Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
I survived San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) 2022! How’d I do it? By flying in Wednesday and flying out Friday. Which gave me one day to do panels, and even that was a lot. (Mark Evanier was complaining that people don’t call it Comic-Con International: San Diego, which is its proper name, and wondered why they still use the old name. For the same reason Batgirl is back again: traditional comic fans love nostalgia and hate change. And I include […]
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I became familiar with the work of Gengoroh Tagame, as so many people did, through My Brother’s Husband. That’s a well-meaning, comfortable story about a man learning not to be afraid of gay people by meeting his dead twin’s husband. Many of the chapters are almost lessons, or even in the style of a very special sitcom episode, the kind that educates on social issues. The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame of course shares the art style, with glorious images of […]
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The premise of I Am a Cat Barista by Hiro Maijima is clear from the title, but on its own, that doesn’t capture the charm and comfort of this reassuring series. Every chapter is another story where someone discovers this unusual cat café, “a place only the weariest of souls can find.” The human-sized cat barista doesn’t offer a menu. Instead, he observes and gives them what they most need. An exhausted office worker with a jerk boss who’s too […]
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I can’t claim to have read all the pandemic-era time capsule comics, but my favorite is Love and Capes in the Time of Covid, because I think, looking back, a sense of humor really helps. I’ve enjoyed the superhero rom-com approach of Love and Capes for a long time. This latest one-shot collects the webcomics Thom Zahler put out on Patreon. Having his superhero characters face the challenges of something you can’t punch into submission is an ideal choice for […]
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I adore Dinosaur Therapy. This small, square hardcover collects webcomics from Dinos and Comics, written by James Stewart and illustrated by K Romey. They’re simple but refreshingly blunt. In three- or four-panel comics, simply styled dinosaurs — they look like they’re loosely molded out of play-doh — talk honestly about the difficulties of life. A similarly frank introduction by the writer explains that he began creating these webcomics as a reaction to an ADHD diagnosis and a desire to “find […]
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Lost Lad London by Shima Shinya sets up an intriguing mystery premise. The mayor of London is found dead, stabbed, on an Underground train. Our protagonist is Al, a University student and loner. He’s making his own way by writing papers for other students. A beaten-down detective with a variety of injuries has a history of guilt from when a wrongly charged suspect killed themselves; that case was never solved. He comes to Al’s flat while interviewing witnesses, but Al […]
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While rereading Sherlock Bones volume 7, I noticed that Case 9, “The Stolen Face”, had a rather unusual method of death. Chapter 6, the final chapter, lays out what happened. Spoilers throughout this post. The murderer tries to create the impression the victim committed suicide. He gave the victim sleeping drugs, then placed her on the edge of the water tower on the roof, with a rope around her neck. When she woke up, she fell off the edge, hanging […]
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Out now on Blu-ray is The Lost City, an adventure comedy starring Sandra Bullock as a successful romance novel author trying to stay relevant in a TikTok world. She’s also an academic, and Abigail Fairfax (played by Daniel Radcliffe) wants her knowledge of the ancient civilization she used as background for her latest book. He kidnaps her to find the Crown of Fire, a lost artifact in a tomb of a lost city. Channing Tatum is her cover model, who […]
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