Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Graphic Novel mini-reviews #30


Saga (volume 2)

Written by: Brian K. Vaughan; illustrated by: Fiona Staples

Published: 2013

My thoughts: I'm finally reading Saga again! After the first volume I decided to quit it for awhile, not because I didn't enjoy it but because sometimes the pain of waiting for the next issue is just TOO MUCH. It took me a few pages to recall what happened in volume 1 (which apparently I never reviewed?) but once I got back into the rhythm of it, I was back in a big way. This series is, sort of, space Romeo and Juliet, at least in the sense that the two main characters (who loooove each other) are from two warring species and their togetherness and the procreation of their teeny tiny adorable baby is causing major problems.  Except in this volume these problems are magnified when Marko's parents and ex arrive on the scene (separately, and with very different intentions). It's hard to know where the series is going to go, other than forward and away from the people who wish this trio harm, but I'm enjoying the great writing and art nonetheless.


Fables: Sons of Empire (9)

Written by: Bill Willingham; illustrated by: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Andrew Pepoy, Gene Ha, Joshua Middleton, Inaka Miranda, Mike Allred.

Published: 2007

My Thoughts: This volume is a bit of a placeholder. It lays the groundwork for the upcoming Fabletown war and provides a little insight into the Adversary's war council but most of the volume is actually short 1-3 page stories featuring a bunch of the fables characters that has very little, if anything, to do with the war. I could imagine this being annoying to some, especially with the war teasers at the top of the volume, but I really liked the vignette style glimpses into life as a Fable. It's nice to see what life is like for them away from the calamitous fears of war and sadness over their lost homelands.



Princess Ugg (Volume 1)

Written by: Ted Naifeh; Illustrated by: Warren Wucinich

Published: 2014

My Thoughts: Princess Ulga finds herself completely out of her element when she leaves her mountain home to attend a princess finishing school. Gone are the battle axes and war helmets and in their place instead are musical instruments and princess gowns. While she knows she needs to attend the school if her mother's wish for her family to find peace with the frost giants is to be accomplished, she's alone and lonely and ridiculed by her fellow princesses. There is a lot to like about this book, like none of the princesses bar one are you standard blonde, white Sleeping Beauty type. There's the beautiful watercolour art used for flashbacks or dream sequences. And there's Ulga (or Ugg as the other princesses call her) who accepts herself in spite of being completely different, is freakin' ripped and determined to make princess school work. That said, I'm not totally sold on the series. There are some moments where the story lags or the writing is a little awkward, so I think I'll wait to get volume 2 from my library before decided whether I'll proceed or not.

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