Check, Please: Sticks & Scones

I am not a huge hockey player but I do enjoy that this comic series is about so much more than that. It's about acceptance, finding your people, and making the world a better place. In this second and final installment, Bittle battles with coming out in a big way (to his parents) and struggles with what he will do when he graduates from college. His boyfriend, the big NHL star has a big media moment and things will never be the same again. Will it make them stronger or drive their relationship apart? As always there is lots of backing, keg parties, hockey hazing, and emotions. A fun series and a great finale. 

Catstronauts: Robot Rescue

Another adorable installment in the CatStronauts series. This one reminded me of the Martian as the CatStronat team decides to go rogue and rescue one of their own. They steal a ship and go on a month's long journey to rescue their good friend Cat-Stro-Bot, who is trapped in ice. A pretty dramatic ending for a kid's book (which made me love it even more honestly) wraps the whole space pirates chapter for the CatStronauts pretty nicely. This book will teach your kids to buck authority and never leave a man behind!

Doomsday Clock: Part 2

Supremely ambitious. There is a lot to unpack in this graphic novel and I think I need yo re-read it a time or two before I fully understand all the implications and meanings. Doomsday Clock Part 2 weds Watchmen and DC as Dr. Manhattan takes an interest in the DC multiverse and rewrites histories, changes fates and timelines for no apparent reason. What is he really up to and why does the meddling Ozymandias care so much? Unique, but like I said - I need to give this another read through.

Locke & Key: Alpha & Omega

THIS SERIES!!!! Perfect conclusion to one of the greatest comic series I've read. All the questions are answered, everything is wrapped up, my eyes hurt from crying, and all is right with the world. It's dark, gut wrenching, and absolutely perfect. It could not have ended any better. I'm really hoping that the Netflix adaptation does this series justice because everything about Locke & Key is perfection. Thank you Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez for taking me on this ride. It's everything I never knew I wanted!

Stage Dreams

Queer. Western. Graphic Novel.... Have I drawn you in yet? Relatively short for a graphic novel; Stage Dreams tells the story of a trans deserter who is kidnapped by an indigenous woman and her hawk. When Ghost Hawk realizes that Grace is trans, she isn't upset; in fact the two start to work together to steal maps and gold along their way to California. What neither of them expected was to start falling for each other. A super short, charming story that looks wonderful in colored pencil rather than the usual color of graphic novels.

The Boys: Omnibus volume one

I've had some friends begging me to read this for months and I'm SO GLAD I finally did! Better late than never because I am all in now! This is a true anti-superhero comic (think Watchmen with more laughs) and centers on a group (the boys) as they take on the "supes" (superheroes) who get out of line and don't care about the casualties. The Butcher, Wee Hughie (Simon Pegg), Mother's Milk, the Female, and the Frenchman are out to kick ass, expose supes and bring justice to the world; all while having a laugh out loud kick ass time. It's hilarious, super raunchy, graphic, and all around insanely awesome. This is definitely a series I will stick to and I can't wait to check out the tv show!

The Walking Dead: Book Sixteen

Honestly.... I wasn't disappointed. I had NO IDEA how this series was ever going to end, but Robert Kirkman pulled it off very well. It wasn't what I was necessarily expecting, but that's a good thing. I wanted something off the beaten path, that still felt fitting for a series that I have been invested in for nearly a decade. I really enjoyed the author's note at the end as well. Overall I am glad I stuck by this series. I really got invested in the characters and their journey to find life instead of just survival. One of a kind and I'm sad to see it end, but it's time. Great job Robert Kirkman, that ending got me a little choked up!!

Ms. Marvel: Time and Again

I had been a little meh about the last few volumes, but this one really renewed my love for this whole series. It really shows the stress of being a teenager, sometimes there are scarier things then fighting villains, like keeping secrets from your friends or trying to come to terms with your crush. Kamala Khan fights off the bad guys while navigating friendship, family, the future, and compassion. Cute while still being totally kick ass!

Scooby Apocalypse vol. 2

This is a weird-ass spin-off, but still is a little satisfying. Scooby Apocalypse volume two, picks up right where the first volume ends. The gang is trapped in Mall-Mart surrounded by monsters. In volume one, Velma's nanite creation was expanded and bastardized by her four brothers who used it to unleash  hell on the world. Feeling guilty and responsible, Velma is trying to figure out how to fit in with the gang when she feels responsible for the apocalypse. To top it off Fred has gone and got himself injured so the gang really needs to stick together and tread carefully to survive. Amusing, I'll eventually get around to reading volume three.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/ Ghostbusters

I won't lie, I had really low expectations going into this. These seemed like an intriguing match-up, but not one that would be executed well. While it wasn't "great," it wasn't bad, so that made me pretty happy and willing to read more if there are any more forthcoming. Basically the Ghostbusters and the turtles meet up when there is a glitch in one of the turtle's new inventions. They're sent to New York, but it's in an alternate dimension and it's one where the Ghostbusters reign supreme and no one has ever heard of the turtles. When an ancient ghost/god pulls himself into their dimension, using the same rip that the turtles traveled through, the two groups of heroes have to work together to banish the bad guy and create a machine that will send them back to their dimension. Humorous and full of great art.

