Northcote College

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20,305 pts

(19,304 pages read)

In Dangers Path

By W.E.B Griffin

5 stars

Real historical events intermixed with invented characters and fictionalised versions of real people. It's Bridgerton for people who like reading about war.
The Department of Truth Vol 1 & 2

By James Tynion IV

5 stars

Got the next three books, had to reread the first, which is great cause you always get more the second time though. Very dark, of the moment and a reflection of elements of our society. Would be great, but impossible, to teach. Would recommend to all though. Reminded me a little of the comic The Manhattan Project.
Behind the Lines

By W.E.B. Griffin

4 stars

A good way to learn about events of the second world war that you might never have heard of, so long as you can look past the dramatizations.
The Cold Dish

By Craig Johnson

3 stars

I previously read some of the later books of this series out of order and really enjoyed them. This is the first of the series and I had to push through to finish this. Possibly a case of getting better as the series goes on.
The Mangrove Summer

By Jack Lasenby

5 stars

I love this book, but sadly (i think) it has been out of print for years and despite scouring secondhand book shops I've only ever found two copies. If I had a set I would teach this text with year 9's every year. WW2, New Zealand, fear of a Japanese invasion causes a family of early teens and younger to retreat out of the city to their family bach. When the kids think the invasion has begun they retreat into the mangroves and travel up stream where they learn about responsibility, family roles, loss and trauma and everything in between. A great text for young teens, but rare as hens teeth. Would love a reprint.
W.E.B. Griffin

By Battle Ground

4 stars

Brings the war and the marine corps to the south pacific and the legendary pacific coast watchers. Great part of pacific history.
Close Combat

By W.E.B. Griffin

4 stars

WW2, USMC, facts and statistics intermixed with just enough character and emotion to give it all context.
Line of Fire

By W.E.B. Griffin

4 stars

This is a series I re-read every now and then. This is probably my 5th or 6th time through.
Counterattack

By W.E.B. Griffin

4 stars

This series is my 'reading burnout' solution. Whenever I get stuck, or bored or just not in the mood to read this series is what reminds me why I love reading.
Call To Arms

By W.E.B. Griffin

5 stars

continuation of Semper Fi, Starts to get into WW2.
Semper Fi: A novel of the Corps

By W.E.B. Griffin

5 stars

Love this series. It ain't Shakespeare, but it's a great holiday read with enough true details to move past the soap opera-ness.
American Splendor

By Harvey Pekar

2 stars

I love comics, but this was a hard push to finish. Maybe just not my cup of tea.
Kimble Bent: Malcontent

By Chris Grosk

2 stars

Interesting ish story, but the art work is super dark with thick black lines that hide detail rather than reveal it.
The Draft

By Mark Gruenwald and Fabian Nicieza

3 stars

Could be the start of something cool, but >50 pages doesn't really give it room to grow.
Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb

By Jonathan Fetter-Vorn

5 stars

Fantastic. For someone who is not scientifically gifted to mostly follow along and grab some level of comprehension is a sign of how well done this is.
Shigeru Mizuki's Hitler

By Shigeru Mikuki

4 stars

A very close look at Hitler, but didn't go much into the wider results of his actions.
Not The Israel My Parents Promised Me

By Harvey Pekar and JT Waldman

4 stars

A good summary of the Jewish resettlement of Israel through the eyes of a grumpy old man.
Quality Ingredients

By fanfic

4 stars

The author says this is finished, i think they ran out of interest or ideas. Either way dumb fun but feels unfinished
Marked as his equal

By Fanfic

2 stars

I don't know why I finished this, either stubbornness or stupidity. Probably both.
The Ever Changing Face of Death

By Fanfic

4 stars

Nonlinear story telling is a hard thing to get right, this is hit or miss.
The Heading Dog Who Split in Half

By Matt Tait & Michael Brown

3 stars

Some nice old kiwi tales, but nothing with much real depth of story
Slopes

By Fanfic

4 stars

A new (to me) fanfic that is as yet unfinished, which is the big downside of fan fiction, waiting...
Rock and roll

By Fanfic

4 stars

Unfinished fanfic I'm forced to reread every time there is an update.
Blood and Magic

By Fanfiction

5 stars

I like reading fan fiction, i respect it as an art form (one much older than most people think...) and enjoyed this. Still super nerdy though.
Lazarus Series (Vol 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, X+66)

