fits perfectly for this type of story.  I loved the way that Rafael Albuquerque illustrates the characters’ facial expressions in a dramatic way as I really felt the emotions that the characters were feeling.  Sean Murphy’s artwork in “Survival of the Fittest” was extremely well done as the characters’ faces are shadowed in such a dramatic way and I loved the snow covered landscape when Cash and Felicia came to Romania!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this book:

As with the previous volumes, there is some strong language and gory violence in this volume including people having their heads ripped off and that might be disturbing for anyone who is not a huge fan of gory violence.  As for the strong language, there are many instances where the characters drop the “f” bomb and say the “s” word, so readers might want to skim over those words if they are uncomfortable with reading them.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “American Vampire: Volume Three” is a fantastic volume where using historical context in a fantasy series is used extremely well and anyone who is a huge fan of Scott Snyder’s works will easily enjoy this volume of “American Vampire.”

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

I like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for coming to my blog and enjoy chatting about books with me!  So MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!!  May your holidays be a good one!

[BOOK REVIEW] Y: The Last Man Book 2 by Brian K. Vaughan

Title: Y:  The Last Man Book 2

Author:  Brian K. Vaughan

Artists: Pia Guerra, Goran Parlov, and Paul Chadwick


Genre: Action / Adventure


Year Published: 2009


Year Read: 2012


Series: Y: The Last Man Book #2


Publisher: Vertigo Comics

Source:  Library

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

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 
 

Introduction:

After reading the first book of Brian K. Vaughan’s classic graphic novel, “Y: The Last Man,” I just had to read more from this Eisner Award winning series!  So, I finally picked up the second book to “Y: The Last Man” and it was just as INTENSE, HEARTBREAKING AND EXCITING as the last volume!

What is this story about?

Yorick Brown, along with his new allies, Agent 355 and Dr. Allison Mann, still embark on the journey to reach Dr. Mann’s lab in San Francisco so that way, Dr. Mann can provide a cure for the epidemic that broke out and killed all the males in the world.  Suddenly, the three allies are confronted by a Russian woman named Natalya Zamyatin who claims that there are still men in outer space and that they are on their way to Earth!  Unfortunately, the four new allies will also have to face against the Israeli troops who want to take Yorick in!

What I loved about this story:

Brian K. Vaughan’s writing: Wow!  Brian K. Vaughan’s writing is just as stellar in this volume as it was in the last volume!  As I had mentioned before, I really enjoyed the set up that Brian K. Vaughan brought to this series as you have to wonder about what the world will be like without men.  In this volume, Brian K. Vaughan further develops the story as we are introduced to more obstacles that Yorick and his allies have to get through to get to San Francisco.  I loved the introduction of Natalya Zamyatin as she brings an interesting dynamic to the story as being the one who warns Agent 355 and Yorick about more men coming to Earth and I was on the edge of my seat trying to see what will become of the male astronauts and whether or not their arrival to Earth will change how everything in the story has been progressed so far.  It was also great seeing another tough heroine in the story as Natalya will soon surprise you in this volume!  I have been enjoying the intense storytelling that Brian K. Vaughan brings to this volume and I loved the way that Brian K. Vaughan had really developed the characters as we see a darker side to some of these characters that we never saw in the previous volume which made the stories even more interesting!

Pia Guerra, Goran Parlov, and Paul Chadwick’s artwork: Pia Guerra, Goran Parlov and Paul Chadwick’s artwork was amazing in this volume as all the characters are drawn dramatically and realistically.  I loved the artwork done by Pia Guerra in the stories “One Small Step” and “Safeword” as the characters have realistic features and the backgrounds were realistically drawn, especially the scenes with the trees.  Paul Chadwick’s artwork in “Comedy and Tragedy” is similar to Pia Guerra’s artwork as he does a brilliant job in shadowing the character’s faces whenever they are in a dark lighting.  Goran Parlov’s artwork in “Widow’s Pass” probably has the most well-defined facial expressions for the characters as the characters show realistic shocked expressions on their faces and their hair is drawn beautifully as they are wavy.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Just like the first volume, there is some strong language in this volume including the infamous “f” word and “s” word and anyone who does not like reading strong language might want to skim over these words.  Also, this volume has more gory violence than the last volume as there are more characters being killed in gruesome ways such as some characters being shot to death and blood is shown spurting everywhere.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Y: The Last Man: The Deluxe Edition Book Two” is a truly brilliant follow-up to the first volume and anyone who is a huge fan of Brian K. Vaughan’s works or loves reading about post-apocalyptic worlds will definitely want to pick this series up!

