Tag: Comics

Waiting on Wednesday – Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 41: Ten Thousand Plums by Stan Sakai

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Waiting on Wednesday3 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday post, I highlight the next volume of the epic Usagi Yojimbo series by Stan Sakai, Ten Thousand Plums, which should be another exceptional entry in this amazing comic series.

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Fans of this blog will be more than familiar for my love of the exceptional Usagi Yojimbo series by Stan Sakai.  A particularly awesome comic that has been running since 1984, the Usagi Yojimbo stories follows a rabbit ronin as he faces all manner of foes in an alternate version of feudal Japan populated with anthropomorphic animals.  Thanks to its clever stories, great use of Japanese culture, complex characters and stunning artwork, the Usagi Yojimbo series has long been a favourite of mine and I currently have every single volume of it sitting proudly on my shelf.

Needless to say, getting the any new volumes of Usagi Yojimbo is a major priority for me each year, and I am always excited when I find out when the next comic is dropping.  As such, I was very, very happy to recently find out that the 41st volume of the series, Ten Thousand Plums, is set for release later this year.  This volume is particularly exciting for me, as we’d usually only get one volume a year and I was worried that the 40th volume of the series, The Crow, which I had a blast with earlier this year, was going to be me only Usagi Yojimbo hit of the year (barring one of my many re-reads, such as for volume 15: Grasscutter II).  However, it looks like this is one of the blessed years where we get more than one volume, and this new entry sounds pretty damn cool.

Currently set for release in late November 2025, Ten Thousand Plums will see the protagonists visit a beautiful valley, filled with thousands of plum trees, only to encounter mysterious deaths, suspicion and other dark occurrences.  I am already very intrigued by this comic’s unique new plot, and I cannot wait to see how it unfolds.

Plot Synopsis:

Murder and arson are plaguing the valley of ten thousand plums.

The trees within the valley of ten thousand plums are beautiful to behold. But the umeboshi, or pickled plums, made in the local village are renowned for their strong medicinal properties, and a favorite of the Shogun. As a series of deadly events grip the valley with fear, the Shogun’s samurai strongman is immediately suspicious when Usagi, Yukichi, and Gen are found wandering among the prized foliage…can their appearance be a mere coincidence?

A new adventure starring Usagi Yojimbo by legendary creator Stan Sakai, with beautiful color work by HiFi Colour Design.

Now this sounds like it is going to be a particularly cool Usagi Yojimbo story that will allow Sakai to really show off both his artistic talent and ability to craft great, mystery filled narratives.  Mysterious events around an intriguing location with a connection to a specific Japanese product (in this case, pickled plums) will allow Sakai to really dive into historical practices, and I cannot wait to see what cool narrative emerges.  At the same time, having Usagi and his companions become involved with the interests of the Shogun really increases the stakes of the plot, and may have some interesting long-term implications for the simple wanders.

While I think the story of Ten Thousand Plums is going to be amazing, one of the things that I am very much looking forward to for this new volume is the exceptional artwork.  Sakai always excels at painting breathtaking landscape shots as the background for his stories, especially as he really showcases the beautiful Japanese wilderness, or the iconic feudal towns.  It sounds like we will be in a for a real artistic treat in Ten Thousand Plums, as the entire narrative will be set to the background of thousand of flowering plum trees.  The multitude of trees and their blossoms is going to look so impressive when drawn by Sakai, and I cannot wait to see how it frames every single panel, especially now that the volumes are in colour.  Throw in Sakai’s usual brilliant artwork around combat, towns and unique characters, and this upcoming volume is going to be a real visual treat, and I can see this being one of Sakai’s more visually ambitious volumes.

Look, I was always going to be grabbing the new Usagi Yojimbo volume the second it came out, but hearing about Ten Thousand Plums’ impressive plot has made me even more eager for it.  Stan Sakai’s next volume sounds so damn cool, and I cannot wait to get my hands on even more Usagi Yojimbo comic-awesomeness this year.  As such, Ten Thousand Plums is now one of my most anticipated releases coming out later this year, and I already now it will be one of the best comics I read this year.

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 15: Grasscutter II- Journey to Atsuta Shrine by Stan Sakai

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday1 Comment

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics (Paperback – 1 February 2002)

Series: Usagi Yojimbo – Volume 15

Length: 184 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The classic adventures of Usagi Yojimbo continue as I look back at the 15th brilliant volume, Grasscutter II – Journey to Atsuta Shrine, one of Stan Sakai’s more ambitious and powerful comics, which sees the protagonist and his friends caught up in the tides of fate and history.

Ever since I read the recently released 40th volume of Stan Sakai’s iconic Usagi Yojimbo comic series, The Crow, I have been in a major Usagi Yojimbo mood, so I decided to go back and continue reviewing the older volumes of this classic comic, which follows a rabbit ronin in a version of Feudal Japan populated with anthropomorphised animals.  I reviewed the first 14th volumes during COVID lockdown, and had a lot of fun doing so, especially as Usagi Yojimbo is one of my favourite comic series.  I have been meaning to restart reviewing the older comics for a while, and I’m not going to throw away this sudden surge of creative energy, so this is the perfect time to bring out my review for the 15th volume in the series, Grasscutter II.

Grasscutter II is one of Sakai’s most impressive comics in the series.  Featuring issues #39-45 of the first Dark Horse Comics run on the Usagi Yojimbo series, Grasscutter II serves as the gripping sequel and conclusion to the intense and pivotal story contained in the 12th volume, Grasscutter.  This previous volume saw Usagi and his friends become embroiled in the recovery of the legendary sword Kusanagi and the foiling of a major plot to rebel against the Shogun.  A dark and compelling entry in the series, Grasscutter featured an amazing story with major implications for the Usagi Yojimbo series.  This was such a key volume, and it is interesting to see how Sakai follows it up here, especially as he needed to make Grasscutter II’s story in just as epic, if not more impressive.

Following dark events of magic and death, few people are aware that the legendary Imperial sword Kusanagi has been recovered from the sea.  Forged by the gods and wielded as a symbol of Imperial authority for generations, Kusanagi, or the Grasscutter sword has the potential to reshape the power structure of Japan, as whoever holds it could rally all the country to their cause, bringing war and destruction to a currently peaceful nation. 

Hidden at a small temple, the sword is currently guarded by the honourable samurai Miyamoto Usagi, the irrepressible bounty hunter Gen, and the head priest Sanshobo.  However, the three know that they cannot keep the sword hidden for long, with dangerous foes seeking to uncover its secrets.  The only place that the sword will be truly safe and out of the hands of those who would use it for political gain is the sacred shrine of Atsuta, where a replica of the sword currently rests.

Embarking on a noble quest, Usagi, Gen and Sanshobo hope to sneak the sword to the shrine before anyone knows they have it.  However, the road to safety is long, and it soon becomes apparent that dangerous foes know exactly what they are carrying.  Pursued by two rival ninja clans who will stop at nothing to possess the sword as fuel for their own dark ambitions, Usagi and his comrades will need to fight tooth and nail to survive and keep the sword out of their hands.  But with old friends and new bitter rivals revealing themselves, can even Usagi and his skilled companions avoid the tragedy that stalks them?

Grasscutter II was an epic and captivating classic entry in one of the best ongoing comic series.  Serving as an effective follow up to the bloody events of Grasscutter, Grasscutter II blended together a ton of outstanding action with some great character moments to create a memorable and beautifully drawn addition to the series that gets a very easy five-star rating from me.

This 15th volume of the Usagi Yojimbo series has a very gripping and intense storyline that seeks to combine Japanese history and mythology with the author’s action-packed style.  Starting with a beautifully drawn prologue that gives some interesting historical and mythological context to the sacred shrine of Atsuta, Sakai quickly moves into the main story, with Usagi, Gen and Sanshobo starting their journey to the shrine after being forced to protect the sword in the previous volume, Demon Mask.  At the same time, two rival bands of ninja, the Komori ninja and Neko ninja, discover that the existence of the sword and move quickly to intercept the companions, hoping to claim it for their own conflicting reasons.  The Neko ninja, led by Chizu, who has a complicated history with Usagi, catch up to the protagonists around the same time as the Komori ninja, leading to a wild three-way brawl.  Forced to work together, Chizu joins Usagi and his friends to recover the sword, which raises some interesting conflicts and issues, especially as Chizu has very different plans for the Kusanagi sword.

The second half of Grasscutter II is epic the entire way through, as Sakai continues to feature impressive action, while also allowing several character arcs to develop and conclude in tragic ways.  This includes the companions meeting up with the excellent supporting character Ikeda, who had such a great redemption arc in the previous Grasscutter volume.  Following some initial betrayal from Chizu, Usagi, Gen and Sanshobo follow her and enter battle with the Komori ninja, which ends in a dark moment of honour and loyalty from another interesting supporting figure.  While this initially seems to wrap up the main story, a fun twist ensures that Grasscutter II enters a fantastic concluding arc that sees that protagonists enter one last battle before achieving their goal.  This big battle is one of the most brutal and intense in the entire volume, and results in the book’s final tragic moment, which proves to be a fitting end to one amazing figure.  Loaded with powerful emotion, sacrifice and grief, this ending to Grasscutter II wraps up the entire story perfectly and ensures you are hooked all the way to the final blow.

This was another great volume from Sakai that successfully pushes the overall narrative of the series onwards and results in some intriguing changes to the comics, both in this book and the future.  As with all of Sakai’s work, Grasscutter II features a great combination of action, intrigue, character work and beautiful art that comes together perfectly to create an exceptional comic that is impossible not to finish in one sitting.  There are some truly great moments in Grasscutter II that help to make it stand out amongst Sakai’s other outstanding work, including the cool battle sequences.  The various scenes that feature the protagonists caught between two different schools of ninja were the best, and Sakai had fun showcasing the scary fighting ability of the blade-winged Komori ninja, as well as the established tricks of the Neko ninja.  This fantastic clash of styles allowed for some brilliant sequences, which were so damn epic to see unfold.  While I had a lot of fun with Grasscutter II, I must say that it probably isn’t the best volume of Usagi Yojimbo to start the comic on.  While Sakai does a good job revisiting some of the key plotlines and characters, you probably should read the previous Grasscutter volume to fully appreciate the plot, as well as some of the other earlier volumes to understand some of the character arcs.  Still, this is a very impressive Usagi Yojimbo entry, and a key read for established fans of the series who will have an exceptional time with Grasscutter II.

While fans will probably enjoy Grasscutter II’s exceptional action the most, I personally thought that it was some of the great character work in this volume that helped to make it particularly good.  Thanks to the volume featuring one extended storyline, Sakai takes his time to set up some outstanding character moments that work perfectly alongside the complex narrative and cool artwork.  While Usagi and Gen are their usual fun selves (there opposing views on honour, duty and what is right is always fun), I thought it was several returning supporting characters who really stole the show in Grasscutter II, especially as Sakai wove some great storylines around each of them.  This includes the former samurai turned monk Sanshobo, who has been an excellent recurring figure since his introduction in the series’ 10th volume, The Brink of Life and Death.  Not only does he mesh well with Usagi and Gen, acting as a voice of reason between the two strong-willed characters, but Sakai also brings one of his main character arcs full circle when he encounters his former lord.  Sanshobo has some great moments in Grasscutter II, especially his grief at the end, and I liked how Sakai utilised him as part of the main trio.

Another impressive character in Grasscutter II is Ikeda, who Sakai has built up as a wonderful figure.  Introduced in the moving story, The Patience of the Spider (contained in the 11th volume, Seasons) and expanded on in the first Grasscutter story, Ikeda is a former lord and general who learned to enjoy the quiet life of a peasant after his defeat.  Reunited by chance here with his former retainer Sanshobo, Ikeda proves to be an interesting addition to the cast.  Not only do his insights into the Neko ninja, who he greatly distrusts due to his history with them, result in a key plot point, but he is also once again tempted to achieve power, something he decides against in a great continuation of his storyline.  However, it is in the final sequence where Ikeda’s full character is revealed, where he serves as a willing rearguard to the companions to ensure the Neko ninja don’t get the Grasscutter sword.  His big battle sequence is very well portrayed, especially with how Sakai features his old war wound, and his final scene is one of the most badass inclusions in any Usagi Yojimbo comic.  An extremely well-written and complex character who is used to his full potential in this last appearance.

The final characters I want to mention are the various members of the Neko ninja who appear in this volume, primarily as antagonists.  Long-time opponents of Usagi, the Neko ninja represent the more classic ninja styles in the Usagi Yojimbo universe and prove to be great foils to the protagonist’s samurai style.  This includes their leader, Chizu, who has a long and complicated history with Usagi.  Simultaneously serving as both an alternate protagonist, antagonist and potential love interest to Usagi, Chizu has a lot of storylines in Grasscutter II, which Sakai makes full use of.  Forced to hunt for the Grasscutter sword against her better judgement, Chizu desires nothing more than to throw the sword back into the ocean to keep it out of anyone’s hands, and will betray anyone, including Usagi for that goal.  This results in some intriguing personal issues amongst the protagonists, especially as Usagi tries to see the best in her, while Gen forms an instant, mutual dislike of her.  Chizu’s inner conflicts become a key part of the plot, and her appearance here will have major impacts for her storyline going forward, especially when it comes to her ambitious number two, Kagemaru, who has been angling for power for several volumes now.  Kagemaru proves to be a ruthless alternate antagonist in Grasscutter II, and I liked how well Sakai set him up as both a physical and political threat going forward.  The final Neko ninja character I should mention is Saru, a former member of the clan betrayed by Kagemaru in the previous volume.  Seeking revenge on Chizu, who Saru believes was behind the betrayal, Saru stalks Chizu for much of the volume, resulting in some excellent sequences of ninja-on-ninja violence.  A compelling figure, Saru ends up redeeming herself in a particularly moving sequence and makes an impact despite her relatively short appearance.  These great ninja characters, and indeed the entire case of Grasscutter II, deeply enhanced the impact of the comic’s narrative, and I had an outstanding time seeing their arcs unfold.

