Wonder Woman: Iron

That did not end the way I thought it would. Though, I really liked it. It was unexpected. The final image was fantastic. I ended up liking Ares more than I thought I would. I liked learning more about Diana's past, specifically, her childhood. I think I might have a crush on Orion. When I started Wonder Woman: Iron, I wasn't sure where the story was going to go. Obviously, they had to search for Zola's baby, but beyond that, I didn't know.

I really enjoyed the dual story lines of Wonder Woman and the First Born. First Born was definitely an interesting character. I wonder if he is the reason Hera punishes Zeus's other children. Though it's not their fault. If Zola is any example, not all of the mothers knew who he was. Even if they did, it is not the child's fault. Not Diana, Lennox or Siracca. I loved Siracca, I loved how her relationship with Diana has begun. I hope we get to see her again.

Ares has me so confused. Is he good? Bad? Selfish? Selfless? What has changed in him from when Diana first met him to now. His behaviour during Apollo's party was interesting. We certainly know who his favourite siblings are. I think Diana has become more of target of the Olympians as well.

I'm also left wondering what Orion will do in the end. Will he fulfill his mission? How will he fulfill it? Will he find a loophole? Brian Azzarello has created an intriguing story. Cliff Chiang and the other artists created a very visual appealing story. I loved Diana's expressions. All the characters showed their emotions and intentions on their faces. Except for Aphrodite, of course. I don't want to see what someone thinks perfect beauty looks like. Wonder Woman: Iron had a great ending, but also left me excited to read Wonder Woman: War.

The Rules of Magic

I've been doing really well with the books I have won from Goodreads. Like The Shadowland, The Rules of Magic is one of the best books I've read this year. The Rules of Magic hit all the right feelings. It was an emotionally charged tale of three siblings, though Franny was the star. I loved Jet. I adored Vincent. Since this is a prequel to Practical Magic, I knew the tale would end with Franny and Jet living in the Owens house together. I still hoped for a different ending. I wanted them to be the ones to break the curse. I wanted them to find love and live happily ever after. In this prequel, Alice Hoffman gave so much more depth to Franny and Jet, to their stories. Though, I have only seen the Practical Magic movie, after reading novel, I want to read the book.

Endings are so important to me. The ending can change how I feel about a story. Sometimes I delay reading the end because I have a feeling something bad will happen to a character I love or because I want to hold on to the characters for just a little while longer. Both were the case with The Rules of Magic. I wanted to keep Franny, Jet and Vincent. I wanted to keep Haylin, William, Raphael and April. I wanted so much to know more about April. I wonder if Hoffman will ever write April's story. I liked learning about the Reverend and more about the curse and feud. I liked learning more about the town and the Owens' place in it.

Hoffman's writing was beautiful, flowing from one image to the next. I could see Franny and Haylin swimming, I could see Vincent and his guitar, Franny carrying daffodils, the children listening in on their father. I could see the garden and the box of lettuce, the vines and wild hair. Hoffman transports you into the lives of the Owens', from childhood to adulthood, eating chocolate cake for breakfast. The Rules of Magic has made me a fan of Alice Hoffman and made me more of a fan of the Owens' family. 

X-Men '92: Warzones

When I found out there was a series called X-Men '92, I knew I had to have it. I talked about it so much with my Hubby. These are my X-Men. These were the X-Men that was on TV when I was young. This cartoon series probably led me to loving comics, and probably led me to being more of a Marvel girl, than a DC. The television series is on Netflix and I've been rewatching it with my Hubby (who also loved this cartoon) and our own children. The nostalgia is strong with this one.

Knowing that this volume was a Warzones collection, I knew that the book wouldn't find the X-Men in the world I was familiar with. These X-Men live on Battleworld with our Lord Doom. They fought a war and won. The world they won seems to be the one that the X-Men from my youth were fighting for. Mutants are free and the X-men are heroes. Baron Kelly certainly seems to like them. They seem to be happy. I want them to be happy, but then it wouldn’t be a good story if they stayed that way

What we learn is that there is a mutant rehab centre for “evil mutants”. The X-men didn’t know about it and they don’t trust it. Even though Baron Kelly reassures them, they have to investigate. I was not surprised by what was going on, but surprised by other things. I was also very excited to see another awesome group of mutants show up.

X-Men ‘92: Warzones was fun and fantastic. It hit the nostalgia where I wanted it too, but also had a great story driving it. I’m excited to read the next books in the series.