Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
Steven T. Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen, the creative team behind the moodily engrossing House of Secrets and the “meditation on creativity using Superman” book It’s a Bird…, have reunited for a look at Genius. First Second puts out so many great books for kids and teens that I think of them as an all-ages publisher, but Genius is clearly for adults. Not for any naughty content, but because the themes and fears expressed here aren’t going to resonate with younger […]
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I very much dislike the tendency for snappy manga heroines, the observant ones with a bit more bite to them than the usual good girl, to lose their spark as soon as love enters the picture. It’s too old-school “taming of the shrew” for me, playing into the idea that a smart girl who refuses to hold her tongue just needs romance to calm down and be properly feminine. Which is why I find the way this series has turned […]
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With one successful superhero movie in theaters now, it’s still not too soon for Marvel to start promoting the next one. Here’s the first trailer for Thor: The Dark World, arriving in theaters November 8. Chris Hemsworth returns as Thor, with Natalie Portman apparently unfortunately used as a bargaining chip to pressure him. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is always fun, plus this sequel adds Christopher Eccleston and Zachary Levi to Kat Dennings and Jaimie Alexander (as the bad-ass Sif). In […]
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The French movie adaptation of Jacques Tardi’s graphic novel series The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec has been announced for Blu-ray and DVD from Shout! Factory. Set in 1912, the film was directed and produced by Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) and starred Louise Bourgoin. It will be available in the US on August 13 with English and French audio tracks and English subtitles. Bonus features announced so far include a making-of featurette, a music featurette, and deleted scenes. The […]
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I don’t normally care that much about “action thrillers”, as this movie is billed, because they tend to be too violent for me, but I’m impressed by the cast of I, Frankenstein, due in theaters January 24, 2014. Here’s the synopsis: Set in a dystopic present where vigilant gargoyles and ferocious demons rage in a battle for ultimate power, Victor Frankenstein’s creation Adam (Aaron Eckhart) finds himself caught in the middle as both sides race to discover the secret to […]
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I found these four graphic novels about Jerusalem, Israel, and Jews struggling with their heritage particularly timely reading these past couple of months, particularly as we (as privileged Americans) were shocked and challenged by an explosive attack. It was eye-opening to think about living in a country where such a thing was a lot more possible. I enjoy learning from comics that convey alternative experiences, especially those that are so different from what I already know. How to Understand Israel […]
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Reading the entire volume of You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack at one sitting is like ingesting a mind-altering substance. It contains such a coherent and yet completely strange worldview that it will reset your perceptions. Tom Gauld‘s cartoons, one per page, cover history, literature, and technology, in the same way Kate Beaton’s do. The best way to recommend this volume is to simply send you to read his cartoons. If you see one that tickles you, you’ll likely […]
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The next original DC animated movie will be Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, released on July 30 and now available for order. It’s based on the story in which the Flash wakes up in an alternate universe without his powers. Here’s the description: When time travel allows a past wrong to be righted for Flash and his family, the event’s temporal ripples prove disastrous, creating a fractured, alternate reality where the Justice League never formed, and even Superman is nowhere […]
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