HEART AND BRAIN by Nick Seluk

HEART AND BRAIN are friends who have to live together. They are a part of the Awkward Yeti. While friends who live in tandem, Heart and Brain often find themselves in opposition to each other. However, despite that, sometimes the opposition from Brain is good for Heart and the opposition from Heart is good for Brain. The situations the duo finds themselves in are humorous and completely relatable.

BUNI: HAPPNIESS IS A STATE OF MIND by Ryan Pagelow

Buni is a rabbit that always keeps a positive outlook on life. He loves the world and life, but the world in which he lives is constantly trying to hurt or kill him: whether it's killer teddy bears, cupcakes, unicorns, or zombies. BUNI: HAPPINESS IS A STATE OF MIND is dark and twisted, yet humorous. It's not a comic that will appeal to everyone, but for those who do connect with it, they will find it quite humorous.

Short Review of ZEN PENCILS: INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES FOR KIDS

Before reading ZEN PENCILS: INSPIRATION QUOTES FOR KIDS, I had never heard of "Zen Pencils" before. Apparently, it's an online comic of some form.  The book takes quotes (some long, some short) from a variety of different people and then illustrates a sequence of action to go along with the quote. The author uses a variety of different forms of illustrations in the book. Personally, I enjoyed some of the ongoing storylines that the author imagines; there are certain characters that reappear throughout the book, but in different adventures and different contexts. ZEN PENCILS: INSPIRATION QUOTES FOR KIDS isn't a typical graphic novel, but because of that it will appeal to an audience that probably doesn't read graphic novels very often.

FRUIT NINJA FRENZY FORCE by Erich Owen

In FRUIT NINJA FRENZY FORCE, the four friends who are the Fruit Ninja are growing tired of all their training. They train and train and train, but there don't seem to be any villains around for them to fight or to test their skills against. Then an old man in a barrel jumps out and warns the ninjas of trouble just around the corner and a time traveler from the past who claims to be another fruit ninja appears who warns the ninjas that the fruit they have been using is inferior and he has a better product. Not knowing who exactly to trust, the fruit ninjas follow the time travel and their first real adventure begins. I know nothing about Fruit Ninja except it's a popular game on mobile phones and in some game centers. The book FRUIT NINJA FRENZY FORCE was entertaining, although at times it felt like I was really missing something because despite the flashbacks and the exposition given by the old man in the barrel, I really had no idea who any of the characters were. Overall, FRUIT NINJA FRENZY FORCE is just an average graphic novel.

BLUFFTON by Matt Phelan

Set in Muskegon, Michigan in the neighborhood of Bluffton in 1908, BLUFFTON is a graphic novel about a boy named Henry who yearns for something more in his life. During that summer of 1908, he gets it as a slew of vaudeville performers, circus people, and other entertainers take up residency in the neighborhood for the summer. It's here that Henry is introduced to a young boy named Buster Keaton. Buster is the star of his family's vaudeville act. He can take a fall like no other and he is a star wherever he goes. United through baseball and the enjoyment of childhood Henry and Keaton become friends.  Their friendship continues and grows over the next few summers and becomes tested as Henry yearns to have a piece of what Keaton possesses, while Keaton is jealous of the simple life that Henry has.

BLUFFTON was written and illustrated by Matt Phelan who previously wrote and illustrated THE STORM IN THE BARN and AROUND THE WORLD. Personally, of those three books, BLUFFTON is my favorite. That's in part because I've always enjoyed the films of Buster Keaton. However, it's also because BLUFFTON has the strongest single story, in my opinion. Overall, BLUFFTON is a wonderful graphic novel about the summer boyhood of one of cinema's earliest and most famous stars.

GRAVITY FALLS: LOST LEGENDS by Alex Hirsch

I was a late comer to the animated show GRAVITY FALLS. I was introduced to it by my brother. The show was one of the best written television shows I have ever watched. There were so many layers and everything fit together so well. Like so many others, I came to love the show and the characters that were on it. Unlike many series, GRAVITY FALLS ended after it had told the story it came to tell (after only two seasons). It is possible that the show might be revisited at some point (Dipper’s letter does say see you next summer), there are no new episodes of the series right now or any time on the near horizon. However, fans of the show do have a few more stories with the release of GRAVITY FALLS: LOST LEGENDS.

GRAVITY FALLS: LOST LEGENDS contains four new Gravity Falls adventures told by Shmebulock. It turns out that Shmebulock isn’t the “slow” gnome everyone thinks. He’s actually very intelligent but was cursed by an evil wizard a long time ago to only speak his name, but every 1,000 years he gets a chance to speak normally again for one night. This is the night and Shmebulock shares it with the reader.

The four stories are:

“Face It” – Dipper and Pacifica Northwest team up together after Pacifica unleashes a creature called Mr. What’s-His-Face steals Mabel’s face.

“Comix Up” – The Pines family and friends literally jump into the pages of a comic book to save Grunkle Stan.

“Don’t Dimension It” – Set after Weirdmageddon, but before Dipper and Mabel return home, this story finds Mabel sucked into the multiverse where she learns an important lesson about herself.

“Pines Bros. Mystery” – This story is about Stan and Ford’s first adventure as kids when they first met a mythological/supernatural creature. There are another set of twins in the story who are the Pine’s rivals who are parodies of the Hardy Boys.

Of the four stories, I really don’t have a favorite because they are all good in their own right. “Face It” is another classic Gravity Falls adventure and is the story most like an episode (watching the special DVD that comes with the Gravity Falls DVD boxset, I believe this story was an episode that was planned, but just never made it to the show). The story also hints at a possible romance between Pacifica and Dipper. “Comix Up” is a great story that features over half-a-dozen animation styles. “Don’t Dimension It” is really neat because it’s a story set right before Dipper and Mabel return home and could be foreshadowing of adventures to come. Lastly, I love the “Pines Bros. Mystery” because it’s a story that shows how much Stan and Ford really did care for each other growing up and why Stan risked so much to save his brother.

GRAVITY FALLS:  LOST LEGENDS is a must have for any fan of Gravity Falls, but as a graphic novel, it’s not too bad as a stand alone piece.