Shonen Jump Chapters Free in English
Screw piracy! You want to read manga for free, at the same time it’s available in its home country? Viz is there for you! As of next Monday, December 17, the manga publisher will be releasing chapters digitally weekly, simultaneously with Japan, on shonenjump.com or via their app. Titles include One Piece, My Hero Academia, Boruto, and Dragon Ball Super. What’s the catch? To read chapters beyond the three most recent, you have to become a member for archive access, […]
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A Kinder, Gentler Deadpool — For Two Weeks Only
I’m always fascinated when movies become so important in some way that they recut them for a wider audience. I remember, way back when, they put out a PG version of Saturday Night Fever (which I saw at the drive-in on a double bill with Grease). The latest example is Deadpool 2. Deadpool was the biggest R-rated opening weekend ever, a record broken by It and then again by Deadpool 2. But just in time for Christmas, on Wednesday in […]
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IDW Names New Leader With Company Ties
This past summer, IDW started changing up its leadership team. The CEO and founder was replaced. The head of the entertainment arm left. Now comes news of more changes: President and Publisher Greg Goldstein is stepping down so that former Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall can return to IDW Publishing as President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer. Ryall “will be charged with ongoing creative expansion efforts within the company, as well as continuing to work closely with partners and licensors.” The chairman […]
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Ran and the Gray World Volume 1
Ran and the Gray World by Aki Irie contains some classic fantasy genre ideas, but the overall tone is unfocused with a touch of creepy. Ran is a magical little girl who appears as a well-developed young woman when she dons a special pair of tennis shoes. Her absent mother temporarily returns in a cloud of magical cakes, with everything too much, showing us where both Ran’s potential for power and her lack of discipline come from. Her older brother […]
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Super Heroes Say Please
Given that superheroes began as examples of those who could bring justice, it’s fun to see the Super Friends versions used for moral instruction. Super Heroes Say Please by Morris Katz is a 20-page board book for ages 0-3 about manners. Uncredited clip art shows classically illustrated heroes being polite and kind. They introduce themselves, shake hands, say please when they need help, take turns, share, and compliment each other. It was odd for me to notice just how many […]
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Bird, Bath, and Beyond
E.J. Copperman’s Bird, Bath, and Beyond, the sequel to Dog Dish of Doom, is even better than the first. The mystery stars Kay Powell, theatrical agent for acting animals. She’s now repping a parrot who’s a supporting cast member of a TV procedural, playing the sidekick of a medical examiner on a show with zombie detectives. When the gorgeous actor playing the doctor is found dead, shot, in his trailer, under the cage, the real-life detectives expect a talking bird […]
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Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass the First OGN for Series
Recently released is Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass, the first original graphic novel for the franchise (which has already expanded from comics to original prose novels). It’s written by Lilah Sturges and illustrated by polterink with a cover by Alexa Sharpe. The premise is that the five scouts learn about orienteering from their guide, Jen. April quickly gets separated from the group. There’s a mystical compass, steampunk robot butlers, character development — Molly is insecure about her relationship with Mal — […]
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One Day a Dot: The Story of You, the Universe, and Everything
Almost no subject is too much for a children’s storybook, with the right approach, and One Day a Dot: The Story of You, the Universe, and Everything is proof. It tackles the formation of the universe in simple, understandable terms, with lovely images following from the Big Bang through the evolution of humanity and civilization. It’s written by Ian Lendler and illustrated by Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb. A dot bursts into light and life. It’s given feelings by the […]
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