Review: Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story (Graphic Novel)

Way back when this series first came out, I heard good things about it, based on the 2 comics news sources I follow.  Flash forward a few months.  Amazon recommends me this title based on previous purchases.  Remembering all the high praise and enjoying the low price, I went ahead and bought this book.

Sweets follows Curt, a man facing hard times.  His teenage daughter, Katie, was killed in a hit and run and his marriage is falling apart.  Katie was the only thing holding Curt and his wife together.  Without her, divorce is eminent.  To add to his burden, Curt, being a police detective, is on the verge of losing his job if he doesn't shape up.  In order to keep his mind occupied and distracted, he finally joins back the force in the middle of a series of murders.  At first, they all seem random and unconnected.  But the consistent discovery of pecan pralines leads the cops to see these deaths as being related.  Trying to beat the clock, Curt needs to uncover the truth behind and murders.  More so, he needs to findthe man instigating so much viciousness on his town.

Likes - I'll begin with the art.  I think  for a noir gritty crime story the art is great.  The first chapter starts off with a slew of different styles.  It was confusing.  As i read one though it started to make more sense.  Each color scheme/style depicts a state of mind or period.  The art was easy to figure out and overall helped tell the story better.
The story was another solid aspect I liked about this.  It was totally original, signs point to Seven and other entries in the genre.  For what it as though it was nice.  The story really was about Curt, trying to figure out not only how to catch the killing but dealing the fact his daughter was gone.  Honestly we barely see the killer, the focus being on Curt.

Dislikes - Just one thing that I found annoying.  My actually TPB fell about.  About half the pages just fell out in the middle of my reading annoying.

Overall - I enjoyed this book.  But it was amazing as I was expecting.  There was one twist but even that really felt expected.  The art was great but not to the point I could frame it on a wall.  It did help make this good story better. Read this if you are a fan of crime, like Law and Order. Otherwise, feel free to skip this one. 3.5 stars out of 5.

Review: Phantom:Requiem for the Phantom

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom is a very redundant and poorly worded series title.  Thankfully, the series itself was crafted in a much more thoughtful fashion.  As usual lately, I was in need of a new anime series to follow, especially since the US TV season is on break.  Netflix suggested this to me.  I  was hesitant but after the 3rd episode, I was hooked.  This series proved completely worth my time.  I even found myself losing sleep. I was so engrossed with the story I would stay up way past my bed time.  

Phantom follows Zwei, a Japanese boy who has no memory of his past.  He finds himself fighting for his life the moment he awakens.  After his initial struggle, he is taught the ways of the assassin by his predecessor, Eins.  Soon, with his new abilities, we watch has Zwei rises and falls with Inferno, the organized crime syndicate he works for.

Likes - I didn't just enjoy this series, I loved it.  The story was great.  There was alot of development for all the major characters involved.  Specifically, Zwei. We see how he really asks why his life is the way he it is.  He rises.  He falls, He realizes what matters in life.  But so does Eins.  She eventually comes to see Zwei's philosophy to be better suited for her then the bland one offered to her by Scythemaster.  Even Cal, who is introduced later on, grows up as well.  If you want a series that offers alot of character development, watch this one.  It is central to the whole plot.  I liked how it was an adult series, swearing, but only when it made real sense.  Overall, I think this was a very thought-out, well crafted series.  

Dislikes - My main complaint is the animation style.  It is so plan that I was turned off by it.  I thought Phantom was another generic series about who-knows-what.  I'm glad I stuck around because it was worth the pay off.  Another complaint I have is about the ending.  What the hell happened????

Overall - I highly recommend this series.  It is a bit long but with so many characters running around, it could easily run longer.  I know I raved about Baccano! before but I think after you watch that, make the effort to see this one.  You won't be disappointed.  5 Stars!