By Greg Rucka

5 stars

I love this dark, dystopian series. I just wish I didn't have to wait for part 8
Morrison Hotel

By Leah Moore

3 stars

Eh... not bad per se, just without substance. The short chapters with different art styles could have been cool, the chapters being named for song tracks could have been an inspiration for something great, it just missed the mark.
The Department of Truth, Volume 1: The End of The World

By James Tynion IV

5 stars

As 1984 was for the 1950s, this is for 2023. Fantastic concept and execution.
Harleen

By Stjepan Sejic

5 stars

A very interesting look into the character of Harley Quinn and how she became the layered and complicated character she is.
World of Tanks: Roll Out

By Garth Ennis

5 stars

Inspired by a game I have no interest in, but a solid and enjoyable comic non the less.
Battlefields: Happy Valley

By Garth Ennis

5 stars

Wonderful comic looking at the events and costs of war.
Battlefields: The Green Fields Beyond

By Garth Ennis

5 stars

Great series, strong characters and focusing on the forgotten war Korea.
Battlefields: The Night Witches

By Garth Ennis

5 stars

Great series showing the brutality of war...and man.
Gabba Gabba Hey

By Jim McCarthy & Brian Williamson

2 stars

I love comics and like the Ramones so I thought this would be perfect, it wasn't, Hard to follow, big gaps in the story... Ironically un-ironic this was a mess, much like the Ramones.
Spirited Away Vol 1

By Hayao Miyazaki

5 stars

Love love love.
Best Shot In The West: The thrilling adventures of Nat Love, The Legendary black Cowboy

By Patricia C. Mckissack and Fredrick L.Mckissack JR

4 stars

Surface level telling of the legendary Nat Love's life, but still very enjoyable.
W0rldtr33

By Fernando Blanco & James Tynion IV

4 stars

Ahhhhhh, not what I expected put it that way. Way darker, way more violent and way way weirder than I'm used to, but still interesting. Fantastic central idea (an evil undernet internet) but the plot around it is strange....
Yvain: The Knight of the Lion

By M.T. Anderson

4 stars

A lovely little adaptation of a very, very old tale. The author's note provides a good breakdown of the development of this tale.
The Call of The Wild: The Graphic Novel

By Jack London, adapted by Neil Kleid

3 stars

Great story, but the adaptation lacks detail due to the old fashioned art style relying too much on negative space images which lack depth.
Slaughter House Five(Or the Children's Crusade)

By Kurt Vonnegut with Ryan North & Albert Monteys

4 stars

Interesting and visually stimulating, but you can't help but feel it's missed some of the depth in order to help the audience follow the story.
Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi

By Anthony Bourdain

3 stars

Ok, quick dumb fun but nothing that will change the world. Pretty standard story.
For Justice: The Serge & Beate Klarsfeld Story

By Pascal Bresson & Sylvain Dorange

5 stars

Fantastic, a story everyone should know, not just for what they did, but why they did it and how it may need to be done again.
Brave New World: Graphic Novel

By Aldous Huxley/ Fred Fordham

5 stars

Visually stimulating. Wonderful, accessible version of the classic tale.
Isola: Volume 2

By Brenden Fletcher

5 stars

The only disappointing part of this comic is that part three isn't out yet.
Covid Chronicles

By Ethan Sacks

4 stars

A hopeful little screen shot of the pandemic, but perhaps too hopeful? This story focuses on the helpers, on the survivors, but not the ones that died helping. In 2020 this would have been a wonderful read, to see the hope in the dark. But in 2023 this feels a little false hope-y.
Lost Soldiers

By Ales Kot

5 stars

A solid look into PTSD and war in the context of Nam and more modern times. Fantastic last line for a comic about war and PTSD - "F*@K John Wayne"
Yellow Cab

By Benoît Cohen

4 stars

Really interesting story about a story, a writers path, writing what you know... Enjoyable, but slow and meandering, which i suppose is kind of the point.
A Contract With God

By Will Eisner

3 stars

An insightful look into 1930s tenement living in New York by one of the early masters/grandfathers of comics. An interesting look at a comic 30 years in the making by someone who knows the rules well enough to ignore them.
Fahrenheit 451

By Ray Bradbury/Tim Hamilton

4 stars

The classic, it loses a little depth, but makes the ideas much more accessible.
Who Owns The Clouds