As with all the Usagi Yojimbo comics I review, I must highlight the outstanding artwork that is such a brilliant feature of Grasscutter II.  Featuring Sakai’s classic pre-colour style of drawing, Grasscutter II’s art is very visually impactful, and I loved the fantastic black-and-white panels that cleanly show the complex actions and characters.  Every panel is extremely striking, and I love how effectively Sakai showcases everything in such detail, including the actions of his many characters.  I am always impressed with how well Sakai implies movement and activity with his drawings, and you really get the flow the scene from his panels.  I particularly appreciate how well the intense fight sequences come across in Grasscutter II, especially as there are so many scenes of carnage that occur within this volume.  The various battles, which usually involve a range of ninja, are so well drawn, and I loved the complex array of combat that flitters along the pages.  Some of these scenes are quite elaborate, and I loved seeing all the multiple black-clad figures moving around the established cast, especially in some of the bigger fight sequences.

In addition to great fights, Sakai does a great job capturing the emotive nature of his cast with his fantastic drawings of the major characters.  The intense reactions of many of his characters help to make the scene pop, and I love how well Sakai showcases the emotional range that the story elicits.  Highlights include the final face of one badass warrior while the grief of another usually calm figure really hammers home the seriousness of the moment.  All this amazing action and great character drawings is perfectly supported by Sakai’s trademark drawings of the picturesque Japanese landscapes, towns and temples that serve as an amazing backdrop to the main story.  Sakai has some real talent of showcasing Feudal Japan with his artwork, and you can often feel the world through which the characters are trapsing.  I particularly appreciated Sakai’s portrayals of a wild oceans beneath a ragged cliff, which was a setting for several of the volume’s more visually powerful panels.  The harsh waves striking around the combatants was especially impactful, and you could almost feel the wave’s strength as the characters fight at their edge.  Throw in Sakai’s interesting take on a classic Japanese legend at the very start of the volume in the prologue and Grasscutter II’s art comes together in a truly perfect manner, especially as this volume features some of the artist’s most ambitious fight sequences.

Based on my rambling paragraphs above, I think it is safe to say that I had an amazing time reading the 15th Usagi Yojimbo volume, Grasscutter II.  Featuring the exceptional storytelling and artwork of the legendary Stan Sakai, Grasscutter II achieves so much with its ambitious plot, long-term, character driven storytelling, and amazing sequences of combat and chaos.  A brilliant, classic addition to a truly incredible comic series, Grasscutter II comes highly recommend, and I had such a great time getting through it yet again.

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Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 40: The Crow by Stan Sakai

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Five-Star Books6 Comments

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics (Paperback – 21 January 2025)

Series: Usagi Yojimbo – Volume 40

Length: 152 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Stan Sakai’s iconic Usagi Yojimbo comic series powers through to its 40th volume, with the compelling and action-packed collection, The Crow, which proves to be another intense and impressive read.

Readers of this blog will know that I have a lot of love for the amazing Usagi Yojimbo series by Stan Sakai, which has remained one of my favourite comic series for years.  Following a rabbit ronin in an alternate version of Feudal Japan populated by anthropomorphic animals, the Usagi Yojimbo series combines cool art and great characters with a fantastic Japanese samurai aesthetic to create a particularly awesome comic series.  I love the various elaborate stories and scenarios that Sakai comes up with for the Usagi Yojimbo comics, and it is a real highlight of my reading year to check out the new Usagi Yojimbo volume.

This latest volume, The Crow, is the 40th collected volume of the long-running Usagi Yojimbo comic and contains issues #275 to #279 of the series.  This is the second volume of the current Dark Horse Comics run of Usagi Yojimbo, which started last year with volume 39, Ice and Snow (one of my favourite books of 2024), and continues some of the ongoing storylines from the other recent volumes.  This volume is once again written and drawn by Sakai, with Hi-Fi Colour Design colouring in Sakai’s illustrations.  The Crow was another interesting addition to the series I was really looking forward to, as it follows Usagi and his unlikely companions into deadly danger.

Following their encounter in the mountains with the murderous Jei, Miyamoto Usagi and his cousin, Yamamoto Yukichi, have finally escaped the freezing north of Japan and have journeyed to warmer climes.  However, just because they are out of the ice and snow doesn’t mean they have escaped trouble.

Closing in on the nearest town, Usagi and Yukichi come across a man being attacked by four ruffians.  Interceding in the fight and driving the attackers off, Usagi and Yukichi initially believe that the man they rescued was a merchant being robbed.  However, when they arrive at their destination, they find the place overrun by disreputable bounty hunters on the hunt for a big reward, including Usagi’s old companions Gen and Stray Dog.  Once again conned into paying for lunch, Usagi and Yukichi are shocked to discover that the focus of the bounty hunters’ attention is the person they saved, a dangerous bandit warlord known as Jimmu due to his crow companion.

Despite their intentions to avoid the hunt for Jimmu, the two rabbit ronin find themselves dragged into the fight by the deadly mercenary Inuyoshi, another acquaintance of Usagi who is also seeking Jimmu’s bounty.  Initially forced into conflict with Inuyoshi, Usagi and his friends soon find themselves unlikely allies of Inuyoshi’s bounty hunter band, as they must work together to take down Jimmu and his massive bandit army.  But with skilled warriors on both sides, and no mercy on the horizon, will Usagi and his associates survive unscathed?

The Crow was another exceptional comic from Sakai, who continues his Usagi Yojimbo series with masterful style.  Featuring one major story that pitted the protagonists against an array of deadly warriors, The Crow had me hooked from the very beginning, and I finished the entire volume within an hour of getting my hands on it.  An outstanding comic with great art and some brilliant character arcs, The Crow unsurprisingly gets a full five-star rating from me and was so damn good.

I felt that The Crow had a particularly strong story behind it, as Sakai continues his recent trend of featuring a single multi-issue story in the volume, rather than a series of smaller short stories like in many of his earlier volumes.  This allowed the author to produce a complex, interwoven narrative that features several intriguing character-focused storylines.  Featuring the old classic start, with Usagi and Yukichi rescuing a traveller from assailants, you are drawn into familiar Usagi Yojimbo ground of bandits and bounty hunters, as the rabbit samurai encounter two of Usagi’s oldest companions, the money-focused Gen and Stray Dog.  This allows for some excellent early story tension, as the naïve and highly honourable Yukichi clashes with the morally flexible and cynical bounty hunters, especially when they discover that the traveller Yukichi helped was the notorious bandit chief Jimmu.  Sakai quickly moves the story into its central arc, when Yukichi is kidnapped by returning figure Inuyoshi, who seeks to keep Usagi, Gen and Stray Dog out of his hunt for Jimmu.

This kidnapping arc proved to be quite interesting, especially as the formerly honourable Inuyoshi verbally clashes with Yukichi and is forced to find his honour in the face of betrayals within his own gang of bounty hunters.  I really enjoyed some of the compelling interactions between some of the cast in the central part of the story, and Sakai cleverly works events so that Usagi and his friends can find and rescue Yukichi.  This central part of the story also features some great action sequences, especially a brutal, multi-page ambush by Jimmu who robs a merchant convoy.  The revelation about the true size of Jimmu’s bandit army inevitably results in Usagi’s group teaming up with Inuyoshi to find and defeat Jimmu, which results in a massive battle that takes up most of the final quarter of the volume.  This battle was everything you could hope for, and Sakai is in fine form with his drawings as he portrays the various fights.  The final duels between bounty hunters and Jimmu have some outstanding and memorable moments, and Sakai ensures there is some powerful tragedy that will live with a certain protagonist.  Sakai ensures that all the key character-driven story arcs are well wrapped up, and there are some touching moments that perfectly define some of the major protagonist’s personalities or struggles in this volume, which I felt made The Crow really stand out.  A very impressive overall story from Sakai, that shows just how interesting and intense his writing can be, even when he returns to his well-trodden tales of bandits and bounty hunters.

One of the things that I felt Sakai did particularly well in The Crow was to feature an array of great characters, whose combined arcs come together extremely well in the context of the larger story.  There is an awesome collection of characters in this volume, including old favourites, returning one-shot figures, and some intriguing new characters who proved to be excellent additions to the overall story.  Sakai does an excellent job balancing a number of these character storylines within the course of The Crow’s four issues, and there are some moving and compelling moments as a result.

A lot of the volume focuses on the three longer-term recurring members of the cast, Gen, Stray Dog and Usagi himself, who are the veteran presence in The Crow.  While they are featured quite prominently, Sakai doesn’t provide a massive amount of development for them, as they mostly fall into the same routines as they previously have, with Gen being the money-fixated conman, Stray Dog being the seemingly selfish and unfriendly killer, while Usagi is his usual honourable self.  I did like how Sakai once again painted Usagi more as a mature and world-weary figure, especially when compared to Yukichi, and it was interesting to see how much more realistic he is here than in some of his earlier encounters with Gen and Stray Dog.  Sakai also has fun once again featuring the dichotomy of Stray Dog, whose selfish outer-shell is cleverly balanced by his actual charitable actions, which are used to great effect for a secondary character towards the end of the volume.  Finally, Gen was his usual self, although considering how fun that is, I was happy with the result.

While these three long-running figures were well utilised, I felt that Sakai did his work with two more recent, returning additions to the Usagi Yojimbo universe with Yamamoto Yukichi and the mercenary Inuyoshi.  Yukichi, Usagi’s cousin introduced in volume 36: Tengu War!, has proven to be an interesting traveling companion for the protagonist, especially as he is very similar to a younger Usagi.  His naivety and unbending belief in honour without compromise is on full display in this volume, especially in his first interaction with Gen and Stray Dog, and it is interesting to compare him to the now more flexible Usagi.  Inuyoshi on the other hand is an intriguing figure who was introduced in the story The Sword of Narukami in the series’ 27th volume, A Town Called Hell.  A formerly honourable samurai betrayed by his lord’s heir, Inuyoshi has become a much more deadly and disreputable figure since his last encounter with Usagi.  I really liked how Sakai devolved Inuyoshi since his last appearance, both in his art and personality, as while he still maintains some of his honour, he has become even more ruthless, going so far as to capture Yukichi to keep Usagi and his companions away.  These two characters are in a way antithesis of each other, with one strictly holding onto samurai ideals while the other has abandoned them and is now more interested in money and survival.  The two play off each other extremely well, despite some major fractious moments, and I liked how they both gain something from the experience, with Yukichi getting a lesson in the real world, while Inuyoshi remembers some of his old honour.  Inuyoshi’s appearance here also perfectly wraps up some of the open storylines from The Sword of Narukami, and I appreciated that Sakai finally provided some closure for a one-off tale from several years ago.

Aside from these great major characters, Sakai rounds out the cast of The Crow with some additional fun figures who each add some fantastic elements to the comic.  The volume’s main antagonist, Jimmu, proves to be a ruthless and competent outlaw leader, and I liked how his crow companion gave him a distinctive edge and allowed for some intriguing and well-drawn battle scenes.  The street urchin, Isamu, was a great mischievous figure who reminded me of a young, but brave, version of the recurring Snitch character.  Isamu has some fantastic interactions with some of the main characters, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we see more of him in the future.  Finally, Sakai has fun including a comedic merchant duo who get caught up in one of Jimmu’s raids.  Their entertaining banter during several scenes had me chuckling, especially when their newly discovered brotherhood is ruined by some ill-matched confessions, and they provided an excellent bit of humour amongst the darker story elements.  These great characters all filled their roles perfectly, and I deeply enjoyed how effectively Sakai utilised them in this fantastic narrative.

As with all the Usagi Yojimbo comics, I really need to highlight Sakai’s exceptional artwork featured within The Crow.  Sakai does another remarkable artistic job in this latest volume, and the comics are just gorgeous as he effortlessly brings his elaborate stories and characters to life with his amazing drawings.  All the characters are lovingly drawn, and their resultant actions, especially the cool battle sequences, are so intense and expressive.  I was particularly impressed with Sakai’s portrayal of rival samurai Inuyoshi, who had previously appeared once some years ago.  It was absolutely fascinating to see how Sakai’s drawing style has changed in the intervening years (I had a look at A Town Called Hell after reading The Crow), as Inuyoshi has so much more detail and depth in this appearance.  His scarred and somewhat more deranged appearance perfectly matched his darker personality, and I really think that he looked even more impressive in colour, which has only been a recurring feature since volume 34, Bunraku and Other Stories. 

