Ranma

The manga "Ranma" was a pretty good comic. It was kind of light hearted and silly; almost to the point of too much. I only say that because the instances where Ranma got soaked in water got a little bit old quickly. Even so, I liked how the relationship slowly develops between the new main characters, and this story really makes you think about the differences between men and women, and how other people view whats proper behavior for the different sexes. The art stile was pretty good, if a bit similar to a lot of other manga I've read like InuYasha.

Skip Beat

The manga I read this week was called Skip Beat. For the most part, I actually really enjoyed the series a lot. There was a certain kind of wicked humor to it that I don't normally see in a lot of manga. Also, the life of the main character felt very similar to what I'm sure a lot of students (especially ones in the artistic industry) feel, the ones who are also trying to get noticed by the more powerful people who judge if you are talented enough to be a part of them. I really felt a connection with the main character, and the other characters are also very likeable, even when they aren't really suppose to be.  I only had a bit of a problem with the layout. Occasionally I would get confused with who was talking. There were also times where people were talking "over" one another and I would sometimes forget what was said by some person previously. Though I really liked the art style, the artist also seems to have a bad habit of making "same faces". Sometimes certain characters look so similar that I'm not sure who is who. I wouldn't have had such a big issue with it if it only happened to the minor characters, but he's also made near doppelgangers to the main characters as well.

Battle Angel Alita

Reading Japanese manga is usually a bit odd for me. I usually think of the Asian culture as being very reserved. However, whenever I read manga, especially the ones that are like Battle Angel Alita, I can't help but think Japan's very weird, maybe a bit more so than Americans in some cases. The sexy half woman half machine character that can do pretty much anything seems to be very popular within Japanese manga. My problem with these types of characters (the very strong fighter ones that can do anything) this usually sets up a very typical story line that I see a lot within the action genre. Hero goes off on an adventure, hero finds friends, hero gets into a battle that they have trouble, mid battle the hero SOMEHOW gets stronger and wins. In some Manga it works for me, in most I've gotten bored quickly. That happened here too.

Maus

Maus was a very enjoyable read. For me, if felt very much as though I were reading an actual book. Usually, I very much hate reading stories that have to do with the Nazis. I tend to feel that the stories are far too depressing. However, the way the writer went about it; Him writing about the time WHILE he was writing his comic as the father spoke about his tale, was very interesting and even lessened the usual dark edge to these stories. The fact that he drew them as mice probably helped a lot with that too, making it a little more friendly for those who are probably just starting to learn about the Nazi camps. The art was simple, not overly impressive, but it did manage to convey everything it wanted to.

A contract with God

I very much enjoyed "a contract with God". Both the art and the stories were very well done. There was a lot of appealing art work in the comics, and Will Eisner did a great job showing the characters emotions throughout the different stories. I was sometimes disappointed with how abrupt some of the stories ended though. It had be hooked during the beginning and middle, but the endings sometimes felt like they came out of no where, like there wasn't a lot of thought put into how things would wrap up.

Scrooge McDuck

I've read a few short comic strips with Scrooge before. I'm ok with the story, but I've never been overly fond of it. Scrooge has always been annoying to me, and though he does have his redeeming qualities, he's just far too greedy for me to ever like him. I do like the triplets and donald of coarse, but in the end it just isn't a comic that has ever appealed to me.

Haunt of Fear

Story wise, I enjoyed reading the EC comics. They were fun campfire horror stories that weren't totally frightening, but unpleasant enough to keep things interesting. I kind of liked the stories with the moral undertones a bit more than the flat out monster stories. At least then there was some level of satisfaction when someone was killed off (usually the wrongdoer thankfully). I wasn't terribly impressed with the art, but that kind of realistic style never really appealed to me.

Little Nemo

Little Nemo really was one of the more imaginative comics I've read in a while. Despite the simplicity of the child Nemo, the story (or rather, the world inside the story) really managed to draw me in. It really made me wish I had dreams that were as interesting as Nemos, and it even had me picturing myself as a child running through this fantasy land. I enjoyed some of the strange characters that appeared throughout the story (and in a way, a lot of them made me think of a child friendly version of Alice in Wonderland) The running gag of the child waking up at the end of every panel did get a bit old quickly, (I imagine it was frustrating for Nemo as well)  but I understand that it helps end each section in a clean way.

