In my last review of this series I said I was going to step away from it for awhile. I decided to read "one more" issue (#18?) and a few things happened that hinted that there was something hugely bigger going on with the story that I wasn't really grasping before. This REALLY hooked me in. Spent the next week reading the whole rest of the series. Extremely glad I made it through.

To be honest there are a ton of points in the middle of the series that, at the time, seemed drawn out with little to no purpose. Then the end hits. Like a sledgehammer to the temple. It was a good thing Kel was already asleep when I finished because I was a bawling idiot for a few minutes after finishing. This story will stick with me for a LONG time and I think I'm probably going to have to read the series again (if not several times). Mostly just to go back through those moments where I was thinking the story was moving too slowly, and enjoy them.

Note for those that don't know this series' author: he was one of the writers for LOST, and there are a lot of themes that played through this series that were also very prevalent in LOST. There is A LOT more to the story than finding answers to questions. The questions might keep you going, but sometimes it's just about enjoying the time you have with those you love.

Great story for fans of the X-Men, and very "Joss Whedon". I loved that the first few pages gave a history of the main points in the X-Men timeline so far, even though there were still a lot of things that came up in the story that suggested previous knowledge was needed to fully understand what was going on (who the hell is Agent Brand?!?).

And I think this is why I tend to steer away from the main Marvel and DC universe comics: there is just too much to keep track of, stuff that could have happened dozens of issues ago in a completely different series. I know some people love all the intertwining stories in these comics, but sometimes it can be a bit too much for me.

That said, taken on it's own I liked this book. This isn't the X-Men that I grew up loving as Kurt and Ororo are missing, but I liked the dynamic of the new team. I did have a few qualms with the story as a few elements seemed to dissappear without warning, but I probably should have expected that to happen being part of a continuing series.

Still really like this series even though they constantly kill off my favorite characters. Damnit.

I'm sure the twist in this volume is going to be screwing with Frank for a long time... ALL the characters suddenly got A LOT harder, possibly crossing a lines they can't "uncross". I have a feeling things are going to get... bizarre soon.

Think I'm going to step away from this series for awhile. I really like the story but I don't find myself invested in the characters that much.

Then again, the series is "complete" (only 60 issues / 10 volumes total)... we'll see.

Incredible. Probably the best piece of "sequential art" I've ever read. The story follows the experience of a husband/father leaving his family behind as he immigrates to a foreign land. Although there is no dialogue, only pictures, it blows my mind how much empathy is captured on each page. The feelings of heartache, loneliness, and foreign "otherness" are portrayed so well. But it's not all sad; there is a lot of humor in figuring out this new world.

I absolutely loved this and can't recommend it highly enough.

Written by the son of Stephen King, I wasn't really expecting much from Joe Hill (pseudonym). After about a third of the way into it, I was really confused as to why this series was so popular as so much of the plot seems to be old hat when it comes to horror. I just about gave up on the book.

Then something funny happened: I lent the book to my grandmother. She's a big fan of horror and after seeing the cover and asking what it was, was interested in a book by Stephen King's son. A few hours after having lent it to her, she handed it back to me saying "This was REALLY good, where can I get the rest?"

Reading the rest of the book, a few things started happening that really intrigued me. Those plot points that seemed so tired before started to get screwed up. It also really helped that the Locke family is both believable and likeable (so far at least) and that you don't want anything bad to happen to them.

Although I'm not hugely impressed (yet), I liked it and will continue to read it as I have a feeling things are going to get a lot more interesting.

I really like this series so far and the direction the story is going. I can't imagine reading this when it first came out and having to wait till the next book was published to find out how the end is resolved: yeah, the book has a non-ending that would have been extremely frustrating.

Recommended for fans of urban fantasy, detective stories, and cheesy dialogue.

These volumes are really quick (and fun!) reads. This one had a lot more dialogue than previous volumes, but this only made the volume thicker as there is still a ton of action. I really like the characters and how they're each evolving and the story is great. So far this is a really wonderful adventure.

It makes me so happy to see either of our two readers paging through this as the story and characters are so good. I'm thinking we may need to own the series (we get most of the books we read from the library) as I think I've seen the oldest go through each at least twice.

I really like the Mignola "Hellboy: ... and Others" collections and this one was no different. These trade paperbacks collect some of the short stories that are interjected throughout the main Hellboy timeline. Most focus on some weird amalgamation of fables, legends, and fairy tales that Mignola has given a little twist to. They also usually have a page or so write-up before each where Mike explains some of his background in creating the story: where the idea came from and how it evolved over time.

My favorite in this collection was the Blackbeard story, especially with the appearance of Abe Sapien. Legend has it that the headless ghost of Blackbeard still wanders up and down the eastern seaboard looking for its head. As bad-luck would have it, some boardwalk psychic stumbles across Blackbeard's skull in an antique shop, realizes what it is, and determines to reunite the ghost with its head (for a price, of course). Hellboy and company don't think this is such a great idea and try to intervene...

I didn't really like the main Crooked Man story at first as I'm not a huge fan of what I thought was going to turn out to be the typical "scary Appalachians" theme. Mignola did an excellent job though of mixing Appalachian culture and really creepy folk tales together just right to produce a story that ended up being both unsettling and genuinely scary. The end, though a bit anticlimactic, was hilarious and very "Hellboy".

One of my biggest pet peeves in "modern" fantasy is when characters from the "normal" world are faced with some sort of fantasy weirdness and have either little or no reaction to it. Although this volume had a lot of this weirdness, Kibuishi very gracefully evades the trap keeping Emily and Navin's reactions believable and at times funny ("lets hope that tree was bad at math").

Overall this was a great volume and it made me like the story even more. It gives more detail about the history of the land Emily and Navin have stumbled into and what their role in it is assumed to be. I really like how the story is being set up with conflicting goals of some of the characters. I feel like the introduction to the characters and world is now over and the main story, though already set in motion, is now going to take center stage.

Can't remember where I saw this series mentioned first, but after picking it up from the library my oldest daughter exclaimed "Ooooohhh! You got Amulet?!?". Needless to say, she had read it before and really liked it. I ended up liking it too.

So far it's a great adventure style story starring a young girl that kicks butt. Kibuishi does a great job creating likeable and realistic characters and so far their reactions to the situation they're in have been believable.

I was a little surprised at how dark the story could be at times and really appreciate some of the messages the book seems to be sending, especially being written for a younger audience. There are strong hints that what is considered "good" and "bad" are going to get pretty screwed up in the future. At the same time, the dark is contrasted with a lot of comical scenes. I thought the balance between the two was good for the audience the book is aimed towards.

This volume made for a very quick read as there's so much action without dialogue. The art and layout is excellent throughout though and I had fun reading it. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Best book in the series yet. Damn you Harry Connolly for making me stay up so late the past few days. As with the other books in the series, the action/suspense stays pretty strong throughout.

This book gives up a lot of Ray's background, while still leaving a lot to the imagination. This was good, and I really liked Ray's sense of history with these new characters.

Overall I like the way the story is going and am excited to read more.

Oh yeah, the predators in this one (and the big bad) were WAY far gone. Very cool.