These excellent character drawings are only matched by Sakai’s superb landscape drawings, which provide beautiful and powerful pictures of the story’s background setting.  These background drawings, whether they be depictions of historic Japanese towns or of the shaded natural forests, come across extremely well, and you really feel yourself becoming immersed in the setting as a result.  I must once again mention the awesome action scenes scattered throughout The Crow.  Sakai is a master of drawing epic sword clashes in his comic style, and you can feel every thrust and cut that the various samurai characters make.  Highlights for me this time included two massive group battle sequences that each have their own fantastic moments, cool duels against the bandit leader and his bird companion, and a somewhat graphic but very well-drawn decapitation panel which was both epic and gnarly.  This art once again perfectly enhances and compliments Sakai’s outstanding writing, and I love how even after 40 Usagi Yojimbo volumes, Sakai is still producing such masterful and moving pictures.

Stan Sakai continues to impress and wow me with his outstanding Usagi Yojimbo comic series.  This latest volume, The Crow, was another captivating comic, loaded with striking drawings, intense action, and some excellent samurai characters.  I felt that The Crow was a particularly strong entry in this always incredible series, and I am so very glad we were gifted a volume this early in the year.  I am hoping that we will get another volume later in 2025, but until then, do yourself a favour and make sure to check out the first exceptional 40 volumes of one of the best ongoing comic series.

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Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated Thrillers, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction and Comics releasing in the First Half of 2025

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Historical Fiction, List, Murder Mystery, Thriller13 Comments

Welcome to my second Top Ten Tuesday list of the week, were I look at my most anticipated thrillers, crime fiction and historical fiction novels coming out in the first half of 2025. Traditionally I usually only do one list to represent the top upcoming books for the year, however, I was inspired to separate out the fantasy and science fiction novels into my previous list, while this list will feature epic reads from the other major genres that I am interested in.

Despite only just starting, 2025 is already shaping up to be an epic and exciting year for books with a huge range of impressive and highly anticipated novels due for release in the next 12 months.  This includes exciting debuts, anticipated sequels and the latest entries in beloved bestselling series.  The first half of the year is looking particularly awesome, with a substantial number of incredible upcoming releases that I am deeply looking forward to. 

Even though I excluded fantasy and science fiction books, this ended up being a rather difficult list to pull together due to all the awesome releases coming out in Australia or on Netgalley between 1 January 2025 and 30 June 2025.  There were way too many extraordinary upcoming books that I could have included, and I ended up having to make some very tough calls and cutting several novels that have an immense amount of potential.  Despite this, I am rather happy with the eventual choices that I made, and I think that this list reflects the upcoming novels and comics I am going to have the most fun reading. However, there are also some interesting new books that I am discussing for the first time here, so that should give this list a bit of variety.  So let us get to my selections and find out which upcoming novels are my most anticipated releases for the first half of 2025.

Honourable Mentions:

Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman – 6 February 2025

An interesting and entertaining new murder mystery from one of my yearly must-read authors, Open Season continues the awesome Alex Delaware series and pits the detective protagonists against a killer determined to take out Hollywood hopefuls.

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Pacific Heights by S. R. White – 25 March 2025

One of the more interesting authors of Australian crime fiction, S. R. White (see my reviews for Prisoner, Red Dirt Road and White Ash Ridge) is set to release a standalone whodunnit with Pacific Heights.  Featuring a cool plot about detectives trying to unwind different stories about who killed someone from five separate witnesses, Pacific Heights sounds really awesome, and I cannot wait to check it out.

 

The Pilgrim’s Revenge by Scott Mariani by 24 April 2025

An exciting and intense revenge thriller set in the time of King Richard the Lionheart; The Pilgrim’s Revenge should be a very epic read.

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Vanish by Shelley Burr – 30 April 2025

Rising Australian author Shelley Burr follows up her excellent first two crime fiction novels, Wake and Ripper with the intriguing third entry Vanish.  Once again set in a small Australian community, Vanish will see the series’ damaged protagonist investigate a problematic commune as he attempts to find out the truth behind a long-lost missing girl.  Sure to be one of the top Australian releases of 2025.

Top Ten Tuesday:

Grave Danger by James Grippando – 14 January 2025

Back in 2024 I had the pleasure of reading my first book from impressive James Grippando, Goodbye Girl, a fantastic entry in the author’s Jack Swyteck series.  A compelling and twisty legal thriller, Goodbye Girl was really fun to read, and I am now quite keen to continue the series.  As such, I am planning to grab the upcoming book, Grave Danger, as soon as it comes out.  Featuring an intriguing case about international child custody and murder, Grave Danger has some real potential, and I know I am going to have a great time with this awesome book.

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Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 40: The Crow by Stan Sakai – 4 February 2025

A very easy inclusion to this list was the next entry in one of my favourite comic book series with volume 40 of the Usagi Yojimbo series, The Crow.  I only just published a review of the previous volume, Ice and Snow, a few days ago, so I am quite excited to see that a new entry is coming out very soon.  Set to continue some of the author’s excellent ongoing storylines about the titular rabbit ronin, The Crow should be another awesome volume in the series, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it the first chance I get.

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Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz – 11 February 2025

Early 2025 is filled with a ton of great spy thrillers from some of my favourite authors, and that includes the new Orphan X book from Gregg Hurwitz, Nemesis.  Set after the events of the 2024 book, Lone Wolf, Nemesis will see the former government assassin turned vigilante protagonist square off against his best friend over secrets that were kept from him.  However, other shadowy players soon reveal themselves, and Orphan X will need to fight deadly enemies and a former friend to survive.  This looks set to be a particularly compelling and emotionally charged addition to the series and I cannot wait to check it out.

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The Medici Return by Steve Berry – 11 February 2025

Each year I have a ton of fun with the entertaining and elaborate Cotton Malone books by Steve Berry that combine modern thriller storylines with hidden historical secrets and elaborate historical settings.  Books like The Malta Exchange, The Warsaw Protocol, The Kaiser’s Web, The Last Kingdom and The Atlas Maneuver, have all really impressed me, and the Cotton Malone books are now a must-read for me each year.  This includes the early 2025 release, The Medici Return, which will see a dark conspiracy emerge in Italy when an ancient debt owed by the church threatens to destabilise everything.  This sounds like another awesome thriller, and I cannot wait to dive into the history of the famous Medici family with this new fantastic book.

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Midnight Black by Mark Greaney – 18 February 2025

A spy thriller book I am particularly keen to get my hands on this year is Midnight Black by Mark Greaney.  The 14th book in Greaney’s Gray Man series, Midnight Black follows on after the cliffhanger ending of The Chaos Agent and sees the titular assassin protagonist burn through Russia and Siberia to free his imprisoned love interest.  This latest Gray Man book has the potential to be one of the most intense and impressive novels of 2025, and I cannot wait to see how Greaney continues his elaborate and always action-packed series.

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Burn to Shine by Jonathan Maberry – 4 March 2025

Readers of this blog will know I am a huge fan of Jonathan Maberry, so the inclusion of his next big thriller, Burn to Shine, on this list should come as no surprise, especially after I just published reviews of his 2024 books NecroTek and The Dragon in Winter.  Once again focussing on the author’s iconic protagonist, Joe Ledger, Burn to Shine will be the fourth book in the Rogue Team International series, which has previously featured such awesome books as Rage (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), and Cave 13 (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023).  This new entry in the series will see Ledger and his team deal with a new world-ending threat, with old enemies returning, seeking revenge.  I really love the sound of this new book, and I already know it’s going to get a five-star rating from me.

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A Death in Berlin by Simon Scarrow – 13 March 2025

After wowing me last year with Revenge of Rome, one of my favourite historical fiction authors, Simon Scarrow looks set to continue one of his other cool series with the third Berlin Wartime thriller, A Death in Berlin.  Following on from Blackout and Dead of Night, A Death in Berlin will once again place Scarrow’s complex protagonist, the last honest detective in Berlin, as he tries to investigate dark crimes in the shadow of World War II and the crimes of the Nazi regime.  I have deeply enjoyed the previous Berlin Wartime thrillers, and I cannot wait to see what elaborate story Scarrow has for us this time.

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The White Fortress by Boyd and Beth Morrison – 15 April 2025

The awesome team of thriller author Boyd Morrison and historian Beth Morrison return with the third book in their Tales of the Lawless Land series, The White Fortress.  Continuing the story started in The Lawless Land and its sequel The Last True Templar, The White Fortress will once again follow the author’s excommunicated knight protagonist and his adventurous wife as they become embroiled in dangerous quests across 14th century Europe.  This time, the pair end up in Croatia, where they become involved in a deadly plot involving a prophecy and a lost codex written by Marco Polo.  I have had an amazing time with the first two books in the series and I cannot wait to see how this wonderful pair of authors continue their ambitious and thrilling historical series.

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Nightshade by Michael Connelly – 20 May 2025

One of my most anticipated upcoming murder mysteries is the new Michael Connelly novel, Nightshade.  While the cover for Nightshade has yet to be released, the plot synopsis sounds really cool as Connelly introduces a new police protagonist assigned to the idyllic Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles who is forced to investigate a sinister murder when a body washes up on the shore of the island.  I love the idea of exploring a new Connelly character, especially one based around a cool setting, and this should end up being an excellent and strong murder mystery from this always compelling author.

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Never Flinch by Stephen King – 27 May 2025

The final book I want to highlight on this list is probably the one I am most excited for this year with the new Stephen King novel, Never Flinch.  I have been having such a great time getting into Stephen King’s incredible books these last few years, and some of his most recent releases, such as Later, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers and You Like It Darker, have completely enthralled me. However, my favourite Stephen King books have so far been his compelling dives into crime fiction. Starting with the dark and powerful Mr Mercedes and featuring the three outstanding Bill Hodges books, King has expanded his crime fiction works by focussing on the unique protagonist of Holly Gibney. The subsequent Holly Gibney focused books, The Outsider (one of my favourite horror novels) and Holly (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023), were extremely exceptional, and I have loved the brilliant, yet shocking, narratives they contained.  As such, I am very, very keen to read the upcoming Holly Gibney book, Never Flinch.  Set to follow this great protagonist as she deals with two dangerous opponents, a serial killer and a stalker, Never Flinch sounds incredible, and I have no doubt this will be one of the best things I read in 2025.

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That is the end of this list.  I am extremely happy with how my latest Top Ten Tuesday article turned out and this list contains an intriguing collection of upcoming books that should prove to be incredible reads.  I think that nearly every one of these books has the potential to get a full five-star rating from me and I cannot wait to see what amazing and exciting stories they contain.  While I am waiting to get my hands on these books, why not let me know if any of the above interest you, as well as what your most anticipated releases for the next six months are in the comments below.  Also, make sure to check out my other Top Ten List with the top upcoming fantasy and science fiction books of 2025.

The Sandman – Act III (Audiobook), written by Neil Gaiman and performed by a full cast

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Horror, Superhero, Tie-in Novel4 Comments

Publisher: Audible Original (Audiobook – 28 September 2022)

Series: The Sandman – Volume 3

Script: Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs (script adapter)

Director: Dirk Maggs

Length: 11 hours and 31 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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After falling in the love with the epic The Sandman comics thanks to their exceptional audiobook adaptations, I finally got to the third audiobook act in this exceptional series by Neil Gaiman, which was another amazing listen.

I have had an outstanding time listening to the first and second volumes of the audiobook adaptations of The Sandman comic.  Set partially in the DC universe, the original series, which started in 1989, is one of the most iconic comics of all time and features a unique adventure that only Neil Gaiman can come up with.  Following Dream, the anthropomorphic personification of dreams and human imagination, The Sandman is a truly amazing comic that blends horror, fantasy and superhero elements together.  Some people might be more familiar with the recent Netflix series that adapted the first couple of comics, and which has a second season on the way.

This series has proven to be extremely exceptional, with Act I perfectly introducing the characters and setting up the initial storyline, while Act II continues some of the key story points and places Dream against various foes, including Lucifer and other dangerous mythical figures.  Not only do these audiobooks feature an incredible story and powerful characters but they are brought to life by a truly awesome cast of celebrity actors and audiobook narrators who really lend their all to this performance.  As such, when going on a couple of fun road trips this year, Act III was a very easy choice to listen to, and I was extremely curious to see how this series would continue.

In a universe of strange and deadly creatures, many beings are considered immortal, but only seven siblings can truly claim to be endless.  The Endless, each a personification of a universal concept, are powerful and mesmerizing in their own way, but the most enchanting and mysterious is Dream.  Known by many names, including Morpheus, this being governs the Dreaming, a vast realm of creation’s collected dreams and stories, protecting the imagination that makes life worth living.  But circumstances outside of his control have set him on a dark path that not even he can escape from.

After being freed from captivity and deciding the future of Hell, Morpheus finds himself troubled by another failed romance, his own complex past, his previous monstrous decisions, and his often contentious relationship with his family.  Visited by his troubled youngest sibling Delirium, Dream embarks on an unusual quest alongside her to find their missing brother, the one member of the Endless to ever give up their role and responsibility, Destruction.  But their prodigal sibling does not wish to be found, and many obstacles lie between an Endless reunification.  To succeed in their quest, Morpheus will need to revisit the most painful chapter from his past.  However, no-one, not even a member of the Endless, comes away from a meeting with Destruction unscathed!

Unsurprisingly, Act III proved to be an exceptional listen, and I once again got wrapped up in the elaborate and compelling web of stories and characters that The Sandman is well known for.  Adapted once again by director Dirk Maggs and featuring all of Gaiman’s impressive storytelling and dark characterisations, The Sandman – Act III, was an outstanding listen, and one that I could not get away from.  Adapting the Brief Lives and Worlds’ End arcs of The Sandman comic, as well as several additional short stories, Act III was an exceptional addition to this series, especially with the truly exceptional voice cast.

