Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
When I started this series, I read an awful lot into the first volume. Based on what I saw, I was expecting a dramatic exploration of the contrasts between appearance and behavior as twins were set in opposition to each other, layered over with the message of optimistic struggle making a dream come true. So when I read the second volume, I was shocked to find that it went in a radically different direction, with a very different kind of […]
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Now that information on Archie #604 is starting to come out, due to advance solicitation dates, the media is picking up on the fact that Archie marrying Veronica is an imaginary story, and there’s going to be a corresponding storyline in which Archie marries Betty, beginning in Archie #603. The New York Times attempted to sensationalize the idea with a story that began “Is Archie Andrews a bigamist?” That ties into a lot of adult reader fantasies when they think […]
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Earlier this year, Erika Moen published a print collection of her webcomic DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary, after some struggles with printers due to explicit adult content. An edited version of this interview was previously published at Publishers Weekly Comics Week. We discussed many things I didn’t have room to cover there, so the following is longer and in question-and-answer format. You’ve been creating this diary webcomic since 2003. What made you decide to put out a […]
Read moreIf you’re in the U.S., as of December 1, the Federal Trade Commission has made it mandatory for bloggers to disclose any payment or free items they receive in return for reviews. If you don’t, “penalties include up to $11,000 in fines per violation.” No specifics were provided on how the items must be disclosed. (Update: The FTC has clarified through questions from the affected: the fine potential is for advertisers, not bloggers.) Last time the subject came up, at […]
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I enjoyed Surrogates, the science-fiction thriller starring Bruce Willis, more than I expected, and I’m glad I saw it. I even enjoyed it more than the graphic novel it was based on. That’s because I was always more involved in the cultural and societal changes than the murder mystery. It was easier to see how the world was different (and yet similar) on the screen instead of on the page. Although I appreciated the ways they changed the plot in […]
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I almost didn’t read this book, because it’s about zombies. I don’t like zombies. I don’t get the appeal. I have liked one zombie comic, but that’s because it had a really big, really good sense of humor about the whole thing. By prominently promoting this graphic novel as containing “a foreword by Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead“, it’s clear that this effort is trying to speak to zombie fans, not people like me. But I did read […]
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High Moon, written by David Gallaher and illustrated by Steve Ellis, was the winner of the first month’s competition at DC Comics’ Zuda site, back in 2007. Now, it’s the second volume they’ve brought to print (after Jeremy Love’s Bayou). Both are in a horizontal format, where each of the online “screens” becomes one page. It’s cowboys and werewolves in the Old West, but instead of a historical approach, this story’s all about the shock and action. Macgregor is the […]
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The latest Manga Guide to science covers Molecular Biology, the study of cells, genes, DNA, and their behavior. It’s an intimidating subject, treated in a fanciful way to make it more comprehensible by writer Masaharu Takemura and artist Sakura. The framing premise follows Ami and Rin, two college students about to flunk their molecular biology course because they never go to class. Their professor sends them to make-up classes on his private island (must be nice!), where they use a […]
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