Tag: comic

Book Review

Moon Reads: Horizon Zero Dawn Liberation

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Horizon Zero Dawn: Liberation by Anne Toole, Elmer Damaso, Bryan Valenza and Jim Campbell

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: A friend requested it form the publisher for me because I love Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Frobidden West and the whole story and world.

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

If you have read the first main book on the Sunhawk and a little bit of a taster before Horizon Forbiddne West came out, I reviewed the volumes here. It was a good book delving on Tallanah and finding new beasts, which gave a good introduction to what the new game would bring.

Liberation is different in that it is instead giving us more backstory, the parts of Erend’s story and how his sister became the amazing person she was, how they ended up being part of the Oseram who helped Sun King Avad dethrone his father, and all that. The art as usual is amazing, and the story was interesting as we have Erend trying to tell his story while they track one of the relevant characters to the past of him and his sister. Aloy is being very much herself, which I liked because she definitely sometimes feels like she has bigger priorities and bigger things, and then it is her friends who love her who bring her down back tot he world and go “hey, you have things to worry about, but so do we, and we can help each other, no one is an island”.

It was just a very very nice comic for me to read, it added to the lore, explained the relationship and love Sun King Avad had for Ersa, and just how much everyone could admire her and why. It showed too why Erend has big shoes to fill and how unfit for it he is and yet how hard he tries. And of course, it shows us how different Aloy is to this and how much she tries to understand this part fo the story and world that she was never a part of because of how she was an Outcast and set aside and then suddenly had to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders without really choosing to. And yes, we know she could have said no, but that would not be true to herself. She ahs a big heart despite sometimes forgetting it.

Highly recommend adding this book to your comic collection and to your Aloy and her friend’s collection. It is as good or even better than the first one.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Adulthood is a Myth

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Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No I have read some of the single comics before

Ownership: Bought for myself to cheer me up

Spoiler free review: No

Series: Sarah’s Scribbles

Ok, I have read some of Sarah’s comics before on and off from instagram and blogs and the ones people share. I used to follow her on tubmlr and then stopped being so into tumblr, so probably why. But I still like them and I found a copy of the book really cheap second hand so thought you know what? Let’s find some funny good things in life and buy the book and read it and enjoy and giggle.

Of course, being part of the Sarah’s Scribbles series, this is hilarious, has a lot of “relatable” comics, I think I spent most of the time take screenshots and either sending them to my husband or sending them to my friends to what matched our relationships or anecdotes or stories and have a giggle with them.

Which is to say that probably the best review I can give for this book isn’t a very long one but can be summarised into the fact that this book will probably contain at least one strip or comic that will resonate with one or many friends and family members so you will want to share it around and make other smile or laugh or go “do you remember?” or maybe do a “this is us/me/you” to someone as you share and maybe you will also want to make others read it after you have finished because it made you smile and feel like the world wasn’t just you against it but others struggle too and we all try to make fun or it and make the most out of it, and just get on by.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Horizon Zero Dawn The Sunhawk

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Horizon Zero Dawn – The Sunhawk by Anne Toole, Ann Maulina, Bryan Valenza and Jim Campbell

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Ok, when I found out that there was a Horizon Zero Dawn comic, I preordered the hell out of it. So much I have all individual issues in at least 3 different versions of the cover, plus this one and the Forbidden Planet edition of the full volume. I genuinely love the game and have played it many times, so this was a natural add on to my shelves.

But what about the actual story?

It is very exciting and makes me want the Forbidden West game to come out today or as soon as I started reading the comics. I fully appreciate getting a comic while we wait which like an appetiser of what is to come.

Mostly it is a story about Talanah going on a mission/quest to hunt a new machine that looks dangerous and the slight scrapes and adventures she gets into. We also meet a few other characters that I suspect will show in-game and I can’t wait to play it! It is also nice to see a comic and the drawings of the machines and the adventures plus new areas. And it makes me want to draw some fanart and replay the main game. You definitely get less Aloy in it but I liked the focus on Talanah and how she’s faring being the Sunhawk of the Hunter’s Lodge, since the game will still focus on Aloy.

Overall, I recommend it for fans of the game and series and if you can’t wait to play the second game, you should totally read this.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Cat’s Cafe

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Cat’s Cafe by Matt Tarpley

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

After some browsing for cute books that are either comics or graphic novels, I found this as a suggestion from similar reads and thought it was cute. Put it on my wishlist and got it as a birthday gift, so happy me.

Cat’s Cafe is about a cafe where Cat makes coffee and treats for a bunch of critters that each have their own personality, troubles, and good things, like an anxious bunny with a kind heart and the wish to make everyone happy, or the penguing who loves caffeine. There’s a wonderful cast of visitors to the cafe and each is special in their own way.

