Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures, Volume 2

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Graphic Novels #2 issues #7-12

by Laurell K. Hamilton, Jess Ruffner-Booth, Brett Booth (Contributor)

Anita Blake raises the dead for a living in a world where vampires and werewolves are legal citizens of the United States, and moonlights as a vampire hunter, but when a serial killer begins to target vampires, she is the one the undead turn to for help.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Vampires, Comics, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 23, 2008

About the author

Laurell K. Hamilton is one of the leading writers of paranormal fiction. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Hamilton writes the popular Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels and the Meredith Gentry series. She is also the creator of a bestselling comic book series based on her Anita Blake novels and published by Marvel Comics. Hamilton is a full-time writer and lives in the suburbs of St. Louis with her family.

Reviews

[Lindsay♫SingerOfStories♫ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soooo I hadn't realized that there were Anita Blake graphic novels! I am, of course, a pretty avid reader of the series. I have read up to like, book 10 or so. So when I saw these at my local library, I had to give a couple a try, not really being able to tell which books were which number (I was in a hurry). Well, I read this one first and it it not book 1. Well, that's ok. Fortunately I've read the actual books so I pretty much knew what was going on.

The illustrations are pretty good. I enjoyed not having to hear so many detailed descriptions of Anita's guns and toy penguins and her being short and Jean Claude's satin shirts. Rather, it was fun to actually see these things in stead. Plus, of course, actually see these characters in stead. Apparently we haven't met Richard yet? Or is Richard a cut in the graphic novels? I can't remember. Maybe its just strictly rats so far. Hmm. Guess we'll see.

So while the gn wasn't life changing, it was pretty good. I'll read another 1 or 2 more, we'll see how it goes. I'm not sure how many there are. Eventually the books turn into so much sex that I'm sure they have to stop illustrating or break off into their own story so...we'll see what happens!

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anita Blake is one of my favorite heroines. I've read all LKH's books and especially loved her Anita Blake series. Anita talks the talk, and walks the walk. lol! Like I said in my review of the GUILTY PLEASURES VOLUME 1, I was so stoked to find out LKH had graphic novels. I always want more Anita. I also mentioned how the only thing I found odd about the graphic novels is that the artwork from book to book, sometimes changes. I LOVED the way she was drawn in GP VOL 1 the most. GP VOL 1 and 2 are pretty similar, but the artwork for THE FIRST DEATH is way different. I just found that weird, but I'm not expert on graphic novels, so I don't know if that's normal for comics or not. I just wish it was all the same artwork through the whole comic series. Keeps it more leveled. (that's just my opinion though).
Over all, it's a great graphic novel. I'm very happy to be collecting them, and if your a Anita fan, it's worth the investment. There's 144 pages in the novel so there's plenty to see and read, and it brings your favorite characters from your imagination to the pages! I'm stoked for THE LAUGHING CORPSE VOLUME 2.




Synopsis:
The hit adaptation of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series continues! What price will Anita pay in order to save her friend's life and solve the Vampire Murders? Will she actually kiss Phillip? How far will Edward go in order to find out where the daytime resting place of the Master Vampires truly is? Where is Jean-Claude? And most important, who is behind the Vampire Murders? What's next for Anita Blake, you ask? The answers to all of those questions are here! Collects Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures #7-12.

[Vivone Os · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bookopoly 2021. - Shiny Cover

Nije bilo loše. Brzinsko štivo. Bez praznog hoda. Zadovoljavajući završetak. Lijepe ilustracije. Ako ima još koji nastavak, sigurno ću ga uzeti. Voljela bih vidjeti kako će se dalje razvijati Anitin i Edwardov odnos.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the art in these graphic novels! I’ve always been a fan of comic books and Anita Blake so I’m predisposed to like these anyway.
This is the second half of the Guilty Pleasures novel, which I liked. It picks up at a weird party and Anita is undercover. Soon all hell breaks loose and Anita is fighting her way out. (I hate those parties! There was this Tupperware Party once...but that’s another story.) 😊

