“FCBD 2018: Avengers/Captain America #1” By Jason Aaron & Ta-Nehisi Coates & Sara Pichelli & Leinil Francis Yu Review

Free Comic Book Day 2018 is your perfect chance to dive into the Marvel Universe! With a story from Jason Aaron and art by Sara Pichelli, Marvel’s FCBD title debuting this May features stories that set the stage for an epic new direction for the Avengers in the Marvel Universe. Plus, a Captain America story from Ta-Nehisi Coates and Leinil Francis Yu leading into their upcoming Captain America series!

After buying a Kindle in December 2024, I noticed that there are a lot of free and cheap comics available. And I have wanted to get into comics for at least the past 2 years but I never actually done that until I got the kindle because physical comics are more expensive than books (at least they are in Norway and Poland).

This comics contains two stories and because of this, this comics is all over the place in a way and I think it would have been better if it just separated the two stories into two different comics because it would have been less confusing and we could have only focused on one story at a time.

Captain America in the first story is slightly confusing because it keeps jumping back and forward in time and action without a reason to. Which really annoyed me. And the second story in this comics has the same problem in that it keeps jumping back and forward in time without any heads up for the reader. 

But overall this comics is pretty quick to read and it is somehow fun to read even thou it isn’t the best comic book I’ve read so far in my life. 

If you are like me and just starting your adventure with comic books then I would recommend to wait with reading this one until you came a little longer in your comic book journey.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Monster Me #3: Newmon” By iPOP! Labs Review

Don’t be a bully! Follow the adventures of Newmon as he interacts with his classmates Sky & Izumi, who ultimately teach valuable lessons on friendship and sharing. Includes a teacher’s guide.

I gotta say that I have a love and hate relationship with this comic book series. Because a part of me likes reading those comic book while the other hates it because of how simple it is. But without making the intro longer than it needs to be, lets get into the review.

This comic book tries to build on the excitement and interested of the previous comic book in this series. But in my opinion the this comic book doesn’t improve the series at all. Yes this comic book is better than the previous comic books in this series, but it still isn’t good enough for me to truly like this comic book or the whole series in general.

The storyline in this comic book feels underdeveloped. At the same time it lacks the depth needed to truly make me engaged with the story. 

When it comes to the plot in this comic book, I need admit that it is predictable. But also the plot fails in a way to introduce any intriguing twists or memorable moments which would make me interested in the book long enough to give it a good rating.

The narrative in this book is very uninteresting, it does have some good moments here and there. But these moments are very rare, and they don’t happen a lot. 

The characters in this book are very one dimensional and they lack personality. The characters feel like they are just there to help the plot be told rather than make the plot move forward with the characters. Which of course means that it is hard to connect with the character or actually care about their journeys in this comic book or in the entire series in general.

The character development is almost none-existing in this book, because throughout the whole comic books and the whole series in general all of the characters remain exactly the same.

The pacing in this comic is pretty inconsistent. Because there are parts of this comic book which drags for too long making the entire comic book boring and uninteresting, while other parts of this comic book feel very rushed and doesn’t give us any details but rather a skeleton of the plot. 

Because of the inconsistent pacing throughout this comic book, it is very hard to actually stay invested in the story for longer than a page or 2. Because of how often the pacing changed in this comic book.

The writing style in this comic book is pretty simplistic which of course would appeal to younger readers which this comic book (and the whole series) is meant for. 

The descriptions and dialogues in this comic book get very repetitive and monotone. Both the descriptions and dialogues felt like it was one step away from feeling like it was written by ChatGPT, because of who almost unrealistic both the descriptions and dialogues were in this comic book. 

I think that younger readers between 5 and 9 would love this comic book, but the moment some older than 9 readers this book, they would be pretty unsatisfied with this comic book. And I am of course one of those people who are unsatisfied.

The artwork in this comic book, was very simplistic and it avoids details like the plague. Which really is never a good to say about a comic book. 

