Me and the Devil Blues Vol. 2

Me and The Devil Blues Vol. 2

By: Anthony Mariano

Akira Hiramoto's "Me and The Devil Blues," tells us the story of an aspiring blues musician, Robert Johnson (RJ).  After losing his wife and baby, RJ leaves his hometown and embarks on the journey of a lifetime.  Along the way, he meets and befriends gangster Clyde Barrow.  In the second part of the story, RJ is kidnapped and imprisoned.  Meanwhile, Clyde is trying to save RJ, while staying at Stanley McDonald's mansion, who is the most powerful man in the town.

As the story progressed, there were some aspects of the novel I enjoyed and some parts that were not good.  I was impressed that the plot got right to the the point of the story.  When looking at the panels, the reader's ind is immediately introduced to what is being told by the story.  I also enjoyed the historical time because it gives the reader a sense of how blacks were treated during a dark time in  American history.  Furthermore, I enjoyed the experience of reading a graphic novel for the first time because I could read the characters' minds, see what they are saying and identify their facial expressions.  While reading, I had difficulty with the arrangement of the book, having to read from right to left, in contrast to a normal book where you read left to right.  I was disturbed by the innocent baby dolls being killed.  Stanley McDonald kills the real-life babies and is on the way killing another.

People think of gangsters as bad, cool, terrible people, and they do not want them to set an example for the younger generation.  However, Clyde Barrow is the complete opposite.  Clyde, is similar to RJ, in that he also lost his true love, Bonnie.  Throughout the story, we see Clyde helping others.  He tries to help RJ to fulfill his dreams as a blues musician and saves innocent toddler named Toby from getting murdered by Stanley McDonald.  I was surprised to see that he refused to show his weakness, because he had to be independent, and if he needed any help, he was unable to ask for it.

The panels in the story maintained the same mood throughout.  They were entirely coloured black and white, because the mood was set to be depressing.  When Clyde saw the baby dolls that have been killed in the past, it created a spooky sensation and suspense about who will be the next to die.  The artwork made me see the characters as if they were real people with faces and expressions.  Furthermore, although the novel was depicted as fiction, the events and story-line seems realistic and based on a true story.  Finally, although the panes are two-dimensional, I can imagine the movement in three-dimensions.

In general, I think that "Me and the Devil Blues," is good for first-time graphic novel readers.  The things I enjoyed about it were the realistic feel of the story, the straightforward plot, and the historical time the story took place in.  My only concern was about the poor innocent children murdered for no reason.  In the end, the story is a success. 

Survivor In Death

By: Anthony Mariano

Under her pen name, JD Robb, Nora Roberts' "Survivor In Death," is a murder mystery page-turner keeper.  This novel is one of the futuristic, suspense novels from the "In Death" series.  It takes place in New York City, 2059.  Lieutenant Eve Dallas, the protagonist of this novel, faces one of her toughest murder cases yet.

Eve Dallas, a Lieutenant in the NYPD for many years, never shied away from a challenging case.  However, no amount of experience prepared her for this homicide mystery and the fact that it became somewhat personal.  The Swisher family were all murdered with the exception of their nine-year old daughter, Nixie.  Not only Eve would have to track down the culprit, she would have to find a way to console, take care of, and find a permanent home for  young Nixie.  Eve and her husband, Roarke, were both really hard workers and very little time and/or experience with small children.  Although Nixie did not live with them permanently, she gave Eve a taste of motherhood for a short period of time.  

Trough interviews with the landlord, friends and Nixie herself, the crime was unraveled with the knowledge that the murder suspects were male, possibly French , and was performed by two individuals.  CSI results from bloody bed sheets also provided DNA evidence.  The suspects came from behind and killed their victims from behind as they cowardly always stabbed them from the back.  Although Eve had collected powerful evidence from this case, it was not until her partner Detective Peabody, pieced together this evidence with an on going case she was working on and positively identified the criminals.  This coincidence of two partners working on two separate cases created a nice conclusion for them as well as the reader.

Mrs. Grentz, the landlord of the Swishers' West Side apartment, said," Because they're French.  Got their der-re-airs kicked the last time they made trouble, didn't they?  And believe me, they've been planning a payback ever since..." (Chapter 7, p. 110)  You cannot assume that a murderer is of one group, one race and one nationality.  This form of bias may have caused Eve to look for French murderers, when they were in fact were American!  Jan Uger, one of the victim's clients, said, "A quack."  She puffed.  That's what she was.  Said she couldn't help me if I didn't keep the regimen.  What am I, in Christing boot camp?"(Chapter 7, p. 117)  Although the Swishers were loved and known, there are some people who do not like those people and are jealous.  I was surprised to see that some people do not like those type of people.  After meeting Ms. Uger, Eve stood outside the building and said, "Do you think I should've been insulted?" she wondered.  "The 'how much did it cost you' crack?" (Chapter 7, p. 119)  Since Eve was the best cop in the NYPD, I was shocked that the best cop would be insulted by one person.  I thought that Eve would freak out and get angry about the comment, but managed to handle and ignore the negativity.

"Survivor In Death," is a very good crime fiction novel to read.  For fans of Nora Roberts and the "In Death" series, this is a good novel to read.  I definitely cannot wait to read another part of this series.