Nimona by Noelle Stevenson // Reviews

When Nimona applies as an assistant to Lord Blackheart, the villain of the city, his life gets complicated.

Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, YA

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: May 12, 2015

266 pages, paperback

series: –

Synopsis: Goodreads

I heard about this graphic novel here and there on Booktube and also on Instagram and after seeing this gorgeous cover, I knew I had to get it. The art style looked very familiar and now I know why: this is the same artist that designed the cover of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

This graphic novel is based on a series of web comics, which I unfortunately know nothing about, but I definitely have to look those up.

This graphic novel was amazing. Basically everything about it was amazing! I could not find a single flaw (not that I was looking for it!) and I think that everyone who loves either fantasy or graphic novels or both, should read it.

The story was so much fun! It was set in a fantasy world, maybe comparable to medieval times, but with a touch of modern technology. There were knights and heroes and villains and kings and dragons and shapeshifters. What made the story itself really fun, was the fact that it was told (mostly) from the point of view of the villain of the story, who tries to overthrow the government, but the villain does not really want to be a villain. Very funny, very emotional and a lot of fun overall.

I loved the characters. First, the names of these characters were hilarious. Lord Ballister Blackheart, Sir Ambrosious Goldenloin and of course Nimona. Let that sink in and then tell me it is not funny.

Nimona is a shapeshifter and appears in the lab of the villain, Lord Blackheart, to apply and then directly start as his sidekick/assistant. Her back story was mysterious and didn’t really add up, but that doesn’t matter at first because she causes so much havoc and is so much fun to read about. What I also really liked was the fact that she was drawn as a plus size girl and she seemed to feel comfortable that way. That theme wasn’t elaborated, but it was still a nice aspect.

Lord Blackheart has become the villain of the town due to tragic circumstances in his past. He has lost an arm and now has a metallic one (pretty cool!) and does his best to be a ‘good’ villain. I really enjoyed his character and how conflicted he was between being a villain, but somehow still trying to be a good guy.

And of course we have the artwork, which was so so beautiful. I love this art style. It’s so pleasing to look at. The characters look adorable and everything was so colorful. I definitely need more of that art style in my life.

There were some aspects that were subtle, but still great to see in a graphic novel: the plus size main character, LGBTQ+ themes and a lot of feminism. I loved every aspect of it.

As you may have noticed, I really, really, really loved this graphic novel. Simply amazing!

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi // Reviews

An Iranian girl tells her story growing up in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution.

Genre: History, Memoir, Non-Fiction

Publisher: Pantheon

Publication Date: October 30, 2007

341 pages, paperback

series: #1 – #4 in the Persepolis series

Synopsis: Goodreads

I didn’t know much about Iran’s history prior to reading this. There were some bits here and there that I knew about, but also a lot of things that I simply didn’t know. It’s probably because I wasn’t involved in this process; I grew up in a Western country. It’s probably also because I was simply ignorant to this piece of history. It wasn’t something I was taught at school and I wasn’t interested in politics at all. But since I developed a conscience towards politics, I wanted to know more about it. Especially about history in parts of the world where I’ve never been with such a different culture than mine. This is the part where I found some of it. I am aware that Satrapi’s story and opinion is bound to subjective, but there were still facts embedded in her story. The facts that made her life in Iran more difficult.

What I found very fascinating was the culture and the life that Marjane led growing up in Teheran. She is free to do by her own will until the riots begin and the Islamic Revolution takes her life up til then away. She has to wear a hijab in public although she hates it, she isn’t allowed to listen to the music she likes or to play the games she wants to play.
As Marjane grew up to be a teenager, there were more things that she was forbidden to do. She couldn’t be seen with a man in public, she couldn’t have a boyfriend (at least not officially).

Her life was not easy and her parents decided to send her to Austria, to a French school it and followed her story and her woes in Europe as well.
As Marjane grew up between the pages, I felt more and more attached to her. I understood how she hated her country for the Islamic state and for the oppression of women, but how she loved that country as well because it was her home.

