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Batman the Killing Joke
Batman the Killing Joke
Brian Bolland, Alan Moore | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
10
7.4 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
I went to London Super Comic Con on Friday and bought a few image books/graphic novels (I can't wait to read them!) and decided to start taking advantage of my boyfriend's extensive comic/graphic novel collection. As I've been intending to read The Killing Joke for ages now, I decided to start with that.

The edition I read included an introduction by Tim Sales, an afterword by Brian Bolland, and a final scene written and illustrated by Bolland.

This is one of the most famous and successful novels - and I can see why. The story is just fantastic - the Joker tries to prove that anyone can go insane after just one bad day, using Jim Gordon as his example. The colour palettes are so cleverly thought out, giving an eerie, creepy tone to most scenes, while the Joker's (possible) origin story is mostly black and white with just small details in red.

Batman is obviously included, but is not a massive character in this story. The focus is on the Gordons and the Joker.

I really loved this. The origin story for the Joker that's included can be taken as true or false - the Joker makes a comment about not actually remembering his past, and liking it to be "multiple choice". This gives the reader the choice of believing it or not. And the Joker's ways of putting Jim Gordon through hell are definitely in line with his character.

The Joker always fascinates me, and I would love to read all his stories. But whether you're a "fan" of his or not, this book is definitely worth the read. 5 stars; an fantastic novel.
  
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The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth
Ken Follett | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.6 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
In Depth, long page turner
Contains spoilers, click to show
I'm not normally the sort of person who goes in for historical fiction. Especially those set in the Dark Ages, but gave it a go as had heard it was a modern 'must read'.
For something that was over 1000 pages, it never felt like a slog or a chore to read. The more you get in to it, the more you want to read in one sitting.
Admitted, the sex scenes are quite gratuitous and graphic at times. And, taken in a modern context, the continual dumping on the lead character can seem overly harsh, as if the author gets pleasure from torturing his lead. But read the book through the historical lens of it's 12th-13th Century setting, and this reduces the frustrations, and adds to the realism
  
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Ross (3284 KP) rated Infinity Gauntlet in Books

Apr 27, 2018  
Infinity Gauntlet
Infinity Gauntlet
Jim Starlin | 1991 | Comics & Graphic Novels
8
7.8 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
This graphic novel starts with Thanos in full possession of the infinity gems and hence all-powerful. Determined to please the very high-maintenance Mistress Death, he starts doing what he thinks she would like him to do - starting off by eliminating half of the universe's population, rapture-style.
Thereafter, most of your favourite Marvel superheroes come together to plan an attack on Thanos to save the Earth from an ice age and the universe in general.
I had high hopes for this, the excitement of all of those supes ganging up was quite high. Sadly, it fell a little short.
It also feels quite dated and the dialogue is just utter guff.
The artwork at times is good, but in general a little slapdash in my opinion.
  
SW
Snow White: A Graphic Novel
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
While browsing the graphic novel/comic section of my library, I noticed this title, glanced at the synopsis and opened to a random place in order to see if I liked the art enough to check it out. Well, yes I did. The artwork is gorgeous, both simple and elegant and perfectly captures the 1920's setting. The dialogue is sparse, but the illustrations speak more than enough for the story. My only complaints are that there are a couple spots that I felt could be expanded, especially in regards to the relationship between Snow and "the Seven". I don't know if there was supposed to be more time passing but it felt like they just met and then *bam* they're one family. Otherwise, is was a lovely read.
  
TH
The Hedgerows of June
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Hmm... so I don't do much in the way of wars and all that but this one was very interesting. The love story between the man and woman but also the love of the children. The war was also very interesting to read about. The mission was secret and important. The characters held my attention and made me love them and what they were going through. The writing was very well done. It was graphic and mysterious. It was love and heartache. It was very well done because I knew what and how everyone was feeling and what everyone was doing. I could see how it was going down and what was happening in my head because the writing made everything appear as if watching a movie. Very interesting story.
  
The Declaration
The Declaration
Gemma Malley | 2007 | Young Adult (YA)
8
7.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great YA Dystopian Read (0 more)
YA cliches (0 more)
This book is a great read for a younger audience looking for a good YA series to sink your teeth into. Although there are many YA tropes and cliches, the premise of the book is interesting enough for this stereotypes to be overlooked.


The story is short so it won't take particularly long to read. I, being a slow reader, read the book is six hours.

As I said, the concept of the book is interesting, inviting you to question opinions on morality and immortality. The book does contain mild abuse because of the dystopian elements in the book however they are not graphic in detail.


I loved reading this book when I was younger and I am still enjoying rereading as an adult.
  
Batman the Killing Joke
Batman the Killing Joke
Brian Bolland, Alan Moore | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
10
7.4 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fantastically written self-contained story with superb artwork
This short graphic novel sees Batman trying to peacefully put an end to his conflict with the Joker (safely behind bars - or is he?) before one of them ends up dead. Needless to say Joker escapes and puts in place his plan to show the beauty of madness. He wants to show that everyone would be happier if they just let their brain snap under extreme strain, and then you'll always see the funny side.
Some superb artwork throughout the book, both in the current story and flashbacks of Mr J's life.
I think fans of the Arkham video games will get a real buzz out of this, it is totally in line with the stories and settings used in the games.