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Review: Dungeons & Dragons LEGENDS OF BALDUR'S GATE #2

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS LEGENDS OF BALDUR'S GATE #2
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing @Wizards_DnD

WRITER: Jim Zub – @JimZub
ART:  Max Dunbar – @Max_Dunbar
COLORS: John-Paul Bove and Joana Lafuente
LETTERS: Neil Uyetake
COVER: Sarah Stone
VARIANT COVERS:  Max Dunbar with John-Paul Bove; Tyler Jacobson; Guido Kuip
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2014)

Tyranny of Dragons

The second issue of Dungeons & Dragons Legends of Baldur's Gate, the new Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) comic book from IDW Publishing, arrived a few weeks ago.  This comic book series is written by Jim Zub and drawn by Max Dunbar with colors by John-Paul Bove and Joana Lafuente and letters by Neil Uyetake.

Legends of Baldur's Gate #2 is set in the legendary Baldur's Gate (a city in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the D&D fantasy role-playing game).  In this “place of history and home to legends,” we meet a young female elf and wild mage named Delina.  On the run from stone gargoyles, Delina casts a spell to protect herself.  It goes wild and hits the statue of Minsc the Beloved Ranger and his hamster, Boo.  Soon, Delina is on the run with Minsc and Boo.

As Dungeons & Dragons Legends of Baldur's Gate #2 (“Part Two”) opens, Delina learns that the two thieves they just encountered are Krydle (a male) and Shandie (a female).  They agree to help Delina find her missing twin brother, Deniak.  However, powerful figures and dark conspirators are also looking for Delina and Minsc, as well as Deniak.

While the first issue was a kickoff issue and read as a simple introduction to the series, Dungeons & Dragons Legends of Baldur's Gate #2 settles into the heart of the story.  A central plot (the search for Deniak) solidifies, and the narrative comes together as writer Jim Zub adds to his colorful band of heroes.  I like Delina and company, and I think there will be good times with them.  It is obvious that Zub loves the D&D source material, always a good things when adapting a property as a comic book.

Artist Max Dunbar steps forward a little more.  His storytelling and compositions are stronger, as if he figured out that this comic book is his sometime while drawing this second issue.  Legends of Baldur's Gate #2 also offers four pages of conceptual art, designs, and sketches that Dunbar produced for this series, and it is some beautiful work.  Speaking of beauty, the colors by John-Paul Bove and Joana Lafuente positively shimmer on some pages.  Readers of D&D comic books as well as of sword-and-sorcery will want to take a trip to Dungeons & Dragons Legends of Baldur's Gate.

B+

www.IDWPublishing.com
DungeonsandDragons.com

Review by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: YUKARISM Volume 1

YUKARISM, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Chika Shiomi
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: John Werry
LETTERS: Rina Mapa
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7590-2; paperback (December 2014); Rated “T” for “Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

VIZ Media has recently released its latest series from mangaka Chika Shiomi.  Entitled Yukarism, this nostalgia-tinted historical romance follows an accomplished teenaged author who can slip into time and  assume his past life as a courtesan.

Yukari Kobayakawa is 17-years-old and attends high school.  He is also already an accomplished author who writes about historical Japan, specifically the Edo Period of the early 1800s.  Shockingly, Yukari has the ability to slip into his past life in the Edo period, when he was as a beautiful, renowned courtesan (Oiran) named Yumurasaki.

As Yukarism, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 4) opens, high school student Mahoro Tachibana gets a chance to meet fellow classmate, Yukari Kobayakawa.  She is a huge fan of his period novels.  Surprisingly, Yukari is sure he knows Mahoro, and she is also sure that she knows him.  They have a connection in the past, but Yukari wonders if their relationship was friendly or deadly.

I knew that I would like the Yukarism manga by Chika Shiomi.  I loved Shiomi's supernatural romance, Yurara, and I was a fan of her other supernatural shojo manga, Rasetsu.  Her work bewitches me.

I must admit that the contents of Yukarism Volume 1 strains credulity.  The chance of so many reincarnations in such close proximity to one another is too much to believe.  Still, if I accept the reincarnation conceit to begin with, I guess I have to accept all of Yukarism's other fantasy elements.  The elegant line work of Yukarism's art gives the story a captivating quality, and fans bewitched by Shiomi's other supernatural romances will want to try this.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Book Review: FLESH AND BLOOD

FLESH AND BLOOD
HARPERCOLLINS – @HarperCollins

AUTHOR: Patricia Cornwell – @1pcornw
ISBN: 978-0-06-232534-1; hardcover (November 11, 2014)
384pp, B&W, $28.99 U.S.

Flesh and Blood is a 2014 crime novel from bestselling author Patricia Cornwell.  It is the 22nd novel in Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series, which began with Postmortem (1990).  In Flesh and Blood, Cornwell's beloved forensic sleuth tries to unravel the mystery of “Copperhead,” a serial sniper whose killings and motives seem to strike close to Scarpetta herself.

Flesh and Blood opens on June 12, 2014, and Dr. Kay Scarpetta is going to celebrate her birthday with a much-deserved vacation.  She is about to head to Miami with her husband, Benton Wesley, an FBI profiler and intelligence analyst.  However, as they prepare to leave, Kay spots seven pennies on a wall behind her Cambridge, Massachusetts home.  The coins are all dated in 1981 and are so shiny that they could have been newly minted.

