Lenni Reviews: "Rainbow Gap" by Lee Lynch

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

This sweeping novel follows Jaudon Vicker and Berry Garland's relationship over the course of 15 years. Set in Florida during the 1950's and 1960's, the book starts from their childhood when the classically girly girl Berry protects the boyish Jaudon from bullying classmates. We are along on their journey through college, Vietnam, even the budding LGBT community all while they stay bonded in a deep and powerful relationship.

You can feel in every word how much love was put into this book. The setting is real enough that you feel transported back in time and the level of detail becomes hypnotic. However, this book also gets bogged down in those details and the actual story slows to a crawl. When the plot moves, dear gods this book is beautiful. Otherwise, you feel every inch of those 342 pages. It's worth it though to get the full impact of Jaudon and Berry's journey. 3.9 out of 5.

Black Optioned For The Big screen

Kwanza Osajyefo, Tim Smith 3, and Jamal Igle's creator-owned title Black has been optioned for film by Studio 8, according to Deadline. Recently published by Black Mask Studios after a successful Kickstarter campaign, Black Mask concerns a world where only black people possess superpowers.

Studio 8's Jon Silk will produce the film, alonside Osajyefo, Smith, and Black Mask's Matt Pizzolo.

No further details or projected release date for Black were reported.

INFO ON THE COMIC.

Last February A new series titled Black explores the science fiction superhero paradigm and delves headlong into issues of race and also simply being an everyday person. Created by former DC editor Kwanza Osajyefo and artist/designer Tim Smith III, Black will be a six-issue series beginning later this year illustrated by Jamal Igle with covers by Khary Randolph.

Lenni Reviews: "Conflict Management" by Rachel White

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

When Morgan's boss, Lawrence, makes a pass at him one too many time, Morgan tells him he will sue Law if he doesn't knock it off. Law obliges and Morgan can finally have normal workdays. That is until Law's brother ends up in the hospital after a suicide attempt, Morgan learns his boss is more than just a former creeper. As they get more friendly, Law's pet project - a merger with another company - has major problems and Morgan may have to be the whistle blower that costs Law his job.

Morgan and Law are so delightfully awkward, I found myself identifying with them right away. White doesn't make her characters overly perfect or overly evil; as evidenced my Morgan's ill-fated relationship with Harvey and the way Law's brother Christopher's schizophrenia is handled. Racism and mental illness can be tricky to include without being preachy or over-exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness. The realistic way the characters are presented made reading through this book enjoyable.

Since the romance takes its time, this is not a book peppered with sex scenes. The focus is more on Morgan and Law's feelings for each other and how the mess going on in the company impacts their professional and private relationships. The smut IS there so this book earns its 18+ status.

My only real gripe would be with Morgan's roommate, Anita. She's the only character who came off cartoonish to me. Luckily she isn't as distracting as a character like that can get. She says her spiel then the plot resumes.

Without blithering on further, I enjoyed the premise and the slow burn romance. I give it a solid 3.7 out of 5.

LEGO Worlds Review

Reviewed by Justin D Williams

EXPLORE. DISCOVER. CREATE. TOGETHER. LEGO® Worlds is an open environment of procedurally-generated Worlds made entirely of LEGO bricks which you can freely manipulate and dynamically populate with LEGO models. Create anything you can imagine one brick at a time, or use large-scale landscaping tools to create vast mountain ranges and dot your world with tropical islands. Drop in prefabricated structures to build and customize any world to your liking. Explore using helicopters, dragons, motorbikes or even gorillas and unlock treasures that enhance your gameplay. Watch your creations come to life through characters and creatures that interact with you and each other in unexpected ways. In LEGO Worlds, anything is possible! 

Lenni Reviews: "Batman The Dark Knight: Master Race" by Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello, Andy Kubert, Klaus Jansen, and Brad Anderson

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*This comic was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated mature for violence

This collection continues Frank Miller's Dark Knight saga with Batman dead after the defeat of Lex Luthor. Superman is on ice and Wonder Woman has returned to Themyscira. But when a cult of insane Kryptonians lead by Quar attack the Earth and demand humanity worship them as gods, who will rise up and stop them?

This is set in a not far future where our heroes have children. Frank Miller's signature gritty, dark, and scratchy style is in full glory and perfectly sets the tone for what is a rather dismal look at the future of the heroes we know and love.

The writing and art are expertly done and I love the nostalgic feeling the art gives me I get since I read Dark Knight years ago. There are mini-comics, which are interesting supplements to the main story but aren't necessary and I found myself skipping them on my first read through so I could get back to the main plot.

There are a few confusing character motivations, I'm not really happy with the Wonder Woman here and if you have to SAY a costume is too colorful for crime fighting, perhaps it should have been designed better in the first place but, I digress...

Compelling, entertaining, but depressing, I give this a 4 out of 5 since it was a downer. A great way to end this series, though. The release date for this book is September 19th, 2017.

Lenni Reviews: "Don't Be Cruel" vol 5 by Yonezou Nekota

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

Maya and Nemugasa have grown since the first volume and now are at the point in their relationship where they even wear couples rings. But Maya is getting some interesting networking contacts and Nemugasa finds himself getting jealous. At the same time, Shimakawa, who knew Maya as a child, sees an opportunity to make a move on Nemugasa behind Maya's back.

Our main pair is a cute couple trying to figure out how their relationship is going now that they're in college and if you forget how they started out, they are a couple you root for and want to see happy. The art is soft and flowy and I have to admit they toned down the sex scenes as compared to the first volume. It's still explicit but more time is spent about their thoughts and search for jobs than boning. It's still an ok series, though! 3.7 .out of 5