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the first volume of Guilty Pleasures came out, I remember I was so excited! Only after I read it, had I realized it was just mediocre and honestly wasn't worth the commotion. Guilty Pleasures is my favorite book out of the Anita Blake series thus far. It's what started it all and was cram packed with balls-to-the-wall action that made the books such a fun read. I just didn't think this particular novel illustrated it as well as my imagination had. But honestly, I found vol. 2 more interesting than the 1st. I think it's worth a read if you are an Anita Blake fan. What's there to lose?

[Wayland Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious about the graphic novel adaptations, so I read both parts of the first novel. They are decent reads, and good examples of the series before it became centered on sex to the detriment of about everything else.

The art is a bit odd, in that the faces seem to change in random ways, and the expressions don't really seem to match what's going on at times. I enjoyed this two part collection enough to finish it, but I don't think I'll be tracking down any others.

[Summertime Readaholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am huge Anita Blake fan. I have read and own all the novels and short stories ( that are not in anthologies) for this series.

I have been avoing the comic version of her books because graphic novels are hard for my read. But I've read it and I wish say I like it.

Guilty Pleasures is the first book in the original series. This is volume 2 of the comic version and finished the story well.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The graphic novel did a great job of condensing the original novel. The art work is fantastic and gives a total sense of who the characters are. This is all well before Anita had found that monsters come in all varieties, and not just those with fangs and claws. A must have for Anita fans.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

The second comic adaptation of Guilty Pleasures was also very good. Glad that they were able to figure out who was killing the vampires. RIP Phillip and Nikolaos. Wonder how Jean-Claude will do as the new Master. Edward seems very interesting.

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wordy and boring, full of bodice-ripper dudes with long curly hair and no shirts, flecked with, or standing in pools of, the flattest blood I've ever seen.

[Philip · Rating 1 out of 5]

I earned those points. EARNED them.

[Lauren Kozilski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hopefully the library has the second one!

[Daci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, fast paced illustrated version of the book.

[Roberta Decenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone at work picked this up at a thrift store they work for and gave it to one of my colleagues. They didn’t want it but I saw it and had actually read the Guilty Pleasures novel before. I don’t remember much about the novel but was intrigued to find there were also graphic novel versions of the story so figured I would give it a go. I’m glad I did. This was a good, light read, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. The book is also such a stand alone book that I didn’t know there were other volumes, so no need to feel like reading the volumes in order is required. I will say though, if another volume showed up on my doorstep, I would definitely pick it up and read it.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Again, the art in these novels is fantastic. This was far less choppy than the first volume. It was also faster paced, though that took away a bit from the different intense moments that had a bit more impact in the OG novel.

[Robert Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5
This review is taken from my notes from when I finished the book years ago.

Reluctantly working for Nikoloas, the current master vampire of St. Louis, Anita needs to discover who is killing master vampires.

--This is a graphic novel--

[Gerald Sessions · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good story and a very good finish to guilty pleasures. I felt bad for Philip. I still have some problems getting their shadowing muscles right but other than that the graphics were good.

[Denise Rader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

[John J Milton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too simple and bad designed

[Bijan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same good art, better story development. Just not gripping.

[Vampire Eater · Rating 4 out of 5]

This half was better than the first. Still wish they took more liberties on the action scene.

[CS · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot thickens. Anita and Phillip, boy toy from the vampire club, Guilty Pleasures, are at a freak party, where people imitate vampires. But her investigation may be found out. And an almost failed zombie raising has Anita asking a lot of questions.
This novel was a good improvement over the last volume, Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures, Vol. 1 . The art is much better: Anita's hair doesn't threaten to dominate her features, the pouty, doe-eyed looked is much diminished and the thunder-thigh syndrome is gone (mostly). The artwork is definitely NOT as distracting and noticeable in a bad way as it was last time.
Also, graphic novel wise, the blocks of "Anita text" is drastically cut back, thanks probably to Jess Ruffner-Booth, who does a MUCH better job of adapting. She does include "Anita text" (aka Anita's thoughts, in rectangular blocks), but she lets the art and the dialogue do more of the telling--something that was sorely lacking in Volume 1.
I also found myself more interested in the characters. Anita is shown doing a zombie raising, which was really neat. I also liked how she teamed up with Edward and Ronnie. In fact, Ronnie was a pretty darn cool character that I look forward to seeing more of.
As for the story...I still found it nearly incomprehensible. I don't quite understand the whole point of the freak party, especially since Anita was willing to leave in a heartbeat (weren't you supposed to be investigating?). Also, she just happens to stumble upon a zombie raising? Whose zombie? Why? Why did someone try to kill her at the church? Why did Nikolaos beat up Phillip? I have so many questions about what happened in the book and how Anita discovered the vampire murderer, it almost negates the cool aspects (the art, Anita kicking @ss, etc.). Perhaps this was because it was a graphic novel, but still, it ought to have been a little more clear to the reader.
After Volume 1, I was half tempted to not even bother reading the novel, Guilty Pleasures. While Volume 2 is hardly much better (other than art and adaptation), I did get a new interest in the novel and perhaps [some] of the series. Plus, I really want to understand what the whole point was. If you've read 1, 2 is definitely necessary.

[Jody Mena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great! Well, it’s Anita Blake, so that alone makes it awesome. But after reading the novel, it was so fascinating to see the characters in action in the graphic novel – especially Jean-Claude (he’s as beautiful as I imagined!). The artwork was very nice, though a little rougher than I expected. On problem with it was that the characters’ facial expressions were a bit hit and miss, and their eye lines were occasionally off – they would be talking to each other but looking off in odd directions, and it was somewhat distracting. There were also occasionally scenes where I felt like there should be more movement or emphasis lines, like when a character was screaming in pain – there was too much realism in the drawing, so that even though the character’s word bubble held a scream, without the artwork to back it up, the scene still felt very quiet. However, in scenes where there wasn’t meant to be much movement or emotion, the artwork could be very beautiful indeed. I almost cried at the picture of Phillip chained to the wall with tears on his face, and most of the dream sequences with Jean Claude were nicely done. The story was pretty much exactly the same as the novel, but without some of the sassy stream-of-consciousness first-person narration, Anita seemed a little weaker and wimpier than usual. Too often she is drawn with a wide-eyed innocent look on her face that doesn’t suit her character. The pace was pretty good, but the action was less intense than in the novel, again because most of the narration was missing. I also felt like the story windows occasionally jumped too quickly from action to action, especially during fight scenes, so that the movement of the characters didn’t flow intuitively – if you didn’t already know what was going on, you might have a hard time figuring it out. Nevertheless, since I did know what was going on, it was a lot of fun to read this!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Guilty Pleasures Volume one and two by Laurell K. Hamilton and adaptation from Stacie Ritchie (issues 1-5 and 7-12), Jess Ruffner-Booth (issue 6) illustrated by Ron Lim and Brett Booth. It was a great series that lived up to the name and the idea that it would make for a perfect gift. It was a guilty pleasure that had amazing art and plot.

These two books were a Christmas gift from Miriam. She’s one of the few people who know how much I love graphic novels, books in general, and stories about vampires/vampire hunters. We indulge in the same guilty pleasures so when she saw these two books, it instantly became my Christmas gift for the year. Which I’m super grateful for. So a huge thank you to Miriam first and foremost.

Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Guilty Pleasures is taken from the Laurell K. Hamilton series with the same name (although I do believe the twelve part series was actually drawn from one book). Anita Blake is both an animator (someone who can reanimate the dead) and a legalized vampire killer. She gets her arm twisted to help the local vampire population who were being mysteriously killed off. Along the way she takes on the first mark from Jean-Claude, a master vampire. He gives her many gifts that she doesn’t fully understand. Along the way there even more twists and turns.

I really liked this series. It was great. The art to it was amazing. It was realistic (so much so that there were-rats actually intruded upon my dreams). Plus there are just fun little touches to the art like in the variant to the first chapter or the way she sleeps. It adds so much depth to the story. When it comes to graphic novels, the artwork is so important and this hit the mark perfectly.

I really enjoyed these two books. I really liked this series. It made me not only want to read the original book, I want to read more of the graphic novels. It was just a ton of fun. It was the perfect guilty pleasure from me.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

(This review is both for Volume 1 and Volume 2)

I read Guilty Pleasures many years ago and absolutely loved it. It's the first true adult series that I read and loved - at least until it became more about the sex scenes than the mystery, but that's another story.

These two volumes stick very closely to the novel and is essentially just these artists interpenetration and visualizations of the novel. The artwork is detailed and eye catching, allowing yourself to really be pulled into the story.


My problem with graphic novels is simply that: my problem. They don't have enough depth for me to really be pulled into the story. While these volumes encompass the main aspects of Guilty Pleasures, I don't get the depth and back story of these characters that I really enjoy and felt was missing. But again, that's my issue with graphic novels as a whole and not necessarily with these two volumes.


If you are a fan of graphic novels and have yet to read Guilty Pleasures, or you're already a fan of the novel and enjoy graphic novels, these volumes are definitely something worth checking out!

***

Read this review and more on Bookish Lifestyle

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's one in most every vampire or paranormal series, that lead "creature" that you just absolutely love, no matter how much you know that you should hate them. In this book, that character was Nikolaos, the 1000+ -yr.-old vampire babe that controlled pretty much everything.



Sad thing about Nikolaos is that she could seem to control her very own servant, Zachary. So, all along, Zach was the vampire murderer that everyone was looking for, and nobody seemed to know, until about 2/3 of the way through.



But, once Anita found out, she definitely on the case better than she already was. Anita knew she would be able to take Zachary down, but she was after a much higher positioned creature than him. She wanted to kill Nikolaos herself. But, could she do it?

Of course, she did. But, I get the feeling the Nikolaos will be back!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 ½ to 4 stars. Volume II, the conclusion of Guilty Pleasures. This was a very quick and fun read. Again, it is nice to have a refresher of the little details of what happened in the first book about Anita Blake. What had me disappointed in this one is that ¼ of the way through the artist was changed. This was very frustrating as the main animator for the first volume and ¼ of this volume was SO much better! Lim is more cartoony. The ONLY good thing about that is that Jean-Claude looks less feminine. He still looks a little girly, but not as much as before. However, I would rather have had the original artist who was better overall, especially drawing Anita, Edward, etc.

[Sarah Rhea Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art in this volume (2 of 2) took a bit of a dive -- less complex, as though the artist had grown tired of the work. But I really enjoyed seeing what the characters looked like -- Laurell K. Hamilton is pretty sparse on her character description (providing us only with a hair or eye color per character, and maybe a height), so it was fun to get some differentiation. Even if that differentiation was spread only among supermodels. With disproportionately stilt-like legs.

Anyway, fun story. I think I'll stick to the books from now on, though.

[Melliane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstable, not a good idea to start with the second volume without reading the first one. But it was a really great comic and I liked it. Nikolaos and Bert were so well realized ! It was also nice to see the empty looks of Edward we hear so much about all along the series.

Mon avis complet

My english review

[Literary Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed reliving this story over these two volumes of graphic novels of the first book in this series. Seeing the images of Phillip at the end made what happened to him even more real for me. I loved seeing the ghouls but I think they were supposed to have a few more human features so you could tell they were human once upon a time. I'm not sure if it's just me but Jean Claude looked more manly than in volume 1 which I liked. Overall, this was a good read.