Dick Tracy on Blu-ray

Dick Tracy was released on Blu-ray last month. I saw the movie when it came out, and I was impressed by the cast. I also liked the limited palette, with only a few shades of bright colors used to give the movie a comic-strip look. For instance, early on, a set of oil barrels are red, green, and yellow, and suits are similar crazy shades — emerald, purple, and so on. It looks like someone spilled their crayon box all […]

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Best Graphic Novels of 2012

Here’s what I thought were the best graphic novels of 2012, in order, based on what affected, entertained, and enlightened me. For more information on any of the following titles, the links take you to my reviews. This may be the first time in years that I’ve managed to review all of the titles I’m recommending before this list was due! Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me by Ellen Forney Drama by Raina Telgemeier Friends With Boys by Faith Erin […]

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The Infinite Wait and Other Stories

The Infinite Wait and Other Stories is Julia Wertz’s followup to Drinking at the Movies, her collection of autobiographical comics about moving to New York. Her art style hasn’t changed, although here it’s often more ambitious in the contents of her panels, with more detailed backgrounds and complex staging. She still draws herself with spaghetti arms, saucer eyes, and helmet hair, though, which provides a comfortable familiarity. What’s different is how she’s framing her stories. This book has three “comic […]

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A Wrinkle in Time

The highest praise I can give an adaptation is that this graphic novel version of the classic science fiction fantasy novel by Madeleine L’Engle gave me new insight into the beloved story. Meg Murry struggles at school, for social and academic reasons. She’s too bright for the other kids to be comfortable around her, she’s too distracted to care about class, and she doesn’t even bother trying to fit in. Her younger brother, Charles Wallace, is thought to be “just […]

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Drama

Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, about her adolescence, was one of my best graphic novels of 2010. Now, as she moves into fiction, she’s put out another outstanding title. Drama is one of the best graphic novels of 2012. It’s the story of Callie, who’s the set designer for the school play. She’s got a crush on her friend Greg, but after telling him of her feelings, he starts avoiding her. (Kids. Easier not to talk about something than face the difficult […]

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Support the Big Feminist BUT

I don’t talk about Kickstarters and similar requests for funding unless I personally am willing to support the project by donating — so here’s my latest choice: The Big Feminist BUT. It’s an anthology of comic stories edited by Shannon O’Leary and Joan Reilly “about women, men, and feminism! It’s about the state of equality between the sexes today.” The title comes from the way so many people feel they need to say “I’m not a feminist, but…” since “feminism” […]

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Poorcraft: The Funnybook Fundamentals of Living Well on Less

Poorcraft is obviously a terrific guide for college students, but it’s also full of inspiring ideas for anyone facing a life change or wanting to get their finances under control. Writer Spike Trotman covers all the basics of personal spending: food, housing, entertainment, transportation, and more. Now, some of her suggestions will seem far out to some readers, but there’s so much good advice here that it’s easy just to focus on what inspires or relates to your particular situation. […]

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My Year in Manga 2012

In past years, I’ve written a post titled “Best Manga of [Year]”. This year, I’m retitling. My manga reading has decreased, in part due to my interests swinging back a bit to graphic novels, in part due to what material has been available. This year, I’m just looking back at what I enjoyed reading this year. I’m still using similar criteria in determining “Best” for me — and looking back at last year’s post, even then, I was noting fewer […]

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