ana

I would say that at first I was wary of this comic, but that would be the most blatant lie ever. Not only is Deadpool one of my favorite characters from Marvel, I love noir and pulp stylings. The art in this volume is gorgeous, the storyline is beyond amazing and the writing is just I can't even put to words. I am admittedly biased when it comes to Deadpool, though. It's an awesome retelling, or rather reworking, of Deadpool's story - from his back story to how he became who he was.

The time setting was definitely an amazing element. The narrative was awesomely done and set the mood in such an eerily perfect noir way. If you enjoy old detective dramas with beautiful narrative, amazing characters, beautiful art and an intriguing storyline? I recommend this comic highly. And of course, if you are a fan of Deadpool? Beyond recommended.

WARNING! Spoiler-ridden review, very hard to review without spoiling.

I have always found Cassandra Clare's work an easy and fast read, and I mean that for a compliment. She paces things quite well and knows how to make it difficult for you to put the book down. You get a feverish desire to know what is to come next for your beloved characters. You crave to know what dastardly plan the “bad guy” is cooking up.

It started up a little slow, but that is how she always works it. She works the story a bit slow at first, then it picks up fast and pulls you into the world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders with ease.

First off, I would like to discuss all my feelings about Simon Fucking Lewis. I have given him a new middle name, for he is a glorious and wondrous creature. He is quite possibly my favorite character in a book in a rather long time. I love how I can relate to his interests in music and how he is a pretty massive nerd. I mean, how can you go wrong with a guy who chooses to retell Star Wars to a girl her cares for as a “lull-her-to-sleep” bedtime story. (By the way, it was quite possibly the most beautiful thing when Isabelle tried to say she didn't remember it at all and yet when he asked her a semi-obscure question about the series, she knew it - no hesitation.)

The the rather disturbing, on the verge of being rape-y scene with Sebastian and Clary was a bit rough. It was hard to read that moment. The abuse, the kiss and him fumbling at her jeans? Yeah, I had to nearly force myself through that. I also kind of had to fight a little bit of bile.

On a side note? Luke. Simon. Magnus. Alec. If you have read, you know why I have selected these names in particular.

I swear if Maureen does something to Alec, I will throw a ridiculous tantrum. I already threw one about the whole Magnus breaking up with Alec. And we shant go into my tantrum full of worries about Simon in conjunction with Raphael upon having Raziel take the Mark of Cain from him. I will not delve into that, it makes my heart hurt. I have this terrible feeling that something horrible is going to happen to both Alec and Simon.

If the Star Wars reference was not enough, the Human Torch reference just made me want to hug Miss Clare. The nerd culture references that she drops through Clary and Simon are a wonderful breath of fresh air. For me it adds to their relatability.

OH! I really hope this was not solely something I spotted... But, is it me or does it seem that Brother Zacariah may have some sort of connection to our dear William Herondale. So many things point to the possibility. When Clary asked him if he ever loved anyone and he answered that it was two people. My head immediately went to Tessa and Jem... Maybe I'm crazy but, hmm.

There is so much more that I could add to this, but here is hoping I get some comments or something for further discussion of things I said above.

(Yes, I know this is not the most fluid review and more of a general discussion/rambling, but I think you will all cope with that.)

WARNING! There are a few spoilers here and there. I tried to keep it to a minimum.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, it was paced a bit oddly at times, but overall it was well-written with characters that piqued my interest throughout. Aguirre seems to have good hold of her characters, keeping their personalities well intact while tossing interesting twists into the story. I like that Jax was more than just a gutsy, headstrong woman - she was more than that and it kept you wondering where her story would lead.

Aguirre also did fantastically with the side characters, she made them characters who you loved and wanted to know more about. Doc Saul never ceased to be interesting, Dina is wonderfully gritty and March was a great example of a good male lead.

I found her way of individualizing each of the characters by making them have their own unique personalities and giving you reasons to like or dislike them in a more natural way was nice. For example, Loras seemed to be a bit of an enigma. You wanted to pity him and his existence given what was forced on his people. But then, Jax gave him a new reason to exist, she gave him a choice and he chose to be a white knight of sorts. He still made a sacrifice, but it was not simply to protect Jax - it was because he did what he wanted to do.

And then there are characters like Doc Saul. He's a pretty interesting guy, he comes off as all about the science. All about learning what he can learn. But under all that you can see he truly cares about everyone in the group. He is far more than he puts himself out there to be, and it makes me want to continue the story so I can discover more about him.

I loved how the sex scenes did not overpower the storyline, which can often happen with the genre of romantic novels. No matter if it's sci-fi, fantasy, etc. It did not appear at all to be the focal point of the story, which was refreshing. Yes it occurred, but it was never over done. It never overtook a moment in the story. You can go through most of the novel without encountering it and even when it comes about it feels far more naturally placed that a lot in it's genre.

I have all intents to continue with this book series, even if the first was simply for a book club. I am ever curious to know what lies ahead for Jax and the gang; as well as what is to come for the world Aguirre created with such a secret being revealed to the masses. What will the Farwan Corp do to save face? What can they do, really?

(After some thinking, I decided to add a little more to this review about my overall opinion of some of the characters and put forth some more detail. With as few spoiler-y comments as I can manage.)