Archie Meets KISS

 

Archie Meets KISS by Alex Segura

 

It's been awhile since I've read an Archie comic, so when I was ordering this round of graphic novels I couldn't resist including Archie in his latest antics. The characters of Riverdale remain the same, with a few unexpected visitors, Sabrina the teenage witch, Josie of Josie and the Pussycats and well obviously KISS - oh yeah and throw in some zombies. The storyline is the following: When one of Sabrina the Teenage Witch's spells goes awry and summons forth a gang of dangerous monsters bent on turning the people of Riverdale into mindless zombies, what can Archie and the gang do to save the town and their friends. Enter KISS - four supernatural heroes with their sights set on the frightening invaders.

 

Things I liked: Reading an Archie comic again. KISS lyrics sprinkled throughout the text. The chapter cover artwork that mimics KISS album covers. The artists sketchbook at the end of the book - I love to see where the inspiration comes from.

 

Things I didn't like: It was a little predictable and I would have liked the monsters to be more monsterish.

 

Here's the trailer

Free Audiobooks

This week's free audiobooks are: Skulduggery Pleasant and Dead Men Kill. You can download them here.

This is a very popular book in our library, so if you haven't had a chance to borrow it, why not try downloading it and listening to it.
Here's the summary;
When a not-so-innocent twelve-year-old girl named Stephanie inherits her eccentric uncle’s estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton mage, to save the world from an ancient evil.

Skulduggery Pleasant is paired with Dead Men Kill by L. Ron Hubbard.

Description:When several of the city’s most respected citizens are inexplicably killed by what appear to be zombies, all Detective Terry Lane has to go on is a blue-grey glove, a Haitian pharmacy bill for some very unusual drugs and a death threat from a mysterious stranger. Matters are soon complicated when a beautiful nightclub singer shows up who claims to have information that could solve the case, but whose motives are plainly suspect. Against his better judgement, Terry investigates her lead only to find himself sealed in a coffin en route to the next zombie murder his own.

Rot & Ruin

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Summary from book jacket:
In the zombie-infested world Benny has grown up in, teenagers must work once they turn fifteen- or they'll lose their food rations. Benny isn't interested in taking on the family business, but he reluctantly agrees to train as a zombie killer with his boring big brother, Tom. He expects a dull job, whacking zombies for cash. What he discovers is a vocation that will teach him what it really means to be human.
As his worldview is challenged again and again by the lessons he learns from Tom, Benny is forced to confront another horrifying reality: Sometimes the most terrible monsters are human.

This book came into my hands via strong recommendations from a couple of students (Kaelan etc.). As some of you already know, I'm a big scaredy pants and have only read one or two zombie books (are zombies the new vampires?) but those couple I have read have definately kept me entertained (probably more than any vampire book!) so I guess I'll be needing to try Rot & Ruin out. The reviews I've been seeing support what I've been hearing so I think I have another one to add TBR stack.

Here's an interview with Joanthan Maberry.

z

Z by Michael Thomas Ford

Okay, so I don't remember who it was that suggested I take this one home with me, but Thank you! This was my first zombie book, yes, Z is for Zombie, and well if you need an action packed, edge of your seat book that  has video games, zombies and just the right amount of gore - then this might be the book for you.

From the inside cover:
The first rule of torching -- Cleanse by fire.
Josh is by far the best zombie Torcher around - at least, he is in his virtual-reality zombie-hunting game. Josh has quickly risen throught the player ranks, relying on the skill, cunning and agility of a  real Torcher.
The second rule of torching -- Save all humans.
But luckily for Josh, zombies exist only in the virutal world. the real zombie war is now m ore than fifteen years in the past, and the battle to defeat the deadly epidemic that devastated is family - and millions of tothers- is the stuff of history lessons.
The third rule of torching -- You can't bring that back.
Charlie is the top-ranked player in the game. Since all tha players are shrouded inanonymity, josh never expects Charlie to be a girl - and he never expects the offer she makes him: to join the underground gaming league that takes the virtual-reality game off the screen and into the streets. Josh is thrilled. But the more involved he gets, the more he realizes that not everything is what it seems. Real blood is pilling, members of the team are disappearing, and the zombies inthe game are acting strange. And them there's the matter of a mysterious drug called Z...

I think this would be a great choice for those of you that love -- zombies, or gaming, or liked The Hunger Games, or for those of you that haven't read anything in awhile this one will probably get you hooked.
Here is a fan made trailer that covers all the bases.

You are so undead to me

You Are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay

From the back cover.
Megan Berry is a Zombie Settler by birth, which means she's part-time shrink to a whole bunch of semi-dead people with killer issues. All Megan really wants is to go to homecoming, but when you're trailed by a bunch of slobbering corpses whenever you leave the house, it's kinda hard to score a date. Let's just say Megan's love life could use some major resuscitation.
Megan's convinced her life can't get any worse - untile someone in school starts using black magic to turn average, angsty Undead into scary, hardcore flesh-eating Zombies. Now it's up to Megan to stop the Zombie apocalypse. Her life- and more importantly, the homecoming dance, depends on it.

I figure the last two posts were about vampires and vampire slayers - might as well throw in some zombie action too.

Alex Van Helsing

Alex Van Helsing : Vampire Rising by Jason Henderson

Fourteen-teen-year-old Alex has no idea that he's descended from the world's most famous vampire hunter, but that changes fast when he arrives at Glenarvon Academy and confronts two vampire in his first three days.
Turns out Glenarvon isn't the only school near Lake Geneva. Hidden deep underground lies an ancient university for vampires called the Scholomance. And the deadly vampire clan lord known as Icemaker? You might say he's a visiting professor.
When two of Alex's friends are kidnapped by Icemaker, it's up to Alex to infiltrate the Scholomance and get them back - alive. Assisted by the Polidorium, a top-secret vampire-hunting organization with buried ties to the Van Helsings, Alex dodges zombies, bullets and lots - and lots - of fangs on his way to thwarting Icemaker's plans and fulfilling his family destiny.

The book trailer.