Locke and Key: the audiobook

So this isn't actually a review, that will come soon, but I wanted to get a post out about the audiobook adaptation of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez's graphic novel ASAP. Why? Because until November 4th, you can download the audiobook for free. FOR FREE.

I'm sure some people are a little curious as to how you translate a primarily visual medium to an entirely audio one. This adaptation of Locke and Key is very similar to the audiobook for Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. It's less an audiobook and more an audioplay. Each chapter (which loosely corresponds to an issue of the comic) is introduced by a narrator who sets the scene in a few lines, after that it is made up entirely of dialogue between the cast. The production so far is incredibly well done and the cast is sensational. Tatiana Maslany, Kate Mulgrew, Haley Joel Osment (I think this is the first acting gig of his I've seen/heard since The Sixth Sense!), and Joe Hill himself all star in the audiobook along with a bunch of others. According to audible there are over 50 voice actors all told, so that gives you an idea of the scale of this project.

Anyway, if you've been looking for a new audiobook or have always been interested in checking out Locke and Key but wasn't too keen on comics then I highly recommend you get this while it's free.

Pages to Panels: A Bookish Guide to Getting into Comics (1)

Comics are a hard medium to break into. Unless you're purely sticking with the literary graphic novels you have 60 years of convoluted, conflicting and confusing story lines to try and get your head around. There are a tonne of great sites online that can help you work out which story line to start with for certain superheroes or which to avoid, but since everyone who reads this blog is a book reader first and foremost I thought I'd write a bit of an introductory post for people wanting to break into the comic world.

There are the obvious choices that I'm sure most of your have already read or at least heard about. Maus by Art Spiegelman, From Hell by Alan Moore, Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. They're typically one off editions (or two in the case of Maus) and heavy on the literary angle. They're all brilliant and you should definitely read them *stares menacingly until you all add them to you Goodreads lists*. But what if you're thinking you want something a little more serial in nature? Something that tackles a particular genre or story line or character arc over a much longer time frame. Well aren't you a lucky duck? I'm here to do exactly that. And to make it even easier, rather than just list a bunch of awesome comics (I mean, you could just check out my review tab for that) I'm going to give you a neat little pathway to wander down, complete with shonky paint graphics.

I'm just starting with 5 recommendations today, but if people seem to enjoy these I'll plan out a few more posts*. And maybe work out a way to make these graphics look less pathetic. These are a mix of new and old comic series, but they're also all fairly straight forward. You're not likely to have any cross-over nightmares to deal with here, thank god.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

 1. Rat Queens - Kurtis J. Wiebe, Roc Upchurch (8 issues, ongoing)

If you like the comedic fantasy stylings of Terry Pratchett and Christopher Moore you will probably adore Rat Queens. Rat Queens has the style of D&D fantasy world elements and characters you'd expect to find in a Discworld novel and it's fantastically coupled with the biting humour of both Moore and Pratchett. It's foul-mouthed and rough, but the camaraderie between the four female protagonists is the real motivator in the story.

Similar comics you might also like: Saga (Brian K. Vaughan), Chew (John Layman)


2. Transmetropolitan - Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson (10 volumes, completed)

Big fan of Hunter S. Thompson and his outlaw breed of gonzo journalism? Then you should absolutely follow Spider Jerusalem's antics in Transmetropolitan - since he's inspired by the gun-wielding, drug-taking, truth-talkin' HST. The books take place in a futuristic world where morals, ethics and anything resembling self respect has been traded in for cold hard cash. The humour is dark and the social criticism biting. This was actually my very first graphic novel series and (fun fact) the way Tom wheedled his way into my heart when he saw me in a bar wearing a HST t-shirt ("have you heard of the comic Transmetro - I have the whole series if you want to borrow it").

Similar comics you might also like:  Preacher (Garth Ennis), Watchmen (Alan Moore)


3. Ms Marvel - G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona (9 issues, ongoing)

Ms Marvel is a pretty big deal for a number of reasons. It's the first (or close to) comic to represent both a muslim and female protagonist in an incredibly progressive and positive way. It manages to take the stress of suddenly becoming a superhero and make it incredibly relatable. Khamala Khan deals with the issues every teenager deals with - doing her homework, abiding by her parents rules, conflicting with friends and school bullies, doubting with your self-worth and appearance every other minute - but it does it with the added lenses of being a Pakistani-American and a superhero. There are probably a half dozen YA novels I could have listed here, but one of the best qualities of Ms Marvel is how fresh and funny the dialogue is. Lots of pop culture references and self-deprecating humour, with  moments of startling reality thrown in to add weight. If you're a fan of Allie Brosh's ability to blend serious discussions on depression with ridiculous dog stories in Hyperbole and a Half and/or love Cline's pop culture rich Ready Player One then you should hunt this series down.

