Hellsing, Vol 10 by Kohta Hirano (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Manga
Size: 192 pages
Publisher:  Dark Horse Books/Digital Manga Publishing
Release Date: June 1, 2010

ISBN-13:  978-1595824981
Stand Alone or Series: 10th (and last) book in Hellsing series
Source: Bought
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the tenth and final book in the Hellsign manga.  This was a wonderful and fitting conclusion to this series.  A must read if you love this series.

So at this point we have vampires, werewolves, Catholics, Nanzis, ghouls, Australian Mercs and (of course) the Hellsing family fighting in the streets of London.  The streets are very literally awash with blood and now it is time for the final faceoff.

The spectacular artwork is in keeping with previous books.  I hadn't read the other books for quite a while, so I was a bit confused when everything started up...but I quickly regained my footing and remembered who most of the players are.  This gets a little bit muddled at points, but that chaos is part of the charm of this series.

There are some fun twists and turns, a lot of killing, and a lot of violence.  Our characters face off in final battles.  Integra Hellsing really features in this installment and kicks some major butt.  Alucard is also present here in all his glory.

Overall an absolutely stunning and wonderful conclusion to this manga series.  A must read if you love this series.  The only bad part is that it's all over now.  Hopefully we will see more from Hirano in the future!  The good part is there are still the Hellsing Ultimates (movies) that are slowly being released in the USA.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Graphic Novels Challenge List

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge

Graphic Novel Review - The Chicagoland Detective Agency: The Drained Brains Caper by Trina Robbins, Illustrated by Tyler Page (3/5 stars)

I got a digital copy of this book through Netgalley.  It looked like a fun little graphic novel and sounded like an amusing premise. 

When Megan walks into Raf's pet store he knows she is trouble, she is asking for a pet tarantula afterall.  Megan's dad sends her to a exclusive summer prep school where she senses something is not right about the strangely monotonous children there.  Will Megan and Raf be able to unravel a devious plot that is set at brainwashing a subset of the juvenile population?

Mainly this book is an intro to Megan, Raf and their talking dog friend.  It gets the three set up as the Chicagoland Detective Agency.

There are some great things about this book.  It talks about animal rights, prevention of cruelty to animals, and also touches on the value of independence and creativity.  So there are definitely some good messages presented here.  The illustration was also very good; it is done in kind of an Americanized Manga style and it is easy to follow and conveys the story well.  I was never confused about who is who or what was going on.

My biggest complaint with this graphic novel is the dialogue and the plot, both seemed a little second rate to me.  The majority of the dialogue is corny and forced sounding, like it fell out of a bad 80's cartoon.  I understand that this is a juvenile book, but there are lots of juvenile books out there that are easy to read but don't sound so corny.  Also the plot is incredibly predictable and has been done before.  Given the premise I was expecting more humor and there is some, but overall the book takes itself pretty seriously.

Overall this is an okay read.  It would be good for younger reluctant readers and sends some positive messages.  The illustrations are spot on but the story itself is pretty corny and predictable.  I probably won't be reading any more books in this series.

 

Nabi the Prototype by Yeon Joo Kim (5/5 stars)

This was another book that I got because the cover looked cool. This manga contains several short stories revolving around a girl who was born from the sky. Supposedly this is a preview of a manga series that is going to be published with these characters.

The illustrations are top notch and beautiful. The writing itself is very mature for a manga; meaning there is a lot of philosophy, deep thinking, and beautiful writing. The characters are extremely well-developed, especially for a mango. I was amazed at how much you learn about the characters and care about them by the end of the manga. This is more of a drama type of manga, although there are some action scenes, they are limited.

Definitely better than I was expecting. The story is engaging, the illustration beautiful. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the start of the manga series.