[BOOK REVIEW] X-Men: Mutant Massacre by Chris Claremont

Title:  X-Men:  Mutant Massacre

Author:  Chris Claremont

Artists: Jackson Guice, Rick Leonardi, John Romita Jr and Sal Buscema


Genre: Superheroes / Action / Adventure


Year Published: 1986


Year Read: 2012


Series: Uncanny X-Men


Publisher: Marvel Comics

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 12+ (Death and Fighting Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 
 

Introduction:

After I heard so many good reviews on this comic, I just had to read this and oh boy, I just have so much to say about this particular comic book!   I know that so many events had happened before “X-Men: Mutant Massacre” happened (as was stated by the characters in this comic), but I wanted to read this so badly that I was willing to skip the last few issues of “X-Men” just to get to this comic! “X-Men: Mutant Massacre” was a first for me in many different ways: it was the first “X-Men” comic book that I read that featured Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock, also known as Psylocke, the first time I had read about the original “X-Factor,” the first time I had read about “The New Mutants,” the first time I had read “Daredevil” and the first time I had read about the “Power Pack.” With the combined writing of Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson, and Ann Nocenti and the combined artwork of John Romita Jr., Terry Shoemaker, Bret Blevins, Walter Simonson, Jackson Guice, Sal Buscema, Jon Bogdanove, Rick Leonardi, Alan Davis, and Barry Windor-Smith, “X-Men: Mutant Massacre” is definitely a story that “X-Men” fans have to check!

What is this story about?

When the Marauders, a group of mutant assassins, started killing most of the Morlock community, the X-Men, now lead by a Mohawk wearing Storm, step in to help out the Morlocks.  Meanwhile, X-Factor, a group of mutant hunters who are actually the original five X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast and Angel) in disguise, try to defeat the Marauders while Angel goes through an emotional trip that would change him forever.  Also, this comic features guest appearances from Thor, Daredevil, the New Mutants and the Power Pack who also try to help out the X-Men in defending the Morlock community!

This graphic novel contains stories from:

Uncanny X-Men (issues #210 – 214)

X-Factor (issues #9 – 11)

New Mutants (issue #46)

Thor (issues #373-374)

Powr Pack (issue #27)

Daredevil (issue #238)

What I loved about this story:

The story:  Usually, I do have problems with reading crossovers in comics because the stories almost never match up as long as you have different writers writing each story, but for a crossover, I found this story pretty impressive!  I liked the fact that all of the stories mentioned in this graphic novel actually flowed well together and it felt like we were getting one cohesive storyline instead of having several different things happening all at once and it made me really enjoy the storyline!  I really enjoyed the way that each different writer had a different take on the Marauders attacking the Morlocks as we see the attacks on the Morlocks from the X-Men, Thor, the Power Pack and Daredevil’s viewpoint.  The stories that I really enjoyed in this graphic novel were the stories written by Chris Claremont as he wrote the stories for “Uncanny X-Men” and “New Mutants.”  I loved the way that Chris Claremont made the story extremely dramatic and intense as we witness many Morlocks being killed in brutal ways and the X-Men characters dealing with the tragedy emotionally.  I really enjoyed how Chris Claremont handled Storm’s character as we see her being emotionally affected by the situation and how it affected her position as the leader of the X-Men and it was truly moving seeing Storm struggle with being the leader of the X-Men.  I also enjoyed seeing Storm as the leader of the X-Men since it was rare of me to see her in such a position.  I really enjoyed Chris Claremont’s writing in “New Mutants” as the characters were really interesting, especially Illyana Rasputin (Magik), Warlock, Danielle Moonstar (Valkyrie) and Samuel Guthrie (Cannonball) and it was great seeing a younger generation of X-Men step up the plate in this tragedy. Louise Simonson’s writing for “X-Factor” was fantastic as it was interesting seeing the original five X-Men work together again and I enjoyed seeing how the murdering of the Morlocks affected them and how the mutant community looks at them as they were disguised as the mutant hunting team “X-Factor” even though they were trying to help the mutants.  I also enjoyed Louise Simonson’s writing in “Power Pack” as it was hilarious and intense at the same time as I really enjoyed seeing the adventures of Franklin Richards and the Power Pack as it is rare that I see a comic book with small children being superheroes, which I thought was really cute!  I really like Ann Nocenti’s writing in “Daredevil” as the fight between Daredevil and Saber tooth was really intense and I enjoyed the inner monologues of Daredevil as it really defined his position in being a superhero.

