2020 Book Reviews October-December

Here are my book reviews for the last quarter of the year. Sorry that it's been awhile since the last post on the blog, but things have still been happening on the Facebook page. Life in 2020 and covid has been crazy for this geek, and I bet it's been the same for all of you out there. All the books you will find on this list are books, manga, and graphic novels that have an ISBN.

Fiction

America Vol. 1: The Life and Times of America Chavez, Created By Gabby Rivera & Joe Quinones

Picture From: https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/34380219-america-vol-1

I picked this one up because it was on sale and I was not familiar with the character. It was a 2^nd and Charles find in their clearance section. Even with this being volume 1 I felt lost because it seemed like there was a lot of history with the characters that I was missing. As I progressed through the comic some of this was cleared up, but not a lot. I liked that this comic showed other types of relationships, but it seems that comics are still willing to show female/female relationships instead of male/male relationships. Another reason I picked this one up is because it was a non-white character. I’m happy that more character’s like this are showing up and it does show that things are starting to change more. Overall, once the storyline got going it was good and I would be willing to read more of this series. 4 stars out of 5 or a B.

Spider-Woman Shifting Gears Vol. 1: Baby Talk, Created By Dennis Hopeless & Javier Rodriguez

Picture From: https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/27163014-spider-woman

What made me pick this one up? The was a pregnant super hero on the cover. I feel that when I have run into similar issues in comics it is normally a side part of the story or not really covered and here it was front and center. The plot of this story leaves you thinking what can happen next and then something else crazy happens. The one thing I did not like about this comic is how anticlimactic the baby’s daddy revel was. It was a major disappointment. At the same time, it did also show that women have other choices out there. I guess that this does leave it open for future craziness in the parent hood of the child which could help keep this arc alive. I would be willing to read more of this series just because of how they keep throwing one crazy thing after another at readers. It keeps you on your toes. This was a 2^nd and Charles clearance section find. 4 stars out of 5 or a B+.

Voodoo Vol. 1: What Lies Beneath, Created By Ron Marz, Joshua Williamson

Picture From: https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/13532197-voodoo-vol-1

This was another clearance section find for me and I picked it up because I was not familiar with Voodoo. This was a comic geared towards men. Lots of nearly nude women, sex, and violence. At the same time, I was somewhat drawn into the story line just because I want to see where the ‘seeing double’ goes. I think this comic could build into more as it goes. I would be willing to read more of it if I could get it for free or check it out from the library. I would not spend money on it in the hopes that it would get better. 3 stars out of 5 or a C.

Chrono Crusade Vol. 7, By Daisuke Moriyama 

Picture From: https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/642465.Chrono_Crusade_Vol_7

I have a habit of jumping in a series at random places due to what manga I can get my hands on. This one did not really give much background info and just throws you into a big battle. There was a little bit of character development that would let new reads at least understand of some of the characters relate to each other. The art work was good. I may be willing to read more of it to just give it another chance, but only if I could do so for free. I wouldn’t waste money on it. 2 stars out of 5 or a D.

Rey Meets BB-8, By Elizabeth Schaefer

Picture From: https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/25319246-rey-meets-bb-8

This was just a cute kids book that I picked up since I love Star Wars so much. I think that this would be a great way to get a child reading after you show them the movie. Since they already know what happens it would be easier for them to build connections with the words that represent what they saw. 3 stars out of five or a C.

Nonfiction

DC Comics Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Guide to the Amazon Warrior, By Landry Q. Walker

Picture From: https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/32018711-dc-comics-wonder-woman

This is actually a helpful guide. It breaks down all the different timelines and the different versions of Wonder Woman. It has lots of pictures so you can see who are the major villains in which timeline. I’m used to reboots of series and the such, but it seems that for the DC universe this can get really confusing and you need a guide like this just to help you keep track. This is one guide that I will be holding onto as I read more DC to help me stay on track. This book I actually found in the children’s section at the Jefferson County Whale of a sale. This is a great book and other sale that helps support their libraries. If they ever have one again I would recommend going because of all the treasures they have. Some books, like this one, was in the wrong section just because of its pictures so check out all sections for geeky items. 4 stars out of 5 or a B.