NetGalley Review Grab Bag Volume 8

 Back with more reviews! I.... may have requested a lot of books recently.

I received free advance copies from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

---

Title: Destroy All Humans, They Can't Be Regenerated Vol. 3

Author: Katsura Ise

Illustrator: Takuma Yokota

Rating: 5/5

Published by Viz Media and available April 8, 2025, one of my favorite current manga series is back. I loved the previous two volumes of Destroy All Humans and I'm happy to say that the third instalment is just as good. We get deeper into the relationship between Emi and Hajime, as well as see more of a character introduced in volume 2, a girl Hajime initially thought was a boy. I'm really interested in Mayu, if she's gender-nonconforming or a trans boy or something else. Regardless of what her identity may be, she's a delight and it's great to see her in the story more. This series continues to be a fun, nostalgic look at Magic the Gathering and 1990s nerd culture. Also fun: the physical copies of the first editions of each volume come with a promo MTG card, so it's definitely worth collecting this series if you're into the game.

---

Title: Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World's Greatest Museum

Author: Elaine Sciolino

Rating: 5/5

Published by W. W. Norton & Company and available April 1, 2025, Adventures in the Louvre is an introduction to the great French art museum, discussing its past and present and it's famous residents, like the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. I absolutely LOVED this book, as a historian and an art buff (who, alas, has never been to the Louvre, except via Nintendo 3DS Guide: Louvre). It probably took me twice as long to read this book because I kept stopping to read parts out loud to whoever was around me-- my favorite thing I learned is that people write letters to the Mona Lisa, as if she's a living person. Can you truly say you love a piece of art if you're not willing to write it letters? My one issue with Adventures is that it could use more images-- there are only a couple per chapter and they're in black and white (which may be since I was reading an ARC), meaning to fully understand what's being described, you have to look pieces up yourself, but other than that this is an incredible exploration of one of the gems of art history.

---

Title: Tokyo Alien Bros., Vol. 2

Author/Illustrator: Keigo Shinzo

Rating: 4/5

Published by Viz Media and available April 15, 2025, Tokyo Alien Bros., Vol. 2 is the middle part of a three-volume series now being published in English. I previously reviewed the first volume and found it an intriguing start. The series is mostly slice-of-life, like the author's current series Hirayasumi, with a few moments of sci-fi. The titular alien brothers are scouting out Earth for an invasion, and their base of operations is Japan. Volume 2 sees the less-assimilated brother, Natsu, blending in a little better by getting a job and (almost) getting a girlfriend; and both brothers trying to come to grips with the human emotion of love -- something they're not even sure they can feel. I think this series is progressing nicely and I look forward to the final volume.

---

Title: Below the Grand Hotel

Author: Cat Scully

Rating: 1/5

Published by CLASH Books and available May 6, 2025, Below the Grand Hotel immediately caught my eye as both a 1920s and demon enthusiast -- a wannabe starlet enters a Faustian bargain in a hotel full of demons sounds awesome. I really wanted to enjoy this, but unfortunately I didn't vibe with it. Except for some references to Prohibition and Ziegfeld there isn't much historical detail, and in fact there are several glaring errors (like mentioning the Talkies in 1925, two years before The Jazz Singer) that really took me out of the story. There's very little 1920s atmosphere -- we don't even get to know the songs Mabel, the main character, sings. The demon content was better and I always like seeing demons with strange anatomy, like second mouths (a common medieval image), but I also couldn't get myself to care about any of the characters. The writing is really repetitive and nothing impacted me emotionally like other versions of the Faust legend have. Maybe I'm a little harsh on it, but I was really expecting more.

---

Title: The Climber, Vol. 1

Author: Yoshio Nabeta, Hiroshi Takano, adapted from a novel by Jiro Nitta

Illustrator: Shin'ichi Sakamoto

Rating: 4/5

Published by Viz Media and available April 15, The Climber is a seinen series first published between 2007 and 2011, and it's nice to see older series getting English translations. This series follows a withdrawn high school student who discovers a passion for sport climbing. One of the amazing things about manga is how a good mangaka can make any topic or hobby engaging, even if you have no interest or experience with it in real life. I have no experience with sport climbing, but The Climber makes it feel like I'm right there with Mori. I think this manga will appeal to fans of other sport manga, obviously, but also action-driven stories and very realistic seinen art.