Act III continues the same format and style of the previous The Sandman audiobook adaptations, with the comic broken into several distinctive parts to best tell the elaborate story from the comics.  The previously drawn adventures are brought to life here through a combination of excellent narration by Neil Gaiman, who covers many of the characters’ actions and movements, sound effects to represent other unseen elements, and the dialogue of the various characters, with their respective actors often describing the moments going on around them.  This results in an intriguing but complex listening experience, and with a runtime of 11 hours and 31 minutes, it is one that you can get through very quickly if you have the time.

This latest audiobook adaptation starts off in an interesting place with the short story The Song of Orpheus, which originally appeared in the Fables & Reflections collection of stories.  The Song of Orpheus is a fantastic retelling of the classic Greek myth of Orpheus, with the character reimagined as the son of Morphius and the muse Calliope, the latter of whom was featured in the story Calliope in the Dream Country collection (featured in the Act I adaptation).  Gaiman does an excellent job of bringing together the classic Greek mythology of the Orpheus legend with his own characters and the result is a seamless and complex tale.  Orpheus’ ill-fated marriage and journey to save his love is aided and hindered by the various members of the Endless, with Morpheus serving as a complex distant father figure.  The resulting story may seem familiar to those with knowledge of Greek mythology, but there are some added intriguing twists, and the inclusion of Gaiman’s characters ensure that there is even greater tragedy than the original Greek myth envisioned.

When I started this audiobook, I thought that The Song of Orpheus was interesting start to this act, and in hindsight it was quite a clever decision, as it sets up some of the other arcs extremely well.  The story ensures that listeners are well warned about the tragedy and elaborate storylines contained in Act III, while also drawing you in with its inventiveness and complexity.  It is also a brilliant production thanks to the combination of cast and background music effects.  Regé-Jean Page (of Bridgerton fame), proves to be an outstanding Orpheus, who stands as an interesting contrast to the other established voice actors of this story.  There are also some epic musical accompaniment and sound effects that prove vital in showcasing the full impact of this story, and which you honestly need when telling a story about the mythical musician Orpheus.  I felt that the musical elements of this chapter deeply helped to enhance the story, especially as there was some great sadness in the sound effects that mirrored the story.  This was honestly a very strong start to Act III, and I loved how well it led into the first main story, Brief Lives.

Brief Lives is a particularly epic main story arc for this audiobook which serves as both the plot and emotional heart of Act III.  Initially focusing on the incredibly fun character of Delirium, who we only briefly saw in Act II, Brief Lives sees Dream accompany his sister on a road trip to find their lost brother, Destruction.  This results in several intriguing mini story arcs as the mismatched and chaotic siblings travel through the mortal world, encountering their family, friends, and former associates of Destruction.  At the same time, sinister events begin to impact people associated with their search, and Dream must navigate the increased collateral damage his quest is incurring.

I really loved this arc, and I think that Brief Lives might be one of the stronger The Sandman storylines.  The road trip storyline with Dream and Delirium worked to tell this story in a fantastic manner, and I enjoyed how the author took the opportunity to quickly and effectively introduce new intriguing characters whose worlds become impacted by their interactions with the Endless.  The long-anticipated reveal about the missing Endless was great, and Gaiman loads in some intriguing examinations about family, destiny and duty.  Brief Lives is loaded with a great combination of dark mystery, the author’s gothic vibe, a fantastic layer of humour, and an intense amount of tragedy, all wrapped up with the most unique familial interactions you are likely to see in fiction.  The author takes the storylines in some interesting directions, and the resulting emotional richness proves very hard to ignore.  The ending of Brief Lives is particularly moving, with a resolution of family drama followed by additional tragedy millennia in the making.  This also proves to be quite a key story in the wider The Sandman story, with the consequences radiating out from the events of this road trip have chaotic impacts in the future.

I have to say that I was really impressed with how Brief Lives came together.  Not only does the elaborate story come across clearly and interestingly with the chapter split, but you really get drawn into every single supporting character that shows up.  I particularly enjoyed seeing Delirium getting a whole arc to shine in, and actress Kristen Schaal is perfect as the embodiment of personal chaos, bringing an immense childlike glee to the madcap antics of her character.  Schaal perfectly plays off the more serious characters in this story arc, and you can really feel the dancing chaos beneath the surface of her mind as well as how scattered and unconnected she is.  The reveal of Destruction as a character was also quite interesting, and I like the author’s take of him being a warm, thoughtful and entertaining destroyer, whose duty has deeply damaged him.  David Harewood brings some real compassion and charm to the role of Destruction, and I enjoyed how he played off the sarcastic talking dog Barnabas, voiced by veteran voice actor Harry Myers.  The portrayal of Brief Lives also makes excellent use of some musical accompaniment to enhance the emotional impact of the plot, including in some of the story’s heaviest scenes, and this ended up being the most compelling part of Act III to listen to.

The other major storyline in The Sandman – Act III, is the intriguing anthology storyline, Worlds’ End.  Like some of the previous arcs in The Sandman, Worlds’ End is more of an indirect addition to the plot, loaded with short stories that show snippets of Dream, the Endless, and other supporting characters, interacting with new and unique figures.  However, Worlds’ End is also quite distinctive, especially as Neil Gaiman surrenders his narrator duties in this arc, and instead features multiple guest narrators telling their own tales in a similar manner to The Canterbury Tales.  The plot of this arc starts with character Brant Tucker (voiced by Wil Wheaton) and his colleague crashing their car in a freak storm and then finding refuge in the mysterious Worlds’ End inn.  Within the inn, they discover multiple unusual travellers from across time and the realms, who have been scattered due to a reality storm and are seeking shelter.  To pass the time, the various guests tell stories based on their lives, which paint a complex tapestry of their experiences and the long-reaching influence of the Endless.

I have a lot of love for the various short stories that Gaiman fills The Sandman comics with, but I felt that the collection featured with Worlds’ End were some of his strongest.  There are five central stories featured within, and they each provide a complex and wildly different tale of life, loss and adventure, all set in the contexts of different worlds and experiences.  Gaiman manages to tell some complex tales in the short time he has with each entry, and the reader comes away with intriguing visions of these unique worlds and characters.  There are a few times where the narrative devolves into a story within a story, as narrators begin to recount tales that were told to them (and in a couple of cases you have a story within a story within another story).  However, even these prove to be very captivating, and it is a testament to how good a storytelling Gaiman is that readers can moved into multiple interlocking tales and still be intrigued by what is going on.  There is also a great mixture of tales here, from a Lovecraftian inspired dream tale, to a hilarious fantasy adventure told by a rambunctious Faerie, and even a classic nautical adventure tale of a handsome sailor boy, which features the return of fan favourite character Hob Gadling.  However, my favourite story was The Golden Boy, an intriguing retelling of the story of Prez Rickard, the teenage president protagonist of the classic, if short-lived, Prez comics, which proves to be quite entertaining and haunting, while also showing an idealised vision of America.

I felt that these five stories came across in a very organic way with the differing narrators, and it proved to be a lot of fun to experience the talents of several new or underutilised vocal talents in a strong way here.  Wil Wheaton was a great main narrator for the overarching story, and I felt he portrayed a good everyman character experiencing the unnatural for the first time.  Billy Boyd and Colin McFarlane both shine as narrators and central characters for their respective stories, and I quite enjoyed the performances of KJ Apa and Jon Culshaw in The Golden Boy, while Simon Jones was an impactful addition to the funeral-focused story Cerements.  These actors, and many others, helped to turn Worlds’ End into a compelling and distinctive arc, and I liked how effectively it contrasted with the other The Sandman arcs we have enjoyed.  This entire storyline ends on an ominous and prophetic note, as the listener is given a glimpse of major events to come, and Worlds’ End proved to be a great way to conclude Act III.

Overall, these main stories, as well as an additional couple of short stories, proved to be very impressive to read, and I love the complex plots and themes that the author tried to impart.  The continuation of a larger storyline, combined with multiple short stories that expands The Sandman universe, works to create an elaborate experience for the listener, and I deeply appreciate the immense imagination that Gaiman puts into his work.  The flow from larger, cohesive storylines to a series of shorter tales also works extremely well, and I love how the obvious palate cleaner short stories take on a compelling life of their own.  No matter how short, each of the stories in Act III were very well written, and the distinctive blend of dark storytelling, gothic imagination and complex characters makes for some addictive listening.  I especially love the recurring trend of normal humans, as well as other more supernatural beings, encountering the various Endless by chance, only to find their lives altered by the experience, often for the worst.  The often capricious nature of Dream, as well as some of his siblings, really comes through with Gaiman’s writing and the subsequent acting, and you cannot appreciate just how well-written these figures, and indeed the entire character cast of The Sandman, are, until you experience it for yourself.

Before we get to the end of this review, I must once again strongly compliment just how awesome these The Sandman audiobooks are.  Gaiman, Maggs and others do such an incredible job of converting the original comics into this new format, and all the original ideas, actions and compelling figures come across perfectly in the audiobook.  The combination of clever narration and on-point dialogue allows listeners to really appreciate the unfolding actions taking place, and effective sound effects add that extra layer of understanding.  Throw in some outstanding musical moments, which prove to be particularly impactful in Act III, and this entire audiobook hits the reader hard and ensures that are constantly caught up in the elaborate ideas of the original author.  All the storylines come across perfectly, with some slight alterations in the order they appear, and you really come away with an outstanding appreciation for The Sandman, even if you’ve never read the comics.

It goes without saying that Act III once again featured an incredible cast of actors and voice specialists, all of whom perfectly portray the characters they are assigned to.  I love how all the key stars from Act I and Act II, once again returned here, and their outstanding voices, combined with some awesome new figures, ensured that every word of this audiobook delighted its audience.  I have already mentioned a few key actors above, but I really want to once again highlight the outstanding recurring key cast, who do such a great job here.  Series lead James McAvoy is just perfect as Morpheus, and his resonate and powerful voice consistently captures the ethereal, arrogant, and thoughtful qualities of the titular protagonist every time.  It is such a pleasure to listen to McAvoy perform once again in Act III, and his excellent voice plays off every other actor in this audiobook so damn well.

Other key returning stars include Kat Dennings, who perfectly portrays Gaiman’s warmer, caring, female Death, who is frankly one of the best characters in the entire series.  Andy Serkis has a lot of fun as the raven Matthew, and his scenes with Dream and Delirium are hilarious.  Jeffrey Wright, Justin Vivian Bond and Miriam Margolyes each do an amazing job of bringing Destiny, Desire and Despair to life, and you can really feel their ancient power and alternating views of humanity.  Justin Vivian Bond’s portrayal of the feckless and fickle Desire is particularly noteworthy, and I love how well this unique character came across.  Multiple other actors and established audiobook narrators provide a range of compelling and memorable voices throughout Act III, including several of my favourite audiobook narrators like Ray Porter and Toby Longworth, and I loved every one of their voices.  Finally,  Neil Gaiman himself serves as an outstanding central narrator for much of the Act III.  Gaiman’s distinctive voice perfectly fits the gothic and mysterious vibe of The Sandman comics, and there is no-one else who could narrate these complex ideas and experiences, better than the author who originally came up with them.  You will frankly struggle to find a better cast of voice actors in any other audiobook out there, and this outstanding vocal team makes Act III, and indeed all The Sandman audiobooks, something extremely special to enjoy.

Act III of The Sandman audiobook was another exceptional listen and one that proves pretty impossible to stop listening to.  The combination of captivating storylines, outrageous characters, and a huge array of vocal and acting talents make this an easy five-star listen, and I can personally guarantee that The Sandman – Act III makes for an excellent accompaniment to a long road trip.  While I’m sure that recent controversies might impact this, I hope we get the fourth act in this epic series soon, and I cannot wait to see how Morpheus’s tragic and complex tale ends.

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The Sandman – Act II (Audiobook) by Neil Gaiman and performed by a full cast

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Horror, LGBT+, Superhero, Tie-in Novel6 Comments

The Sandman - Act II Cover

Publisher: Audible Original (Audio Drama – 22 September 2021)

Series: The Sandman – Volume 2

Script: Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs (script adapter)

Director: Dirk Maggs

Length: 13 hours and 47 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

The gloomy and complex fantasy adventures of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman continues in this epic second audiobook volume that once again brings Gaiman’s unique imagination and characters to life with an outstanding cast of actors.

Back in 2022 I had an outstanding time listening to the first volume of the audiobook adaptation of The Sandman comic.  The original series, which started in 1989, is one of the most iconic comics of all time and features a unique adventure that only someone as twisted and imaginative as Neil Gaiman can come up with.  Following Dream, the anthropomorphic personification of dreams and human imagination, The Sandman is a truly interesting comic that blends horror, fantasy and superhero storylines together.  Some people might be more familiar with the recent Netflix series that adapted the first couple of comics and which has a second season on the way.

While I loved the show, I personally had a much better time with the audiobook version of the comics that was released a couple of years ago.  Featuring a truly exceptional cast of celebrity and established audiobook narrators, the first volume of this series was so damn good, and I loved how well it established the characters and universe of The Sandman while also adapting Gaiman’s unique vibes and dark themes.  This first volume was extremely addictive, and I made sure to listen to the second volume shortly after.  The second volume, or Act II as it will be called in this review, continues the comic storyline and features some amazing stories, fun characters and new cast members.

