Review: Wires and Nerve Volume 1 - Marissa Meyer

The first graphic novel from #1 New York Times and USA Today bestseller Marissa Meyer!

In her first graphic novel, bestselling author Marissa Meyer extends the world of the Lunar Chronicles with a brand-new, action-packed story about Iko, the android with a heart of (mechanized) gold.When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers' leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder, Cress, Scarlet, Winter, and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the bestselling series.

Lunar Chronicles Series:
Glitches (free prequel short story can be read online here)
The Little Android (free short story can be read online here)
Cinder
The Queen's Army (free short story can be read online here)
Scarlet
Cress
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (free short story can be read by signing up for Marissa Meyer's newsletter)
Fairest
Winter

Wires and Nerve:
(Graphic novel series staring Iko set after the events in the Lunar Chronicles books)
Wires and Nerve Volume 1
Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue

Visit Marissa Meyer's website for more information

Review:
I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to reading this graphic novel (especially considering I bought my copy back in 2017!) but I'm so glad I finally gave it a chance. I love Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series and Iko was such a fantastic character all the way through so I was really excited when it was announced that she was getting her own spin off duology. I wasn't sure how it would work as graphic novels compared to the rest of the series but I actually liked getting to see drawn representations of each of the characters we've come to know and love. I will warn you now that this graphic novel contains HUGE spoilers for the main series so if you've not read the previous books I wouldn't advice starting with this graphic novel but for fans of the originals I'm sure you'll enjoy being back in this world.

Iko's story starts not long after the events in Winter and gives us the chance to see how each of the previous couples are getting along now. Some have been able to happily return to their old lives but others, like Cinder, have a lot more work to do to prove themselves. Iko is loyal to her friends above anything else and is like a protective older sister when it comes to Cinder but helping her settle into her role as queen isn't something she is really able to do. What Iko can do to help is deal with the wolf-hybrids created by Levana, the hybrids have been asked to return to the moon for retraining but a group of rogues remain on earth and are currently causing all kinds of trouble. As an android Iko is uniquely qualified to go after these super soldiers but even with her extra skills it's not going to be an easy task.

I really enjoyed being back in this world, Iko is just as much fun as I remember her being and I love the sense of humour she brings to the series. Although my personal preference is usually for more colourful artwork I thought the blue, white and black palette used for this novel worked really well. I liked the artist's vision of each of the main characters and didn't have any problems telling who was who just by looking at them. It was fun seeing where everyone's life is at right now but I'm really hoping to seem them all reunited in the next graphic novel.

I'm including pictures of the first couple of pages so that you can see each of the main characters for yourself:

Cinder, Kai, Thorne, Scarlet & Wolf

Cress, Jacin, Winter & Iko

Source: Purchased

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Review: Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick - Matt Fraction & Chip Zdarsky

Collects SEX CRIMINALS #1-5

Suzie's just a regular gal with an irregular gift: when she has sex, she stops time. One day she meets Jon and it turns out he has the same ability. And sooner or later they get around to using their gifts to do what we'd ALL do: rob a couple banks. A bawdy and brazen sex comedy for comics begins here!

Sex Criminals Series:
Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick
Sex Criminals Volume 2: Two Worlds One Cup
Sex Criminals Volume 3: Three the Hard Way
Sex Criminals Volume 4: Fourgy
Sex Criminals Volume 5: Five-Fingered Discount
Sex Criminals Volume 6: Six Criminals

Visit Matt Fraction's website or Chip Zdarsky's website for more information

Review:
Sex Criminals is a comic that is completely bonkers but in the best possible way. Just imagine as a teenager that you discovered that every time you had an orgasm you were able to stop time, what would you do with that power? Well, Suzie and Jon go down very different roads after discovering their ability but once the two of them find each other it's not a big leap for them to decide to become criminal masterminds and start plotting to rob a bank. They're not even doing it for their own gain, they actually want to use the money to save the library that Suzie works at, they're just doing charity work really!

