Category: Comic Books

To counter my surprising amount of books that I read in July, I didn’t read many comic books in June or July. It’s just one of those things I guess. I go through phases of reading certain narrative forms and the rest falls by the wayside. #10 featured in this post in June so I was reading them super slow.

Catwoman #1-12 (Collected in two trades, Volume 1: The Game and Volume 2: Dollhouse)
I love Catwoman. Even that weird Halle Berry movie version. I think she’s a great modern, female Robin Hood-type character. Stealing from the rich to give to.. well, herself. But still. There’s nothing like taking down some Russian mob leaders to help out the community.
I really like the New 52 run. There’s an artist change briefly that I wasn’t a huge fan of but the main art is beautiful. The storyline flows brilliantly through the arcs and there are several jumping-on points. The story moves fast as she uncovers nefarious plots, goes against different foes, plans to steal from certain people. There’s no time to breathe for Selina Kyle.
However, I’m finding single issues really difficult to read lately. The story sometimes moves too fast and there’s something about the urgency of a new issue each month that bothers me.
No matter though, because I’ll definitely be continuing with Catwoman. She’s a Queen.

And I had to show off my favourite covers. #4 is super classic 60’s Catwoman.

One of the things that affected the amount of books I read in May was the amount of comics I was reaching for. And snapchatting about (imogenrose20 if you’re interested). I only read one hardcover in April, so I thought I’d save you a very short post and put the two months together…

The Walking Dead, Hardcover 2 by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn
I feel like they upped the gore in this one. At one point, a zombies guts were trailing behind it, got caught on the ribcage of a dead zombie, and it fell over. I felt bad for laughing. If they put that in the show I wouldn’t be so mad about the season 6 finale cliffhanger.
Hardcover 2 covers the beginning of season 3 pre-Governor for those show watchers out there. It also introduces my favourite character; Michonne. This series continues to pull no punches and test out apocalyptic scenarios. What’s it like being in a prison surrounded by zombies?
“Yeah, hopefully it’s just full of flesh eating monsters and our baked beans are still intact in there.”
✮✮✮✮

The Walking Dead, Hardcover 3 by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn
The Governor is a thousand times more terrifying in the comics than in the show. This hardcover especially needs to come with a warning sign for some pretty hefty triggers because damn. Everything the Governor threatens in the show, he actually does in the comic and more. Up until this point it was more humans vs. zombies, this issue the humans vs. humans part of the apocalypse comes into full effect. Prepare to be terrified.
“I don’t consider paying attention to be something special just because most other people don’t do it.”
✮✮✮✮

The Walking Dead, Hardcover 4 by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn
And we finally reach the end of season 3 in comic form. I love how they spent six comic arcs really fleshing out the time at the prison, because the show rushed through the time there. Think about how perfect a prison is in this situation; three layers of fences, towers that you could see for miles around from, weapons, prison cells to lock yourself in if it was over-run, food, space to grow vegetables. If I was in a zombie apocalypse, a prison is where I would go and that was really fleshed out.
Also- this ends with the most brutal death. I may have cried.
“I could if I wasn’t fuelled by testosterone and stupidity.”
✮✮✮✮✮

The Walking Dead, Hardcover 5 by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn
The characters went through some major transformations in these arcs. It was nice to get to focus on them separately rather than one big group, however briefly. Especially dealing with last issues death, I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to reach into a comic and give a character a hug so much.
And Abraham is one of my favourite characters in the TV show, so I was pretty excited when he showed up in the comics. I kind of forgot when he came in. He’s a strange dude.
“I never liked reading before. I never did it. It’s been a long time… But it might be more fun than video games.”
✮✮✮✮✮

Nailbiter #1-10 (Single issue version of Volume 1 and Volume 2, or Hardcover 1)
Most of my single issue comic books are packed up and out of reach because of the redecorating so when I got that urge to pick up a comic, the only ones I could get my hands on were these. And boy am I glad for my disorganisation because I flew through these in an evening.
This is a horror comic that really plays on a lot of the horror genre clichés. And it works. A town that somehow creates serial killers then releases them on the country? An FBI agent who disappears while researching why? A failure of the justice system releasing one of the serial killers back into the small town? Drama!
Brian Michael Bendis (writer of a lot of comics including some at Marvel) shows up as himself in issue 7 which was amazing as well. Very meta.
I think this is kind of a niche interest- serial killers, horror comics, that old school vibe, but if you’re into that then this is a must. I’ll be picking up the next issues when I can!
✮✮✮✮✮

