Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
In 1950, when this graphic novel was first published, It Rhymes With Lust was a much racier title than it seems today. To modern ears, the reaction might be a mild annoyance — What rhymes with lust? Why not come out and say what you’re hinting at? Then, the spicy allusion promised a whole different kind of world, one driven by the kind of base motivations polite people didn’t even know about, let alone voice. The answer is Rust Masson, […]
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Wow. The first-ever Andi Watson book I’ve been disappointed in.1 I thought the premise of Clubbing — London goth gets sent to stay with her grandparents in the country; she sees it as punishment, we know it’s a chance for her to grow up and learn core values — had potential. Goodness knows it’s well-worn and -loved in a certain kind of teen novel. But both the plotting and the art are mediocre. Artist Josh Howard is apparently only capable […]
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The Professor’s Daughter is a slim, lovely tale, much like its heroine. The daughter of a famous Egyptologist, her adventures begin when she takes the mummy of a Pharaoh, dressed like a Victorian gentleman, out on a walk. They have so much in common, you see, both having to deal with the strict professor treating them like possessions (with more justification in one case, perhaps). Joann Sfar (The Rabbi’s Cat, Dungeon) writes and Emmanuel Guibert illustrates. The two have worked […]
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It’s a bit intimidating coming into a soap opera webcomic series at this late date, especially when the first pages show an interlocking web of over 40 characters. I’ve found, in such cases, that it’s best for me to ignore those introductions and the “story so far” page (although I’d like to read the part where Jane apparently went to a furries convention) and jump right into the comic, picking up what I can. Turns out in this case that’s […]
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DC Comics launched its Minx graphic novel line with The Plain Janes, written by young adult novelist Cecil Castellucci and illustrated by Jim Rugg (Street Angel). It’s the story of four high school girls named Jane who act out teenage rebellion through guerrilla public art. It’s got a surprisingly disturbing beginning — Jane is a popular blonde girl whose parents, seeking safety above all, move her from the city to the suburbs after she survives a bombing. Once there, Jane […]
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The previous volume in this series, Dream Sequence, explored artistic creation; Mystery Date explores another art form, that of sexcraft. Vary, a former temple prostitute, is off in the big city studying paleozoology while working at a brothel. Her art form is very well-regarded and only suited for the best of the best, as in the historical days of the courtesan. Her school is an oasis to an overworked, overstimulated populace where the students are encouraged to learn how to […]
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I read comics so I can experience lives I could otherwise only imagine. Often in comics those stories are fantastic; K. Thor Jensen’s Red Eye, Black Eye, in contrast, is much smaller in scale, almost frighteningly so. Don’t think events steeped in daily life are boring, though. Jensen’s life as captured here is far away from the kind most people live. Several years ago, he lost his job, his girlfriend, his grandmother, his city, and his apartment, so he bought […]
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Dream Sequence takes the next step beyond previous volume Talisman in dealing with alternative realities. Users with direct-interface brain jacks visit Elsewhere, the world inside Magri White’s head, to process their subconscious into dream-like visions in lieu of sleeping. It’s a virtual reality with all senses engaged, and because it’s the vision of a single creator, it’s a better experience than the corporate, computer-designed alternatives. Magri’s life is his art, and he’s building worlds literally shared by his audience (even […]
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