The artwork: Out of all the graphic novels I had read, “X-Men: Mutant Massacre” probably had the most artists I had ever seen out of any graphic novel!  Each artist had contributed greatly to this storyline and I had enjoyed each one!  My favorite artwork in this book came from Jackson Guice’s artwork in “New Mutants,” Rick Leonardi’s artwork in “Uncanny X-Men,” John Romita Jr’s artwork in “Uncanny X-Men,” and Sal Buscema’s artwork in “Daredevil.”  (I know that there is some hate on John Romita Jr.’s artwork in current comics, but I enjoyed the scratchy artwork he created for this storyline).

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I gave this book a four star rating was because I felt that Thor’s side of the story was a bit of a distraction for me as it focused too heavily on Thor and I am not used to the “Shakespearean” dialogue that Thor usually talks in.  Also, you can tell that so much has happened before this storyline, so anyone (like myself) who just jumped in to read an X-Men comic might be wondering about how half of the events that happened to the characters happened in the first place.

This was back in the days when continuity was important in comics.

This comic also deals with the theme of death and sorrow as many characters are killed in this graphic novel and that might upset sensitive readers.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, despite the four star rating (the “X-Men” storylines alone are five stars in my book), “X-Men: Mutant Massacre” is definitely one of the darkest yet most invigorating series I had ever read and anyone who is a huge fan of the X-Men will definitely enjoy this book!

[BOOK REVIEW] Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros

Title:  Goodnight Tweetheart

Author:  Teresa Medeiros

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Year Published: 2010

Number of Pages: 222 pages

Date Read: 12/19/2012

Publisher: Gallery Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Some Sexual Discussions)

LOVE TWITTER STYLE!

After some urging from my friends and seeing a brief look at this book from one of the last books I had read from Teresa Medeiros, I just had to check out Teresa Medeiros’ latest book “Goodnight Tweetheart” and I was amazed at the concept of this book!  “Goodnight Tweetheart” is definitely a great book for romance novel fans of the “Twitter” generation!

Abigail Donovan is a struggling writer who is trying to finish her latest book, but she could never find the right things to say in her new novel!  However, when her publicist decides to give Abigail her own Twitter account, Abigail is amused by this as she had never used Twitter before.  Afterwards, however, as Abigail begins to get the hang of having a Twitter account, she meets a strange man online named Mark Baynard who claims that he is an English professor on sabbatical and it was then that she and Mark began twittering away with each other!  However, when things get really personal between Mark and Abigail, Abigail will soon discover some secrets about Mark that might destroy her relationship with him forever!

Wow!  I never would have thought that Teresa Medeiros would write a romance novel that deals with internet love!  Teresa Medeiros has done a great job at writing this novel as it deals with the trials of internet love and also tries to set up a love story where Twitter is a huge central point of the plot! I really enjoyed the way that the writing is set up as a way you would chat with a person on Twitter and some of my favorite dialogues in this novel included:

“MarkBaynard: Why? Thanks to me, you’re up to 1075 Followers!

