Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
Guest review by Ed Sizemore ** This review contains spoilers. ** Gesicht is in Japan to warn Atom that the boy robot is one of the targets of the mysterious robot killer. Also, Gesicht has decided to ask Atom’s opinion on the case so far. Atom downloads Gesicht’s memories and agrees to help as he can. Gesicht moves on to Greece where he warns Hercules that he is also a target. Hercules, like Brando, is a fighting robot. However, unlike […]
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Rumiko Takahashi, the most successful manga-ka in the modern era, author of such classics as Maison Ikkoku and Ranma ½, has started a new series. RIN-NE is being published simultaneously in the US and Japan. They get print, we get online. It’s about a schoolgirl who sees ghosts — a common manga concept, but one I’m sure Takahashi will put her own spin on. At the new website The Rumic World, you’ll also get news on Takahashi’s projects, including information […]
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It’s long been a witticism that the only people left reading superhero comics are those who want to create them. To address this audience, DC Comics has published, in association with Watson-Guptill Publications, a series of guides to working on the various comic book crafts. They’re broken out in the traditional division of labor on the corporate assembly line — Writing, Pencilling, Inking, Coloring and Lettering — and the talent behind them are accomplished in their respective fields. The DC […]
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I’m reading Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, but I’ve never read Astro Boy, so I found this character comparison chart particularly fascinating. I didn’t realize how much Naoki Urasawa was cleaning up the characters, making them more realistic than cartoony. The chart is by Xavier Guilbert, as part of his Pluto review (translated from the French).
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This summer, Archie #600 features Archie marrying Veronica in a storyline that looks at the gang after they graduate college. It’s written by Michael Uslan (producer of many superhero movies) and drawn by Stan Goldberg, who’s been drawing Archie for almost 40 years. Reportedly, this is only part 1 of a six-part storyline that will also show, in future issues, what would happen if Archie married Betty. Archie #600 is due out August 19. This sounds like an imaginary, “what […]
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Wolverine, the Marvel Comics superhero with the mysterious past and the magical healing factor, has been reinvented as a lonely teen martial artist in Wolverine: Prodigal Son. This manga-style adaptation has story by Antony Johnston and art by Wilson Tortosa. Logan is the best in his class at the remote Canadian school where he trains, beating even Tamara, the teacher’s daughter and a talent in her own right. He’s an unusually fast-healing “freak”, but he’s also quite attractive, with tousled […]
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Two of Hearts by Kano Miyamoto Haruya, a formerly acclaimed novelist, is in a slump. He lives by the coast and pays the bills by writing magazine articles. He and his editor are also sleeping together. One day, he spies a teenager trying to wash his clothes in the ocean. He takes pity on him and invites him in for a meal and a shower. This is a typical adoption-style storyline common to yaoi. It’s obvious from early on that […]
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Schoolhouse Rock! Earth features 11 new songs and one classic about the environment. Contents * “Report From the North Pole” Panda bears sing about melting icecaps, and a “cub” reporter (get it?) visits other animals threatened by climate change in a non-musical section. * “The Little Things We Do” Mr. Morton and Pearl return with their son Norton and cat Orton (sigh) to demonstrate how small changes can help reduce energy consumption and global warming. It’s a nice picture of […]
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