Black Butler Volume X

This was a Sherlock Holmes mystery.  I think I read nearly the same one in the last collection I read.  So I had a pretty fair idea of where this was going.  As a result, this story was very different from the others in this series.  It was less about the human condition and more about the story.  In a weird way, it felt like filler until it was time to go back to the demonic Ciel.

Rosario + Vampire Season II: Volume 9

I've had enough of the Fairy Tale story.  I've tired of Moka's past.  I'm ready for them to move on.

Forces of Warmachine: Protectorate of Menoth

The Protectorate doesn't grab me the same way Khador and Cygnar do.  The Harbinger is a beautiful model but I have a hard time coming up with something to support her.  They're just not my style.

Batman Earth One

I've read a lot of Batman origin stories over the years.  Some much better than others.  This is one of the best.

I like that they're not afraid to make him fail.  It's what really worked for Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and this carries that on.  He's not really equipped to fight crime.  All he wants is vengeance he really needs that first failure to point him in the direction that his life will take.

Alfred as a former marine and family friend rather than the long time butler was the hardest change to swallow.  Though I did like that he admitted he knew nothing about raising a child.  He has done a rather poor job with Bruce.

The art is amazing.  There were pages that I just stopped and stared at to pull in all the details.  Seeing his eyes does make a difference.

The Penguin was actually an effective villain.  Something that a lot of writers struggle to do.  I've seen it in the new 52 now as well.  They've finally figured out what to do with this character.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Saltwater Aquariums

I've wanted a saltwater aquarium for about 10 years now.  I finally decided to take the plunge.  While I was waiting until the right moment I continued to do research.  Although I'm not a complete idiot this book was helpful in figuring out some of the jargon and steps to get into this hobby.

My biggest complaint about the book is that they refer to the appendix with examples of aquariums.  This appendix does not exist.  I looked for it everywhere and couldn't find it.  The CD that comes with it wasn't that useful either.  I could find all the information online with a much handier graph to let me know compatibilities.  At least they didn't try to put all the information into the book.  It would have been a much more intimidating read.

Vampire Knight Volume 14

Kaname doesn't deserve Yuki.  She's so much more devoted to him than he is to her.  Of course, Yuki doesn't deserve Yuki either.  For a love triangle it's messed up.  Interesting to see more of the history of this vampire world.  My sympathies are still with Aido.  He's just trying to protect Kaname and those he loves.

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

The resounding feeling I got from this collection was that Sherlock Holmes is a dick.  He frightened poor Watson and thought nothing of it.  The only friend he has was not important enough to find and tell that he wasn't dead.

The other interesting part of this collection is that Holmes is pulling away from being the main character.  He gives many tasks to Watson and just sweeps in at the end to confirm all suspicions.  Conan Doyle really was getting tired of the character at this point but must have been getting too much money to consider not writing him anymore.

Bleach Volume 43: Kingdom of Hollows

More posturing; still no Ichigo.  The biggest gun is out for Ichigo to come save everyone though.  At least he seems to be falling out of the sky to do just that.

Bleach Volume 42: Shock of the Queen

I keep reading Bleach hoping for resolution.  I keep getting fight scenes.  The big guns are coming in, this might be coming to a close soon.

Naruto Volume 49: The Gokage Summit Commences

This feels like the beginning of the end.  I can't imagine Naruto not being Hokage by the end of this arc, and once he's fulfilled his dream, is there much point in continuing the story?

Naruto Volume 48: The Cheering Village

Unlike Bleach, Naruto has really grown in both attitude and in story telling.  Naruto is no longer the brash "act before thought" youth that he was in the beginning of the series.  Now, he's not only more powerful, he's more mature.

Bleach Volume 41: Heart

I know I just complained that Bleach was one long fight scene.  But holy cow was this a cool fight scene!

And then back to the battle over Karakura Town.  sigh

Bleach Volume 40: The Lust

I keep waiting and waiting for something other than a major battle to happen in this series.  Maybe I'm reading the wrong series.  Things happen in Naruto though.  Not so much in Bleach.  I was rewarded with the return of Ichigo this issue though.  Orihime seems to be going through something.  I do want to see where she ends up.

Death Note Volumes 3 & 4

I couldn't find the regular editions of Death Note so ended up with this combo volume.  No matter, it got me further ahead in the story.  Ohba and Obata are really good at conveying Light's emotions as L gets closer to finding out the truth.  The second carrier of a death note has bought him a little time but not that much. 

