Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
While searching for something else in my jewelry box, I stumbled across this lovely item I thought people might want to know about. In 1999, DC Direct (which used to do a lot more than action figures and statues) released a sterling silver Wonder Woman ring, as shown here. It sold for $79.95 US ($139.95 Canadian) and was available in at least whole sizes 6-13. They also made rings for Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern (duh) that I know of, […]
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I really liked Banana Sunday, the story of a girl taking three apes to school. Written by Paul Tobin (under the psuedonym, for some reason, of Root Nibot) and drawn by Colleen Coover, it was first published in 2006 from Oni Press. It was cute and funny and, as you’d expect from Coover, very well cartooned. The monkeys were adorable! Now Oni has announced that Banana Sunday will be returning in color this coming October. It’ll be under Tobin’s name, […]
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There have been a number of European-published graphic novel biographies about artists translated into English, but Monet: Itinerant of Light, written by Salva Rubio and illustrated by Efa, is the best of them I’ve read. For one thing, this book doesn’t require you already knowing about the protagonist’s life to understand what’s going on. All of the basics are laid out clearly, and the significance of other important figures is either presented or understandable through context. Monet’s art is also […]
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Time Warner had FilmStruck (launched 2016), an arthouse movie streaming service focusing on indie and foreign films. They also had Warner Archive Instant (launched 2013), which provided streaming of classic movie and TV shows. Now, they just have FilmStruck, with the classic movies moving over to the first service, including such well-known titles as Casablanca, Rebel Without a Cause, Singin’ in the Rain, Citizen Kane, The Music Man, Bringing Up Baby, The Thin Man, and Cat People. The Warner Archive […]
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The latest DC Super Hero Girls comic is just as good as rest of the series! DC Super Hero Girls: Date with Disaster! stays true to the high school concept by setting the action around a coming winter formal dance. First, though, Batgirl, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Bumblebee, and Poison Ivy have to save people from a lab explosion in a high-rise downtown building. We also get significant roles for reporters Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Ron Troupe, as well as […]
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Word has just come out that the end of this series by Bisco Hatori is in sight in Japan, and no one will be terribly surprised. It’s an entertaining series, but not a particularly memorable or remarkable one. The plotlines here in Behind the Scenes!! volume 5 indicate a certain amount of casting around for purpose. The first chapter even has some of the characters asking the leader of the special effects group why they’ve taken a particular job, that […]
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Pride of the Decent Man is the kind of quiet, literary graphic novel that’s too easily overlooked, because it doesn’t have a high concept with a catchy hook. As told by T.J. Kirsch, it’s a simple story, but one with great resonance, about a life full of struggles and poor choices made, culminating in being in the wrong place at the wrong time out of the best of motives. Life can be nasty, this book tells us, with entire lives […]
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The Questionable Behavior of Dahlia Moss is the third in the series of mysteries featuring an accidental hipster geek detective, after The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss and The Astonishing Mistakes of Dahlia Moss, all by Max Wirestone. I liked it best, because the heroine and the series both seemed to have calmed down a little, focusing on figuring out what’s gone wrong instead of dropping trends to a distracting degree. Dahlia has been enlisted as an industrial spy, only […]
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