Book Review #42: Spacegirl

Spacegirl: Volume 1 and 2 (2007- )

Written and Drawn by Travis Charest

Spacegirl is interesting in that it started around 2007 as an online strip over at Travis Charest MSN Group (Website) for those that follow his work. I haven't followed Spacegirl since that time, but what I remember it to be is that it was one panel per week for a year or so, which comprised Volume 1. After that I lost touch with the Character and Story. Only last night did I see that there is a Volume 2. You can read the all of Volume 2 over at his site. As for Volume 1, it can also be found at his new site as well. So, you can read it should you so desire. His current site hosting new Spacegirl strips can be found here Travis Charest's Spacegirl (and lots of other stuff...)

As for Spacegirl, anytime you can get a daily (weekly) dose of Charest art, it's a good thing. The bad thing is it's only 1 panel at a time. Even worse is that what has taken 5 years to get to where we are story-wise, it could have been done in a weekends time. Travis is an amazing artist, one of the all time greats. But his desire to create the perfect art piece comes at a cost, the lack of quanity. You don't see much work from him because he can go a little overboard in making everything as best as possible. I don't blame him for this, it's just so damn frustrating waiting to get new stuff from him.

So, I give Spacegirl the rating it gets just because it's incomplete and after 5 years, STILL don't have a clue where it is going story-wise.

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Reveiw by Chiprocks1

Book Review #41: Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?

Does The Noise In My Head Bother You? (2011)

I love Aeromsith and I think Steven Tyler is an amazing singer and one of the greatest frontmen of all time. But not everything he does is gold. Certainly not this book. I really wanted to like this book, but fuck, as a reader I shouldn't have to pan for gold, looking through all the gibberish to get to the crux of the story he is trying to tell. Steven gives some of the best, most entertaining on-camera interviews. You know how he talks and likes to ad-lib and riff his way through with clever bon-mots. This works fine in an interview....not in a book. I really don't know what to make of the book, especially what the intent was. Whoever the editor of the book was should have been fired because he didn't do his job when making this book legible and coherent. 

I guess some could argue that keeping the book the way it's presented is to keep the essence of Steven Tyler intact, warts and all. I get that and in my mind I think it's the way it should be. But in practicality, this isn't the way to write a book. Well, it's certainly not a book that I would want to read. It's takes too much work getting there and by the time I get there, I have forgotten what the fuck he was talking about leading up to that point. 

The book gets an average grade because there are still some interesting things to be found inside. But there are just way to many random stuff being thrown at the reader that it constantly leaves you scratching your head.

I can't recommend this book if I know for a fact that I will never bother reading it again. Well, here's hoping that the remaining three from the band (Tom Hamilton, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford) can somehow manage to write the definitive book on Aerosmith. So far they are 0-2. Sigh.

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1

Book Review #40: Dean & Me (A Love Story)

Dean & Me (A Love Story) 2005

Reading Dean & Me was a real pleasure. You don't have to even be a fan of Martin and Lewis to enjoy the ride here. But if you are a fan, then this is definitely a must-read for you. By the title of the book alone, it's clear that it centers on the relationship of both Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, both professionally as well as personally.

I knew beforehand how much Jerry worshiped Dean. I just didn't know to what extent. You really do get that Jerry loved Dean as both a partner as well as his "older brother". The respect that he had for him comes through big time and you really do feel for Jerry when the team broke up 10 years after rocking the world with their routines. It was more than just making movies, doing stand-up and singing songs. Jerry really did lose a brother when they went their separate ways and I totally understand why he slipped into serious depression afterwards.

This book is a treasure trove of a lot of intimate private moments that you have never heard of before, unless  of course you happen to know Jerry personally. I think out of all the stuff I read, the one that I really felt lucky enough to hear about was when Jerry ran into Dean long after their break-up at their favorite restaurant, and Dean was in a booth eating by himself and they were able to mend fences and reconnect as before as best as they could. Man, how I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that.

Overall this is a very well written, heartwarming story of how a chance encounter between the two ended up changing not only their lives, but the lives of everyone on the planet. I highly recommend this to everyone. And do yourself a favor, when you're reading the book, watch as many Martin and Lewis clips on YouTube as you can. It really makes you appreciate the book all the more.

FYI, I may have not lived through their era, but I know from my own personal experience of comedy, they are without a doubt the best comedy team of all time. So damn funny it hurts.

