New Arrivals: The Epic Loot Book Haul

A local online retailer, Loot.co.za, had a truly amazing book sale recently. You could get 3 books for the princely sum of R99 (around $6.70 total or $2.25 each). Needless to say I went a bit crazy and emptied their entire speculative fiction section of any books I didn't already own. The end result is an epic haul of 23 books. I think that makes this the biggest book haul I've had in ages.

Behold my precious, precious treasures!

I was particularly excited and extremely lucky to be able to grab some comics too. Comics, especially hardcover collections, are extremely expensive over here and they rarely, if ever, go on sale. While these took longer to get here, they were well worth the wait. The two Justice League Omnibus editions wouldn't be something I'd normally pick up since it features work from the 1960's and I'm not sure I'll enjoy the older stuff. But heck, at that price I couldn't resist - it was an absolute steal!

Getting Graphic: Die, Vol. 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker

Title: Die, Vol. 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker
Author: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Stephanie Hans
Pages: 478
ISBN: 9781534312708
Publisher: Image
Published: 5 June 2019
Genre: Graphic Novel
Source: Purchased

Buy it from:
The Book Depository

THE WICKED + THE DIVINE writer KIERON GILLEN teams up with artist supernova STEPHANIE HANS (THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, Journey Into Mystery) for her first ongoing comic! DIE is a pitch-black fantasy where a group of forty-something adults have to deal with the returning, unearthly horror they only just survived as teenage role-players. If KIERON’s in a rush, he describes it as “Goth Jumanji”, but that's only the tip of this critically acclaimed obsidian iceberg. Collects DIE #1-5

When I first heard the premise of Die I just knew I had to get it. The wait for the trade paperback was excruciating, but so worth it. The art by Stephanie Hans is simply amazing, there are times where you turn the page and just have to go "Wow, that's beautiful". Kieran Gillen takes the world of Dungeons and Dragons, RPGs and fantasy lore and uses those well-known mechanics to create a world and characters that are both interesting and unique.  The story is emotionally harrowing and at times verges into horror territory.

The easiest thing would be to call Die a dark Jumanji for adults, but that description doesn't quite do it justice. There are nuances at work which will delight veteran D&D players and goes so much deeper than is first apparent. Gillen manages to explore the emotional scars of his characters both as angsty teens and jaded adults, the impact of the fantasy world, the consequences of their actions and the very act of playing the game itself.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Die. My only complaint is that the story felt quite rushed and that it was over far too quickly. There is so much at play here, so much depth and history to delve into. I want to experience it all, but in this first volume we barely get to scratch the surface. I can't wait to see what comes next.  

Die is definitely a series to keep your eye on!

The Rating: 7/10 (Very good)

Getting Graphic: The Journey Begins

It all started around the middle of last year when I suddenly had this vivid memory of a graphic novel/comic I owned as a teen. The only thing I could remember was this image of a kid with a yo-yo which somehow turned into an owl (the yo-yo, not the kid!). For the life of me I couldn't remember the title. My copy must have gotten lost when we moved since, after an extensive (and I mean EXTENSIVE) search I couldn't find it. The whole thing nagged at me. My OCD brain just wouldn't give it a rest until a) I found out what it was and b) I could get a copy again.

Internet to the rescue! A desperate plea on Twitter resulted in the revelation that the comic in question was in fact The Books of Magic written by Neil Gaiman. Thankfully it was still in print and I managed to track down a copy again which sated my brain's desires and allowed me to once again get a peaceful night's rest.

This whole episode sparked a newfound interest in comics/graphic novels and prompted me to test the waters to see if this whole comic thing is for me. Growing up I didn't have access to any comics aside from those trusted staples of libraries everywhere - Astrix and Tintin (technically both are graphic novels if I understand the jargon right) and the aforementioned Books of Magic which, if memory serves, I received as a gift from someone. So with this very limited background I'm going to start a journey of exploration into the graphic side of things.

Comics are extremely expensive over here in South Africa and availability can be quite limited too. I can't just pop into a local comic shop and see what's on offer. My only avenue is ordering online and since I can't try before I buy it complicates matters quite a bit. Since this is a visual medium there are certain styles that just doesn't appeal to me. Digital comics are an option, but to really experience them as intended I think physical editions would be the ideal way to go.

To start things off I picked up some trade paperbacks of Wytches, Descender and Monstress.

I also got copies of Super Sons and the second volume of Monstress (based solely on the artwork after paging through the first volume).

I guess my fledgling collection is all set for me to give this a try. Hopefully it doesn't turn into another expensive obsession!