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.

Bleach Volume 36: Turn Back the Pendulum

This is supposed to be a flashback to explain what's currently happening with Ichigo and co.  I don't see it.  I guess it sort of shows why Aizen is evil, and how he brought Gin in.  Seeing Urahara as a Soul Reaper is kind of interesting but I miss Ichigo.

Ouran High School Host Club

I see this manga everywhere.  And the anime clips on YouTube.  So I thought I'd give it a read to see what is was about.

Maybe it gets better.

It doesn't read like a series.  It reads like a series of one-shots.  And I found it really, really silly.  I thought it would be a more blatant romance.  But it's something of a farce.

Chibi Vampire Airmail

This is a collection of stories set in the world of Chibi Vampire but not about the characters of the manga themselves.

I was disappointed in how Chibi Vampire ended. So I wasn't really that interested in reading more adventures. Really, of the four stories in this volume. There's only one that I really liked, and it had nothing to do with Karen or Kenta or the Marker family. So a bit of a bust really.

Hellsing Volume 10

It's finally finished. The publishing of Hellsing seems to have been a bit hit and miss. There never seemed to be a schedule, Hirano must miss a lot of deadlines. That being said, the art didn't seem as sharp in this volume. It was still good, just not as good as I expected.

All in all, I was a little disappointed with the finale. Alucard drops out half way through the book and the danger is resolved by Integra and Seras. Then, when you think it might actually mean something, Alucard comes back from the dead. Plus, I was really unimpressed with the method of the killing of the vampire. Someone does not understand Schrodinger's cat.

Rosemary's Baby

I would never have normally picked up this book. I'd seen the movie, which everyone seems to love but I thought was only OK. It starts off very, very normal and then slowly adds elements of the fantastical until it goes over the top. It's a very slow build and I never really felt the pay off that I look for in a horror movie.

However, I was sitting in a hospital room, and had been sitting there for five days, and waiting for my father to die. It's not pleasant. I was alone and saw it peeking out from my brother's backpack so I started reading it. When he arrived he told me that he's already finished it so I might as well take it. It hadn't grabbed me by that point (much like the movie) but I brought it along because it was a book I could read without thinking about it. Exactly the kind of book I was looking for.

I finished on the plane the same day I started it. I have to say that the movie was very faithful to the book. It still wasn't scary. Even with the bonus of at least the description of Rosemary's baby.

Chibi Vampire Volume 14

It's done. This book completes the story that is Chibi Vampire and I have to say... I'm a little disappointed. Sure the idea behind what Karin means to the vampire community is neat but what her family decides to do with her made me shake my head. It's nice that it's something of a happy ending in that Karin and Kenta get to live happily ever after, but to never see her family again or to even not have any memory of them? I didn't like it.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier

The further Alan Moore gets from the first volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen the less I enjoy them.

The Black Dossier is an interesting idea. Moore has written a graphic novel that reads like a government document with a bit of action in the middle. I've read a lot of government documents. They're not exactly fascinating reading. I felt that a bit too much time had passed between Volume 2 of this title and this volume. Obviously, the team had had a variety of adventures (alluded to by documents in the Dossier) but I think I would have much preferred reading the adventure than reading about it. There was just something missing from this one. It's only getting a 2 from me.

Lost

I was intrigued when I first started reading Lost. For one, unlike the other books by Gregory Maguire that I've read, it's set in the contemporary world. Secondly, it began by making me ask questions: Who is Winnie Rudge? Why is she here? What is she trying to accomplish? Those questions drew me in and kept me reading.

Unfortunately, none of them were really answered. The novel is full of things started and not completed. Is it supposed to be somewhat of a moral tale like A Christmas Story? Or is it more of a ghost story? I don't really know. Maguire kept building up the story of the supposed "ghost" only to tear it down and say that it was all in Winnie's imagination.

The story is interrupted by plain text that's supposed to represent Winnie's novel that she's in the midst of writing. Except that she never writes anything down so why the different text? Maguire often uses quotes from classic children's literature to let Winnie describe her surroundings or what she's thinking. It comes off as pretension and the author comparing his own work to the classics. The prose is too melodramatic to compare favourably.

In the end I was disappointed by the book. Winnie was not a likable character and I didn't like the voice of the author. The story didn't so much end as peter out.

