Sheep Comic Review: Witchblade #157

Witchblade #157 (ARC)

On Sale: June 27,2012

Story by: Tim Seeley

Art By: Diego Bernard & Fred Benes

Cover By: John Tyler Christopher

Variant Cover by: Diego Bernard & Fred Benes

Price: $2.99

Diamond ID: MAR120525

Image Comics

"PORTALS," Part One

Even as she struggles to make ends meet as a PI, Sara Pezzini can'thelp but be drawn into the corrupt supernatural underbelly of Chicago. Herdiscovery of mystical portals around the city will lead her to a realm unlikeanything she's experienced before and bring her face-to-face with a formerbearer of the Witchblade!

Sara has started to adjust to living in Chicago, along with dealing with supernatural things. I don’t think portals were one of those things Sara was ready for. Sara takes it upon herself to track down these portals; during her search she comes across what she thought was a“standard mugging”, instead Sara is seeing two orc like beings threatening some guy, that oddly knows who Sara is, but Sara doesn't know who the guy is.

One of the orcs calls Sara a “metalmancer” and tried to attack her. Sara has a great line at this part, which gives you an idea of what kind of world these guys come from,“Yeah I don’t play Warcraft.” Sara wants to find out more about why there are orcs in Chicago, once going through the portal Sara cannot believe her eyes. She has walked into a world that looks like a steampunk World of Warcraft. Sara has never been here before, but oddly enough the witchblade itself has. Sara is confronted by two police officers, who tell her that she is inviolation of Beliesan Law. Sara asks to see the sheriff, shortly after her request she is brought to Sheriff Godliffe. When Godliffe sees this female, her reaction is nothing short of shock. In her drunken state, sheriff Godliffe yells at her officers that she will deal with this woman herself, after getting Sara alone the sheriff asks if “this bearer has a name.” This means she knows about the witchblade. Sara gives her name, and in return the Sheriff tells Sara that her name is Katarina.

Katarina informs Sara that the witchblade rejected her at one point, and after that incident Katarina has been living in Faerie. The people of Faerie made her sheriff since she saved their lives in the past. Sara asks Katarina for her help; Sara tells Katarina that someone from the human world was brought to Faerie against their will. Sara puts the pieces together that she was placed in a fantasy world, with a century old witchblade bearer, and in the middle of a possible assassination plot.

To me this is a major leap from the “original” stories that Sara has been put through, granted being the bearer of the witchblade, nothingis really normal anymore. I am looking forward to what happens to Sara in the Portals story line.

4.5 Sheep

~DD~

Sheep Interview: Benedict Jacka + give away

Halo Theme, Full

check out Benedict's theme music!

Today we have Urban Fantasy author Benedict Jacka visiting. Book two of his Alex Versa series, Cursed, just released in May. He is a pretty interesting guy so grab a moon pie, Kool-Aid and try and keep up <G>. 

FB-website

Buy: amazon/book depository

Sharon: My partner Danielle has read your books so she will be asking questions that your fans might want to know. I, on the other hand, get to ask the uncomfortably personal ones <G>. But we will start with the basics…for those of us who aren't familiar with your series could you tell us about it and what kind of reader would enjoy your series?

book #2

Benedict: Fated, Cursed, and Taken are the first three books of an urban fantasy series set in London.  Magic is real but most people don't know about it, and the rulers of the magical world are the Light and Dark mages, human beings who can use one particular type of magic like air or life or fire.  The protagonist is Alex Verus, an ex-Dark mage who runs a magic shop in Camden.  He's a diviner, able to see the future, which makes him very good with information but not so good at brute force, which is a problem given his habit of getting into difficulties with other mages, who usually have access to a very large amount of brute force which they're more than happy to use. 

Danielle: Does Sonder know how to use Haste or Stop, or will he learn those sometime in the near future?

Benedict: He doesn't know Haste, but he knows Stasis, which is the equivalent of Stop in this setting (wider area, but doesn't let anything out or in). 

book #1

Danielle: There was the use of the Monkeys Paw in the book, will there be any other types of cursed artifacts (based off of Old Wives Tales/Urban Legend) showing up in future books?