Having read this right after The Psychopath Test was an interesting juxtaposition.  I found myself referencing the check list to confirm Light's status.  His use of Amane clearly points to him lacking empathy.  He's a strong contender for the psychopath label.

The Psychopath Test

I picked up this book because I was waiting around for an appointment.  I'd heard about it, and it was a recommended book in the store I was in so I gave it a try.  I'm so glad I did.  It was such a great read.

Now, when one hears psychopath one thinks about serial killers.  This book is not really about them.  They are mentioned, but it's more about the psychopaths that you might run into in your daily life.  It's written in a very conversational style and I could certainly see myself sitting down with the author to discuss what he's written.  I like that everything is told in a way that references him.  It makes the subject very approachable.  It also makes me want to read some of his other books.

Bakuman Volume 4

I feel bad for Mijo.  Things are going so well for Moritaka and she's getting into the creepy area of voice work.  Things are much different in Japan.

Bakuman Volume 3

I like that they separated and still came up with the same kind of story to tell.  It really gives the feeling that they have a great partnership.  They're also growing as characters.  This work is more complex than I would have thought it would be.

Hawk and Dove: Ghosts and Demons

I'd been reading Hawk and Dove in the new 52 and was reminded how much I liked these characters.  I was disappointed when it was cancelled and felt it had something to do with Rob Liefeld.  His art brought it down and his prose didn't help.  I picked up this graphic novel because it reminded me of when the characters were written well and Liefeld could draw feet.  His 90s hairstyles fit with this story because it was originally published in the 90s.

Batman: Under the Red Hood

I've been reading a lot of comics lately.  One of them has been Red Hood and the Outlaws and I realised I really didn't know much about Jason Todd.  I knew he'd died, but the details about him coming back to life and taking up the mantle of the Red Hood were not in my lexicon.

I really liked this story.  There were so many elements that I've really enjoyed in the Batman mythos that are all present here.  Plus, it's always nice to see Nightwing.  I lost the story a bit in the second act because I didn't recognise some of the players.  But a good story.

I'd also seen the Batman: Under the Red Hood movie recently.  The first act was pretty much lifted whole for that script.  A few minor changes to make it more accessible to someone who didn't follow all of DC comics.

Bleach Volume 39: El Verdugo

I'm seriously considering dropping Bleach.  I read it because I found Ichigo to be an interesting character.  He hasn't really been in it for pages and pages.  It's one long fight after another interspersed with the leveling up techniques.  I expect more.

Naruto Volume 47: The Seal is Destroyed

Epic battle.  Really well built up through the preceding pages and then the huge payoff.  It might have just been a big fight scene but it was rewarding.

Naruto Volume 46: Naruto Returns

Naruto gets a pretty epic re-entrance in this volume.  It's hard to imagine that he'd get here when looking at where he came from.  Things are really building up.  Not good that Kakashi is having a heart to heart with his dead father.  I don't want this to be the end of that character.

Rosario + Vampire Season 11 Volume 8

That's a lot of back story to explain why Moka has the rosario.  Neat story but i felt it really took away from the action of what Ikeda is trying to create.  Most of the main characters have been lying on the floor while the mob forms at the door.

Black Butler Volume IX

Reading this reminded me too much of the movie Clue.  I kept expecting a fast forward run down of what had happened.  I don't believe Sebastian's dead though.  He seems harder to kill than that.

Death Note Volume 2

In the first book I could feel some empathy for Light.  He's just doing this to rid the world of evil.  I get where he's coming from even though I didn't agree with how he was doing it.  Here, he starts to attack those that would stop him and he becomes more villainous.  He's still very ingenious and that's why it's hard to put down.

Bonk

I've read Stiff and Spook by Mary Roach so when I saw she'd written a new one I very excited to read it.  Then I saw it was going to be all about sex.  The book was actually surprisingly informative and she got into a lot of places that I'm surprise would let her in.  On top of that is her humour.  I really enjoy her style.  Some parts of the book made me laugh out loud.  That doesn't happen often.

I would think there were still some aspects of the subject of sex that she was hesitant to write about.  The ultrasound experiments for one.  Besides herself and her husband I'm really curious about why these couples would agree to do this thing.

The New Teen Titans: Games

I'm so glad I picked this up.  George Perez is one of my all-time favourite artists and I loved his and Marv Wolfman's turn on The New Teen Titans it was one of the first series that I collected.  Seeing the whole team represented was a walk down memory lane.  I think this may have been from a time that I wasn't reading though, I don't remember Danny or Beast Boy with a mullet.