Mirror Mirror

I liked Wicked, I even liked Son of a Witch. Then I started moving into Gregory Maguire's fairy tales. I liked Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister but Mirror Mirror? Not so much.

First, I'm not a big fan of historical fiction. I like stories written as if they were historical fiction, I just don't like being expected to know any actual history. It's not one of my subjects. So when Mirror Mirror drapes itself around events of 16th century Italy I have no clue what's going on. I know something of the Borgias (in that I recognise the name) but I couldn't tell you what they meant to the politico-social environment of Italy. I would have had to do research to read this book. Maybe I'll pass it on to my husband. He's a history buff.

Second, the fantastical makes a much greater appearance here than it did in Maguire's other works. Mirror Mirror is the story of Snow White so we're expecting to see dwarves and poison apples and maybe a prince. The dwarves were much more mythological than I was expecting. It was sort of interesting but I think they fell flat in that they had no real personality. They were just something that happened and not a part of the story. They were Maguire's deux ex machina when he'd written himself into a corner.

The search for the Apple from the Tree of Knowledge was an unnecessary subplot. Why go to the trouble of setting up Lucrezia as a poisoner when she was going to poison a mystical Apple? Why set up the Apple as mystical if Lucrezia was just going to poison one?

This one was a disappointment. I'm giving it a 2.

Nightwing: Love and War

I wanted to like this one, I really did. Marv Wolfman created Nightwing he should know how to write him, but he missed. While I liked the running commentary from the hero, I liked seeing into his mind, it's Nightwing's nature that his mouth and his brain are in motion as much as his body, I didn't like way the story was handled.

Nightwing is still a vigilante trained by Batman. I found that too much of the story took place in daylight, or that Nightwing spent time with the people he helped. I don't mind that he continued helping them. I mind that he did it in costume, in broad daylight.

It was an OK mystery story, with an OK ending, but there were big holes in the narrative where something was just missing. The second story in the volume had little connection to the first. The first hadn't really been concluded when Wolfman moved onto the second.

Bruce Wayne was only part of the story for a few panels but was done poorly while he was there. He would never had a Batman/Nightwing conversation as Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson, and certainly not in the middle of a party. He had a Batman conversation as Bruce Wayne, saying things as he would when he's playing the billionaire playboy.

All in all, I was disappointed. I can only give it a 2.

Ultimate Fantastic Four Volume 6 Frightful

I don't like the idea of making superheroes. I do think that the first story in Frightful was a good example of what could happen (though one wonders how Thor becomes president as he's not a natural born US citizen). And I did like the resolution but ultimately this volume is about the conclusion of the Zombie crisis.

It takes a round about way to get there: infecting Johnny with an alien parasite, traveling to Latveria to ask Doctor Doom for help. Huh, it seems that Doctor Doom has mystical powers for some reason. What? Mind switching? And then...? That makes no sense. So really, what was a very promising story line turned into kind of a mess. It's too bad. I guess I'll give it a 2.

The Ultimates 2 Volume 2 Grand Theft America

America gets invaded! Don't worry the Ultimates will save the day.

Grand Theft America is over the top. Completely. I was truly surprised with what they did to some characters, not just with but actually to them. Things get very, very, very dark in this one. Unfortunately, it was too much. I lost the sense that it was happening. I was able to figure out who the traitor was before it was revealed because it made the most sense in a fantasy world. I kept expecting to find out that it was all some terrible trick by Loki and that none of this was actually happening. That maybe he was just toying with Thor and his team mates to craft this ludicrous tale.

I understood the story that Miller was trying to tell but I didn't believe it. I can only give it a 2. Though I have to say I've never read a graphic novel that the splash page actually had to be folded out to get the full impact before. The art was much better than the story with this one.

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 9 Ultimate 6

I can see why it was recommended to read Ultimates before reading Ultimate 6. It reads more like The Ultimates than it does Spider-Man.

The five major villains that Spider-Man has fought so far (Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, Sandman, Kraven and Electro) are being held by S.H.I.E.L.D and manage to escape. They take Peter with them because Norman is convinced that he's part of them for some reason that really never made sense to me. I guess it's because he's insane but it never really came across very well.

Even the art takes a shift towards the Ultimates. While it works in that series, it just doesn't seem to fit in this one. I can only give this one a 2.