Benedict: Haven't decided.  We've had two very powerful items with very nasty drawbacks, so I might hold off on them for a while to stop them getting played out!

Danielle: How far into the future can Alex see possible outcomes?

Benedict: Depends how predictable/chaotic the situation is.  A few seconds in combat, a few minutes on a street, hours or even days in an empty room.

Danielle: Will there be another appearance of Arachnes lair mate?

Benedict: Maybe!

Danielle: Let’s say by chance “The Urban Legend from Chicago” did happen to show up in London, do you think Alex would be extremely cautious being around him, or would Alex avoid him at all costs?

Benedict: Alex wouldn't go to any particular effort to avoid him, at least not to begin with – he already deals with spellcasters who are massively more powerful than him on a regular basis, and as far as they go Dresden's one of the more decent ones.  Dresden's habit of attracting people trying to kill him literally everywhere he goes might be a bit of a problem, though. 

Danielle: Will we ever find out why Rachel changed her name?

Benedict: Yep, it's in the book I'm writing now, number #4.

Sharon: BWAHAHA! My turn…

Sharon: If I gave you a moon pie would you take your shirt off for the rest of the interview?

*Danielle smacks Sharon*

Ouch! Nevermind…

Sharon: Fess up… the Encyclopaedia on your website is to help you keep track of your world building details?

Benedict: It's more like a way to help me come up with world building details. Once I've written it down in an Encyclopaedia article I usually remember it!

Sharon: Tell us about your Competitive Ballroom Dancing days? What was your favorite dance? Most hideous costume? Got pictures?

Benedict: Favourite dance:  Rumba, though the ones I did best at were Waltz and Quickstep. Most hideous costume:  Only the girls wear flashy costumes.  The guys all dress the same! Pictures:  I've got one with me and my old partner posing on the dance floor in our ballroom outfits – dress shirt, bow tie and waistcoat for me, long flowing sequined red dress for her.  But you can't see it, because I look ridiculous. 

Sharon: pretty please, with moon pies on top? I promise only me; Danielle and about 1000 of our closest friends will see it, and maybe a few more…

Benedict: Well, you could try this:  http://tinyurl.com/y8ufsnp

Sharon: what is it with British men and Rick Astley? 

Sharon: If you could have theme music/song play whenever you entered a room what would it be? And would you dance during your entrance?

Benedict: I could do one of my old street jazz routines.  They all tended to be to cheesy pop or rock though, and nowadays I think I'd be embarrassed to have them as my theme songs.

Sharon: what would you pick today? The theme music to 2000 Space Odyssey would be awesome…

Benedict: Heh, probably one of the Halo tracks.  Don't think they'd work too well for dancing, though.

Sharon:  Which fictional character would like to have your back in a zombie apocalypse?

Benedict: One of the high-level characters from my old D&D parties.  They dealt with stuff like zombie apocalypses all the time and they were WAY more practical about it than the characters in zombie movies.  (Their opening move would be to move everyone to a safe distance and then start nuking the zombies at range.)

Sharon: so you are a nerd?! Don’t worry, we like nerds…even have Nerd friends over in the U.K.

Benedict: Tell them to drop by and say hi!

Sharon: How did you handle those rejection letters in the beginning?

Benedict: I collected them in a file.  Still got them all stacked away somewhere.  I used to tell myself that when I was really successful I'd go through them, but in the end I just forgot about them instead.

Sharon: *pulls out mats, ties on my Black Belt* Quick! I round kick to your head…what do you do?!

Benedict: Step in, catch, shove.  Stop doing that. 

Sharon: I couldn’t help myself! I wanted to test your skills! I love sparring, but not Judo…Judo hurts… Does having martial arts training help you write more realistic fight scenes?

Benedict: In a funny way it does – not directly, but when I'm reading a book with fight scenes I can usually tell when the author's never tried it.  I'm out of training these days though!

Sharon: See Danielle, tackling him to the floor would help him get back into training shape…*SMACK* damn….

Rapid Fire

take a deep breath and relax, take off your shirt if you *SMACK* damn…

Sharon: *rubbing head* elbow strike to the nose or knee to the groin?

