ALL FALL DOWN Review

Rating: 3/5
Publisher Name: Arcana Studios
Publisher Website: www.arcana.com

Writer: Casey Jones
Pencils: Anvit
Number of Pages: 100
Price: 19.95
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: A – Appropriate for age 9 and up.

Publisher’s Blurb:
High school freshman Sophie is desperate to grow up, and she prays emphatically to God for a change. Soon after, every single hero and villain in the world loses his powers permanently! The event is later known as ‘The Fall’. Sophie finds that she has stolen every ‘power’ in the world and is now the center of the world’s attention. She cannot shut them off, and she cannot give them back. Many heroes and villains have already died outright, and it is now up to Sophie to discover the power within herself, to figure out what to do with her new abilities…

Reviewer’s Comments:
I’m always a fan of superhero stories that aren’t just about big men in tight tights hitting each other. All Fall Down asks some interesting questions–how do super powered people deal with the sudden loss of their powers?—but doesn’t really deliver all the right answers in the end.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this when I started reading, but part one completely sucked me in. I loved being introduced to these to the heroes of this world as they lost their powers in some extremely painful situations (my favorite was the Flash-clone, Presto). The story does a pretty good job of exploring the effects of the situation, even if some of it is pretty typical and unoriginal. There’s nothing truly groundbreaking in how things unfold, but the characters keep it interesting.

I was a little disappointed in the final resolution, but glad it didn’t take the easy route just for the sake of a happy ending. Huge amount of respect to Jones for sticking with the ending he wanted and knew this book had to have and not giving in to a potential publishers request to change it to something happier.

The art is kind of all over the place, with different artists on different chapters. I wasn’t a big fan of the changes, especially with huge differences in quality. Chapter two is easily the best of it, but the art in chapters one through four keeps a similar style. Chapter five takes a big change in style, and while the art is actually pretty good, the shift is jarring. It felt out of place after the previous chapters, not quite as bright and colorful. The other chapters had a 3D feel in the coloring and chapter five feels kind of flat after that. Then chapter six makes another big change in style. Once again, I like the art, but the change feels off.

Overall, this is a great concept that’s handled pretty well but slightly flawed. The second half feels rushed, and I don’t think it pushed this idea to it’s full potential. It goes in the direction of a standard hero vs villain storyline and doesn’t get as deep into the emotional impact on the characters as I would have liked to see. It’s entertaining and hits some interesting points about the life of a superhero, but such an interesting premise should have been explored deeper.

The Price Review

Rating: 3.5/5
Publisher Name: 215ink
Publisher Website: http://215ink.com

Writer: Glenn Arseneau
Pencils: Allen Byrns
Number of Pages: 32
Price: 3.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: PARENTAL ADVISORY – 15 years and older. Similiar to T+ but featuring more mature themes and/or more graphic imagery.

Publisher’s Blurb:
When young, attractive, Erin Wheeler finds herself lost at a seedy roadside diner en route to a meeting with her business partner and an important client, her troubles are only beginning. Looking for directions, but finding only the lecherous advances of a seedy trucker and the unnerving stare of a sociopathic state trooper, Erin drives off alone into the fog. Followed by the ethereal forms of ghostly children reaching out for her at every turn, Erin soon finds herself alone on the highway after being involved in a brutal car crash. Wracked with guilt over causing the apparent deaths of a woman and infant in the crash, Erin reluctantly accepts help from the mysterious trucker and begins to fear for both her life and her sanity as the world around her begins to unravel. After a bizarre second encounter at the diner – now the location of an apparent rip in the fabric of time itself – Erin soon comes to realize that the strange truck driver may be much more than he appears, and that her own involvement in this particular location might be even more bizarre than she could imagine.

Reviewer’s Comments:
I really, really wanted to like this. It’s October, Halloween is one the way, and I was in the mood for some creepiness. The description and the art made gave me high hopes for some creepiness. But unfortunately this didn’t quite deliver what I hoped for, at least on the first read. Now, I did not hate this. I’m very far from hating this. I really enjoyed it in the end, but I had to read it three times to get to that point. I’m okay with that and don’t mind some thinking with my reading, but it may frustrate the average reader and drive them away from really appreciating what’s here. But don’t take that as a bad sign, keep reading to see what I mean. This is a complicated book that needs a complicated review. If you do want to stop reading now, I’ll tell you that this is very worth it if you’re willing to invest your time. It doesn’t hand everything to you, but if you want to use your brain there’s much enjoyment to be found here. If you don’t want to think, then walk away and go spend for a 20 page fight scene from some other company that you’ll forget about minutes later.

