Book Reviews: Graphic Novels #1

* I have received an eARCs of these graphic novels in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review *

Graphic Novel Review #1:

Title: Side-Kicked

Author: Russell Brettholtz

Source: NetGalley 

Publisher: Magnetic Press Inc. 

Rating: 2/5 stars

Graphic Novel Review Summary:

I thought I would really like this comic, it is one that I thought would interest me, being the premise was about trying to find sidekicks, and this is something I should enjoy being that I like books or graphic novels that do not focus on the chosen one however this one was not for me. I did not feel engaged with the story that after 10 pages, I did just want it to be finished. This being the case I did end up stopping at after this. The artwork also was not to my taste as well and I thought that it was quite normal and did not stand out. As I have been reading more graphic novels as of late this one was average and did not stand out from the crowd. Graphic Novel Review #2: Title: Tortured Life Author: Neil Gibson and Dan Watters Source: NetGalley  Publisher: TPub  Rating: 4/5 stars Graphic Novel Review Summary: Tortured Life is about Richard who after having a completely normal life discovers that he can see when things die. This starts off with seeing the deaths of animals but expands to seeing the deaths of people including himself. Richard is then forced into this world which will change the way he lives. The plot to this graphic novel really surprised me as I don't normally read that much horror but I really enjoyed this one. It was fast-paced and some parts kept me on the edge on my seat and I did just want to find out what happened next.. The settings was also a nice one for me as I live near London and it was nice to see places that I recognised while reading it. The plot was definitely interesting and kept me engaged.   I also enjoyed the characters in the novel and that were enjoyable and the were quite developed it ways although Richard can be seen as a quite normal in terms of characters and was not special. The artwork was also really nice in my opinion and I really did enjoy it especially with the contrast to the people being dead in contrast to be alive. The colours used were also quite nice in the novel.   Overall, Tortured Life is an enjoyable graphic novel that I would recommend for fans of horror novels. Graphic Novel Review #3: Title: Descender Volume 1: Tin Stars Author: Jeff Lemire Source: netgalley  Publisher: Image Comics Rating: 3/5 stars Graphic Novel Review Summary:         Descender is about Tim-21, a robot who get left alone on a planet with many people who want to find him. We follow Tim-21 as he relives his previous memories and tries to piece together his previous lives.         I enjoyed the plot overall of Descender however especially towards the end as I do want to know what happens at next. I found however the plot at the beginning was quite slow and confusing. This could be because this was when the world building was happening and this did not leave me feeling very engaged in story. This being said I really enjoyed the pieces from his past as they added to the story and did improve it for me. Also towards the end, the plot really did increase and I really enjoyed it. Overall, the plot was engaging to an extent however I did find the beginning confusing and slow at times.           The characters in the novel were really enjoyed especially Tim-21 as I really liked him as a character and it was nice to exploring his character over the issues and volume.           My main problem with this graphic novel was with the artwork because even though I think the artwork is very unique and different, I did not really like it that much. I was interested in the artwork from that of the cover however they look a little different. I guess I found the artwork looked quite unfinished and at times did put me off the graphic novel as I was not enjoying the graphic novel I was reading.             Overall, I did like Descender as a graphic novel however I did find that the artwork let it down.  Graphic Novel Review #4: Title: Neil Gibson  Author: Tabatha  Source: netgalley  Publisher: T. Pub Rating: 4/5 stars Graphic Novel Review Summary:        Tabatha follows a mail man and a group of friends who stumble across something that they shouldn't have which will leave them in hot water.           The plot of the story was quite fast paced and I really enjoyed it. This is not normally a book that I would normally go for as I don't often read creepy or horror like books so I was a surprise when I did enjoy the plot. It is set in LA and I enjoyed this as I have not read anything set in this city before and this definitely added to the plot making it a lot more interesting. I also enjoyed the plot of the story as I did enjoy the creepy nature to the novel as it definitely kept me at the edge of my seat at times which meant that I wanted to keep reading. The plot was both surprising at times especially in the beginning however at the end the plot is predictable and you can often see where the story was going. The end itself however was a nice ending to the story.            The characters in this graphic novel were also enjoyable and I did enjoy the flip side to the characters especially in the beginning as it made it more interesting for me. The characters however I found were not often well-developed and the story was was more focused on single characters which meant that some were under developed which harmed parts of the story.           I did enjoy the artwork in the story and I did think that it added to the story however the artwork itself was one that it quite common in graphic novels and is not a completely new style. The artwork on the cover is also really well done but the extent it matches what is inside the novel is debatable.           Overall, Tabatha is a enjoyable graphic novel with a fast-paced and interesting plot.  Graphic Novel Review #5: Title: Death Vigil Author: Stjepan Šejić  Source: netgalley  Publisher: Image Comics Rating: 5/5 stars Graphic Novel Review Summary:

       Death Vigil follows Bernie who is a leader of a group of warriors whose enemy is the necromancers. On her death, Clara gets offers a choice to join the Death Vigil or to die. It is here the story progressing into a fast-paced adventure with plot twists that you will not see coming. 

       Overall, Death Vigil is one of my favourite graphic novels that I read this year, it has such a massive world which is detailed and well explored and it is fast-paced and has really lovable characters and the artwork was very well done. It is probably really  easy to get bored of the story if you do not like however this is not the case with me. The graphic novel itself is over 280 pages which mean that it is a lot of material to read which I really enjoyed and it expanded the graphic novel world a lot which I loved. 
         The plot of the graphic novel is really fast-paced and was unexpected which I really loved and found really interested. The beginning of the story left me hooked from the start, as we are already introduced to the world and it gives us the backstory to characters. The plot goes from one interesting plot point to another which leaves you becoming invested in the story and not being bored. The plot itself involves two points of view in the story which again keeps you involved in the story. The ending is also full of plot twists that I did not see coming. Overall, the plot is fast-paced and high enjoyable. 
            Overall, the characters are really enjoyable and highly likeable. All the characters are developed especially Bernie, Sam and Clara who are the most developed and my favourite characters. The relationship between characters are also interesting to read about especially that of Bernie and Sam and Sam and Clara which well-developed and nice especially to have in graphic novels. 
             Overall, the artwork in the graphic novel was really interesting and I really enjoyed it however I did have some problems with it. This is more with the layout as the frames were often quite full with lots of dialogue which was quite tedious at times as it made it fill really long to read however the graphic novel was over 200 pages so this could mean that they did want to save pages however I am not sure this really worked for me. 
               Overall, Death Vigil was a really enjoyable graphic novel which I recommend for anyone who loves fantasy. It is also a graphic novel that I will happily continue with this graphic novel series. 

Have you read any of these graphic novels? If so what did you think of them? Leave them in the comments below. 

See you soon, 

Amy