I don't want to say too much about the plot for this so I'm just going to tell you that the story was full of humour (you probably want to skip this if you don't like dirty jokes!) but also some surprisingly cute moments between Suzie and Jon when they're not busy trying to stop time. I loved the artwork, especially when they're in The Quiet (that moment of postcoital bliss) the colours become really vibrant with a dreamy kind of quality to them but the whole comic was great. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Source: Received from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Sleepless Vol. 2 - Sarah Vaughn & Leila del Duca

Nearly a year later in the court of Harbeny, Lady Poppy and Sir Cyrenic must forge ahead without each other. Cyrenic adjusts to life after being released from the Sleepless Vow. And though Poppy has allies old and new, she buckles under the pressure to marry Lord Helder. The future looks bleak, but both Poppy and Cyrenic are fighters. Either they will claw their way out of the darkness, or take as many enemies with them as they can. This second volume of SLEEPLESS concludes the story of Poppy and Cyrenic.

Collects SLEEPLESS #7-11

Collects issues 1-6.

Sleepless Series:
Sleepless Vol. 1
Sleepless Vol. 2

Visit Sarah Vaughan's website for more information

Review:
This volume picks up Poppy and Cyrenic's story about a year on from where the previous one ended. Cyrenic has been asleep that whole time ever since Poppy released him from his vow while she has been stuck dealing with court politics and trying to prevent a forced marriage to Lord Helder. Now as her wedding draws near and Cyrenic finally wakes up everything is in the balance.

After really enjoying the first book in this series I had high hopes for the sequel so I hate to say it but I was kind of disappointed. Most of the things I loved about the first volume are still there, the diverse characters and the beautiful artwork are the same but the plotting felt kind of rushed. I didn't realise that this was the final volume and to be honest I think it needed just one more, it felt like the authors had to rush through everything to fit it into two books and if there had been three they would have had time to flesh out things like the court intrigue and especially the romance.

It wasn't that this book was bad, its just having seen what the author and artist accomplished with volume one I know they could have ended this series so much better.

Source: Received from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Sleepless Vol. 1 - Sarah Vaughn & Leila del Duca

Amazon Book Review’s Best Comics & Graphic Novels of 2018
The Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best Books 2018

Lady "Poppy" Pyppenia is guarded by the Sleepless Knight Cyrenic but becomes endangered when an assassin threatens her life in the new king's reign. As Poppy and Cyrenic try to discover who wants her dead, they must navigate the dangerous waters of life at court and of their growing feelings for one another. Writer Sarah Vaughn (ALEX + ADA, ETERNAL EMPIRE) and artist Leila del Duca (SHUTTER, AFAR) team up with editor / colorist Alissa Sallah and letterer Deron Bennett for this fantasy romance.

Collects issues 1-6.

Sleepless Series:
Sleepless Vol. 1
Sleepless Vol. 2

Visit Sarah Vaughan's website for more information

Review:
Poppy is the daughter of the former king and now that her uncle has been crowned her place in court is very precarious. She may be the old king's illegitimate child but in her mother's distant land she is still considered a princess and therefore has a lot of support, something the new king is not very happy about. Forced to stay at the court by her uncle the only person she can truly rely on is her Sleepless Knight Cyrenic, a man pledged to protect her for the rest of his life. Poppy just wants to keep her head down until she can be reunited with her mother but when an assassin attacks she quickly realises that life in court is far more dangerous than ever before.

This was a really fabulous start to the Sleepless series, I'm intrigued by the characters and the court politics and I really want to know more about the Sleepless Knights and how they survive with no sleep. Poppy and Cyrenic are great characters and I love the hint of tension between them, the sparks are definitely starting to fly and I hope they can find a way to be together in spite of the taboo status of a relationship between them.

We are never overloaded with too much background and history so this story was a very easy read, I still have a lot of questions about things but I'm sure they will be answered slowly throughout the series. Leila del Duca's artwork is gorgeous, she uses lots of bright and bold colours that make her drawings really eye-catching and it fits Sarah Vaughn's story perfectly. I have to give the series bonus points for the diversity too. I'm definitely looking forward to continuing this series.

Source: Received from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Saga Volume 9 - Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staples

The multiple Eisner Award-winning series returns with a spacefaring adventure about fake news and genuine terror. Get ready for the most shocking, most impactful SAGA storyline yet.

Collects SAGA #49-54

Saga Series:
Saga Volume 1
Saga Volume 2
Saga Volume 3
Saga Volume 4
Saga Volume 5
Saga Volume 6
Saga Volume 7
Saga Volume 8
Saga Volume 9

Visit Brian K Vaughan's website or Fiona Staples' website for more information

Review:
If you thought Volume 7 was stressful I'll warn you now that had nothing on Volume 9. I still haven't recovered from the horrendous ending of this one and I'm just praying things aren't really what they seemed because I can't bear it if that was really true!

