Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
Abbott #1 is a terrific comic that I really wanted to be something else. As written by Saladin Ahmed and illustrated by Sami Kivelä, it’s the story of a black female investigative reporter in 1972 Detroit who stumbles across a supernatural killer. The publisher blurbs the story as her looking into “the work of dark occult forces… that took her husband from her.” I loved the setting, the detail, and the character, particularly seeing how she coped with reporters and […]
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I enjoyed reading Jed McGowan’s comic “Uninhabitable”. I wasn’t previously familiar with his work, although I see that he has released a graphic novel, Lone Pine, with AdHouse Books. But how can you pass up a gorgeously illustrated free read? The content of “Uninhabitable” made me think about control, and how much we think we can change about our world, and having to accept that some things may not go as intended but life goes on. That’s a good message […]
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Ben Passmore‘s Ignatz Award-winning comic Your Black Friend (described as “a letter from your black friend to you about race, racism, friendship and alienation”) has now been animated, with narration by Passmore. It’s only three minutes, but it’s a powerful three minutes, so give it a watch. Animation was done by Krystal Downs and Alex Krokus of Doggo Studios, who did a great job capturing the look and feel of the comic. Publisher Silver Sprocket will be releasing a hardcover […]
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There’s been quite the trend lately in collections of short write-ups of women in history you may not have heard of, so I didn’t have high expectations for Pénélope Bagieu’s Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World. I should have had more faith — I found myself surprised and enlightened by how many of these women I hadn’t heard of, and the amazing things they did. (First Second has previously translated Bagieu’s fiction graphic novel Exquisite Corpse and her fictionalized […]
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I enjoyed Mike Lawrence’s Star Scouts when it came out last year, so I was thrilled to see that there’s a sequel. Star Scouts: The League of Lasers opens by reminding us of Avani and her interstellar friends. She’s been invited to join the League of Lasers, an elite club for star scouts. While on a try-out mission for membership, Avani gets to put all her scout skills into practice when her smart-aleck spaceship crash lands. Those skills include patience […]
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The Science Comics series of non-fiction educational graphic novels is usually outstanding, but I found Robots and Drones: Past, Present, and Future (written by Mairghread Scott (Transformers) and illustrated by Jacob Chabot (SpongeBob Comics)) a rare misfire for the line. Perhaps it’s a reflection of my relative lack of interest in the topic, but I didn’t find this installment as entertaining, informative, or frankly, good as many of the others. It’s narrated by Pouli, a mechanical bird and “the first […]
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Two cynical kids, the smartest in their class, are convinced that every couple has an imbalance of power. They like each other, but since neither wants to lose at anything, neither will be the first to admit their feelings. That’s the premise of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War volume 1 by Aka Akasaka, that “the one who falls in love first loses!” The chapters revolve around the two scheming to force or trick the other into admitting interest. I found it […]
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There are good mash-ups, and there are great ones, ones that make you wonder “how terrific! why haven’t I seen this combination before?” Megan Rose Gedris’s Spectacle is great, combining life in the circus, steampunk touches, a ghost sibling, and a murder mystery. Anna is the practical twin, creator of a steam-driven conjecture engine that can predict future events using statistics to 78% accuracy. Ironic, then, that she tells fortunes, knowing that they’re trickery. Kat is the twin liked by […]
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