Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
The Way of the House Husband is based around a funny concept, although I found the execution of some of the early chapters oddly timed. The title character used to be a high-ranking yakuza, a man with a killer reputation, so fierce that anyone who saw him was frightened into submission. Now, he takes care of the house. While still wearing a suit and button-down shirt, under an apron, and shades. The art by Kousuke Oono is the appeal for […]
Read more
For those waiting, while reading these graphic novel adaptations of the young adult novels made into a popular Netflix movie, for more involvement from the more famous Holmes, this is the volume you want. In An Enola Holmes Mystery: The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets, Enola Holmes has to rescue a kidnapped John Watson from a disturbing, murderous threat. (This is the third in the series adapted and illustrated by Serena Blasco from the novels by Nancy Springer, after The […]
Read more
The Deadliest Bouquet, now crowdfunding, is a family story about murder. Written by Erica Schultz and illustrated by Carola Borelli, it’s set in 1998 and shows the sisters Rose, Poppy, and Violet coming together, in spite of their differences, after their mother’s death. Jasmine owned a flower shop, but it was only a cover. Her children went in different directions. Poppy is a wife and mother. Violet is a wild child. Rose resents being left behind by the others. They […]
Read more
I appreciate how much work goes into a well-crafted graphic novel, but darn! It’s so hard to wait for a good story. Bloom, a charming coming-of-age romance by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau published by First Second in 2019, will have a followup. This story of two young men falling in love at a family bakery while thinking about how to start their “real life” is a slow rise, much like bread. It took a while to grow on me, […]
Read more
Here’s a great thing to watch. Leila del Duca talked with Anina Bennett and Heidi MacDonald in March about Friends of Lulu, the non-profit formed to get women and girls into comics that existed from 1995-2011. The group was incorporated May 25, 1995, and its tax-exempt status was revoked as of May 15, 2010. The news that the group was defunct came out a year later. If you’d like to revisit the early days, I’ve posted the first year of […]
Read more
I’ve been looking forward to this installment of Maker Comics — I’m really curious about learning how to Survive in the Outdoors. As told by Mike Lawrence, Sophia and her younger brother Alonso are spending the weekend with Grandpa, who’s going to take them fishing. They just want to stay on their phones and video games, but he manages to involve them in preparing for their trip. There’s an air of danger to all this. Typical of the series, the […]
Read more
Darryl Cunningham‘s latest is a well-done, depressing read. Billionaires: The Lives of the Rich and Powerful combines three brief biographies: the stories of Rupert Murdoch, the Koch Brothers, and Jeff Bezos, key players in our new gilded age. Cunningham wants to examine the changes the super-rich have made in our politics and our world, for the worse. Murdoch’s media empire started as an inheritance from a privileged background. He expanded from Australia into UK newspapers (made popular through “sex, scandal, […]
Read more
The Secret Notebook of Sherlock Holmes is short, silly fun. It’s got almost 30 stories in about 90 pages, and as you can see from the math, most are only two or three pages. Some involve Holmes being surprised or not exactly distinguishing himself in deduction, but the jokes around settings and details of life in his times are amusing. Guest stars include Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, and Irene Norton. Holmes solves mysteries involving the queen’s dogs, a missing ambassador, […]
Read more