Queer as All Get Out combines two popular comic genres — graphic memoir and non-fiction biography — in outstanding fashion. Author Shelby Criswell lives in Texas. They cope with “unwanted attention for being visibly queer” by reflecting on the lives of ten people whose stories reveal different aspects of queer experience. I could identify with their mixed feelings about liking where they live but being discouraged by Southern intolerance. Their story, and this graphic novel, is a welcome reminder that […]

Sherlock Holmes International is the latest Holmes-themed Graphic Novel Adventure. These books are also games, choose-your-own-path comics where the reader gets to investigate crime scenes by turning to different panels. Witnesses are interrogated, with the reader only able to ask some of the set of questions. If they ask the wrong question, though, the suspect might get upset and refuse to answer. This volume contains three cases, with Sherlock Holmes accompanied by his brother Mycroft. Because of Mycroft’s government position, […]

Let’s Make Dumplings!, the comic book cookbook by Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan, is incredibly thorough, which makes it ideal for a deep dive into a cuisine almost everyone loves: Asian dumplings. The book, illustrated in simple style but brimming with detail, is friendly in tone, as though the authors are keeping you company in the kitchen. The reader will learn legends, ingredients, equipment, and techniques, including how to fold different shapes and how to eat them. The recipe section […]

The Poorcraft Cookbook is an outstanding addition to the Poorcraft series. The original volume, which came out in 2012, had a handful of recipes (focusing on rice, beans, pasta, potatoes, and a roast chicken) in the food chapter. This volume, by Nero Villagallos O’Reilly, expands greatly on the idea. It takes a while before we actually get to the recipes, as advice on buying and cooking comes first. Penny (the one with the practical advice) and her dog Nickel help […]

Hope Larson’s All Together Now is the second book in the Eagle Rock trilogy, which began with All Summer Long. While the first book dealt with Bina’s lonely summer, this volume tackles creativity and relationships. (Eagle Rock is the name of the Los Angeles neighborhood where Bina lives.) Bina and her friend Darcy have a band, but they need a drummer. They find Enzo, but adding a new person means the relationships change, particularly once Darcy and Enzo start dating. […]

Dead Reckoning is an imprint of the Naval Institute Press dedicated to graphic novels and focused on military history and biography. That’s specialized, but this release, authored by Ben Towle, has the potential to greatly expand their readership. Who can resist stories of brave animals? Four-Fisted Tales: Animals in Combat contains short pieces about various creatures who’ve fought in wars. The title is a little odd, as few animals can make fists, but it’s a reference to Two-Fisted Tales, the […]

A friend turned me on to this short but gorgeous comic by Letty Wilson from the small, UK-based Quindrie Press. Two knights, friends, are returning from a skirmish when they encounter a mysterious knight in red armor who challenges them. That’s the panel that won me over. (It helped that I had the tiniest whiff of being reminded of Good Omens.) The resulting battle has unforeseen consequences. The story is about obsession and friendship and memory and fear and identity. […]

I really love this job. I get to check out books I would never have otherwise seen and learn about little-known but impressive work. Take, for example, Friday Foster: The Sunday Strips, a reprint collection due from Ablaze next month. Friday Foster was a comic strip created and written by Jim Lawrence and illustrated by Jorge (aka Jordi) Longarón. It was explicitly brought about to address the lack of Black comic leads in syndicated comics and ran from 1970-1974. Friday, […]