The story was a great read.  I'm almost glad that this was started and then dropped.  From the Foreword and Afterword, the story that they originally planned wasn't as good as this story that they've told.  My only real disappointment is that this story is probably not really part of the continuity anymore.  There was still a Teen Titans led by Nightwing (I'm assuming) but  don't think they would have had enough time to have this grand an adventure.

Red Hood: The Lost Days

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.  I've never been a big Jason fan.  I've always felt he was just a place holder for Dick.  I remember his original origin story and it was just a complete retelling of Dick's and I remember his second origin story.  Stealing the wheels off the Batmobile was certainly points for style, but I didn't like how Batman took in a kid who was even less well trained than Dick and expected him to succeed.  He even still had a living parent but Bruce adopted him anyway.  I felt bad for Dick a lot through the Jason years.  However, when it came down to vote, I would've voted for Jason to live if I'd been an American.  I like Batman with Robin, it keeps him even.

And that's where the Red Hood enters.  I felt that Judd Winick did a really good job of getting Jason's confused emotions across to the reader.  Sure, he's murdering people, but I almost felt he was killing the right people.  The people that really did deserve to die.

Talia was an interesting choice for this tale.  Mostly she's seen as the daughter of Ra's al Ghul and that's it.  Here, she goes against her father's wishes and does something that she truly believes will bring Batman back to her.  Once she realises just how broken Jason is, her role changes, she's trying to contain him while he fixes himself.  I get the feeling that she expected that this wanting to kill Batman thing was just a phase.  She knows his love for Bruce, probably more so than Jason does.

Rosario + Vampire Season II Volume 7

These are getting harder and harder to read at work as they become more and more risque. 

The story progresses though.  The dynamic between inner and outer Moka is quite interesting and I wonder why other vampires don't seem to need the Rosario like Moka does.  I want to find out more about what happened in her memory to her mother and her oldest sister Aqua.

Naruto Volume 45: Battlefield, Kohona

Massive battle. Watching Sasuke throw down was pretty amazing and Naruto's training session was interesting. He really is growing and those in Kohona are starting to notice. I fear for Kakashi though. I know Kishimoto is not afraid to kill main characters, but he's one of my favourites.

Naruto Volume 44: Senjutsu Heir

Once again Naruto nearly brings me to tears. There was a lot more emotion than I expected from Naruto when he found out about Jiraiya's death. Tsunade breaking down once she was by herself was very moving too.

And then there's Sasuke. I want him to find out he's been lied to. He needs to join back up with Naruto. Though at this point I expect that Naruto is the only one who would welcome him back. Now that they're trying to bring down the eight-tailed fox it won't be long before he comes looking for his old friend.

Death Note Volume 1: Boredom

I can't believe that I actually like the protagonist of this series. He's a serial killer! But he is very clever, and that has to be admired. I wasn't sure when I first started this but as I continued reading I found myself appreciating the lengths that Light was going to to protect his identity and how he was manipulating those after him. I'm very curious as to L's identity. The decision to not reveal him to the readers as well is interesting. It really does make Light the hero even though what he's doing is very wrong.

Bakuman Volume 2

This one was more enjoyable than the last.  It's interesting to see manga behind the scenes.  I didn't realise how much went into deciding what should even be published.  And then figuring out what continues to be published.  I guess I'm more used to the North American model of comics publishing where it's all back on profit return.

I can't decide if some of the characters are real, or complete caricatures.  Their rival, Eiji, is so over the top that I think he has to be a parody.

Bleach Volume 38: Fear for Fight

I had a brief moment of hope with the last volume that Ichigo may be returning to the manga. Alas, it was brief. This volume was more battle between the Captains and Aizen's minions. I get that they're all really powerful, but each issue seems to be trying to one up the last with how over the top it can get. I want to see Ichigo rescue Orihime!

Hound of the Baskervilles

This novel was quite different from the other Sherlock Holmes novels I've read, and from the short stories.  Holmes was hardly in it.  He sent Watson to do all the investigating and showed up for the climax to tell Watson that he already knew what was going on.  Plus, he had the final pieces to solve the mystery.