After finally seeing all of our favourite characters reunited at the end of the previous book I was honestly hoping that things might go smoothly for a while but of course you know thats not going to happen in a series like this. I mean some things are going well, we have several happy couples who are making the most of their time together, Hazel is turning into quite the little warrior thanks to her training with Petrichor, Ghus is a brilliant babysitter and our reporter duo are working on the story of a lifetime. Meanwhile things are going really badly for The Will and there has been no sign of Sophie, Lying Cat or Gwendolyn since Volume 7 so we're not sure what's going on in their camp.

As much as I love these books I have to admit the body count has been a bit too high in the last few books for my taste, I'm starting to worry whether any of the characters I love are going to survive the series and frankly at the moment its not looking good. I'm still holding out hope that at least one character survives injuries received in this book though, I'm definitely not ready to say goodbye to them yet and the rest of this dysfunctional family needs them too much! Please don't break my heart like that!

It's exhausting looking after Hazel & Squire!

I love the way these two still make time for each other

Hazel is becoming quite the kickass warrior

and she still has the most wonderful conversations with Petrichor

Source: Purchased

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Review: Saga Volume 8 - Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staples

After the traumatic events of the War for Phang, Hazel, her parents, and their surviving companions embark on a life-changing adventure at the westernmost edge of the universe.

Collects issues 43 through 48.

Saga Series:
Saga Volume 1
Saga Volume 2
Saga Volume 3
Saga Volume 4
Saga Volume 5
Saga Volume 6
Saga Volume 7
Saga Volume 8
Saga Volume 9

Visit Brian K Vaughan's website or Fiona Staples' website for more information

Review:
After the terrible events in the previous instalment I knew going into Volume 8 that the characters would be struggling in the aftermath. This is a really difficult time for Alana, Marco and to a certain extent Hazel too, but I felt that the authors handled the situation with sensitivity. The tone of this book is more somber than previous ones but it does still have its lighter moments too and I enjoyed getting to visit a new planet and meeting some of the weird and wonderful inhabitants.

Petrichor in particular really stood out in this book, there were some fantastic moments between her and Hazel that melted my heart a bit and I really appreciate how many positive messages this series has about important issues in the real world not just this fantasy one. I also enjoyed learning more about The Will's background and the person who is holding him captive.

The volume ends on a positive note when certain characters are finally reunited and I'm really curious to see how the group dynamics are going to change now that all the main players are back together at last.

Petrichor always makes me laugh "Is this some kind of kinky thrupple thing?" LOL

She dodged a bullet here though!

Worrying times

Well Hazel isn't wrong there!

Source: Purchased

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Review: Saga Volume 7 - Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staples

From the worldwide bestselling team of FIONA STAPLES and BRIAN K. VAUGHAN, “The War for Phang” is an epic, self-contained SAGA event! Finally reunited with her ever-expanding family, Hazel travels to a war-torn comet that Wreath and Landfall have been battling over for ages. New friendships are forged and others are lost forever in this action-packed volume about families, combat and the refugee experience.

Collects issues 37 through 42.

Saga Series:
Saga Volume 1
Saga Volume 2
Saga Volume 3
Saga Volume 4
Saga Volume 5
Saga Volume 6
Saga Volume 7
Saga Volume 8
Saga Volume 9

Visit Brian K Vaughan's website or Fiona Staples' website for more information

Review:
Now that Hazel is back with Alana and Marco you'd think things would finally start to get better for the little family, and they do to a certain extent. For a few months anyway. The unlikely group, including Prince IV and Petrichor, are in desperate need of more fuel for their ship so they make an unscheduled stop on a war torn comet that is rich on resources in spite of being the middle of a war zone. The family make some adorable new friends but it never seems to take long for their enemies to catch up with them and this time the consequences are disastrous.

Meanwhile The Will is still searching for Sophie and Lying Cat, Gwendolyn is making some questionable alliances, Hazel has a few anger issues, Alana and Marco are focused on keeping their growing family safe, Prince IV has an inappropriate crush and Petrichor seems to have more than one big secret.