In a universe of strange and deadly creatures, many beings are considered immortal, but only seven siblings can truly claim to be endless.  The Endless, each a personification of a certain universal or human concept, are powerful and mesmerizing in their own way, but the most enchanting and mysterious is Dream.  Known by many names, including Morpheus, this being governs the Dreaming, a vast realm of creation’s collected dreams and stories, protecting the imagination that makes life worth living.  But circumstances outside of his control have set him on a dark path that not even he can escape from.

Still dealing with the consequences of his forced absence from his realm, Morpheus is working to recover everything he lost while avoiding the enemies he made along the way.  The most powerful of these is Lucifer, the fallen angel and lord of Hell, whom Morpheus insulted when he stormed Hell to take back his stolen helm.  Despite not wishing to cross Lucifer again, Morpheus is convinced to set right the biggest wrong of his life and free his former lover from Hell.  However, he is unprepared for the reception that awaits him as Lucifer chooses to damn him in a far more sinister way: by gifting him control of his dark domain.

Finding himself in possession of the key to Hell’s gates, Lucifer must determine who will become the new ruler of Hell.  Setting up a gala in the Dreaming, Morpheus receives visits from an array of gods, demons, angels, and other immortal beings, each of whom seek to control Hell for their own reason.  Soon, Morpheus finds himself in the middle of a host of scheming beings, many of whom will turn on their host to get what they want.  At the same time, weird things are happening in the Dreaming, as an ancient and unstable realm begins to drag in inhabitants from the real world and influence the waking world.  Can Morpheus ensure his realm stays whole whilst dealing with the most dangerous beings in creation?

This was another outstanding adaptation of The Sandman comics that was so damn epic to listen to.  Adapted by director Dirk Maggs and featuring all Gaiman’s impressive storytelling and dark characterisation, The Sandman – Act II was extremely impressive, and you really get drawn into the unique world of the original comics.  Adapting issues #21-40 and #50 of the original comics, The Sandman – Act II brings together the stories of Season of Mists and A Game of You, and several entries from Fables & Reflections.  All these adaptations are so damn good, and I love the elaborate and epic cast that helps to bring the tale to life.

Due to how the audiobook is set out, there are three distinctive parts to The Sandman – Act II, which provided their own unique stories and characters.  The first of these is titled Season of Mists, and features Morpheus finding himself wrapped up in the fate of Hell.  Starting with an entertaining and dysfunctional family dinner, where Morpheus reunites with all his siblings (bar one), the story then turns to Morpheus’s biggest regret, his relationship with the ancient African queen Nada (whose story was told in the last audiobook), which trapped her soul in Hell.  Travelling to Hell to free her, Morpheus finds that Lucifer has banished all the demons and damned souls from his realm and is abdicating as ruler, leaving the key to Hell’s gates with Morpheus.  Morpheus is soon tasked with deciding the fate of the dimension, which results in a flurry of immortal beings arriving at his home to request the key.  The resulting conference proves to be highly entertaining as Morpheus is forced to deal with all manner of bargains, schemes and betrayals as everyone seeks his favour.  I loved how the entire dramatic conference unfolds, and the interactions between the various over-the-top figures and the implacable Morpheus results in some great drama and hilarious sequences.  The conclusion of this storyline is amazing, as a new irony overtakes the denizens of Hell, Morpheus finds himself meeting various beings who will change him in the future, and the seeds are set for a new story around Lucifer (as seen in his own comic and television series).

Honestly, this is probably the best part of The Sandman – Act II, as not only is Season of Mists particularly gripping, but it makes full use of both the existing voice cast and several new figures to really enhance the content.  The battle of wits between several larger-than-life characters is extremely compelling and clever, and Gaiman does a remarkable job expanding the canon of The Sandman.  There are so many subtle and delightful character interactions scattered throughout this storyline, and listeners will love the impressively devious stakes that are being discussed.  This includes some fantastic and deep soul searching for the protagonist, who is forced to revisit one of his darkest deeds.  Thanks to his own experiences of being locked away, Morpheus understands his harsh past actions a lot better, especially when prompted by members of his family.  I always appreciated how Gaiman shows that Morpheus isn’t really a hero but a force of nature who arrogantly follows his own whims.  However, in this case he is a somewhat better person, even if he is still selfish in his actions, and it takes some real prompting for him to do the right thing.

Gaiman also makes sure to feature some additional amazing character arcs, the most intriguing being Lucifer’s when he decides to perform the ultimate rebellion against his father by abandoning Hell.  Lucifer’s portrayal by a returning Michael Sheen is exceptional, especially during his interactions with Morpheus, and his take on the events that led him to rule Hell are very powerful.  In addition to Sheen, Season of Mists also features the inclusion of several amazing new actors, each of whom are used to their full potential.  Jeffery Wright and Kristen Schaal are perfect additions to the Endless, voicing the taciturn Destiny and the bubbly Delirium respectfully.  However, it is the one-two punch of Bill Nighy as Odin and David Tennant as Loki that really sold this chapter to me.  Bill Nighy and David Tennant are two of my absolute favourite actors, and their takes on these two Norse gods are just amazing.  While Nighy brings gravitas and cruelty to Odin, Tennant’s wheedling, manipulative Loki was so damn fun, and both were the highlight of every scene there were in.  The rest of the cast in this chapter were epic as well, and this entire section was such a highlight of The Sandman – Act II, with its placement at the top of the book successfully drawing listeners in and ensuring they don’t go anywhere.

The other main storyline in The Sandman – Act II was titled A Game of You, and is an adaptation of one of the less popular comic arcs.  This story is an intriguing female-led additional to the series, which primarily follows Barbie, a minor figure from the previous The Doll’s House arc, who has uprooted her life and moved to New York to live with an eclectic mixture of residents in an apartment building.  When figures from Barbie’s long-lost dreams arrive in the waking world, Barbie is dragged back into a fantasy adventure, while her friends in New York deal with minions of the mysterious Cuckoo, a dream parasite preying on Barbie’s mind.  The resulting attempts to help Barbie result in chaos and tragedy as they trespass into the Dreaming and come face to face with Morpheus as a he fulfills an old bargain.

Now I must admit that A Game of You was a little weaker than I was hoping, especially when compared to the preceding Season of Mists.  The decision to focus on Barbie, who honestly didn’t stand out too much in her previous appearance, was an interesting choice by Gaiman, and this arc doesn’t have the most engrossing story.  However, I did still have a great time listening to this part of the audiobook, especially as it focuses on showcasing both the magic and danger of dreams, as well as the impacts that interactions with Morpheus can have on mortals.  The more distinctive fantasy focus of this story makes for a nice change of pace, and I liked how well Gaiman simultaneously showed events occurring inside and outside of the protagonist’s dreams.

One side effect of listening to A Game of You immediately after Season of Mists is that the less substantial cast is a lot more noticeable.  That’s not to say that A Game of You doesn’t have great characters.  There are some amazing figures featured here, including several unique protagonists who have compelling connections to previous story arcs from the series.  There are also some nicely progressive LGBT+ elements for a comic released in 1991-92, especially when it comes to the trans woman character, Wanda, who is handled with tact and who has a particularly impactful story arc.  There are also fewer celebrity voice appearances in this arc, although I did rather enjoy the inclusion of actress Emma Corrin of The Crown fame as the ancient witch Thessaly, as her intense and distinctive voice added a lot to this fantastic character.  While it is easy to nitpick A Game of You, especially after some of the previous arcs, this is s till a particularly impressive storyline, which is masterfully brought to life with this production, producing something that is very fun to listen to.

These two main storylines are impressively augmented by a series of short stories scattered throughout the course of the audiobook.  Most of these short stories fall between Season of Mists and A Game of You, with several more wrapping events up.  There is also a short story in the middle of Season of Mists that showcases the impacts the closure of Hell has, which leads to the Dead Boy Detectives series.  Gaiman comes up with some truly interesting and unique shorter stories to add to the main plot of the book.  Most of these stories involve various mortals or other supernatural creatures encountering either the Endless or some of Morpheus’s creations, and they usually serve as some form of cautionary tale.  I loved the intriguing underlying themes that Gaiman loaded into each story, including about the impermanence of power and examinations of the human condition, and the author also has fun in launching his distinctive characters into various historical periods.

While all the shorter stories contained in The Sandman – Act II are awesome in their own way, a couple do stand out due to their excellent stories and fantastic performances.  For example, the complex story Three Septembers and a January, retells the tale of Joshua Abraham Norton, self-declared Emperor of the United States, with Dream and his siblings shown to be responsible for his strange actions.  This story is both fascinating and dark, as you witness a man torn apart by the whims of the ethereal siblings.  Listeners grow particularly attached to this tale due to the performance of John Lithgow as Joshua Norton, who adds some excellent humour and no small amount of tragedy with his moving voice work.  Other great stories include Thermido, which sees the return of Lady Johanna Constantine from the first audiobook.  Voiced by the absolutely fabulous Joanna Lumley, this story follows Constantine as she steals into France during the height of the revolution to steal something from Robespierre.  This story was fast-paced, clever, and substantially dark, all of which helped it to stand out, especially with the compelling twists and ironic historical fates.  It was also amazing to get a whole story told by Joanna Lumley, who was somewhat underutilised in the first audiobook.  Finally, the tale August, which follows Augustus Caesar as he disguises himself as a beggar and tells his life story to a dwarf, proves to be quite impressive, especially with Brian Cox playing the titular character.  Each of these shorter stories are masterfully presented, and I loved how complex and powerful their stories were, even with the shorter length the author had to work with.

Overall, I really appreciated the entire story of this volume.  The blending of two fantastic main storylines, as well as the scattering of intriguing and unique short stories, makes for quite an epic continuous listen.  The short stories were well utilised as the director spread them out amongst the audiobook providing a good break between the two extended plotlines, as well as some fun listens in the epilogue.  Not only were all the entries in The Sandman – Act II fantastic and compelling, but each of them had such a distinctive feel that really highlights the author’s style and ability to blend various genres together into one powerful story.  The interesting array of over-the-top characters makes for quite a fantastic listen, especially as Gaiman attempts to capture the many burdens of having cosmic responsibility, while other stories look at how characters are affected by dreams and imagination.  The mixture of fantastic tales and dark moments is always cleverly undercut with moral lessons or complex observations about the human experience.  You honestly come away from The Sandman in deep thought while still being traumatised or wildly entertained by how events unfolded.  There is honestly nothing else quite like The Sandman in fiction, and I always have great admiration for the elaborate and multifaceted tales that Gaiman comes up with.

Just with the first volume of this epic audiobook collection, the production really captures the epic nature of the comic, which makes it a real joy to listen to.  Even with its runtime of nearly 14 hours, this is such an easy and addictive audiobook to listen to, and it proves hard to ever stop listening to the elaborate story that emerges.  A lot of this is down to the impressive nature of the production surrounding this audiobook, as the director goes out of his way to enhance the audio experience for the listener.  Everything about this audiobook, from the emotionally charged music, the elaborate sound effects, and the brilliant cast of actors and narrators, is designed to remind you what an imaginative and unique story you are listening to.  Heck, even the way that the various chapter titles are announced is epic, and I always get a kick out of the impressive way they are read out.  Honestly, the entire audiobook production is just perfect, and anyone who listens to it is in for an exceptional time they will not forget.

As part of my hyping up of the audiobook production, I have to highlight the sheer range of talent lending their voices to this audiobook production, without whom The Sandman – Act II would be nowhere near as exceptional as it was.  I have mentioned several of the newer voice actors in the review already, but The Sandman – Act II also featured the exceptional returning cast from the first audiobook, each of whom provided fantastic new performances that really stuck in the mind.  For example, Andy Serkis is so much fun as Matthew the Raven, while Justin Vivian Bond and Miriam Margolyes serve as fantastic and fitting versions of Desire and Despair respectively.  Kat Dennings proves to be an outstandingly effective incarnation of Death, especially as her positive portrayal captures the more compassionate and likeable version of Death that Gaiman envisioned for his comic.  Even Neil Gaiman has a key vocal role in the production, serving as the narrator who highlights events and details not captured by the dialogue.  Gaiman proves to be an impressive narrator for this story, and his distinctive and wise voice matches the feel of The Sandman perfectly.  However, most of these are overshadowed by James McAvoy, who plays the titular Sandman, Morpheus, in this production.  McAvoy is honestly perfect in this role, and the gravitas, sense of unknowing, and great sadness of this character is so perfectly portrayed by the actor’s voice.  McAvoy does such a good job portraying the imperialistic and arrogant tone and personality of Morpheus and the reader can really envision his actions and thoughts.  McAvoy honestly does the best presentation of this character it is possible to do (television series included), and you will fall in love with his take on this sinister and mysterious figure.

The Sandman – Act II is an outstanding and incredible audiobook production that does such a remarkable job of bringing more of Neil Gaiman’s iconic comic to life.  Perfectly adapting the distinctive and dark comics into a new format, listeners get the benefit of both an excellent narrative and some amazing audiobook production with a remarkable cast.  An absolute joy to listen to from start to finish, The Sandman – Act II was a brilliant follow-up to the first production, and I cannot recommend it enough.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 39: Ice and Snow by Stan Sakai

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I look at the exciting upcoming volume of one of my favourite comic book series with Usagi Yojimbo: Ice and Snow by the legendary Stan Sakai.

