Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
The sequel to The Plot Is Murder by V.M. Burns is just as much a pleasant, undemanding diversion. I won’t remember much of Read Herring Hunt, but I didn’t regret spending an hour or so with the characters. There’s not as much in the bookstore this time around. Instead, Sam (the owner and our protagonist) and her overactive grandmother Nana Jo help Sam’s assistant Dawson when he’s accused of murder. He’s the quarterback for the local college football team, and […]
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Reviewed by KC Carlson DC Comics Variant Covers: The Complete Visual History is the latest offering from Insight Editions, who specialize in 11″x14″ oversize hardcovers covering the best of comics. Some of their previous selections include Marvel’s Black Panther: The Illustrated History of a King: The Complete Comics Chronology, The Art of Harley Quinn, Marvel’s Black Widow: Creating the Avenging Super-Spy: The Complete Comics History, Marvel Vehicles: Owner’s Workshop Manual (in case you want to build a Helicarrier in your […]
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The third book in the Gum Girl series by Rhode Montijo with Luke Reynolds, The Gumazing Gum Girl: Popped Star, addresses the concerns readers and parents may have had around the girl hero hiding her abilities from her family. Previously, Gabby Gonzalez became a stretchy superhero when she chewed bubblegum, but her love of gum concerned her father, a dentist. Now, he’s going to fill a cavity in her tooth, and she’s resolved to reveal her secret identity to her […]
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Out in May is a new addition to the Phoebe and Her Unicorn series of books by Dana Simpson. Today I’ll Be a Unicorn is a board book aimed at preschoolers. It’s short, 12 pages, as typical of the format, and each two-page spread is one image of Phoebe and Marigold (the unicorn). There’s not a lot of art, but the concept is immediately understandable. Phoebe wants to be a unicorn, until she finds out what they eat. It’s cute […]
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Tess of the Road is an astounding book that presents a heartbreaking portrait of a young woman finally breaking the shackles of a restrictive upbringing in a fantasy world. Aided by a serpent-like quigutl, a species cousin to dragons, Tess overcomes her outcast status to find and value what she wants to be. After Tess’s early disgrace, the end result of a religiously-focused mother trying to break the spirit of a creative, outgoing young girl without giving her the tools […]
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Since old people are the only ones who still buy magazines, it makes sense to make more magazines for old people. Have you heard of ReMIND magazine? It combines “a nostalgia magazine and a puzzle magazine all in one! Each issue has dozens of brain-teasing puzzles, trivia quizzes, classic comics, and features from the 1950s-1980s.” They’ve already cover-featured “Wonder Women” and “Classic Superheroes”. It’s put out by the same people behind TV Guide, which still exists. I was thinking about […]
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Drawing Cute with Katie Cook: 200+ Lessons for Drawing Super Adorable Stuff is almost exactly what it says. (One could quibble with “lessons”, since most of the pages are just four process steps, from the first blob to the finished sketch.) This is a book that educates through encouraging mimicry, a time-tested approach. I can’t think of anything else out there like it, and I’d easily give it to an aspiring artist. The chapters cover animals, food, sports and games, […]
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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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