The Lion by Frédéric Brrémaud, Federico Bertolucci (Illustrations)

I love these books. They portray a silent story with the use of expressive art that will have you smiling, tearing up and everything in between.

Rating 5 out of 5

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The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman, Gris Grimly (illustrator)

Leave it to Neil Gaiman and Gris Grimly to bring you the alphabet in the most creative and spectacular way.

Be aware this isn't your typical alphabet book, but it's fun and incredibly illustrated. It has a bit of a dark twist in the art, yet it's amazing.

Rating 5 out of 5 
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Down by the Barn by Will Hillenbrand

This children's book was an absolute delight. 

The little ones learn about what kind of animals you can find in a farm and the brightly colored illustrations keep them engaged.

Rating 5 out of 5 
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The Dreadful Fate of Jonathan York by Kory Merritt

Jonathan York has led a blah life; he's the perpetual goody two-shoes, he follows the rules and never veers off the track. When he decides to take a shortcut home one day and gets lots in the mysterious and spooky woods, he's suddenly thrown into a world of adventure. As the story progresses Jonathan goes from a shy introvert into a daring, risk taking extrovert.

This was an interesting story that captures the imagination. The art is also very wonderful; very spooky, just perfect for this October.

This is the first book I read by Kory Merritt and I will say that I am very much impressed and can't wait to see other works.

Rating 5 out of 5 
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LOVE Volume 2: THE FOX by Frederic Brremaud

This is a silent story, you won't see text bubbles or anything of the sort; what we have is the depiction of a beautiful story of love as a fox ventures through high and low to rescue her cub.

The art was just beautiful and the story so sweet. 

Rating 5 out of 5 
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Shutter, Vol. 1: Wanderlost (Shutter) by Joe Keatinge, Leila del Duca, Owen Gieni (Illustrations)

No, just no. The art was good, but the story itself left a ton to be desired. I hope I'm wrong and all the characters introduced and the cliffhanger ending redeems this story later on, but as of now it just felt like it was trying way too hard and not really engaging the reader.

For me the only thing that saved it was the art, the color blending really appealed to my eye.

Here's to hoping for improvement.

Rating 2 out of 5 
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The Flash, Vol. 6: Out of Time (The Flash Vol. IV #30-33) by Robert Venditti, Van Jensen, Brett Booth (Illustrations)

The art was WOW! The exquisite coloring and highly detailed illustrations were incredibly appealing.

And because graphic novels aren't all about the art, I will let you know that the storyline did not disappoint. There is something seriously up with the speed force and Barry is losing minutes [OMG that is a ton of time] but things get even way crazier when a Flash from the future shows up in a by the way super awesome looking electro blue suit bent on changing the past by any means necessary.

You won't be disappointed in this one, the only thing that will have you screaming HOW DARE THEY is the cliffhanger at the end; I had to actually go and buy individual issues because I could not wait for the next volume.

Rating 4 out of 5 
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Outlaws of the Marsh Volume 1: Spirits and Bandits by Wei Dong Chen, Xiao Long Liang (Illustrations)

The story concept and the art felt fresh and captivating; this graphic novel adaptation of Shi Nai'an classic tale of spirits and adventure is a must read.

Taking place in rural China we see the villains rise to power, setting the groundwork for our eventual heroes.

The art was a cross between the American style graphic novels we all know and love and manga style art. The book is captivating and really preserves the integrity of Shi Nai'an's original work.

Rating 4 out of 5 
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Hand Drawn Jokes for Smart Attractive People by Matthew Diffee

New York Times cartoonist Matthew Diffee brings us a book that is darkly and satirically hilarious. The jokes in this book are not for everyone and depending on your sense of humor you might find them offensive or you might not understand them at all. The cartoons have minimal text and require the reader to understand conceptual comedy.

I had a lot of fun reading this one. The entire book is in black and white and the pages that have text are just beyond funny. If you're looking for a new coffee table book that will show you which of your friends are smart and which ones are not this is a perfect book, plus you get to tease them a little or a lot. Diffee really knows how to write an engaging collection of cartoons with very a very appealing title.

P.S. My favorite cartoon had to do with Doctor and Lawyer and the retention of one of those two

Rating 5 out of 5 
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Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Just WOW! is all I can say. The art is incredible, the story concept divine.