The first time I read The Price, I finished in complete confusion about what happened. It didn’t seem to make any sense. So I read it a second time, and with the knowledge of my first reading (and the ending) I started to pick up subtle things in the background and art. (Page 9 is a perfect example of this. If you’re reading digital, zoom in and check it out. I’m not sure if this would be as effective in print.) My third reading was just for fun and to see what else I could pick up between the lines. I can’t fault the story for my initial confusion, since all of the elements of understanding are there, you just don’t realize that until the end. I’d put it in the category of stuff like Sixth Sense or Inception, where multiple viewings are required to get the full picture.

After a few reads, I realized that my reaction to my first read was probably exactly what Arseneau was aiming for. I felt all the confusion and disorientation that Erin was feeling, taking the journey with her instead of just watching her as an observer. I was in the story and not just reading it. It’s not always a pleasant feeling for a reader, but once you realize what it is, it’s very rewarding.

I love the art here and it’s perfect for the story. The style reminds me a bit too much of Ben Templesmith, but I like Templesmith so I won’t complain. There’s some very subtle stuff in the coloring that hints at what’s really happening, but again, that’s something you might not notice the first time.

When I read a comic these days, I look at it through three sets of eyes—first as a lover and long time reader of comics. Second as a creator of comics trying to get my own creative work out to the world. And third as a reviewer and critic, whether it’s something I’m reading to review or just for my own pleasure. As a creator and critic I took the time required to look deeper and enjoy this. It’s my “common reader” eyes that worry me here. Maybe I don’t have enough faith in today’s common reader, but I don’t think they would give this the time and attention required to truly enjoy it.

I appreciate the story much more looking back on it now than I did while reading it. I’m having more fun going back and analyzing it than I did reading it. That’s a good time for me, but not for everyone. So I really can’t recommend it for everyone.

Final word—if you want quick, mindless fun, find it somewhere else. If you want to challenge yourself to think a bit, experience something a little different, and be left with a story that’s still in your head long after you finish reading, this book is for you.

Marksmen #3 (of 6) Review

Rating: 2/5
Publisher Name: Image
Publisher Website: http://www.imagecomics.com/

Writer: DAVID BAXTER
Pencils: JAVIER ARANDA, GARRY LEACH & JESSICA KHOLINNE
Number of Pages: 32
Price: 2.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP – Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.

Publisher’s Blurb:
New San Diego is betrayed and its heart is torn in two. Drake and the Marksman scramble to face the assault on more than one front, but the Trojan Horse has already bolted.

Reviewer’s Comments:
Move along folks, there’s nothing to see here. Really, there’s nothing worth seeing if you’ve ever read a comic or seen a movie before.

Every summer, the theaters are flooded with huge big budget action flicks. Then shortly after, you open up Netflix and start seeing all the “Mockbusters”—Transmorphers to go with your Tranformers, Chop Kick Panda for your Kung Fu Panda. Marksmen falls into the same category as the Mockbusters. There’s nothing new here. All of the ideas are taken from better stories, watered down, and topped with a heaping dose of soap opera drama.

Mad Max. The Book of Eli. The Fallout games. Even Rango. This is cobbled together from elements of so many other things, that I could spend hours naming them.

Every character is a basic archetype with no personality and no reason to care about them. We have the loner, the teammate who doesn’t like him, the gruff General, the tough woman (multiple ones of those), the religious fanatic ruler, even the wild dog that the hero finds which ends up protecting him (taken straight from Fallout).

Issue #3 is the best of this series so far, but that’s just like Transformers 3 was the best Transformers film. Better than bad still isn’t good.

There was some attempt at character development here, but it ends quickly and gets back to the action. It says a lot that after three issues, I still have to go back and read through the book to remember the names of the main characters when I want to refer to them in my review.

It was bad enough that the first issue had the “I’m his real father” soap opera sub-plot, but the resolution here is ridiculous. After punching Percival over that fact earlier in the issue, now Leo wants to hug him and spout the worst line of dialogue so far, “We’re both his father”?