Krazy Kat

Krazy Kat was a pretty fun and cute comic to read. I had to seriously concentrate on reading to figure out what the cat was saying, but I didn't feel like that took away from the enjoyment of it. Infact, I almost felt like I was playing a word game, like "Sound out the letters to figure out the message". I also was interested in the fact that for once, the mouse was a bit of a bully to the cat instead of the typical cat bullies the mouse scenario. The gags were simple, short, and funny, which complimented the difficulty of the cats speech (and the time it took to figure it out).

Understanding comics

Understanding comics was an interesting read. There were quite a few points that the artist made that really made me think about comics in a new light. One of the points that I found really interesting was when he said that when characters are drawn in a more cartoon-ish fashion, people will project themselves onto the character. They imagine themselves as the one having the adventure, and relate to the character more. When the character is drawn more realistically, the viewer will see it as following or watching someone else. At first, I really wasn't sure I agreed with what the artist was saying. However, he managed to make his point by drawing himself more realistic, and asking "would you have listened to me if I had drawn myself like this?" And the answer was no, I probably would have been less likely to listen to him if he had been rendered that way throughout the book. I was pleased that he had managed to prove his point in such a way, and what I liked about this book is that he was able to show and draw what he meant as he was explaining comics.

The Arrival

I had mixed feelings on the comic "The Arrival". The art was definitely the best part about the comic. It was beautifully rendered; both the people and the environments had gorgeous detail. Although in some cases I felt a little confused with what was going on in the story. Although I think I got the overall gist of what was going on, parts where they switched to what happened to different characters sometimes put me off balance. In those moments I wished that there was some sort of dialog to explain what was happening, as well as explain why those monster-like creatures were there. The whole thing had a very surreal feel to it. The realistic people, paired with the fantastic environment and the cartoonish creatures.  Overall, I wasn't sure I liked the story, and the thing that really made me enjoy the comic was the art itself.

Come to Venus Melancholy

This was kind of an odd story. I can honestly say that I really like it, but I think the only reason that I do is because it reminds me of some of the characters from one of my favorite video games, Portal 2. The slightly crazy rambling was kind of amusing, and made the speaker oddly likeable, despite the fact that she had apparently locked me as the reader in some room. I got the impression that there was a kind of love hate thing going on between the machine and the user/reader (like it usually is with all machines) and in some areas of the story she seemed a little bit menacing. Especially when she commented that she would leave open a trap door for you to go in, but didn't promise that she would leave it open.I find that this type of character is usually the most fun to read, I'm mildly disappointed that this wasn't longer and more developed.

The Circus of Dr. Lao

This one was rough to get through. I didn't even get through it really. Getting through the first HALF has rough. I found it to be far too repetitive, and I got bored with it very quickly. When they first put up the ads for the show, and it went through about a good twenty people commenting on how they thought they might see the circus, I got annoyed, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and kept going. Then they went through the twenty people again commenting on seeing the circus, and was that a man or a bear? That got old quickly. Couldn't finish it after that.

Troll Bridge

This was a pretty cute little story. I couldn't help but think of the troll and cohen as my grandparents, remembering the good ol' days. The trolls that are moving into the cities, getting different jobs that aren't guarding a bridge, made me think that this must be how my grandparents feel when they're looking at how this generation is going through life. There's not really any more family jobs where the kids take the job that their parents had. Things don't really have a simple pleasure like they use to, everythings getting bigger and more complicated.

Dawn

Dawn was a very enjoyable book for me. I found that the aliens were very fascinating, and the constant internal struggle with the heroine kept the book very gripping. Up to a point I both agreed and got extremely annoyed with Lilith's view on reproducing with the aliens. The aliens were very kind, and I liked them almost immediately. I felt in some cases she was overreacting to what the aliens were doing. They weren't out to do any harm, stop whining. The fact that they want to help, want to do what's best for them and the humans, makes it difficult to dislike them. And then, despite the fact that they're likable, they're also frustrating in their view on what's best for us. For example, when Jdahya said that their people had destroyed the ruins on earth, and Lilith got upset at him. I was also rather upset at the idea of what was left of our old culture being destroyed. Even though he pointed out that she was still alive. A logical answer yes, "you're still alive, why be upset about us getting rid of ruins?" and yet I just felt "That's not the point!". That kind of feeling of being torn between liking these creatures and wanting to slap some sense into them, i felt, was very well done. I really felt like I was always feeling what Lilith was feeling.

