The story of the clockwork faerie continues with the second book in Jane Irwin’s series of gorgeous, painted, modern-day fairytales. As with any good series, you don’t need to have read the first volume (in which Vögelein copes with the death of her caretaker) to enjoy this one. Vögelein now carries her own key and as Vogelein: Old Ghosts opens, she’s acting as something of a daredevil, riding wind gusts in the city. It’s a beautiful sequence, introducing the character […]

King of the Cats more deeply explores the world of the Nyima, the lion people first seen in the Finder: Sin-Eater books by Carla Speed McNeil. The Nyima women are quite accomplished. Although they look like lionesses, they walk erect, use tools (especially guns), and conduct diplomatic missions. The males, except for the leaders, are more likely to go feral, running on all fours like the lions we think of. Jaeger’s working for a tour company as armed escort, getting […]

In Finder: Sin-Eater, Jaeger has returned to the city of Anvard after six months in the desert. He ends up staying with Emma and her three children as he recovers from a beating. Her husband, Brigham, was a former army officer of Jaeger’s and a control freak who abused his family mentally. Although he’s in military prison, they’re still living with their fear of him. Jaeger is a scout, a tracker, a Finder, part of a secret society. He’s also […]

I really enjoyed the first issue, and I’m thrilled to see that there’s more. It’s even better for being a Christmas issue. After Abby and her boyfriend Mark (who’s also the Crusader) attend a friend’s wedding, we get to the meat of the issue: What should Mark get Abby for Christmas? And how will holiday family visits go? Although the situations can be familiar, the humor stays fresh. Actually, it probably works so well because the reader sortof kindof knows […]

Many of the stories from the previous three Little Lit hardcover volumes have been reprinted in this new paperback edition. It’s a wonderful anthology with contributions from a wide range of very talented artists, all edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly and now available at a bargain price. It’s a great sampler to expose kids to a variety of approaches to art, too; styles range from colorfully cartoony to classically illustrative. Like their classic forebears, the modern fairy tales […]

The latest chapter in this thrilling “gaslamp fantasy” series by Phil & Kaja Foglio reveals a number of secrets. Agatha Heterodyne and the Clockwork Princess opens with a narrow escape, as the traveling players (introduced in The Circus of Dreams) are set upon by a huge group of killing creatures. That allows for the sudden entry of three Jagers, my favorite characters. The Jagers as a tribe are bred for fighting, and I find their simplistic, amoral love of killing […]

Agatha Heterodyne encounters a brand-new group of terrific characters in this chapter of the “gaslamp fantasy” series by Phil & Kaja Foglio, Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus of Dreams. Agatha has escaped from the flying castle of Baron Wulfenbach (as seen in The Monster Engine). She’s accompanied by a grumpy talking cat that serves as comic relief. They quickly run into a traveling caravan of show people, a group that provides a wonderful opportunity for the Foglios to sketch a […]

Girl Genius by Phil & Kaja Foglio is a fun “gaslamp fantasy” starring a young woman just discovering her abilities. The first volume, Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank, establishes the setting and characters for the ongoing steampunk adventure series. Agatha’s world is one of mad science, run by privileged nobles who display the Spark needed to work steam-powered technological magic. She’s a lowly lab assistant in this Cinderella story. No one, including herself, yet suspects that she possess the […]