“Summer and Monkey: Preview” By Sean Patrick O’Reilly & Michelle O’Reilly & Carlos Toledo Review

Summer and Her Monkey is a series of seven short stories that are meant to show young readers the value of the Seven Virtues. Each chapter will have Summer and her doll, who comes to life in Summer’s Dreamland, go on wonderful adventures where she will learn the lessons of Faith, Hope, Charity, Fortitude, Justice, Prudence and Temperance.

Let me start this review by saying that this one is just a preview for the entire comic book. And I read it because I wanted to see if the full comic book was worth the money and time I would spend on it. And I’m gonna give you the answer for that at the end of this review.

I gotta admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of this comic book, because this comic book has a good premise but the way it is presented to us making very underwhelming and way too simple.

This comic book had the potential to be a good comic book since it has charm and adventure but the way it is presented to us, just makes this very boring and uninteresting.

I know that this one is just a preview of the full version of this comic book so it shouldn’t give us the whole narration of the full version of this comic book. But the way this preview presents the entire full version of this comic book makes me very uninterested to buy and read the full version of the comic book. 

The plot is pretty lighthearted story that aims to capture the innocence of childhood friendship. But the way the narration of this comic book presents the plot males to feel pretty disjointed and like lacks a clear direction.

The key plot points in this comic book feel pretty rushed which I’m never a big fan of, as some of you might know if you been around this website for while. 

The character in this comic book feel very one-dimensional, and the characters don’t have any personality. The characters are pretty shallow and generic for every children meant product like a comic book, normal book or a show / movie

The dialogues in this comic book often comes off as simplistic, missing the opportunity to convey the depth and emotion that could elevate the story for the readers.

The artwork is easily my favorite part of this comic book because the artwork offers a colorful and vibrant aesthetic which for as I already said is the only highlights of this preview. The artwork is very playful and visually appealing, capturing the playful essence of the characters even thou the characters doesn’t have a lot of essence in this comic book.

There are times when the artwork art feels disconnected from the story, leading to moments where the imagery does not effectively enhance the plot. Thats at least how it was for me as I was reading this one.

However the biggest issue I had with this preview is that it fails to establish a compelling hook which would make me want to buy and read the full version of this comic book. This preview doesn’t give me enough intrigue or conflict to make me interested enough to well buy and read the full version of this comic book which I already said a few dozen times so far in this review. 

So the conclusion is that I wont probably be buying and reading the full version of this comic book or at least not soon but maybe in the future at some point.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“What Is Poetry?” By Washington Irving Review

This short story has the same problems as the majority of short stories written by Washington Irving. If you haven’t read any of my reviews on Washington Irving’s short stories then let me explain what I mean here. 

This short story has the same issue as some of the other Washington Irving’s short stories which is that the pacing of the short story is very uneven. Since it changes as the short story continues.

The writing style in this short story lacks the depth of presenting the short story in a good way which would play along with the plot. 

The events in this short story feel somewhat disjointed. And like they don’t play along with each other.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“WICKEDPOWERED #1” By Chris Crosby & Owen Gieni Review

FREE FIRST ISSUE! Wiley Schlub meets Pulsar “Pulse” Parks, U.V. Jones, and Joule Lee for the first time! Unfortunately, he also meets the Laser Dandies.

I gotta admit that this comic book is far from being one of the good comic books I’ve read in my time. But of course I will explain everything in this review as I always do or at least I hope so.

This comic book had a good and ambitious premise which I gave this comic book some extra points for having. 

This comic book attempts to dive into a world of magic and conflict but the way it is presenting the topic to us as readers it doesn’t make it that great as probably the author would have hoped for achieving with this comic book. 

The narrative of this comic book had the potential to be good, but the way the narrative presented the story makes the story feel very boring and uninteresting to me personally. The narrative would have worked much better if the narrative was different than what we actually got in this comic book. 

The plot in this comic book feels very disjointed and overly ambitious for a single comic book like this one.

The pacing in this comic book is very uneven and inconsistent, with moments that drag and others that rush past crucial developments.

The characters in this comic book aren’t the best, since they come off as one-dimensional and poorly made. But at the same time the character motivations and relationships come off as underdeveloped, making it difficult for us as readers to invest in the characters of this comic book and their journeys they have during this comic book.

The dialogue in this comic book aren’t better than the characters we just discussed, because at times the dialogues feels very clunky and lacks the natural flow that would help ground the story.

My favorite thing about this comic book was the artwork that it does have, since the artwork  is pretty vibrant and energetic, and it is showcasing a distinctive style that has its strengths.

But there are times where the artwork overshadows the narrative, leading to moments where the images do not quite align with the story being told. Which really made me angry in a way.

This comic book has another majority issue as well, and that is the fact that this comic book doesn’t establish a clear central conflict or theme which makes this comic book seem more like unrelated chain of events which don’t have anything to do with the previous event or the event after.

This comic book has some fun and intriguing ideas to it yes, but they are not fully fleshed out and developed which really gives us as readers more questions and annoyance than anything else. 

The last thing I will mention for this review and this comic book is that this comic book in a way lacks a  strong foundation makes it challenging to gauge the stakes involved, which had diminish the overall impact of the story for me personally as I was reading this comic book.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“The Broken Heart” By Washington Irving Review

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world’s literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This short story has a good premise for a plot. But the issue is the way it is presented to the reader. And here let me explain what I mean.

The narrator in this short story feels overly sentimental while telling the story of this short story and at the same time it lacks the complexity needed to fully engage and interest the reader. 

This short story has the same issue as some of the other Washington Irving’s short stories which is that the pacing of the short story is very uneven. Since it changes as the short story continues.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“FCBD 2022: Avengers/X-Men #1” By Kieron Gillen & Gerry Duggan Review

Featuring stories by an all-star lineup of creators including writers Kieron Gillen and Gerry Duggan and artist Dustin Weaver, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY: AVENGERS/X-MEN #1 will lay the groundwork for an event that will erupt across the Marvel Universe in 2022 and drastically alter the relationship between Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and mutantkind.

This comic book is a crossover (if you will) between Avengers and X-men but you could also call this comic book for having 2 different stories in it. But we are here for the review, so lets get into the review without making the review longer than it needs to be.

The artwork in this comic book is very dynamic and fun. It captures the heroic essence of both stories in this comic book. And for me the artwork was my favorite part of this comic book for me. But its also important to say that the artwork at times doesn’t compensate for the lackluster storytelling in both of the stories in this comic book.

The narrative in this comic book isn’t the greatest. Because there are a lot of times in this comic book where it feels like the author of this comic book is struggling to find a cohesive narrative that does justice to such iconic characters as we get in this comic book and both of the stories.

The plot in this comic book feels very rushed and disjointed. Because it doesn’t go into much of details of the plot and at the same time it glosses over the parts of the plot which I found to be interesting and fun. At the same time the plot in this comic book lacks the depth and nuance that fans have come to expect from these franchises.

The plot in this comic book also gives us very predictable tropes, and at the same time the plot in this comic book offers us very little in terms of fresh ideas or engaging conflict. 

The easiest way to explain in this comic book is to say that the plot feels very superficial skimming of the surface rather than giving us as the readers a fully developed plot. 

The characters in this comic book feel more like caricatures of themselves rather than be the amazing character we are used to getting in other comic books about them and in the Marvel movies about both the Avengers and X-men.

There is another thing which annoyed me a to about the characters in this comic book. And the thing is that the interactions between characters, lack the chemistry and tension that fans crave.

The dialogues in this comic book feels very forced and unrealistic in a way, its almost like the writer was trying way too hard to give us good and heroic dialogues which would sound badass coming from a superhero but in reality its just not great. 

Both the Avengers and X-men have their rich history, a deeper exploration of their relationships which would easily be a great comic book if only the writer knew what he was doing, but after reading this comic book I gotta say that I dont think that the writer knew what he was doing with this comic book.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“The Wife” By Washington Irving Review

The theme of this short story has a unique premise for the plot, but the way the narrator presents the plot makes the whole short story feel very flat and have the feeling like the narrator lacks the depth of the story presented in this short story.

The pacing in this show short is very uneven, since at times its going fast and other times its going very slow. 

The characters in this short story feel very dreadfully dull and like they don’t have a lot of personality other than being character in a short story.

At the same time the author tries to put humor in this short story, but the problem with that, is that the humor feels very forced in this short story which doesn’t work as the author wanted it to work.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Roscoe” By Washington Irving Review

The narrator in this short story is very monotone, and focuses rather on descriptions rather than telling a engaging story for the readers.

The plot in this book drags a lot of because of it, it feels very stretched out. And in a way the plot feels like it lacks in momentum.

The characters in this short story feels very flat and one-dimensiona, which really didn’t help me with liking the characters in this sort story.

The themes of this short story are politics, art, and society but for the most part the themes of this short story feels very insufficient The commentary of those themes in this short story feels very superficial.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“The Voyage” By Washington Irving Review

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.