---

Title: GAEA-TIMA the Gigantis, Vol. 1

Author/Illustrator: KENT

Rating: 3/5

Published by Kodansha and available April 29, 2025, GAEA-TIMA the Gigantis immediately caught my eye with the description "In the spirit of the classic Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One" (I've mentioned my love of Godzilla before and Godzilla Minus One is one of my top favorite movies). It also reminds me of the movie Pacific Rim, which involves kaiju becoming a part of life and commercialized in their absence. Design-wise, the kaiju remind me of the monsters from the Gamera series. GAEA-TIMA focuses on how the human characters respond to the kaiju-- fascination, fear, a desire to exploit-- and makes the reader think how they would react. While the situation isn't one our world actually faces (though I wouldn't put it past reality at this point) but kaiju have always been allegorical. I think kaiju are experiencing a media renaissance (especially in manga thanks to Kaiju No. 8). I think this is a good start, if a little derivative of KN8.

NetGalley Review Grab Bag Vol. 5 - Year End Edition

Time for the fifth edition of NetGalley Grab Bag Reviews! I am working on a deep dive into my favorite video game series but that's going to take a little while. In the meantime, I have some books I'm very excited to review. Unless something really good pops up on NetGalley soon, this will be my last review set of the year.

I received free review copies from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Title: Bruce Songs: The Music of Bruce Springsteen, Album-by-Album, Song-by-Song

Authors: Kenneth Womack and Kenneth L. Campbell

Rating: 5/5

Published by Rutgers University Press and available September 23, 2024, Bruce Songs is a complete study, and celebration, of my favorite singer.  I absolutely love Springsteen. Born To Run changed my life and I actually wrote a paper in college about what "Backstreets" means to me. Suffice it to say this book was written for me. It's an academic-level breakdown of everything you could want to know about Springsteen's work -- how the albums were put together, the historical context of each album era, and what reviewers of the time said. As a historian, I especially appreciate the historical background, which contextualizes these timeless albums with what was happening in the world when they were written. Despite all this information, it never gets dry. As I said, it's a celebration as much as a study, and fans of the Boss will love this unique look into everything he's done.

---

Title: Dante's Inferno: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

Illustrators: Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi

Rating: 4/5

Published by Abrams ComicArts and available November 19, 2024, Dante's Inferno is a Dantean's dream -- a gorgeous visual retelling of the first canticle of the Divine Comedy, Inferno. The artists couldn't be better chosen, Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi worked on Disney films in the past (including the spectacular Firebird segment of Fantasia 2000) and their illustrations here are fantastic, in their signature graphite. They remind me a bit of Gustave Doré's famous illustrations, but with more modern sensibilities. I first read Inferno as a high schooler and would have loved this. My one complaint is the font -- it's nearly impossible to read and I tried viewing it on three different screens. I don't know if this is an issue with the proof provided by NetGalley or a bad font choice but I hope it cleans up by publishing because otherwise this is a graphic novel to treasure, for fans of medieval literature and expressive art.

---

Title: Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated., Vol. 2

Author: Katsura Ise

Illustrator: Takuma Yokota

Rating: 5/5

Published by Viz Media and available January 14, 2025, Destroy All Humans. continues in its second English volume (in Japan they're up to 16 volumes, as it's been going since 2018). I reviewed the first volume previously, and as a Magic: The Gathering fan, I really enjoy this series. In fact, it's my favorite new license of 2024. The second volume has more cards, more battles, and, surprisingly, some fanservice for those of you interested more in girls than Magic cards. This volume also introduces a new character and deepens the relationship between the main characters Hajime and Emi, and it looks like the rest of the series will be just as good as the first two entries.

---

Title: Shimazaki In the Land of Peace, Vol. 1

Author: Gouten Hamada

Illustrator: Takeshi Seshimo

Rating: 5/5

Published by Kodansha and available November 26, 2024, Shimazaki In the Land of Peace combines action with slice-of-life storytelling, and it's a great combination. The titular Shimazaki was trained to be a terrorist and now just wants to live a normal life, working sedate jobs such as manga assistant and café waiter -- though he puts his old skills to use when necessary. The publisher's blurb calls it a "fish out of water comedy" and that sums it up well. The art is excellent and very detailed, especially in the action sequences, and it's some of the best seinen work I've seen this year. This series will appeal to fans of series like Sakamoto Days and in general those looking for a day-to-day look at a reluctant secret agent. I'll definitely look into selecting this series for our library's collection. 

---

Title: Tokyo Alien Bros., Vol. 1

Author and Illustrator: Keigo Shinzo

Rating: 3/5

Published by Viz Media and available January 21, 2025, this is the first volume of a series by Keigo Shinzo. I've already reviewed his other series Hirayasumi before on this blog, and I've really enjoyed that. I like his approach to slice-of-life stories so I was interested in how he would take that theme into science fiction. Tokyo Alien Bros. does what it says on the tin, following two alien brothers as they scout out our planet from the vantage point of Japan's capital. As always with Shinzo, the art is charming and the world feels lived in, and there were parts that made me laugh out loud. It is important for fans of Hirayasumi to note that this series is much more explicit. It was a surprise to me when I saw the mature content notice on the cover and again when I read the book. Maybe it's for that reason -- the adult content feels at odds with the chill atmosphere and what I'm used to from this mangaka -- that it feels so jarring. This book will appeal to fans of slice-of-life who don't mind some sexual content and profanity in their manga. While I sound a little negative about this series, I do want to see how it progresses.

