April 12, 2011 Johanna Other Publishers Leave a comment

Blink: So Far

Max Ink, one of my favorite minicomic creators, has just collected much of his work as Blink: So Far. This 96-page, black-and-white volume contains the stories from “Up Leaves Fall Down”, “Experiencing Creative Difficulties”, “Barefoot in America, Breakfast in the Park”, and “Breathe in Beat”, as well as additional pieces that have appeared in anthologies. But the book doesn’t contain the “creatorial” illustrated author notes or sketchbook back sections with comments that also appeared in the minicomics. It’s as though […]

March 30, 2011 Johanna Dark Horse One comment

Usagi Yojimbo #136

A new three-part storyline pits the samurai rabbit against the Red Scorpion Gang of thieves. The color covers (by Tom Luth) are so pretty that I sometimes wish the interior wasn’t black and white, although it does show off the skill of Stan Sakai’s storytelling. There’s something universally attractive about the story of a lone fighter, always traveling, who stands by his own code of what’s right. An early scene, where Usagi, defeated enemies splayed around him, faces off with […]

March 27, 2011 Johanna Bloomsbury USA 4 comments

Psychiatric Tales: Eleven Graphic Stories About Mental Illness

Darryl Cunningham worked for a time at a psychiatric ward in England, so he knows whereof he speaks when it comes to portraying mental illness and the effect it has on those who suffer with it. Psychiatric Tales is based on the diary he kept during his time as a health care assistant. However, I must quibble with the subtitle — these aren’t stories so much as essays, points about how society treats psychiatric problems punctuated with case studies. That […]

March 19, 2011 Johanna Oni Press / Lion Forge 2 comments

Possessions Volume 2: The Ghost Table

The first Possessions book, Unclean Getaway, was a pleasant surprise for me last year. I didn’t expect to like a kids’ book about a demon possessing a little girl and its ghostly friends, but the story was told with such energy and humor by Ray Fawkes that I was charmed. Where the previous book was done in black, white, and “sickly green”, The Ghost Table is highlighted in bluish turquoise. The demon Gurgazon is an inhabitant of the House for […]

March 18, 2011 Johanna Dark Horse One comment

The Guild: Tink

The earlier Guild miniseries got me watching the web series, so you’d think I’d be interested in the followup one-shots that explore various characters. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, since I’ve found the two so far to be slightly disappointing. They don’t tell me much new about the characters, and since the characters tend to be unpleasant verging-on-stereotypes anyway (especially without the mitigating charm of the actors’ performances), I regret spending more time with them in print. Even though The […]

March 17, 2011 Johanna Other Publishers 3 comments

Comic Book Comics #5

It’s been almost a year and a half since the previous issue (Nov 2009), but when you see how much is packed into this “All-Lawsuit Issue”, you’ll understand the wait. I imagine that the research for this installment was particularly important to get right, given the litigious topic. (While we’re on the subject, I know that publishers that run notices of this sort are only trying to protect themselves from bigger, sometimes mean companies — “Goofy & Mickey Mouse are […]

March 16, 2011 Johanna Oni Press / Lion Forge 2 comments

Ivy

From a few years’ perspective, Ivy’s struggles are heartbreaking. I alternated between wanting to shake some sense into her, to listen and hug her, and wishing this was a Choose Your Own Adventure book so I could show her how alternate decisions would have been so much better. Ivy is a teen artist, struggling with the uncertainties of high school friendships and where to go to college and how to separate from her single mother. She’s one of the most […]

March 13, 2011 Johanna Oni Press / Lion Forge 2 comments

Hopeless Savages: Greatest Hits 2000-2010

written by Jen Van Meter; art by Christine Norrie, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Chynna Clugston Flores, Ross Campbell, Andi Watson, Vera Brosgul, Becky Cloonan, Mike Norton, Tim Fish I already owned the three books — Hopeless Savages, Ground Zero, and Too Much Hopeless Savages — plus the one-shot, The B-Sides, contained here. I’ve read them and loved them. But the release of a one-volume catch-up collection was a wonderful excuse to re-read and remember just why I adored this series and […]

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