I absolutely love this series but I'm warning you now Volume 7 is pretty hard hitting and quite upsetting to read in places. Yes, there's still the humour I've come to expect from these graphic novels but there were also moments that left me feeling like I'd been punched in the gut and I'm still not sure I've forgiven the authors for that! It just goes to show how invested I am in these characters though, I want things to go well for them so even when Hazel drops some pretty HUGE hints that major things are about to go down I don't want to believe her so I ignore the warnings and end up getting blindsided. I'm glad I already have copies of the next two volumes because I have a feeling I'm going to devour them over the next couple of days!

I was so happy to have the whole family together at last!

Hazel just gets cuter and cuter

They make friends with an adorable group of meerkats!

I still love Lying Cat and Sophie

Source: Purchased

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Review: Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood - Marjorie M. Liu & Sana Takeda

Maika Halfwolf is on the run from a coalition of forces determined to control or destroy the powerful Monstrum that lives beneath her skin. But Maika still has a mission of her own: to discover the secrets of her late mother, Moriko.

In this second volume of Monstress, collecting issues 7-12, Maika's quest takes her to the pirate-controlled city of Thyria and across the sea to the mysterious Isle of Bones. It is a journey that will force Maika to reevaluate her past, present, and future, and contemplate whether there's anyone, or anything, she can truly trust--including her own body.

Monstress Series:
Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening
Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood
Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven

Visit Marjorie M Liu's website or Sana Takeda's website for more information

Review:
Monstress Vol. 2: The Blood picks up Makia's story not long after the first book ended, she's still trying to figure out exactly what kind of monster she has living inside her and to do that she needs to uncover secrets from her past. Things her mother kept hidden from her, possibly for a very good reason. Following in her mother's footsteps takes Makia to an old family friend, one who just happens to be the Commander of a fleet of pirate ships. With several enemies on her tale the race is on to uncover her mother's secrets before she is captured but is she really ready to discover the truth?

I'm really enjoying this series so far, the artwork is dark, atmospheric and absolutely gorgeous and I've become really invested in Makia and especially her little sidekick Kippa. I love the variety of creatures we meet and the addition of the pirate crews, especially Kippa's swimming teacher, was brilliant. We get to uncover a lot of secrets in this instalment but that also raises a whole bunch of new questions and I can't wait to see how things play out from here.

I've included a couple of pictures below to give you a feel for the artwork and some of the characters:

I'm not sure how much I trust the cats but I love them anyway!

It's nice that at least one person in Makia's life seems to care about her

The pirates were a great addition

Kippa is still my favourite

Source: Received from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Saga Volume 6 - Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staples

After a dramatic time jump, the three-time Eisner Award winner for Best Continuing Series continues to evolve, as Hazel begins the most exciting adventure of her life: kindergarten. Meanwhile, her starcrossed family learns hard lessons of their own.

Collecting: Saga 31-36

Saga Series:
Saga Volume 1
Saga Volume 2
Saga Volume 3
Saga Volume 4
Saga Volume 5
Saga Volume 6
Saga Volume 7
Saga Volume 8
Saga Volume 9

Visit Brian K Vaughan's website or Fiona Staples' website for more information

Review:
While Klara is trying to keep Hazel's mixed heritage a secret and keep them both safe while they're stuck in a prison / refugee camp Alana and Marco are determined to do whatever it takes to track down their missing daughter and get their family back together. At the same time The Will is searching for answers and a certain reporting duo are back on the hunt for the potential scoop of a lifetime.

This series just continues to get better and better, I loved seeing that Alana and Marco have worked through their differences and are back on the same page while they search for Hazel and Klara. Alana has always been willing to fight for her family and while Marco is still trying to avoid violence he's still pretty badass himself when he needs to be. Hazel is just getting cuter and cuter as she grows up and I loved the scenes with her and her teacher Noreen.

Things have really gone downhill for The Will, he's in a bad place mentally and physically and that really shows in the way he reacts to things going on around him. I have to say I was surprised that we didn't see anything of Lying Cat, Sophie and Gwendolyn in this volume and I found myself missing all three of them. I really want to The Will turn things around as the series continues and hopefully that will include seeing him reunite with his allies. There was a pretty huge revelation at the end that has me really relieved I already own the next 3 volumes, I have no idea how I let myself get so behind with this series but the bonus of being able to binge read the rest makes me happy!