The art looks good enough not to be ugly, but it’s very safe and tame, without much creativity in panel layout.

I think I might be slamming this so hard because it could have been decent. There is one element of the story that could have been interesting and make this stand out as something more if it was developed at all. But it hasn’t been, unless there are plans for it in the next few issues, but by then it’s too late.

All of the people in NSD wear these video communication glasses and pretty much view everything happening as a reality show. They watch the battles, they watch the Drake and Herc fighting. There’s no privacy and everything is a show for everyone to see. This could be an interesting commentary on our current society, but it’s barely focused on at all. If this was played up it could have elevated this to a slightly different level.

I might have accepted and enjoyed a story like this back in the 90s, but the comic industry has grown up and matured too much over the past decade for me to recommend this book now.

Vic Boone #3 Review

Rating: 4/5
Publisher Name: 215ink
Publisher Website: http://215ink.com

Writer: Shawn Aldridge
Pencils: Geoffo
Inks: Geoffo
Colors: Shawn Aldridge
Number of Pages: 24
Price: $2.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: NR – Not Rated

Publisher’s Blurb:
Boone finally discovers who’s behind the CEO murders. Can he save Nina before she falls victim to the killer? Can he save himself? Find out in the startling conclusion to the 3-part ‘Malfunction: Murder.’

Reviewer’s Comments:
Damn. I already used the “two great tastes that taste great together” joke in another review this week. If I had known I’d be reviewing these books, I would have saved it. So how else can I say this–Private detectives and sci-fi! How f#$@ing awesome is that? It’s not a new concept, but one that I’ve always been a fan of. It works really well here, and makes Vic Boone one of the most unique and fun books I’ve read in a while.

The title on top says issue #3, but I also read the past issues for the first time along with this one, so I’m going to give my general thoughts on the whole series so far, then some specific thoughts on this issue.

This is a wild, wacky and weird ride. I never quite knew what to expect each issue, and it seems like what pops up is only limited by the imagination of the creative team. But beyond that, there’s also a well structured, classic detective mystery. With robots. And monkey people. And a fly person? (I’m hoping we get to learn a little more about Andre in the future.)

Each issue is a good blend of action and character. They took me longer to read than most of what I’ve read recently, and it’s a nice feeling to actually read a comic and not just look at a series of pin-ups. There are a lot of panels per page and a lot of dialogue per panel, but it never gets cluttered and always moves at the right pace.

On my first look at the art I didn’t think it was a good fit for a detective book. But once I started reading, I realized how perfect the style fit. It’s bright and colorful yet dark and gritty all at once, if that’s possible. It just works. The coloring choices seem really odd, but make sense in the flow of the story. I don’t know how, but they fit the mood of each scene. I think it says a lot about the creative team that these things do work. A less talented team wouldn’t have been able to pull this off.

Issue #3 ties up the first storyline while giving us a little more insight into Vic and his issues–some type of wreck and an apparent drug addiction that we saw a little of in the past issues. The mystery wasn’t a huge mystery, it was pretty obvious if you paid attention, but it was still fun to watch it unfold and to see how Vic reacts to it all (especially his reaction to one revelation at the end).

The main story of Vic on the case felt secondary to the world building, but that’s not a bad thing at all. The setting is what makes this special, and without it we’d just be reading another private detective story. The world this takes place in is the real star and I can’t wait to see more of Vic’s adventures in it.

I don’t hide the fact that I love indie and creator owned books, and that I don’t have any love for the big budget mainstream stuff. Sometimes you read a book, and you can tell that the people making it really enjoyed making it, and do it for love of the story and not love of a big paycheck. This is one of those books. It’s bursting with fun and creativity, and should be on your list of “must reads” this month.

TERMINATOR/ROBOCOP: KILL HUMAN #3 (OF 4) Review

Rating: 3/5
Publisher Name: Dynamite Entertainment
Publisher Website: http://www.dynamite.net

Writer: Rob Williams
Pencils: PJ Holden
Colors: Rainer Petter
Number of Pages: 32
Price: $3.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: PARENTAL ADVISORY – 15 years and older. Similiar to T+ but featuring more mature themes and/or more graphic imagery.

