Anita Blake Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Vol. 1

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Vol. 1by Laurell K. HamiltonLittle factoid about me, I tend to discover series backwards. The first Laurell K. Hamilton book I ever read was Obsidian Butterfly when it first came out in 2002. I loved that book. I was thrilled when I found it it was actually a part of a series. Next thing I knew my boss and I had ordered the complete series for our store. (I did the same thing with David Edding's Belgariad series, I discovered Polgara the Sorceress first and then started at the beginning.)Little did I know that the one book I started with and loved so much was the best because it was the only one that didn't deal with the love triangle between Anita Blake, Jean-Claude and Richard. Because that triangle? ANNOYING!However, I am not here to discuss the book series. I am here to tell you about the graphic novel - Guilty Pleasures Vol. 1. I seem to recall hearing a while ago that they were going to make a comic out of the Anita Blake series. All I could think of was, wow, how graphic are they going to get with all the S&M and sex and bondage and stuff that the books have fallen into? And then I never really thought of it again. The other day I was in the store looking for The Plain Janes and came across this book in paperback form.I thought, why the heck not? And picked it up.Now, I am not entirely sure if this is supposed to be the series retold as a comic, or just more adventures of Anita Blake. I am leaning towards the first thought, however my memory of the first books in the series is foggy. I think I was scarred by too many gratuitous sex scenes or something. I found myself confused for most of this ominbus and am glad I got the books in this collection because if I was reading one at a time, per month, I think I would have given up after the second one came out.I honestly don't know if I'll pick up the second volume when it's out in paperback. $14.99 is still a lot of money for something that takes me less than 30 minutes to read. The art isn't really all that spectacular, and I think that Anita and Jean-Claude kind of look the same (I can tell them apart by the fact that his shirt is always open to his navel.)Not one sex scene even. I don't know if I am happy or disappointed about that. Heh.