Monday, April 5, 2010
Graphic Novel Monday: Confessions of a Blabbermouth, by Mike & Louise Carey
Confessions of a Blabbermouth, by Mike & Louise Carey. Illustrated by Aaron Alexovich. Published 2007 by DC Comics/Minx. Fiction. Young Adult.
British high school student and blogger Tasha has her hands full juggling a new job on the school yearbook, avoiding bullies and dealing with her mother's weird new boyfriend and his daughter Chloe, who just started at her school. Chloe joins the yearbook staff, then the family goes on a trip to America, where the family secrets come spilling out.
Confessions of a Blabbermouth is another entry in the Minx series, a graphic novel imprint started by DC Comics to appeal to girls. This volume is written by the father and daughter team of Mike and Louise Carey and illustrated by Aaron Alexovich, who's worked on other Minx titles like Kimmie66 as well as the praised Serenity Rose for SLG. (A few weeks ago I reviewed another Minx title, Alison Kwitney's Token.)
Overall I thought Blabbermouth was a weak entry in the Minx series. I liked Tasha but the plot was a muddle- there's the yearbook, the blog, the bullies, the boyfriend, the secret- too much going on in too short a space. There is a major misdirection close to the end which struck me as incongruous and truly disturbing, and the big secret itself seemed hard to believe. I also wasn't crazy about the artwork as the characters seem to have two expressions each and their exaggerated faces struck me as unappealing. I think teen readers, and those just out of their teens, would probably enjoy it as funny nostalgia, and there are some laughs, but it's a pass for me.
Rating: BORROW
FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.
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9 comments:
This one sounds intriguing...I've never read graphic novels.
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The Minx imprint has ALREADY been discontinued by DC...I think that says alot about the material they were putting out.
John, I know, and not to say that every Minx title is a classic but some of them aren't bad. I think it also has to do with the way the books were(n't) promoted to their audience.
I read alot about their failure to properly promote their books too. I've read a few of the titles, but none of them did anything for me...But I guess they probably weren't really created for a 30-something male blockhead. It's too bad the line failed (for whatever reason) as I think it was a great concept.
Mike Carey writes some stuff for Vertigo too I think?
What a pity this wasn't better! I quite liked everything I've read of Mike Carey's so far. And I have to say I very much disagree with John A. Walsh about the overall quality of the Minx books :P
Btw, Mike Carey's new Vertigo series, The Unwritten, is absolutely brilliant, imho. And it's nothing at all like his Minx titles, so it's perfect possibly to dislike them and still enjoy it.
Too bad it's not that great, because I sure do love the title!
Sorry to hear that this one was so mediocre. I think the fact that the plot was so messy and that the characters had such limited expressions would have probably bothered me as well. I think I will skip it, but thanks for your honest review!
Given that I am just starting to read graphic novels, I will probably skip this one for now. I don't want to read anything that will turn me off of the genre when I am still such a "newbie".
Good review...forthright and to the point, Marie.
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