Dead of Winter #1

AUTHOR: Kyle Starks
ILLUSTRATOR: Gabriel Bautista
PUBLISHER: Oni Press, Inc.
PUBLICATION DATE: August 2, 2017
PAGES: 26
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

The apocalypse has come and gone and all it's left us are zombies, an endless winter and empty hearts. Diaz keeps bringing back survivors, thinking life is hope, but every new face is a hungry mouth and our stores are growing empty. Another hungry mouth like the legion outside.

Waiting for us.

Except, you know, not eating us. The survivors want, like canned beans or French fries.

You get the metaphor, though.

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MY RATING: The cover of this comics got my attention that's why I bought it right away. I'm not familiar with the crossroads game were this comics series originated from so I cannot compare this to it. If you like reading zombie theme stories or if you are a dog lover just like me, you will definitely love this 1st issue in this comics series. I'm excited what will happen to Sparky our superhero dog and the pack of humans he's protecting.

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Conquering Everest: The Lives of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay

AUTHOR:  Lewis Hefland
ILLUSTRATOR: Amit Tayal
PUBLISHER: Campfire
PUBLICATION DATE: August 16, 2011
PAGES: 96
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

Tenzing Norgay was the son of poor Tibetan immigrants living in Nepal. He longed to see the world but was told he could aspire to be little more than a servant. Edmund Hillary was a humble beekeeper from New Zealand, who spent his youth dreaming of adventures he could never hope to experience.

And Everest was the ultimate adventure. The mountain's peak is the highest point on Earth, stretching beyond the clouds. So dangerous and challenging, Everest had never been successfully climbed and many had died trying. In 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary joined a team of explorers determined to reach its top.

Alone at the top of the world with their oxygen running low, they faced brutal elements and new dangers at every turn. And they were armed with little more than their courage, determination, and a belief in each other. But would that be enough to achieve the impossible, what no man had done before?

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MY RATING: I'm not an adventurous neither an athletic person but, I really enjoyed reading the biographies of the first two people who get to reach the peak of Chomolungma or famously known as Mt. Everest. The amazing life story of Edmund and Tenzing is not all fame and glory but they have to endure a lot just to be able to achieve their goal. Quite an inspirational read this comic book is and I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to motivate them to pursue their lifelong dream.

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열아홉 스물하나 1 (Nineteen, Twenty-One)

AUTHOR: Yohan
SERIES: Nineteen, Twenty-One
PUBLISHER: Farrago
PUBLICATION DATE: December 31, 2010
PAGES: 160
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

Yun-lee is a girl who is carrying a huge emotional scar in her heart. Due to an accident, she lost 2 precious years of her life, the time period between 19 and 21 years old. Her life is empty. She is miserable, but still attending a preparatory school in an attempt to catch up with all the time she has lost. Suddenly, one day on her way to feed some stray cats, she comes across a young man who seems to have what she has lost... the period between 19 and 21 years old.

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MY RATING: I'm not into cats but this manwha made me realize that these stray cats, and even stray dogs, are really living in a miserable situation. I like how the two characters, Yun-lee and Dong-hwi, gave their best to provide for these strays even if it takes a lot of time, work and even money.In the process, they both learnt a lot from their journey of feeding and rescuing these stray cats. They also found both a friend and a lover in each other which, I think, is like a gift or their good karma from taking good care of these strays.

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Bonjour, Miss Seeton by Hamilton Crane

AUTHOR: Hamilton Crane
SERIES: Miss Seeton #21
PUBLISHER: Farrago
PUBLICATION DATE: February 11, 2017 (1st published 1997)
PAGES: 272
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

 

Inspired by a wildly successful screening of Henry V, Plummergen village school decides on a trip to ‘the vasty fields of France’. The children are to visit the historic chateau of the Comte de Balivernes, and former art teacher Miss Emily Seeton is delighted to be asked to accompany them.

All goes so well that the charming Comte (definitely smitten by Miss S) and his daughter Louise are invited back to Plummergen – where Lord and Lady Colveden’s son Nigel is even more smitten with the lovely Louise.

But while l’amour blossoms, there’s also murder and mayhem to be reckoned with, and the Grand Bulldozer Race between six Kentish teams proves a more explosive finale than anyone anticipates . . .

Serene amidst every kind of skullduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella!

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MY RATING: Fans of mystery and detective type of novels should definitely read this book as well as the other books in the Miss Seeton series. This book was first published on 1997 and the current book cover was published as a kindle version just recently. If you are a fan of Sarah J. Mason's works, then I recommend that you should purchase the latest edition of this to add to your collection.