The story follows a mischievous little boy's imagination as he becomes king of the Wild Thing. This is a classic all children will love.

Rating 5 out of 5
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Twisted Dark Volume 1 (Twisted Dark #1) by Neil Gibson

An anthology of short illustrated twisted and disturbingly dark tales. Reading this book actually made me think of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (you remember that book, you though was super scary when you were little), except with illustrations to add to the disturbing nature of the short tales.

Some might not like it, but this book was pretty good, what I liked even more is that some of the stories correlate to previous stories. I think the best one was the one with the monitor windows that the creator wanted to use to set everything on fire, oh and the first story with the boy who kills himself and the dad lives in a guilty induced psychosis for the rest of his life.

Rating 4 out of 5
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Wide Awake in Slumberland: Fantasy, Mass Culture, and Modernism in the Art of Winsor McCay by Katherine Roeder

This book gives a background of the great cartoonist Winsor McCay and his famous work. This was an enjoyable and enlightening read.

I will say that this book might not be enjoyable to everyone, so obtain at your own risk.

You will see some of McCay's work and learn of the work of a great cartoonist. The book reads like a documentary and it feels very educational.

Rating 5 out of 5

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Holiday Hats for Babies by Debby Ware

This is a fun filled book, full of great ideas and instructions to create fun baby hats.

For those with more experience you can modify slightly to make the hats for adults.

My knitting skills still need a lot of improvement, but my mother, whose been knitting for like 40 years is making great progress on a little witch hat. You'll definitely have a lot of fun with the designs in this book.
Rating 5 out of 5
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Doomboy by Tony Sandoval

I loved this book, Mr. Sandoval is an incredible artist. In this book he tells the story of Doomboy a gifted musician plagued by sorrow after the girl he loves dies. As he tries not to be consumed with sorrow and reach his love in the beyond he sends out a series of great doom metal sessions out into the universe that end up unknowingly broadcast over the radio. All those that hear the broadcast find them incredible and inspiring and moving; and soon everyone wants a cassette tape (yes cassette, not cd, awesome) and the identity of the mysterious Doomboy.

By the end of the book Doomboy is finally able to let go of his sorrow and guilt, as he does he releases one final session to the universe as farewell.

The illustrations were amazing, they're are not these high gloss clean illustrations we often see. These illustrations are more raw and elemental; it is why they work incredibly well with the story they convey.

Check out my blog at http://read-a-book-reviews.blogspot.com to see some of my absolute favorite pages from this great book.

Rating 5 out of 5

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How to Draw Batman, Superman, and Other DC Super Heroes and Villains by Aaron Sautter

This book was fun, it gives you a step by step of how to draw all your favorite DC superheroes. The book is easy to follow and understand. Even though my attempted drawings won't be ending up on the fridge anytime soon, I still had fun with this one.

The book doesn't just cover heroes, it also cover drawing villains, the Fortress of Solitude, the Batmobile and the Batplane [favorite right here]. Aside from drawing the heroes, there are also small bios on the heroes and villains.

This book is great for kids, it gives them something fun and creative to do and with very little mess, so parents will love that.

Rating 4 out of 5
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The Book of Memory Gaps by Cecilia Ruiz

The book is a collection of pictures and short stories accompanying each picture. All of the pictures are sad, they tell of people with memory problems and the despair that surrounds them.

It's a short, quick read that is nice and sad and enjoyable all at once. The pictures are beautiful and convey the sadness each character endures.

Rating 5 out of 5
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Meka by Jean-David Morvan, Bengal

The story follows a Lieutenant and a Corporal who pilot a giant robot called a Meka. They are fighting in a war and after their Meka is damaged in battle they must travel through the remains of their most recent battle ground to survive.

The story really didn't have any direction, but what really saved the book for me was the art. The graphics were incredible.

Rating 3 out of 5

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Hatsune Miku Graphics: Vocaloid Comic & Art Volume 2 by Comptiq

A collection of art covers and a short comic, the book was all right, entertaining. The art is your typical manga, girls in colorful outfits, with lots of frills.

I would have liked if the comic would have been longer, the comic was only like 10 percent of the book and the rest was just covers. The very colorful, internet like style of the graphics made me think of Dance, Dance Revolution, so it made me laugh.

Rating 3 out of 5

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