Fun & Games
By Duane Swierczynski
Paperback | Kindle
Mulholland Books
Release date: June 20, 2011

In Fun & Games, a former cop named Charlie Hardie, has taken a new job as a professional house sitter. His latest job in Los Angeles goes completely wrong when a movie actress finds refuge in the house that Hardie is protecting. The actress, Lane Madden, claims that a group of hit men are determined to kill her and Hardie finds himself thrown into the mix to protect her from them.

Fun & Games, the first book of the Charlie Hardie trilogy, was the one book that I was really looking forward to reading. I’m a fan of crime and thriller genres so this was a fantastic book to read. The book read like an action movie on steroids. Every chapter was a cliffhanger and I thought that there was no way Hardie could make it out of these situations alive. Boy was I wrong. Author Duane Swierczynski writes this novel the way I wish most action movies would come across: fast-paced, surprises left and right, and an ending that makes you excited for a sequel. The novel felt like a mash up of Home Alone meets Die Hard.

During Memorial Day weekend (May 27-29, 2011), Comicpalooza held its 4th annual multi-genre convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX. I attended the first two days of this three-day convention. First of all, this was my first big convention in Texas and the layout of the convention center was massive. The whole convention took place on the 3rd level of this massive convention center.

The highlights of the convention for me were the opportunities to interact with comic creators, comic fans, and celebrities. I spent a short amount of time on Friday observing the entire Con floor and chatting with various artists and writers in Artist Alley. I also checked out a few things in the Dealers Room. Before leaving for the day, I sat in on panel with comic writer Chris Roberson (I-Zombie), Fred Van Lente (Marvel Zombies), and Brian Denham (Zombie Fairy Tales) on a panel titled Comics & Zombies. By the name of the panel, you can guess what was discussed.

Don’t Breathe A Word
Paperback | Kindle
By Jennifer McMahon
HarperCollins
Release Date: May 17, 2011

In Don’t Breathe A Word, a 12-year-old girl named Lisa disappears without a trace. Fifteen years later, Lisa’s younger brother, Sam, is in a relationship with a woman named Phoebe. Sam gets a mysterious phone call that sends him and Phoebe on a crazy journey to find out what really happened to his sister fifteen years prior.

When I started on Don’t Breathe A Word, I was very apprehensive about reading it. A story about fairies was something I was not really looking forward to reading. The description of the book started to really sell the book for me. A story of a young girl disappearing in the middle of the night without a trace intrigued me a little. The cover also caught my interest. The girl on the cover said something about the book in general that was innocent yet spooky. The aspect of the book that changed my opinion was around the first couple of chapters in the book when Sam got a call from a relative from his past and the whole story took a dramatic and suspenseful turn.

An Elegy for Amelia Johnson
Hardcover
Written by Andrew Rostan
Art by Dave Valeza and Kate Kasenow
Lettered by Dave Lanphear
Price: $14.95
Archaia
Release date: March 2, 2011

Every now and then, an original graphic novel can spark emotion out of you. The best ones can make you feel like you know the characters and have an emotional attachment to said characters. In An Elegy for Amelia Johnson, writer Andrew Rostan and artists Dave Valeza and Kate Kasenow tell a brilliant story of friendship, forgiveness, love, and death. The story is about Amelia Johnson, a 30-year-woman who has been diagnosed with cancer and enlists her two best friends to deliver her last video messages to her other closest friends. Amelia’s best friends: Henry, a filmmaker, and Jillian, a magazine writer, go on a countrywide journey to deliver Amelia’s last words to close friends, but also film the conversations about Amelia. Along the way, Henry and Jillian discover parts of themselves that have previously been buried while living their creative lives.

27 #3
Written by Charles Soule
Art by Renzo Podesta
Cover by W. Scott Forbes
Price: $3.99
Image Comics
Release date: February 9, 2011

27 is a 4-issue miniseries written by Charles Soule and drawn by Renzo Podesta. The series focuses on famous guitarist Will Garland, who has just turned 27 years old. Significantly, 27 is also the age in which many high-profile musicians have died. Will’s left hand has developed a nerve disorder leaving him unable to play guitar again. Will searches for a way to play again through unorthodox means, which leads to a device that allows him to play again for a short time but ultimately leads to a whole other world of creativity.

27 #3 unlocks some of the mysteries of the series. Many secrets are revealed and Will takes an interesting ride to figure out the meaning behind a secret entity that has a tighter hold on his life with every click of the device.