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Korgi: Short Tails

AUTHOR: Christian Slade
PUBLISHER: Top Shelf Productions
PUBLICATION DATE: July 19, 2017
PAGES: 50

SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

Korgi: Short Tails is a 48-page comic book collecting all seven Korgi stories from Free Comic Book Day, together with a brand-new adventure called "Cloud Cat." A robot loses its head, finger-puppets battle, a dragon learns to breathe fire, and Sprout the Korgi (of course) stuffs himself with delicious treats! Slade's lovingly detailed pen-and-ink drawings bring his fantasy world to live in small slices, all bound up within a new fully-painted cover.

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MY RATING: ★★★★★ I'm giving this a perfect 5-star rating because the drawings are indeed detailed. Moreover, I like how the readers' mind will be stimulated because it's up to the reader's understanding how to comprehend the drawings.

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Ink in Water: An Illustrated Memoir (Or, How I Kicked Anorexia’s Ass and Embraced Body Positivity)

AUTHOR:  Lacy J. Davis
ILLUSTRATOR: Jim Kettner
PUBLISHER: New Harbinger Publications
PUBLICATION DATE: October 1, 2017
PAGES: 272
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

At once punk rock and poignant, Ink in Water is the visceral and groundbreaking graphic memoir of a young woman’s devastating struggle with negative body image and eating disorders, and how she rose above her own destructive behaviors and feelings of inadequacy to live a life of strength and empowerment.

As a young artist living in Portland, Lacy Davis’ eating disorder began with the germ of an idea: a seed of a thought that told her she just wasn’t good enough. And like ink in water, that idea spread until it reached every corner of her being. This is the true story of Lacy’s journey into the self-destructive world of multiple eating disorders. It starts with a young and positive Lacy, trying to grapple with our culture’s body-image obsession and stay true to her riot grrrl roots. And while she initially succeeds in overcoming a nagging rumination about her body, a break up with a recovering addict starts her on a collision course with anorexia, health food obsession, and compulsive exercise addiction. At the request of her last real friend, she starts going to a twelve-step Overeaters Anonymous course, only to find that it conflicts with her punk feminist ideology.

Blending bold humor, a healthy dose of self-deprecation, vulnerability, literary storytelling, and dynamic and provocative artwork by illustrator Jim Kettner, Ink in Water is an unflinching, brutally honest look into the author’s mind: how she learned to take control of her damaging thoughts, redirect her perfectionism from self-destructive behaviors into writing and art, and how she committed herself to a life of health, strength, and nourishment.

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MY RATING: When I saw the synopsis for this graphic novel, I thought I would be reading something boring an uninteresting. But my first impression isn't right because I finished reading this in just a few hours. Not to mention that this is also very helpful and inspiring especially those who are having eating disorder. Hopefully the release of this would motivate people to love whatever their shape or size they have.

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Fish-Boy by Vanita Oelschlager

AUTHOR: Vanita Oelschlager

ILLUSTRATOR: Mike Blanc

PUBLISHER: Vanita Books

PUBLICATION DATE: March 1, 2018

PAGES: 48

SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:
The Arctic region of North America is a land of long days, icy cold, hardy people and peculiar creatures. The Inuit people there have made traditional use of remarkable folk tales to find the truth and explain the mysteries of an astonishing world.

In Fish-Boy, An Inuit Folk Tale, Vanita Oelschlager retells a tale passed down by a wise old Inuit. It's an origin story involving a little magic and a very odd boy with a large heart for friendship. On a journey with his new father, he must confront misfortune and the malice of cold-hearted villagers. But he has a way.. and a lesson for all in the virtues of kindness and hospitality.

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MY RATING: ★★★★★ This is my first time to read an Inuit folktale. Even though the story is quite long for a children's storybook, I think kids will surely enjoy reading this because of how wonderful the story and the illustrations are. If ever this will be sold here in our local bookstores in our country, I would definitely get one and give this as a present to my niece.

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The Backup Bunny by Abigail Rayner

 
AUTHOR: Abigail Rayner
ILLUSTRATOR: Greg Stones
PUBLISHER: NorthSouth Books
PUBLICATION DATE: March 6, 2018
PAGES: 32 
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS: 
Everybody needs a backup plan, especially when you lose your favorite toy.When Max loses his favorite toy—Bunny—his clever mom brings out the "backup bunny"—Fluffy—to save the day. Fluffy is thrilled to have the chance to play with Max, but is soon rejected by the observant child who notices that his ears are too new and perky. Can Fluffy find a way into his favorite boy's heart

The Backup Bunny will keep you laughing and inspire you to make room for another favorite story.

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MY RATING: ★★★★★ If you have already a kid, niece/nephew or a godmother, this book by Abigail Rayner is a good present to give them. I always give books to my niece on her birthday and on Christmas; so I'm considering this children's book to add to my list that I want to give her this year.

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