Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
The Guild #2 continues showing us how Cyd (Felicia Day’s character) came to be part of the online role-playing game that means so much to her. It does this by emphasizing what a jerk her boyfriend is, in a structure that’s a classic example of the unreliable narrator. Cyd thinks she’s happy because she thinks she’s helping her boyfriend and his band. We, in contrast, easily see that she’s coming up with all the ideas while he’s doing nothing but […]
Read more
The Family Reunion storyline continues from issue #4. In this issue, it’s Miss Piggy’s turn, with the visit of her nephews Randy and Andy, who are incredibly stupid pigs. I never cared for them much when they appeared on Muppets Tonight!, but in print, they’re funny to me. Perhaps because I can enjoy how they waste everyone else’s time without feeling that mine is wasted, since they take up relatively less screen time. And since their appearance is framed as […]
Read more
Fraggle Rock #1 The Fraggles return in a new licensed three-issue miniseries from Archaia, the first publication stemming from their deal with the Jim Henson Company announced last year. The comic is in the square format also used by Mouse Guard, and this first issue contains three color stories for $3.95 US. The main story, by Heather White and Jeff Stokely, features faithful likenesses, but there’s a stiffness to them, a sense that we’re watching still photos of puppets instead […]
Read more
Girls With Slingshots is one of those rare soap-opera webcomic strips that’s built up a significant backstory but still remains new-reader-friendly, due to its gag-a-day structure. In other words, while capturing the adventures of a group of young adults, artist Danielle Corsetto still remembers to give each strip its own punchline. I admit, I’m still following the gang in part because the ridiculous things they do intrigue me. Often, when reading about a particularly embarrassing dating fiasco, I find myself […]
Read more
One of my favorite C2E2 purchases was the latest volume from Lucy Knisley, reprinting over 200 pages of her black-and-white diary comics in Make Yourself Happy. It’s the followup to Radiator Days, similar in content but more recent, covering the past two years. In it, she reprints her hourly comics from 2009 and 2010. (Every Wednesday in January, she draws two-panel comics every hour to show how her day is progressing.) There are also a number of references to French […]
Read more
Each of Hope Larson’s books is more accomplished than the one before, from Salamander Dream (2005) to Gray Horses (2006) to 2008’s Chiggers and now Mercury. The title refers to the liquid metal, which is contained within a mysterious pendant that ties together the stories of two girls living in the same small Nova Scotia town in different centuries. Tara is currently staying with her aunt, uncle, and cousins and preparing to enter 10th grade. She and her mother lost […]
Read more
Raina Telgemeier, previously known for her excellent work adapting the The Baby-Sitters Club into four graphic novels, tells in Smile her own teen story, one of much dental trauma. One night, sixth-grader Raina trips and falls at a Girl Scout meeting. She hits the ground, is shaken for a moment, but sits up thinking everything’s ok … until she sees blood on the ground. Her front teeth are gone. (A personal note: about the same age, I had a similar, […]
Read more
Foiled is an oddly paced story of a girl discovering she’s intended for greater things and ultimately a prologue to a larger story yet to come. (A second volume is promised, to conclude the tale written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Mike Cavallaro.) The plot’s familiar but well-told, as would be expected by Jane Yolen, who has hundreds of fantasy titles under her belt. Aliera’s not well-off, so her mother bought her fencing foil used, which is why it’s […]
Read more