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1 

Book Review #39: Icons: The DC Comics & Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee

Icons: The DC Comics & Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee (2010)

This book literally took a week to get through. There's just so much goodness to be found within the pages of Icons: The DC Comics & Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee that it will keep you glued to it. When I first heard about the book, in my mind I thought it was going to be some tiny book full of covers and pin-ups. Boy, was I ever wrong. When I finally had this in my hands, I was like a little kid opening up the biggest present on Christmas morning. 

That's right. Biggest. This book is HUGE. I would even say it can be used as a weapon if need be. It's THAT heavy. Page after awesome page, you get to see Jim Lee's art on glossy paper and twice the size from that of a regular comic book. This is how you do a coffee table book right. Along with all his Wildstorm and DC art, you get insight to pretty much everything inside the book.

One thing you need to know though is that none of his work from Marvel is represented. So, no X-Men stuff and no Punisher. Had his Marvel run been included, it would have easily made this a 10 Star book. Even with this unfortunate omission, this is a book that belongs in everyone's personal library.

Get it. You will NOT be disappointed at all.

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1

Book Review #38: Seal Team Six

Seal Team Six (2011)

I had high hopes for Seal Team Six as I really wanted to learn more about the Unit that went in and capped Osama Bin Laden once and for all. But as much as I wanted to like the book, Howard Wasdin, the author, came off very full of himself. At times, I really thought that I was reading another book by Jose Canseco. I get that Navy SEALs have to have a certain mind set in order to do the things they do, and I commend and respect the things he did to protect America and the less fortunate in other countries and that being one of the elite will obviously inflate ones ego. But here, after awhile, it really became a bit much to take.

Having said that, this book was just average at best. He is not a very good writer and a lot of what he has to say seems very off the cuff and not thought out very well. There is a lot of dead space throughout the book that just didn't hold my attention much. That's not to say the entire book is bad. When he gets into recounting certain OP Missions does it begin to pick up, the biggest one of course being the hunt for Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the warlord in Somalia. If you are unaware of who this is, just go rent Black Hawk Down.

The other interesting stuff to be found within the book obviously centers on training to become a SEAL and enduring Hell Week and what he and his teammates had to go through. Amid all the carnage of his sniper kills, I was surprised to find a few moments of levity when it came to humor, like when suffering from sleep deprivation, Wasdin while in the Mess Hall was ordered by his CO to go and kill the deer in the corner, only to find out he was about to attack and kill a tray rack. Dude definitely needs to get some sleep.

I really can't recommend this to anyone, unless you absolutely need to read everything there is to know about SEALs or military or whatever. Personally I will never read this book again.

Book Review #37: Making Comics

Making Comics (2006)

Written and Drawn by Scott McCloud

With Making Comics, a book on how to put together your very own Comic Book, Scott McCloud has done it again. This book is the one to get if you are really serious about diving head first into the world of self publishing your own Comic's. Within' the pages here you will get a lot of practical knowledge of how and why certain shots are used and what type of panels to use when telling your stories. Scott goes into the theory of the in's and outs about all thing relating to the meaning behind a page layout. He also gives you a lot of info about Manga as well and how to go about using elements from other cultures to take your own artwork to another level.

This really is a fantastic book and should be in everyone's personal Library. I love it, and the exercises and notes at the end of each chapter will keep you busy for a long long time. You can't help but to improve your own work. The one thing this book is not, is a book about how to draw pretty pictures (i.e., Babes, Cars, Animals, etc....). There are a million other books devoted to just that. This book is about looking under the hood and understanding how things work. Highly recommend this one.

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5 

Review by Chiprocks1

Book Review #36: Reinventing Comics

 Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form (2000)

Written and Drawn by Scott McCloud

Where Understanding Comics has a timelessness that will never fade, Reinventing Comics clearly is dated given the fact that it came out in 2000. With his first book, the main objective was to teach you how and why comics works as a medium as well as the historical significance. But for Reinventing Comics, it's all about giving us the reader a theortical look at the future of comic books regarding everything from computers to the internet to distribution, etc...

This book is Scott's manifesto of what he would like to see happen in the future and how to go about getting there. One can't help but see 11 years later how close or how far he miss the mark on that. I won't spoil it and will leave it up to you to read for yourself. 

Once again the artwork is done by Scott, which makes for a pretty fast and compelling read, even if you really don't want to hear about all the technical stuff about some of the minute things in the process of how a comic book travels from the artist to eventually the reader.

I like the book, but trying to top, let alone equal that of Understanding Comics, it does come off as a bit underwhelming because the expectations were higher than normal. 

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1