Usagi Yojimbo - Ice and Snow Cover

Amazon

Anyone familiar with my blog will know I am a huge, huge fan of the outstanding Usagi Yojimbo comic series.  Set in an alternate version of Feudal Japan populated by anthropomorphic animals the Usagi Yojimbo series follows rabbit ronin Miyamoto Usagi, as he travels the wilds, encountering all manner of trouble.  Written and drawn by the highly acclaimed Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo features some exceptionally beautiful artwork, clever stories, and unique Japanese cultural and mythological elements that help to produce an incredible comic.

I have been a fan of this series for years, and I currently own every single volume which I constantly re-read.  I have also had an amazing time reviewing this series ever since I started my blog, starting back in 2018 when I reviewed the 32nd volume Mysteries.  This led to me reviewing every subsequent volume that came out after 2018, and I have also been working my way through the prior volumes as part of my Throwback Thursday range.  I have been particularly enjoying some of the more recent volumes, especially as publisher IDW released them in colour, including Bunraku and Other Stories (one of my favourite books of 2020), Homecoming (one of my favourite books of 2021), Tengu War! and Crossroads (both of which were among my favourite books of 2022) and The Green Dragon (one of my favourite books of 2023).

Due to how much of a fan I am of this series, I am always excited when I see that a new comic is coming out, and we are getting a very interesting sounding addition to the series in 2024 with the 39th volume, Ice and Snow.  Set for release in September 2024, Ice and Snow will see the Usagi Yojimbo series return to Dark Horse comics, who previously published the series for 22 years (from volume 8: Shades of Death to Volume 33: The Hidden).  It will be interesting to see how the series changes when it returns to Dark Horse, and I am already very keen for this upcoming volume, especially as it has an amazing sounding plot behind it.

Plot Synopsis:

Following the events of “The Green Dragon,” Usagi and Yukichi are still in the snowy mountaintops of Northern Japan.

They are led to the hut of a strange woman hermit who allows them to spend the night. Meanwhile, the maniacal Jei and his familiar, Keiko, are on Usagi’s trail, and they stumble upon a bandit lair and subdue the band of cutthroats and thieves.

Stan Sakai brings his beloved rabbit ronin series back to Dark Horse—featuring full color by colorist team Hi-Fi!

Collects Usagi Yojimbo: Ice and Snow #1–#5.

There is a lot to love about this intriguing upcoming volume.  Not only does it look like Ice and Snow is only going to feature one story, a reliable indicator of an epic Usagi Yojimbo volume, but the plot sounds extremely intense.  There have been some great Usagi Yojimbo adventures lately, and Ice and Snow will probably be a particularly deadly one as it builds on some fantastic story elements from the last few entries  I love that Usagi is still accompanied by his cousin, Yukichi, as the two have made for an interesting duo, and I look forward to seeing more of Sakai’s amazing artwork of the snowy mountain tops of Northern Japan.  However, the main reason why I think that Ice and Snow is going to be great, is that it features the return of the series’ best villain, Jei.

Since his introduction in the third volume, The Wanderer’s Road, Jei has been a particularly deadly and memorable foe.  Portrayed as a dark warrior obsessed with lethal justice and guided by divine voices, the character of Jei appears to live on the borders between the natural and the supernatural.  Thanks to his obsession with Usagi, the two have crossed paths multiple times, and Jei is routinely the only foe that terrifies Usagi, especially as he keeps coming back from the dead, much like the character he is based on (Jei is an homage to Jason from the Friday the 13th franchise).  Pretty much any story that has a version of Jei in it is amazing, and you have to love how creepy Sakai makes him, especially as he now travels around with an innocent little girl.  It has been quite a while since Usagi and Jei faced off, with their last major battle occurring in the 12th volume Grasscutter, although Usagi did encounter a version of Jei possessing one of his friends in Volume 24, Return of the Dark Soul.  As such, this is a showdown long in the making, and the constant hints about Jei in recent volumes have only heightened anticipation.  I cannot wait to see Usagi and Jei come together again, especially as the protagonist will likely be emotionally and physically damaged by the encounter.

I think my fanboy ramblings above make it clear that I am very excited for the next Usagi Yojimbo volume.  Ice and Snow has a ton of potential in my opinion, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.  Not only is this going to feature Sakai’s usual amazing art, characters and story, but the dark, emotionally charged confrontations that are bound to occur should be extremely amazing.  As such, Ice and Snow is a must-read for me, and I have no doubt it will be one of my favourite things I read in 2024.

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 38: The Green Dragon by Stan Sakai

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Five-Star Books4 Comments

Usagi Yojimbo - Volume 38 - The Green Dragon Cover

Publisher: IDW (Paperback – 18 April 2023)

Series: Usagi Yojimbo – Volume 38

Length: 128 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I once again return to one of my absolute favourite comic book series as Stan Sakai brings out the 38th volume of his iconic Usagi Yojimbo series, The Green Dragon.

Fans of this blog will know that I am a massive fan of the classic Usagi Yojimbo comic series, having had a ton of fun reviewing multiple volumes of it over the years.  Written and drawn by the legendary Stan Sakai, the Usagi Yojimbo comics are set in a version of Feudal Japan inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, and follow a rabbit Ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, as he journeys the countryside fighting monsters, bandits, and other dangerous foes.  These comics are something truly special thanks to their clever stories, great characters, beautiful artwork, and impressive utilisation of Japanese mythology and iconography, and I have so much love for them.

Usagi Yojimbo #27 Cover

For the last couple of years, Usagi Yojimbo has been published by IDW comics, who have done a pretty good job continuing this epic comic, especially as they started the trend of releasing the volumes in colour right off the bat, which has been highly effective and striking.  All the previous IDW volumes, including Bunraku and Other Stories, Homecoming, Tengu War! and Crossroads, have been pretty awesome five-star reads, so I knew that I was going to have a ton of fun with the latest volume, The Green Dragon.  Containing issues #27-31 of the current series, The Green Dragon featured three intriguing new stories, each of which was better than the last.  This was another very strong entry in the series and Sakai did a wonderful job of continuing some storylines from the previous volumes while also making The Green Dragon stand out in some distinctive ways.

The first story in The Green Dragon is one of the shorter entries, titled A Ghost Story.  This story sees Usagi and his current travelling companion, his cousin Yukichi, travelling through a dark, apparently haunted forest before coming to a shrine at its heart.  The shrine is dedicated to a deceased pregnant maid who was murdered on the orders of her lover and master, and now stands as a place of prayer for women in similar circumstances.  Upon reaching the shrine, Usagi and Yukichi see history start to repeat itself, as another maid praying at the shrine is attacked by a group of bandits intent on murdering her.  Intervening to save her, Usagi and Yukichi attempt to discover who ordered the hit, only to discover a murderous plot with unexpected twists.  Worst, the ghosts of the forest are out in force, and they won’t go until revenge is satisfied.

Usagi Yojimbo #27b Cover

A Ghost Story was a fun story that utilises a few compelling elements that are very familiar to Usagi Yojimbo readers.  The murder plot at its heart is a bit simple, especially when it comes to working out who is orchestrating events, but Sakai tells it in a very compelling manner, especially with the fun action and quick-paced plot.  The parallels between this current murder plot and the story told to them at the beginning was an intriguing story device, especially as it gets twisted around a little, and I loved how Sakai works in supernatural elements to the narrative.  Sakai has made great use of vengeful and tricky ghosts in his stories before, and I felt this one was particularly good, especially as it gave the plot some fitting narrative justice.  It was also quite amusing to see Usagi acting as the wise mentor to Yukichi when it came to matters he is very familiar with, such as ghosts and murder plots, so I had fun with that.  This was an overall strong and entertaining first entry in this volume and it sets up the story extremely well.

Usagi Yojimbo #28 Cover

The second story in this volume is another single-issue story, The Long Road, which follows a different highly familiar Usagi Yojimbo trend of Usagi intervening in a sudden bandit attack in the woods.  This time, Usagi and Yukichi encounter a merchant and his servant being ambushed by bandits determined to steal a valuable jade figurine.  Managing to scare off the bandits just after they kill the merchant, Usagi and Yukichi agree to escort the servant to the next town and deliver the figurine to its buyer.  However, as they continue their journey, it soon becomes apparent that their new travelling companion is in league with the bandits, and he is leading them into a trap.

Usagi Yojimbo #28b Cover

This was another great Usagi Yojimbo story that has a similar feel to previous entries, although Sakai uses that to his advantage.  Usagi Yojimbo fans have seen a whole lot of Usagi-led escort missions over the years, but The Long Road was a pretty good overall story.  Part of this was because Usagi is very much wising up to treachery that always seems to occur on these missions, and he takes active steps to not only identify the threat but also counter it in a satisfying way.  There is also a lot of entertaining betrayal, especially as the disloyal servant learns a harsh lesson about backstabbing from some experts.  It was also quite entertaining to see the green and unworldly character of Yukichi get a hands-on lesson about being a Yojimbo, especially as Usagi has some fun explaining at the moral issues surrounding it.  Combine that with Sakai’s great art, the well-drawn battle scenes, and the way it leads into the main story of the volume, and The Long Road is an impressive story that has a lot going for it underneath its veneer of a typical Usagi Yojimbo entry.

Usagi Yojimbo #29 Cover

The final story in this volume is the main entry, The Secret of the Green Dragon.  A three-issue long story that continues in the immediate aftermath of The Long Road, The Secret of the Green Dragon has much of the volume’s meat and sees Usagi and Yukichi get involved in a deadly battle between rival ninja clans.  The story starts with the samurai continuing their journey to deliver the jade figurine from The Long Road, only to witness a courier going to the same destination being brutally murdered by the flying Komori Ninja.  Usagi and Yukichi soon discover that the Komori Ninja are after something very special being delivered to the town, and naturally that secret package is in their care.  As they attempt to work out why their package is so important, Usagi runs into his old friend Chizu, former head of the Neko Ninja, who reveals that the figurine’s box contains an important missive that will cause issues for the scheming Lord Hikiji.  Hiring Usagi and Yukichi as bodyguards, Chizu leads them on a desperate mission across the countryside to escape the hovering Komori Ninja.  But the Komori Ninja aren’t an easy foe to avoid, and the trio soon find themselves under attack in the snowy landscape.

Usagi Yojimbo #29b Cover

The Secret of the Green Dragon is easily the best story in the entire volume as it takes the protagonists on one heck of an adventure.  Storylines with the various ninja clans of Usagi Yojimbo’s Japan are always extremely fun, and The Secret of the Green Dragon is no exception to this as it features the sinister Komori Ninja.  Flying bat ninja with blades attached to their wings, the Komori Ninja are always a fantastic addition to any plot as Sakai sets them up as one of the most unique and deadly foes in the series.  Sakai makes especially great use of them in The Secret of the Green Dragon, and their constant pursuit of the protagonists over the harsh wintery terrain makes for some impressive visuals.  The author loads this story with a ton of action, and there are some amazing set pieces that are extremely well showcased by Sakai’s art style, including desperate chases, powerful air-to-surface combat, and forays across impossible terrain.

Usagi Yojimbo #30 Cover

There are a lot of fun story elements involved with The Secret of the Green Dragon, especially as it continues a lot of the ongoing plotlines involving the feuding ninja clans and Chizu’s attempts to regain control of the Neko Ninja.  The volumes ongoing storyline about Yukichi getting introduced to the various complicated elements of Usagi’s life as a wander was well set up, and he and Usagi learnt some harsh lessons about trust.  Watching Usagi lose his faith in Chizu after she engages in one deceit too many is pretty striking, and Chizu’s obvious regret later really makes this hit harder, especially as it is just one more tragedy this lonely ninja is forced to experience.  Finishing up with a threatening cameo from the series’ best villain, Jei, this ended up being a very strong story that is likely to have some intriguing repercussions later.

Usagi Yojimbo #30b Cover

I once again really need to highlight the outstanding artwork that is such an important cornerstone of this comic.  Sakai does some amazing drawings in The Green Dragon, and I loved the elaborate sequences that come together as a result.  All three stories are filled with eye-catching shots of beautiful Japanese scenery and towns, which really adds to the ambience of the story.  I particularly enjoyed the snowy landscapes that were such a big part of the third story, The Secret of the Green Dragon, serving as a powerful backdrop to the pursuit and battle-laden plot.  The villains of The Secret of the Green Dragon, the Komori Ninja, are also well showcased in the art style, and I think the full-colour spread helped to give them an added edge.  Their various attack scenes are very distinctive, especially compared to the typical combat sequences between Usagi and other samurai, and Sakai always goes out of his way to make the Komori Ninja a powerful villain with his drawings.  I honestly loved every beautifully drawn panel featured in The Green Dragon, and Sakai is still doing some amazing work after all these years.

Overall, The Green Dragon by Stan Sakai is an epic and fantastic volume in the always impressive Usagi Yojimbo series.  Filled with great art, clever stories, and some amazing, well-established characters, The Green Dragon was another strong outing from Sakai and one that I absorbed the second I got my hands on it.  There is a reason this is my absolute favourite comic series, and I will be reading this until the day it ends.  Highly recommended, especially for long-time fans of the comic, and one that pretty much gets an automatic five-star rating from me.

