Avatar: The Last Airbender--The Rift Omnibus (graphic novel) - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from Dark Horse Comics via Edelweiss. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Avatar: The Last Airbender--The Rift Omnibus
Author: by Gene Luen Yang
Illustrators: Gurihiru & Michael Heisler
Upcoming Release Date: February 23, 2021


Synopsis: Avatar Aang and friends honor an Air Nomad holiday that hasn't been celebrated in over one hundred years, but when cryptic visits from the spirit of Avatar Yangchen lead Aang to a refinery operating on land sacred to the Airbenders--they soon find themselves in peril as a dangerously powerful ancient spirit awakens with vengeance and destruction on its mind!

This collection of The Rift Parts 1-3 features annotations by Eisner Award-winning writer Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and artists Gurihiru (Thor and the Warriors Four), with a brand-new sketchbook section!

------------------------------------------------------------

Review: I continue to enjoy these graphic novels continuing the stories of the characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender on their journeys after the events of the finale. This collection has some focus on Toph with her father coming back into the picture. This collection has a theme of tradition versus technological innovations.

Yangchen, an air nomad Avatar, is featured in this collection. I always like to learn about the avatars that came before Aang. Spirits also are featured in this book. It alludes to the conflict with spirits that is dealt with more in Legends of Korra.

I'm loving Toph's metal bending students. I hope there are more stories featuring them. 

I give this book a 4/5. It continues the Team Avatar stories well and even expands on the characters that have been introduced in only the comics. Fans of the series will enjoy this book.


--PAUL

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy (graphic novel) - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from Dark Horse Books via Edelweiss. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Avatar: The Last Airbender: Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy
Author: Faith Erin Hicks
Artists: Peter Wartman & Adele Matera
Upcoming Release Date: February 16, 2021


Synopsis: Set in the post-series comics era of the beloved Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise, fans will get to see a new part of the original timeline that they've never seen before. A stand alone comic about the best earthbender and inventor of metalbending, Toph Beifong. Written by Faith Erin Hicks (The Adventures of Superhero Girl, The Last of Us: American Dreams) and illustrated by Peter Wartman (Stonebreaker, Over the Wall) and Adele Matera, the same team behind the Imbalance trilogy.

------------------------------------------------------------

Review: Continuing the amazing comic stories following the characters from the original Avatar tv series, this book focuses on Toph and her Metalbending academy. Sokka and Suki visit Toph and we get a look at the amazing new facilities that have been built. Toph is bored. She needs a challenge and isn't used to having such a consistent lifestyle. 

Some other characters from the show make an appearance in this book. And lava bending! Over the course of the book, Toph struggles to grow as a character/leader/teacher/mentor. What happens when passions turn into comfortable lifestyles and success.

I give this book a 4/5. There's only 80 pages and it's a good story. A must-read for those fans continuing these stories through the comics.


--PAUL

My Life in Transition: A Super Late Bloomer Collection (graphic novel) - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: My Life in Transition: A Super Late Bloomer Collection
Creator: Julia Kaye
Upcoming Release Date: February 16, 2021


Synopsis: The follow-up to the critically acclaimed autobiographical comics collection Super Late Bloomer, documenting transgender artist Julia Kaye’s life post-transition.

My Life in Transition is a story that’s not often told about trans lives: what happens beyond the early days of transition. Both deeply personal and widely relatable, this collection illustrates six months of Julia's life as an out trans woman—about the beauty and pain of love and heartbreak, struggling to find support from bio family and the importance of chosen family, moments of dysphoria and misgendering, learning to lean on friends in times of need, and finding peace in the fact that life keeps moving forward.

After the nerve-wracking, anxiety-ridden early transition period has ended and the hormones have done their thing, this book shows how you can be trans and simply exist in society. You can be trans and have a successful future. You can be trans and have a normal life full of ups and downs. In our current political and social climate, this hopeful, accessible narrative about trans lives is both entertaining and vital. 

------------------------------------------------------------

Review: I wasn't familiar with Julia's other collection Super Late Bloomer and that context isn't needed for reading this, although I'm sure it would add. This collection of comic strips covers her life for about six months. There's an introduction that sets the story for the reader and a really nice epilogue as well.

Each comic strip is short and shows just one bit of Julia's life during that day. The reader gets to watch Julia go through a breakup, fluctuate different relationships with friends and family, and just living life as a 30 year old trans woman. The snapshot format of this book is so interesting to see one individual's life day-to-day.

