I love the internet. I don’t remember how I first heard of Breena Wiederhoeft or her work, but I visited her website, where she put the full first chapter of this book online as a PDF preview. After reading it, I knew I needed to know more about what happened to these characters. Click, pay, and here was a chunky (over 250 pages) volume ready for me to read. Picket Line is one of the last Xeric Award grant recipients. […]

I knew Larry Gonick did excellent illustrated histories, but I had no idea that he knew so much about math. (Although co-writing The Cartoon Guide to Statistics might have been a hint. Turns out he used to teach calculus at Harvard.) In The Cartoon Guide to Calculus, “the mathematics of change”, we begin with brief history (Newton and Leibniz), but quickly, we’re into formulas and functions. However, even those are accompanied by cartoon kibitzing, which makes the material come alive […]

This self-referential series, a history of comics in comic form, ends with this issue. It’s a mixed bag, looking both forward and backward. The first chapter tackles the question of identifying the first graphic novel. As someone interested in comic history — that’s why I’m reading this comic — I’d already heard most of this information, so I found myself skimming. Various titles, including Gil Kane’s Blackmark and It Rhymes With Lust, are mentioned in a panel or two each. […]

I enjoy Meredith Gran’s art style, with the big circle eyes reminiscent of Faith Erin Hicks or Bryan Lee O’Malley, but I wasn’t previously able to get into her webcomic Octopus Pie. I tried the first book, There Are No Stars in Brooklyn, but I had a hard time keeping all the cast members straight, and I found the subjects uninteresting. I had something of an antipathy towards apathetic Brooklyn hipsters and their druggie friends floating through life, although if […]

Mark Oakley is one of those workman creators who puts out terrific work over a long period of time but whom you may not be familiar with, because he’s never had that breakthrough moment. His fantasy comic series Thieves & Kings has been going since 1994. Turns out he’s also been drawing a charming comic called Stardrop for a Nova Scotia newspaper for the past few years, and he runs it biweekly on his website. There’s a book version of […]

The prolific Keith Knight, in addition to his daily comic strip and weekly comic panel, also puts out an editorial-style comic commenting on politics and current events called (Th)ink. Too Small to Fail is the third (Th)ink collection, after Red, White, Black & Blue and Are We Feeling Safer Yet?, and the first including cartoons created post-Bush. The over 120 panels cover such topics as the election of President Obama the recession, unemployment rates, and other economic concerns military presence […]

I’m breaking one of my rules here, because I am a total Faith Erin Hicks fangirl. I love her work. She even got me to like a zombie comic. So even though this collection of her webcomic The Adventures of Superhero Girl is only available from her at convention appearances, I’m still talking about it. (Normally, I only review comics that are easily available to readers.) Just the Usual Superpowers collects the first 55 Adventures of Superhero Girl strips. (The […]

I’ve been remiss in not talking about Cathy Leamy’s comics before now. I mentioned her Greenblooded a couple of years ago, due to its unique subject matter (“an introduction to eco-friendly feminine hygiene”), but I haven’t covered her main series, the anthology Geraniums and Bacon. Each issue is 20 pages of introspection and observation, with expressive, cute, approachable drawings. Instead of being self-indulgent, her self-awareness is eye-opening. I learned things and took lessons in how to approach my own life […]