Publisher’s Blurb:
Having travelled back to the past to try and stop the horrific future he was newly awakened in, Robocop must create a brand new timeline. Meanwhile, the events of Terminator 2 play out in askew fashion – Sarah and John Connor flee from Cyberdyne Systems but Robocop has successfully shut John’s protector, The Terminator down. The deadly T1000 closes in and a pivotal moment in the history of mankind and Skynet approaches. Will Robocop respect the timeline? Or is there something truly shocking lying in wait for the T1000?

Reviewer’s Comments:
You got Robocop in my Terminator! No, you got your Terminator in my Robocop! What, no one else remembers that commercial? Well, either way, the punch line is the same: two great tastes that taste great together.

Sometimes mixing two franchises can be a disaster, and sometimes it works. It works here, mostly because Robocop is a logical fit for the themes of the Terminator universe. I had never thought about it much, but Robocop and the Terminator (at least the Arnold version of T2) are very similar—the Terminator is a machine learning to be human, and Robocop is half-machine struggling to remain human.

Since this was a very quick and action packed read there’s not a whole lot to say about this individual issue. It only took a few minutes to read through, same as the past two issues. It was fun, with some very cool moments and one great surprise I didn’t see coming. It’s pretty crazy to see a familiar scene from Terminator 2 except with Robocop behind the wheel of the truck that the T-1000 is chasing in the helicopter.

The action is smooth and easy to follow, which isn’t always the case these days with comics trying more and more to emulate the quick cut, close up, ADD style of editing that action movies use these days.

The art isn’t breathtaking but it’s perfectly adequate. John looks like a lot like Edward Furlong from T2, but Sarah is kind of funny looking. I think it’s the huge lips.

As cool and entertaining as this series has been so far, it really doesn’t have much plot and there’s a bare minimum of character development. That hurts it a little bit. The concept is pretty good and it’s neat to see the familiar scenes from an old favorite movie in a new perspective, but if a more complex plot doesn’t kick in soon, cool and entertaining won’t be enough. Fortunately the end of this issue indicates that things might finally be moving somewhere but we’ll have to wait for the next issue to find out for sure.

Overall this is a fun but shallow experience for fans of either franchise. There’s the potential for greatness here, but the final issue really needs to deliver a deeper plot and more character development to achieve it.

Brian & Bobbi Review

Rating: 4/5
Publisher Name: 215ink
Publisher Website: http://215ink.com

Writer: Adam Wilson
Pencils: Franco Viglino
Number of Pages: 120
Price: $9.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP – Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.

Publisher’s Blurb:
Brian & Bobbi is a story for those who feel ignored on a daily basis. Brian has gone completely unnoticed all his life, despite being born with amazing superpowers. Bobbi is the illegitimate daughter of a superhero who can’t seem to convince anyone she’s just a regular kid. By chance, the two meet and what results is a coming-of-age tale set upon a larger than life superhero backdrop. It’s a graphic novel where the super villains, the powers, and the incredible fight scenes are really just the catalyst to tell the much deeper story of two people who couldn’t be any more different — or any more alike.

Reviewer’s Comments:
So, I feel like a complete jerk right now. I received a request from writer Adam Wilson to review this back in August 2010. It happened to be the same week that I was offered a new job and began the process of trying to sell my house and move my family 2000 miles across the country. I had read the message, downloaded the review copy to take a look, but never got a chance to respond. With the move and the job I completely dropped out of the comic world—no reviews, no work on my own projects, not even reading any comics—until I finally got back into things a few weeks ago. I just recently logged into the site where he sent me the message requesting the review, saw the message again, and gave myself a good slap to the forehead.

The book has been available since March of this year, so I’m a bit late here, but here it is. And I’m glad I finally found time to do it, because this was one of the most enjoyable reads of the past few months.

I love superheroes. They’re what got me into comics and all I ever knew of comics in my younger years. But I can’t stand the current state of superhero comics. I don’t touch the big two anymore (and couldn’t keep up with all the crossover events if I wanted to). I want something that’s about more than just the powers and beating each other up with them (and as much as some of the books out there try to add drama, that’s all it’s really about in the end).

I love the idea of a superhero story that’s not really about superheroes. It’s a concept I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to develop myself. Wilson nailed it here. Brian has powers, Brian gets a costume (in one of my favorite scenes, and with a great follow-up), Brian fights villains. But it’s everything else that happens around this that really matters. This is a story about the characters, and their feelings and relationships. It’s about accepting who you are and finding your place in the world. Sometimes that does involve pounding on super-villains and saving the city, but mostly it involves some really great natural sounding dialogue from characters that you very quickly begin to care about. It’s about the quiet moments (though I imagine that if Bobbi was real she’d be pretty loud).