---

Title: Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, Vol. 1 

Author: Asao Takamori

Illustrator: Tetsuya Chiba

Rating: 4/5

Published by Kodansha and available December 24, 2024, Ashita no Joe is about as classic a manga series as you can get. Originally published in Weekly Shonen Magazine from 1968 to 1973, it has that early Western-influenced style from before manga developed into what it is today. This story follows Joe, a drifter, down on his luck like everyone else in the slums, who turns out to be a great boxer. The action is intense and the world is dark and grimy and the story doesn't shy away from the dangers of life as a boxer. This omnibus is the first time Ashita no Joe has been published in English and it will appeal to fans of combat sports as well as those interested in the early days of manga. It wasn't really for me but I can tell it's good. Its influence can be seen in everything from other sports manga to fantastical series like Naruto. Now having got some experience with it, I'll keep an eye out for its influence elsewhere.

---

Title: Vagabond Definitive Edition, Vol. 1 

Author/Illustrator: Takehiko Inoue

Rating: 5/5

Published by Viz Media and available January 21, 2025, Vagabond Definitive Edition, Vol. 1 collects the first three volumes of one of the most highly regarded manga ever. It's the third highest rated manga on anilist.co and even from reading just the opening chapters it's easy to see why. The art is perfect -- it's realistic in a way I've rarely seen before, even in other seinen series and the action is awesome. As it should be, it's about the legendary 17th century swordsman and philosopher Miyamoto Musashi. This series will appeal to fans of both fantastical action series like Berserk and history-based series like Vinland Saga, and I'll look into getting this volume for work once it's released.

NetGalley Review Grab Bag Vol. 4

 I need to stop apologizing for making so many of these review posts and just own them. I have a lot to review so we might as well get started. Some of these are late being posted to my blog due to being busy elsewhere at work but I did get them up on NetGalley in time. This one is particularly long because I had a lot to review and, for several books, had a lot of thoughts.

I received free review copies from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Title: I'm the Grim Reaper, Vol. 1

Author/Illustrator: GRAVEWEAVER

Rating: 4/5

Published by Viz Media and available September 10, 2024, I'm the Grim Reaper is the most visually striking webtoon I've seen. Most of the art is in a black and red palette, and backgrounds are taken from photographs and turned gray to match the color scheme. I'm very impressed, as most webtoons I've read have felt artistically generic and same-y. The story follows a newly-dead sinner who's made into a grim reaper with the job of collecting more sinners for Hell. This will appeal to fans of manga series like Death Note with for the focus on morality and who gets to live or die. This volume is a solid start to the mystery of who Scarlet is and what she did to deserve the ninth circle of Hell.

---

Title: Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga, Vol. 1

Author: Katsura Ise

Illustrator: Takuma Yokota

Rating: 5/5

Published by Viz Media and available October 8, 2024, Destroy All Humans immediately caught my nerdy eye. You mean there's a manga about Magic: The Gathering? Sign me up. Destroy takes place in the 1990s, following middle school rivals who step up their rivalry through MTG. The manga does a good job of introducing the reader to the different types of cards and how the game is played, and will appeal to existing fans of the game as well as newcomers interested in learning it. The art is very cool, bringing the in-game action to the reader. Fans of Yu-Gi-Oh or After School Dice Club will really enjoy this. As a fan of MTG, it's fun reading a hobby manga about something I'm into myself. I immediately recommended it to my friend and coworker A-Chan, who's our library's selector for teen manga and they loved it too and selected it for this coming month to go on the shelf, and they have no experience with MTG. Perhaps the best part of this is the relationship between rivals Hajime and Emi, and how they interact with the framework of the game they share.

---

Title: Side Quest: A Visual History of Roleplaying Games

Author: Samuel Sattin

Illustrator: Steenz

Rating: 4/5

Published by HarperCollins Children's Books and available October 8, 2024, Side Quest appealed to me because recently I've been getting into Dungeons & Dragons. Guided by the author (I've read his excellent introduction to anime and manga for kids, A Kid's Guide to Anime & Manga: Exploring the History of Japanese Animation and Comics) Samuel Sattin and the illustrator Steenz, who are TTRPG (table-top roleplaying game) players themselves, the reader explores the history of roleplaying from its historical precedent in ceremonial performance and theater to the development of war gaming to our more familiar games like D&D (in fact, this book comes at the perfect time as D&D celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024). I never really thought about the historical non-game background of games, though it makes sense. My two issues with it were 1) it could have discussed how RPG video games are connected in the history of RPGs, especially since they're wildly popular today with games like Final Fantasy, and 2) I had some trouble reading parts on both my phone and computer screen, which may be the fault of not reading a paper copy. That's more a publisher issue though. Other than that, this book is a great introduction to RPG history and will appeal to gamers and people interested in how a popular medium developed over time.