Babel-17

Sci-fi has always been a genre that was difficult for me to really get into. This novel didn't end up being that much different. The story itself was enjoyable enough, as were the characters, but I still felt as though it was lacking something that kept me from really loving it. Part of the problem that I typically have with sci-fi is that it tends to introduce too many characters and places at one time. When that happens, I tend to have a really hard time remembering who's who, what the person that's speaking was suppose to be like or look like, and because of that I'm kept from making any sort of bond with the characters. The characters are likeable, but not loveable. Another problem is when they begin to talk about things like technology, substances, places, in lengthy descriptions. A lot of the time I had a hard time wrapping my brain around what was being explained. There were times when I didn't even get that far, I only got the sense that what was being said was important, that I was SUPPOSE to understand something, but instead of grasping it, it flew straight over my head. There were also times where there was too little description, such as the environments, and I ended up getting extremely disoriented. The best example of this was near the beginning when the main character was getting together her crew.

Warbreaker

This is probably one of the most interesting fantasy stories I've read since Harry Potter. I enjoy how the writer brings the beauty of color up to such great importance to the characters, how it's a part of their soul, and their power. I also found the religious struggles to be a very interesting comparison between that world and our own. Sadly, I know that there are people (very powerful and religious people) who are corrupt, and attempt to corrupt their own God to heighten their importance in life. 
Unfortunate;y, I did feel as though there was one major flaw in the story (and it's mostly my own fault) is that a story that has different plots happening one after the other, and that typically doesn't work very well for me. Although I know in the end they'll tie up together in the end, I tend to skip the sections I don't find quite as interesting so I can get back to the other story plots. I did this especially with the character Vivenna, since I usually found her to be the least favorite (and most irritating)  of the main characters. I understand I probably missed a few "aha!" moments, but usually something would happen with the other characters, it would go to her story and I'd think "noooo, I don't wanna wait to know what happens!" and end up skipping ahead.

The Magicians

I was a little iffy on the book The Magicians. It was a relatively good read, and it really felt like a real college for magic in the sense of how the characters behaved. A lot of times I was really comparing it to my own college life. There was the older kids you wanted to hang out with, but seemed to just stay within their own groups, the shy one who had great talent but had low self esteem, and the guy that seemed to live to be obnoxious. I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that I new someone just like every character in the book. In that sense, the book was very well written. However, I also felt that it was a bit slow, and not really exciting. I don't know if that was on purpose, maybe the writer was doing it do get the feel of college classes. Slow, uneventful, learn what you are given, with the occasional fun distraction. One of my favorite parts (don't really know why, probably because it was the first exciting thing to happen) was actually when the beast first appeared in the class. It made me think it was some kind of comparison to when dangerous individuals come into colleges carrying weapons and threatening the students and faculty. I also liked the part when they had to turn into geese in their 4th year for their next lesson. I felt like that was also a comparison to oversea learning. Having gone overseas myself on a school trip, I know it can be pretty tiring (not to the extent of the characters but still) It feels like it's the first time you ever really step out, get away from school and family and see something so new and different that it changes you a little.
Overall, The Magicians was pretty enjoyable. I wouldn't mind continuing the series at some point.

Kwaidan

Kwaidan was a really fascinating read for me. I often really enjoy ghost stories from other cultures, mostly because they tend to be so vastly different from the ghosts that I'm use to hearing about. With the Kwaidan they had spirits that came from nature, separate their heads from their bodies, can actually come in contact with humans, as well as appear as the normal ghosts that we normally hear about. To me, it's just a really refreshing and new experience, and I found that the stories weren't really scary, just either disturbing, sad, or kinda funny.

Interview with a Vampire

I really enjoyed the book "Interview with a Vampire". The whole time I wouldn't help but think how much I felt exactly like the interviewer. I often got sucked into the vampires story, almost feeling mesmerized as he told it, and when he stopped, I felt myself jolt back to reality, much like the interviewer seemed to do. I felt that were really enjoyable to follow, especially the main character who, although he is the typical vampire that I normally read about, had a greater sense of charm and personality that I honestly appreciated. Like most vampire novels it made me question the morals behind vampires. Such as, if I were a vampire, would I really be considered evil? Would there be a way to save myself? I think that's usually the biggest question in all vampire novels, especially when you question it while you're in the realm of religion. In all honesty, I'm still up in the air about it, and that there's really no straight answer to it.