IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for March 29, 2017

IDW PUBLISHING

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Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for March 29, 2017

DARK HORSE COMICS

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Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for March 29, 2017

IMAGE COMICS

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Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for March 29, 2017

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

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Review: The Adventures of NIKKI HARRIS the Cybermation Witch #8

THE ADVENTURES OF NIKKI HARRIS THE CYBERMATION WITCH No. 8
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS/Warning Comics – @candlelightpres @attila71

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Carter Allen – @attila71
32pp, Color, $3.00 U.S. (2016)

“Fire”

When we last saw her, Nikki Harris (cybermation witch and sci-fi heroine) faced two challenges.  One was solving the mystery of the Kaninium mines on the planet Util.  The other was fighting off the maniacal assassin,  MARION3TT3.

The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch #8 (“Fire”) opens on the planet Infantino.  There, Nikki awaits the arrival of Ambassador Royks to whom she will act as a bodyguard.  He is attending an important peace summit, and if the summit fails there will be war between many star systems.  The fate of the galaxy seems to be in Nikki's hands, and she must also deal with the pesky, Farrah Heit.

The end may be near for The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch comic book (as I've been informed).  Of course, that's a shame.  It seems as if I like this series more and more with each new issue, simply because it is so thoroughly enjoyable.

Over the years, writer-artist Carter Allen has continued to refine his digital comics process, and the result is a colorful and vibrant graphical package that recalls Tron: Legacy.  With comic flare and sly wit, Nikki is ready to be a breakout star, and she outshines the few other efforts at sci-fi humor comics, which are often lame.  The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch  remains a cool comic book – maybe being a little cooler than ever.

A

http://candlelightpress.tumblr.com/
www.nikkithewitch.com
www.warningcomics.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Book Review: IN THIS GRAVE HOUR

IN THIS GRAVE HOUR
HARPER (HarperCollins Publishers) – @HarperCollins

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Jacqueline Winspear
ISBN: 978-0-06-243660-3; hardcover (March 14, 2017)
352pp, B&W, $27.99 U.S.

In This Grave Hour is a 2017 novel from author Jacqueline Winspear.  It is the 13th novel in the series starring “psychologist and investigator,” Maisie Dobbs, a British nurse whose adventures take place during World War I and in the decades that follow.  In this Grave Hour opens as Britain declares war on Nazi Germany and follows Maisie as she tries to solve a murder mystery with ties to World War I more than two decades earlier.

In This Grave Hour finds Maisie Dobbs leaving her garden flat and headed to the mansion home of her dear friend, Priscilla Partridge, and her family (who are like family to Maisie).  It is Sunday, September 3rd 1939, and Maisie is gathering with the Partridges to hear a radio broadcast of a momentous speech from British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.  Britain is declaring war against Adolf Hitler's Germany.

Meanwhile, a senior Secret Service agent and longtime acquaintance of Maisie Dobbs, Dr. Francesca Thomas, has broken into Maisie Dobbs' flat to await her return.  Dr. Francesca Thomas has an urgent assignment for Maisie.  She wants Maisie to find the killer of Frederick Addens, a man who escaped German occupied Belgium (Francesca's native country) as a teen boy, some twenty-three years earlier during the Great War (WWI).  Maisie and her employees, Billy Beale and Sandra Pickering, begin the investigation in a London on war footing.  Barrage balloons shadow the city, and children are evacuated out of London and into the countryside.  There are few if any leads in the case, which seems to be stalked by the threat of more murders to come.

While she investigates the case of Addens, Maisie learns that her father, Frankie Dobbs, and her stepmother, Brenda, are billeting a little girl, Anna, in Maisie's home in Kent.  The little girl does not speak, and it is unknown if she cannot or simply will not.  Also, no one seems to know who put the child on the evacuee train before it left London.

I was vaguely familiar with the Maisie Dobbs novels when I was a member of a “book-of-the-month” club.  I found the first Maisie novel I read, last year's Journey to Munich, a bit difficult to categorize, but it was quite an enjoyable read.  The middle-aged Maisie Dobbs does not seem like the typical secret agent, and that is more or less what she is as she journeys to Munich on what is more or less a rescue mission.

In This Grave Hour is a straightforward murder mystery, although the novel deals with themes concerning family, such as the longing to have children and parent-child relationships.  Much of the novel also concerns the evacuation of London and the preparation for war in the early days of Britain's declaration of war against Germany (although I think it was another year after Neville Chamberlain's speech before Germany launched an air raid on Britain).

In This Grave Hour is such a riveting and damn-good read because everything about it engages the reader.  Although the killer of Frederick Addens is not revealed until the last chapter (Chapter 19), the reason for the murder (that it is tied to a specific time and event in the past) is fairly obvious.  Still, getting to the resolution allows the readers to experience a wave of powerful emotions tied to themes of regret and sorrow, which actually makes for good reading.

The story of the little girl Anna is poignant and heartbreaking, and tugs on those old heart-strings when there is a sign of a positive ending.  The war-preparation subplots are also grabbing, especially the ones that involve the children of Maisie's friends who are enlisting for some kind of military service.

I liked Journey to Munich, but In This Grave Hour easily surpasses it.  This is some fucking good storytelling on the part of author, Jacqueline Winspear.  I can't wait for the next Maisie Dobbs novel.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

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

Review: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: Twilight Princess Volume 1

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Akira Himekawa
TRANSLATION: John Werry
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Steve “Stan!” Brown
LETTERS: Evan Waldinger
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9347-0; paperback (March 2017); Rated “T” for “Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.

The Legend of Zelda is a high-fantasy themed action-adventure video game series that debuted in 1986 and is published by Nintendo.  Nintendo has also officially endorsed and commissioned manga adaptations of The Legend of Zelda for over two decades.  The Legend of Zelda revolves around Link, a brave knight/warrior, and Princess Zelda of Hyrule, who guides, encourages, instructs, and summons Link to battle evil.

VIZ Media has been publishing manga based on The Legend of Zelda in America.  The latest is The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which is based on the 13th video game title in the franchise.  The Twilight Princess manga is written and drawn by mangaka Akira Himekawa.  VIZ collected Himekawa's other Zelda manga in the recent mini-omnibus, The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition – Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 8) opens with a brief retelling of the story of upstart wizards whose rebellion in the country of Hyrule got them exiled from the World of Light and into the Twilight Realm.  The darkness, however, has reawakened and stirs in the Twilight Realm with its eyes on regaining power.

The story moves to Ordon, a small and prosperous agricultural village on the edge of Hyrule.  Here, the mysterious ranch hand, Link, found a home two years ago.  The people of Ordon love him, especially the children, but Link struggles with his tragic past, which might be returning in the form of the troubling dreams he has.  Link does not realize that he will soon have to face the darkness which once destroyed everything he knew.

In the last two years, VIZ Media has sent me two graphic novels from The Legend of Zelda as copies-for-review.  I have enjoyed them, but I am surprised by The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess manga.  It is not as playful as the two earlier titles I read.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Volume 1 introduces a Hyrule steeped in a foreboding atmosphere.  Even when the sun is out and the farmers are happily bringing in their crops, there is something ominous on the edges.  The tone of the narrative is darker and maybe even a little more mature than the stories in The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition – Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages.

In Twilight Princess, Akira Himekawa makes the idea of people being transformed seem more like an act of destruction and also an act of penetrative violence.  In fact, in this story, violation seems more fearful than death.  I think this series is going to be a good read, and manga readers who normally avoid The Legend of Zelda comics may want to give it try.

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Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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