Benedict: Knees to the groin are easier to aim. 

Danielle: Coffee and donuts or tea and scones?

Benedict: The second. I'm British, doncha know. 

Sharon: have you travelled to the US? Have you tasted a Krispy Kream doughnut?

Benedict: Yes, and yes.  You get them here as well now; they've started assimilating doughnut shops in other continents.

Danielle: I know you are British; I’ll let that slide this time

Sharon: I live in the birth place of the Krispy Kream doughnut…just putting it out there…

Sharon: hot air ballooning or deep sea diving?

Benedict: Can I get to do both?

Sharon: only if you take *SMACK* damn…

Danielle: Sorry but there was a fly about to land on your head

Benedict: Happens a lot to her, doesn't it?

Danielle: Fire magic or air magic?

Benedict: Air.

Danielle: Well I guess we all can’t be like Cinder

Sharon: Coke or Pepsi?

Benedict: Used to be Coke, but I went off it. 

Sharon: I will take that as a WIN for Pepsi!! We kind of have a little friendly competition going on about this…

Danielle: I’ll let that win go, for now<G>

Danielle:  Daniel Craig or Sean Connery? (have to add a James Bond <G>)

Benedict: Daniel Craig, he reminds me more of the books.

Sharon: stilettos or sneakers?

Benedict: For you or for me?

Sharon: O_o this interview just got a lot more interesting <G>

Danielle: OK that’s my cue to leave the interview

Danielle  Dragons or Griffins?

Benedict: Dragons are too high-maintenance.

Danielle: not all dragons are high-maintenance, I mean look at Puff

Sharon: yeah, he just wanted to frolic in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee

Sharon: girls gone wild or girl next door?

Benedict: Girl next door.

Danielle:  Dr. Who or Sherlock Holmes?

Benedict: Holmes. 

Sharon: boxers or briefs? *Danielle smacks Sharon* Ouch!

Benedict: Boxers.

Danielle:  Star Wars or Star Trek?

Benedict: Use the Force, Luke!

Sharon: is there anything else you would like to let our readers to know? Future appearances, links, book releases, credit card numbers…

Benedict: The next Alex Verus book, Taken, is out in September!  After that I'm hoping to take a trip to the US (and visit a few conventions) but that'll depend on me being organised enough to sort it all out.  Thanks for having me, your questions are the fun kind to answer.  :)

Sharon: We will be sure to check your website for those dates! If you are lucky you might meet one of the flock at a convention.

Danielle: thanks for taking the time to have this interview with us, can’t wait for the 3^rd book.

GIVE AWAY

Penguin Publishing is offering a copy of Cursed to a US winner. 
To enter:
1. leave your contact info
2. What dance would you love to learn?
*double entry for followers!

Sheep Book Review: Cursed by Benedict Jacka

Since his second sight made him infamous for defeating powerful dark mages, Alex has been keeping his head down. But now he's discovered the resurgence of a forbidden ritual. Someone is harvesting the life-force of magical creatures—destroying them in the process. And draining humans is next on the agenda. Hired to investigate, Alex realizes that not everyone on the Council wants him delving any deeper. Struggling to distinguish ally from enemy, he finds himself the target of those who would risk their own sanity for power...

Alex is a diviner, he has the ability to see different futures and what different outcomes can occur by going down certain paths. He will know which path will lead him to death and which ones will let him live another day. One of the “side effects” of this is that Alex can also see how he will die if he goes down the “wrong path”. Being a diviner does not fall under one of the more “serious or flashy” mage abilities, since there is no brute strength behind being a diviner, and most members of the council look down on Alex for this. But as much as they disdain him, these same members will hire Alex out when they fear there may be some sort of trap set up to kill them.

Along with running a magic shop, Alex has an associate named Luna. Luna is not a mage, she doesn’t have any type of magic abilities at all, instead she is living with a curse that Alex is determined to break. Alex is called in to help out a Council member with the tracking and killing of a barghest (a shape shifter that can take the form of either a human or a great wolf like dog), but to the surprise of the group the barghest is already dead. This raises a few eyebrows in the team; there are no real signs of a fight or struggle, just a dead barghest.

