Batwoman Volume 2: To Drown the World

Author:J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman

Illustrators: Amy Reeder and Trevor McCarthy
Title:Batwoman Volume 2: To Drown the World

Publication: January 22, 2013

Publisher: DC Comics

Genre: Graphic Novel, Comic Book

Pages: 144

Audience: 16 and up

Rating: 2 out of 5

Source: Purchased

Synopsis (from the cover): Murder. Madness. Monsters... Medusa. Taking its name from the horrifying creature of myth, this global conspiracy of crime has taken its war against goodness to Gotham City. 

There, its sinister agents prey upon Gotham's children, using the guises of urban legends. Ghosts in the mirror searching for bloody retribution. Monsters in the sewer hungering for innocent lives. Crazed specters spreading their pain in a  tide of blood. Brutal killers wielding death with a hook bladed hand. 

At Medusa's dark heart stands the Mother of Monsters. Her goal is to drown the world in darkness.  

But the Mother isn't Gotham's only dark spirit.

Batwoman's mind, body, and soul have been battered as never before. But she's emerged from her trials stronger than ever. Now on a collision course with Medusa, no one- not the GCPD, not the shadowy Department of Extranormal Operations, and not the men and women who care about her the most will stop her from seeking justice for the lost....

My thoughts:
What an utter and total disappointment.  I love the character Batwoman/ Kate Kane. She is a wonderful character and I believe there are so many (good) things the writers could do for her. However, this story was complete garbage in my opinion. The graphic novel was split up by people and their individual time lines that occurred over what appeared to be about a few weeks or so. It would jump from various character who were not Kate or Batwoman and the time line would jump around also. It was a complete jumbled mess. Also, the story is full of mythology and along with the timeline it was just incomprehensible. I was able to understand some of the basics of what was going on. It was like the graphic novel was a filler meant to tease the reader. It actually makes me angry that the storyline and the flow was such a mess. I'm actually trying to decide if I want to purchase the next graphic novel or not. Most fans do not question their loyalty, but I will unless a writer steps up to the task of sorting the chaos that the Batwoman plot is at the moment and sculpt it in a beautiful, well thought out story.

As for the art, it seems to have diminished a bit. She isn't as shiny or as detailed as I remember, which I can forgive. I do appreciate the artists attempts to bring Kate Kane's complexion to that of the living and less like a dead corpse. She is still pale, but she looked healthier and better than before. The art is still great even if the story is completely lacking.

I will read the next one, but I may wait for it to arrive at the library first.

 

The Covenant: Book 1 of Abram's Daughters

Author: Beverly Lewis

Title: The Covenant: Book 1 of Abram's Daughters

Publication: September 1, 2002

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Genre: Amish Romance

Pages: 319

Audience: 18 and up

Rating: 2 out of 5

Source: Public Library

Synopsis (from the cover): At the close of World War II, the heart and soul of Gobbler's Knob offers everything young Leah Ebersol cherishes, including her sweetheart Jonas Mast. But for Leah's defiant older sister, Sadie, their Plain heritage holds little appeal compared to the lure of the outside world. For both sisters, it is the time of rumschpringe, when Amish teens are free to run wild before embracing baptismal vows. Those who choose the path of disobedience only find innocence lost and dreams shattered. Drawn into a secret pact with her sister, Leah faces the unthinkable. Will the decision of one wayward soul tarnish her life forever?

My thoughts:
As I have mentioned, I had to pick a genre for a class, and I decided on Amish Romance. The cover and synopsis sounded good enough for me, but I found myself falling asleep while reading it. To be honest, it was pretty boring until the last 30-40 pages, things picked up a bit. However, the Ebersol family has so many secrets, lies, shame, forbidden love, and evil plots- I was surprised the book did not keep me on edge until the end. I understand this is the first book in a series and an author needs to plant seeds to build off of, but I felt like she planted too many. I wish she would have answered at least a couple of my burning questions. My desire to finish the series is zilch, so I may try to find the spoilers somewhere. I did feel like the characters were real people with real problems, but I've never known a whole family to have their own buckets of problems and not share. So maybe that is my problem with the book- you need someone to vent or confide to at some point. If you like slow paced series books with tons of seeds to be answered later on, then try The Covenant.

