GoodRead - Thor: Goddess of Thunder

I am trying to get better with graphic novels. I always like looking at them in bookshops but I always feel overwhelmed by them. I'm still new to this world and each character or series has an arc and is linked to the previous storyarc.

So, kinda scary.

But Thor: The Goddess of Thunder welcomes a new era where we have a female Thor. And it's an interesting tale... I have been curious over this since the news came out. So when I saw it in Waterstones this past weekend, I picked it up and walked to the till without much of a second thought.

Thor is no longer worthy of his hammer, Mjolnir. But Mjolnir needs a companion to restore the balance between the Ten Realms. And with the dark elf, Malekith and the Frost Giants on the rise, who will lead the charge against them?

A mysterious woman who is deemed worthy...

Now, this is very interesting. It's a little different to Young Avengers: Volume One as while this is a good place to start with Thor, there are moments where it does back to previous story arcs. For example, until I read the blurb, I didn't know who had whispered to Thor which, in turn, made him unworthy of Mjolnir.

What I found interesting, story telling wise, is making Thor female. This is flipping Marvel on its headband it feels refreshing. We have two Thors fighting and coming to a point of understanding, all the while having other characters coming to terms with these turns of events. Thor's father, Odin, is furious and becomes determined to get Mjolnir back, while Thor's mother, Freyja, takes this news in her stride.

Another interesting thing I like about this is that the new Thor's identity has been kept a secret. She wears a helmet over her face and the only time her identity could have been revealed, Mjolnir returned to her. While the old Thor and other characters saying that there's something familiar about her, it hints that she is a person from the Thor history.

From what I understand, her identity will be released in Issue 8 (or Volume 2) and this is both a good thing and a worrying thing. Good as it means we warm and like this new Thor, but I am worried over whether this is a long term move, or whether this is more short-termed and, because of this, a publicity stunt.

In this volume, there are five issues and, within the first four, I really liked the art work. It was clean and smooth. But with the fifth and final issue, the art changed and it becomes jarring. It doesn't flow and, personally, I don't like this artwork. It looks oddly clay-like.

I do like this and I will read the next volume, but I wasn't 100% convinced over the artwork and the style.

GoodRead - Young Avengers: Style > Substance

I won this late last year due to the lovely people of My Independent Bookshop over their #DearMIB contest (thank you!). I won a few books that I have been excited to read and this was one of them. I always wanted to read a graphic novel and this one just sounded like fun! And a few peeps I chatted to on Twitter said I would like this so... yeah...

This is kinda hard to explain but here we go. This series (there is only 3 volumes, if I understand it correct) follows the adventures of the Young Avengers (aka Kid Loki, Marvel Boy, Miss America, Wiccan, Hulking and Kate "Hawkeye" Bishop). After seeing his boyfriend Hulking upset, Wiccan decides to do something he really shouldn't have. This has a huge effect on the other members who are now not only bound together by Wiccan's spell but now are running (and fighting) their parents and something that looks like Hulking's dead mother.

No pressure.

Ok,am going to say it. This is my first real graphic novel and I LOVED IT! It was fast and fun! I sped through this book and I have plans to reread it before I blitz volumes two and three.

It also wasn't what I was expecting. Like I said, it was fun, but it was also really colourful and clean (I have seen some covers of other graphic novels and they have that "gritty" edge to them that I'm not sure am ready reading in graphic news). Plus, you have to love that the graphic novel didn't take itself too seriously. Not only did the humor come as quickly as the action, but when you see a two page spread of a fight scene/plan that needs a Key (and halfway through the fight, has Marvel Boy start playing "Young Hearts Run Free" by Candi Staton because he loves 60s music), you just go "Oooooh!"

I love the characters's relationships and how they were shown. Wiccan and Hulking are in a relationship and, barring one panel when they kiss, we see that they're in love with each other through panels of them holding hands. HOLDING HANDS!!! This was romantic and realistic. And with Kate and Marvel Boy, you get the feeling that while they might have feelings for each other, they very much enjoy having a post-watershed relationship. And let's not get started with Kid Loki and Miss America's relationship where she does not trust him and will, if given the chance, punch him into the next dimension...

So yes. I loved my first baby steps into the world of graphic novels and I hope, in the coming year, I will read more. And this was my starting point - good place to start if you haven't entered the world of graphic novels.

SMILE - Thursday Special

*laughs happily* OK! WHY NOT!!!

Thank you Pinterest! Now, the boring stuff. If you want to follow my SMILE board on Pinterest, go to http://www.pinterest.com/pewterwolf/smile/! Or, if you want to see some random fandom stuff on my Pinterest, go to http://www.pinterest.com/pewterwolf/fandom-unite/! 

GoodRead - The Art of Marvel's The Avengers

As you guys probably guess from my previous review of Harry Potter: Page to Screen, I'm a bit of a movie geek and I love the artwork that inspire a movie to be made. And after the beast that was Harry Potter: Page to Screen, I wanted another movie book that showed me the artwork. I was thinking of a Pixar movie (I would LOVE The Art of Finding Nemo or The Art of Up...), but after chatting to the lovely Jenny from Wondrous Reads via Twitter about the Avengers Assemble movie (as the movie was called in the UK, even though we called it Avengers) and that there was a book showing off some of the art linked to the movie. As soon as she tweeted me that, I knew that I had to get my hands on this book.

With the book giving the briefest of plots to the movie (Nick Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D decides to gather Earth's greatest superheroes - Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye - to defeat Loki), it's mostly the artwork that sells this and having some of the people involved in the artwork, including the director, Joss Wheldon (who has signed a deal with Marvel Studios to stay with them for a few more years to create a TV show entitled S.H.I.E.L.D for the american network, ABC [You can be damned sure that this will be showed in the UK!], and he will write and direct the second Avengers movie).

Now, the art is brilliant. It's always interesting to see how the ideas of the artists designs went onto the big screen and where the ideas came from, and with this begin so closely related to Marvel Comics, the inspiration to be loyal to Marvel's roots and yet making the designs fit in the modern world...

There were one or two sections that I wish were shorter (the Helicarrier section was over 20 pages and talking about the return of the Incredible Hulk was, while interesting, took a good ten pages), but if you are a movie buff or a huge fan of The Avengers movie (or maybe you're a fan of Joss Wheldon), this is perfect for you!

Oh, here is a trailer and a deleted alternate opening... enjoy!