Review – Lady Mechanika Vol. 2: The Tablet of Destinies

Lady Mechanika Vol. 2: The Tablet of Destinies
By: Joe Benitez
Release Date: April 2016
Publisher: Benitez Productions
Series: The Tablet of Destinies #1-6
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


While I’ve read quite a number of manga over the years. It would make sense to think that I’ve devoured graphic novels at the same rate. Unfortunately, the number of manga vs. graphic novels read is wildly out of proportion, with graphic novels on the low side. One of the ways I’m remedying this is by reading Lady Mechanika, a graphic novel series set in a steampunk world with great characters and awesome artwork. This week we read Lady Mechanika Vol 2: The Tablet of Destinies by Joe Benitez.

Review – No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! Vol. 2 by Nico Tanigawa

No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular! Vol. 2
By: Nico Tanigawa
Release Date: January 21, 2014
Publisher: Yen Press
Series: No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular! #2
Rating:


Another day, another manga read. This time it was No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular, Vol. 2 by Nico Tanigawa, a pseudonym used by the two creators. The second volume in the series continues with Tomoko’s misadventures in high school. It’s just as fun as the first volume in the series, and one I definitely enjoyed.

Small note here: The title is often shortened to Watamote, which is also the title the anime is known by. This is what I will be using to refer to this volume for the rest of this review.

Review – Lady Mechanika, Vol. 1: Mystery of the Mechanical Corpse

Lady Mechanika, Vol. 1: Mystery of the Mechanical Corpse
By: Joe Benitez
Website: http://www.joebenitez.com/
Release Date: November 18, 2015
Publisher: Benitez Productions
Series: Lady Mechanika
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Lady Mechanika, Vol. 1: Mystery of the Mechanical Corpse by Joe Benitez is a graphic novel series I wish I had picked up sooner. Of late I’ve read multiple stories promised strong female leads which just didn’t deliver, leaving me to spiral into despair that I’d never find a good female lead ever again. Then, behold! This beautifully illustrated graphic novel fell into my lap almost on accident.

But did it quell my unyielding search for a better than average female protagonist?

#ThrowbackThursday – Ragnarok, Vol. 1 by Myung-Jin Lee

Ragnarok, Volume 1
By: Myung-Jin Lee
Release Date: (Original Korean) 1998; (US Release) May 21, 2002
Publisher: TokyoPop
Series: Ragnarok #1
Rating:


Happy Throwback Thursday everyone! Let’s talk about a very old manga that has graced my husband’s bookshelf since our middle school days. Ragnarok, Volume 1 by Myung-Jin Lee was the first manga he ever managed to convince my mother-in-law was appropriately priced despite the book’s real lack of words in the traditional sense.

So, for a manga that’s been tucked away between multiple volumes of Black Cat and Trigun for the past almost twenty years, how is it?

#ThrowbackThursday Review – Wish Vol 1 by CLAMP

Wish, Vol. 1
By: CLAMP
Website: https://clamp-net.com/
Release Date: (Original) 1996; (English) 2002
Publisher: TokyoPop
Series: Wish #1
Rating:


Some of the first manga I’ve ever read was from CLAMP. I’ve read (and watched) the usual stuff – Tsubara: Reservoir Chronicle, Cardcaptor Sakura, xxxHolic. But I never even heard of Wish before I found it tucked away in a used book sale at my local library. I stared at the cover, and wracked my brain, but nothing came up. So I did what any other fan would do – purchase it immediately and worry about details like plot and why exactly I never heard so much as a whisper about this manga afterwards.[/drocap]

#MangaMonday Review – No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular, Vol 1 by Nico Tanigawa

No Matter How I look at It, It’s You Guys' Fault I’m not Popular, Vol 1
By: Nico Tanigawa
Release Date: (Original) January 21, 2012; (English Translation) October 29, 2013
Publisher: Yen Press
Series: No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular! #1
Rating:


You know how sometimes you stumble on something that hits so close to home it makes you a little uneasy? This manga does that. Over and over again. No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular, Vol 1 by Nico Tanigawa is a story about an awkward teenage girl who loves video games and manga, has trouble making new friends and talking to boys, and isn’t as close to her brother as she used to be.

Review – Disney Manga Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas

Disney Manga Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
By: Jun Asuka
Release Date: November 22, 2016
Publisher: TokyoPop
Rating:


It took an awfully long time for me to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas. Decades, in fact. I wasn’t quite five when it came out, and my parents banned me from watching it on account of me being too scared. This was probably a smart move in retrospect as I vividly remember being terrified that Halloween by a fellow trick or treater dressed up as a ghost (quite literally a middle schooler under a sheet with two eye holes cut out). I ran down the block, screaming, and refused to believe it wasn’t a real ghost. (Sorry, Dad).

Review – The Zodiac Legacy Vol 1 by Stuart Moore

The Zodiac Legacy Vol 1
By: Stuart Moore, Stan Lee, P. H. Marcondes
Release Date: August 2, 2016
Publisher: Papercutz
Series: The Zodiac Legacy, Book #1. Based on The Zodiac Legacy novel series
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


The Zodiac Legacy #1 is a graphic novel by Stuart Moore, Stan Lee, and P. H. Marcondes based on a series of young adult novels of the same title. This is the first in a series of graphic novels involving characters with superpowers based on the Chinese zodiac.