Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
It’s time to say goodbye to Scott Pilgrim, the bemused young fighter and band member we’ve watched grow up over the last six years. Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour is a satisfying conclusion to his journey from clueless boy coasting through life to young man making his own decisions and fighting for the woman he loves. The last of Ramona’s evil exes, Gideon, obviously plays a major role, but not as much of one as I expected. That’s a good thing, […]
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Got an email the other day looking for a review for a self-published graphic novel, which I won’t name because that isn’t the point, but it came from outside the traditional comic industry. The email didn’t bother to answer the questions I request from review submissions, instead sending me to their website. That’s ok, I don’t want to be dogmatic about following my guidelines, so I clicked over only to find all glossy taglines and video teaser, no actual information. […]
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Over the last three years, Friends of Lulu, the non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and increasing the visibility of women in comics, has been mentioned at this site in three contexts: 1. Their Awards program, which is geared to “bring attention to the best, most women-friendly and reader- friendly work in comics and to recognize the work of women comics creators of the past” (which, given how many awards still ignore women, is needed). In 2007, they opened voting to […]
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I have a confession to make: the major reason KC wanted our new Blu-ray player for his birthday was because he enjoys watching Lost, and he’s already anticipating Lost: The Complete Collection, out next month on August 24. The big appeal for fans like him is that the set contains additional story material, which will make this a must-have for any dedicated viewer. If you’re not a Blu-ray fan, the set is also available on DVD. Here’s the official content […]
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After several other DVD releases from different eras of the show, Super Friends! Season One, Volume Two returns to the earliest days of the cartoon. It’s a minimal set, two discs, eight episodes, from the first season, featuring Wendy, Marvin, and Wonderdog. Along with its companion Volume One, the two sets contain all the hour-long episodes (about 45 minutes here, without commercials) that launched the show in 1973. Modern viewers or those new to the show will likely find these […]
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I was curious about this summer camp mystery for two reasons: as a former kid genius, I loved the idea of a story set among smart kids, and I very much enjoy the work of artist Faith Erin Hicks (Zombies Calling, The War at Ellsmere). The second, at least, was not disappointing. Perhaps I’d created the wrong impression in my head about Brain Camp, written by Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan, but I was let down. The “creating prodigies” aspect […]
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I am spending the weekend re-reading the Scott Pilgrim books: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe Links go to my reviews, which looked at now, are shallower than I would like, because it took me years and multiple re-reads to truly appreciate what Bryan Lee O’Malley was doing with the series and characters. He’s created the defining comic series of […]
Read moreNot much to the news beyond that, unfortunately. Ali Kokmen, friend of this blog and all-around terrific guy, has been laid off from Del Rey, as revealed in the fourth paragraph of this Publishers Weekly Comic-Con writeup: … there’s another casualty in the manga market downturn. Longtime Del Rey manager marketing manager Ali Kokmen (who is roaming the floor at Comic-Con) has been laid off. Like every other manga publisher, Del Rey has been cutting back on the number of […]
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