Similar comics you might also like:  The Runaways (Brian K. Vaughan/Joss Whedon), Lumberjanes (Noelle Stephenson), She-Hulk (Charles Soule)


4. Locke and Key - Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez (6 volumes, completed)

If I am going to recommend one comic it'll probably be Locke and Key. Like NOS4R2 and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Locke and Key blends horror and fantasy elements with stories of family and loss. They're fun and exciting and a teeny bit tense but they also pack a wallop of an emotional punch that hits you when you aren't expecting it. A horrific coming-of-age story, if you will.

Similar comics you might also like:  The Cape (Jason Ciaramella), Pretty Deadly (Kelly Sue DeConnick)


5. Fables - Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham (145 issues, ongoing)

Okay, so throwing in Once Upon a Time is a bit of a cheat since it's TV but it did begin as an adaptation of Fables, so cram it. Bookwise though, I see a lot of similarities to the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. While Thursday is an outsider coming into the literary world, Fables is told entirely from the perspective of the displaced fairytale characters. Both work hard to infuse clever nods and hints to their literary origins and are broad mystery series. They also have a lot of heart and a good idea at its core but didn't really come out of the gate at full speed. Which is a nicer way to say that I was pretty meh when I first read each of them, but ended up loving a lot of it in later volumes.

Similar comics you might also like: The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (Alan Moore), Kill Shakespeare (Conor McCreery), Unwritten (Mike Carey)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

* If people have specific genres or styles of books they'd like to find a comic partner for let me know in the comments and I'll see what I can do!

Top 10 Tuesday: light and fun reads

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the fancy folk over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's prompt is: 10 books when you need a light and fun read.


____________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (review)
This book you guys, this book has it all. It's super fun, and full of 80s trivia and virtual reality awesomeness. If you haven't read this yet then you need to get onto it PRONTO.

2. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins 
I just finished this last week (review up later today) and loooooved it. It was a quick read and incredibly fun, a little silly and OMG so much talk about good hair!

3. Death: A Life by George Pendle (review)
This isn't the greatest book, but the concept is hard to pass up. For the first time we hear Death's life story, forget the rumours and the gossip, Death is going to set the story straight. It's darkly funny and a little bizarre.

4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling
From Hagrid's big entrance (har har har PUN!), to Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley, and his first flight on a broom, this book is fun squared. The series starts to get dark pretty quickly after this, but this first book is such a classic adventure quest and only gets better with age.

5. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (review)
This little novella is charming. Utterly, utterly charming. It's about the Queen of England discovering reading late in life after years and years of following orders and waving regally from carriages. It's a beautiful little ode to reading, and it'll make you smile like a lunatic.

6.The Dark Tower series by Stephen King (review)
I'm halfway through the second book and while these are in no way light reading (although they aren't particularly heavy/dark either, at least not yet) they are THE BEST THINGS EVER. That's not even an exaggeration,  it's scientific fact. I am having so much fun reading this book, and I can not wait to get onto book 3.

7. The Five Fists of Science by Matt Fraction and Steven Sanders (review)
This graphic novel is a bunch of fun. It's a re-imagining of the feud between Tesla (yay!) and Edison (booo!) with giant robots, science, and Victorian aesthetics. Even if you don't read many graphic novels you're sure to find this one a treat!

8. Charmed Life (Chrestomanci #1) by Diana Wynne Jones
Another TTT, another recommendation to read the Chrestomanci series. These are perhaps the most fun books I ever read as a kid. And as an adult. They're just super full of win. The main character, Christopher Chant, is basically a young Dumbledore with multiple lives. He's wise, and smart-alecky, and wears super neat clothes and goes on these amazing adventures and just read it already OK?

9. Locke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (review)
Another graphic novel but this time a series. Joe Hill is Stephen King's son, and you can tell. There's horror aesthetics, a love of Lovecraft (so much so that the town they live is called Lovecraft) and an amazing story that unfolds in the most satisfying way possible. The art style is phenomenal, and the characters are realistic and brilliant. It's probably my favourite series at the moment.

10. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding 
I haven't read this book in years, but I still remember it as being ridiculously funny. And is there anything lighter than diary entries? No? No.

Mini-graphic reviews #7

Locke and Key: Clockworks (Volume 5)
Written by: Joe Hill, Illustrated by: Gabriel Rodriguez

Published: 2012

My Thoughts: This penultimate volume is perhaps my favourite so far. It shifted back in time detailing not only the events that lead to the creation of the keys during the Civil War, but the events in Tyler, Kinsey and Bode's father's teenage life that resulted in the chaos they're now well and truly caught up in. It sets the stage perfectly for what will definitely be a mindblowing final volume, but it never loses momentum in setting the stage for what's to come. A rare skill indeed, and just further proof that Joe Hill most certainly is his father's son. If you haven't started reading this series yet, then there's something seriously wrong with you. What are you waiting for!!

