105. Locke and Key Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft" by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

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SYNOPSIS: A family is struck by tragedy when their father, a school guidance counselor,  is murdered by one of his students. The event takes them out to a family house on the East Coast--Key house. When Bode, the youngest son, finds a key that unlocks a supernatural door in the house, the fun begins.

WHAT I LOVED: The art in this series is incredible. I spent countless time reading and re-reading this just to soak in the art. The drawings are so detailed and bursting with emotion.

WHAT I LIKED: I liked the fierceness of the sister. She copes with the tragedy by getting angry and being active which I think is an empowering illustration of coping rather than painting her as a tragic victim as so many female characters are.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: I found the level of violence in this hard to deal with. I tend to be sensitive when it comes to gore and wasn't expecting to see so much of it in a story about a mystical old house. I fully get that this is a "me" issue and not an issue with the series,  but that was my only unwelcome experience as I read.

RECOMMEND FOR: Those who enjoy a good horror film.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Readers sensitive to violence and gore.

3.5 darts out of 5

101. "Scarlet: Book 1" by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev

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Bendis, Brian Michael & Maleev, Alex. Scarlet: Book 1. New York: Marvel World Wide Inc, 2011.

176 pages

Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love

SYNOPSIS: Scarlet Rue is devastated when her boyfriend is murdered by a corrupt cop. Following his death, she begins a new life with the purpose of eliminating corruption from the criminal justice system.

WHAT I LOVED: I loved how uncomfortable this book made me. The story is so incredibly relevant. With tension between police and civilians in our country at an all time high, the murder of police officers hit home recently when two Des Moines officers were ambushed and killed. Scarlet is written in such a way that you feel you should be rooting for Scarlet--she's the hero of the comic, right? In reality, rooting for Scarlet will leave you with a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach. I honestly did not know who to root for, but I knew I couldn't back Scarlet or her tactics. Scarlet is an anti-hero but there is also no hero to be found in the story, at least not yet. The story offers peeks of hope but overall, it is dark, complicated, and a bit sickening. It's powerful, and good literature is supposed to be.

WHAT I LIKED: I liked how relevant it was. I feel a bit disturbed giving this story a high star rating. I thought to myself, "If I like this book, will people think I condone murdering cops? What if I end up on a list at homeland security?" The fact that I even have these thoughts means that there is important work being done here. It is a commentary much larger than a comic's usual "good versus evil" motif. It is messy and dirty. There is hope, but you aren't totally sure where that hope is coming from.

WHAT I COULD DO WITHOUT: The incredible amount of anxiety I felt while reading it--but this has less to do with the book and more to do with the state of our social system.

RECOMMEND FOR: People who can appreciate some great art. People who enjoy literature that cuts at the heart of certain social issues. People with thick skin who won't be broken by a very difficult story.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Anyone who has a sensitive stomach, anyone who is prone to paranoia, anyone who may be triggered by stories of police violence (both police as perpetrators and civilians perpetrating police).

5 darts out of 5

19. "Death Note" by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Ohba, Tsugumi and Takeshi Obata. Death Note. San Francisco: Shonen Jump, 2003. Print
12 Volumes
Reviewed by J. d’Artagnan Love

I originally became interested in this series because a friend of mine recommended the anime version to me. I watched the anime up to a certain point, and then when I lost my internet, I started reading the manga series.

Death Note is about a notebook, a very deadly notebook. In fact, whenever a name is written in the notebook that person dies of heart attack shortly after the name is written (unless a specific time and mode of death is written).

The notebook belongs in the Shinigami realm, or, the realm of the gods of death. When a Shinigami gets bored, he decides to drop his notebook to earth and see what happens. A teenager named Light Yagami finds the notebook. Once he learns of the notebook’s powers, he decides to become the new justice system for planet earth. He kills anyone who commits a heinous crime, but eventually, Light gets drunk on power and begins to venture outside just criminals.

The story spirals out of control much in the way Light does. The problem grows bigger and bigger and eventually ends up on the world stage when Light takes political control of the world.

This series is so complicated and layered. Generally, it is a fast-paced read with the exception of a few lulls here and there. The characters are very well developed and the art is great. I’m no expert on film analysis or art, but the graphics in this series are creative and thought provoking, adding a new layer to the already complex narrative.

While I loved almost all of this series there was one thing that bothered me: the representation of women. There were very few female characters in this twelve volume set. The few women characters that were included were objectified as sexual objects, dumbed down, and used as dispensable plot devices. While this series isn’t nearly as terrible as other manga I’ve seen in terms of its representations of female characters, it still does no justice to women.

Aside from that though, there is little that I didn’t like about this series.

3.5 darts out of 5
Bookshelf Project Status: NONE (I don't own them.)