Sunday, June 12, 2011

Review and contest: Vampire Freestyle Volumes 1-5 by Jenika Ioffreda


" ...A cat that was able to speak with stars.

...A witch boy who was learning to fly.

...An ancient necklace.

...A Prince who lost his Princess.

... A vampire looking for his memories.

...An endless love.

The most tender tale told from the roof of a city."

My review:

How do you rate a comic? Do you evaluate the story alone, similar to how you might judge a short story, or do you focus more on the artwork as a basis for telling the story? What is the happy middle ground? This was a real challenge for me because I wanted to present a fair and cohesive review of this fun, vampire themed comic book series. 

Each comic itself is short and sweet, averaging about 20-25 pages, with what I would gauge to be a medium amount of dialogue. It wasn't until the third volume that I really became interested in the actual plot of Padroncino's missing girlfriend. I thought the flashback scenes added to he mysterious element and I almost wished for a few more.  

Padroncino isn't the best witch on the block but he was certainly fun to watch. His bumbling spell attempts were cute and reminded me of that kid in Harry Potter, the one that always has things blowing up in is face. It seems like once Padroncino gains confidence he might see that his talent is real, and works just fine, but his negative energy is currently blocking his ability to see. He is definitely a young character and this leads me to think that this series is well aimed at the ever-growing YA crowd. Overall, a very whimsical and quirky vibe that is conveyed nicely throughout with both images and words.

Some plot points were a bit obvious and I could guess what direction the story would take, while others maintained the air of mystery. Who is the Master? Will Padroncino ever find his girlfriend? What outfit will the poor cat (Micia) be forced to wear next? Guess I need to read volume 6 to find out.


 *The Contest*

My mum taught me to share so I'm giving away my review copies of Vampire Freestyle volume 1-5 to one lucky Bite Club reader! Just leave a comment telling me about your favorite supernatural comic/graphic novel, OR tell me whether or not you'd like to see more about comics here on the blog.  This is open to U.S. only because shipping is such a nightmare and the contest will remain open until June 26th and I will announce the winner the following weekend. Please leave an email if one is not easily found in your profile...I need a way to contact the winner. Good Luck!
 


For more information about Vampire Freestyle, including buying information, please visit the Neptune Factory.

6 comments:

LadyVampire2u said...

I like comics/graphic novels. There are some out now based on books series I enjoy like Laurell K Hamilton, Jim Butcher, Dean Koontz and Sherrilyn Kenyon. My favorite graphic novel so far would be the LKH comics. The ones I've read so far have stayed true to the books and it's kind of cool to see how they draw the characters, creatures, etc. Thanks for the giveaway!

LadyVampire2u AT gmail DOT com

Tanya1224 said...

Comic/graphics are new to me. I was just introduced to Danielle D. Smith and it was my first read with graphics and I really enjoyed it. It was not comedy though. I know Kim Harrison is coming out with a Hollows graphic...very excited! The other commenter mentioned Laurell K Hamilton...I'm going to have to check that out. Thanks so much for sharing. I like finding out about new reads. Please count me in.
Tanyaw1224(at)yahoo(dot)com

Roxanne Rhoads said...

No need to enter me I already have these- I just wanted to say how artful and wonderful this series is.

My daughter and her friends devoured the whole set of books in one sitting. One would finish one and pass it on the next girl. After awhile they had read all 5 and loved them asking me if there were anymore.

Anonymous said...

I love reading comics/graphic novels as much as I love reading novels. My personal favorite is Sandman by Neil Gaiman. It was my first introduction to Neil Gaiman and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Kalex said...

Vampirella, the Anita Blake graphic novels, and the Dresden graphic novels.

kaiodan@gmail.com

Rain Maiden said...

I have not read any graphic novels but, I love the Lenore comics about a cute little dead girl. Lenore cracks me up.