Once the action starts, Wilson proves he can handle that just as well, making it exciting while still keeping the tone of the rest of the story. It doesn’t get dark and violent, which seems to be the common trend these days (see Hancock for a good example of a jarring tone shift).

Franco Viglino’s art perfectly complements the writing. He knows how to use dramatic and exciting angles when needed, and has just enough movement to keep long stretches of dialogue from feeling static and boring.

If you know nothing about comics except Marvel and DC then you’re probably going to go right past this on the shelves of you favorite store. And that sucks. This type of book isn’t for everyone, but it’s something that everyone should give a chance. Brian & Bobbi proves that this type of story belongs on the shelf. It’s a prime example of what the indie world has to offer and what so many people pass over to spend their money collecting the next mega-crossover event.

Don’t pass this over. Read it, and tell your friends to read it. The spandex and capes books have dominated the market for a long time, and even though they’re slowly letting more horror, crime, and other genres into the spotlight, character driven work like Brian & Bobbi still seems to get squashed and kicked to the side.

This is a high quality and enjoyable story, something that I will re-read and eventually give to my kids to read while my boxes of old X-Men and Spiderman sit in the closet collecting dust.

Hellraiser Vol. 1 Review

Rating: 5/5
Publisher Name: Boom! Studios
Publisher Website: http://www.boom-studios.com/

Writer: Clive Barker and Christopher Monfette
Pencils: Leonardo Manco and Stephen Thompson
Colors: Juan Manuel Tumburus, Charlie Kirchoff, Jordie Bellaire
Number of Pages: 128
Price: $9.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: MAX – EXPLICIT CONTENT – 18 years old.

Publisher’s Blurb:
One of the greatest horror franchises of all time returns, now under the control of its original creator! Clive Barker has touched HELLRAISER only twice: once to write THE HELLBOUND HEART, and once more to write and direct the original HELLRAISER film. Now witness Barker’s long-awaited return to tell a new chapter in the series’ official continuity—a trajectory that will forever change the Cenobites…and Pinhead! So prepare your soul for an epic journey into horror from one of the medium’s greatest voices, and starring one of the medium’s greatest characters, in an unforgettable new chapter of HELLRAISER.

Reviewer’s Comments:
So, this is a good week for me and getting to review things that I’ve been a long time fan of. Yesterday I wrote a review of the comic based on my favorite series of books, and today it’s one of my favorite authors from my childhood and college years.

I was a twisted little boy who got into horror at a very young age. I started reading early and beyond my level, and one of my first favorites was the other master of horror, Clive Barker. I read everything of his I could get a hold of, and in 1987, little 11 year old me went to see Hellraiser in the theater and loved every blood gushing moment.

After the disappointment of every Hellraiser film after the second one (only seven horrible sequels that felt less and less like the original? It feels like so much more) I was really worried about what I’d find once I started reading this. Clive Barker’s name in the credits reassured me a bit, but there was still some concern. Could even the master himself bring me a worthy follow up to one of the masterpieces of my childhood?

The 11 year old me says F$@! yeah! There was blood, and skinnings, and bodies ripping, and all kinds of nasty stuff. But there’s also so much more.

The story here is solid and meaty, truly adding new depth and layers to the original. This is the most complete and fleshed out this world has felt. I really like the direction this seems to be going in. It’s creating a new path for these characters while also filling in more of the backstory. It’s very cool to see Kirsty again after 20-something years (yes, I’m purposely ignoring her appearance in Hellraiser 6) and how everything she’s been through has affected her. Without giving away too much, she has gathered up a group of other Cenobite survivors and is actively working to stop them for good. This gives the story some real purpose. This type of story could easily fall into the monotony of torture porn where “people find box, people get ripped to pieces” each issue, but Barker has crafted an ongoing story for both Kirsty and Pinhead that gives each a more complicated role to play.

My only complaint on the story side is that it took a while to introduce the cast of main supporting characters, and shortly after we meet them Kirsty goes running off on her own and we don’t get to see them much again. It was really interesting to see their introductions to the devices and the Cenobites and I’d like to get to know these characters better.