I give this book a 5/5. I love this format. Although I read it all in one sitting, I think this would be a great book to just read one page (or a few pages) a day.

--PAUL

Raven, Vol. 1: Nemesis (graphic novel) - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from Europe Comics via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Amazon | Goodreads

Title: Raven, Vol. 1: Nemesis
Author/Illustrator:  Lauffray Mathieu 
Recent Release Date: December 16, 2020


Synopsis: Raven is a fearless young pirate as capable of legendary exploits as he is of epic fails. In this inaugural volume, he finds himself on the high Caribbean seas on a search for a treasure meant for the Governor of Tortuga. Allied with the dreadful Lady Darksee, whose hope is to gain royal pardon, the terrible Governor must act quickly. But the impetuous and talented Raven has grand plans to beat them to it…

------------------------------------------------------------

Review: This graphic novel is all PIRATES! It definitely has that Pirates of the Caribbean feel to it. This book was difficult for me to follow. I didn't really connect with any of it. There are too many characters. And too many storylines. That didn't connect in ways that interested me. The pirate-y-ness of this book is done in a pretty cliche way, I thought. Nothing seemed to be done in a new or interesting way.

This book didn't feel like it was written in modern times. It felt very old-timey to me. I give this book a 2/5. I didn't like it and won't be continuing with the series.

--PAUL

House of El Book One: The Shadow Threat (graphic novel) by Claudia Gray - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from DC Comics via Edelweiss. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: House of El Book One: The Shadow Threat
Author: Claudia Gray
Artists: Eric Zawadski
Recent Release Date: January 5, 2021


Synopsis: Zahn is one of Krypton's elites: wealthy, privileged, a future leader. Sera is one of Krypton's soldiers: strong, dedicated, fearless. Their rule - bound society has ordained that their paths should never cross.

But groundquakes are shaking the planet's surface. Rebellious uprisings are shaking the populace. Krypton's top scientists — Jor-El and Lara — conduct a secret experiment that is meant to reform their planet from the cellular level up. Zahn and Sera must join forces to investigate the hidden dangers truly threatening Krypton. In the process, they form a bond that will endure past the end of the world.

------------------------------------------------------------

Review: I've really enjoyed Claudia Gray's take on the Star Wars universe. I'm not as familiar with Krypton, but I definitely felt like this story had similar vibes to my favorite Star Wars novel of hers, Lost Stars. There are two protagonists, each representing a different aspect of the people of Krypton. Sera is a soldier risking her life on every mission and Zahn is a privileged guy starting to realize the government isn't quite truthful and doesn't have the people's bets interests in consideration.

I really liked how Krypton is portrayed as a false utopia. There's some interesting commentary on class, sacrifice, and the value of lives. There's also some creepy genetic pre-determination.

I'm sure there are a lot of Superman references that I didn't pick up on. General Zod is featured as well as some future parents. 

This is the first book in a trilogy and it definitely feels like that at the end. This isn't a completed story.

I give this book a 4/5. It's an interesting story, but I wasn't completely drawn in. I'm sure people more familiar with the Superman lore will enjoy the details. 


--PAUL

The Adoption (graphic novel) - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from Magnetic Press via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: The Adoption
Author: Zidou
Artist: Arno Monin
Recent Release Date: December 29, 2020


Synopsis: When aging Gabriel's son and daughter adopts an orphaned girl from Peru, Gabriel doesn't know what to think of this foreign child who isn't of his own blood. Besides, he was barely much of a father to his own son... how is he going to take to being a grandfather? The story is made up of moments of sharing between the grandfather and the granddaughter, as well as various interactions around this dilemma with his wife, his lifelong friends, and his own son himself. But when surprise twists complicate matters, true feelings blossom and Life takes on a whole new palette.

A comic book filled with love in which we discover this old man gradually becoming a grandfather and allowing himself to be tamed by an absolutely adorable little girl.

------------------------------------------------------------

Review: This is a complex story focusing on a man becoming a grandfather and dealing with the decisions of other members of his family. There's a big twist halfway through the book. There's also some pretty xenophobic and racist characters in this book. 

The perspective is the most interesting thing about this book to me. It's a grandfather's story. There's familial relationships. What could've been. False happiness. Unknown non-truths. It's really difficult to describe this book without giving too much away. One of my takeaways was that for the main character it took being a grandfather to understand what he had missed as a father.

I give this book a 4/5. This is a really interesting book about life circumstances and family.

--PAUL