A selection of October graphic novels

 Monet: Itinerant of Light by Salva Rubio with art by Ricard Efa (2017) 112 pages

Captures the Impressionist style in the backgrounds of comic panels. Really explores the starving artist trials of Monet. He was often rebellious of authority, but with this graphic bio being so short, you are mostly struck by how often Monet and his family were struggling to make ends meet with his irregular income as a painter. I read it on an older Kindle from Libby, which isn't as great at being able to zoom in on small text boxes or bubbles.

Mary Shelly: Monster Hunter Vol. 1 by Adam Glass and Olivia Cuartero-Briggs with art by Hayden Sherman (2019) 120 pages

Fun! Interesting Frankenstein pastiche. It combines the night Mary and Byron and the others had their horror writing competition with Mary meeting a woman Dr. Frankenstein, who is trying to create a man who is a protector of women. The series starts off promisingly with the art conveying the Romantic and Gothic nature of the time period, and the writing making use of increased feminist themes. But the last issue does not end in a way that was satisfying to me.

The Tomb of Dracula: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 by Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, et al. (2017) 507 pages

Comics of the '70s feel a bit too much like soap operas for my taste. The art is sometimes too busy and hastily finished. Still, the continuity and character development are strong as it moves forward. Blade is introduced in this series. Great twists and turns for the imagination. I like the black and white art and stories through time of the Dracula Lives! series in the second half better than the first half. That is with the exception of the story set in Hollywood, which is cynical in the worst way. 

Monstress, Book One by Marjorie M. Liu with art by Sana Takeda (2019) 521 pages

Epic! I'm glad I picked this edition that includes issues 1 through 18. No other ending point would have felt conclusive. The fantasy elements are stronger than the steampunk elements until it gets into the later issues. I love the world building. I love the matriarchal society. The writing and art are so well matched. Maika and Kippa are great characters. Kippa is like Jiminy Cricket, a conscience for  Maika who has a monster inside her. Ren, the cat, and later Zinn, an old god, are created with fantastic complexity too. This book is full of stunning visuals and sometimes gruesome, bloody horrors. Figuring out who are Maika's allies and who are her enemies is difficult. Many different factors are intertwined in the plot. Five stars!

Cold Storage

Cold Storage by David Koepp (2019) 308 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla narrated by Chris Messina. This is a book I do not recommend. Perhaps if you have read every book by Michael Crichton and are desperate for another bioterror thriller this will fill your need. When I heard about this back in 2019 I had just read Crichton's The Andromeda Strain and its sequel The Andromeda Evolution by Daniel H. Wilson. Koepp has had a long career as a screenwriter, including often adapting books for Spielberg movies. In fact, Koepp adapted Jurassic Park and The Lost World. This is his first novel. I had high expectations that were not met. The first hour of the audiobook, which takes place back in the late 1980s felt the most like a Crichton sci-fi thriller. I didn't like most of the characters. I don't read horror often, so I was very disturbed by the disgusting, revolting, sickening fungal growth and explosions. There is something too cynical about the way the characters luck into saving the day.