The plot for the most part has a good premise for a plot. But the way it is told feels very slow which making it difficult to stay engaged in the plot of this short story. 

The characters in this short story in my opinion lack depth and development in a way which really doesn’t help me liking the characters in this short story.

The dialogs in this short story feels very forced and like something no one in real life would say. 

The narrator of this short story feels like is more interested in talking about traveling aspect of this short story rather than the journey itself in a way. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Star Wars: The Approaching Storm” By Alan Dean Foster Review

The Republic is decaying, even under the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who was elected to save the galaxy from collapsing under the forces of discontent. On the tiny but strategic planet of Ansion, a powerful faction is on the verge of joining the growing secessionist movement. At the Chancellor’s request, the Jedi Council sends two Jedi Knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luminara Unduli, along with their Padawans Anakin Skywalker and Barriss Offee, to stabilize the planet’s population. To succeed, the Jedi will have to fulfill near-impossible tasks, befriend wary strangers, and influence two great armies, stalked all the while by an enemy sworn to see the negotiations collapse and the mission fail.

Once again we are talking about another Star Wars book, I gotta say I had some high hope for this book. But to be very honest here this book didn’t live up to most of my expectations I had for this book. 

In this book we Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luminara Unduli, Anakin Skywalker and Barriss Offee are send on a mission and we follow the 4 of them in this book. 

I gotta admit that Obi-wan and Anakin don’t feel as developed and well made characters in this book as in the movies. Which really disappointed me a lot in this book. Because as some of you might know, Obi-wan and Anakin are one of my all time favorite characters from the Star Wars universe.

And the new characters we get in this book as Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee don’t leave a lasting impression as the OG character from Star Wars universe. 

Both Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee feel like mediocre characters, with not a lot of personality and depth into them which made it difficult for me to invest in their story.

The writing style in this book lacks the aspect of what makes Star Wars, Star Wars. The writing style is average to be honest. My main problem with the writing style is that it doesn’t have the depth and uniqueness which other Star Wars books have.

The descriptions in this book sometimes feel very generic and drags at times because they feel like they would fit better a fantasy book rather than a star wars book. 

The plot in this book while interesting and enjoyable lacks the immersive quality and the star wars vibe which the majority of star wars books have.  

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“FCBD 2019: Spider-Man/Venom #1” By Donny Cates & Tom Taylor Review

Everyone knows Miles Morales, who rose to fame in Marvel’s acclaimed animated sensation Into The Spider-Verse – and with a second feature film arriving this year, Peter Parker will once again suit up to save the world with his web-slinging super powers! In a special FCBD story, creators Tom Taylor, Saladin Ahmed, and Cory Smith take these superstar heroes of the Spider-Verse in a shocking new direction, with a story that will build to one of Marvel’s most fantastic and epic tales later this year! And prepare for absolute terror within the pages of FCBD, as an original Venom story by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman sets the stage for what will become one of the most fearsome events in the Marvel Universe.

I gotta say that Marvel Comic books can do much better job than this comic book does. But of course I’m gonna explain everything in this review. 

In a way this comic book  attempts to merge the worlds of Spider-Man and Venom. But in doing so it struggles to effectively capture the essence of both characters. Because as we all know both Spider-man and venom are very iconic characters from the Marvel universe at this point and this comic book doesn’t do its justice towards both of those characters in a way.

The plot we got in this comic book had a potential. But the way the narrative presents both of the stories in this comic book makes both of the plots boring and uninteresting in way, it would have been much better if we got a different narrative in both of the stories which would have made both stories so much better and so much more interesting.

There are times when the plot in both of the stories feel very rushed and even underdeveloped at times. Which really didn’t help me liking this comic book better than I already did. 

The dialogues in both of the stories sometimes come off as forced or lacking depth, which made me little bit bored out and uninteresting form the overall enjoyment of both of the stories we get in this comic book.

The artwork in this comic book is good, but at times it feels very disconnected from the narrative which left me with feeling a little disappointed in the overall reading experience of this comic book. 

The characters in this comic book felt in a way like a watered down versions of themselves. Which really disappointed me, because Venom is one of my top favorite characters from the MCU. And seeing him being watered down really made me dislike this comic book in a way.

In this comic book we also get the multiverse thing which MCU start doing in the last decade which really pissed me off, since I am not a fan of the multiverse and I prefer stinking to the original storyline rather than to the confusing and slightly annoying multiverse aspect of the MCU

I Give This Book 2 / 5