---

Title: Home Office Romance

Author/Illustrator: Kintetsu Yamada

Rating: 3/5

Published by Kodansha and available November 12, 2024, Home Office Romance follows two housebound neighbors falling in love during the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm not a romance fan but I was interested in this since I heard about it in a webinar held by Kodansha and I'll admit I found it cute. There's been some nostalgia for the pandemic, which at once does and doesn't make sense to me-- the time was traumatic, deadly, and in my home country of the United States, stupidly controversial, so why would you miss it? At the same time, we have a tendency to romanticize traumatic things as a way of coping with and making sense of them. For many people working remotely was a revelation that work doesn't need to be conducted the way we've always been told it must. Home Office Romance gives us the chance to explore our contradictory feelings in the safe environment of fiction. My two issues with this book were 1) the male lead, Nokoru, didn't seem to be falling in love with the female lead, Natsu, as much as she was with him, but this might be because, as I stated at the beginning, I'm not a romance reader so I may not have picked up on things as much as a more seasoned reader would; and 2) I felt there could have been more pandemic content. To me it at times didn't seem to evoke much of the atmosphere of 2020, but that could be chalked up to cultural differences. I don't know how Japan handled the pandemic (probably better than America did if just for Japan's common courtesy of wearing masks when sick being an ingrained thing in society). So I really can't say how well it handles the pandemic. Overall, if you'd like a cute work romance that's complete in one volume, Home Office Romance is a good bet.

---

Title: After God Vol. 1

Author/Illustrator: Sumi Eno

Rating: 3/5

Published by Viz Media and available November 19, 2024, After God is a new (to the English market) seinen battle manga, taking place in a post-apocalyptic Japan where being called gods wreak havoc. It's a decent start and I don't have much to say beyond it having Kaiju No. 8 vibes with the main character being a human with the powers of a god, so the story isn't particularly original, but the art is absolutely fantastic and I recommend reading it if just for the art.

---

Title: Third Shift Society Vol. 2

Author/Illustrator: Meredith Moriarty

Rating: 4/5

Published by Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group and available October 29, 2024 (just in time for spooky season), Third Shift Society Vol. 2 continues the supernatural exploits of Ellie and Ichabod. In the previous volume, Ellie discovered her psychic powers and began working for Ichabod, a supernatural detective who happens to have a pumpkin for a head. The illustrations are charming and spooky and the world is populated with diverse monsters, making it a treat for fans of series like All Saints Street. Ellie continues to be a likeable and relatable protagonist-- who among us wouldn't spring for a monster-hunting gig with a cool boss that pays well? This volume will most appeal to people who have already read the first volume/season on WEBTOON, but the series as a whole will appeal to fans of weird and wonderful media like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural.

---

Title: Godzilla's 70th Anniversary

Authors/Illustrators: Various

Rating: 4/5

Published by IDW and available October 29, Godzilla's 70th Anniversary is a comics anthology and as a Godzilla fan I had to request this, even though it's not my selection area. This comic celebrates 70 years of Toho's iconic kaiju. With thirteen stories and a full cast of your favorite monsters, there's something for everyone in thies collection. The book contains onshot stories and selections from series, including the first issue of one of my favorite Godzilla comics, Godzilla In Hell. Besides GIH # 1, my favorite inclusion might have to be "Ain't No Place for an Angel," written by Casey Gilley and illustrated by Liana Kangas and Brittany Peer, which places Mothra in the Old West. The book's varied art and storytelling styles make each part unique. This is sure to delight kaiju otaku and other sci-fi fans.

---

Title: Hirayasumi, Vol. 3

Author/Illustrator: Keigo Shinzo

Rating: 5/5

Published by Viz Media and available November 19, this is the third volume of the iyashikei series Hirayasumi that I've read and reviewed. And I continue to be charmed by the art and story of this unique series. Hiro is a great laid-back character who brings a chill, kind presence to everyone in his life, and Nat is a relatable nervous wreck trying to become a mangaka. I find it hard to review subsequent volumes in a series because to fully enjoy them the reader has to have read the previous books, so I'll just say this series as a whole will appeal to fans of slice-of-life stories-- ones that deal with day-to-day experiences and people looking for a relaxing, heartfelt read.