As I read the book I cmostly felt like I was sitting in a cafe, and I wanted to be in one, just sipping coffee or chatting with a friend. Each little comic feels like a hug and warmth and it just makes yu smile or go “oh yes, I ahve felt like that”, or maybe at times I wished someone would do something like what the cast did to a certain animal, so it was all in all a cheerful read with a warming loving community feel, plus it is ultra cute.

The artwork is relatively simple but that doesn’t take away from it and it does emotions well, so it conveys what it needs in cuteness, simplicity and ease, all good points for it. On top of that there are certain comical effects to put this book into comics territory completely and not just for it being panels and drawings.

All in all, if you want to give a hug in an easy to read book, this would be a great choice. Great for a friend you can’t see but would like to cheer up or have a cup of coffee with, I would recommend!

Book Review, Books

Cucumber Quest: The Doughnut Kingdom

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Cucumber Quest: The Doughnut Kingdom by Gigi D.G.

What happens when an evil queen gets her hands on an ancient force of destruction?

World domination, obviously.

The seven kingdoms of Dreamside need a legendary hero. Instead, they’ll have to settle for Cucumber, a nerdy magician who just wants to go to school. As destiny would have it, he and his way more heroic sister, Almond, must now seek the Dream Sword, the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Queen Cordelia’s Nightmare Knight.

Can these bunny siblings really save the world in its darkest hour?

Sure, why not?

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Cucumber Quest was one of my birthday gifts I had on my wishlist. One of those I am randomly looking at related to this item things and stumbled upon it.

The main thing about it is that it is cute, it has a nerdy bunny who doesn’t want to be a hero and his little sister that does. Cucumber Quest pokes fun at the cliches. Starting with “you are given this quest, you are the chosen one”, which Cucumber (the nerdy bunny) definitely doesn’t think he is. All he wants is to go to school of magic.

We also have an evil queen bent on world domination! And her lackeys, who are amusing and very much useless, but they made me laugh a lot. There is a princess that is kept captive (and that Cucumber has zero interest in).

And Almond, his sister is super awesome and ballsy. She’s studying to be a knight, and training to do so, but she’s the little sister, so she can’t be the hero, obviously (but Almond will fight you on that, trust me).

It is a fun easy read with lots of food related things and a lot of poking fun at cliches and quests. It made me laugh and also it is adorably cute! I am curious to read the next one.

Book Review

Persepolis Review

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Another mini review, because I saw a snippet out of this book and it made me laugh so I chose to buy it (yeah, the reasons that make me buy books are very varied) and because I am still at YALC doing bookish stuff.

Persepolis is a book that is a comic collection. And it is a story in comics. Plus it is an autobiography. I know a lot of things in one single book.

And because it is so many things, most of it was a great interesting read, either because I was learning something about Iran/Persia or because it was funny. But some of those parts also were a bit odd, slice of life that I just didn’t connect or found relevant (but that’s me and this is a biography type of thing so yeah).

It was a quick read as it is made of short comics as mini episodes of her life, so you can stop, get a dirnk or a snack and keep going without loosing much, lots of pause points. And in itself you don’t have to remember a LOT of stuff or anything. You could basically open the book anywhere and as long as it is the start of that comic, you’re totally fine to go. (Yeah you may miss some nuance, but it won’t detract from it). So that’s a good plus for this little book.

The biggest issue I had with this (just for the record, biggest issue is just to say what bugged me most but it doesn’t mean the book is bad just what I noticed most as a con) nis that sometimes it rambles poetically, and it kinda ends too soon. But it was an easy interesting read for me.

Book Review

Wayward 1: String Theory Review

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Apparently I have been in a reading craze, and have a lot of stuff to review, so yeah, bear with me.

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Wayward Volume 1: String Theory by Jim Zub, Steve Cummings and John Rauch

Rori Lane is trying to start a new life when she reunites with her mother in Japan, but ancient creatures lurking in the shadows of Tokyo sense something hidden deep within her, threatening everything she holds dear.

Can Rori unlock the secrets of her power before it’s too late?

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20pxMoonKestrel Logo2 20pxMoonKestrel Logo2 20pxMoonKestrel Logo2 20px

I rushed through this volume, without intending to. And it surprised me. I had added this to my list since I like graphic novels and wanted something to get my eyes into but wasn’t sold on Saga which is what others were raving about (I am more of a Monstress/Fables kinda girl). So I decided to give this a go.

I loved it, it is like a mix of American graphic novels and manga, with all the crazy and nonsense of both and the good artwork too. I quickly liked the characters and wanted to know more about what was happening and as much as you can guess a little where the story goes, it ends up surprising you at times.

I can’t wait to learn more about Rori and her group of misfits.

Moon recommends

As I mentioned above, Monstress is a definitely good one however I will warn you it is not for everyone, and then there is Fables which is more well known. And of course, this lovely first volume.