Atomic Blonde (Originally Published as The Coldest City)

An operative from MI-6 is sent to Berlin during the fall of the Berlin Wall. Her mission is to retrieve a missing dossier that lists all of the known American, British, and French spies operating in and about the Steel Curtain.

This book is the inspiration behind the 2017 hit action movie Atomic Blonde starring Charlize Theron. From reviews I read about the film, it's supposed to be a shoot-em up. beat-em up thriller with levels of excitement set to 11. So when I saw the book at my local library, I snatched it up thinking that I would be in for a fast-paced treat. What I got instead was a snooze fest!

I've seen livelier farm reports on the noon news. The so-called Atomic Blonde was diesel fueled at best. There's one scene that gets the blood pumping, but it's nothing like the few scenes of the live action film I've viewed. 

At the heart of this book is an interesting mystery. But with some very weak code names and non-distinct artwork, it makes for a very perplexing read. I will say that the last 15 pages or so were the best part of the entire book and it bumped up my enjoyment level... slightly. 

There's supposed to be a prequel to this book. I really don't have much desire to read it. If they'd change the artwork to where half of the characters didn't look like the other half, I would be interested. But I don't think that's gonna happen.

So spy and thriller comic book enthusiasts will enjoy this book. But if the Charlize Theron film is your expectation with this graphic novel, you are going to be disappointed.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Tetris: The Games People Play

Tetris: The Games People Play isn't just the story of the beloved Russian video game. Covering prehistoric excavations, the Egyptian game of senet, and the creation of the Nintendo Playing Card Company, this non-fiction graphic novel is a complete history of gaming. Written and illustrated by Andre the Giant: Life and Legend’s Box Brown, this was an enjoyable read. But it's not without some difficult sections to cull through.

  The main story takes place during the waning days of the 1980s Cold War. Anytime one tries to craft a capitalist business venture with a Communist nation, there's going to be red tape. Several companies thought that they had the rights to distribute Tetris including Atari and Nintendo. Of course, the Soviet Union wasn't about to let their claim to the puzzle game go without milking the contract to their advantage.

    Thankfully Brown gives introductions to all of the players that entered into the dealings. But there was a lot of characters involved with turning Tetris into the cultural icon it became. So I had to go back from time to time to refresh myself over who was who.

   I promised to pass this book to a little fella after I read it. But I'm not sure if he's going to be able to enjoy it. There's no cussing or sex in this book. Some mild discussion of violence towards the end of the book however. But I think that the lengthy discussion of international trade law might just be too much for fan of Tetris under the age of 14. (The boy who saw my with this book at the library couldn't have been older than 7!)

    I'm really digging Box Brown's style. Pop culture and geek history seems to be Brown's genre of choice. He's a very good story teller of nonfiction, much like Rich Geary or Marjane Satrapi. Being that this volume on games doesn't really cover role playing (RPGs) that much, maybe that could be a companion piece to Tetris.

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.