The Hunger by Marsheila Rockwell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Horror, LGBT+, Superhero, Tie-in Novel3 Comments

The Hunger Cover

Publisher: Aconyte Books (ebook – 3 October 2023)

Series: Marvel Zombies

Length: 249 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out 5 stars

Amazon

Prepare to dive into a wacky, time travelling, zombie filled Marvel novel with Marsheila Rockwell’s fantastic tie-in book, The Hunger.

After having a lot of fun reading the awesome Marvel Comics tie-in novel The Tyrant Skies by David Annandale earlier this year, I thought it would be an excellent idea to dive into another amazing Marvel book, especially one with a great plot like The Hunger.  Written by intriguing fantasy and science fiction author, Marsheila Rockwell, whose previous foray in Marvel fiction produced the magic Sisters of Sorcery novel, The Hunger is an awesome upcoming book that I was very happy to get an early copy of thanks to Netgalley.  Set around the iconic Marvel Zombies concept, The Hunger was a pretty epic read that I had an outstanding time with.

When a mysterious object falls to Earth, landing in New York city, it unleashes a wave of evil and despair as the world’s greatest heroes are turned into ravenous zombies determined to feast on all living flesh.  As the zombified superheroes begin to spread out across the planet, turning or eating everything before them, only Doctor Strange can briefly retain his sanity to try and find a way to avert disaster, but despite his best efforts, his overwhelming hunger threatens all around him.

With no alternative, Doctor Strange is forced to turn to one of the few magic users left unaffected by the zombie outbreak, the librarian of the Sanctum Sanctorum, Zelma Stanton, who reluctantly takes up the burden and imprisons her zombified mentor.  Despite her lack of experience, Zelma has access to all the magical knowledge and ancient artefacts in Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, and she hopes to find some answer to the deadly chaos consuming her planet.  But Zelma soon realises that even all the books in the Sanctum aren’t enough; if she wants to succeed, she’s going to need help.

Pulling together a ragtag team of survivors, including Runaway witch Nico Minoru, monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone and the living embodiment of insanity, Deadpool, Zelma hopes that together they can find a solution.  But their plan to trap the zombies in a time loop backfires on them, thanks to antics of Deadpool, unsurprisingly.  Now with time fracturing all around them, an evil magic threat unleashed, and the zombie horde still determined to eat everything, Zelma and her strange team need to find a way to reverse the damaged they caused while still saving the world.  But is this group of survivors truly capable of stopping the flesh-eating nightmares waiting for them?

That was an insanely fun book about zombies and time travel shenanigans that I desperately needed, and I am sure glad that I decided to check this novel out.  The Hunger was a very entertaining book that I ended up knocking out in a few hours because of how easy and fantastic it was to read.  Rockwell came up with a very impressive story that quickly grabbed my attention and took me along a wild journey loaded with so many awesome moments.  Starting off with a great new introduction to an alternate Marvel Zombies event, where Doctor Strange and pretty much every other hero gets brutally turned into zombies, the story gets bleak very quickly and rarely lightens up after that.  The resulting narrative focuses on the intriguing figure of Zelma Stanton, a supporting character in one of the recent Doctor Strange comics, and it proves to be very interesting as you follow a young, inexperienced magician as she tries to survive in a very dangerous world.  The resulting story has a lot of great features to it as Zelma finds her courage, gathers a unique group of allies, and then finds herself getting thrown into all manner of chaos as her actions produce more zombie mayhem and every time travel issues you could think of.  The second half of The Hunger is pure, unadulterated bedlam, and I frankly loved every second of it, as Rockwell comes up with some outrageous and exciting scenarios that never really slow down.  Bringing together some well set-up storylines in some excellent ways, you honestly will find it hard to put down The Hunger once you get rolling with it, and I found the entire story to be exceedingly entertaining, especially as Rockwell wove together some complex scenes that saw the characters journey through all manner of unique points the Marvel Universe timeline.  This story was a riot from start to finish, especially the fantastic extended time travel sequences, and you will come away from this book very satisfied and honestly wanting more.

Rockwell has a great writing style that I felt really lent itself to the emotionally charged and intense story that came together in The Hunger.  Primarily told from the perspective of two young female magic users, The Hunger is a strong, character-driven tale that showcases how people grow under adversity, while also treating the reader to a brilliant amount of action, carnage and Marvel comics lore.  Rockwell really leans into the Marvel Zombies background of her story to provide some gruesome and graphic moments, which I felt helped set The Hunger apart from some of the other Marvel tie-in books.  While there is a lot of humour attached to the book, mainly thanks to the inclusion of a particular merc-with-a-mouth, The Hunger gets very deep and serious at times, and I loved the impactful dive into the traumas affecting the protagonists.  I loved the fast pace that Rockwell sets for The Hunger’s story, and frankly there was not a single moment of this book where I wanted to stop, as I just wanted to see what was going to happen next.  I did think some of the early sequences of the book felt a little simplistic in their writing, which almost threw me off.  However, Rockwell found her stride as the book continued, and I loved some of the elaborate sequences that emerged, especially those that feature multiple figures, time elements and obscure bits of Marvel lore.  Some of The Hunger’s twists were very well set up in the earlier stages of the book, and I loved how well things came together in the end, especially as Rockwell made such great use of the time travel elements to tell a very entertaining story.

The Hunger serves as a rather interesting addition to the wider Marvel lore that exists as Rockwell makes fine use of several existing storylines, concepts and characters, to create a pretty fun read.  Set in a version of the main Marvel universe that is suddenly impacted by a Marvel Zombies event, The Hunger has a ton of curious and distinctive elements to it that established fans of the comics will deeply enjoy.  Not only are there a ton of different characters present, often in zombie form, but Rockwell goes out of her way to feature or reference multiple storylines from the comics.  This includes a great mixture of more recent comics and some classic storylines, both of which work extremely well in the context of the story and its time travel elements.  I felt that Rockwell did a very good job of cleverly introducing and then utilising these different storylines throughout the course of the comics, and the resulting crazy plot encounters and big moments were pretty damn awesome.  Each of the main characters also makes sure to remember or mention many key story arcs from their history, many of which have a compelling impact on the current storyline or mental state.  The author clearly has an appreciation for the various storylines and obscure characters that she featured and I loved how random and compelling the later scenes got.  While Rockwell does go to some diverse areas of the Marvel universe and history, all of these elements and characters are explored in excellent detail so that anyone with some basic knowledge of Marvel comics can easily enjoy what is going on.  I personally loved all the cool references that emerged, as well the excellent reimagining of the Marvel Zombies storyline which helped turn The Hunger into a pretty awesome tie-in novel.

As with her previous Marvel tie-in novel, Sisters of Sorcery, Rockwell chose to focus The Hunger on three intriguing and somewhat underused female characters from the Marvel canon, Zelma Stanton, Nico Minoru, and Elsa Bloodstone.  All three characters are already epic, but it was great to see them forming a team here in The Hunger, especially when faced with an insane, world-ending threat.  Of these three characters, Zelma is probably the one I knew the least about, mainly because I’ve never read any of the Doctor Strange comics she is in, but she soon proved to be the invaluable heart of this entire novel.  Rockwell did a remarkable job of introducing and utilising Zelma as a character, even to a reader like me that has had no experience with her.  You are swiftly brought up to speed on who Zelma is and why she is involved, and soon you follow this overwhelmed magical character as she is thrust into events beyond her comprehension.  I loved the overarching narrative of this character finding her confidence and ability in this ultimate post-apocalyptic setting, and it was great to see her become the hero that Doctor Strange believed her to be.  Watching her use her unique intelligence and experiences to survive and attempt to stop all the chaos is quite compelling, and you really grow to appreciate Zelma, especially as she has very relatable doubts and concerns.  Zelma is the emotional heart of this entire book and I felt that Rockwell was very wise to use her as a central character, especially with how exceptionally she is portrayed.

In addition to Zelma, I really enjoyed the fantastic use of Nico Minoru and Elsa Bloodstone in The Hunger who served as impressive joint protagonists.  I particularly loved seeing Nico Minoru here in The Hunger, mainly because I’m such a big fan of Runaways, and Rockwell featured her in an excellent way.  Focusing on her at a key part of her character development from the comics, this already jaded and wary Nico arrives on the scene after seeing her entire adopted family turned to zombies and is swiftly forced into another harrowing adventure with a new group of strangers.  I really enjoyed exploring Nico’s fears, concerns and complex history throughout The Hunger, and she served as a great secondary point-of-view character for the plot.  These female characters are further enhanced by monster hunter extraordinaire Elsa Bloodstone, who is well suited for this sort of dark, monstrous tale.  The foul-mouthed, highly confident figure is a great addition to the focal cast of the novel, especially as her loud personality plays off the more reserved Zelma and Nico for a good chunk of the novel.  While initially shown to be mostly carefree, there are some compelling darker feelings under the surface, especially related to the start of the zombie apocalypse, and I felt that Elsa was a brilliant and great addition to the plot.

The final major character in the book really needs no introduction as Rockwell features Deadpool as the much need comic relief.  Brought into the story for very unique reasons, Deadpool is his usual blend of irrelevant humour, catchy one-liners, and all-round killing machine that works well with the female protagonists to save the day.  His constant jokes, weird comments and fourth wall breaks deeply add to the enjoyment I had of the book, even with its darker story content.  So many of the best plot moments in The Hunger revolve around Deadpool’s antics, and he really is an unsurpassed character to include in a crazy book like this.  His interactions with the other protagonists are also a lot of fun, with an intriguing blend of comedic conversations, crazed resentment, and even a grudging respect for his fellow survivors.  Throw in a ton of zombified superheroes, an overpowered magical witch from history, a fun new mount for Deadpool, and some intriguing figures from the dawn of the Marvel canon, and The Hunger has an outstanding cast that are a lot of fun to follow, especially during their darker and emotionally charged moments.

The Hunger really lived up to all its great potential and I had an epic time getting through this insane and highly exciting read.  Marsheila Rockwell produced one hell of a story here that made great use of the Marvel Zombies theme and featured a bonkers story with fantastic time travel elements, complex characters, and a ton of compelling references to the wider Marvel canon.  I honestly had such an incredible time with The Hunger and readers are guaranteed to get caught up in its cool story just like me.  Highly recommended, for all Marvel fans, you will have fun with this book.

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Throwback Thursday – Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Animation, Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Superhero, Throwback ThursdayLeave a comment

The Flashpoint Paradox Poster

Studio: Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment

Series: DC Universe Animated Original Movies – Film 18 / DC Animated Movie Universe – Film One

Director: Jay Oliva

Writer: Jim Krieg (Based on the comic by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert)

Producer: James Tucker

Length: 81 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review content I have enjoyed before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.  For this week’s Throwback Thursday, I dive into a pretty damn awesome DC Comics animated film that is highly relevant at the moment with the awesome Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox.

Like many comic book fans in the world, I went out last weekend for the epic new film offering, The Flash, which ended up being pretty damn good.  The film had a lot of great elements to it, including the return of Michael Keaton as Batman, the introduction of a great new Supergirl, and a fantastic examination of the Flash mythos.  I was also very happy to see a fresh new take on the iconic Flashpoint comic, and it will be interesting to see how that impacts any upcoming live action DC films.  While I liked what they did with the Flashpoint story, I don’t think that The Flash was the absolute best adaptation of the Flashpoint comic; instead that honour goes the focus of this article, the 2013 animated film, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox.

Before we talk about the film, I should give a little background about the Flashpoint comic.  Flashpoint was a major 2011 comic event, written by Geoff Johns, whose work I have deeply enjoyed in comics like Rogues’ Revenge and Teen Titans, and pencilled by Andy Kubert.  Flashpoint was a compelling alternate timeline story that ended up resetting the main DC Universe in a big way.  While I honestly have very little love for the resulting changes it caused (I will never forgive DC for The New 52), the Flashpoint comic itself is pretty good, featuring some unique and stunning ideas within it.

Flashpoint has been adapted a few times in recent years, including in several seasons of The Flash television series, and the current The Flash film takes a lot from it.  While these other adaptations are pretty good, I think that The Flashpoint Paradox did the most with it, mainly because it sticks a lot closer to the source material and provides a very gritty animated film with a brilliant cast behind it.  Directed by veteran animated film director Jay Oliva (who has directed several of my favourite animated comic book films) and written by Jim Krieg, The Flashpoint Paradox is pretty damn awesome film and it is one that I have rewatched multiple times over the years.

Barry Allen is the Flash, founding member of the Justice League, the fastest man alive and the greatest hero Central City has ever known.  However, despite all he has done and everyone he has saved, Barry still cannot shake the trauma of his mother’s murder, a tragedy that has haunted him since his childhood.  After defeating several of his greatest foes, including his archenemy, the Reverse-Flash Eobard Thawne, Barry awakens to find himself in a new world, one where his mother is still alive and the Flash never existed.  Despite the joy he feels about his mother, this new world is no paradise, instead it is on the brink of ruin.  The Atlanteans, under the command of Aquaman, and the Amazons, led by Wonder Woman, are at war, and their relentless battling and disdain for humanity, has seen the destruction of much of Europe and the death of hundreds of millions of people.

Determined to find out what is happening and to stop the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons before it destroys the world, Barry seeks out the one man who he thinks can help him, Batman.  However, the Batman he encounters is far different from the one he knows and has very little desire to save the world.  Worse, it soon becomes apparent that the changes to the world have been caused by Thawne, whose obsession with destroying the Flash could lead to unbelievable destruction.  To save the day, Barry needs to find a way to regain his powers and unite the scattered heroes of this reality.  But with all-out war in front of him, and his own trauma catching up behind, can the Flash stop Thawne before it’s too late?  And even if he succeeds, is he truly ready for the revelations that await him?

