November 28, 2018 Johanna Andrews McMeel Leave a comment

Zen Pencils: Inspirational Quotes for Kids

The quotes in Zen Pencils: Inspirational Quotes for Kids by Gavin Aung Than are oddly chosen. The second is about training to avoid bleeding in battle, attributed to an Armed Forces motto, a strange choice to lead off a book of advice for youngsters. The meanings of several are still argued over by adults, so the “inspirational” nature is questionable. And several are mini-essays, trying the patience of a younger reader trying to understand the point. While a few of […]

November 28, 2018 Johanna Art One comment

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #44 Preview: Dastardly and Muttley!

Out today is the latest installment of one of the comics I most enjoy reading these days: Scooby-Doo Team-Up. Issue #44 puts the characters in contact with a Hanna-Barbera favorite: fiendish Dick Dastardly and his oddly human-like snickering dog Muttley. They starred in a 1969 cartoon, Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines, which spun out of Wacky Races. You probably know it best from the theme song, “Stop the Pigeon“. DC has provided the following preview pages from the […]

November 28, 2018 Johanna Yen Press Manga Reviews Leave a comment

Horimiya Volume 12

I had a hard time following Horimiya volume 12, simply due to its place in the series. This is a long-running relationship manga, which means by this point, we’ve left the core couple as focus a while back and spun out into various friends and schoolmates as continuing characters. We’ve caught up with Japan in terms of releases — there isn’t a backlog — so the previous volume came out almost six months ago. Combined, that means a whole lot […]

November 27, 2018 Johanna Yen Press Manga Reviews One comment

Laid-Back Camp Volume 4

It’s finally the perfect time of year for the winter camping of Laid-Back Camp volume 4 by Afro. The big vacation trip is happening over Christmas, with the club planning meals and making sure everyone has the right equipment. This time, all the girls are going out together, instead of Rin by herself. I admit, I couldn’t keep all the characters straight, since it’s been a while (this past summer) since I read the previous volume. That didn’t matter, though, […]

November 27, 2018 Johanna TV News Leave a comment

Another Version of the Batman Animated Series Blu-ray Announced

Missed out on the gift package version of the Batman: The Complete Animated Series Blu-ray set? Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just announced a content-only version that’s now available. The 12-disc set (list price $89.99) comes with all episodes, “The Heart of Batman” documentary, the remastered animated films Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, and digital copies. Here’s a clip from “The Heart of Batman” talking about the design influences.

November 26, 2018 Johanna Abrams / Amulet Leave a comment

Showtime at the Apollo: The Epic Tale of Harlem’s Legendary Theater

Due out in January is a comic-format reworking of a significant entertainment history. Ted Fox’s 1983 book Showtime at the Apollo: The Story of Harlem’s World Famous Theater has been converted into a graphic novel illustrated by James Otis Smith. Showtime at the Apollo: The Epic Tale of Harlem’s Legendary Theater is clearly an adaptation of a prose work, with text boxes explaining key moments in the location’s history, but the illustrations add more hooks to show the reader just […]

November 26, 2018 Johanna Movie Reviews 2 comments

Incredibles 2

As with many recent Pixar movies, Incredibles 2 isn’t a great, ground-breaking animated work with new emotional insight. They don’t do that as much any more, instead focusing on revisiting familiar characters and spending more time with them. It’s comfortable instead of challenging, but the result is still a good cartoon movie. (The studio provided a review copy.) I love the old-style staging of the film. Cars and clothes are retro, but the city has a monorail. Apparently, the setting […]

November 25, 2018 Johanna TV News 4 comments

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

I am excited to see that She-Ra and the Princesses of Power has been so well-received. This relaunch of the 1980s cartoon show has a more modern sensibility, and it allows the character to stand on her own instead of being a He-Man adjunct. (I haven’t had a chance to see the show yet, but I believe it, since the revamp was created by Noelle Stevenson, whose Nimona, which did something similar to fantasy adventure stories, won an Eisner a […]

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