By Mario Brassard

5 stars

Simplistic but poignant story beautifully executed. Will use pages from here when teaching visual texts and comics.
The Rush

By Si Spurrier

4 stars

Supernatural, western, gold rush, greed and vengeance.
Isola

By Brenden Fletcher

5 stars

Very Princess Mononoke ish, in all the best ways.
Sara

By Garth Ennis

5 stars

Russian sniper during the war and the cost of her actions on herself. Great, really enjoyed. If you like war texts, look for Garth Ennis.
Glacial Period

By Nicolas De Crecy

4 stars

Following the tradition of French comics....this is weird, but beautiful painted images and a wonderful, obscure concept about history, historic theory and art that comes alive. Like a post apocalyptic night at the museum.
In Limbo

By Deb JJ Lee

5 stars

Beautifully dark and darkly beautiful
Kawai

By Monty Soutar

2 stars

Working my way through it... Still havent finished it, probably wont.
A Boy Named Rose

By Gaelle Greniller

5 stars

A beautiful story of a young persons questioning of their identity, gender and self in 1920s Paris (without the darkness that so often murr's a story like this.
Jack & Sandy

By Bob Kerr

4 stars

Mixture in style between comic and picture book, but a lovely tale of the impacts of war and the impacts of those impacts...
Children of the Rush: Book 2

By James Russell

4 stars

Straightforward look at the gold rush through the eyes of three 12 year olds, Maori Atarangi, who can see where gold is in the earth, Pakeha Michael who can see people aura's and Chinese Siu, who has premonitions. All three work together to survive in the treacherous place.
The Fat Black Woman's Poems

By Grace Nichols

3 stars

Some gems, some would be great to use as starters. Some misses...
Children of the Rush: Book 1

By James Russell

4 stars

Would make a great year 9 text to do some narrative structure teaching, some context of the gold rush, some discussion of racism and greed and other themes.
Termush

By Sven Holm

4 stars

Not quite sci-fi, dystopian but in a true dystopian way, there's not a lot of hope like we've come to expect in teen dystopia.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

By Steven Spielburg

4 stars

For a book where not a lot actually happened, it was enjoyable and read in one sitting.
Out of Body

By Peter Milligan

4 stars

Great concept, disappointing way to end... possibly open to a vol 2?
King of Spies

By Mark Millar

5 stars

Will make a fantastic movie, an old spy facing death trying to clear the board before he goes.
Analog: Vol 1

By Gerry Duggan

5 stars

Loved it. Life in a post internet society where there are the tech users and the old school analogs.
The Least We Can Do

By Iolanda Zanfardino

4 stars

Great comic about the balance of power in a post social collapse new feudal UK
Kisses for Jet

By Joris Bas Backer

3 stars

Interesting story and idea, but not the inner/reflective/emotional story I thought it was going to be.
How To Loiter In A Turf War

By Coco Solid

4 stars

A look at the gentrification and the resulting loss happening in New Zealand through the eyes of three young women. Well written and accessible.
Punderworld - Vol 1

By Linda Sejic

4 stars

Classic Greek story, classic awkward relationships....
Earth Divers Vol 1

By Stephan Graham Jones

5 stars

'Kill Columbus, save the world...', well who doesn't want to see that!
We Only Kill Each Other

By Stephanie Phillips

4 stars

Interesting concept, part revenge fantasy, part alternate history.
Flic

By Valentin Gendrot

4 stars

Interesting, insightful and horrific. Would have liked it to go a little further into police retaliation.
The Mediterranean

By Armin Greder

3 stars

Beautiful and great ideas, but a little more depth would have been beneficial.
The Inheritance

By Armin Greder

3 stars

Beautiful images, but limited depth.
MWD: Hell is coming home

By Brian David Johnson and Jan Egleson

4 stars

Dark, but realistic look at the trauma of returning home.
Courage to dream: Tales of hope in the Holocaust

By Neal Shusterman

5 stars

Wonderful comic mixing fairy tales, mythology, religion and fantasy with the Holocaust to show the horror of the world, but also its light.
Himawari house

By Harmony Becker

5 stars

Wonderful themes of identity, family, responsibility and culture and language all mixed in together. Great for people who like manga or comics or who have never read either.
arca

By Van Jensen

5 stars

Old school 1970s science fiction themes in an accessible and modern story.

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