Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
There have been other comics about a same-sex world — most notably, Y: The Last Man, which still wound up being about a guy — but Aminder Dhaliwal’s is the funniest and most pointed. Originally a webcomic, Woman World has been expanded with a color introduction, mostly of full-page images, that explains fewer men were being born, but (like climate change) no one took the science seriously until it was too late. Explaining the basis for the setting isn’t necessary, […]
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DC comics have a long history of featuring gorillas, apes, and monkeys. If you’d like a capsule history of just how many, check out the latest issue of Scooby-Doo Team-Up! It’s “gorilla warfare” in issue #42 as written by Sholly Fisch and illustrated by Dario Brizuela. The mayor has called in the kids to drive Monsieur Mallah and the vampire gorilla Pryemaul out of City Hall. To help, Scooby and his friends enlist the detective Sam Simeon, Detective Chimp, and […]
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Here’s where it all ends. (At least, I assume, for a while.) Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 12: The Reckoning #4 is the last Dark Horse Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic after a twenty-year run. And, as expected, it’s a lovely finale. The slayer legacy is in danger from a crazed boy from the future who’s assembled a demon army. There’s a huge battle, full of characters from all over the Whedonverse (Fray, Angel, Faith, Illyria, throwbacks to classic TV […]
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Titan Comic is justifiably proud of its recent release of The Beatles: Yellow Submarine, a graphic novel adaptation of the animated movie to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary. I’m told that it’s a faithful reproduction of the movie — KC liked it, for example — which I believe, although I think I’ve only seen the film once or twice. The book definitely made me want to watch it again, because the print version I found mostly effective as a reminder […]
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So glad to see Sleepless return after its summer break and the release of the collection of the first storyline. It’s an outstanding series that uses fantasy and romance conventions to tell a deeper story of politics. Sarah Vaughn and Leila del Duca are showing us a young woman finding her place and power in a setting where everything seems turned against her. It’s been almost a year since we last saw the princess Poppy. She’s still being guarded, but […]
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In Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #1, the horror movie hostess met Mary Wollstonecraft; in this issue, there’s another classic figure of the genre introduced. It’s, as Elvira conveniently points out to readers, Edgar Allen Freaking Poe! As written by David Avallone and illustrated by Dave Acosta, the light and funny tone from the first issue continues, along with the fourth-wall breaking and boob mentions. However, there is some plot, and it does move along, as we learn who’s chasing […]
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Exactly what it says on the tin. D. Bradford Gambles’ A Lone Deer at the End of the World shows a deer wandering through the snow-covered wreckage of civilization, mostly an abandoned mall overtaken by nature. It’s quietly lyrical, as if you can hear the snow drifting. Larger panels are interspersed with focus images on details, reinforcing the feel of the setting. There’s a rather obvious metaphor for consumerism being behind the destruction of society. I enjoyed the issue for […]
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I can’t read most of Justin Jordan’s work. It’s purely my fault; his comics are well-done, but he’s often exploring violent topics, and I’m too squeamish. For some reason, though — perhaps because the violence here is committed on small, silly-looking mythical creatures — I enjoyed Death of Love for the modern way it takes down a certain type of whiny entitled guy complaining about the “friend zone”. Philo is a self-described “nice guy” and friend to Zoe because he […]
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