Review: Liar's Kiss by Eric Skillman and Jhomar Soriano

Synopsis:

Nick Archer isn't much of a detective, but he's managed to get himself one pretty sweet surveillance gig: once a week he sends a jealous millionaire the photos that prove his wife is faithful, leaving Nick plenty of free nights to spend making a liar of both himself and the client's wife. But when the client turns up dead, his cheating wife is the prime suspect and it's up to Nick to clear her - except Nick has an agenda of his own, and connections to this case that go deeper than anyone realizes.

Pages: 120 pages (Hardcover)
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Release: May 10, 2011

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It starts off as a normal night for Nick Archer. He takes pictures of a millionaire's wife to show that she's faithful. Once that's done, he finally gets down to business by hooking up with his client's wife. It seems to be a win-win situation for Nick and his client's wife. He gets money for proving her innocent and she gets to have a little fun without her husband knowing.

After their midnight tryst is over, she goes home only to find her husband's cold dead body waiting for her. Needless to say, she becomes the prime suspect in the murder. She couldn't have done it though, she has a solid alibi. She was with Nick. Except if she says that she won't get the inheritance money and there are also those pictures that Nick took of her being a 'faithful' and 'loyal' wife.

Can Nick save her before the book is over? Dun Dun Dunnnnnnnnnn


Overall

Jhomar Soriano's artwork was my favourite thing about Liar’s Kiss. It's detailed in all the right places and really brings out the whole crime noir feel of this graphic novel. Eric Skillman's writing is crisp as well. Instead of including long pieces of dialogues, he made everything, for the most part, short and sweet with a lot of back and forth between the characters. It reminded me of an 80's crime drama, so I enjoyed that.

One of the things that I didn't like was how some of the characters were clichéd, but I think that's to be expected when you write in this genre. Some of the dialogues did seem a little over the top; and therefore, making the situation not as serious as it should be. The ending did wrap up a bit too quickly for my liking. As a lover of twists, I liked the ending. I just wish there were a few more pages to fully flesh it out and give it that oomph.

Other than that this was a fun quick read. The writing is crisp, the artwork is stunning, and the pacing made this book helped keep you engaged. There are a few problems, but if you're looking for a short graphic novel filled with betrayals, secrets, lies, and murder then you'll want to check this out.

3 stars

This book was provided by net galley

Review: Secrets, Monsters, and Magic Mirrors by Donald B. Lemke

Synopsis:

Five of the world's greatest fairy tales are retold in the popular and attractive graphic novel format. Beautiful, bold illustrations give these timeless tales a modern edge. The stories include Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, Princess and the Pea, Snow White, and Thumbelina.

Pages: 176 pages (Paperback)
Publisher: Capstone
Released: August 1, 2011

Because this is a collection of stories, I'll be providing a brief review for each story.

Rapunzel
I've heard of this version of Rapunzel before, so this wasn't something new to me. I thought the artwork was fitting for this story. When we see the witch and her scenes, the art is very gray and dark. When we see Rapunzel and her prince, there is a lot more life and colour on the pages. Even when the witch and Rapunzel were together, the witch was gray and Rapunzel was full of life.

Thumbelina
Even though this story is quite famous, I've never read it before. So this was my first time seeing Thumbelina. The art in this story is very colourful, which again fits the story. I quite enjoyed watching Thumbelina go from her home, to the frogs, to the mouse, and everywhere in between.

Snow White
In terms of artwork, I would say that Snow White has a very mature style. Once again, it works for the story, but it doesn't match the theme of this collection. All the other stories have some sort of cuteness to them. Snow White doesn't. It kind of reminded me of the Anita Blake graphic novel. The evil stepmother looked evil, but also slightly manish. I did like how the seven dwarfs looked though, they were very cute.

Beauty and the Beast
In terms of artwork, this was my second favourite story out of the 5. It reminded me of felt artwork and the backgrounds were beautifully done. Everything was simple, but the little details made it really stand out. The story was good too!

Princess and the Pea
This was my favourite story in the collection. The art was colourful and vibrant and the story was incredibly cute. I've read a Princess and the Pea many times as a kid, but it was never a story that I actively sought out. The idea of someone being so fragile that a pea would bother then didn't make sense to me. I wondered why she didn't just get off the bed and sleep on the floor? So I wasn't expecting much in terms of story from this, but I loved watching the prince search for a princess to wed. The characters he meets on his travels were unique, funny, and very weird.

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Overall

I quite liked this collection. I love fairy tales, so I knew that I would be a fan of this right from the get go. One of the things I liked, other than the artwork, was how each story came with a brief history about it. Where the stories came from, how the stories changed throughout the years, when did the Brothers Grimm find it. Reading this was one of my favourite parts in this collection. Also, before each story would start, we'd be told the cast of characters.

The artwork was beautifully done as well, each had its own unique style but still shared some similarities to the other stories. For the most part, it's very kid friendly.

If you are looking for something original or a retelling of these classics, then this might not be the book that you're looking for. But if you're a fan of fairy tales, or want to introduce fairy tales to your kids, and want to see those stories told in graphic novel format, then this might be just for you.


3.5 stars

This book was provided by net galley.