Book Review: A Game of You - Sandman Volume 5

From Goodreads: Volume Five of New York Times best selling author Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed creation THE SANDMAN collects one of the series’ most beloved storylines.Take an apartment house, add in a drag queen, a lesbian couple, some talking animals, a talking severed head, a confused heroine and the deadly Cuckoo. Stir vigorously with a hurricane and Morpheus himself and you get this fifth installment of the SANDMAN series. This story stars Barbie, who first makes an appearance in THE DOLL’S HOUSE and now finds herself a princess in a vivid dreamworld.

Thoughts: Definitely my favourite Sandman so far. In this volume Gaiman and his band of incredibly talented artists follows Barbie, a character who briefly appeared in The Doll's House. Barbie is now living in an old house divided into apartments with an assortment of people. Wanda, a transgender undergoing treatment to make her body match her feelings, a lesbian couple, a strange, quiet girl and an old man. Each of these people have a role to play in Barbie's dreams, but they may not all make it out alive. Gaiman lifts that very thin veil between Morpheus's Dream Country and the real world. Are our dreams truly our own, or do we simply move into abandoned dreamscapes and make them ours? What happens to the pieces of us that we leave behind in those dreamscapes and who can we rely on to save us when we can't save ourselves?

A Game of You gets 4 stars.

 *        Did not like it
**       It was OK
***      Liked it
****    Really liked it

*****   It was amazing 

Book Review: Season of Mists - Sandman Volume 4

From Goodreads: Volume Four of New York Times best selling author Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed creation, with updated coloring and new trade dress.Ten thousand years ago, Morpheus condemned a woman who loved him to Hell. Now the other members of his immortal family, The Endless, have convinced the Dream King that this was an injustice. To make it right, Morpheus must return to Hell to rescue his banished love — and Hell’s ruler, the fallen angel Lucifer, has already sworn to destroy him. 

Thoughts: So have you ever wondered what would happen if Lucifer decided to abdicate his throne in Hell? Not only abdicate, but evict everyone and close the doors? Welcome to the Season of Mists, where Lucifer has left the building and handed the keys to Morpheus. What follows is the story of the other deities and entities who believe they should be given the keys. They all arrive at the Dream Castle to try and convince (bribe, threaten, cajole)  Morpheus to hand over the keys to, in the words of Morpheus sister, Death, "The most desirable plot of psychic real estate in the whole order of created things." 
One of Gaiman's strengths is he makes it completely believable that Odin, the Trickster , Faeries, Demons, a Japanese deity, Bast and Anubis, and angels would all want the keys and sit down to a banquet together to petition the lord of dreams to hand them over. Can you think of many writers who can gather such a stellar cast of big characters and make it work? Gaiman does, and all in a graphic novel format where he has to trust the artists to flesh out his words. And that in itself is a good point to make about these books - there are so many more people involved than just Gaiman. Yes, he gives it a great framework to build on with an excellent story line, but the illustrators, letterers and colourists all contribute to make it the excellent production it is. Once again, well worth the read.

Season of Mists gets 4 stars

 *        Did not like it
**       It was OK
***      Liked it
****    Really liked it

*****   It was amazing

Book Review: Dream Country - Sandman Volume 3

From Goodreads: The third book of the Sandman collection is a series of four short comic book stories. In each of these otherwise unrelated stories, Morpheus serves only as a minor character. Here we meet the mother of Morpheus's son, find out what cats dream about, and discover the true origin behind Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream. The latter won a World Fantasy Award for best short story, the first time a comic book was given that honor. This volume includes issues 17-20 of the original series and features completely new coloring, approved by the author, of issues 17 and 18.

Thoughts: Dream Country is the third Sandman volume. It has 4 self contained stories that involve the Sandman. The first is about the imprisonment of a muse - Calliope who also happens to be the mother of the Sandman's son. The second is What Cat's Dream about and I don't believe a word of it! The third explore the other world origins of A Mid Summer's Nights Dream and the last is about the façade we present to the world.
I think I prefer the continuous stories presented volumes 1 and 2. There was a little disjointed for me, although Gaiman's explanation at the beginning was interesting.