One of the biggest things this comic book struggles with is that it feels to grab the attention of readers older than 9 years of age. Which is really a not a good thing, because this comic book is only available on kindle, and I don’t know not even one 9 year old who has their own kindle. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Monster Me: Monster Maker” By iPOP! Labs Review

Newmon’s magical “pend” draws ANYTHING – including any toy or product he could ever want. But after he owns EVERYTHING, does he really have it all?

This comic book had the the potential to be a a captivating and fun read, but in my opinion this comic book didn’t use the potential that it had. But it can just be me here, because this comic book is meant for children rather than 22-year-old university students so it can just be me being to harsh on this comic book. 

I really liked the premise of this book, because the premise of it is of friendly toddler monsters learning and having fun even thou they sooner or later do something stupid. And by doing it, the comic book tries to teach children on why doing similar things which the toddler monsters did in this comic might not be the best idea. 

This comic book is a lighthearted entreatment where you don’t have to think about what is happening on page before you, and I think a first grade or second grade kid would have a good time reading this one

Even thou I liked the premise and potential of this comic book, I need to admit that I wasn’t a fan of how is was narrated and presented to us. The narration and the presentation leaves a lot of be desired from it. Since both of those make the whole story feel very boring and uninteresting, thats at least how it was for me.

At the time of writing this review, this comic book is only available on kindle / other e-readers. Here I need to comment on the fact that the user interface with this comic book was very clunky and unintuitive at least on my kindle 11th generation. 

This comic book has very limited customization options which means you are more or less stuck with the poor user interface of this comic book, which really didn’t help with liking this comic book more than I already did. 

The graphics of this comic book felt very outdated, and it lacked details in the artwork of this comic book. The monsters often appear awkward, and because of the artwork the monsters felt like they lacked personality. 

The story itself is more or less pretty repetitive at least thats how it felt more, because the characters would pretty much do very similar things throughout the entire comic book which felt very repetitive and like the author didn’t knew how to write a good comic book without recycling the same things over and over throughout the entire come book.

The story also didn’t have a lot of engagement, where the story would engage with the readers. This comic book is meant for children so it wouldn’t hurt if it engaged with the readers to make interested. 

The last thing which annoyed me about the story is that it lacked any form for challenge or goals which the characters would face throughout the book.  Which really didnt help me stay interested in the story. 

Overall its not a bad read for an adult, but I strongly believe that the first and second graders this book is meant for would so much more fun reading this book. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Monster Me #1: All Phone & Games” By iPOP! Labs Review

Cyberbullying is now all too common in the classroom and in our daily lives. Follow the adventures of Newmon and his fellow classmates as they create “doh” creations and take photos on their cellphones with questionable intentions. Includes a teacher’s guide.

I gotta admit that reading a comic book for children as an adult isnt the best choice or the smartest choice but I just did that. So we are going to talk about my thoughts about this comic book in this review.

This comic book presents an intriguing premise that unfortunately falls short in execution for an adult, since this comic book is very simple and easy to understand. Way too easy and simple for an adult. But if a child reads this comic I believe they will have pretty good time and will like this comic book a lot.

The concept of this comic book is blending monsters with modern technology and gaming culture is very unique and something which would make children interested in reading it. But if you are reading this comic book as an adult as I did then you will think that this comic book struggles to deliver a narrative that fully engages its audience which is true if an adult reads it. 

The story revolves around a cast of quirky monster characters who navigate a world dominated by smartphones and gaming. While this setup could lead to humorous and insightful commentary on our tech-obsessed lives, the execution lacks the depth and creativity needed to make it truly compelling.

For an adult this story feels very  disjointed, jumping from one scenario to another without providing a coherent storyline or emotional stakes.

The artwork, while colorful and dynamic, often feels cluttered and chaotic. Instead of enhancing the narrative, the illustrations can detract from it, making it difficult to follow the action or appreciate the character designs. There are moments of potential, particularly in the monster designs, but they are overshadowed by inconsistent execution.