Don't mess with Alana when she's on a mission!

Marco may be trying to avoid violence but nothing will stop him defending his family

Hazel's teacher Noreen talks a lot of sense

Poor The Will

I really love that the Saga series is full of little nuggets of wisdom like this one about diversity

Source: Purchased

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Review: Saga Volume 5 - Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staples

While Gwendolyn and Lying Cat risk everything to find a cure for The Will, Marko makes an uneasy alliance with Prince Robot IV to find their missing children, who are trapped on a strange world with terrifying new enemies.

Collects SAGA #25-30

Saga Series:
Saga Volume 1
Saga Volume 2
Saga Volume 3
Saga Volume 4
Saga Volume 5
Saga Volume 6
Saga Volume 7
Saga Volume 8
Saga Volume 9

Visit Brian K Vaughan's website or Fiona Staples' website for more information

Review:
While Alana, Hazel and Klara are still being held hostage by Dengo and busy trying to escape before he can sell them to the resistance Marco has come to an uneasy truce with Prince Robot IV so that they can search together for their missing family members. At the same time Gwendolyn, Sophie and Lying Cat are working with The Will's sister The Brand hoping to find a cure to save him.

Of course nothing in this series ever goes quite to plan so there is plenty of action, some surprise twists and not everyone makes it out alive. I have to say I liked this more than Volume 4 and was really pleased that the relationship drama between Alana and Marco has come to an end, of course they're completely separated at the beginning of the story but both are determined to find each other and reunite their family once and for all so everything else has been forgotten. I have to point out how badass Klara is and how adorable Hazel is here too!

I always really like the scenes with Lying Cat and I loved the addition of The Brand but their task with the dragons was more than a little disgusting! I think Ghus may just have stolen the show as my favourite new introduction though because he was adorable. The way things ended left me desperate to dive into the next volume so for once it's worked in my favour being so behind on a series and already having multiple new books to devour.

As always I'll leave this review with a few of my favourite scenes from Volume 5:

Things are always interesting with this group

Nobody should be messing with Klara if they know what's good for them

Isn't Ghus adorable?

Reunited at last - well at least some of the family is

I can't believe how big Hazel is getting by the end of this!

Source: Purchased

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Review: Saga Volume 4 - Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staples

From the Eisner Award-winning duo of Brian K. Vaughan (The Private Eye, Pride of Baghdad) and Fiona Staples (Mystery Society, Thor), Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the universe. As they visit a strange new world and encounter even more adversaries, baby Hazel finally becomes a toddler, while her star-crossed parents Marko and Alana struggle to stay on their feet.

Saga Series:
Saga Volume 1
Saga Volume 2
Saga Volume 3
Saga Volume 4
Saga Volume 5
Saga Volume 6
Saga Volume 7
Saga Volume 8
Saga Volume 9

Visit Brian K Vaughan's website or Fiona Staples' website for more information

Review:
After escaping from Quietus Alana and Marco just want to find somewhere safe to raise their daughter, now they're in hiding rather than running for their lives they're left to deal with all the normal family pressures of raising a toddler. Alana is working long hours in a job she hates trying to earn enough money to support them while Marco is a stay at home father who adores spending time with his daughter but misses his wife. Their relationship is strained and they both make some stupid decisions so it remains to be seen whether they can work through their issues. Meanwhile Prince Robot's baby is born and kidnapped, Gwendolyn, Sophie and Lying Cat are searching for a cure for The Will and his sister is out for vengeance.

I'm not going to lie I found this instalment of the Saga series hard to read at times. Marco and Alana both make some stupid choices and there were times I just wanted to shake some sense into the pair of them. Marco almost makes the ultimate mistake and my stomach was actually in knots when I was reading those scenes but that just goes to show how invested I am in this series and how much I care about the characters. Hazel is even more adorable now she's able to interact with her family and I love the family's new pet, Lying Cat and Sophie continue to be favourite characters and even Gwendolyn has grown on me over the last couple of volumes. I'm totally addicted to this series and can't wait to see where the adventure takes us next.

A few of my favourite scenes:

How cute is toddler Hazel!?

Things may be hard for the family but I love them when they're like this

A prince is born

Meet Friendo, the new family pet

This group is badass

Source: Purchased

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