Abby_Donovan: Followers…stalkers…predators…it’s all semantics.

MarkBaynard: Only when it comes to getting the restraining orders.

Abby_Donovan: Do you know how many people I’ve had to Block in the past two days?

MarkBaynard: 452?

Abby_Donovan: I’ve gotten dozens of dirty tweets, 4 marriage proposals & an exorcism chant from a voodoo priest who wants to drive out my sexual demons.”

I also really loved the characters in this novel, especially Abigail Donovan and Mark Baynard!  Abigail Donovan is a heroine that I truly can relate to as she is a struggling writer who is trying to finish her book except that her life has so many hardships including the death of her father and dealing with her mother’s mental illness.  I like seeing how Abigail can get really witty and funny whenever she is typing to Mark since it shows how hilarious and clever she truly is. Now, Mark Baynard was a hero that I truly felt sympathy for by the end of the book (I will not tell you about Mark’s character at the end of this novel, but you will definitely sympathize with his character!) and I loved the way that he chatted with Abigail as he is just as witty and hilarious as Abigail is and I found them to be a really cute couple!  I also loved the dialogues being shared between Abigail and Mark as they make some fun of the events going on currently in the world such as discussing about singers like Britney Spears and the Kardashians.

The reason why I gave this book a four star rating is because even though I thought it was really creative seeing this book being written in Twitter format, I am one of those readers who enjoy romance novels where characters are actually having a “physical” relationship with each other, rather than having a romance on the internet.  I guess I am not used to “internet love” type of books since I have been reading romance novels where characters are physically seeing each other for many years and this is a new subject for me to take in a romance novel.  Also, the book was a bit too short since I felt that the ending of this novel was a bit abrupt and I wanted to see more from Abigail and Mark.

Overall, “Goodnight Tweetheart” is a great romance novel for the current generation and anyone who loves Twitter and romance novels will definitely get into this book!

[BOOK REVIEW] The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems

Title:  The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!

Author:  Mo Willems


Genre: Humor / Manners / Animal


Year Published: 2008


Year Read: 2012


Series: Pigeon

Publisher:  Hyperion

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 3+ (Some Rude Behavior)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

After reading Mo Willems’ classic picture book, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus,” I wanted to try out the other books in the “Pigeon” series and I finally stumbled upon “The Pigeon wants a Puppy!”  “The Pigeon wants a Puppy” is a great follow up to “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” and anyone who is a huge fan of Mo Willems’ “Pigeon” series will definitely enjoy this book!

Basically, this story is about how the Pigeon wants to have a puppy and constantly keeps telling the readers about how it will try to take care of the puppy and love it.  However, what will the Pigeon think when its wish actually comes true?

“I want a puppy!”

Those were the exact words spoken by everyone’s favorite blue pigeon!  Mo Willems has done a brilliant job with this book as the story is extremely simplistic (it is basically just about a pigeon telling the audience that it wants a puppy).  I always loved the way that Mo Willems made this story extremely funny and cute at the same time as the Pigeon constantly tells the audience that it wants a puppy and I loved it when the letters on the pages are highlighted in red whenever the Pigeon gets overexcited or angry as it really adds to the Pigeon’s emotions about the situation.  Mo Willems’ illustrations are as always simplistic with a touch of your usual humor as the pigeon has big round eyes and is blue and the illustrations look like it was hand drawn by a child as the characters look extremely simple.  I also loved the image of the “puppy” at the end of the book!  I will not tell you what the puppy looks like, but it was certainly surprising to look at such a puppy!

Overall, “The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!” is a fantastic book for children who also went through the same situation about asking their parents for a puppy or something they really want and I think that many children will read this book for many years!  I guess if there was a problem with this book, is that the Pigeon might seem a bit demanding in wanting a puppy and parents might want to alert their kids about not being too demanding about asking them want they want, but this book is still loads of fun for little kids ages four and up!