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up

Trying to stick to the Ultimate Spider-Man theme going on here I found a place to force in the Ultimate Marvel Team-Up. It was tough, as although all the stories in the team-up were written by Brian Michael Bendis, they don't exactly fit into the continuity.

Some of the stories are great: like the Spider-Man/X-Men story or the Spider-Man/Shang-Chi stories. Some of them are terrible: like the Spider-Man/Iron Man story. The Spider-Man/ Daredevil/Punisher story was interesting but seemed more like an excuse to write a Daredevil/Punisher story.

The quality of writing and the quality of art is all over the place with this one and I can't really recommend it as much as the series itself. There are some neat things in it and it does put Peter squarely in the Marvel universe but it could have been a lot better. I guess it gets a 2.

Food Chaining

My 5 year old son is a picky eater. He's not as picky as the children in Food Chaining: The Proven 6-Step Plan to Stop Picky Eating, Solve Feeding Problems, and Expand Your Child's Diet by Cheryl Fraker, Mark Fishbein, Sibyl Cox and Laura Walbert. There were a few things that I can take from this book. I can certainly think about better scheduling of his meals and snack times. I can get a better feel for the types of foods he likes and use that to expand his choices but that's about it.

I found myself skipping large portions of the book because it didn't apply to our situation. There's a lot of focus on underlying problems causing some kind of problem but my child doesn't have any of those issues. Even narrowing it down to a specific type of food isn't that helpful because he's got foods that he'll eat at his grandmother's house but won't touch here and vice versa.

There's also a lot of focus on babies and toddlers. My son was an excellent eater until he was about 3. Then he just started deciding he didn't like things. His diet had dropped down to just whole wheat bread and water but we were able to work it back up to be better balanced. When he started dropping out foods again I thought I'd try to find a way to stop the behaviour before he dropped too many. This book won't help me do that.

I also didn't like the focus on junk food. I don't want to introduce him to unhealthy food to get him to eat healthy food. I was hoping there'd be better advice on how to get fruits, vegetables and meats into his diet but he doesn't like McDonald's Chicken McNuggets and I'm fine with that.

I would've liked more food chain examples for more varieties of food. A better description of their food "types" so that I could figure out if it's a taste thing with him or something else. All in all I'm a little disappointed and can only really give this one a 2.

The Amber Spyglass - His Dark Materials Book III

So I've completed Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy by finishing The Amber Spyglass. And I have to say that I'm disappointed.

One of the things that I really liked about the previous two books was the relationship between Pan and Lyra. I really liked Pan and Pullman decided to remove him from most of the book. Although I have to give him credit for the scene of the children parting from their daemons. It was great and actually had me in tears. I suspect he did it to focus more on the relationship between Will and Lyra but I felt that their story was kind of meh.

The parts dealing with Mary among the mulefa were nearly physically painful for me. They weren't that interesting to me and Mary's view of evolution was flitting awfully close to intelligent design for a book that supports reason as a worthy end goal.

I felt Pullman was a little heavy handed in his completion of the trilogy. I thought he was a little heavy handed in the beginning of the trilogy as well so I can't say I'm surprised. In a world (or worlds) that exhibit the supernatural it's hard to be the champion of the natural. Lyra's story is about accepting free will and actually using it. I liked that message. I think it's an important one. However, one should have to pull down everything to accept one thing. I'm giving this one a 2.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Volume 3

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus 3 is completely entrenched in Season 3 of the television series. That makes it interesting in some ways because it's obvious that the season was moving faster than they could print the comics. Angel's gone for a big chunck then suddenly appears with none of the reactions from the other characters, specifically Xander, than the reader would expect if he or she had seen the show. Faith doesn't appear at all. I'm guessing she makes more of an impression in the collection.

The art is wonderful in this collection. It's easy to tell who everyone is, there's good pacing for the action (something that's very difficult to do in the comics medium), and it's fun to look at. Some of the stories fall flat unfortunately. The pacing is sometimes a little off and sometimes the continuity just doesn't work within the comic, nevermind within the broader aspect of Season 3.

"Wu -Tang Fang". Pretty good story, pretty good art. The depiction of Xander was not great. First, it didn't really look like him and second, Xander? Karate? I don't think so.

