Tag Archives: Vault Comics

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Book Review: Human Remains, by Peter Milligan

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I accepted a review copy of the graphic novel Human Remains through Rockstar Book Tours. It’s by Peter Milligan (Author), Adrian F. Wassel (Editor), Sally Cantirino (Illustrator), Dearbhla Kelly (Colorist), and Andworld Design (Letterer) and has also been featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight.,

Live. Laugh. Love. Scream.
DIE.
Dax and Bisa love each other. But in this new and terrifying world, love is dangerous. Feeling anything is dangerous. Love. Hate. Joy. Fear.  Any of these in strong doses will bring a swift death. Earth has a new and terrible invader—monsters that smell the scent of emotion, salivate over the prey, and hunt the very feelings that make us human. A shocking tale of pent-up emotions and forced composure in the face of unspeakable horror…

my review

It took me a little while to digest Human Remains. I finished with a feeling of, “Welp, that’s a thing I’ve read now.” I don’t know that I could have even said if it all came around to a salient point or not. However, as I sat on the experience a little while and thought on it, I decided that it did. (Of course, it did.)

It’s gory and touches on any number of heavy, trauma-inducing subjects. (I think a trigger warning wouldn’t be out of place for this one.) But watching as the characters slowly move from shocked and horrified to numb and blasé in the face of countless deaths is poignant. (Can I say a book with roughly 2 million panels of humans being violently dismembered was poignant?) But what does it mean to be human, how much will we give up to remain human, how much can we change and still be human are all important and thought-provoking questions this graphic novel seeks to answer.

I did think it took a long time to come around to those points and a few of the devices used to make them were a little ham-handed. But all in all I’ll call this one a success.

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Other Reviews:

Mallory Books: Human Remains

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Book Review: The Rush, by Si Spurrier

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I accepted a review copy of The Rush, by Si Spurrier (Author), Addison Duke (Colorist), Nathan C. Gooden (Illustrations), Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Letterer), Adrian F. Wassel (Editor). It was also featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight. So, you can hop over there for further information on the author and illustrator(s), the tour schedule, a guest post, and a chance to win a copy of your own.

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD.
ALL THAT HUNGERS IS NOT HOLY.
ALL THAT LIVE ARE NOT ALIVE.

This Hungry Earth Reddens Under Snowclad Hills.

1899, Yukon Territory. A frozen frontier, bloodied and bruised by the last
great Gold Rush. But in the lawless wastes to the North, something whispers in
the hindbrains of men, drawing them to a blighted valley, where giant
spidertracks mark the snow and impossible guns roar in the night.

To Brokehoof, where gold and blood are mined alike. Now, stumbling towards its
haunted forests comes a woman gripped not by greed — but the snarling rage of
a mother in search of her child…

my review

I’ll admit that at the beginning of The Rush, I wasn’t certain I’d like it. I liked the art from page one. But the plot and letter-writing narrative style took me a little bit longer to come around to. But by the end, I was fully invested and enjoyed it. Nettie was just the kind of bronze-balled bitch with a mission that I appreciate. There’s symbolism, sacrifice, and a moral to the story.

Admittedly, the obsessive love of a mother for her son is a little cliched as a plot device, and I might have liked to understand a bit more of the hows, whys, and what nows of the whole situation. But I don’t know that there would have been an elegant way to include it. So, I can’t really complain on that front. All in all, I’d be happy to read more by this team.

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Other Reviews:

The Real World According to Sam: The Rush

 

 

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Book Review: Heathen, by Natasha Alterici

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I accepted a review copy of The Complete Series Omnibus Edition of Heathen by Natasha Alterici (author/artist/colorist), Ashley A. Woods (Illustrations), Rachel Deering (Letterer) and Morgan Martinez (designer). The graphic novel was also featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight. So, you can hop over there for author/artist information and Rockstar Book Tours‘ tour schedule.

WOMAN. WARRIOR. VIKING. HEATHEN. OUTCAST. 

THE GODS MUST PAY…

Born into a time of warfare, suffering, and subjugation of women, and exiled from her village for kissing another woman, the lesbian Viking warrior, Aydis, sets out to destroy the god-king Odin and end his oppressive reign. She is a friend to many as she is joined by mermaids, immortals, Valkyries, and the talking horse, Saga. But she is also a fearsome enemy to the demons and fantastic monsters that populate the land.

my review

I enjoyed the heck out of this, and, my goodness, could it be any more timely, with its ‘throwing off the oppressive yoke of the patriarchy’ theme? At one point, a character even explicitly says, “Each one of us is the person she is because we reject the authority of men.” And let me tell you, Odin (the representation of male authority here) does not give that oppressive authority up easily, nor the insistence that it’s actually benevolence.

I also loved the art style. I’m admittedly picky about what I like and don’t like in the graphic part of a graphic novel, but I like this a lot. I did find all the female flesh on display an odd choice. I’m not necessarily bothered by it—and sure women can enjoy it too—but all the…I’m gonna call it fan-service…has always seemed very male-gazey to me. And that just felt out of place in a graphic novel that so explicitly was addressing female liberation (sexual and otherwise) from male dictatorship and control.

I also thought the last volume felt far more rushed than the previous ones, and therefore the ending was a little anti-climactic. All in all, however, this was a winner for me.

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Other Reviews:

https://the-girl-who-reads.com/giveaway-heathen-the-complete-omnibus-by-natasha-alterici-ashley-a-woods-book-review/