historical

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Lenni Reviews: “The Elusive Samurai” Vol. 6, by Yūsei Matsui

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

Despite the loss against Kokushi’s forces, Tokiyuki gained valuable knowledge which will aid him as he heads for Kyo, the capital city of his enemy; Takauji.

From the synopsis, you’d think some major shit was gonna go down but this volume feels like a bunch of setup. We get a new character, Tokiyuki is still a good character, but I didn’t feel like much happened. It’s not bad but it is a bunch of filler that isn’t very satisfying. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Elusive Samurai” Vol. 5, by Yūsei Matsui

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

Governor Sadamune is determined to prove Tokiyuki is a survivor from the Hojo clan and interrogates the boy to find even the smallest slip up. As he tries to keep is identity a secret, Tokiyuki also has to help defend his allies on the battlefield.

This volume is heavy on the battle strategy and to be honest, I didn’t find it all that interesting. The battle scenes are well drawn; I can tell what’s going on and the way the art conveys emotions can be really creative as well as really creepy but this one isn’t as fun as the others. I bet it’s a step towards something bigger in the coming volumes. 2 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Witches of World War II” by Paul Cornell & Valeria Burzo

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

Inspired by a true story, this graphic novel follows Doreen Valentine who joins a group of other witches to use magic to kill Hitler’s second in command. Rudolf Hess.

Of course as a practicing witch myself I had to check this out. For a premise of witches fighting Nazis with magic, I couldn’t get into it. It felt somehow both over the top and underwhelming at the same time. The art style is perfect for a period piece, but this is a meh from me. I ended up flipping through it, struggling to find something to latch on to. 2 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp” by Zumrat Dawut, Anthony Del Col & Fahmida Azim

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

Zumrat Dawut was arrested and sent to a detention camp for being Muslim in 2018 where she was beaten, interrogated, starved, and forcibly sterilized as part of the Chinese government’s attempt to “reeducate” Uyghr Muslims.

This is super short but gets to the point of the horrible ordeal this poor woman went through but she did make it through to tell her story and that’s important. The art is evocative yet simple; honestly portraying Zumrat’s experiences. If you want something fast and informative, this is a great start but like most graphic novels that are biographies, this is a way to get started on a subject before you dive into further research. 4 out of 5 because it does seem too short.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Elusive Samurai” Vol. 3, by Yūsei Matsui

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

Hojo and his group are alerted to a group of bandits attacking villages near by. They are moving fast and brutal in their actions and quickly on their way to another isolated village so Hojo makes plans to stop them.

This volume expands the characters of Hojo’s retainers and teaches him a new skill as the kinds of enemies he faces increase in lethality. It still somehow manages to be cure and terrifying at the same time, with the character designs of the main group contracting so much with the designs of the villains. I like this series but so far, it seems a little formulaic. New baddie, Hojo must learn new thingie, rinse and repeat. But the characters are interesting enough to keep me reading. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Elusive Samurai” Vol. 2, by Yūsei Matsui

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

Tokiyuki is hiding out in Suwa under Yorishige’s protection at a shrine. But when the shrine is hosting a dog shooting competition where one of Takauji’s vassals shows up to compete while searching for anyone from the Hojo clan that may be hiding at the shrine.

While I like the art style when people are fighting or talking, there are parts of this where the characters are super-deformed and I find them unintentionally terrifying. Other than that, this series is interesting. There’s some tonal whiplash between the silly parts where everyone is laughing and putting severed heads on display. We’ve got our colorful cast of characters with all these bombastic personalities that keeps it entertaining if not completely engrossing. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Elusive Samurai” Vol. 1, by Yūsei Matsui

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

Hojo Tokiyuki is the last survivor of his family, the Kamakura shogunate, after they were betrayed and slaughtered. Along with other survivors or the massacre, Hojo goes on a journey to train and become strong enough to reclaim the throne.

Don’t let the cutesy art fool you. This is bloody and the art can make the characters look distorted and scary when it needs to. That being said, this is one hello of a start for a series. Hojo is young but strong and you get the sense of how strong he will become.

It feels a little rushed and the priest character is teetering closer to annoying than quirky. I wouldn’t complain if he was reigned it. A LOT.

This is focused more on action so we haven’t gotten attached to anyone more than initial interest so far but I do want to continue to the next volume. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?” by Harold Schechter & Eric Powell

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This graphic novel starts from Ed Gein’s childhood and goes through his entire life and horrific crimes. The art style allows for realism and shows a bit of gore but remains as respectful as you can be talking about a guy who made skin suits and masks. This feels like watching a true crime documentary and I mean that in the best way. It not only goes through his life and crimes, but shows his impact on popular culture and the town he lived in. I think this is a must for graphic novel true crime lovers and I liked this book. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Ten Days in a Mad-House” by Nellie Bly, Brad Ricca & Courtney Sieh

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This is a graphic novel adaptation of Nellie Bly’s famous work; in which she poses as a patient to investigate the conditions at Blackwell’s Asylum in 1887.

After reading this, I’d like to read the original book. I’d always been familiar with this story but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Like most historical non-fiction graphic novels, this is a great way to introduce this story to a new audience or an audience who otherwise would never bee exposed to it. The art style is a great choice, rendering people and emotions so well with simple ink lines that in some parts it gave me chills. While not highly detailed, it is very effective at giving the gist of the story, why it’s important, and made me want to learn more. If you like historical graphic novels, I’d check this one out. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Radium Girls” by Cy.

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

This graphic novel tells the story of The Radium Girls; a group of women who worked in one of many factories painting parts of glow in the dark watch faces. They used their tongues to keep the point of the brushes sharp and were assured they were safe only to be slowly poisoned over time.

I love the art style. I think it’s effective at allowing the reader to focus on the stories of these women and what they went through. It looks simple but it’s very effective. This provides a great primer to encourage people to learn about what is sadly a little-known part of history. This is very short but it tells enough of the story about this tragic group of women. I hope more people learn about stories like this. 3.8 out of 5.

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