Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
I enjoyed reading Julia Wertz’s Drinking at the Movies so much that I picked up her previous book, The Fart Party Volume 2. I’m glad I did. It was a different experience than the book I’d read, but equally enjoyable. This book is much more a webcomic collection than the newer book, which has some longer stories. I like reading these volumes in backward chronological order, because it’s like getting to know a new friend and then hearing more stories […]
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Scott Chantler has previously created some astounding historical fiction — Northwest Passage was one of my Best Graphic Novels of 2007 — but here, he expands into a real-life “graphic memoir”. Two Generals is based on his grandfather’s diary during World War II, as Chantler explains in an illustrated prologue. Law Chantler and his buddy Jack were officers in the Highland Light Infantry of Canada, but much of their service took place overseas as part of the Allied invasion of […]
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All books are review copies provided by the publishers. The Adventures of Unemployed Man written by Erich Origen and Gan Golan; pencils by Ramona Fradon, Rick Veitch, Michael Netzer; inks by Terry Beatty, Joe Rubinstein; additional art by Benton Jew, Thomas Yeates, Shawn Martinbrough Little, Brown and Company, $14.99 US The superhero genre is used for satire of our current economic system, with stunning art by some accomplished veterans. The Ultimatum represents the hypocrisy of rich people who blame the […]
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I thought I was tired of autobiographical comics, but after reading this gem by Julia Wertz, I realized I was only tired of diary strips (or to use the upscale term, “graphic memoirs”) with nothing to say. In contrast, Wertz has in Drinking at the Movies a simple concept for a through-line: how and why she moved to New York (Brooklyn, specifically) from San Francisco. It’s not an unfamiliar story — and that makes it more relatable, as most of […]
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The tendency of the first book to work around its heroine, making her an observer instead of a protagonist, is even more pronounced in this followup, to negative effect. In short, throughout Miss Don’t Touch Me Volume 2, Blanche is a victim. She’s picked on, taken advantage of, drugged, and abused, and the closest she gets to learning anything or taking action is having others tell her, “you should have done this instead, but it’s too late now.” This volume […]
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Here’s where Berkeley Breathed’s Bloom County hits its peak, covering the 1984 election by having the various animals enter politics as members of the Meadow Party. (This was also about the midpoint of its run, since the strip ran from 1980-1989.) Bill the Cat is running for President in spite of his scandals, bad habits, and state of mortality — dead. Today, when politics have become so nasty and fragmented and hateful, it’s quite amusing to read the satire of […]
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I don’t recall which convention I found this at — probably SPX — but I’m glad I did. It’s an excellent argument for making webcomic books. I wouldn’t have looked twice at the minimally illustrated webcomic, but as a book, I could flip through, find some wisdom, and decide to buy, where I could read it at my own pace. Now I’m signing up to subscribe to the strip online. Ryan Dow calls his work “introspective comics”, and so they […]
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My favorite young adult soap opera webcomic, Questionable Content, has finally been collected! The strip by Jeph Jacques has been running since 2003, publishing more than 1700 comics so far. I don’t remember when I started reading it, but it was long after its beginning, so I’m thrilled to get a chance to see the start. The book is available direct from TopatoCo; Questionable Content volume 1 is $18 (plus shipping). It collects the first 300 strips with artist commentary […]
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