"Halloween". Meh. Another Halloween story where something goes wrong when it shouldn't. I was hoping for something a little more inspired but I think this one existed solely to set up something later in the volume.

"Cold Turkey" by Andi Watson with art by Joe Bennett and a Rick Ketchum. A throw away story. Buffy at Thanksgiving where the vampire she defeated at Halloween wants to eat her! Not that great.

"Dance with Me" by Christopher Golden with art by Hector Gomez and Sandu Florea. I really liked this one. It felt most like a Buffy episode. It better captured the soul of the characters and the way the show is put together. The art could have been better.

"White Christmas". Another good one.

"Happy New Year". This one's a miss.

"New Kid on the Block" by Andi Watson with art by Hector Gomez and Sandu Florea. This one is not good. It just doesn't work on so many levels. I don't think there's any reasonable explaination for the disappearance of a pool. Even in Sunnydale.

"Food Chain Part 1" by Christopher Golden with art by Christian Zanier and Sandu Florea. This one succeeds in all the places that "New Kid on the Block" fails.

"Play with Fire" by Christopher Golden with art by Hector Gomez and Sandu Florea. An attempt at a ghost story that just doesn't quite work.

"Food Chain Part 2" by Christopher Golden with art by Christian Zanier and Sandu Florea. Not as good as the first part but still and entertaining read.

"The Final Cut" by Andi Watson with art by Cliff Richards and Joe Pimentel. It's an interesting idea but doesn't really fit the Buffy gang. It's something that Cordelia would have fallen for but I don't think the others would have gotten involved.

"The Latest Craze" by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski with art by Cliff Richards and Joe Pimentel. At least the art's good. The story, again, just doesn't have the right feel. The characters act with different motivations than one might expect.

I keep getting these because I'm interested in what was done with the comics series in relation to the television series. I can appreciate the difficulty in trying to write something concurrent with something that has an actual story line. It's interesting to see them collected in chronological order. This collection is not the best work. It's a 2 out of 5.

The Red Tent

I just finished The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. It's a fictionalised account of Dinah, daughter of Leah from the book of Genesis. My mother asked me to read this book, it's not one I would have picked up of my own accord, and I can't deny it's well written but it still wasn't my cup of tea.

I got the feeling reading it that it was A Very Important Book. One of those books that supposed to empower women with its great insight into what it's like to be a woman. The book was even organised into three sections that basically embodied the narrator (Dinah, who has no voice in the Bible) as child, maiden and mother. There's an extended Prologue that details the personalities of her "mothers" (Leah and her father's other wives: Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah) and that was really one of the best parts of the book for me. I enjoyed reading Diamant's take on the Bible story. To look at what the women might have been feeling about the events taking place but then it fell to a classic problem of feminist literature.

The men were human and the women weren't. The men in The Red Tent are flawed beings. Most of what they do they do out of greed, or jealousy, or fear, or lust, or some other negative emotion. The women's actions always seemed reasoned when compared to that of the men. It's not that I'd say it was a male bashing book, it was just that the men were portrayed with a negative light that didn't fall on the women. The women had some special insight or power simply because they were women that the men didn't, and couldn't, possess. I don't agree with that. I think men and women have different talents but that doesn't make one gender better than the other or more insightful, it just makes them different.

I also have to admit that I'm a classicist - I don't like when an author changes the original story to suit his or her own needs. In the Bible Dinah is raped by an Egyptian prince. The man does fall in love with her and does offer a bride-price, which I felt Diamant accurately portrayed, but she was not a willing participant. I understand why she changed it to have Dinah love the prince and reciprocate his affections. She wanted the child-maiden-mother structure and that would be difficult to do if Dinah did not bear a child of love. So I can forgive that. What I didn't like is that as a result of her brothers killing all the men of the city in revenge for her rape, or out of greed in Diamant's telling, that Dinah then cursed the name of Jacob. That the author decided to change the renaming of Jacob to Israel from an honour from God to a hiding of the name of his family in shame. That fell a little too far from the original story for my taste. There were other instances but that one in particular coupled the two problems I had with the book: the motivations of the male characters and the divergence from a text that has survived for thousands of years.

So, for mistreating men's motivations, diverging from a classic story and for puffing up its own importance I can only give The Red Tent a 2 out of 5.