Reviews and Art Catch-Up

Since I've failed to get my usual Monday Musings and Watercolor Wednesday posts up on time, I'm doing a combo post.

First up, the art news.

I finished the second in the 100 Myths series, after many failed attempts to get a sketch worked out. Presenting Jill Flame, a fiery counterpart to Jack Frost.



And here's a side-by-side view.



As a side note, my wonderful wife got me a Faber-Castell brush pen for Valentine's Day, and I'm itching to try it out. You'll probably see some drawing with this in future art posts.



A quick run-down of some books I've read since the last review roundup:


  • Hellboy Vol. 2-4: Volume 2 is a solid follow-up to the first, and in many ways serves as a sequel to the first volume. The third and fourth books are collections of short stories (some as brief as a few pages, and some the length of a regular issue or two) that are scattered through Hellboy's history, from early youth (like the comical "Pancakes," in which Hellboy tries pancakes for the first time, and all the demons despair of him ever joining their side as a result) to stories that tie up loose ends from the first two volumes. All in all, I'm still enjoying this series, but I'm looking forward to a more in-depth story that advances the overall plot.
  • Sandman: Overture: A prequel to the Sandman graphic novel series. It sets up the first volume of the main series by detailing exactly how Morpheus wound up so weak and weary he was captured. There's a fantastic art style with some clever pages in this volume. That, plus some of the minor characters like Hope, make this worth the read for fans of the series.
  • The Screaming Staircase: Book one of the Lockwood and Co. series, this was a pleasant read for me. I'm a huge fan of Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy, but was disappointed with his Heroes of the Valley. Since this series was hailed as having many of my favorite elements of Bartimaeus, like humor and a fun magic system, I picked it up. It did not disappoint. Part character study, part mystery, part ghost/horror story, this book is a great initiation to a series I can't wait to finish.

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