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Watchmen

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishers
by: Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons


I bought this comic based partly on the positive feedback it has received and the hype surrounding it; however such hype can create unrealistic expectations. That isn't to say Watchmen isn't a fantastic work of fiction, simply it wasn't what I expected.

The story begins with an intriguing murder mystery that helps to introduce one the books greatest characters, Rorschach. After this promising start the story slows down considerably with the majority of the book dedicated more to the development of the main characters rather than the story itself. The deliberate slow pacing and exploration of the inner landscape can make reading Watchmen difficult as developments in the main story take an age to develop.

Some of the ... Read More:

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Batman: The Killing Joke (Deluxe Edition)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishers
by: Alan Moore

April 25, 2008
I was really looking forward to this, having heard so much praise. I guess I missed something, but I was expecting a really deep, complex story, like so many reviews and articles had described, and didn't find anything of the sort. The artwork's flawless, but the story really did nothing for me, especially the Joker's back story, which seems to be the most raved about part. I felt no attachment to any characters, and having only recently read Watchmen for the first time, and being so blown away by that, I couldn't see how this was the same writer. I also found it shockingly short, which I don't expect from a graphic novel. As I said before though, awesome artwork. I still love that cover!

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Star Wars: Force Unleashed (the Novel)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishers
by: Sean Williams

August 22, 2008
I was really looking forward to this, having heard so much praise. I guess I missed something, but I was expecting a really deep, complex story, like so many reviews and articles had described, and didn't find anything of the sort. The artwork's flawless, but the story really did nothing for me, especially the Joker's back story, which seems to be the most raved about part. I felt no attachment to any characters, and having only recently read Watchmen for the first time, and being so blown away by that, I couldn't see how this was the same writer. I also found it shockingly short, which I don't expect from a graphic novel. As I said before though, awesome artwork. I still love that cover!

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V for Vendetta

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishers
by: Alan Moore, David Lloyd

April 14, 2000
Great. This deserves the hype but not the butchering it received on film at the hands of the Wachowksi brothers. This is really about Thatcher's Britain and nuclear winters and the social control of 'deviant' minorities and the power of dissent. So it has something to say about today. But don't read it as a proxy for political critique. It is a joy for many a reason, of which its anarchist politics is one, but our present predicaments require something less wedded to Cold War models. V for Vendetta is of its time, by which I mean also that it is a classic.

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Batman: v. 2: Hush: v. 2

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishers
by: Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams

November 26, 2004
I'm not going to write a huge review of this here, suffice to say if you liked Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Haunted Knight, the Dark Knight Returns and all those sort of Batman stories you're in no way going to be disapointed by this. In fact you're probably going to love it. One of the greatest Batman stories out there. Be sure to read part 1 first!

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Batman: Hush

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishers
by: Jeph Loeb, Scott Williams

August 23, 2004
Jeph Loeb has a pretty illustrious history in comics as a writer. In Batman alone, he has written the fantastic Batman: Long Halloween (a key inspiration for Batman Begins) and its follow up Dark Victory, two stupendous stories which suggested he'd strike it lucky a third time too. Right?

Wrong. Somewhere between these two books, Jeph Loeb lost his mojo. This first volume of Hush (and why a 12-issue story needed to be published in two volumes of different sizes when even this same writer's previous stuff wasn't is a mystery) begins a rollercoaster story the ending of which you can see from a mile off.

Many of the characters and dialogue styles are identical to those used previously ("no one can resist me" says Poison Ivy. Again.) and ... Read More:

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Supernatural: Bone Key (Supernatural)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishers
by: Keith R.A. DeCandido

September 26, 2008
Jeph Loeb has a pretty illustrious history in comics as a writer. In Batman alone, he has written the fantastic Batman: Long Halloween (a key inspiration for Batman Begins) and its follow up Dark Victory, two stupendous stories which suggested he'd strike it lucky a third time too. Right?

Wrong. Somewhere between these two books, Jeph Loeb lost his mojo. This first volume of Hush (and why a 12-issue story needed to be published in two volumes of different sizes when even this same writer's previous stuff wasn't is a mystery) begins a rollercoaster story the ending of which you can see from a mile off.

Many of the characters and dialogue styles are identical to those used previously ("no one can resist me" says Poison Ivy. Again.) and ... Read More:

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The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: v. 2

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishers
by: Alan Moore, Kevin O'Neill

October 22, 2004
I think that in his review the Kinniburgh Kid got it right. While there are times that this is very clever, even in a moral sense, there are moments when it goes over the line from subversive genius to bad taste. It has a very angry feel that the authors wanted this to be the end of the League and that they want to see how far they can push the story.

Towards the end there is a definite feeling that they are being pushed reluctantly into writing a sequel and that they want to make sure they don't have to do anymore!

For me the funniest things are the creatures of Dr Moreau which are quite brilliant and worth three stars on their own. I will never look at Rupert or The Wind in the Willows in quite the same way again.

There is one ... Read More:

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Buffy Season Eight Volume 2: No Future For You: No Future for You v. 2 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse)): 2 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse))

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishers
by: Brian K Vaughan, Joss Whedon

June 29, 2008
I was a late convert to the world of Buffy. Like many I had watched it as a teenager, enjoyed it, and then been persuaded by who knows who, that it was not something one should be proud of watching. Then I watched Serenity and thought it was great, backtracked to firefly and loved that too. Then one day somebody told me that the same guy that did those, did buffy. "WHAT!" I said, "That cant be!", half clouded by the fact that everybody said that Buffy was rubbish, half trying to cover up my embarrassment of not making this ling earlier.

So to cut a long story short, I watched all of Buffy in a very short time, and I loved it. And then I watched Angel and I loved it less, but loved it all the same.

Before Mr. Whedon ever entered my life, and then ... Read More:

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Dark Tower: The Long Road Home Premiere HC: Long Road Home Premiere (Dark Tower (Marvel)): 2 (Dark Tower (Marvel))

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishers
by: Peter David, Robin Furth

October 07, 2008
I was a late convert to the world of Buffy. Like many I had watched it as a teenager, enjoyed it, and then been persuaded by who knows who, that it was not something one should be proud of watching. Then I watched Serenity and thought it was great, backtracked to firefly and loved that too. Then one day somebody told me that the same guy that did those, did buffy. "WHAT!" I said, "That cant be!", half clouded by the fact that everybody said that Buffy was rubbish, half trying to cover up my embarrassment of not making this ling earlier.

So to cut a long story short, I watched all of Buffy in a very short time, and I loved it. And then I watched Angel and I loved it less, but loved it all the same.

Before Mr. Whedon ever entered my life, and then ... Read More: