Guilty-pleasure alert! Ok, so I like me some Japanese anime - and among the few titles that I really like is "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya". The Guilty-pleasure alert! Ok, so I like me some Japanese anime - and among the few titles that I really like is "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya". The moe art style, the funny dialogues, the cascade of improbable events, and the unexpectedly strange storyline pull this series away from the typical 'slice of life' anime (or whatever the pundits call it). The anime was made on the basis of the eponymous light novel and, in my opinion, improved upon it (at least, season 1 did). Long live the SOS Brigade!...more
Aptly named, the Far Side offers an oblique kind of humour that takes a few comic strip panels to get used to and then becomes absolutely addictive..!Aptly named, the Far Side offers an oblique kind of humour that takes a few comic strip panels to get used to and then becomes absolutely addictive..! I have seen a number of Far Side comic strips over the years, so when I found this book second-hand for under $2 I thought I’d give it a new home. No regrets, just snickers....more
“The Baby Sitters Club” (8 volumes) is a graphic novel serialization of a book by Ann Martin. The first four volumes were drawn by Reina Telgemeier, a“The Baby Sitters Club” (8 volumes) is a graphic novel serialization of a book by Ann Martin. The first four volumes were drawn by Reina Telgemeier, and the last four by Gale Galligan. I enjoy the happy and optimistic tone of the novels, although there has been a marked drop in quality since Gale Galligan took over. To my taste, Gale’s drawing style is too cartoonish, which takes away from the nuance of the interactions between the protagonists. Also her backdrops are much less detailed than Telgemeiers’ - which all contributes to a less enjoyable experience for me.
I can heartily recommend Raina’s forst 4 volumes. You may find yourself but the subsequent volumes anyway to find out what happens next ;-)...more
I read all of Raina Telgemeier’s graphic novels: “Smile”, “Sisters”, “Ghosts”, “Drama”, and “Guts”. Of these, I liked “Sisters” and “Drama” the best aI read all of Raina Telgemeier’s graphic novels: “Smile”, “Sisters”, “Ghosts”, “Drama”, and “Guts”. Of these, I liked “Sisters” and “Drama” the best and “Ghosts” the least, but all of these novels are very nice reads. I like her seemingly simple drawing style and the very well-thought out stories she presents. Above all, these are happy and optimistic books and I can recommend them without hesitation to anyone with growing kids at home.