REVIEW: "Krampus!" by Brian Jones, Dean Kotz

Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Type: Graphic Novel, Comic Books, Holiday, humor, Friendly Neighborhood Krampus!

About the Book: Meet the Krampus, yuletide terror and punisher of wicked children. Long imprisoned for his outdated methods, the holiday horror suddenly finds himself freed and tasked with a mission: recover the stolen power of the Secret Society of Santa Clauses! With his flying wolf Stutgaard, the Krampus crosses the globe, encountering various figures of winter lore and uncovering a sinister scheme to topple the Santas and change Christmas as we know it forever! Collects Krampus! #1-5 and extras, including all-new material. [Summary provided by Goodreads.com]

My Review: I saw this on Netgalley and couldn't pass up the chance to read it. I was looking for something to get me in the Christmas spirit - and what better than Krampus! For those unfamiliar with the story of Krampus, check out the Wikipedia page, it's worth a read. I'm not sure how close this version of Krampus is to the original, but I can say it was a fun, holiday-themed read!

I chuckled quite a few times while reading this graphic novel, and I couldn't wait to see what Winter or Christmas themed object or character they would throw in next. If you're looking for something wow worthy, this will probably let you down (hence why it isn't a full five star rating), but if you want a fun read while curled up under the blankets with a mug of hot cocoa? This is the perfect book for you.

Cover Lovin': How could you turn down a cover like that? Definitely eye-catching. Totally gets you in the holiday spirit!

Recommendation: For fans of humorous graphic novels. Or maybe for people that just love reading anything Christmas-y around the holiday.

Final Rating: FOUR out of FIVE stars (4/5). Hilarious! Great fun. Definitely worth a read.

Happy Reading!

~!~ Amanda at Novel Addiction ~!~

REVIEW: "Luminae" by Bengal

Disclaimer: I received a free, advanced e-copy of this graphic novel in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Type: Graphic Novel, Comic Book, Series, Book One, Magic, Demons, Dragons, Light vs. Dark, Fantasy, Thong Armor is Totally Impractical

About the Book: Six young warriors are tasked with protecting the mysterious Luminae, a holy creature of Light in exile from those forces of Darkness that would decimate humanity. When one of the warriors disappears, the others know it is the sign of a superior evil soon to arrive. A stylish dark fantasy by the celebrated artist of Naja and Meka. [Summary from Goodreads.com]

My Review: Nope. Just nope. I wish I could saw I enjoyed this, because it sounded really cool. But readers are thrown right into the middle of a story, with no explanation as to what is going on or why some of these people are important. While the several small story-lines are clearly all part of some over arching dangerous plot, there is no transition from one story-line to the next. So you go from girls searching for their sister to a king talking to his adviser, then suddenly to a kid in a village, with no apparent rhyme or reason.

This had a lot of potential, really. I think the story itself could have used more editing, especially when it came to transitions. Also, I was not a fan of the art. I liked the colors, though several of the characters ended up looking very similar due to their coloring. But what really made me roll my eyes, groan, and grumble were the outfits. Seriously? Why would this warrior girls be wearing thongs and a shirt? Not logical, in the slightest. And even when one character activated her special power, which created some seriously awesome looking armor - her thong was still clearly visible, which means her hips and thighs were very vulnerable. To the writer and artist - trust me, you can make women look sexy in armor without skimpy underwear.

Cover Lovin': This is a very eye catching cover. The art and color lines were what originally attracted me to this graphic novel.

Recommendation: For readers of graphic novels, and people who enjoy weird things with little explanation? In general: Not really recommended.

Final Rating: TWO out of FIVE stars. I saw some potential there, but this fell so flat. You can't have a huge fantasy world like this and then give it so little description, build up, or.. I don't know, explanation. 

Happy Reading!

~!~ Amanda at Novel Addiction ~!~