Dream Country gets 3 stars.

 *        Did not like it
**       It was OK
***      Liked it
****    Really liked it

*****   It was amazing 

Review: The Doll's House - Sandman Volume 2

From Goodreads: New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman's transcendent series SANDMAN is often hailed as the definitive Vertigo title and one of the finest achievements in graphic storytelling. Gaiman created an unforgettable tale of the forces that exist beyond life and death by weaving ancient mythology, folklore and fairy tales with his own distinct narrative vision. 
During Morpheus's incarceration, three dreams escaped the Dreaming and are now loose in the waking world. At the same time, a young woman named Rose Walker is searching for her little brother. As their stories converge, a vortex is discovered that could destroy all dreamers, and the world itself. Features an introduction by Clive Barker. 
This volume includes issues 9-16 of the original series and features completely new coloring, approved by the author.

Thoughts: There is a dream vortex. An entity that threatens to rip apart the dreamworld and the Sandman's only choice is to find and destroy it. However, the dream vortex is a young woman who has no idea of the damage or danger she is causing. 

The Doll's House takes us through some very scary territory. A boy kept in a locked basement, a convention of serial killers and the death of a young woman. This second Sandman volume was stranger than the first -  more story telling, less scene setting. Again, the proof of the strength of the story is it took me 3 days to read, not 3 hours. I'm still amazed at the depth of these graphic novels. I wonder if I will ever read another graphic novel which will impress me as much.

Book Review:Preludes and Nocturnes - Sandman Volume 1

From Goodreads: New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman's transcendent series SANDMAN is often hailed as the definitive Vertigo title and one of the finest achievements in graphic storytelling. Gaiman created an unforgettable tale of the forces that exist beyond life and death by weaving ancient mythology, folklore and fairy tales with his own distinct narrative vision.
In PRELUDES & NOCTURNES, an occultist attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps her younger brother Dream instead. After his 70 year imprisonment and eventual escape, Dream, also known as Morpheus, goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On his arduous journey Morpheus encounters Lucifer, John Constantine, and an all-powerful madman.
This book also includes the story "The Sound of Her Wings," which introduces us to the pragmatic and perky goth girl Death.

Thoughts: I have a love/hate relationship with graphic novels - I either love them or hate them. Maus was brilliant, The Exile terrible. Whenever you look at lists of graphic novels to read, Neil Gaiman's Sandman rates within the top 3, often as number1. Gaiman has been a relatively new discovery for me, no more than 12 months. I'm still reading him thinking "Dude, where have you been all my life!"

My first indication that Sandman was good - it took me more than a day to read. There was a real, intriguing story to follow. There were characters I cared about, characters I really didn't like and being able to raise that kind of feeling in only a few words - your words have to be good. The second indication it was good is the fact I put volumes 2 & 3 on hold at the library before I finished one. Third indication, I put other things aside to read it.

For me, the pictures in a graphic novel are secondary. If the storyline isn't good, it doesn't matter how good the pictures are. The words still tell the story and without them everything is lost. Gaiman tells a good story. He leads you through the story, literally leading you to hell and back. And his version of Death - not a s funny as Pratchett's but every bit as inspired. If you want to explore graphic novels, enjoy the fantasy/ horror genre there would be worse places to start. Gaiman is a true story telling genius regardless of format.

Preludes and Nocturnes gets 4 stars

 *        Did not like it
**       It was OK
***      Liked it
****    Really liked it

*****   It was amazing 

Book Review: The Arrival

From Goodreads: In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life- he's leaving home to build a better future for his family.
Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant's experience through a singular work of the imagination. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images. Because the main character can't communicate in words, the book forgoes them too. But while the reader experiences the main character's isolation, he also shares his ultimate joy.

Thoughts: Shaun Tan is fabulous. His ability to tell a full and emotive story suing pictures is bought to the fore in this book. The Arrival is a graphic novel without words, but at no stage are you left wondering what the story is about, what emotions the characters are feeling and why they are making the decisions they do.