Since I love a weird coincidence- the whole time I was reading Nailbiter (the day of Scream season 2 coming out) I was thinking about how it reminded me of the show, then I watch the new episode and…

I actually read a graphic novel and enough comic books to write a separate Comic Books I Read in.. post this month! Pretty exciting. I really felt like picking trades up this month, they’re quick and easy to read while complimenting the shows I was watching. I need to start on some single issues soon because they’re really piling up, but for now…

Green River Killer: A True Detective Story by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case
I actually said ‘wow‘ out loud in an empty room after finishing this. Written by his son, the story of Detective Tom Jensen’s search for the Green River Killer rings true. It has everything you want in true crime; honest interviews with the killer and the victims families, personal moments, gruesome killings. And everything you want in a graphic novel; the phenomenal art is black and white, and it manages that delicate balance of enough words on a page without overcoming it that every graphic novel struggles with, beautifully.
The back is coated in positive comments from Stephen King, Damon Lindelof, Brian K Vaughn and more, all of whom agree with me that if you have even the vaguest interest in graphic novels, non-fiction or true crime then this is the book for you. My brother got this for me after my obsession over Christmas with Making A Murderer on Netflix and I can honestly say if you enjoyed the show, you’ll love this.
The question now is- where do you put a true crime graphic novel? With non-fiction or comic books?
‘Sometimes I feel foolish for hoping she’s alive. But then I feel guilty- as if being “realistic” is giving up.’
✮✮✮✮✮

Supernatural: Origins by Peter Johnson and Matthew Dow Smith
I restarted watching Supernatural this month and after getting stuck on a couple novels I was reading, decided to pull out this origin story. I’d never read it before and can honestly say I’ll never read it again.
The story was just so unnecessary. It basically fills in the time that the show leaves to your imagination- directly after Mary dies, but in such a weird acid trip hallucination way that it just leaves you with more questions. And the art. Sam is six months-ish and is at one point sitting on a pool table unsupported like a little demon monkey. I could barely tell who was who. I think I’ll stick to my non-TV-spin-off comic books.
‘The easy way rarely takes you straight to your destination. Which is why a Hunter never turns back.’
✮

The Walking Dead: Book 1 by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Allard
This isn’t a TV spin-off, the comics came first. Just so you don’t think I’m a lying liar who lies.
With the finale of The Walking Dead Season 6 at the beginning of April I really wanted to go back to the comics and I’m glad I did. I love The Walking Dead comics. They’re so fast-paced, this collection of issues 1-12 covers season 1 and 2 of the TV show. They’re action packed, so many things happen there is absolutely no filler pages. And the art is great. I personally prefer the faces and the detail in the shading that Tony Moore did for the first six issues but Charlie Adlard picks it up well and soon makes it his own. The world is laid out clearly, there’s nothing confusing and because it’s the base of the spin-offs, there’s no insider knowledge that might put you off.
Really, it’s a must for any fans of the show or just general zombies and I recommend hardcovers that collect 12 issues. You can really get them open to see the full page, and they still look brand new on the shelf.
It’s not the same as killing the dead ones, Daddy.
✮✮✮✮✮

Something a bit new today! I’ve included comic book trades in Books I Read in.. posts before but I felt like keeping them separate from now on because they’re not really books. And I wanted to start including single issues and depending on the month, those can add up! So here we are. With a new kind of post. Comic Books I Read in… Hopefully you all like it!

