An impressive, pulse-pounding start to a new series that will leave readers eager for another compilation.
Tishler offers a collection of historical war comics with a supernatural touch.
This book brings together the first four installments of writer Tishler’s titular comic series, starting in media res with a young narrator, Yuli, recalling a memory of her mother. Their hometown, her mom said, was Eden, and its wintertime, when everything was cold and dead, was just a temporary “Edenfrost.” Beneath this opening voiceover are images of a burning village, dead soldiers in the snow, and Yuli’s brother, Alex, carrying her on his back. The story is set during the Russian Civil War in the early 20th century, when the siblings are desperate to reach their extended family in Kyiv. On their trail are Lt. Col. Krasnov and Lt. Belov of the White Army,who’ve been informed of a “monster made of rock and ice” that once came to the kids’ rescue. With the stakes firmly established, the series moves between the doe-eyed, determined sister and brother and the imperious officers chasing them. Dream sequences and flashbacks skillfully establish the siblings’ past and unveil the true nature of the “monster”— a Golem that Alex can summon with a talisman around his neck. Alex, it turns out, is still mastering control of the creature, whose voice occasionally intrudes into the boy’s mind, asking to be let out, to take over—and Alex fears its full power. In proper serial fashion, each issue ends with an effectively suspenseful cliffhanger, and readers will likely find it difficult to not devour all four parts in a single sitting. Frenda’s realistic, full-color artwork likewise captivates, sometimes ably carrying the story alone, and rendering various fight and battle sequences with a cinematic flair—albeit with a level of gore that may not be suitable for younger readers. Avid comic-book fans will find that the overall style successfully captures the feeling of classic 20th-century war comics.
An impressive, pulse-pounding start to a new series that will leave readers eager for another compilation.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781960578686
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced...
A pairing of the text of the Scottish Play with a filmed performance, designed with the Shakespeare novice in mind.
The left side of the screen of this enhanced e-book contains a full version of Macbeth, while the right side includes a performance of the dialogue shown (approximately 20 lines’ worth per page). This granular focus allows newcomers to experience the nuances of the play, which is rich in irony, hidden intentions and sudden shifts in emotional temperature. The set and costuming are deliberately simple: The background is white, and Macbeth’s “armor” is a leather jacket. But nobody’s dumbing down their performances. Francesca Faridany is particularly good as a tightly coiled Lady Macbeth; Raphael Nash-Thompson gives his roles as the drunken porter and a witch a garrulousness that carries an entertainingly sinister edge. The presentation is not without its hiccups. Matching the video on the right with the text on the left means routinely cutting off dramatic moments; at one point, users have to swipe to see and read the second half of a scene’s closing couplet—presumably an easy fix. A “tap to translate” button on each page puts the text into plain English, but the pop-up text covers up Shakespeare’s original, denying any attempts at comparison; moreover, the translation mainly redefines more obscure words, suggesting that smaller pop-ups for individual terms might be more meaningful.
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced e-book makes the play appealing and graspable to students . (Enhanced e-book. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: The New Book Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times...
A bland, uninspired graphic adaptation of the Bard’s renowned love story.
Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times oddly psychedelic-tinged backgrounds of cool blues and purples, the mood is strange, and the overall ambiance of the story markedly absent. Appealing to what could only be a high-interest/low–reading level audience, McDonald falls short of the mark. He explains a scene in an open-air tavern with a footnote—“a place where people gather to drink”—but he declines to offer definitions for more difficult words, such as “dirges.” While the adaptation does follow the foundation of the play, the contemporary language offers nothing; cringeworthy lines include Benvolio saying to Romeo at the party where he first meets Juliet, “Let’s go. It’s best to leave now, while the party’s in full swing.” Nagar’s faces swirl between dishwater and grotesque, adding another layer of lost passion in a story that should boil with romantic intensity. Each page number is enclosed in a little red heart; while the object of this little nuance is obvious, it’s also unpleasantly saccharine. Notes after the story include such edifying tidbits about Taylor Swift and “ ‘Wow’ dialogs from the play” (which culls out the famous quotes).Pub Date: May 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-93-80028-58-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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