The Suitcase - Shaun Tan

The Old Country - Shaun Tan

Telling the story of a man who leaves his family and journeys to a new country in search of a better life, Tan illustrates the strangeness of a new place, where nothing looks familiar and there are so many things you don't understand.

Freshman Monroe Scholars

The Market - Shaun Tan

Yet people are met, stories shared and you realise you are not the only one to have struggled in this new environment.

Columbus State University Unfamiliar Genre Wiki - Graphic Novels

Friends are made,

Dinner - Shaun Tan

families reunited,

Josephine Zupan's English 4561 E-Folio

and all without the reader having read a single word.

This book is so rich. You could easily spend a couple of hours pouring over the illustrations, looking at the detail and delighting at the story.

Shaun Tan explains some of the inspiration and processes behind The Arrival on this page. You will need to scroll down past the pictures to read the article. 

This book also fits into my 100 Best Book List Challenge, covering the Young Adult category.

Book Review: The Exile

From Goodreads: Diana Gabaldon’s brilliant storytelling has captivated millions of readers in her bestselling and award-winning Outlander saga. Now, in her first-ever graphic novel, Gabaldon gives readers a fresh look at the events of the original Outlander: Jamie Fraser’s side of the story, gorgeously rendered by artist Hoang Nguyen.
After too long an absence, Jamie Fraser is coming home to Scotland—but not without great trepidation. Though his beloved godfather, Murtagh, promised Jamie’s late parents he’d watch over their brash son, making good on that vow will be no easy task. There’s already a fat bounty on the young exile’s head, courtesy of Captain Black Jack Randall, the sadistic British officer who’s crossed paths—and swords—with Jamie in the past. And in the court of the mighty MacKenzie clan, Jamie is a pawn in the power struggle between his uncles: aging chieftain Colum, who demands his nephew’s loyalty—or his life—and Dougal, war chieftain of Clan MacKenzie, who’d sooner see Jamie put to the sword than anointed Colum’s heir.
And then there is Claire Randall—mysterious, beautiful, and strong-willed, who appears in Jamie’s life to stir his  compassion . . . and arouse his desire.
But even as Jamie’s heart draws him to Claire, Murtagh is certain she’s been sent by the Old Ones, and Captain Randall accuses her of being a spy. Claire clearly has something to hide, though Jamie can’t believe she could pose him any danger. Still, he knows she is torn between two choices—a life with him, and whatever it is that draws her thoughts so often elsewhere.
Step into the captivating, passionate, and suspenseful world of The Exile, and experience the storytelling magic of Diana Gabaldon as never before.

Thoughts: Unfortunately I think this graphic novel is a perfect case of just because you are highly successful author, it doesn't mean you should be able to do what you want.
I'm only relatively new to graphic novels, but I think I have been spoilt with what I have read. Even having read the Outlander (published as Cross Stitch in Australia)series, I found this difficult to follow. 
The male characters tended to blend into one and as many other reviewers noticed, Claire's boobs seem to have a life of their own, growing and shrinking from page to page.
In the end, unless you are a huge fan, don't bother and even then, prepare to be disappointed.

 

Book Review: Habibi

From Goodreads:Sprawling across an epic landscape of deserts, harems, and modern industrial clutter, Habibi tells the tale of Dodola and Zam, refugee child slaves bound to each other by chance, by circumstance, and by the love that grows between them. We follow them as their lives unfold together and apart; as they struggle to make a place for themselves in a world (not unlike our own) fueled by fear, lust, and greed; and as they discover the extraordinary depth—and frailty—of their connection.
At once contemporary and timeless, Habibi gives us a love story of astounding resonance: a parable about our relationship to the natural world, the cultural divide between the first and third worlds, the common heritage of Christianity and Islam, and, most potently, the magic of storytelling.