Soon afterward, her phone rings and Detective Peter Marino of the Cambridge Police Department informs Scarpetta that there has been a homicide five minutes from her home.  High school music teacher and controversial public figure, Jamal Nari, was shot to death with uncanny precision, and no one heard or saw a thing.  Soon, Scarpetta finds herself chasing a serial sniper, who is eventually dubbed “Copperhead,” because of his use of copper bullets.  Copperhead leaves behind no incriminating evidence and who seems to be several steps ahead of Scarpetta at every turn.  As more people are killed and past murders are connected to this case, Scarpetta begins to realize that her techno-genius niece, Lucy Farinelli, may be the killer.

Although I have been aware of Patricia Cornwell for over a decade, Flesh and Blood is the first novel of hers that I have read – thanks to a review copy from HarperCollins.  I have to admit that I almost stopped reading the book after a few pages.  Cornwell has a peculiar syntax and odd writing style that, at first glance, seems to be the creation of someone who has a strange way of speaking English.  Once I picked up on the rhythm of the prose, however, I had a blast reading Flesh and Blood.

I now know why Cornwell makes regular appearances on bestseller lists.  She writes page-turning crime thrillers that I had to force myself to stop reading.  Every chapter, every single one, offers masterfully crafted whodunit suspense, and there are plot twists and surprises at least every three pages.

Cornwell also offers a large window into Kay Scarpetta's mind (and a smaller one into her soul), which offers a thoughtful approach to the crime scene investigation genre.  Cornwell fills this story with lots of forensic, police, and investigative jargon, settings, and science and technology.  Cornwell also depicts Scarpetta's thought process as something that works on so many different levels, which brings the readers both emotionally and intellectually into the story.  I also found myself emotionally and intellectually invested in Flesh and Blood.  I wanted to know whodunit, but even more, I wanted to know about the people doing it.  Yes, Flesh and Blood deserves to be called by that favorite phrase of book reviewers, because it is indeed a “great read.”

A-

www.patriciacornwell.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

LBX: Artemis Begins

I read LBX: Artemis Begins, Vol. 2

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Read Grumble Chapter One, Page 6

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DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for December 3, 2014

DC COMICS

OCT140275     ACTION COMICS #37     $3.99
OCT140237     AQUAMAN AND THE OTHERS #8     $2.99
OCT140352     BATMAN ESSENTIALS BATMAN HUSH #1     $1.00
OCT140288     BATMAN ETERNAL #35     $2.99
SEP140283     BATMAN THE JIRO KUWATA BATMANGA TP VOL 01     $14.99
OCT140314     DETECTIVE COMICS #37     $3.99
OCT140317     DETECTIVE COMICS #37 COMBO PACK     $4.99
OCT140244     EARTH 2 #29     $2.99
OCT140239     EARTH 2 WORLDS END #9     $2.99
OCT140390     FAIREST #32 (MR)     $2.99
OCT140344     FLASH SEASON ZERO #3     $2.99
OCT140310     GOTHAM ACADEMY #3     $2.99
OCT140301     GRAYSON #5     $2.99
OCT140247     GREEN ARROW #37     $2.99
OCT140329     GREEN LANTERN #37 (GODHEAD)     $2.99
OCT140331     GREEN LANTERN #37 COMBO PACK (GODHEAD)     $3.99
OCT140399     HINTERKIND #13 (MR)     $2.99
OCT140350     INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US YEAR THREE #5     $2.99
OCT140253     JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 #12     $2.99
OCT140251     LOBO #3     $2.99
OCT140379     LOONEY TUNES #222     $2.99
SEP140322     MARSHAL LAW TP (MR)     $29.99
SEP140308     MOVEMENT TP VOL 02 FIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE (N52)     $14.99
OCT140398     NAMES #4 (MR)     $2.99
OCT140255     NEW 52 FUTURES END #31 (WEEKLY)     $2.99
SEP140303     NEW 52 FUTURES END TP VOL 01 (N52)     $39.99
SEP140321     NIGHTWING TP VOL 01 BLUDHAVEN     $19.99
AUG140360     PRIDE OF BAGHDAD DELUXE ED HC (MR)     $24.99
SEP140311     RED LANTERNS TP VOL 05 ATROCITIES (N52)     $19.99
OCT140215     SECRET SIX #1     $2.99
SEP140280     SINESTRO #7 (GODHEAD)     $2.99
OCT140339     SWAMP THING #37     $2.99
OCT140382     WOLF MOON #1 (MR)     $3.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

AUG148281     ARKHAM CITY HUGO STRANGE 2013 SDCC EXCLUSIVE AF     $29.95
APR140326     BATMAN LIL GOTHAM JOKER MINI ACTION FIGURE     $12.95
MAY140427     DC COMICS DESIGNER SER 2 CAPULLO CATWOMAN AF     $24.95
MAY140429     DC COMICS DESIGNER SER 2 CAPULLO MR FREEZE AF     $24.95
JUN140322     DC COMICS NEW 52 HAWKMAN AF     $24.95
AUG148279     GREEN LANTERN 3 3/4 INCH 4 PACK SDCC 2013 EXC     $49.95
AUG148280     SUPER BEST FRIENDS FOREVER 3 PACK SDCC 2013 EXC     $49.95
AUG148283     SUPER BEST FRIENDS POISON IVY SDCC 2013 EXC FIG     $24.95