The art is exactly what it needs to be. It has a rough, dirty, realistic feel that perfectly fits the tone of the story. The colors are suitably dark and dreary, with blood probably being the brightest and most colorful thing.

It’s a lot easier to write a bad review than I good one. I could go on forever in a bad one picking apart everything that’s wrong. But I don’t have anything else to say here. I enjoyed this from the front cover to the back. It’s everything I could hope for in a Hellraiser book and I can’t wait to read more. It reminds me of the old while bringing in something new. It adds new levels of greatness to something I already thought was great.

Read this. Read it now. It’s $9.99 for 128 pages collecting 4 issues plus some extras. That’s about $2.50 an issue. You pay $3.99 an issue for DC’s New 52 junk (don’t deny it, I know you did!) and this has way more substance and quality in one panel than most of those books do in a whole issue.

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A Game of Thrones #1 Review

Rating: 3/5
Publisher Name: Dynamite Entertainment
Publisher Website: http://www.dynamite.net/

Writer: Daniel Abraham (based on the novel by George R.R. Martin)
Pencils: Tommy Patterson
Colors: Ivan Nunes
Number of Pages: 32
Price: $3.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: PARENTAL ADVISORY – 15 years and older. Similiar to T+ but featuring more mature themes and/or more graphic imagery.

Publisher’s Blurb:
George R.R. Martin has been called “the American Tolkien” by Time Magazine, and now his landmark fantasy series is being adapted to a graphic format, starting with the first book of the series: A Game of Thrones. The premiere issue introduces readers to George’s world, adapting the prologue and first three chapters of the novel, and bringing onto the graphic stage such iconic characters as Eddard and Catelyn Stark, Jon Snow, young Bran Stark, and Daenerys Targaryen. This novel has also been adapted as a major miniseries by HBO – with HBO’s highest ratings to date, since having premiered on April 17, 2011!

Reviewer’s Comments:
I absolutely love George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series. It’s on the top of my list as THE greatest fantasy series (sorry LOTR fans) and also some of my favorite books ever in all categories. So when I saw this book on the review list, I jumped right on it. I should warn that I might be a little biased by my love of the original material. And that bias swings both ways, as I love that I get to experience more of this world, but I hate that it doesn’t quite meet the high level of quality I expect from something with the Game of Thrones name attached to it.

What we get here is a pretty faithful and well done adaptation, but unfortunately nothing more than that. I don’t know what more I expected, but it’s the same material I’ve already experienced in the book and the series. There’s nothing new here, nothing that adds anything more to the same story I already know, and while that’s disappointing, what’s here is still pretty enjoyable.

The art is quite good and I can’t complain about the quality of it, but I didn’t feel the style really fit the story. This is a dark story, and the art here was a little too neat and colorful. The cold of Winterfell doesn’t feel as harsh as it should. Everything looks too clean. The one other thing that really stood out to me as wrong was the design of the “Others” in the opening scene. It’s not at all what I imagined in my readings or what we saw in the HBO series. I know this is more of a personal opinion, but they seemed really out of place and in that first full shot they look more like a villain for a superhero than a supernatural terror.

I also don’t understand the choice of panel layout in a few scenes, with panels overlapping each other and excessive black space around the panels. It looks like something went wrong when placing the panels in a digital program (maybe this is just something that went wrong with the review PDF?)

Everything feels a little rushed, but I can’t put much blame on the creative team for that.
There’s so much detail and back story in the original novel that I imagine this was a hard script to write and show everything you need to show in the page limits. I really didn’t like the narrative captions, there was too much telling and not showing. We get a lot of names in the first scene featuring some of our main characters, but besides Bran and Ned it’s hard to identify who’s who from the art. The character designs are sort of bland and don’t have much personality.

I have a lot of criticism here, but in the end it’s not as bad as it might sound. I’m looking at this through the eyes of a long-time fan, and I’m going to pick at it harder than the average reader might.

If you’re a true fan, then you might want to pick this up just because of what it is. If you’ve never read the books or seen the series then you probably won’t understand the appeal of it all from just reading this. If you have some slight knowledge of who’s who and what’s happening, you might make some sense of this and enjoy a very watered down version of an epic story. In the end, it’s a good companion to everything that came before but not really strong enough to stand on its own or draw in any new fans.

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