June 7, 2023 Johanna Drawn & Quarterly 2 comments

Revenge of the Librarians

With Revenge of the Librarians, Tom Gauld returns with another volume of witty, insightful cartoons about books, writers, and readers, following You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack and Baking With Kafka. The humor requires a certain level of literacy, but the feeling of “getting it” is addictive, reminding us of the joy of books. Gauld’s comic strips often make readers feel clever for getting the reference or feeling better informed after reading. There’s a wonderful, warm emotion of “oh! […]

May 25, 2023 Johanna Other Publishers Leave a comment

Impossible People: A Completely Average Recovery Story

Julia Wertz’s latest autobiographical comic puts all the rest of them — Drinking at the Movies, Museum of Mistakes (to be rereleased next month), The Infinite Wait and Other Stories — into new context. Impossible People: A Completely Average Recovery Story is 300-plus pages of deceptively simply, impressively readable comics about her finally acknowledging her alcoholism and how she decided to change her life. Her journey isn’t always inspiring or straightforward, but it’s honest and relatable. Wertz starts the book […]

May 3, 2023 Johanna Andrews McMeel Leave a comment

Animal Rescue Friends

Young readers might enjoy these slight stories about kids helping animals, but overall, Animal Rescue Friends is bland. It’s written by Gina Loveless and Meika Hashimoto and illustrated by Genevieve Kote. Maddie finds a lost dog in the park and takes it home. Since her apartment building doesn’t allow pets, she has to take it to Animal Rescue Friends. She starts volunteering as a way to keep seeing the animal. She and another volunteer fight, which leads to a horse […]

April 20, 2023 Johanna First Second Leave a comment

Why the People: The Case for Democracy

Why the People: The Case for Democracy is another in First Second’s line of World Citizen comics, civics-focused non-fiction graphic novels that aim to “equip readers to be active citizens and informed voters.” I’m always a bit hesitant when I pick up one of these titles, as part of me hasn’t shaken the idea that educational works, particularly about politics and citizenship, are going to be too good-for-me to be entertaining. Thankfully, Why the People uses images and metaphors in […]

April 14, 2023 Johanna Marvel, Other Publishers Leave a comment

Doctor Strange (Folio Society Edition)

The Folio Society, the upscale publisher of limited editions, has released a fifth book in their Marvel Heroes series. (I previously talked about the Folio Society when I covered their Black Panther collection.) This time, it’s one of my favorite Marvel characters: Doctor Strange! As with the other books, Roy Thomas has selected the 13 stories reprinted here and written an introduction, explaining his choices. The hardcover is brilliantly colored, representing the psychedelic peak period of the Sorcerer Supreme. It […]

April 6, 2023 Johanna Other Publishers Leave a comment

Crunch by Kayla Miller

Olive Branche, the star of the series beginning with Click (and most recently continued with Clash), faces a new challenge in Crunch by Kayla Miller. She’s got so many things she wants to do — guitar lessons, Berry Scouts, school politics, and a contest to make a short film — that basics like sleep and homework are falling by the wayside. The political challenge is particularly timely, as she and her friends set out to demonstrate that the school dress […]

April 5, 2023 Johanna Oni Press / Lion Forge Leave a comment

A Quick & Easy Guide to Consent

Isabella Rotman presents an incredibly important subject in straightforward, understandable fashion in A Quick & Easy Guide to Consent, fourth in the series of Quick & Easy Guides. Sargeant Yes Means Yes from the Consent Cavalry helps various couples get past assumptions to better understand how important (and fun) consent can be. The situations are common, the questions often unspoken but necessary, as the Sergeant points out. Topics covered include “what is consent?”, particularly affirmative consent. We learn about the […]

April 3, 2023 Johanna First Second Leave a comment

History Comics: The Stonewall Riots

I’m impressed and thrilled to see this subject included in a line of graphic novels about history for young people. History Comics: The Stonewall Riots: Making a Stand for LGBTQ Rights is written by Archie Bongiovanni (A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns) and illustrated by A. Andrews (A Quick & Easy Guide to Sex & Disability). The introduction, by professor Michael Bronski, sums up the importance of works like this one. “We must acknowledge our history, reflect on […]

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