Dragon Age: the comic

This is one for the gamers out there, a sequel of sorts to the ‘Dragon age’ games. Set in a world of magic and dragons ‘Dragon age: The Silent Grove’ could also appeal to fantasy readers. It follows King Alistair as he looks for his answers about what happened to his father. If you are familiar with the games, then you will enjoy seeing more of characters that you have had many conversations with in the games. If not, then you get to know people quickly, but it does assume some knowledge of the universe. This is not surprising seen as it is written by the person responsible for the storylines of the games. The story follows fantasy conventions and there aren't ay real surprises. Warning, this does end on a cliff hanger and is not a self contained work.

The artwork is beautiful, and it really works. It’s pretty to look at and makes pages without dialogue really work. A decent read.

Not one for children though, but when you think about it ‘Dragon age’ tend to have an 18 certificate. So you need to treat this graphic novel the same way. It will get gamers reading while they are waiting for the next game in the series.

A geek's story

A quirky graphic novel, which follows the life of Simon, an illustration student. He also happens to be a complete geek and has friends to match. Life does not go as he expects, and he ends up getting a job as an exhibit in an alien zoo.  

Tune:Vanishing Point is the first volume in a series. It does not really live up to it’s blurb because this book is more about Simons student life and his family, only briefly touching on the alien zoo. I suspect that the 2^nd volume will be more interesting because that looks like it will follow his life as an exhibit.
The characters in the book are likeable, maybe it is because I’m somewhat of a geek that I appreciate where they are coming from. The romance is rather sweet. The art work is similar to a manga style but not enough to alienate those who prefer more traditional graphic novels.

This will probably be appreciated by young adults, there is some swearing and sexual references, so not for children. An decent enough read that makes me want to find out what happens in Volume 2. (If only to find out why the series is called ‘Tune’)

Kids graphic novel fun

Squish 3 ‘The power of the parasite’, is a fun graphic novel aimed squarely at kids. I have not read the first two in the series, but I don’t believe it is necessary to enjoy this book. The story construction is very clever,  two tales in one. The first involves Squish, an amoeba who is forced to go to swim camp, he can’t swim, and to top it all makes an iffy, new friend. The second involves Squish’s favourite comic book hero, and you actually get to read the comic when Squish sits down to read it. The superhero character faces a similar dilemma to Squish, but comes at it from a completely different angle. Children get a relatable character and an action packed superhero tale in one book. I would have loved to have read this as a child.

The artwork is simple, but it does really work for this age level. What I really like about this book is that there is a useful moral story about doing what is right and not following the crowd. I think that this would be a good book to give children who are suffering the results of peer pressure. Children’s reading groups would find a lot to discuss in this book about the characters actions. It could even be used in a lesson on friendship. A surprisingly good read, even this adult laughed at some points in the book.