[Review]* Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: The First Death (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Graphic Novels 0.5) by Laurell K. Hamilton

Summary:

Her fans have been asking for it - now, Laurell K. Hamilton delivers a look into Anita Blake's past! Written by Laurell K. Hamilton herself, along with Jonathon Green, The First Death takes place almost a year before the events being chronicled in Guilty Pleasures. Witness the first meeting of Anita and Jean-Claude, Anita's first time inside Guilty Pleasures, her first serial-killer case, and an early encounter with Edward. Prepare to be thrilled by this original story produced especially for comics! Collects Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: The First Death #1-2 and Anita Blake: Guilty Pleasures Handbook.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 128 pages (Paperback)

Available Formats: Print Paperback & Print Hardcover

Source: Borrowed from the Lady of the blog

Publication Date: January 28th 2009 by Marvel

Hi. My name's Darren but around here I'm know as Mr. Turning the Pages.I'm glad I can do a guest review on the blog again since I did one a few year ago. Truthfully I don't read a lot. So I will be reviewing the prequel graphic novel to the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Now, I'm not traditionally a huge reader though some books do sometimes grab my attention, but I've always been more of a graphic novel reader myself.

As for Anita Blake it's a popular book series that has been now given the graphic novel treatment. So often with the case of graphic novel things don't translate over well to graphic comics which leads to some terrible results. It could be the writing stinks, it could be bad artwork that doesn't match the story and characters etc. The point is it will kill the series even before the series can get off the ground. When it comes to Anita Blake, the transition from a novel series to a graphic novel series has had very good results. In fact if Anita Blake was done right it could make an excellent movie, television show, or even a video game.In my opinion this series would make a kickass show for HBO or Netflix.

Where to begin. I really loved the artwork. Wellinton Alves, the artist did a great job with the art and it really matched the feel of the characters, the setting, locations, story. I really thought the artwork matched the mature content of the story as well.The characters and the story were both equally developed which of course are very, very important to the quality of the graphic novel as a whole. I found the characters and story engaging from the get go. Anita Blake the main character of course is a beautiful, strong woman who can more than take care of herself. Her character has depth and left me wanting to know more about her. The other characters that are introduced really make a strong debut as well. In fact the characters all compliment each other rather nicely.

The First Death is gritty, sexy, violent, sometimes will be disturbing to some people. It's a mature graphic novel and not one that should be read by kids that's for sure. It actually isn't as bad as it sounds, it's just more of a warning so if somebody does read it they can have an idea of the mature content. Anita Blake kind of reminds me of the HBO series True Blood, but better. The Lady of Turning the Pages loves this series and has been wanting me to try it as long as we've been together and she loves both the graphic novels and novels. She can testify of the quality in this book. I actually borrowed this from her. I plan to start up the second one which is Guilty Pleasures Volume One this week this is gr
eat because a lot of the time I lose interest in continuing to read. However The First Death makes me want to keep reading this series.

I'd recommend The First Death to people who are looking into getting into comics/graphic novels but maybe don't want one that is about superheroes, fans of Anita Blake and readers who are just looking to try something different for a change.

Thanks for having me on the blog Kimberly, and thanks folks for reading my review.

Really Liked It

★★★★

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The WWE Championship: A Look Back at the Rich History of the WWE Championship by Kevin Sullivan (GUEST REVIEW)

Summary:
Suddenly it’s over, and in the center of the ring, one man is victorious. The referee raises his hand, and from somewhere (you’re not quite sure where because you’re still cheering), the shining symbol of this momentous win appears. With the crowd still roaring, the winner stands alone in the ring and raises the championship belt high over his head. The lights shine off the WWE Championship title belt, and in that instant, the winner’s life will be changed forever.
For over half a century, Superstars have battled to win the WWE Championship. While the name may have changed, the prestige attached to the champion­ship has exploded. That is due in no small part to the immortals of wrestling who have held this coveted title—Bruno Sammartino taking the title from the first holder, Buddy Rogers...the totally unexpected win of “Superstar” Billy Graham...Hulk Hogan’s win over the Iron Sheik, who had refused a payoff to injure Hogan...Andre the Giant’s surrender of the title to Ted DiBiase...the newcomer win of the Undertaker...the commanding wrestling abilities of Bret Hart...Shawn Michaels’s win in Montreal...the stunning victories of Stone Cold Steve Austin...the triumph of the People’s Champion, The Rock...Triple H playing the game...the never-surrender attitude of John Cena.
This is the chronicle of how the title that is now known as the WWE Championship became sports-entertainment’s most coveted prize.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 320 Pages (Hardcover Edition)
Source: Personal copy
Publication Date: November 23rd 2010



This was an interesting review to write. Wrestling books are known as being either very good or on the other hand infamously bad. One of the best examples of a poorly written wrestling related book would be Hollywood Hulk Hogan by Hulk Hogan,and Michael Jan Friedman . Complete dribble it was I say! However, on the opposite end of the spectrum there are some very well recieved such as  Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart  and Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mick Foley.

While this book isn't nearly as bad as Hulk Hogan's afore mentioned book was it was also not on par with the other books mentioned in the preceeding paragraph it is still a decent read. I think that it's a great book for any wrestling fan to add to their library, especially if the fan is interested in the history of the WWE Championship.

When I finished reading this book I really realized how rich the history of the WWE title reallyis. The title itself has been around for over 50 years whis is amazing. Greats such as Bob Backlund, Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan (despite the horrible autobiography), Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, John Cena and of course Bret Hart have all held the title at one point or another. 

The book really does a good job of educating the reader about the different title holders, the tile changes and the story behind it all. Since this is a WWE produced book and they have a tendendacy to rewrite their own history it was nice to see that the book was actually pretty accurate.

The only real problems I had with this book was that I wish it had been a little longer and that it had gone into more detail about the title holders, the title change and the story behind that. But other than that it's a solid book that most wrestling fans should enjoy.

P.S. I'd like to thank Kimberly for letting me a guest reviewer on her blog, I had fun.

-Mr. Turning The Pages

★ ★ ★1/2