Thoughts: This came around because I enjoyed Craig Thompson's Blankets  so much. 
Habibi follows two orphan slaves who run away and live in an abandoned boat in the desert. Separated, their journeys travel different paths, but they never forget each other.  Eventually they are reunited, but can the changes they have both gone through be overcome to find happiness.
Into the story Thompson swirls Christian and Islamic religious beliefs and ideas. If there was somewhere he lost me, that was it. The religious stories were meant (I think)to lend deeper meaning to the whole story - be a layer to help explain the content, but I often found it too hard to link back. They were more of a distraction or a side story.
The drawings were exquisite. Detailed and rich, you again could lose yourself in just looking at them. The story was engaging and you did become invested in the characters lives. Well worth the read.

Book Review: Blankets

From Goodreads: Wrapped in the landscape of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Blankets explores the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country, and the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers. A tale of security and discovery, of playfulness and tragedy, of a fall from grace and the origins of faith.

Thoughts: I'm not sure how I came across this. In fact when I go the notification from the library it was ready to pick up, I struggled to remember even requesting it! I'm so glad I did. Running to just short of 600 pages, this exquisite graphic novel is a semi auto-biographical account of Thompson's relationship with his family, his first girl friend and faith.

The intensity of a first love is perfectly portrayed with angst filled illustrations and dialogue. His journey as he questions his faith, the fear of sin and reprisal is heart wrenching.

Some of the illustrations had me examining the pages, discovering hidden treasures within the panels. A smooth line, a jagged edge or nothing at all can portray so much feeling.
Just like Maus, the felling in this graphic novel is raw. Without a lot of language to hide behind, Graphic novels seem to strip back to the raw emotions. A good graphic novel bears out the saying, a picture is worth, a thousand words.

 

Book Review: Maus

From Goodreads: The Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe, and his son, a cartoonist coming to terms with his father’s story. Maus approaches the unspeakable through the diminutive. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), shocks us out of any lingering sense of familiarity and succeeds in “drawing us closer to the bleak heart of the Holocaust” (The New York Times).
Maus is a haunting tale within a tale. Vladek’s harrowing story of survival is woven into the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. Against the backdrop of guilt brought by survival, they stage a normal life of small arguments and unhappy visits. This astonishing retelling of our century’s grisliest news is a story of survival, not only of Vladek but of the children who survive even the survivors. Maus studies the bloody pawprints of history and tracks its meaning for all of us.

Thoughts: It was summer. I remember I was 10 or 11. "Last one to the schoolyard is a rotten egg." I was rollerskating with Howie and Steve...'til my skate came loose. "Ow! Hey! Wait up fellas!"
"Rotten Egg! ha ha!"
"W-wait up."
My father was in front fixing something...
"Artie! Come to hold this a minute while I saw. Why do you cry, Artie. Hold better on the wood."
"I fell and my friends skated away without me"
He stopped sawing. "Friends? Your friends? If you lock them together in a room with no food for a week, THEN you could see what it is, friends."

And that is the boot to the stomach Maus starts with. From this point, I knew that it would be a book that made you feel like you'd been hit again and again, and I was right.

For me, the brutality of Maus is it's raw honest look at the relationship between a father who has experienced true horrors and a man who is trying to understand and even forgive the effect that had on his childhood. Spiegelman exposed everything in this book about his relationship with his father. The graphic novel does not just recount Vladek's time during World War II, in recounts the interviews and events when Art was interviewinig Vladek about the book.

The power of Maus is not only in it's first hand account of surviving the Holocaust, but an account of how the families of survivors were affected. How the experiences of the Jews during that time coloured their whole life - where fear and distrust became the norm, safety was never guaranteed and try as you might to not let it, it did affect those around you. I became so frustrated with Art and the way he reacted to his father sometimes, but really in the end, the relationship was like so many father/ son or parent/ child relationships. Frustration with the parent over a seemingly inability to move out of (what the child perceives to be) dark ages and into the present. Frustration with the child who refuses to understand why things are important and why you simply cannot throw away anything you no longer want. It's a frustration I experience at times with my own aging parents.

And then there are the accounts of what happened during World War II. By maintaining his father's faulty English, Art portrayed the tone of Vladek so well. I could hear him speak, the accent, the matter-of-factness about his statements.

