Okko: The Cycle of Air

My favourite so far.  While Okko is never really the main character, the plot does revolve around him in each of the three volumes.  Since it's told from Tikku's point of view Okko comes across as a larger than life figure but in The Cycle of Air Okko really comes to the foreground to prove that the legend has merit.  Hub is not afraid to show violence and the consequences.  The Cycle of Earth had a warrior with one arm lose the second and here Okko loses an arm as well.  It also fuels speculation as to who Okko is, who his mother is and why Noburo is so devoted to him.

Okko: The Cycle of Earth

This one was a bit harder to follow.  The geography of the region they were traveling in started to make less and less sense as they passed back and forth over themselves.  It was a good look into what Noshin actually gives to the group.  He comes off as so much comic relief but then when he's down and Tikku tries to take over it doesn't go so well.

Okko: The Cycle of Water

Beautiful art.  And a good introduction to the narrator's voice.  There was just enough there to introduce the characters to the world that it felt immersive without being loaded down with a lot of exposition.  It's detailed without being boring.

The Black Butler Volume IV

I'm not quite sure where this one was going.  From Volume III I thought that characters that knew Sebastian from a previous experience would be coming into the picture.  That doesn't appear to be the case.  They were just passing through.  It looks like the set up to an epic battle but it isn't.

Naruto Volume 35: The New Two

Very innovative idea.  All those multiple doppelgangers that Naruto can make had to be good for something.  This is a "leveling up" episode that I actually enjoyed.

Naruto Volume 34: The Reunion

This is not going to end well.  I can tell.  Naruto is not going to want to take no for an answer and that's the only answer Sasuke is going to give.  It's got Stolkholm Syndrome written all over it.

Towers of Midnight

I was so excited to start this book.  The cover was Mat, Thom and Noal standing in front of a tower.  I thought, "Finally, they're going to rescue Moiraine!"  Then I read and read and read and read some more and they were still just talking about rescuing Moiraine.  At least Perrin has dealt with the Whitecloak problem.  And Berlain and Galad have met and are making cow-eyes at one another.  Everyone knows that Morgase is alive.  Rand stopped being stupid, and became essentially the second coming of Jesus.  But Mat?  Not much.  Though a nice reunion between him and Perrin.

Finally, right near the end, Moiraine is rescued.  And Mat loses an eye (also finally).  It seems so anti-climatic.  These were things that I had been waiting for nearly the entire series to finally happen.  Jordan had laid so many sub plots in the first 4-5 books that I knew what was going to happen eventually but then he seemed to get sidetracked by other things.  Now there's a rush to tide everything up before the big climatic battle.  I was getting a little concerned that the next book wouldn't be the last book as promised.  Now I'm not.  I'm worried that it'll be rushed and unsatisfying.

Empowered Volume 6

This is turning into an actual superhero comic, albeit with a lot of bondage, but still.  It has a plot, it builds on things that have come before and the heroes actually do heroic things.  A little disturbing, and not mainstream, but I guess I'm enjoying it.

Flash Gordon: The Mercy Wars

So I picked this up on a whim, and after the first few pages was resigned to not liking it much.  Flash Gordon just seemed too good at everything.  CIA candidate, Olympic medalist, awesome pilot, Harvard professor?  Just a little too much.  I get that characters have to be bigger than normal but I had trouble reconciling all these qualities with the Flash Gordon character.

And then there was Dale (and actually any female character) and her tendency to pose butt and breasts out.  The cheesecake was full on display.

I liked the art, aside from how the women were depicted and I liked the writing.  Deneen was able to keep up with fast-paced dialogue and some great action scenes.  All in all, I liked it enough that I'm looking for the next collection.  Hopefully, a few of the problems will be dealt with.

Vampire Knight Volume 11

I like Zero a lot more than the Yuki and Kaname.  I'm actually sort of rooting for him to find someone like Yuki's best friend Wakaba.  Yuki's just not worth it now, there's something wrong with her, and it's not because she's a vampire.

Rosario + Vampire Season II Volume 4 Love Bites

So I thought that Mizore's story was weird.  Ruby's story is just creepy.  Creepy and wrong.  I wasn't expecting sado-masochism from my manga.