Re-read 2023: Well, still as fantastic and well written as before. Sad, wonderful, and really gets you to know all the characters as they fight for survival. Still a 5 out of 5.


Original Review: Happy for this to be my 700th review of the year, since Demon Slayer is probably the best manga I've read all year along with Spy X Family.

This volume starts off amazing with Tanjiro and Giyu putting up a hell of a fight against Akaza and boy oh boy do both struggle and play off some awesome moves. On top of that we get Akaza background, and as much as we hate him at this point, his background sure adds so many layers to make him a better character. Then we switch over to Doma and his fight with Kanao. It's bitter and tough to watch but also great. Then my boy Inosuke comes in to help and things get even better. We also get more Ino background, hell yes.

This is a fantastic, fast paced, brutal chapter with multiple characters facing near death experiences while also pushing on. How the hell are we going to end this? I'm expecting to cry soon.

A 5 out of 5.

Spider-Man Miles Morales Omnibus is the second Omnibus by Brian Michael Bendis. After certain events, Miles is transported to the 616 universe, which is the main Marvel Universe. So we drop the Ultimate tag line and he's just Spider-Man.

Now not to confuse you because if you're interested in this Omnibus it is reissued as Volume 2 of Miles Morales but this is really almost a standalone title anyway. It's a rebranding and almost feels like don't need volume 1 or Ultimate Spider-Man Miles to understand what's happening here outside of a few references.

Miles wakes up and he's Spider-Man. In 616 it had almost a soft reboot and he's now the other Spider-Man outside of Peter being the more adult Spider-Man at the same time. And on top of that his mom is back! Big spoiler if haven't read the original but it's a reset anyway and takes away the emotional damage Miles went through, yet he still kind of knows what happened? But his uncle still is dead from the events and...

Listen it's confusing. I'm not sure why the fuck the reboot but it happened, so we move on. Is it good is the big question.

It's okay. To be honest these adventures aren't nearly as fun as I had hoped. It starts off fun enough with Miles fighting against a huge demon entity, then being friendly neighborhood adventures. Soon enough he's dealing with being spied on by Jessica Jones because his mother and grandmother thinks something is up and his grandmother hires her to find out what is up. Miles ranges from school life with Ganke and now Goldballs cause he becomes a roommate for Miles and Ganke. We try to slightly deal with racism but it's pretty badly done. And Miles is sadly brought into the Civil War 2 storyline that doesn't do him any favors.

Then we get the worst arc, which is Miles dealing with Spier-man peter parker team up. And this is just a very meh mini event compared to the first one. This is Spider-Men 2, and it's pretty bad especially the second half. I was really disappointed in this one and wondered what the fuck happened?

Then the last arc gets better, with Bombshell being a big part and the very last issue actually is touching and heartwarming. Miles has to deal with a disease that is trying to kill him which reflects what happened to Brian Michael Bendis a few months prior. Almost died of a bacterial infection that nearly killed him. So it worked well here to relate to.

But nice art aside, this is just a okay volume. Some decent adventures but overall this was a much weaker volume than the first. Miles ultimate adventures were SO much more fun and exciting and this one just failed to live up to it. It's decent but that's about as far as I can go. Middle of the road.

A 2.5 out of 5.

The start to this love story is solid. I already seen the anime, so it's about the same rating. Basically a girl gets dumped by her boyfriend and falls for another guild member in her video game. But there's more layers than that, and a lot of fun comedic moments. It's not amazing but fun, and that's okay at that.

This girl wants to die. This monster saves her, but only so she can get to know her, and make sure she's at her happiest, before eating her as well. It's a dark twisted tale, with suicide at the forefront, and dealing with major pdst. Dark, slowburn, solid opening. Waiting to see if it picks up though.

A new arc begins with gangs starting to get killed off and Sandman inbetween it all. Good stuff.

For years I was told I had to check out Gotham Central. Especially as a huge fan of shows like The Wire, The Shield, Law and Order and so on. SO I decided to finally dive into my 4 part collection and...For the most part I really enjoyed it.

This is cop procedural 100%. If you like that, it is what they give you. I feel the weakest story is actually the first. Which involves two cops stumbling into an apartment with Mr. Freeze and facing the consequences. It is nice to see how villains Batman usually wipes the floor with can really hurt people but it was a paint by numbers okay story. The second story is a lot stronger, involving a poor teenager who was murdered and trying to find out why and who did it. The last revolves around Renee, and is also pretty story. The cop part of it is decent, but it's the drama of her dealing with coming out of the closet to both friends and family that works the best.

Overall, a dark and gritty look into Gotham police affairs. Not everything is solved so quickly with a quick punch from Batman. We get to see these poor people going through hell trying to protect such a fucked up city.

While not reinventing the wheel it gives a really great look into the life of the police force in Gotham and how they deal with villains. I overall enjoyed it a lot and while I wasn't completely blown away I will be reading more. A 4 out of 5.

This was so unhinged, I couldn't stop reading.

The thing is this whole series works based on the two leads, and boy are they fun. Satoko is a girl who's very sick, has a heart condition, but she is a noble. She is kidnapped and somehow saved by one of her kidnappers, Shinpei Goto. This fucking psycho assassin only protects her because she promises to marry him. Leading to some insane story beats, funny as hell moments, and brutal deaths all around.

I love the mix of genres here. I also love that Shinpei is the crazy one, a nice change of pace. It's really funny at times mostly due to Satoko being such a good character and relatable. I also loved the fights, cause they are vicious and bloody.

This was easily one of the most fun first volumes to a romance (is it tho? Romance horror?) I ever read. I'll be buying more as they come out. A 4 out of 5.

Little bit slower but an explosive final pages. This is a brutal war within Chinatown.

Survival means a lot of things. But for these two men, one wants to become stronger. Kill more. The other wants to find meaning. And tus begins Vagabond, one of the greatest stories ever told.

Why do YOU want to live?

Is it to truly become stronger?

To find some type of meaning?

Was all this hardship in life worth nothing in the end if you die here for nothing?

Questions that aren't normally asked in such a violent situation are asked, as our "hero" decides if his life is actually worth fighting for.