V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

Quality Comics - March 1982 to May 1989
10 issues

In "futuristic" (futuristic at the time, though the event is now in the past) London, the fascist government of Norsefire has control over everyone and has killed all those who were not white, conservative, and straight. London is controlled, until an anarchist named V in a Guy Fawkes mask ignites a revolution when he detonates a bomb in Parliament, setting off fireworks in the shape of a V. A woman named Evey Hammond, who he had saved earlier in the night, watches and comes to help him destroy Norsefire.

How is it that I am reading so many sexist books? Evey Hammond is an extraordinarily passive character, doing next to nothing throughout the course of the graphic novel. The most she does to help V is sit there and gasp when he sets off another one of his bombs. You think that she's becoming a stronger character when she's imprisoned, but it turns out (spoiler alert!)that it was all a trick by V in the first place. She "enjoys" her freedom by becoming the girlfriend of a Scottish gangster and only comes back when V dies. Finally, when V dies, she decides to become the next V, although by now London is already an anarchy, so there's not much she CAN do.(spoiler end) This was ridiculous.

Grade: D

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
Scholastic Publishing/Amulet Books - April 1, 2007-present
217 pages (Cabin Fever 223)

Greg Heffley is a middle school boy whose mother gets him a journal that accidentally says "Diary" on it. That's how it starts, and Greg chronicles his progress through middle school (and I assume high school, though there was no graduation) in the diary all while hoping nobody finds out about what it says on the cover.

Let me just say that I got on this trend before it was really popular. I know a lot of people say that, but it's true. It was right after the first book came out that I sat down in a bookstore and started reading, and I thought to myself, "Hey, this is pretty funny!" It took a little while for everyone else to get on the trend. I don't read a lot of humor books, and so this was something different to me. Also, most humor on the market is just pictures, like Cake Wrecks or Passive-Aggressive Notes. This was humor with a plot. I have some problems with the series, as Kinney tries to make sure that any kids reading this don't have their hopes and dreams crushed, but what eighth grader really believes in Santa anymore? The plot sometimes feels a little thin at times, but these books zip right along. It's almost a waste of money with how fast you finish them, but then you read them again...and again...and again.

Cumulative Grade: B+