Graphic Novel Mash-Up Review #1

I have just been blowing through graphic novels lately. Since these stories are usually shorter and more simple than traditional novels, I thought I would start doing mash-up reviews of a few graphic novels at a time! 

I adore graphic novels and comics, but the downside is that I read them so quickly I always have to ask myself if it's worth the $15-20 to buy them. My answer is always yes though! I feel like it's so important to read comics and graphic novels physically vs digitally to really get to enjoy the artwork. Are you a comic/graphic novel fan? What are some of your favorites? 

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang: This graphic novel has been around for a while. The story follows Anda, a girl who gets a little too involved with a game on the internet. But maybe the internet can teach important life lessons, too. I had high hopes for this one. That cover though! But unfortunately I didn't really connect with it as much as I had hoped. The art style is cute, but the story itself was a little simpler than I would have liked. 
3 out of 5 Stars

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Heavy Vinyl Vol. 1 by Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva: Girl gangs, unite! When Chris gets hired at her local record store, she has no idea she's getting involved with WAY more than just music sales. What she does know is that the girls she works with couldn't possibly be cooler. This story had great f+f rep and a strong female empowerment message. I love a good record store, so this was right up my alley. I do think it was missing something, and too much of this volume was spent setting up the story vs legitimate action, which made me knock off a star.
4 out of 5 Stars

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Giant Days Vol. 1 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Whitney Cogar: This is about three college girls: Susan, Esther, and Daisy. I just adore Esther's gothic little heart! I read a tie-in novel to this franchise a while back and didn't really enjoy it, but I really loved this comic. I was so amused by the messes they got themselves into and am excited to dive into the rest of the volumes of this one (volume 11 is currently available for preorder!). I might even reread that novel now that I know more about the characters! 
5 out of 5 Stars

Scooby Apocalypse by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Howard Porter

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Jinkies, this comic is everything! What do you get when you mix gorgeous artwork with mystery, sci-fi, some meddling kids, and an adorable dog? Scooby Apocalypse!

Daphne and Fred are washed up TV has-beens. Velma is an advanced scientist at a top secret government research facility. Shaggy is a dog trainer at that same facility, responsible for the care and training of the genetically-enhanced dogs, including the failed experiment Scooby-Doo. After meeting by chance, they all have to team up to save the world from gene-changing nanites that threaten life as we know it before terrifying monsters destroy the human race.

I knew from the moment I first flipped through this bind up that I had to buy it, if just for the visuals alone. The artwork is absolutely stunning. The colors are more vivid than I've ever seen in a comic and the images just explode off the page. There is a ton of dialogue in this one compared to a lot of comics as well. 

I am absolutely a classic Scooby-Doo fan, but this comic takes some of the characters in a slightly different direction. Fred and Daphne have almost switched roles here. Daphne is strong, empowered, and fearless, with some very obvious anger issues. Fred is meeker and hangs on Daphne's every word, regularly professing his unreciprocated love for her. Velma is completely clueless about social norms and even more awkward than she is in the show, but she's still extremely intelligent. 

And Scooby and Shaggy, well they never change much do they? Except Scooby is now genetically modified and has killer fighting instincts that kick in when his friends are in danger. Their classic catch phrases still abound throughout the story even though some of their personality traits have changed. And of course Scrappy makes an appearance as well!

If you are a Scooby purist, I'm not sure that you would be happy with the character changes, but I still really loved the new spin they put on this.

Even though I've only read the first collected volume of this, I can tell that Scooby Apocalypse is something special. Can't wait to pick up more volumes and continue on this journey!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

The Wicked + The Divine Series by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I posted this on my Twitter, but I've been in a reading slump lately and have turned to comics and graphic novels in an attempt to overcome it. One series I've picked up recently is The Wicked + The Divine created by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. I've heard a lot of hype about this series and have been intrigued for a while, and now that I've read a couple of volumes I can totally see why!

Even though I have only read the first two collected volumes (The Faust Act and Fandemonium) I can tell this is a series I will continue to enjoy (and as such have bought more of the series to get around to ASAP). The Wicked + The Divine is all about twelve gods (including Lucifer, Baphomet, Amaterasu, and more) who come to earth every 90 years incarnated as humans. But they're not just any humans, they become pop stars. They are both fanatically loved and deeply hated, but in two years or less they die.

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Again, I can only speak to the first two volumes, and I can't say too much without spoiling anything, but I absolutely love the characters so far. Lucifer is phenomenal, with an attitude and swag I can only aspire to have. Laura's loyalty is fierce and unwavering. Baal is just plain hot. I loved seeing the personalities of all the different gods. One thing to note is that there are a LOT of characters, which can sometimes get a little confusing. It does get easier the more you read since you start to see the same characters over and over again and they all get more developed storylines. 

There's a mystery element that begins in the first story, so in addition to learning about the gods and the history of their incarnations, you also get to try to figure out a little whodunnit along the way. I love that there's both internal and external dialogue. And the artwork is just GORGEOUS. It's colorful and vivid and everything I want in a comic. The panels were easy to follow and the font was completely legible. I really like the simplicity of the covers, and the way the chosen images describe just enough about the volume without putting everything out there right on the front. The covers also gradually darken from white through the various shades of gray from volume to volume.

I'll be sure to post continued reviews of this series as I make my way through the various collected volumes. There are 6 currently, with a 7th set to come out this fall.

The Faust Act (Volume 1) Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Fandemonium (Volume 2) Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars