I’m unsure how often I have referenced Mind’s Eye Comics, but it won’t be the last. Mind’s Eye has become my local comic book store and I try to stop in on a regular basis. For the month of June, my company does a Juneteenth reimbursement where there’s a $100 reimbursement if money is spent at a black-owned business. It just so happens that Mind’s Eye Comics is a black-owned business in the Twin Cities. To be fair, I’m happy to spend $100 at Mind’s Eye Comics any day of the week, but now I have another reason to stop in. I wanted to share my haul as I ended up leaving with much more than I thought I would.

I’m in a graphic novel kick as of late. I’m not sure why, I just haven’t been buying as many single-issues. The first graphic novel that I bought is Quincredible: Volume #1 Quest To Be The Best by Barnes, Espiritu, and Fitzpatrick. Quincredible follows Quinton West who gains the power of invulnerability. Quin struggles with his powers which leads him to being mentored by Glow, another superhero. I don’t know much more than that, but I’m looking forward to reading this.

The second graphic novel I bought is Box by Wirbeleit & Heidschotter. Box is about a young boy who finds a box and decides to use it for his adventures except the box starts talking. Box gave off Calvin & Hobbes type of inspiration. I like how this will be more of a light-hearted read.

The third graphic novel I bought was The Mall by Handfield, Haick III, Loureiro, Dijio, and Hopkins. The Mall follows a group of teenagers in the 1980s who fit the teenager sterotypes. They find out that they are connected to a mafia boss who was recently killed. The mafia boss left each teenager a store in the mall which are all fronts for mafia boss activity. In the Goodreads description it says that this is a “Breakfast Club meets Goodfellas”.

The fourth graphic novel I bought was Cats Girlfriends and Cat Friends by Brrémaud and Antista. Cats Girlfriends and Cat Friends is a series of French graphic novels that tell the stories of friends and their cats. This seems like it will be a cute cat story and I’m here for it.

The fifth graphic novel is Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Source Code by J Benson, S Benson, Antonio and Roe. I read the first volume several years ago and it seemed like a good opportunity to return to the series. I will probably re-read the first volume right before reading volume #2, so I can be fresh in the story.

The final novel is Pop Culture Pioneers: The Women Who Transformed Fandom in Film, Television, Comics, and More by Cher Martinetti. This might not count as a graphic novel, but I thought this would be an interesting book to add to my collection. It’s a non-fiction book where it tells various stories from women in geek culture. I’m looking forward to reading this.

Besides graphic novels, I bought the Polka-Dot Man Funko pop from The Suicide Squad. I’m looking for more collectibles to place on my desk at work and figured Polka-Dot Man would be a fun addition. I also bought a Loki wallet and a Hercules keychain to add to my keyring.

I love having a lot to read. This haul should keep me busy for a while.

The first Grady Hendrix book I read was The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and I loved it. I don’t read much horror, but it’s nice to have another go-to author besides Stephen King. I had The Final Girl Support Group on my TBR for a while as I tend to gravitate toward slasher films if I ever do watch horror movies. I liked The Final Girl Support Group although I think this book would be much better as a movie.

Lynette Tarkington is a final girl. She survived a horrific massacre of her family and as such, her trauma leaks into her routine. She has intense security measures in her apartment, carries a weapon, and takes several different bus routes in case she’s followed. Lynette has been attending a “Final Girl Support Group” for decades led by successful psychotherapist, Dr. Carol Elliott. As the group’s session comes to an end, Lynette is alerted to the fact that Adrienne, another “Final Girl” in their group was murdered. As the day progresses, each Final Girl is targeted including Lynette. Lynette has to go off the grid to figure out who’s targeting the Final Girls.

The Final Girl Support Group is a book that I couldn’t put down. My husband had invited a friend over for a BBQ at our place and I hung back in our room to finish this book. I couldn’t help it! The book from start to finish was a page-turner. I wanted to know who was targeting the Final Girls. Additionally, the way the book was written, there are clearly secrets that Lynette didn’t share with the reader and I wanted to know what they were.

As far as the characters, I liked Lynette and how she developed throughout the book. Lynette’s arguably the Final Girl whose trauma is exhibited the most. Granted, Lynette’s the main character and there isn’t as much of a preview into the other Final Girls and how they live their lives. After the climatic showdown, Lynette distances herself from someone in her past, moves into a new place, and is seeking help through physical therapy and leading the new Final Girl Support group. It’s nice to see her progress and try to live her life.

As a fan of slasher films, there are a lot of throwbacks to this genre of horror. Some of the names of the Final Girls are names of the actresses who played the roles in those films. Additionally, there’s a mention of a film series called Stab which retells Julie’s Final Girl story. Stab is also a film franchise that’s mentioned in the Scream films. In one of the section breaks, there’s an interview transcript featuring two cops interviewing one of the Final Girls. The cops are Dwight Riley and Judy Hicks who are characters in Scream 4 specifically. While I think that anyone can enjoy reading The Final Girl Support Group, I think it’s more fun knowing the references from these films.

I mentioned earlier how I think The Final Girl Support Group would be better as a film than a book. The book’s plot is a little messy and convenient. Without spoilers, there’s a moment where Lynette starts to put together the pieces of who might be responsible. I thought the way this came together was a little odd to me. Additionally, there’s another moment where Lynette has a run-in with someone from her past. The scene itself felt a little over-the-top when really it didn’t need to be that way. For a book, it was a bit much, but for a movie, I think this would be an entertaining scene.

The Final Girl Support Group was an intense, page-turner that helped me break out of my reading slump. I can see where this book might not be for everyone, but I liked it nonetheless. I rated The Final Girl Support Group four stars on Goodreads.

I was pretty strategic in picking out the books that I plan on reading throughout the summer. I wanted something light-hearted, set in summer, and something that I could see myself reading outside in the backyard. One book that I knew I wanted to read was Book Lovers by Emily Henry. Emily Henry’s books are immensely popular and it seems like everyone raves about her books. I recently finished Book Lovers a few days ago and now I get the hype. Book Lovers is one of the best romance books I read this year.

Nora Stephens has dedicated her life to her career as a literary agent. Nora has an awkward run-in with Charlie Lastra, an editor who trashed the book that Nora was currently working on. Nora pushes Charlie aside and follows her sister Libby to Sunshine Falls, a small town that’s the setting of a book from one of Nora’s clients. Much to Nora’s surprise, she runs into Charlie as he’s from Sunshine Falls originally. Nora and Charlie are forced to work together to edit a book much to Nora’s chagrin. Nora starts to see Charlie in a new light and Charlie realizes how much he has in common with Nora. Can they move past their preconceived notions of themselves and each other?

While Book Lovers is a book centered on Nora and Charlie’s relationship, this book is so much more than that. This book beautifully shows grief and the consequences of not facing grief head-on and allowing someone to be swallowed in it. It’s a book that shows the relationship between two sisters and how they each have their own struggles. I enjoy reading romance, not necessarily for the romance itself, but about the lives the characters have built for themselves and how those lives become interwoven together.

Throughout the book, Nora is shown as a motherly figure toward Libby. Their mother died while they were young adults and Nora steps in to guide Libby to ensure that she’s okay. By doing this, Nora pushes her own emotions down to the point that she becomes numb to it. I thought this was a realistic way to show grief because Nora finds herself drawn to her career to put aside her emotions. I liked how Nora grew throughout the book and did so without Charlie’s help.

I loved reading about Nora and Libby’s adventures throughout Sunshine Falls. They give each other makeovers, they try to save the local bookstore, and Libby sets Nora up on some pretty bad first dates. This book reads like a Hallmark romantic comedy which is normally not for me, but Book Lovers was an exception.

Onto the romance, I loved Nora and Charlie together. They had this flirtatious banter that was so fun to read. This is one of those romances that’s a slow burn, but once they finally get together, it feels right. For me, I was rooting for Nora this whole time to have her happy ending and I was so happy for her by the end of the book.

Book Lovers is an ode to the joys of a small town. Sunshine Falls serves as the best backdrop for the story. I kept picturing the mountains, a small downtown with a Gazebo, and some land outside of the downtown area. The local bar along with cracked sidewalks leads to homes up the hill. The setting makes you want to go explore a small town for a weekend.

Book Lovers was the perfect book to start summer off with. I rated Book Lovers five stars on Goodreads.

When I was at Planet Comicon this year, I saw a Chainsaw cosplay which was really cool looking. I had no idea where this was from. A friend pointed it out to me and said it was from a manga and anime series called Chainsaw Man. My interest was piqued and I was able to find a copy of the first volume of Chainsaw Man. I’m not sure what I was expecting. Chainsaw Man is a gore filled revenge story featuring the cutest chainsaw dog I have ever seen.

Chainsaw Man centers around Denji who is trying to pay off his father’s debt. He partners with the Yakuza by working as a devil hunter. Denji finds friendship in Pochita, a devil dog with a chainsaw on the top of its head. Eventually, Denji is betrayed by the Yakuza and is saved by Pochita. Pochita lives within Denji and when Denji becomes threatened, he can become the Chainsaw Man. Denji can’t keep his newly acquired abilities secret which leads him to be recruited to be a devil hunter for the government. As Denji gets more involved in professional devil hunting, he realizes that the people he’s working for may also have their own agenda in Denji’s life.

Let’s be real, Pochita is the cutest demon dog I have ever seen! I would continue reading this series for Pochita and that’s it. Pochita is the demon Denji befriends early on and becomes a major reason why Denji is able to turn into Chainsaw Man. Besides Pochita, I felt that the first volume was a lot of build-ups. There isn’t a whole lot revealed about the other characters and their backstories. I’d be curious to read more about Makima, the woman who is leading Denji’s team. It seems like she’s up to something and it’s difficult to interpret whether it’s good or bad. I will say that even though there’s a lot of story-building in the first volume, I read through it pretty quickly. Each chapter had its own adventure which I found interesting.

I think the only thing that bothered me or got old fast was Denji’s obsession with boobs. This feels stereotypical of a manga series or character where there’s a male protagonist who is obsessed with women and their bodies. I don’t think this ruined the experience of reading Chainsaw Man, but it was constantly mentioned a lot about Denji wanted to be with a woman. I’m curious if that will exist in future volumes or if Denji will mature and grow up.

With all of that being said, I liked Chainsaw Man a lot and I would continue on in the series. I rated Chainsaw Man Vol #1 four stars on Goodreads.