Saga: Volume 1 by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples
I mentioned this in my first Books I Want to Buy and Why post as I found volume 2 on my wishlist and kind of inspired myself to pick up volume 1 again. I’ve had volume 1 since it first came out but haven’t read it for a while so I picked it up for a re-read while I’m in a reading slump. It was as good as I remember! It’s a great story and written by my favourite comic book writer; Brian K Vaughn who wrote my all time favourite comic book; Y: The Last Man.
Space. Parenthood. War. Sex. Magic. Violence. What’s not to like? Read it.
✮✮✮✮✮

Batwoman: Volume 1: Hydrology by J.H. Williams III and W Haden Blackman
I didn’t pick up any Batwoman from the new 52 and probably wouldn’t have bought it if my brother hadn’t got a copy with a few printing errors and given it to me when he got a new copy. Turns out that I really enjoyed it. Kate Kane is a great character and a credit to the Bat name, although I would’ve liked to of seen her go up against an actual villain. Not a ghost.
I can’t see myself buying the next volume but it was a fun read. The art was extraordinary, and it’s nice to see a gay superhero.
✮✮✮✮

Birds Of Prey: Volume 1: End Run by Ed Benes, Gail Simone and Adriana Melo
When the New 52 started, I looked at the options and an all-female superhero group had me interested so I picked up Birds of Prey. My brother then gifted me these old runs so I could read the history and I was excited.
I’ve been watching Gotham so I liked seeing some grown-up Penguin and I love Oracle as a character. It’s so nice to see disabled representation. I had a review that I had written just after I finished it all written out, but it got accidentally deleted and I honest to gosh can’t remember much about this book. I enjoyed it but it hasn’t left much of an impression.
✮✮✮

Birds of Prey: Volume 2: The Death of Oracle by Adrian Syaf, Gail Simone and Marc Andreyko
I remember a little more of this book because- it’s pretty much right there in the title! The pre-new-52 death of Oracle. But that’s not all that’s in this book, there’s also a neat little one-shot with Huntress and Catman (who is adorable) and other stories after it that seem to have been put in there to pad out the hardcover and not for any real relevancy. If this was my only experience with superhero comic books I could totally see why people avoid them.
Lastly, I have to say though, in both of these books there was some seriously questionable drawings of women. I sent a picture to a friend of mine half way through with the caption ‘Nobody bends that way without dislocating a hip‘. It’s pretty awful.
✮✮✮

Constantine #1
Guess what show I started watching in September? You got it. The doomed one season of Constantine. Half way through one episode I remembered picking up this #1 and pulled it out of my comics box. It’s not a great start to the new 52 version of Constantine and as this series ended at #23, I wasn’t the only one who thought so. I won’t be buying the trades of this, but I want to read more Constantine. Maybe his old Hellblazer run.
✮✮✮

Alpha Girl #1-5 by Jean-Paul Bonjour and Jeff Roenning
My full review of these comics is here!
✮✮✮✮✮

It’s October! So let’s start the month of Halloween with some zombies! I don’t normally review single issue comic books on my blog because I’m not really sure people will be interested but hey- I like comics. I like reviewing. This has been published in a trade paperback. And it’s one of the best in my opinion. So here we go!

What happens when a third rate cosmetics company accidentally creates a pheromone that transforms the female population into man-eating monsters? Enter the world of Alpha Girl, and follow Judith Meyers on her quest to survive and rescue her little brother from the vaginapocalypse! 

Alpha Girl is a 5 issue mini-series that I picked up way back in 2012 when it was originally published and I loved it. The trade has finally been released as ‘Volume 1′ and doesn’t that just put hope in my lil’ nerdy heart! Either way this comic is amazing and here are my reasons for thinking that…

Zombies.
I’m a sucker for all things zombie related, big fan and defender of zombies as the scariest monsters. Within that love, The Walking Dead has become the sun that everything revolves around. But here’s the thing, Alpha Girl does things differently. All the zombies are women. It shows how they came about. And it’s not as serious as most zombie stories, I’m not scared when I read this, who could be when the zombies are so cute?

The Characters.
The main character is Judith; a chain-smoking, underwear-selling alpha girl who has a kid brother called Buddy who she’s trying to spring from juvie, who just happened to kill a guy. Then there’s the teenage boy Frank, who acts pretty much like every straight teenage boy in existence. Andy, the wheelchair-bound AC/DC fan. Chuck, his donut obsessed pal. And Penny, the dim-witted but adorable fast-food restaurant worker (“Do you think that cute soldier guy back there was okay?” “The one who got shot in the face?” “Yeah.”).

