Reading: JUST BEYOND: MONSTROSITY - R. L. Stine (author), Irene Flores (illustrator)

1st Line: "'Wow!'"

Prose (Story): Book two in this graphic novel series by beloved suspense/horror writer R. L. Stine finds a pair of brothers who buy an old horror movie studio in Los Angeles, in order to resurrect some classic cinematic monsters, a bit over their heads when it seems said monsters never left the lot in the first place!

Don's (Review): This is my introduction to Stine's graphic novel series, and I was drawn immediately to the idea of a story showcasing the kind of cheesy monster movies from a bygone era that I loved on TV as a kid. Sure enough, with the help of a little backstory, readers are clued in pretty quickly that the re-opening of Monstrosity Studios helps to awaken some very real monsters from its past archives to life again - making Ruthie and Ezra, a brother and sister whose father is one of the new owners, ideal targets for Wolfenscreem, The Lagoonatics, and more. Mysterious accidents begin to shut down each new production the studio undertakes, threatening to bankrupt the new owners even as it turns them into bickering brothers, so ultimately it falls to the kids, Ruthie and Ezra, to uncover exactly what's going on and how to stop it, before someone gets killed. A lot of suspension of belief is required here, but then with the subject matter (resurrecting a grade-B monster films studio) you'd have to expect that - but the gung-ho, perky kids and diabolical (complete with maniacal laugh) villain and movie lot monsters make for a fast-paced, suspenseful story brought to absolute pefect life by Irene Flores's art; each full-color page is a throwback to old-school comics of the 1950's, perfectly suiting the monster-movie storyline. Hope the rest in this series are just as good, since they're now on my TBR as well (p.s. I wanna see a REAL Lagoonatics film next, thank you)!  4/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: CAT NINJA: TIME HEIST - Matthew Cody (author), Chad Thomas (illustrator)

1st Line: " 'Be free, my fishy comrades.' "

Prose (Story): Volume two in the epic Epic! Cat Ninja graphic novel series finds the gang perplexed when Leon brings home an egg to babysit for school ... and out pops what appears to be a high-energy baby owl that may also bear some super powers! The newest member of the crime-fighting team - or a possible link to a nefarious new villain on the horizon, out to get Cat Ninja for good via the ability to seemingly manipulate time? Even as Master Hamster begins trying to find out an answer to such questions, both Cat Ninja and Metro City find their hands full, and time literally running out!

Don's (Review): I LOVED the first Cat Ninja book; from the hilarious characters and sardonic humor, to the positive messages about family and solving problems together, and to Chad Thomas's art that compliments author Matthew Cody's inventive storyline - it was a winner. So imagine my thrill when this sequel, Time Heist, easily matches (if not surpasses) the original! In true superhero style, both the danger and the stakes to our heroes are ratcheted up here, and the resolution of the mystery behind the new, feathery member of the team is not just satisfying but also funny and - dare I say it? - even gives you an attack of the warm fuzzies. The villains are upgraded, as well, causing a real threat to the city and our heroes - while at the same time, just like book one, the humor is perfect at both breaking the tension and winking at the adults, in a few cases with a line that might otherwise go over a kid's head. Which is one of the things I love most about this series (this one such a fast read, when done I turned back to the front and read it again), and why I will read ANYTHING with Cat Ninja (not Ninja Cat, mind you, but Cat Ninja) on the cover: you don't have to be a kid to enjoy all the pulp in this fiction. Onward, volume three! (Available November 23)  4.5/5 stars  

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

September Wrap-Up: Mystery, Manga, and More!

Wow. Just when you thought your graphic novel/manga reading couldn't get any better. But first starting off with book two of Vicki Delany's Tea By the Sea cozy mystery series, Murder in a Teacup, I have to say that this being the only "adult novel" I read for September just spotlights that much more that it was such a good one! Truly, I can't get enough of this series - these characters - and as this is a fairly new release, I am only sad because book three is still a ways off.

And after declaring The Decagon House Murders Vol 1 as potentially my favorite manga/graphic novel so far this year ... September brings volume one of Creature!, an alien invasion manga I had NO idea was up into double-digits in volumes, already. The cliffhanger end of this one still hooked me badly, so I think I am doomed to go forward from here. Then to even ttop that, the love story of Beast Boy and Raven from DC was pretty much perfection, up there with Decagon! The budding relationship between these two potential superheroes just feels so authentic on the page, and Gabriel Picolo's art is no less than stunning. What a brilliant book. But DC also released Wonderful Women of the World in September, in honor of Wonder Woman's 80th anniversary, and it's a gem of a compendiium celebating women around the globe who have all created their own superheroic feats and accomplishments to help these world! Then, between book two in the Haunted Library series, the sequel to the wonderful Skunk and Badger - Egg Marks the Spot, easily as good as its predecessor - and the amazing Fan Brothers's glowing new picture book release (It Fell From the Sky) - well, let's just say September checked a lot of boxes for quality; much more so than most months, of late!

Thirteen reads in all .... which means no films for the month, but I hardly felt the loss; that's how good most of what I read was, and I hope you can get to most of them, too. Some reviews up, and others to come (but what else is new?), and as always click on any image to make it larger. Welcome, Autumn and Halloween season; my second-favorite time of year!