Not that the reader could quite solve this one.  It hinged on a portrait that we couldn't see and wasn't described by Conan Doyle.  Some of the behaviour of the villain might have given it away but he was already pegged as an eccentric so it didn't seem that unusual for him.  I did know that the hound was not a demon, and whomever was using it to scare the Baskervilles was stealing boots to give it the scent.  However, I would not have guessed at the love triangle between Baskerville and the Stapletons.  Or that Lyons was in any way important to solving the mystery unless she out and out told them what she knew.

I felt that the subplot with the convict was an unnecessary distraction.  It felt like padding the word count to give Watson something to do while he waited for Holmes to arrive and solve everything.  It gave him an excuse to be out on the moor to see Holmes in shadow but again, I didn't feel it moved the plot along to have the poor man killed.

There's apparently some suggestion that since this was written after Holmes' apparent death in The Final Problem this story does not have the real Sherlock Holmes in it.  The theory attempts to explain why Watson takes a more prominent role in this novel than he has previously.  To me, it's obvious that it's an earlier adventure of Holmes.  He and Watson are still living together at Baker Street and there is no mention of Mrs. Watson or his flourishing private practice.  It seems more likely that Conan Doyle was simply trying something new.  It's documented that he was tired of writing stories of Sherlock Holmes and had intended the character to mock skeptics.  When it became popular he felt his hand was forced to continue.  Even after purposefully killing the character so he wouldn't have to write it anymore.

Batgirl: The Lesson

The last of the Stephanie Brown Batgirl before the new 52.  It's a shame that she hasn't reappeared in the new 52, this was such a fresh series.  It is just a fun read.  The one-shot story with Robin was very touching.  She knows what Damian is going through and she knows that he doesn't want her pity.  So what does she do?  Take him to a bouncy castle.

Brightest Day Volume 3

I came out of this volume with one thought.   The white lantern is a dick.  It brought heroes back to life just so it could kill them, it brought villains back to kill heroes and it used Deadman to make these things happen.  And then it gets to take time to tell Hawk why he failed in the mission to kill himself.  All in all it seemed a convuluted way to bring Swamp Thing back to the DC universe.

Bakuman Volume 1

This manga was recommended to me because I was reading some of the manga they talked about.  It's like a behind the scenes series where two high school students are trying to get their manga off the ground.  It's written by the team behind Death Note and mostly what this one does is make me want to read the other.  I like the art and the way it's written but I don't like some of the ideas that are presented.

Naruto Volume 43: The Man with the Truth

This volume was huge!  Double size almost.  I can see why it was done, there was no real spot to split the story into another volume and it does bring the whole arc with Sasuke and his brother to a close.  It was an amazing battle.  And, as always, Kishimoto lets his character shine through even when it's just a fight. 

I don't know how I feel about Sasuke switching his revenge to the whole Konoha village.  It's going to set up conflict between him and Naruto again.  Though, I suppose they might see eye to eye on it.  Both their lives have been affected by decisions the ruling council thought would save the village.

Naruto Volume 42: The Secret of the Mangekyo

So it's revealed that Jiraiya looks on Naruto like a grandfather because his name was taken from one of Jiraiya's books.  That's so sweet.  It made his death in this volume more poignant.  I was quite touched when I read it.

Black Butler Volume 7

This concludes the creepiness that has been this arc of Black Butler.  I was wondering why Ciel wasn't worried about his staff.  I thought he was just callous.  Apparently Finnie is some kind of mutant and his hat hides a number on the back of his head.  Mey Rin's short sightedness belies her extreme accuracy at distance and Mr. Tanaka is a silent killer.  Plus, the chef is American.  I thought there was something up with him.

However, with a little space to fill, Toboso also gives us the story of a new suit for Ciel.  Which includes a tailor that likes to feel up Mey Rin's breasts but is also attracted to Ciel's feminine form as he's still just a small boy.  Not what I was expecting.

Bleach Volume 37: Beauty is so Solitary

So I've been complaining that the story has focused more on the Soul Society of late than it has on Ichigo.  This volume finishes up the back story (which does answer a few questions and even got me interested for a moment) and then heads back to the present.

Yay!  Ichigo is on his way to rescue Orihime!  And she's being all brave waiting for him!  And he's getting help from his friends!  And then it's back to what the Soul Society is doing against Aizen.  Sigh.

Forces of Warmachine: Khador

When I finished the Forces of Warmachine: Cygnar I had visions of an eHaley, or Caine army.  Finishing this book gave me ideas about Vlad and eVlad.  These Forces books could be bad for me.  I'm still not playing often enough to justify another army, but I can play on iBodger.