Yes, I’ve been quiet lately but it’s for a good reason! I stopped doing reviews for a bit so I could work on this story and it’s all ready! Djinn 2: Wendigo is the sequel to Djinn, and has the same main two characters but a new enemy! It will be released on March 4, 2021.
I also have a rough draft of the next part of Fruit of the Dead that I’m working on and I hope to have that out before the end of March. I won’t leave the blog idle; I have a bunch of reviews ready to type up.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
I trust this isn’t spoilers for you at this point so, in this volume, Legoshi and Riz have their final showdown and Legoshi will have to pray the training he’s been though will help him stand up to a bear twice his size.
I like the way this panned out. It makes sense given the personalities and characters involved in all this mess. I also have to assume it’s not spoilery to say, it’s about damn TIME the police got involved. A student was murdered and eaten! I’m shocked Legoshi didn’t have regular run ins with a police investigation in progress. That would have made for some interesting conflict… But, as is, this was good. Great art in the fight scenes and even in battle, Legoshi is his goofy self. 5 out of 5.
High schooler Mieruko is cursed with seeing horrible, twisted spirits all around her; but no one else can. She just does her best to ignore them while also protecting her best friend from these things.
This manga is cute but oddly fanservicey with all the up skirt and cleavage shots. It’s really sweet how Mieruko just want to protect the people she cares about as best she can without revealing she can see ghosts. I won’t spoil it but there’s a story about a kitty that sold me on this series. All the stories are quick one shots so I’m wondering how this will progress and if there will be an overarching story line. 4 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
The collection of horror stories really shows Ito’s range as to what he can make horrible. I think my favorite is “The Mansion of Phantom Pain” but the entire saga of the cover character “Beautiful Boy and the Crossroads” is good, too. Super gory in this case, so be aware of that if gore is not your thing.
This is a solid offering with another funny story at the end featuring a fake poop. The volume leaves you with a laugh if you need to recover from the rest of the stories. 5 out of 5.
I have been working on more stories and while I had to put my longer-form stuff aside for a bit, I have been working on some shorter material! And what I’ll be publishing next is part two of Fruit of the Dead! It’s been a while and I needed to get back to working on this series and get some more parts in before I start outlining the next Go Away Girls book.
Yeah, I’m outlining now. I’m usually a pantser, but this is helping me get to my goal of publishing more often. And if I’m able to write faster, I’ll have time to read more and finally get my Kindle to stop showing that error message…
I have more reviews to post but I’ll keep everyone updated on the new releases and my progress!
I went back and forth about doing an episode by episode breakdown of this series. If you’d like that let me know (like I did WAAAAY back with Battle Royale) but this is my impression based on the first two episodes. That I’ve watched a few times just to catch as much as I could.
First of all I want to rub it ALL THE WAY in that this series is filled with Black and Brown people while Lovecraft himself was a racist. As a horror fan, enjoying Lovecraft became difficult when, ya know… He wouldn’t see me as an actual human. I get a little thrill out of things that piss off racists. It’s my fetish. Don’t judge me.
I have fuzzy memories of an uncle of mine either talking about or owning a copy of ‘The Negro Motorist Green Book.‘ I know Ma told me about it in a really roundabout way that was indicative of a lot of Black families that wanted to keep certain things unspoken for the young ones. (Boy do I have stories about the AIDS epidemic and Army recruiters at my high school…)
I can just feel the love in this. The writing is perfect. I can literally see stories told to me by my grandmother and her siblings come to life among a horror story that keeps me engaged. It’s really cool and I am so glad this is a thing that’s happening. It’s filling a horror hole in my heart that felt cheated by what’s been coming out of American Horror Story these days (it’s OKAY, just not blowing me away like the first season).
And yes… My literary geek ass has added as many of the books I saw in the series on my TBR list… Because clearly, it’s too short.
“Don’t let them make you question yourself. That’s how they win. They want to make us crazy, terrorize us, make us scared.” Man, if that isn’t the path of the oppressor/abuser. Fantastic.
And I shall leave my assessment of these first two episodes with this…
Spoilers…
Fuck that. Justice for Uncle George.
Patience is expanding her reach, taking down or absorbing increasingly dangerous criminal organizations. Doing good with her money, she also has people working with her and using her money to help her community. But Patience has made dangerous enemies who are not happy with her meddling.
This volume goes more into the real issues dealing with a double life and how it affects her family. While I enjoy the idea of Patience leading this gang to do some good, I don’t feel like this idea is explored. It’s just told to us while the meat of this is the other cartels and mob trying to taker her down. Probably to keep up with the requisite need for tons of violence. 3 out of 5.
Veteran and single mom Patience has to find a way to make ends meet. When she runs into and takes down some criminals, she decides to make pummeling bad guys a lucrative sidehustle.
This is an interesting way to continue the Kick-Ass name with a fresh new character. I like that it’s someone familiar with combat and planning. Patience is smart, capable, and has a LOT to lose if something happens to her on the job or if she’s found out. It’s also much less negative than it’s predecessor. There are likable people to follow and I’m interested in what happens next. 4 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
This graphic novel is a fast-paced biography of Marilyn Monroe starting from birth until her untimely death.
And by fast-paced, I mean very, VERY rushed account of her life. I like the art style for the expressive faces but the body proportions are iffy in places; like all of a sudden someone will have a HUGE behind or look like their back is broken. Unlike something like Irena – a biographical comic that is entertaining and detailed enough to act as a jumping-off point for further research – this book is more like a cliff-notes of a real biography. It’s ok but superficial. I think it should have taken more time to really dig deep but maybe they had page constraints. 3.5 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
This volume follows Irena as she continues to help children and others as the war winds down; acting as a nurse to help injured people.
This is still a great series highlighting the bravery of a woman who just wanted to do the right thing during horrible times. Everything is handled tastefully and it’s really inspiring. I think Irena would like this series if she could see it. 5 out of 5.