Doom Patrol: Crawling from the Wreckage (volume 1)
Written by: Grant Morrison, Illustrated by: Richard Case, Doug Braithwaite, Scott Hanna, Carlos Garzon, John Nyberg.

Published: 2000

My Thoughts: This is a modern remake of a comic from the 1960s that was determined to write a superhero group unlike any others. The characters needed to be twisted up a little to remain offbeat in a modern context, but the focus remains the same; essentially this is a comic book filled with the superheroes that were previously left on the cutting room floor. Crazy Jane is schizophrenic, and each of her personalities has their own superpower, Rebis is the new form of Negative Man (from the original series) infused with his female doctor, Mr Steele is a brain housed in a robotic body after his human body was destroyed in a crash. This is a funny, irreverent and interesting series...can't wait to read more!

American Vampire (Volume 2)
Written by: Scott Snyder, Illustrated by: Rafael Albuquerque

Published: 2011

My Thoughts: Remember this one? Stephen King joined the team for the first volume, writing the origin story for the first of a new vampire species, Skinner Sweet (reviewed here). Moving on a decade (it's now the mid -1930s), Sweet is now in Las Vegas with fellow American vampire, Pearl, and surprise surprise they're up to no good! Unknowingly up against  the vampires is young police chief Cash McCogan, a loving husband with a son on the way...who has no idea what he's getting himself into. Also joining the fray is the mysterious organisation of vampire hunters known as the Vassals of the Morning Stars and a few characters that featured in the earlier volume. Anyway, get onto this series guys, it's really freaking good and it's only going to get better!

American Vampire (Volume 3)
Written by: Scott Snyder, Illustrated by: Rafael Albuquerque

Published: 2012

My Thoughts: Another volume, another decade. This volume takes place in the 1940s amid the horrors of WWII. Split into two separate stories, the first features Skinner Sweet, Pearl and her husband Henry (a non-vampire) and takes place on a small Japanese island where there's a threat of a new breed of vampire that could devastate the Allies position in the war. Story two follows vampire hunters (not naming them to avoid spoiling the volume reviewed above) as they try and source a cure for vampirism from a scientist currently trapped in the grips of Nazi soldiers in Romania. The first story is a little overly patriotic (You didn't win the war alone America!) and almost felt a little like they were trying to justify America dropping the Atom bombs, but once you get past that it's a thoroughly decent story that perfectly blends romance, action and vampires. Story two is just hands down awesome all the way!

Graphic Novel mini-reviews #5

Crossed (Volume #1)
By Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows

Published: 2006

My Thoughts: Remember how I reviewed a few single issues of Crossed a few weeks back? Well I finally got my hands on Volume 1 and 2 of the primary story. Volume 1 was fantastic!! Infusing elements of the zombie genre (these aren't zombies though), with global fears of contagion, primal aggression and the end of the world, this book is dark and nihilistic yet incredibly compelling. I found it so easy to slip into the mind frame of the primary characters, which only made it more clear how ill-equipped I would be for anything like it! This isn't for the faint hearted...if you find it hard to read violence, viewing it in graphic novel form is not going to make it any better. However it isn't mindless violence, the social commentary runs thick through it and it never feels like it's just for shock and awe sake. A really great read, I highly recommend it.

Crossed: Family Values (Volume 2)
by David Lapham and Javier Barreno

Published: 2011

My Thoughts: Remember a few lines back when I said the violence wasn't gratuitous...wasn't simply for shock and awe? Well one volume later, that's all that I could take from this story. A new writing and art team tackle a new story with all new characters in this volume. The only similarity is  that the world is still over-run with the "Crossed". Where the first volume showed restraint, reality and was full of commentary on the state of our current society, this volume  just took it too far, horrendously far, and lacked the substance to back it up. It wasn't terrible, there was a few really decent story threads and the basic premise was very promising. I just wish it hadn't felt like a snuff film. Only read this is you're a completest.

Locke and Key: Keys to the Kingdom (Volume 4)
By Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Published: 2011

My Thoughts: I seriously cannot say enough good things about this series. The writing is fantastic, the story is amazing and every time I think the artwork has hit a new high Rodriguez goes and blows himself out of the water! This book continues to advance the story of the Locke family as they discover even more mysterious keys and slowly seem to be piecing together the larger mystery. Dodge is batshit crazy as ever, and the sneakiest motherf*cker of all time....but man oh man do I love him! This is such a rich series, even if you don't normally read graphic novels you simply have to start reading this one. It will blow your mind and convert you to a comic lover for life!!