Empowered Volume 4

In Empowered Volume 4 Adam Warren sets out to tell a story that's a little more mature than what he's done before. Emp is gaining confidence and it's making better stories than her costume being torn to rags and used to tie her up. Even things that happened earlier in the volume had bearing on what happened later. A story is emerging. I'm honestly surprised considered where the character has come from. I'll give it a 4.

The Boys Volume 3: Good for the Soul

With Good for the Soul Garth Ennis fleshes out some of the supporting characters in The Boys. Of the team the Frenchman probably gets the best treatment but I'm very curious where he's taking Mother's Milk and the Female. Sometimes I find The Boys a little too explicit and there were a few points in the first arc that were a little much for me.

I did like Hughie's speech over the Blarney Cock and I liked the relationship between the Female and the Frenchman. I like how Hughie's relationship with Annie/Starbright is progressing and I can't wait to see his reaction when he finds out she's a cape.

In my opinion the second arc was the stronger of the two in the volume. I know that the Legend is obviously based on Stan Lee so when he tells Hughie the whole origin story of what's what in the world I don't know how much I believe. I know that Garth Ennis hates superheroes so it's probably closer to the truth than not. I'll give this volume a 4.

Hellsing Volume 9

Still in the middle of a fight scene. The art in Hellsing is, of course, stunning but this fight for London has been going on for a while now. I've sort of lost track of who's fighting whom and why. I'm going to miss Walter though.

I thought the scene where Integra had already happened. She'd already commanded Alucard to do whatever it took to defeat the Zombie Nazi menace so I was a little confused that it happened again.

Now that all the normal soldiers have been killed, and we're starting to work on the super soldiers, I'm hoping that London will be either won or lost soon. I liked the earlier stories from Hellsing better. Little bit of dialogue, little bit of awesome over-the-top action and on to a new story. I'm losing track here. It gets a 3.

Chibi Vampire Volume 11

Another strong outing for Yuna Kagesaki.

Volume 11 focuses on Anju and what it means to awaken as a vampire. I really connected with the youngest Maaka for the first time in this volume. I found it really interesting to see Karin transform from the one who needs protecting to the one doing the protecting. Her relationship with Kenta still seems to be going well and I think that's giving her more confidence in her own abilities. I'm curious to see how she'll react to being alone during the daylight.

Anju's blood preference for loneliness was an inspired choice. It gives some insight into what fuels the blood preferences of the other members of her family. I think this volume answered a lot of questions about how Kagesaki sees the vampire myths in her creation.

I'm going to give it a 5.

Chibi Vampire Volume 10

Wow! A lot more happened in this volume than I expected. In Volume 10 there was not the back step in Kenta and Karin's relationship that I was expecting, it moved forward! Karin's grandmother awakes again and this time nothing is hidden from her. The back story explains Elda too so even with the unresolved bit with Caldera it was a very satisfying read.

I'll give it a 4.

The Graveyard Book

I admit I'm a Neil Gaiman fan. I love the way he's able to use words that invoke. Not just tell a story, but invoke it. I was drawn into The Graveyard Book from the first sentence, "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." Adding in the illustration of just a pitch black page with the hand holding the knife immediately put me into the story.

The story is about Bod, who comes to the graveyard a baby and leaves a young man. Each chapter nearly stands alone as a short story where the conflict is appropriate to the age of the hero. I really enjoyed "The Witch's Headstone", "Danse Macabre" and "Nobody Owens' School Days" (although I do feel Bod learned the same "lesson" in both "The Witch's Headstone" and "Nobody Owens' School Days"). I liked how the ghosts had personalities in tune with the age in which they died and I liked how Gaiman lets his readers deduce what other horrors exist in the world without spelling it out. The hints are very broad, but they're still hints.

I got lost in The Graveyard Book. That's where I like to be when reading. The last chapter had me in tears from beginning to end because I, like Bod, wanted things to stay the same even when I knew they had to change.

I read Neil Gaiman's journal so it was interesting to see the book develop as he was writing it. He's said that Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book was an inspiration for this work. I've not read it, and now I feel I should. All in all, I give this book a 5.

Lore of the Forsaken

I was a big fan of Werewolf: the Apocalypse but now that's changed to Werewolf: the Forsaken I'm having a harder time figuring out what would make a good character or a good story. I picked up Lore of the Forsaken because it promised to delve into what it means to be a werewolf by focusing on their spirituality.

Werewolf has always been a game about spirits but what Lore tries to do is to take the nature of spirits and turn it into a kind of religion. There are four chapters detailing totems, auspices, gifts and rites and loci and fetishes. I think the first two chapters were the strongest. I especially enjoyed reading about the roles auspices play in what is expected of the werewolf. Too often it's easy to simply skim the surface of the auspice traits and create a character that is a caricature. The last two chapters had some helpful suggestions but devolved into a list of "items" you could give a character, some of which struck me as game breaking.

I judge a rules supplement on whether it gives me ideas. This one started off idea rich but fizzled out about halfway through. I'm giving it a 3.