Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend

The transitions are fluid and easy to understand.  They move mostly from action to action or moment to moment.  Almost every single strip ends with the dreamer in the bed.  The style is very controlled, each mark is made with a purpose.  Some strips are more controlled than others, specifically the line quality.   Some would have strong line, with definite line.  Others have broken lines.  The word bubbles are simple but jam-packed with words.  It makes it hard to read at times.  Most of the time, the picture/word relationship work nicely but some of the bigger panels have word bubbles that take up too much of the space.  The strips seem like they are about open creativity of the mind.  While dreaming, anyone can be anything or anyone that want to be.

The Arrival

How wordless comics like the arrival tell complex stories without the use of words?  This is a very interesting question.  Books like this can be confusing.  Instead of the book telling you what to look for, the reader has to look for the interest point themselves.  This can also be a very involved experience.  The reader has to look at each element in the image and peice together what is taking place.  But like I stated before this can be confusing.  Most readers are just that, readers.  They are not used to reading a book with no words.  A picture book can even involved more work than a book with text.  The reader has to make sure that every detail is seen and compatible with the information of the previous picture and since there are no words, the reader has to sometimes guess about what is going on in the image.  If the illustration is poorly done, the story could easily unravel and loss track of itself, not to mention the reader.  Words are used to communicate with one another and express thoughts and opinions.  Without words, these things become less concrete, they are assumed based on how the characters are drawn.  The illustrations do however convey emotion and maybe personality, morals, ethics and motives but only if they are illustrated in the right way.  Books with no words are like movies with no sound, you can somewhat tell what is happening like emotion, tension, atmosphere, temperature, mood and facial expressions.  But while these remain, the feeling of seeing these happen is not the same as hearing and seeing the movie.  One of the senses are muted or at the very least, the volume has been turned down. 

The Aquatic Uncle

Right off the bat, it is unclear what the main character is.  There is a part that says that he has paws but it doesnt mean that he is a mammal.  In fact the uncle is a fish so they still must be an amphibian of some kind.  The fish reminds me more of a grandfather than an uncle, with his outrageous stories and constant phrases that dont apply to todays standards.  Despite being related, the main character is ashamed to introduce his fiance' to his uncle.  In today society, people dont want to claim where they come from or things and people they were associated with.  Contrary to what he thought, his fiance' actually liked the fish. In fact she liked the fish so much that she left him for his old uncle.  

The Nine Billion Names of God

This a fun short story with a funny ending.  These monks are trying figure out all the names of god using some mathmathical system by using some self thinking machine.  The monks believe that when all names of God have been made, the world will end.  The delivery people think what they are doing is crazy.  Its true that most people would think that something like this is a waste of time or just plain stupid.  In religious terms, God has many names but its not possible for God to have so many names, at least names that are nouns.  Many people may have a problem with this short story.  Religion is not something that is taken lightly in human society.  The light hearted feel of the story may lead the reader to believe that it is a satire of religion, which it probably is but I enjoyed it none the less.  The most enjoyable part is when all the names of God are completed, the most unexpected thing happened....the stars start goin out.....

The Stars My Destination

This book is full of action and drama and I couldnt get enough of it.  The main character is a bad ass and everyone else is an evil bad ass.  The story is entertaining and the characters are realistic and understandable. 
The main character Gully Folye is a very troubled person.  He is focused on his task throughout the book.  He is driven by rage and constantly is looking for a way to get revenge.  From the very beginning, he was pissed.  He was the last survivor of the Nomad and just drifts through space.  Another ship called the Vorga goes by and leaves Folye to die and from that point on, he decides he's gonna kill whoever left him to die.  To show how determined he is, he even educated himself and became a high society type in order to get closer to the captain of the Vorga.  One of the most interesting things about Folye is his tattoos.  Even though he gets them removed, they still show when he gets angry.  From the way the book described it, those were tribal tattoos and are meant to be permanent.  Its a sort of branding for life type deal. 
A great thing about this book is that it has powers like telepathy but only select few have the ability.  Throughout the book they talk about this thing about jaunte, the ability travel through space.  Jaunteing seems to be a very rare power and Folye happens to have it.  The ending ties everything together and Folye seems to get himself together.  This is a great book thats all I need to say about that.

War Breaker

This is a book that many people in my generation will appreciate.  The book keeps you hooked from chapter to chapter, with a well developed world and characters.  The story has twists and turns that keep interest.
Since War Breaker is a fantasy novel, I expected it to be magical with talking animals and some wimpy love story.  This is not the case, there are gods, kingdoms at war and mercenaries.  This is a gritty version of a fanatsy novel.  It is obvious that this book is meant for college level students.  Anyone younger wouldn't understand certain context or meanings.  For example, war between the two kingdoms and how the king sends his younger daughter to marry the king of the other kingdom.  Although she is sent to the God King against her will, she gets to know him.  God King is an interesting character.  He isnt able to talk with his mouth, the power to rule over an entire kingdom but no one ever hears the voice that gives them orders.  Things like that can lead to a lonely and depressing life. The God King had his tongue removed to prevent him using his breath.  The breath power in the book is interesting but a little corny.  The breath is a diferent color and is based on power to ressurect things or make inadement objects come to life.  Despite not being able to talk, he reveals himself as a shy and kind.
This definitely a book I will read again, it is one of those books that sucks the reader into its world and its the right kind of adventure for me.  It is a book I would recommend to anyone.

Bloodchild

Is T'Gatoi a different species all together?
By using the humans as hosts, is that the only way of reproduction?
Does the story take place on Earth or another planet?
If it is on another planet, is it T'Gatoi's planet?
Why is there a preserve?
What kind of gun was used for the killing?
Was the gun primative or advanced technology?
Why are eggs so important in diet?
What kind of vehicle came up?
Is technology advanced or primitive?

Why are humans used as hosts?
Why are humans in a preserve?
Should the differences in species cause conflict?
Can two different species co-habitate with each other?

Are the humans of African descent?
What is T'Gatoi based off of?