All New Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2: Riders in the Sky
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Your favorite Guardians take turns in the spotlight! Gamora - the most dangerous person in the galaxy - has been hiding something from her teammates. What is her secret quest, and how did it find her? Star-Lord has been sailing the radio waves of the cosmos for years, keeping up with the one piece of Earth he could never quite leave behind - discover the story of his sonic conquests! And Drax has long been known as "The Destroyer"...but no more! He has forsaken all violence, and sworn to never again strike another in anger - now, follow Drax down the road of peace!
I'm kind of torn with this volume, because it was quite disjointed and there where different artists for each of the stories, some I liked and some I didn't. I really wasn't much of a fun of the art for Star-Lord's little story. I did feel a little disappointed when reading the volume and upon finishing it. I was expecting to see the story move forward after the events of the previous volume, and to see what happens next, but this volume focuses on each character one at a time. Which you know...gives some more background on the characters and where they're at right now in the story, and provides some new insight in to the characters and their actions. So while it was disappointing it was kind of necessary I guess.
The opening was interesting, with Gamora and the whole situation with her. We finally find out what Drax's deals is with the whole pacifist thing. As well as more insight in to what's going on with Groot and what happened and so on. We basically get a couple of chapters that focus on each character or a couple of them. Then we hit issue 11&12, which gives us some background on the talons. So it kind of all fleshes out the story and the characters more, but it was really disjointed and not at all what I was expecting.
We also get a brief visit from Loki who's up to no good...standard. And Dr. Strange made a brief appearance. My favourite guest star was Deadpool however, even though he was only there briefly. I'm furious they kicked him out but kept Ant-Man.
We end on quite the cliffhanger, just when the volume was starting to get good. I will admit, I'm feeling more impatient than normal to get on with the story!
A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Haruaki Abe is the kind of guy who wouldn't say boo to a goose. But when he starts his teaching career at a high school full of creatures that go bump in the night, he soon discovers that his students have no such qualms, and they'll have him screaming "eeeeeeek"!
So, these slice of life/school kind of manga aren't usually my thing, I usually can't get in to them or I get kind of bored. But this one caught my attention because of the Youkai, I really do love anything with Youkai in it, I'm not going to lie! Plus this sounded like it was going to be a lot of fun, and I really wasn't disappointed!
The volume has some gorgeous and colourful....you know, colour pages! Plus the art is cute while still having a nice amount of detail! I really enjoyed the way the characters where drawn, and the expressions where entertaining!
Haruaki, our main character was just hilarious! I kinda felt for the poor guy, I mean it would be a terrifying situation but he was hilariously cowardly about the whole thing. Sano was oddly hilarious in a mildly scary way and his interactions with Haruaki where entertaining throughout. He's also somewhat of a mystery and I'm intrigued to learn more about him. Mame is a little s***, I'm not going to lie, but he's plenty entertaining too. Hijita I wasn't too sure of at first, but he's another entertaining character and I enjoy his interactions with Haruaki immensely! Zashiki completed our little squad of Haruaki's.....buddies? Students who tolerate him? I'm not sure what the term I'm looking for is. Anyway, Zashiki is was relatable AF! These guys appear to be our main characters, and the ones Haruaki interacts with the most, but I'm looking forward to hopefully getting to see more of the students throughout the series!
This series is kind of ridiculously hilarious, I found myself chuckling at Haruaki's antics throughout the volume, it was hard not to! The other teachers are a bit sinister at times, with their talk of 'keeping him close' and I'm interested to see how that storyline might go! We get a nice amount of information on Youkai, which personally, was fun to read about because I love that stuff!
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I went in to this, but I was pleasantly surprised at the plot twist regarding Haruaki and what he can do and I'm interested to see if that's going to have a bigger role to play throughout the series. I'm usually 50/50 with slice of life kind of manga, like I said, but the Youkai drew me in and this first volume was hilarious, a lot of fun and just entertaining in general! I can't wait to see more of their antics and meet more of the youkai!
Rocket: The Blue River Score
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Get ready for a life of spacecrime with Rocket! It's a dirty universe out there, even when you're not regularly mistaken for trash-foraging vermin. And it's about to get dirtier. He thought his paws were clean, that he was on the up-and-up. But then an old flame swam back into his life, and he was back in the game...the heist game. If you need a safe cracked, a vault busted or a score taken...ask for Rocket. Just don't call him a raccoon.
The opening really reminds me of an old black and white detective/crime movie, kind of thing! With the whole bar scene and the intro and so on! I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this volume, but this totally surprised me with the tone and the narrative and the storytelling!
I have to say, I live for all the nice little easter eggs that got dropped in, like you know....Daredevil. I love catching them and fangirling a little bit!
Rocket assembles a crew to pull off a heist, which I could have told him was a bad idea! Then the story evolves in to a prison break and it was such a lot of fun as the tables turned again and again. It's fast paced, completely hilarious like the lines, and the language used and everything. I had many a chuckle as I was reading! I loved it. It genuinely had me cracking up continuously! I also loved the written narrative going along the side, it was seriously like an old black and white 30's movie!
