September 30, 2012 Johanna Other Publishers 2 comments

Dirt Candy: A Cookbook

I hadn’t previously heard of Amanda Cohen, owner and chef behind the Dirt Candy vegetable restaurant in New York City, but that’s not surprising, since I’m primarily a carnivore. However, I was familiar with the outstanding work of artist Ryan Dunlavey, most recently on the impressive Comic Book History of Comics. He’s a wizard with the presentation of non-fiction material in comic format. Given how a cookbook is a natural for visual presentation — showing techniques, for example, or what […]

September 16, 2012 Johanna Atheneum Books One comment

Amelia Rules! Her Permanent Record

The eighth and final book in the outstanding Amelia Rules! series ends as it began: with hope. In the face of all her uncertainties and crazy friends, Amelia still has a clear head on her shoulders and the determination to see things through as best she can. We won’t see any more of Amelia for a while, if ever, but Her Permanent Record is a satisfying conclusion to her story. (For now, I hope.) Most all the key characters are […]

September 14, 2012 Johanna First Second Leave a comment

Tune: Vanishing Point

I wish I’d paid more attention to the book information that says “first volume of a series”. I somehow was expecting Tune: Vanishing Point to conclude in this book, or even to reach a satisfying stopping point. I don’t think it did. There may not be a volume two for another few years, and by that point, I won’t remember much of this one. It also takes the story a long time to get started. I don’t think it’s spoiling […]

September 10, 2012 Johanna Dark Horse 2 comments

Spike #2

Out this Wednesday is the second issue of the newest Spike miniseries, this time from Dark Horse. (Which means it’s at least reasonably priced at $3.) [Huge apologies — just realized that I got my weeks mixed up and this isn’t out until next week, September 19.] Spike is my favorite Buffy cast member, but he’s a tricky one to handle. You want to keep him snarky, but without ignoring all the soulful character development that’s become part of his […]

September 10, 2012 Johanna Oni Press / Lion Forge Leave a comment

Stumptown Volume 2 #1

The much-praised Stumptown series (first story published 2009-2010) returns on Wednesday with a new storyline written by Greg Rucka and drawn by Matthew Southworth. Portland private eye Dex takes on “The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case”, involving a stolen guitar. It’s Miriam Bracca’s favorite, and it’s a vintage Les Paul. The monologue where Mim explains the importance of tools to an artist, backed by images of typical rock journalism, is worth reading all on its own. The […]

September 9, 2012 Johanna Graphic Universe 2 comments

My Boyfriend Is a Monster: Wrapped Up in You

Wrapped Up in You is the sixth in the “My Boyfriend Is a Monster” series. I’ve previously written about most of the other volumes: Made for Each Other — Frankenstein’s Monster My Boyfriend Bites — Vampire Under His Spell — Faerie I Date Dead People — Ghost As you might guess from Wrapped Up in You, the monster this time is Mummy. Only it’s not some grody guy in dirty linen, but a reincarnated Incan prince raised from the dead […]

September 9, 2012 Johanna First Second 3 comments

Adventures in Cartooning: Christmas Special

Ready for Christmas? No, I’m not either, but distribution vagaries and selling seasons mean that the Adventures in Cartooning: Christmas Special goes on sale next week. I didn’t read the first Adventures in Cartooning book, but I suspect it had the same mix of charm and cheerleading for comic creation. The art’s deceptively simple, a great choice for a book with the message, “you, too, can and should draw comics.” It’s got a lot of detail, though, which instantly throws […]

Lovers' Lane: The Hall-Mills Mystery cover

August 22, 2012 Johanna NBM / Papercutz 2 comments

Lovers’ Lane: The Hall-Mills Mystery — A Treasury of XXth Century Murder

It’s always a morbid pleasure to read another Rick Geary tale of unsolved murder. His true-life story retellings are involving and frustrating — because even now, almost a hundred years later, we still don’t know exactly what happened and who to blame. Lovers’ Lane: The Hall-Mills Mystery is the perfect story for our uncertain times, one involving illicit romance, death, finger-pointing, sex leading to scandal, and no solid answers to stand on. We’ll never know the truth, and we have […]

« 1 … 103 104 105 106 107 … 166 »