Alex doesn’t know what to make of this, but later on finds out that someone is and had been trying to use a banned ritual that takes the magic from magical creatures and transfers into humans, as a sort of “power booster” to their own magic. Since the numbers of magical creatures are running low, the people behind this are starting to target humans as the next form of magic batteries. Alex depends on the help from an ally and a few so-called allies (depends on what the situation is), to save Luna and another friend from being killed.

You don’t really need to read Fated before Cursed, but I highly recommend checking out Fated first, since there are a few things that are explained in better detail, and who certain people are that are in the story and are a part of Alex’s life. I am already eagerly awaiting the third book in the series, Taken, which is due out in September.

If you enjoy reading the Harry Dresden series from Jim Butcher, I suggest you check out this series from Benedict Jacka, since there are a few similarities between Alex and Harry.


I’m giving Cursed 4.5 Sheep

~DD~

Find Benedict Jacka online

FB/website

If you want to know more about the background and settings of the Alex Versus world there is a link to the Encyclopedia Arcana http://benedictjacka.co.uk/encyclopaedia/

Sheep Book Review: The Thirteenth Sacrifice

The Thirteenth Sacrifice: A Witch Hunt Novel by Debbie Viguie

She stared down in terror at the breaks in the circle. The circle kept her safe; the circle protected her from what was outside-but only if it was unbroken….

Samantha Ryan is plagued by nightmarish memories of magic and fear…of strange chants and blood spilled. Because Samantha Ryan grew up in a coven that was seduced by power and greed.

With a cross around her neck and a detective’s shield in her pocket, Samantha has tried hard to put her horrific childhood behind her. But as the last in a long line of ruthless witches, she should know that such talismans are no match for the power of a coven that’s gone bad. And when young women start dying, only Samantha knows what the archaic symbol carved into their flesh means: The witched have returned to Salem. Now Samantha is going undercover-into a town obsessed with black magic, into her past, and into the dark, newly awakened heart of evil….

Samantha has been running from her past, trying to forget what happened to her and the coven she was raised in. Personally keeping herself from using magic, she has been working as a member of the Boston Police Department. Samantha and her partner Ed are called in on a case, a college coed was found dead at her off campus apartment. What made this one a little different was there was a bloody pentagram on the dead girls’ forehead. After a phone call from the coroner, it was determined that the pentagram was done in nail polish and not blood. After questioning the dead girls’ roommate, they get a phone call about a dead nun that was found at the local church, with a pentagram on her forehead also, which turns out to be red wax. Samantha knows something is going on, when after looking at the crime scene at the church, they go back to the college campus to investigate a third crime scene, this time it’s a male and it’s an extremely gruesome killing.

After doing some background checks on the three victims, it is discovered that the nun has a sister that is in the local metal hospital. Samantha and Ed get the chance to visit Jane (the nuns sister) during their questioning it is found out that Jane was “attacked” by these mysterious people, they wanted her blood, she was going to be used as a sacrifice, and Jane claims that she was branded. Samantha asked to see this brand mark, and she knew what it was the second she saw it. After being asked to leave the hospital, Ed basically demands to know what is going on and how Samantha knows so much about this. Samantha tells Ed the truth about how she was raised in a coven that used Black Magic and conducted human sacrifices.

Samantha knows she has to return to her home in Salem, MA. To further investigate these murders and the brand marks. Samantha doesn’t really want to do this, she wishes that someone else could investigate this, but she knows deep down in her heart that she is the only one that can go undercover and find a way into the coven to see what is going on. Despite the feelings of her Captain and her partner, she goes forward and does this on her own. Samantha somewhat steps back into her old role of using magic to find out who is behind these killings and why, using candle magic to summon members of the coven , she finds it a little more difficult to get to the heart of the matter and who it is that is running the show and why. After sometime Samantha finds out what is going on, and she is plans on putting a stop to it fast. It seems that someone wants to bring her old coven leader back from the dead and to let her finish what she had started so many years ago.

