Hinges Vol. 1

I really quite liked this graphic novel, although I'm not even sure I can explain why exactly. I liked the artwork a lot, it's quite simple but it works great for the story. The story itself was a bit confusing, there isn't that much dialogue and no explanations were given in this book that would explain the somewhat peculiar world Orio lives in.

But mostly, I really enjoyed the novel's feeling, It kind of reminded me, I'm not sure why, of the Spirited Away movie.

I would definitely read the next book in the series, I want to know how the story continues but also learn more about the world. Hinges started out as a webcomic, which I'll also be checking out.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Genre: Manga & Graphic Novels
Published 10 March 2015 by Diamond Book Distributors - Image Comics
Number of pages: 112

About the author

"HINGES is a fantasy webcomic, turned graphic novel, about a doll named Orio and her troubling companion Bauble.  New to the city of Cobble, Orio must depend on help where ever she can find it, but her assigned familiar Bauble has other interests.  And as the two explore the walls of their city, they find that they are not the only new arrivals. In a place that runs like clockwork, it only takes a little disruption to upend a city."

Hinges Book One: Clockwork City was first serialised on the author's blog, Hinges.  This publication compiles the first book in the series, where some boards have been revised and improved.

This is one of those works that need to be read twice to be fully comprehended and appreciated.  The artwork is beautiful, but as the author builds up the tension in the story, some boards are quite difficult to understand without knowing what you are meant to be seeing, which unfortunately makes this work rather confusing and difficult to understand to begin with.

Continue reading...

A graphic novel about a doll named Orio and her familiar Bauble. Usually it's the doll that picks it's familiar, but this time it's the familiar that picks the doll...

What an odd graphic novel, I really wanted to like it and I was in the beginning intrigued about the story then just the story became a bit confusing. Orio is suppose to find herself an occupation, but Bauble ruins it for her all the time and then something else shows up in the Clockword city.

I actually found the ending a bit confusing so I reread it on the computer after reading the graphic novel on the iPad and the story did make much more sense on the computer. But I still feel that this story is really odd.

But the art was really good and I would like to read more about Orio and Bauble.

3 stars

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

I love Therese Woodson’s stories – she was one of my first introductions to the joy of the Merlin/Arthur fan fiction world – and because of that, I’m always pretty happy to see a new one coming from her. This short story (less than 20k) is a follow-up to Clockwork Horizon that was released back in April 2014.

This story opened a few months after Mac decided to join Ian for a new adventure aboard the Mockingbird airship. It felt so wonderful to them. Since it was only few months, Mac and Ian were pretty much still in their ‘honeymoon’ phase and I found them adorably lovey-dovey. Until Ian came down with a life-threatening illness and Mac must bargain with a pirate captain to ensure Ian receives treatment.

I was really fond of Mac before, but this time, I loved him even more. I thought Mac truly had grown up … he was no longer just the shy young man who filled his days with working and only lived his fantasy through dreams and dime novels. No siree! This Mac grew a spine! The way that he challenged Captain Bette of the Mockingbird to get Ian to the nearest airport so Ian could be treated, to the way that he dealt with the pirate captain and traded his own freedom, Mac just showed me what a strong young man he was.

The ending made me go all “awwww” because it was just sweet and lovely. Sure this was rather short, but the end experience that I had was just as satisfying as if I was reading a longer one. I hope there will be more adventures of Mac and Ian in the future.