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Tag Archives: fantasy comic

Lenni Reviews: “NewsPrints” by Ru Xu

29 Monday Apr 2019

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Masquerading as a boy, Blue loves her job as a newsboy delivering papers so people can be informed in a time of war. The paper she works for is the only one that tells the truth so her job can be perilous. While on the run from boys from a rival paper, she happens upon an eccentric scientist and then a young boy named Crow with strange secrets of their own.

This is a cute little book in a steampunk sort of world with odd gadgets and scientists with goggles. While overall entertaining and gorgeous to look at, this is a familiar story; plucky girl, quirky scientist, enigmatic boy with a secret, and government secrets. If you’ve never read something like this before, you may enjoy this more than I did. Not to say I didn’t like it or have fun reading it but I have seen this all before. 3.6 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Alice: From Dream to Dream” by Giulio Macaione, Giulia Adragna, Giulia Adragna, & Jim Campbell

10 Saturday Nov 2018

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Alice has the unique ability to share dreams with whomever she’s sleeping next to. Not a good situation when her family has recently moved and she must share a room with her older brother. She can’t get a good night’s sleep, can’t tell her parents, and Alice is bullied mercilessly at school. Her one saving grace is her best friend Jamie. But when he’s left in a coma after a car accident, Alice must use her abilities to bring Jamie back, unearthing family secrets in the process.

This is a cute riff on the Alice in Wonderland theme. Alice herself is a bit of a doormat to the point where it is not just gratifying to see her standing up for herself, it’s a relief! The art is perfect for this story, nailing the mundane and the otherworldly in a story that’s surprisingly compelling given its short length. It was easy to read this more than once and still enjoy it and the conclusion is satisfying. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “To Your Eternity” vol 2 by Yoshitoki Oima

08 Thursday Feb 2018

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As March and Parona are carried off as prisoners with Fushi, Parona is determined to get March to safety and devises a daring escape. But their captors want to use them to find out what exactly Fushi is even if they have to rip him apart to do it.

In addition to the daring escape, this volume also touches on where Fushi may have come from. There are still plenty of questions and hints about some much grander schemes but overall this is an intriguing story so far. Oima sure doesn’t hesitate to hit you in the feels, though, so don’t get too attached. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Monstress” vol 1 by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda

07 Thursday Dec 2017

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Maika Halfwolf is looking for answers. Obsessed with her search, she will even allow herself to be captured by a sadistic woman who performs experiments on Arcanics like Maika. But it is all worth the risk for Maika to learn the secrets behind the brand on her chest and her magical powers.

The setting here is a heavily stylized steampunk and high fantasy mashup colored in a dark palate to reflect the danger and twisted nature of this world. The art deco style is beautifully detailed and is lucky to be backed by great characters and a well written story. It’s not a happy story at all. This is a dark fantasy where magic users with no ethics will dissect children for their power, ruthless public executions take place for purposes of propaganda, and our main hero is more than willing to step over your corpse to get what she wants. But it’s gorgeous, compelling and I can’t wait to read the next one. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “To Your Eternity” vol 1 Yoshitoki Oima

06 Wednesday Dec 2017

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In this beautiful manga, we follow a mysterious orb after it falls to Earth. The orb has the power to transform into whatever it touches. As it encounters increasingly more complicates forms, the orb happens upon a young girl named March while in the form of a teenage boy.

This is a great book! I found out after I read this first volume that Oima also authored A Silent Voice (which I did read but went through it too fast to review for the blog). While a completely different genre, To Your Eternity also has the contrast of cute character design with serirous and harsh situations. It is lovely to look at and bittersweet, aside for the last page of the story with (spoilers) the talking dog. Something about that final image fails to be cute – as one would expect a talking dog to be – but instead is nightmare fuel. Other that that, I won’t give much more of the plot away as I feel it should be experienced by the reader. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Tea Dragon Society” by Katie O’Neil

07 Thursday Sep 2017

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks

When she finds an injured tea dragon in the marketplace, young Greta – who is a blacksmith’s apprentice – returns the magical creature to its owner and learns the nearly forgotten art of crafting tea from the delicate leaves growing from the tea dragon’s bodies.

I found this to be the most refreshing fantasy comic I have read in a long time. The story Greta through 4 seasons as she meets Minette; a seer who has lost her memory, Hesekiel; one of the last remaining tea masters, and his partner Erik; a former adventurer who is now a paraplegic.

There are no grand adventures, no epic battles; just a little girl who finds a dragon and makes some friends. A delightfully progressive slice of life story with simple and beautiful art, about the only thing I can legitimately complain about is there isn’t enough of this. If this was a webcomic or a series, I would be reading it all the time. It’s very rare for me to find something so lighthearted yet well done and I find it perfect. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Red Sonjia: Queen of Plagues” vol 1 by Gail Simone and Walter Geovani

26 Tuesday Jul 2016

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A freed slave and former gladiator, Red Sonja has a fierce reputation, lethal skills, iron will, and high alcohol tolerance. In this first volume, they reveal her past as she comes to terms with some old demons as well as friends and foes.

Holy shit is this batter than the movie and I grew up with that wishing I could swing a sword. Harkening back to traditional sword and sorcery fantasy pulp comics, the art is crisp but weathered like reading an ancient scroll. The characters are interesting, funny, and powerful and I had a great time reading it. It’s awesome to see Red Sonja come back and come back strong. I tried not to put in too much plot as I think it would spoil the journey but this is totally worth picking up.

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