I was highly interested in this book just by reading the synopsis, having been to Salem, MA myself a few times, I wanted to see what kind of story can be done in this location and the ties to the magic that it’s known for. I have to say I was not disappointed at all. The mention of The Hawthorne Hotel, Red’s Sandwich Shop, The House of Seven Gables, and The Witch History Museum were a great reminder of why I loved going there to visit. The descriptions that were used for what was going on at that time of year were great also, since the apex of the story happens around Halloween. After reading this I really want to go back to Salem one of these days. There are a few squeamish parts in the book, they are flashbacks from Samantha’s life growing up in the coven, if being a visual type reader like myself and the thought of blood makes you queasy, I’m giving you warning now.

I'm giving The Thirteenth Sacrifice 4.5 sheep, this is a great first book for a new series.

~DD~

Love Poems From the Sheep to You!

Valentine’s Day Poems to our Secret Valentine

BAAART: My secret Valentine- ewe!

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

I love readers

Just like EWE!

Sharon: My Secret Valentine- Optimus Prime

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

I can’t wait

To transform with you!

Katie: My Secret Valentine-I have to pick one?! WTH! This is totally unfair, but if I must then I will go for Dougal from Kerrelyn Spark’s ‘Love at Stake’ saga

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

I love vamps

And this Scottish one's a MUST do!

Amber: My Secret Valentine- Jericho Barrons (swoon)

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

You wooed me with your macho moves

And fast cars too!

Kalpar: My Secret Valentine- N/A, Kalpars only understand hate.

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

Valentine's Day is lame

I'm going to go punch Nazis on Mars with Theodore Roosevelt

Richard: My Secret Valentine- Kaylee Frye from Firefly

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

I'll be your manly ram

If you'll be my ewe!

Danielle: My Secret Valentine- Wooper

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

I love your bulbus head

And you wander around without a clue

Sheep Book Review: The Darkening Dream by Andy Gavin

***The Darkening Dream is FREE on Kindle today only at Amazon.com. Or click on the link at the end of this post.***

An ominous vision and the discovery of a gruesome corpse lead Sarah Engleman into a terrifying encounter with the supernatural in 1913 Salem, Massachusetts.

With help from Alex, an attractive Greek immigrant, Sarah sets out to track the evil to its source, never guessing that she will take on a conspiracy involving not only a 900-year vampire, but also a demon-loving Puritan warlock, disgruntled Egyptian gods, and an immortal sorcerer, all on a quest to recover the holy trumpet of the Archangel Gabriel.

Relying on the wisdom of an elderly vampire hunter, Sarah's rabbi father, and her own disturbing visions, Sarah must fight a millennia-old battle between unspeakable forces, where the ultimate prize may be herself.

As the modern world establishes itself and pushes the supernatural into the shadows, they supernatural fight back.

So a Rabbi, a Greek immigrant and an Egyptian God walk into a bar....Yes this was kinda the first thought I had when I saw the synopsis of this book, and I have to say I am so glad that I grabbed this one to read.

Our protagonist is a young woman named Sarah, who is not your "typical" young woman of the 1913's. Instead of worrying about who her family is arranging for  her to marry, she's busy with her nose in a book trying to better educate herself.

Sarah is very independent and speaks her mind, despite what her mother thinks. I found this to be a breath of fresh air in the book, rather than being a typical "damsel in distress" Sarah is always the one thinking first about what to do in order to save her friends. No guns, no swords, no weapons, just the belief in her religion, family and friends gets Sarah through this fight.

Alex is the Greek immigrant that Sarah meets and feels an instant attraction, even though she knows her mother and father would never approver of their relationship since he is not Jewish.

Shortly after Sarah and her friends first meet Alex, things take a turn for the worse when the corpse of one of their classmates is found buried in the branches of a nearby tree. A few nights later while Sarah and her friends are out enjoying the last days of an Indian Summer they come across their former classmate, who is now a vampire. Alex explains what has happened to their classmate and they decide to kill the boy again to keep him from attacking others. Now knowing that there is a vampire "maker" somewhere in the town they discuss going after him, with some reluctant help from Sarah's father and Alex's grandfather. The story picks up great speed at this point until the end. There is a wonderful mix of Jewish, Greek and Egyptian lore and religion in this book, along with a touch of Dark magic, prophetic dreams and angels.