Character development is another area where “Monster Me #1” falters. The characters are introduced with little backstory or depth, leaving them feeling flat and one-dimensional. This lack of development makes it hard for readers to form any attachment or care about their journeys.

Despite its flaws, there are occasional glimpses of humor and creativity that shine through, hinting at what could have been a more engaging story. However, these moments are few and far between, making it difficult to overlook the overall lack of cohesion.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“John Bull” By Washington Irving Review

In my opinion this short story lacks a lot of charm and depth to it to be considered a good short story.

The characters in this short story feel very simplistic and overly reliant on stereotypes. Which doesn’t help me liking the story nor the characters that much as the author may have hoped to achieve here. 

The pacing of this short story is very uneven since at times it goes fast and other times it drags for far too long which really makes this entire short story very boring and uninteresting.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Philip of Pokanoket” By Washington Irving Review

This short story attempts to to blend historical fact with storytelling, which it doesn’t succeed to do so. But rather what it succeed at is giving us the reader a feeling of disjointed storytelling. 

At times this short story goes into bombarding us too much details which aren’t that much needed which really doesn’t help me personally to like this short story more.

The pacing of this short story is very uneven since at times it goes fast and other times it drags for far too long which really makes this entire short story very boring and uninteresting.

The characters in this short story lack any form for having a personality. And at the same time the characters are very flat and dull which really doesn’t help the reader like this short story. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“The Angler” By Washington Irving Review

The premise of this short story is somehow good but again the way the author presents the short story to us isn’t that good as he may have wanted it to be.

The narrative of this short story often drags for far too long without going anywhere which really in the long run turns out to be very boring and uninteresting.

The pacing of this short story is very uneven since at times it goes fast and other times it drags for far too long which really makes this entire short story very boring and uninteresting.

The characters in this short story lack any form for having a personality. And at the same time the characters are very flat and dull which really doesn’t help the reader like this short story. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“The Pride of the Village” By Washington Irving Review

The descriptions in this short story feel very extensive and like they don’t particularly are that important. 

The characters in this short story lack any form for having a personality. And at the same time the characters are very flat and dull which really doesn’t help the reader like this short story. 

The pacing of this short story is very uneven since at times it goes fast and other times it drags for far too long which really makes this entire short story very boring and uninteresting.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Stratford on Avon” By Washington Irving Review

I gotta say that this short story isn’t good as the majority of short stories written by Washington Irving I’ve read so far. 

The descriptions in this short story are good at times but for the most part they are very tedious, boring and at times feel like they are dragging for far too long than they needed to.

The characters in this short story lack any form for having a personality. And at the same time the characters are very flat and dull which really doesn’t help the reader like this short story. 

The pacing of this short story is very uneven since at times it goes fast and other times it drags for far too long which really makes this entire short story very boring and uninteresting.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Little Britain” By Washington Irving Review

In the centre of the great city of London lies a small neighbourhood, consisting of a cluster of narrow streets and courts, of very venerable and debilitated houses, which goes by the name of LITTLE BRITAIN. Christ Church School and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital bound it on the west; Smithfield and Long Lane on the north; Aldersgate Street, like an arm of the sea, divides it from the eastern part of the city; whilst the yawning gulf of Bull-and-Mouth Street separates it from Butcher Lane, and the regions of Newgate. Over this little territory, thus bounded and designated, the great dome of St. Paul’s, swelling above the intervening houses of Paternoster Row, Amen Corner, and Ave Maria Lane, looks down with an air of motherly protection.

I gotta say that the setting of this short story is pretty good and cozy. But in my opinion thats the only good thing about this short story.

The narrative of this short story feels like it wanders through the short story without any clear direction of where it is going. Which really made it hard for me to become engaged in this short story and I was left feeling very bored and uninterested while reading this one. 

The pacing of this short story is very uneven since at times it goes fast and other times it drags for far too long which really makes this entire short story very boring and uninteresting.

The characters in this short story lack any form for having a personality. And at the same time the characters are very flat and dull which really doesn’t help the reader like this short story. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5