If you have never found yourself unironically saying, “Britney Spears is a profoundly strong, resilient, talented individual,� this book will surpriseIf you have never found yourself unironically saying, “Britney Spears is a profoundly strong, resilient, talented individual,� this book will surprise you.
I already had a general idea of what happened. Justin’s baby. Shaving her head. The conservatorship. “Leave Britney alone,� or whatever. But there are a lot of holes and assumptions in that story.
This memoir makes it crystal clear that behind the controversial media icon of the nineties and early aughts was a skilled and dedicated human who really wanted to just put in the work. I never understood how capable she was when she got into the business, and how much her career was driven by her own ambition, her talent, her creative choice, before she was even an adult.
Before reading, many people are going to know that she spiraled, but they will never understand how she was made to endure more crushing devastation than most of us can even imagine. That she survived decades of sometimes literal torture and abuse on the strength of her human spirit alone.
I finished the entire 5-and-a-half-hour audiobook in one sitting. I gave it 5 stars not for prose or excellent authorship, but for the detail, depth, and sheer vulnerability that I never expected to experience in this reading....more
If I'm being honest, I never would have read this Marvel comic if not for Kazuki Takahashi's writing and art credits.
This book came off as the kind ofIf I'm being honest, I never would have read this Marvel comic if not for Kazuki Takahashi's writing and art credits.
This book came off as the kind of thing you'd find in the Marvel/Yu-Gi-Oh! crossover section of a fanfiction website, and I mean that as a compliment. It features Iron Man, Spider-Man, and small cast of Japanese card gamers, including a supervillain CEO game designer. It's exactly the touch of Takahashi magic that hearkens back to old-school billionaire Yu-Gi-Oh! villains, and in that regard it's really nothing new.
In the author's own words it's considered a fan comic, and it definitely feels that way. The Marvel heroes are a bit superficial and flat, and I think they buy into the crossover "card games and magic" setting a little bit too conveniently. But as a non-Marvel reader I don't suppose I've got a strong basis of comparison.
Kazuki Takahashi has a dorky, quirky, weird energy that has always inspired me, and it comes through in this work just as unapologetically as ever. For me that's a perk....more
If you already enjoyed the the first one or two seasons of Umbrella Academy on Netflix, I have some good news for you: You don't have to read this (anIf you already enjoyed the the first one or two seasons of Umbrella Academy on Netflix, I have some good news for you: You don't have to read this (and you probably don't want to). Full disclosure: This review will be colored by my perspective of having seen the series first.
Maybe it only shows in comparison, but the Apocalypse Suite comic is so scattered and flashy in its setting and character presentation that it almost feels like a bad fanfiction of the series that's based on it.
Much of the story hits the ground running with a full cast of villains, plus multiple versions of its seven main characters (as adults, as children, and with multiple aliases), all within the first few pages. This is of course in addition to the layers of absurd fiction (space alien pro wrestling in the first panel) that seems to immediately muddy and distract from the intended themes and core plot of the story.
I also found the character motivations to be weak, in a campy and melodramatic sense. One of the major villain groups is played up at first like a refined and cunning organization, for example, only to be immediately revealed to be driven by the most basic of "being evil is fun" motives. I feel that this draws away a lot of tension and drama that the story is sorely needing by this point. Similarly, the central villain takes to the suggestion of destroying the world with such fervent and sudden enthusiasm that it strains my suspension of disbelief.
In the same vein is a "blink and you'll miss it" moment in the second half, where two characters have a one-or-two panel (possibly non-consensual) romantic exchange. It's written as though the writers think it's dripping with backstory and relational drama, but the elements required in order to make the audience care are never written into the comic, and it's not mentioned again, either before or after. Perhaps it appears in a future volume, but the scene itself doesn't stand well on its own.
It bears mentioning that this entire cast is super white, especially for a supposedly-world-spanning ensemble cast of superheroes. And even if you don't think that a team of characters from seven different countries would benefit from a little ethnic diversity, this makes the character illustrations incredibly difficult to tell apart—especially when they're depicted as kids. Between the multiple names, aliases, and similarly-toned masked heroes, I often found myself having to re-read panels and pages to keep up with what was happening.
The comic did get a few things right, though.
It was interesting to have a few moments where the entire team (more or less) was working together and fighting "evil." It provides some needed context and backstory that seemed was constantly being hinted at by the tv series and never delivered.
It's also certainly more fast-paced, which in my case made it very easy to pick up for a single chapter at a time and still enjoy the story.
It ends with a lengthy afterword, followed by a few short single issues that seem to have been published prior to the Umbrella Academy. I actually found many of these to be more interesting and charming than the main story. Maybe ironically because they were so different, but also they were cute and quippy, and they felt like they were actually taking time to explore the characters, which the main story failed to do in my opinion.
It seemed to strive at many times for dialogue and narration that was poignant and poetic, so I'll end with a character quote that resonated with me in a positive way: "Our souls are tainted, painted black by the very deeds that make us so wonderfully individual."...more
A charming reinterpretation of the world and lore from the original Game Boy games. This story feels much more inspired by the handhelds than the animeA charming reinterpretation of the world and lore from the original Game Boy games. This story feels much more inspired by the handhelds than the anime, which is a pleasant change of pace.
As far as I can tell, every named character from the Red/Blue/Green games appears in the first volume, and they've even worked in a few surprises who were originally only in promotional material.
Since I've read a few volumes ahead in some unofficial scanlations, it's pretty evident on the re-read that they're actually doing a great job seeding future plot threads pretty early on (the fear of birds, and the little girl from Viridian City, to name a couple). I think that shows that the writers are taking the world and the lore seriously, and that makes me respect the work and want to read more of it....more
Loading...