The Flintstones vol. 2

I wasn't in love with the first volume, but I figured I'd give this series another go. Still not a fan, but it was interesting to see the social commentary they bring up; from religion, to economics, to family dynamics, war, and materialism. For being light-hearted it could get a little heavy in the stone-age. Very satirical, at times, amusing, and far deeper than the original cartoon ever was. It's ok, but it's just not my jam.

Fables: Animal Farm

How could I forget this gem!?  All is not well at the farm. When Snow White and her sister Rose Red go for for their bi-annual check up, something is seriously wrong. The mayor is "gone," there are shell casings everywhere, there is dissent, and suddenly one of the beloved three little piggies is murdered, his head put up on a spike. Snow White is determined to figure out what in the hell is going on, but she's on her own. Rose Res is teaming up with the "rebels" and she is unable to contact anyone on the outside. What's a girl to do?

Spiderman/ Deadpool: Serious Business

I'm so glad this volume went back to being good because I was seriously disappointed with volumes 2 and 3. The shtick in this one is "no more jokes" they go old school slapstick (for a while) as they deal with the real life Slapstick who isn't so much as a bad guy, but someone in their way. There were some pretty good pop culture references in this one (Westworld and Dolph Lundgren) which perked me up as well. Spiderman is miraculously no longer antsy and the bromance is alive and well as this team partners up to get shit done.

Spiderman/ Deadpool: Itsy Bitsy

UGH! Officially my least favorite release!! How can you mess up Deadpool?!?!?! This "volume" is missing 11, 12, 15, and 16. I don't know if those issues were by guest writers (featured in volume 2) or what. This storyline is also a bit confusing? Why is Deadpool's face beautiful again? When did Spiderman get so angsty and ANGRY? I don't know. Too many questions. This volume has the dynamic duo trying to stop this spider girl from killing too many people and Spiderman is determined to KILL HER rather than stop her and it's tearing him apart and Deadpool has to save the day. Some witty banter but that is about it!

Deadpool: Isn't It Bromantic?

I love that rapport between Spiderman and Deadpool, it's funny, relevant, and highly inappropriate irreverent; the best kind of fun! Deadpool is secretly obsessed with Spiderman and keeps tagging along even though he's not wanted. He uses his time schmoozing up to Spiderman and trying to find out more about his boss, Peter Parker. Deadpool has received a hit on Peter Parker and keeps wondering how such a good guy like Spiderman could work for an evil guy like Peter Parker. Laugh out loud funny and ridiculous; this is a fun read and a promising start to a series. I can't wait to continue with the rest of the series.

The Black Panther

Beautifully drawn, this collection shows T'Challa struggling to keep Wakanda together. Splinter factions, upheaval, and violence are breaking out all over the country and no matter what Black Panther does, it never seems to be enough; he's putting band aids on a gaping wounds. What can he do to bring peace to his Wakandan citizens? It jumps around quite a bit and can be hard to follow at moments, but the illustrations, dialogue, and coloring, make this an impressive comic.

The Black Panther

This is a pretty pimp comic, it feels cool and fresh. King T'challa and his entourage are pretty badass. I just wish we saw more of them. This would have been 5 stars had there not been a "narrator" and it was told in a more linear fashion. It almost felt as if the narrator was more important than the Black Panther, hell they had about the same amount of page time! Anyways the Black Panther comes over from Wakanda to look into the death of a girl that was just featured in his charity (it's a set up!). His American handler, a funny white dude, is also the narrator. He's the one that relays the story to the reader, he's recounting what happened to his co-worker (and friend with benefits) but he keeps jumping around all over the place. IT's funny, it's frustrating, I want more Black Panther!

Megahex

LOVED this! A wacky out of control collection of comics about a witch and her weird anthropomorphic friends. Basically all they do is drink, get stoned, pick on their weird alcoholic owl friend, go to parties, watch TV (they secretly love iCarly), deal with depression, and do weird sex stuff. It's off the wall weird and I love the characters. Werewolf Jones is the life of the party, Owl just wants his friends to like him sober and not get made fun of so much, Megg just wants to smoke and find a way to battle her depression, and Mogg is the most stoned and horny cat you've ever seen. Whimsically drawn and filled in with watercolor, this comic series doesn't take it's self seriously and is bizarrely hilarious.

The End of the Fucking World

This was a wild ride from start to finish. Fast paced and quick to read in it's comic format this story about a lonely teenage couple roaming around aimlessly is gripping from start to finish. James is an odd duck, he doesn't feel deeply and as a child he had no problem killing animals. He's not a remorseful guy, he's just looking to feel something, anything. He meets Alyssa and he pretends to fall in love with her in an attempt to feel some feelings. She goes along with it because she's lonely and why not. Together they runaway and bum around. They break into a house to sleep while it's owners are on vacation. While there they discover some disturbing satanic items and pictures of mutilated bodies. They stay anyway When the owner returns home Alyssa and James are in for some serious shit. Dark and compelling. Like, really dark, I wonder how the TV adaptation will be.

Ghost World

I saw the movie adaptation years ago but I had never made it around to reading the comic. The color and inking are impressive, as are the emotions and dialogue that the male author, Daniel Clowes, gives to Enid and Rebecca, two recently graduated high school girls. This comic doesn't necessarily have an over arching plot but it does show how their friendship, blossoms, hides, and gets complicated during one long summer where they struggle to find out what they each mean to one another. It's funny, insightful, and honest. They pass time checking out new restaurants, speculating about the town weirdos, and planning a future. It's well worth a read.