And we came here to the concentration camp Auschwitz. And we knew that from here we will not come out anymore...We knew the stories - that they will gas us and throw us in the ovens. This was 1944..we knew everything. And here we were.

When I read that I can hear the sadness, but also the acceptance of it. I imagine the fear they felt right at that moment, but in the recount, all I hear is sadness and acceptance. We were here, there was nothing we could do, we knew the outcome.

I've read a fair amount of Holocaust literature - both fiction and non fiction. It is a period of history that haunts and baffles me. This is one of the most powerful pieces I have read on it. The black and white drawings emphasis the darkness the stories, the links back to the present show the ongoing repercussions and the categorising of different races as different animals (Jews were mice, Germans cats, Polish pigs and American's dogs) served to show that humans view each other as different species, rather than as one. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the Holocaust. 

I read this as part of my 13 in '13 challenge. I deliberately chose a graphic novel that had some real meat to it. I'm not a comic girl, I'm not interested in the Marvel type graphic novels. This, however, has shown me that there is some wonderful, high quality graphic books out there. I'll be keeping my out for more of this quality.

Challenges: 13 in '13

Hamlet

Title: Shakespeare's Hamlet

Illustrator: Nicki Greenberg

Genre: Fiction 
Audience: Young Adult 
Format: Graphic Novel - Library

Synopsis: Shakespeare's Hamlet completely retold in a graphic novel form.

What I thought: Wow! Let me just say that again...WOW!! This was fantastic. Nicki Greenberg "stages on the page" Shakespeare's Hamlet in a form that will engage teenage readers and possibly open their eyes to Shakespeare. And here's the thing - I'm not a big reader of Shakespeare. Apart from the stuff we had to read at school, like most people, I struggle with it. Put on the stage or screen and I'm there, love it, but I don't read it. This I read and enjoyed. I've seen other works done is a story book or comic book form, but I think the reason this worked so well is Greenberg took it completely outside the norm by making her characters non human. I'm not sure what they were , part monkey, part alien, but they weren't human and it worked. And the pictures are lush and gorgeous. I hope she does more, in fact, I'd love to see Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing or Merchant of Venice!

Panel from Nicki Greenberg's website, www.nickigreenberg.com Check it out, well worth it.

Recommended for: teens who are studying Hamlet. The format may make it just a bit easier to digest.

Challenges: 100+ Challenge,  Aussie YA Challenge, For the Love of YA, TwentyEleven Challenge

The Night Bookmobile

Title:The Night Bookmobile
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Genre: Graphic Fiction
Audience: Adult
Format: Book - Library

Synopsis: On a walk after an argument with her boyfriend late one night, Alexandra comes across the bookmobile. Inside is every book she has ever read - a total history of her reading. Through out the years, she finds the bookmobile, but never when she is looking for it. It does however, influence her whole life and she finds she becomes more isolated and alone with only her books for company. What she would really love is to work for the bookmobile, but how can she make her dream come true?

What I thought: I ordered this through the library after I read a review of it by Shelia over at Book Journey. I'm not a great fan of graphic novels, but had been looking for one to fit into my TwentyEleven Challenge, …With a Twist. (read a sub-genre you don't read a lot of.) category. As it is, I'm not sure it's long enough to count.
I quite enjoyed the book. I must admit that like Sheila, I wondered what my own bookmobile would look like and imagine I could spend several happy hours there exploring and revisiting my reading history. But the book has a deeper message. The ending jolted me.  Like Alexandra, I can become absorbed completely by a book to the exclusion of all else in my life. I can see how you could become so obsessed with reading, the rest of the world wouldn't matter. As Sheila said in her review

 As much as we as book lovers enjoy dropping ourselves into a great read, it is also important to do life….. be with people, be active, and live…. not only through books … but also through life itself. We need to make our own stories. (Sheila - Book Journey)

Recommended for: those who are looking for a quick, easy introduction to graphic novels and like something that makes them question their own habits.

100+ Challenge, A-Z Challenge, TwentyEleven Challenge,