Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 1

Name: Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 1

Published by: Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Haden Blackman

Artists: Ben Caldwell, The Fillbach Brothers

Colorist: Ben Caldwell, Sno Cone Studios, Ltd. 

Letterer: Michael David Thomas 

I started reading this just after watching the Volume One of the 'Clone Wars (2003)' series, maybe that's why I enjoyed reading this quite a lot. The simplistic nature of storytelling in short form with drawings similar to the show and enjoyable dialogue make this a fun read for any Star Wars fan. 

The first story is 'Blind Force' which features Obi-Wan and Anakin on the planet Nivek on a special mission. The story has enjoyable banter between the master and padawan duo, an interesting new species of alien enemies and some unique action sequences. 

The second story titled 'Heavy Metal Jedi' has Mace Windu and Saesee Tiin battling against the droid army in Iktotch. Both tries to establish the superiority of their own fighting style which creates an interesting scenario. 

'Fierce Currents' is the third story which despite featuring Kit Fisto is rather weaker compared to the other two. It tells of Fisto's encounter with an unorthodox enemy, but the ending was a bit too philosophical for my taste. 

This was a fun little graphic novel and gets 4 out of 5 stars from me for its nostalgic style. 

New Book Review - Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Name - Phoenix Extravagant 

Written by - Yoon Ha Lee

Published by - Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books for this opportunity.

This was not my first exposure of Yoon Ha Lee, I had previously read one short story by the author which made me interested in longer fiction and led me to request this in NetGalley. 

This book had a very interesting setting clearly inspired by the Japanese occupation of Korea, which really was used in a thoughtful and charismatic way. The anti-colonial sentiment was expressed in a rather unorthodox way using fantasy. The magic system was also quite unique and brilliantly depicted and kept me going through the pages to find out how it worked as a whole. 

Another great thing was the beautiful mechanical dragon Arazi on the cover, which was once again detailed with finesse and was the main star of the book despite appearing after one third of the book. The main character Jebi also brought their unique sense of worldview and his quest to do the right thing. Some of the other characters were also quite interesting despite their minor roles. 

But the main problem was the use of pronouns were a bit confusing especially when the author used they/them for only Jebi when the scene included multiple persons. It often distracted from this otherwise engrossing book. 

I will give this 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

New Book Review - And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - And Put Away Childish Things 

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Published by - Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books for this opportunity.

Portal fantasy is a genre that has been used in a lot of different ways, and as per my experience with this sub-genre I wasn't particularly interested in reading more of this setting. I only decided to check this out in lieu of this being available on NetGalley and my interest in Adrian Tchaikovsky for some time now. 

I definitely should have checked him out a long time ago. The prose is engrossing all throughout with interesting and relatable main character and thoughtful use of real world scenario of Covid to spice up the setting. 

The plot was fast paced with witty dialogue and some very enjoyable homage and poking fun at one of the most well known portal fantasy of all time. The neat little twists and turns of the story kept it from becoming even a bit predictable. 

Harry was a very realistic depiction of a modern day struggling media performer, who is very self centered and obnoxious despite having a well meaning core. Of the bunch of side characters Seitchman was my favourite and despite their minor roles all the other characters were quite expertly fleshed out even the antagonist. 

Although the ending was quite satisfying in tying up everything quite nicely, I really started missing the characters immediately after finishing the book and really wished it was longer (and also hoping for a sequel). 

My rating - 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

Short Story Review - Pretty Good Neighbor by Jeffrey Ford

Name - Pretty Good Neighbor

Written by - Jeffrey Ford

Ilustrated by - FESBRA

Edited by - Ellen Datlow

Published by - Tor.com

Well this one was quite fun, starting with the premise of a simple ghost story then slowly turning into a unique kind of creature feature. The ending twist while being quite predictable did leave a good aftertaste. 

The story begins with a somewhat unreliable narrator telling of his experience with a haunting. The tale begins with a hint of noir crime then suddenly turns in a different direction with some added level of creepiness and horror thrown into the mix. 

Overall I liked the author's style and I really would love to read more about these characters and the creatures in the future.

My rating - 4 out of 5 stars. 

New Comic Review - Venom #20

Name: Venom #20

Published by: Marvel comics

Writer: Al Ewing 

Artists: Cafu

Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles  

Every time that I think that maybe this time Ewing will let the ball drop, making the pace too slow to make it drag or make the story too convoluted to make me decide it's just too difficult to follow each month, he delivers such a brilliant piece of curveball to keep me interested in the future of his characters. 

This time the story focuses on Eddie Brock as he returns to wreck havoc in a new style. He goes on a road trip to restart the battle he left off. The unique way of storytelling by Al Ewing once again keeps the readers guessing what to expect in the future while keeping the angles fresh for the future of the series. 

The art and coloring seems a notch higher in quality compared to the past few issues this time. The characters are drawn quite detailed and the action scenes seem to jump out of the pages. This really added much to the overall quality of the end product as well as the level of entertainment . 

A near perfect issue in terms of enjoyment, this gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Cyborg #1

Name: Cyborg #1

Published by: DC comics

Writer: Morgan Hampton

Artist: Tom Raney

Colorist: Michael Atiyeh

Letterer: Rob Leigh

Like most people out there, my introduction to Cyborg's backstory was mainly through the 'Justice League' movie. And my exposure to him was through that and the 'Doom Patrol' show and part of events or team comics that I read. But I am sure glad that I decided to check out this new ongoing featuring Victor as it seems like the start of something quite promising. 

The story in itself is a great place for new readers to jump into the story of Cyborg. It uses various ways to inform readers the origin of Victor Stone, of his relation with his father and the Titans. While the author also establishes the upcoming threats and plot devices for our protagonist mostly sacrificing action bits rather focusing on establishing the plot threads. 

In the beginning I was quite sceptical about the drawing of the issue, but Raney with his unorthodox art style seems to work quite interestingly with Atiyeh's colorful expressiveness. The drawing is quite attractive overall with its unique nuances. 

I do wish more action in the future, but the execution so far with the interesting twist on the last page left me genuinely intrigued and hopeful for the future. 

This gets 4 out of 5 stars from me. 

Short Story Review - Death of a Silversmith by Graham McNeill

Short Story - Death of a Silversmith 

Writer - Graham McNeill

Series - Horus Heresy

Published By - Games Warkshop / Black Library

This is a very simplistic short story set in the early days of the Horus Heresy, the events set even before the fall of the Warmaster even truly began. The style was quite unique by the virtue of being narrated by a regular human, but it does shine light on a very important object/artifact from the age of the great crusade. 

The story happens aboard of the 'Vengeful Spirit' and includes a brief yet interesting cameo by Sejanus which is always something to enjoy. Most of the story deals with the silversmith remembering his past life and wondering about the true reasons behind his current predicament. The hints about the things to come regarding the grand scheme of things were the actual enjoyable aspect of the story. 

As with any Horus Heresy story, this will cater to the taste of the fans of the series who understand the context of the event and characters. I as a fan of the series liked the little tidbits of information that were on offer here. 

3.5 out of 5 stars from me.