The Flashpoint Paradox was a pretty epic film that I have a lot of love for, especially as it blends a compelling story with great aesthetics, slick animation and a brilliant cast to produce something pretty damn awesome and a lot of fun to check out.

The creative team behind The Flashpoint Paradox did an outstanding job bringing this film together and one of the main reasons it works is the fantastic and intense story behind it.  The film itself is an exceptional adaptation of the original Flashpoint comic and much of it is a close and deliberate match to the source material.  That being said, it’s not a straight adaption as they needed to make it more accessible and take the story out of the main comic universe.  The film starts off with an exceptional sequence where the Flash faces off against the Rogues and the Reverse-Flash, who ambush him at the Flash Museum.  This scene, which sees a series of bombs threaten Flash and Central City, manages to achieve a lot of essential story points, including introducing Flash, showcasing his bitter rivalry with the self-destructive Thawne, and presenting the established version of the various Justice League characters who will later appear in the alternate timeline.  It’s also a very entertaining scene in several great ways, not only because the banter between Flash and Thawne is pretty brutal, but because it shows each member of the Justice League in action as they disarm a bomb in their own unique way.  This great intro really sets up the rest of the film, especially thanks to the clever references to Barry’s mothers’ death, and while it does make it a little more obvious whose ultimately responsible for events, it was a pretty damn epic start.

The middle part of the film is where the meat of the story is developed, as Barry arrives in the alternate universe and attempts to find out what is going on.  This part of the film resembles the source material the closest as they are pretty much doing a straight adaptation of the Flashpoint comic at this point.  However, they manage to really show off the grim reality of this new timeline very effectively in a short amount of time, and you really get to appreciate just how murderous the Amazons and the Atlanteans are, as well as how dark a world without the Justice League can be.  The creative team tell a very impactful story in this part of the film, and you must love the powerful interactions between Barry and the new Batman, as well as the emotional impacts of Barry realising just how much his universe has changed.  Everything is well capped off by the infiltration into the lab holding Superman, which is honestly way darker than what they did in the recent Flash film, especially with the horrifying aesthetics around the captured Superman.  At the same time, the growing sense of doom in the world is intensifying as the two superhuman armies prepare for war in London, and the tension is well and truly ratcheted up before the final phase of the film.

Everything leads up perfectly to the final act of The Flashpoint Paradox, which frankly is the best and most impactful part of this entire exceptional film.  The final third of the film is essentially an all-out war sequence, as the various characters descend into a three-way battle in the ruins of London, with the Atlanteans, the Amazons, and the human resistance, which includes the protagonists, fighting to kill as many enemies as possible.  This sequence is dominated by several excessively brutal fights between the heroes, and so many characters end up dead in some pretty horrible ways.  Not only are these action scenes highly polished and exciting, but they are also emotionally powerful, as the various character arcs and elements come full circle.  The best scenes are probably shared between Barry and Thawne, as they fight through the battle, debating what has happened to the world.  There are some outstanding revelations here, especially if you aren’t familiar with the source material or the other Flashpoint adaptations, and the moment when Barry figures out what truly happened is just heartbreaking, especially with Thawne’s taunting.  There is so much dramatic tension floating around, especially as Barry witnesses the full onslaught of the battle in front of him, and everything tilts on the edge of destruction.  The final brutal moments of this fight are so damn epic, and it leads up to some painful farewells and some tough decisions from Barry that will shake him forever.  This built-up emotion remains to the very end of the movie, especially as Flash manages to get closure for himself and others, and I really appreciated just how well the film ended.

On top of the epic plot and amazing concluding third, I also need to really highlight the impressive animation, stylistic choices, and fantastic musical score that accompanied it.  The animation in particular is awesome, and I loved the brilliant and iconic character designs that it depicted, especially as there is a mixture of classic character depictions, and the alternate versions that appeared in the Flashpoint universe.  The grim nature of the Flashpoint timeline serves as a powerful backdrop to the plot of The Flashpoint Paradox, and it was fantastic to see the DC universe in an even darker and more desperate light.  The best animation is naturally saved for the multiple impressive fight sequences scattered throughout the film, especially in the big war sequence at the end, and the brutality and sheer ferocity of the fights and battles are quite distinctive.  The animators honestly show no hesitation in showing blood, gore, death and even brains throughout this film, and it is even more brutal than The Flash film or the original comics, as there is barely a second in the final war where someone isn’t dying in some dramatic fashion.  There is some outstanding attention to detail during these various battles, whether it be a brutal fight in the sky, an intense duel between Cyborg and Aquaman in the middle of a warzone, or a high-speed fight through the midst of over combatants, and these are expertly portrayed and guaranteed to keep your interest with its high concept impact.  The cool time travel sequences are also a great highlight, and the clever animation around them really dial up the intensity of the film, especially during certain seminal scenes.  I’m also a big fan of the way that the major characters are presented throughout this film, and I appreciated how their designs change at various points of the film depending on which timeline is being watched.  The alternate costumes or depictions are well contrasted by the classic costumes shown at the start of the film, and I also love the subsequent subtle changes that appear at the end of the film to represent the further changes that have been created.

I also must talk about the fantastic use of music throughout this film, which works perfectly in concert with the animated sequences.  There are some great orchestral scores and tunes that are featured throughout the film, often in the most impact scenes, and I really liked how well they were used to enhance emotion or drama in a very powerful way.  Some of the very best scenes, including several particularly tense or pivotal sequences at the end come across as so much better thanks to the music that was overscoring it, and this really drew me further into the plot.  Combined this great music with the excellent graphics and The Flashpoint Paradox turns out to be an exceptional watch that I cannot get away from.

While the adapted plot and amazing stylistic choices help to turn this film into something special, I cannot walk away from this review without talking about the incredible cast of actors who bring this elaborate story to life.  The Flashpoint Paradox features a pretty hefty and impressive group of voice actors who each dive into their respective characters and bring forth some of the more iconic figures from the DC universe, as well as their alternate versions, in some pretty epic ways.  There is a great combination of classic character depictions, as well as the more nuanced and, in many cases, evil versions from the alternate timeline, that are featured in The Flashpoint Paradox, and the creative team brilliantly balanced the two throughout the plot.

At the centre of The Flashpoint Paradox is the Barry Allen version of the Flash, who embarks upon one of the most important missions of his life.  Expertly voiced by Justin Chambers (of Grey’s Anatomy fame), this version of the Flash is much more closely related to the classic comic portrayals (rather than Ezra Miller’s quirky version) and is an experienced and competent crime fighter.  Despite being one of the more stable superheroes out there, Barry is still haunted by the murder of his mother and his failure to save her.  Chambers really dives into this role and perfectly voices the full emotional spectrum out of Barry, showing all the deep inner pain, as well as his inherent hope, all of which really comes out throughout the film.  There are so many powerful scenes featuring Barry in the film, from his initial confusion over the new timeline, the emotional meeting with his mother, the despair at how the world turned out, and his absolute shocked resignation at who is responsible.  I also felt that the writers did an outstanding job of capturing the entire personality, key history and mythos of the Flash within this film, and you really understand his decisions and how he interacts with the other heroes.  I particularly loved his shock and pain at seeing what his friends have become in this alternate timeline, and it is so damn compelling.  Honestly, there are so many powerful moments here and I have a whole new level of respect for Chambers thanks to this film as he honestly was just magical here.

On top of the Flash, I really need to highlight two figures from the new timeline who perfectly mesh with the main character and show off just how dark events are.  The most prominent of these is easily this universes Batman, who was voiced by another Grey’s Anatomy alumni, Kevin McKidd.  Rather than being an older version of Bruce Wayne, this version of Batman is his father Thomas Wayne, who took on the cowl after Bruce was killed in Crime Alley and Martha became this universe’s Joker.  McKidd goes full on growly here for Batman, and the result is a grizzled, violent, and very murderous Dark Knight who has given up on the world in many ways.  I loved this fantastic and clever take on Batman in The Flashpoint Paradox, and it is so damn epic to watch Barry attempt to work with this very different Batman.  The shared connection of knowing Bruce gives these characters a powerful emotional bond, and McKidd kills it in several emotionally charged scenes, showcasing this Batman’s hidden heart.

I also have a lot of love for the cool version of Cyborg that appears in The Flashpoint Paradox, and honestly this is probably the grimmest and most powerful portrayal you are likely to see.  Voiced by a young Michael B. Jordan, this Cyborg is the only real superhero left in America and has been modded out into a massive tank figure who runs national security.  Out of all the figures in the film, Cyborg has the most impressive change in characterisation between timelines, especially as he goes from teenage figure to actual adult, and this is one of the first animated films that really showed what he could offer the wider DC universe.  Jordan provides a pretty good and slightly robotic voice for Cyborg here, and I loved how he was portrayed as a level-headed peacemaker, trying to save the world.  While still a little naive and idealistic, he really lives up to all the hype surrounding him in his initial introductions, especially during the final bloody battle scenes.  He honestly goes full out in this war, and it was so damn cool to see just how dangerous he could be.

While the more heroic (or anti-heroic for Batman) characters above were great, this film would be nothing without its villains.  The most prominent of these is easily Flash’s archnemesis Eobard Thawne, better known as the Reverse Flash.  Voiced by the very talented C. Thomas Howell, Thawne is a brilliant and powerful figure in The Flashpoint Paradox, mainly because he has such a tangible hatred for Barry and his legacy.  While he is the main villain of the story, he only appears in a few short scenes, but Howell makes each and every one of them count.  The sheer contempt and bile that drips from every sentence is so important for the performance, and you quickly understand just how much he wants to destroy him, even if that means losing his own life.  Thawne’s best sequence occurs at the end of the film when he finally appears to mock Barry and reveal everything that has been done.  The joy, satisfaction and mocking appreciation for Barry is just perfect, and he has such a great villain monologue here.  Howell has one of the strongest performances in The Flashpoint Paradox and I deeply appreciated how he brought such a fun and compelling villain to life.

In addition to Thawne, The Flashpoint Paradox features two other outstanding and particularly unique antagonists in the form of militarised and anti-human versions of Aquaman and Wonder Woman.  Both characters have been twisted by a failed romance and the hatred that followed Wonder Woman’s slaying of Aquaman’s wife, and they are now brutally engaged in war to kill each other and the rest of the world.  I loved these darker and more murderous forms of these iconic characters, especially after they are shown in their more heroic guises at the start of the film, and their complex war is a destructive backdrop to the intense narrative.  Like Reverse-Flash, both are consumed by hatred, and they are willing to destroy the world rather than lose.  Despite that, there is still an obvious, if twisted, love between them, which makes their fight even more tragic.  I loved how both characters are portrayed, although I especially like how badass they make Aquaman here, especially as this was released in the pre-Jason Momoa days when Aquaman was still a bit of a joke.  Watching him destroy everyone in The Flashpoint Paradox really sets him up as a massive threat, and I deeply appreciated this fantastic change to the character.  I also loved the great casting behind these characters as well.  Aquaman is portrayed by legendary actor Cary Elwes, who honestly disappears into the role, providing a much more gruff and commanding voice than I have heard in his previous works.  The voice of Wonder Woman is provided by veteran voice actor Vanessa Marshall (Hera Syndulla from Star Wars Rebels), who is reprising the role she previously portrayed in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.  Both actors really get these iconic characters down perfectly, especially in their darker moments, and I loved how well they were utilised in the film, especially as they enhance the emotional power and looming threat of the narrative.

On top of the great performances above, I also must commend the use of several excellent supporting actors in smaller roles who did an outstanding job.  I as particularly happy that several actors who had previously voiced certain characters in other films and shows revisited their roles here, including some big names.  The most noticeable of these is the late great Kevin Conroy, who does an exceptional (as always) job of voicing the Bruce Wayne Batman at the beginning and end of the story.  Conway has several amazing scenes, including a particularly emotional sequence at the end that will have you in tears.  Other performers include Nathan Fillion providing a cocky voice to the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, Dana Delany once again voicing Lois Lane after voicing her the DC Animated Universe (Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited), and Ron Perlman revisiting his epic Teen Titans performance as Deathstroke for a short scene.  Other notable actors and characters include Danny Huston doing a quick dash as General Sam Lane and Dee Bradley Baker (the voice of all the clones in Star Wars animation, as well as several hundred other credits) doing a fantastic Etrigan the Demon.  However, my favourite of these side characters is Danny Jacobs’s portrayal of the Wildstorm Comics character Grifter.  Grifter is a brutally effective figure in the final third of the film, and he has some outstanding interactions with other characters like Batman.  This cast, and more, all add so much to the film with their brilliantly portrayed characters, and I am still blown away by the calibre of the cast that was brought together here.

I think it is pretty obvious from the lengthy rant above that I have a lot of love for Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, and it is one of those animated films that I have watched so many times.  Thanks to its amazing cast, fantastically adapted story, intense animation and general darker vibe, The Flashpoint Paradox is a pretty spectacular animated film, and I honestly think it has the best execution of the Flashpoint comic.  It also has an awesome legacy, especially as it sets up the DC Animated Movie Universe and has impacts that range all the way to the final film, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.  As such, I really must give this film a full five-star rating and it is a must-watch for all comic fans, especially those who like their animation a little more adult and emotionally charged.