I especially loved Marjane’s parents. They were very liberal and westernized and supported Marjane wherever they could. They were rebellious and very funny. Even if the situation didn’t call for it. They tried to make the best out of it.

The fall of a once beautiful country is vividly portrayed by Satrapi. I loved the honesty and brutality that Satrapi showed in her drawings and in the whole concept of this autobiography with simple strokes that had so much meaning and force behind them.

The art style was very simple, yet powerful. I loved the black and white drawings. They were all pleasing to look at and I enjoyed just looking through this graphic novel a lot.

I can say that I have not only enjoyed reading this graphic novel, but I have also learned some of the Iranian history and I will definitely watch the movie adaptation as well.

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley // Reviews

Scott’s life gets turned upside down when he meets Ramona Flowers.

Genre: Contemporary, Sci-Fi, YA

Publisher: Oni Press

Publication Date: August 18, 2004

168 pages, paperback

series: #1 in the Scott Pilgrim series

Synopsis: Goodreads

I loved the movie Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. Michael Cera is the personification of Scott Pilgrim. He fit the role so perfectly and I have seen the movie several times and loved it over and over again. The content of the movie is, as far as I know, the first two graphic novels combined. As soon as I knew that this was a graphic novel to movie adaptation, I had the graphic novel series on my radar until I finally bought the boxed set for myself as a Christmas gift.

The graphic novel is pretty much the same as the first part of the movie; only with drawn characters and not actual people portraying them. Even the dialogue and the phrases that O’Malley uses in this graphic novel is identical. This is in no way negative. I loved that the movie was adapted as close as possible to the graphic novels.

But this is supposed to be a review for the graphic novel, not for the movie. So here goes.

I loved Scott. He is so naive and shy and adorable and cute. Gah, I just couldn’t get enough of him.
On the other hand this made him quite immature and I questioned his motives, his behaviour and his actions more than once. But as this is supposed to be a light read, it was fun to read about Scott in several of these hilarious situations.

The band in which Scott plays the bass is rather unknown, but they get the opportunity to play a gig in a competition. The band itself is a funny mixture of people. I especially loved Kim Pine and Young Neil.

Then there’s Knives Chau (awesome name!) who is Scott’s girlfriend and who is very supportive in regards of the band. The problem is: she’s seventeen while Scott’s twenty-three. For this he gets a lot of sh*t from his band mates at first, but especially from his sister.

I also loved Scott’s gay roommate Wallace. He was simply hilarious and although he sometimes seemed like too laid-back, he was in contrast to Scott a rational thinking human being.

And lastly, there’s Ramona Flowers (another pretty awesome name!). She’s a messenger for Amazon.ca and she has this mysterious aura surrounding her which has Scott immediately interested.

The story itself was pretty funny and hilarious and, as I already said, I loved the precarious situations that Scott was always in the middle of.

The artwork is great. I really liked the chibi-esque character style. It made everything look more cute and adorable than the characters were supposed to be.

Overall I highly enjoyed this first graphic novel in the Scott Pilgrim series and I am definitely eager to continue with it soon.

Soppy: A Love Story by Philippa Rice // Reviews

A graphic novel that describes the life of the author with her boyfriend Luke.

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Non-Fiction

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Publication Date: December 2, 2014

108 pages, hardcover

series: –

Synopsis: Goodreads

This is a graphic novel that doesn’t need a lot of words. It’s about the relationship between the author and her boyfriend Luke: how they meet, how they go on dates and how they finally move in together.

It is so adorable and totally accurate! I could relate in so many ways to this, it’s incredible. When I read this I had to laugh out loud at some scenes because they described something that my boyfriend and I did in exactly the same way.

The artwork is so cute. The style in which the main characters are drawn reminds me of the chibi-style and adds to the cute factor. The entire color scheme is black, white and red and it’s pleasant to look at.

This is definitely a fast read. It is also a read that I will most likely be picking up now and again to let my heart fill with warmth and love. It’s perfect if you’re in love or even if you’re not. If you are a loving person, then this read is something you would enjoy.