Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
It’s been four years since the last Blue Monday story by Chynna Clugston, and I’ve missed these weird, wacky, wonderful teens. When the gang goes to the zoo, Bleu is distracted by all the animals having sex. It’s almost spring, you see, but she’s also got sex on the brain because of her crush on Mr. Bishop. She’s hatched a plan to lose her virginity so he’ll be more interested in the “experienced” her, although she’s still creeped out by […]
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I don’t remember how I found Lucy Knisley’s art journal. As soon as I saw it, though, I knew I needed to read more of her work. Her style is so cool. She does slice-of-life material for the most part, punctuated with unique pop culture references, but in a lovely, clear line style with a vibrant sense of color. Radiator Days contains two years’ worth of her comic strips, over 300 pages of sketches, observations, comic journals, and stories. Although […]
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The following books were provided by the publisher NBM. Little Nothings: The Prisoner Syndrome by Lewis Trondheim, color paperback, $14.95 US This second volume of Little Nothings continues where the first left off, reprinting more material from Trondheim’s comic blog. The work is gorgeous, due to the artist’s skill, observations, and especially watercolors. Material includes the goofy things Trondheim’s bird-headed alter ego does on vacation, as well as simple observations about everyday life. I found them fresh and funny, showing […]
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Review by KC Carlson After a slight delay, Sam’s Strip by Mort Walker and Jerry Dumas is now shipping from Fantagraphics Books, and it is everything that I hoped it would be. (I previewed this book last fall, in one of my columns for Westfield Comics, with some sample strips.) It features the complete 20-month run (October 16, 1961, to June 1, 1963, almost 510 daily strips), with excellent reproduction. There are two separate sets of annotation in the back […]
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Global Frequency was a group of 1001 individuals (“freaks, geeks, and security risks”) from around the world. Each was an expert in some technology or ability, and each was given a special cellphone. When it rang, they’d be called into action to save the world from a bleeding-edge threat that normal people didn’t even understand. Writer Warren Ellis used this premise to explore various science fiction concepts. Each of the 12 issues was a standalone story illustrated by a different […]
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Jill Thompson’s Scary Godmother series never got the success I thought it deserved. Her new series, Magic Trixie, takes a different approach to a world of magic and fun. Instead of a niece who gets to wander into a fantasy world occasionally, Magic Trixie is a little girl with her own powers, a talking cat, and a wild shock of blazing orange hair. She’s also incredibly realistic, which makes her behavior believable to anyone who’s either seen a been a […]
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In Love and Capes, Thom Zahler does a perfect job combining romantic comedy with superheroics. Now, you can get a great big chunk of the adventures of Mark and Abby in the new collection Do You Want to Know a Secret?, reprinting the first six issues of the series. Mark is the Crusader, the best-known superhero in town. Abby is a detail-oriented bookstore owner who somehow has missed figuring out his secret identity. They’re deeply, believably in love, and he […]
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A Coming-of-Age (Bohemian) Rhapsody This autobiography is about how Mike Dawson loved the music of Freddie Mercury and moved from the United Kingdom to the United States as a child. As such, I expected Freddie & Me to address in some fashion these topics: Why Queen’s music was so appealing to him How the near-death revelation of Mercury’s homosexuality and his having AIDS affected him The culture clash between England and the U.S. I think those are basic questions most […]
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