Review: Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Rhonda V. Wilcox
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I greatly enjoyed this book and found it helpful for both my fandom interest and also for my academic interests. It helped me have a greater appreciation for Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a television show. Some of my friends know that I have complicated feelings about Season 6, but this book helped me better see how that season reflected Buffy's Hero's Journey and how her relationship with Spike was necessary for tapping into her dark side. A fair warning, though: Don't read it until you've watched at least through most of Season 7 because there are a lot of spoilers! If you're a BtVS fan and also a literary fan, you'll love this book as much as I did. :)

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Review: Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier

Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier by Rhonda V. Wilcox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been cherry picking this book, but the chapters I've read are very helpful to my academic work and also entertaining for me to read as a "Browncoat." In particular, I enjoyed Chapter 4 "The threat of the 'Good Wife': Feminism, Postfeminism, and Third-Wave Feminism in Firefly" by Laura L. Beading, Chapter 7's discussion of the Dystopia genre, and Tanya Cochran's Chapter (19) about fan culture. If you're interested in feminism, speculative fiction, and fan culture as applied to Joss Whedon's work, check it out.

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Review: Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels

Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels by Scott McCloud
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book, and the section entitled "Understanding Comics Culture" made me feel emotional at times. Anyone who wants to study, write, or draw comics will understand it and why we love comics so much as artists and/or scholars. Scott McCloud's passion comes through for the whole book, and it's a good mix behind the theory of Understanding Comics and the more pragmatic aspect of creating comics. As a comics scholar, I think it helped me understand the medium better. As someone who has aspirations to also write comics scripts, it was also helpful for me in that regard. I appreciate his discussion about collaborating with visual artists, which I will need to continue to do, since that is not my forte. Sometimes, I feel like the universe played a cruel joke on me by giving me an artist's soul, but not quite the pipes to sing well, the body joints to dance for a living (although I enjoy it as an occasional hobby and a way to exercise), or the fine motor skills to draw well. But fortunately, I can write stories and write scholastic commentary on this awesome visual media, and Scott McCloud continues to teach me about it. Well done!

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Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Last Gleaming

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Last Gleaming by Joss Whedon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This volume was definitely sad, and I don't know what else to say plot-wise without spoiling it. But there was beauty and hope amid the sadness, which is what I love about the Buffyverse narratives. The art work in this volume was exquisite and presented well even on my new Kindle, which yes I finally did cave in and get to better control the book clutter in my house! After reading this volume, I look forward to eventually reading the Buffy/Faith comics, and hopefully to meeting Eliza Dushku at Dragoncon this year.

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Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Twilight

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Twilight by Brad Meltzer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this one in one sitting, literally, and I absolutely loved it! This is one of my favorites in the comics series so far. I am team "Bangel," as many of my friends and fellow fans know, so I was very happy to see Angel make an appearance. Also, I thought the Twilight satire was hilarious! I must admit that I loved that series at the beginning, but grew to gradually hate it more as it went on. Breaking Dawn = Blah! And Buffy is so right when she says her vampire story is oh ever so much better! But anyway, again, even more amazing artwork, and I hope Georges Jeanty is at Dragoncon yet again this year, so I can get him to sign more comics. He always impresses me, and I enjoy hearing his thoughts about the Buffyverse. I'm growing to love it more and more as I go on, and yes, I'm aware that I am a mid-thirties fangirl and proud of it. Stay tuned for more Buffy reviews! These comics are making their way into my creative fanfiction work and, hopefully, into my academic work too. I can't wait to see where all of this goes. I just wished I had watched Buffy during high school and college when it was first a thing because I think I needed these characters in my life at that point.

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Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Retreat

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Retreat by Jane Espenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one wasn't one of my very favorites so far in the comics series, but I enjoyed it. Jane Espenson is a terrific writer, and I always enjoy her portrayals of female characters. It was nice to see Oz make a reappearance. I always hoped he and Willow would eventually get back together, and I was a bit sad that this volume seemed to close that off as a possibility. It did show that they still have a very strong connection, though, and I liked the honestly of the awkwardness between them, even though they were basically on good terms with each other. By the way, if you want to see another ending to the Oz and Willow saga, check out my fan fiction story! I'm Georgia Unicorn on both fanfiction.net and the Twisting the Hellmouth website: http://www.tthfanfic.org. As usual, I thought the art work in this comic was stupendous!

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Review: Dietland

Dietland by Sarai Walker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought it touched on many important issues regarding feminism and the way women are treated. Avid Bookshop's Social Justice book club is discussing it on Tuesday night, so I look forward to hearing what others have to say about it. Don't let the title fool you. It's not about dieting. The main character is an overweight young woman (new adult age) who struggles with confidence issues because of her size and the way people treat her because of it. And yes, the book is critical of the dieting culture and the beauty industry, in a good and thoughtful way. But it is also a feminist manifesto of sorts: Plum learns to stand up for herself, as do other women who have been mistreated for different reasons. If I have/raise a daughter one day, I will give her this book. I will say that it requires a certain suspension of disbelief, as some of the events seem farfetched. But if you're willing to go with it and to let your imagination run free, definitely read this book. I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could. In particular, the momentum really picks up halfway through, and there's some entertaining satire throughout the book.

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