Avengers Assemble: The Forgeries Of Jealously

Based on the goodnight thank you poem by Kelly Sue DeConnick at the end of this collections, I think Avengers Assemble: The Forgeries Of Jealously is the last Marvel book DeConnick worked on. I really enjoyed seeing the Avengers through Spider-Girl’s eyes. I also loved how each partner she had was trying to teach her something. Team Lady-Spider was pretty funny. I loved Spider-Girl and Logan. I like how there was some other big global crisis going on (one of stories from earlier in the series?), but the Avengers were still taking the time to help Spider-Girl find her missing teacher. It was a good, fun story.

Two things bothered me just a little about the story. I don’t feel like the art always fully conveyed the emotion or thoughts of the characters. Maybe it was just the style. I don’t know. It was still good, it just didn’t hook me the way other artists have in the past. The other was the final end. I think I expected something more exciting, like Avengers Assemble, or funny like Science Bros. It was good, emotional, and it showed the connection Spider-Girl made with the team, but it was still missing something for me. Maybe I’ll find it on a re-read. Because I did enjoy it, like I did with the entire Avengers Assemble series. I definitely see myself flipping through these pages again.

Captain Marvel: Rise of Alpha Flight

I need to know more about Abigail Brand. I’ve only see on her in bits and pieces. I know she has green hair and wears green glasses all the time. I’ve seen the character on Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and in the Spider-Woman motion comic, Spider-Woman: Agent of SWORD. She’s pretty wicked. She is hard and strong and smart. I’m also pretty sure she’s not human. She’s the boss though, but not of Alpha Flight. Captain Marvel has been given command of this station. A desk job? Low key? Maybe, maybe not.

I feel like Carol is barely there for a day when there is a problem. There is a delegation to deal with, but also problems on the station. There are explosions, goo, weird creatures, and the dead. Captain Marvel barely gets time to get her feet wet. Brand tries to get Carol to focus, but she's not one for standing around. When it is time for Alpha Flight to meet a threat head-on, Captain Marvel flies out there with them.

I loved the characters I got to meet in Rise of Alpha Flight. I knew who Sasquatch was, but I had never read a comic with him in it. He's great. So is Aurora. I loved Puck. I loved Wendy. I want Wendy to be around forever. The aliens were certainly interesting. Some people just don't listen. It's nice to know the Kree's reputation spans the universe.

Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas did a fantastic job. I really connected to the art of Kris Anka and Felipe Smith. The comic covers were amazing. Captain Marvel: Rise of Alpha Flight was full of humour, emotion, excitement, and Carol Danvers' amazing attitude. It is the book I needed to read.

Destroy Me

With Restore Me coming out soon, I thought I should actually finish reading the books I own of the Shatter Me series. I read Shatter Me two and a half years ago and for some reason didn’t keep going, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. I also follow Taherah Mafi on Twitter and I think she's fabulous. I bought Unite Me, the collection containing the Shatter Me novellas months ago (from Better World Books), and still didn’t read it right away. There are just so many stories and so little time. 

Destroy Me is the first of the novellas. It is the story of Warner, the young man obsessed with Juliette and head of Sector 45. Destroy Me is from his perspective and gives us a look into his mind and motivations. We learn so much about him. It begins right after the events of Shatter Me. Warner is recovering, not just from his injuries, but from losing Juliette. Destroy Me dives into how deep his obsession is with her. I don’t know if he can live without her. While Warner is recovering, I wonder what Juliette is doing. Is she more closely examining her time with Warner? Is she trying to dissect his motivations and her own reactions? Also, was what he saw at the end real? Destroy Me has urged me to get back into the series, one that will have more books coming out in the future. 

Wonder Woman: War

Yes! This! This was a fantastic, amazing, exciting installment of the The New 52: Wonder Woman. War was everything I wanted it to be and more. It was Wonder Woman being badass. She was tough, strong and vulnerable. She was a strong leader and a caring sister. She made the hard decisions. She created an army that was a family. Wonder Woman does what needs to be done.

I've got a little crush on Orion. I'm sure he knows Diana could break him, but he carelessly flirts, pushes her buttons, and it's amazing. He also opens up to her, when I don't think he expected to. I'm excited to see how their relationship evolves. I loved Lennox. He's been with Diana and caring for their brother. He was rock solid. Diana inspires loyalty among those in her care. Though she vows to protect them, they also want to protect her. 

War might be my favourite of the The New 52: Wonder Woman series. It was a coming together. It was full of excitement. There were battles, soldiers and strength. There was love and sacrifice. There were surprises. I couldn't put War down. I've even gone back through it and read over some of my favourite moments. Wonder Woman hit me hard in the feels. It was a story that got my energy going and that I am eager to continue.

Lumberjanes: A Terrible Plan

You know what isn't "a terrible plan"? Reading this book. Lumberjanes #3: A Terrible Plan was fun. It was lighter than the previous two books. I felt like the girls were in less mortal peril.  A Terrible Plan was about the girls having an opportunity to navigate normal life and learn more about each other. There was definitely still some adventure. Some questions were answered, more were asked.

A Terrible Plan was the book that I needed. I have been in a reading slump. It has been a little while, but I have also been in denial. Since the new year, I had only finished one book. One! When I'm not reading, I'm not writing very much either. When I think about it, I feel bad. I feel as though I'm missing something. I started reading It when this reading slump began (not realizing that I was in a slump). I have been struggling through it. Not that I am not enjoying it. Once I pick it up and have time to dive into it, I enjoy it. I'm excited to see what happens in Derry, what happened when they were kids, and what will happen to Pennywise. But trying to get through a Stephen King novel is not how I get through a slump, though I tried and tried. I was about halfway through when I decided to take a break. I decided what I needed was a fun graphic novel. I think Lumberjanes: A Terrible Plan may have just done the trick. I'm feeling more excited about reading. The story and the art grabbed me. Am I reading to go back to It? No. Next, I'm going to read Wonder Woman: War. (The cover is freaky.)

Maybe I'll need to read another Lumberjanes book or I'll decide I need some short stories. I'm definitely going to let my feelings guide me for the next little while.

Like Mal and Molly's feelings? I really enjoyed the developing of Molly and Mal's relationship. They're getting closer, learning more about each other, their "real lives" not just their lives at the camp. They also get into adventure, and learn a little more about the past of the camp. I'm excited to see more "Bear Woman" too.

I liked seeing more of the other campers. The camp seems to be filled with exceptional girls. As the other three explore more "common" goals, the readers get to see even the "common" is special at the Lumberjanes camp. 

I need to mention that the art is different in this volume of the Lumberjanes. It's not bad. It took me a bit to stop missing the previous artist and stop comparing (which I'm going to do here a bit anyway). I found every thing more "round". I'm not sure that's the right word, but that's the one I'm going with. The faces, the eyes, the hair, the background, there was a roundness to it. I enjoyed the expressions, the faces and the emotions they conveyed. So, it was good. It was just noticeably different.

I have not checked (and try not to check) to see if the artists have changes for book 4. Part of me never wants to know. It's not like I like being surprised, it's just with graphic novels, I feel like even a little bit of peaking can give something away.