The way the chapters are set up is a great way to follow the plot of the story. Each one has the date, location, and  sometimes the time of day. It really helps set the mood and tone of what is going on, and it doesn't leave you wondering how many days has gone by between incident A and incident B. There are a lot of small chapters (mainly 3-4 pages) so the number of chapters may seem overwhelming at first, but once you get going and get caught up in the flow of the book, you hardly notice that you have gone through so many chapters.

If you are looking for a Twilight style of vampire book, this is not it. If you want something more of the darker side, this is the book you want to grab!

The Darkening Dream gets 4.5 sheep

~DD~

Sheep Manga Review: 07 Ghost

Plot:

Teito Klein is a former slave who now attends the Barsburg Empire's military academy due to his ability to use Zaiphon, a type of supernatural power. The ability is rare and thus highly prized.Teito is an amnesiac who frequently has frightening dreams. After a year at the academy, Teito prepares to take the notoriously difficult graduation exam. The night before the exam, Teito and his only friend, Mikage, swear they will never abandon each other if the other needs help. Both of them pass the exam. The next day, Teito hears people talking about him. Stopping to listen, he suddenly realizes that the speaker, Chief of Staff Ayanami, is the person who killed the familiar man in his dreams: his father, the king of the destroyed Raggs Kingdom. Teito is caught eavesdropping and tries to attack Ayanami but is quickly brought down by one of his subordinates and sent to prison. Mikage comes to help him escape, only to find that Teito has managed to fight past the guards by himself. The two flee the building but are cornered on a balcony. Teito pretends to hold Mikage hostage, threatening to kill him if the guards pursue him, thus making his escape, though he is wounded by a Zaiphon blast that Ayanami directs at him. Three bishops in the nearby 7th District discover the injured Teito and take him to a nearby church to recuperate. Because of the 7th District's law of sanctuary, as long as Teito stays in the church, the army cannot arrest him.In due time, it is discovered that Teito carries the Eye of Mikhail, a powerful talisman for which his home country, the Raggs Kingdom, was destroyed. This fact, as well as a fateful reunion, catapults Teito into a quest for revenge against the Barsburg Empire and for knowledge about his past. At the same time, his status as the bearer of the Eye of Michael throws him into the long-standing conflict between the evil Verloren and his enemies, the 07 Ghosts.

Ok, let me get my rant about this manga out of the way before I get to the review. Go Comi! had the rights to publish this manga in the US, sadly Go Comi! went out of business after releasing the first 4 volumes, while in Japan there are 11 volumes out. No other manga company in the US has picked up the rights to republish the manga, or to even start the anime (but that's a differnt post). So this is only going to be a review of the first 4 volumes. *rant done*

This manga takes place in Barsburg Empire, which is divided into seven districts, each with its own cities, rulers and culture. The setting is a military academy where the students learn to harness the power of Zaiphon.

Teito Kiein is the main character of this manga. Not much is known about him at first other than he started out as a combat slave since he was orphaned, later on being brought to the Barsburg Military Academy where he became a star pupil. Even though most of the students look down at him, Teito has one friend at the academy, Mikage, they make a promise to always protect each other. Sadly Mikage dies protecting Teito. This sends Teito into a depression and he vows revenge, even after Mikgae told him not to with his dying breath.

Teito leaves the academy and plans on going to the 7th District to study to become a priest, since the clergy has free reign to travel between the seven districts.

I absolutely enjoyed reading what I could of this manga, and I'm still waiting for the day when there is an announcement that someone picked up the rest of this series.

There is a strong presence of good versus evil (depending on your view of the military or the church). The amount of psychological drama that takes place in the story makes it captivating and easy to read. The images are very bold and dark, giving a feeling of innocence or intensity.

There are quite a few likable characters that show up in the later volumes of the manga. The first volume is pretty much meant to set up what is to come in the later volumes. I have re-read the few volumes that I have a number of times, and I have yet to be disappointed.

I'm giving this a rating of 4.5 sheep.

~DD~