I loved the pairing of Rocket and Deadpool, it was a match made in snark heaven and I need more of it! I could quite easily read an entire series that's just the two of them, I'm not going to lie!
Rocket is a fun adventure featuring you know...Rocket, obviously! I loved the storytelling to it and the way it was written, it was something a bit different to what I'm used to in comic books but oddly enough it really fit Rocket and it was wrapped up really well!
Clockwork Planet Vol 6
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Naoto's a high school dropout and brilliant amateur tinkerer. He lives in a world that has been so over-exploited that the entire surface has become one vast machine. When a box crashes into his home containing a female automaton, it's a harbinger of change that will rock the entire globe, and give Naoto his chance to be a hero.
Yu is busy gathering information for Marie, and thanks to him we see just how useless the politicians are as the volume opens. The electromagnetic weapon has magnetised everything, putting Halter and Ryuzu out of commission, although Anchor appears to be unscathed.
While stile being a wee bit cringey at points, Naoto shows real determination this volume as he doesn't give up and pushes forward with a plan when Marie loses it slightly. He has his moments, when he's intelligent and kind of heroic and full of determination and fighting spirit, but then he's a cringey pain right after and it's like...why dude!?
Marie has a small inner crisis but is back to her badass self using her genius to attempt to fix Ryuzu. I loved seeing her be so relatable and authentic and overcome it and push on. Vermouth gets an interesting makeover and I was excited to see more of him, he's an interesting and hilarious addition to the group and he's going to be quite the asset when it comes to fighting!
The series takes a more serious turn as we see the political struggle/the struggle for power amongst the various different government figures. Someone's pulling the strings and the different factions are fighting amongst themselves as the weapon just chills out, ready to be used. The stakes are getting higher, especially as Marie and co fully embrace their role as terrorists in order to try and fix things and stop the coup.
The mysterious girl from the last volume is revealed to be Houko, the Princess who has a connection to Marie somehow. I'm intrigued by her as she seems quite intelligent and astute when it comes to the situation and she won't take any crap from anyone. I'm actually looking forward to seeing more of her and how she knows Marie!
Halter is still down for the count, but our group mount their most daring attack yet as they go all out to do what's right. I have so many questions still, but the story is moving at a nice pace with more plot threads and intrigues being woven throughout. It gets more serious and high stakes as it goes on and things are really hotting up now!
The Shield: Daughter of the Revolution
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Over the centuries, in our nation’s times of need, a supernatural force appears to battle back the enemies of the United States: THE SHIELD.
Today, the country—and the whole world—is on the edge of chaos. The middle class is dying as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Global warming’s effects on the environment are drastic and dramatic, with superstorms and deadly droughts. The government increases its grip on the lives of ordinary people, controlling information and curtailing freedoms and privacy. For some, the government itself has become an enemy of the people, and revolution is on the minds of Americans all across the country.
The Shield returns—but what happens when she’s not sure who the enemy is?
The Shield has some really nice art to it, it's a bit dark and grungy which fits the story and the theme, but it's nice to look at too! The opening is intriguing, and I was soon sucked in to the story. I wanted to know who she was, what had happened and who's after her and why. There where so many questions to be answered right from the start. I loved the historical aspects as we get glimpses in to her past and everything she's been involved in, it added to the intrigue too! As well as tidbits of her past with Chase which I'm also curious about! I'm curious about so many different aspects of the story to be honest!
I really loved our MC, she was quite funny, and a total badass, I loved her interactions with Nicole too and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the two of them working together and puzzling things out!
This is a fun first volume, introducing the characters and the situation. There's plenty of action, and I'm left wanting more, along with still having a fair few questions that I need answered! I'm so excited to see more of V and Nicole too, they're going to be quite the team!
Magical Girl Raising Project
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Magical girls like Snow White and La Pucelle have dreamed of the day they'd become one of the lucky few chosen to protect N City. But their dreams quickly turn into a nightmare when the Magical Girl Raising Project Management Office issues a decree--there are simply TOO MANY magical girls! Oops! Time to cull the number by...half? Half sounds good. Don't worry, retirement just means...you die. Good luck, girls!
Okaaaaay, the art is completely gorgeous, let me say that first off! The characters are so cute and the colour pages are bright and have a nice colour scheme to them. There's such rich, pretty parts when showing some of the magical girls and the settings and backgrounds are detailed. The battles/fights and magic where drawn fantastically too!
This volume is fast paced, and we get thrown straight in to the story with a brief flashback to explain what's going on. There's plenty of action throughout the volume, and the story is dark with plenty of blood. We get introduced to a lot of the main characters in just this one volume, and there's a couple of deaths too.....like I said, it's fast paced and it doesn't mess around.
We even get quite a bit of background on Ripple! I think she might be my favourite of all the magical girls, I'm not going to lie! Some of the magical girls are just plain unhinged though, it has to be said. But this is such a brilliant, and fresh take on magical girls.
There's magic, and cuteness but it's also dark and bloody and kind of like a magical girl Hunger Games! It really pulls you in and the pace doesn't let up!