 

Customers Suck Volume 1

Author: the people of the customerssuck.com forum

Translator: Rapscallion

Illustrator: Jennie Breeden

Title: Customers Suck Volume 1

Publication: December 20, 2011

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Genre: Comic book, Graphic Novel

Pages: 144

Audience: 15  and up

Rating: 2 out of 5

Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

Customers Suck Volume 1 is a compilation of stories from the website forum, http://www.customerssuck.com. The stories have been adapted and then drawn into short comics. There are 144 pages of funny stories that happen at various retail stores and other places like the library. The comics are perfect for anyone who has ever worked in a customer services or retail oriented job.

My thoughts:
I bought this book at AWA (Anime Weekend in Atlanta) from the artist. It was on her table and thought it would be better to buy it than the first volume of her multi-volume, The Devil's Panties graphic novel. I have worked in retail/ customer service for a long time. I worked at a grocery store, Walmart, and currently I work at a library. So I get my fair share of the dull crayons. I thought I would be able to relate to most of the comics, and I was correct on that assumption. However, the comic strips were not as funny as I thought. I think I could write a funnier book on the things that have happened to me over the years. Most of the comics were just entertaining in the fact that there are people who exist and are that stupid.The art isn't bad either. It is in black and white. If you pay attention it is the little details on the name tags and desks that make you giggle. It wasn't a horrible book, and it didn't make me laugh out loud much. I did enjoy reading it though and plan on sharing some of the comics with others. If I had a chance to go back and buy another book off her table, I think I would have picked out something different.

The Dangerous Alphabet

Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Gris Grimly

Title:The Dangerous Alphabet

Publication: July 27, 2010

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: Children's, fiction

Pages: 32

Audience:5  and up

Rating: 2 out of 5

Source: Public Library

Favorite Quote: "A is for Always, that's where we embark;"

Synopsis (from the cover):
Two children, treasure map in hand, and their pet gazelle sneak past their father, out of their house, and into a world beneath the city, where monsters and pirates roam. The Dangerous Alphabet is a tale of adventure, piracy, danger, and heroism told in twenty-six alphabetical lines- although even the alphabet is not to be relied upon here.


My thoughts:
I am a huge Neil Gaiman fan. I've seen covers of his Blueberry Girl and  his other children's books, which seem happier. This book is pretty much an alphabetical, visual, childish version of Hell. I enjoyed some of the letters and what they meant, but it wasn't as enjoyable as his other works. The artwork is actually like the illustrator's name. It is grizzly and grimly. The artwork almost reminds me of Ren and Stimpy. I hated that cartoon. It is just not art that I would expect in a children's book. If I read this to a child, I would make sure they were at least five and has a pretty good grip on fact and fiction. Since, it is FINALLY October (I LOVE Halloween and October and all the wonderful things that come with autumn), I think this book would be perfect for a Halloween read.

Birds of Prey: Death of Oracle

Author: Gail Simone and Marc Andreyko 

Illustrators: Ardian Syaf

Title: Birds of Prey: The Death of Oracle

Publication: October 18, 2011

Publisher: DC Comics

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy

Pages: 200

Audience: 16 and up

Rating: 2 out of 5

Source: Purchased

Synopsis (from the cover):
Who's playing who? Oracle, Black Canary, Lady Blackhawk, Huntress, and Dove: A collection of the world's most notable heroines, and one of the DC Universe's most impressive super teams. In an effort o conceal her identity from the world at large, the data specialist Oracle plans to fake her own death, but we all know what happens to the best-laid plans of mice and women...

*WARNING- SPOILERS* My thoughts:

Being a librarian in training, I'm a huge fan of Barbara Gordon. Who starts her heroine days as Batgirl, but then is shot and paralyzed thanks to the Joker. She then trains her upper body and uses the skills of a librarian to become Oracle. She is the information headquarters. She helps the super heroes who end up in bad situations and provides a lot of useful information about road blocks, or where the police area, etc. So now she fakes her death because so many people know who she is. Well, its like she was never really gone. That was confusing. Another reason it was confusing is because I have no background knowledge on the Birds of Prey. This is technically a second volume, and I read it as a stand alone. It can work as a stand alone, but I feel like you need the first volume to complete this part of the story. Vyse kept telling me that it wasn't a good idea to jump in the middle of a story and try to understand it, and he was right. I was lost, but the graphic novel did a good job of listing who was who in the first part of the graphic novel. I even got a little biography information on The Dove, which I loved. I love background stories and figuring out where people came from and why they are the way they are. Overall, the story was okay, but it was a little lackluster.