Category Archives: Books

Harley Quinn Volume Two: Power Outage. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There always seemed to be an issue in the D.C. world of graphic novels in comparison to its other dominant rival and even the less fashionable, less well known comic book makers at the time, its representation of women, aside from those in the Wonder Woman and Cat-Woman titles, was woefully lacking and in many cases perhaps even tiresome and undeserving. There really was no edge to them, nothing other being seen to be seen; there was no equality and no female hero or anti-hero worthy of looking up to.

Harley Quinn Volume Two: Power Outage. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(554 words, estimated 2:13 mins reading time)

Fables: The Good Prince. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Never dismiss the caretaker or the janitor; they might be the only one who truly knows where all the bodies are buried.

The tenth instalment of Bill Willingham’s Fables, The Good Prince, is perhaps arguably the most fairylike tale of them all. A tale told of the valour of one man with more to lose than anyone in the whole of Fable Town, a man whose life throughout the previous nine books has been one of the utmost importance but who never realised what he was until his memory was forced to return as he thought of indiscretions with Red Riding Hood.

Fables: The Good Prince. Book Review. full post

(511 words, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

The New 52: Harley Quinn Volume 1: Hot in The City, Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Re-invention is at times good for the soul, for D.C. Comics’ Harley Quinn it’s a positive boon.

The arguments of the New 52 series is one that might last until graphic novels sail long into the collective memory of all who have had the fortune to be taken on many a voyage of discovery with the utopian marriage of an excellent scripted story and the artwork that would adorn many a wall. It revived and refreshed what had become a standing joke amongst fans of the superhero genre in Aqua Man, it gave new context to titles such as The Justice League and perhaps greatest of all, took the most insane but beautifully crafted of modern inceptions of the D.C. world, Harley Quinn, and made her a true star in her own dramatic right.

The New 52: Harley Quinn Volume 1: Hot in The City, Graphic Novel Review. full post

(598 words, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

Spencer Leigh, Best Of The Beatles: The Sacking Of Pete Best. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Over 50 years since The Beatles first played In Hamburg on what was to give them the grounding for the relentless touring to come, over forty years since they last all played together on the seminal Abbey Road, over 30 years since John Lennon was cruelly taken from his fans and probably about 90 seconds since a Beatles track was played somewhere in the world, and yet after all this time there are still some people in the world who would struggle shamefully to recognise the force that gave them their unique sound in the early Liverpool and Hamburg days.

Spencer Leigh, Best Of The Beatles: The Sacking Of Pete Best. Book Review. full post

(593 words, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)

Marvel’s Original Sin. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Crossovers in the world of the graphic novel are to be seen almost as often as the tides turn or as social media finds another person in which chase down in a witch hunt. There was a time when it was seen to be special, a nod to the existence in some gigantic way that for example Captain America could breathe the same air as the Fantastic Four, the Thing and The Hulk could batter themselves silly across several different issues and take in the force of Doctor Strange at the same time. Now it seems all too common place, not necessarily a bad thing but one in which a heavy laden serial such as Marvel’s Original Sin requires so much forethought to carry it off with grace.

Marvel’s Original Sin. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(345 words, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)

Fables: Sons Of Empire. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9.5/10

All empires must eventually wither, contract, fade and die. It is perhaps the most human of all truths, which nothing can, or indeed should, last forever.

The days of empire should surely be beyond thought and yet in many minds it is as necessary as breathing, from business to the old empirical values of ownership, empire is nothing more than a control set upon from afar, the will of one people over another. It is a mindset that is perhaps eagerly captured in Bill Willingham’s ninth collection of stories in his Fables series, the stunning Sons of Empire.

Fables: Sons Of Empire. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(526 words, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

Batman: Mad Love And Other Stories, Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

At times in life, a diversion is needed to take the subtle agony of the daily grind away, a sense of humour keen and required to withstand even the most arduous of days and if not for love, humour would have no way of being reigned in from being nothing more than cruel and absurd.

Batman: Mad Love And Other Stories, Graphic Novel Review. full post

(456 words, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

James Patterson, Hope To Die. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

With hands held tightly in a sort of nervous anticipation for the next page to slowly crawl your way, finding that the last few chapters of what has been one long chase in Cross My Heart and its 2015 sequel Hope To Die, has left you feeling exasperated, slightly jaded, jarred and dejected, is enough to feel slightly cheated at what has otherwise been a great return to form for James Patterson and his erstwhile detective hero Alex Cross.

James Patterson, Hope To Die. Book Review. full post

(410 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Mark Pardy, A Guide To The Unique Style Of Ian Mosley: Marillion’s Heartbeat. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

You can have a not half bad band but with a talented drummer on board you will sound so good that people will flock to see you. The drums, for many a group, are the pulse in which Time passes freely, in which sets out the not just rhythm but the reason and without reason, without the passion of the player who never gets the true spotlight, all may be lost in the cacophony of sound and pleasure.

Mark Pardy, A Guide To The Unique Style Of Ian Mosley: Marillion’s Heartbeat. Book Review. full post

(584 words, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

Fables: Wolves. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

After the fairly disappointing previous title in the collection of Bill Willingham’s otherwise entertaining Fables, the otherwise forgettable Arabian Nights (And Days), Wolves brings back one of the most interesting of characters to stride through the mythic streets and overwhelming wilderness, the previous Sheriff of Fable Town, Bigby Wolf.

The theme of solitude and repentance lives long in the minds of many fables as it does in the eyes of humanity. The long road to freedom, to shake of the chains of dishonour is a road that many don’t realise they have to take when dealing in a modern world. It is a tricky one to master but it must be taken with every step accounted for and it is one in which Bigby Wolf has endured.

Fables: Wolves. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(406 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)