The Art.
If I was ever to get a comic book related tattoo, it would probably come from these comics. There is nudity, and I guess zombies count as gore, but with the art the way it is, I don’t think it would be something most people would be bothered by. It’s so cute and stylised, it really takes the downer that is women turning into flesh hungry killers and makes it fun! And even within the style, there’s no women bending in impossible ways like in a lot of superhero comics. 

Image Comics is basically my go-to nowadays for when I’m not feeling superheroes, and with the popularity of Saga, it’s helping comics become more widely read. So if you’re feeling like reading some comics and you want some zombie fun- you can’t do better than Alpha Girl and the trade paperback of all 5 issues is for sale here!

It’s finally happened, I didn’t like last months Loot Crate. When it finally arrived and I got it all out to look I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed. The theme; Rewind, had so much potential and so many options to go with but the result was a pretty boring box with only one thing I liked.

So lets take a closer look!

The big ticket item this month was a Star Wars #1 Comic Book which is cool and all but I’m not much of a Star Wars fan. They were also tweeting about this loads before the box was even sent out, spoiler alert!
And it also came with a comic book notebook which, again, is cool but not my thing and I’m not sure how it matches the theme either…

Next is a shirt with a blueprint of Voltron, a cartoon from the 80’s that I had to ask my friend about because it was before my time and really not my thing. I was a Thunderbirds kid. It’s a neat shirt but I don’t like wearing random references I don’t understand.
And a game cartridge model- again, from before my time. I grew up in the age of gameboys and still have a little collection. If this had been a model of Pokémon Yellow, I would have been all over that.

The month before this came with a wallet, and this month a tie. I’m not saying that ladies can’t use wallets or wear ties, several have been instagraming some neat alternative ways to wear this, but I can’t help but think Loot Crate are letting their gender assumptions show. This’ll be going to my brother if he wants it.

The one thing I liked from this months Loot Crate was these sunglasses. They come with UV protection and you can bet these are going in my suitcase for my trip to Vegas. They don’t carry the rest of the box though.

And the usual magazine and badge. No digital Loot this month although the box does fold up into an NES. Like I said, it’s not my favourite box, it felt kind of oddly put together so I’m hoping that this months ‘Play’ box blows this one out of the water.

I’ve wanted a Loot Crate for a while after seeing my boo Ashley’s posts about them and a couple of weeks ago in a tired haze of wanting to spend some money, I ordered one. It dropped through my letter box a couple of days after the Americans got theirs and I ripped it open after excitedly instagraming that it had arrived. July’s theme was Villains and I wasn’t sure really what to expect! My idea of a villain is Gary *growls* but I was pleasantly surprised.

The first thing I pulled out was the Joker/Loki/Joki shirt which made me laugh, it’s one hell of a combination. I think those two would make quite a team. I wore it to the gym yesterday and it was comfortable to wear even when doing the most uncomfortable of exercises!
The other clothing item was these fancy Deadpool socks, I don’t know much about Marvel but I’ve seen enough Deadpool cosplays to do my research and these are great, if a bit tight, (I’m wearing them right now) and better than boring black socks!

I’m not a big poster person so I’m going to pass these on but Harley Quinn is one of my faves. She’s joined by the Joker and I’m sure my friend is going to appreciate having that staring at her from the wall.
Another DC item is the Necessary Evil DVD documentary looking into The Joker, Lex Luther, Catwoman, Doomsday and Bane. I’ve not had a chance to watch this yet but I love documentaries so I’m pretty excited.

The smaller more ‘nik nak’ items were this cute little Darth Vader key chain who is currently hanging on my keys with a small sombrero and a Bowser/ Uncle Sam mash-up magnet. I don’t have a magnetic fridge but I’m determined to find something to stick this too!

My favourite thing this month and probably the reason I snapped and subscribed was the Loot Crate variant edition #1 of Rocket Racoon. I’m a big comic book nerd but I tend to lean towards DC and Image so this is my first ever Marvel comic book bar what I’ve picked up on Free Comic Book Day. I saw Guardians of the Galaxy on Monday and my mind has been changed (amazing movie, go see it). I want all the Marvel and I think I’m going to add Rocket Racoon to my pull list, I’ve read this and since #2 is out today- a trip to my LCS might be in order!
And it came with the usual pin (so cute) and Loot Crate magazine that has interviews and puzzles and all sorts that are fun to flick through.

The box was also great :’)