Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
If you haven’t heard about Heartstopper by now, you clearly don’t know many young people. It’s a successful Netflix TV show, with some of the best, most absolutely faithful casting I’ve ever seen in a comic book-based project. But first, it was a charming graphic novel about two cute boys falling in love. That’s the quiet way this series is so revolutionary, and how it demonstrates how much times have changed. The angst, minor as it is, is typical of […]
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The DC Book of Pride is subtitled “A Celebration of DC’s LGBTQIA+ Characters”, and it is. However, for those who want more than a pretty volume for a coffee table that shows they appreciate queer superheroes, the book isn’t nearly as useful as it could be. The short character descriptions are written by Jadzia Axelrod. I assume the introduction, which gives a short history of how the Comics Code Authority banned queer characters and how since then there’s been a […]
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As regular readers know, I enjoy choose-your-own-path books, particularly when they’re Sherlock Holmes-related (and even more so when they’re comics). Thus, I was curious to know more about the line of Sherlock Holmes Solo Mysteries, seven paperbacks published in 1987 and 1988. The first one is Murder at the Diogenes Club, which made me even more interested, as the Diogenes Club is where Mycroft Holmes hangs out, and he’s my favorite. Sadly, that book was incredibly disappointing. You are a […]
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From a recent press release: “Random House Worlds, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House, announced today a collaboration with Marvel Entertainment for an adult novel series (World English) carrying on the classic Marvel tradition of “What If…?” storytelling. This officially licensed series reimagines the origins of iconic Marvel heroes and allows readers to discover what can happen when the fabric of reality is altered. Set in their own distinct universes in the Multiverse, each book […]
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Kayla Miller’s Click series (five books so far, the latest being Crunch) has a spinoff. That’s the benefit of writing about kids in school — there are more stories to be told about Olive Branche’s sixth grade classmates. Particularly if you bring in a co-writer (Jeffrey Canino) and another artist (Kristina Luu). Besties Work It Out stars Beth and Chandra, best friends. Chandra’s struggle is parents who consider her older sister near-perfect. She needs them to see her as responsible […]
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Thanks very much to a generous reader of SherlockComics.com, I have now acquired a copy of the 1976 Batman Book/Record Set that contains two stories, “Gorilla City” and (the reason I have it) “Mystery of the Scarecrow Corpse”. (All pictures below taken by me, as you can see from the slight wonkiness.) That eight-page story, by Elliot S! Maggin and Cary Bates, features Batman, visiting England, summoned to help with a murder case, working with an inspector from Scotland Yard. […]
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I didn’t expect to like another “schoolgirl has crush, gets a makeover, learns about life” manga, but the twists in Cinderella Closet volume 1 by Wakana Yanai kept me interested enough to want to read another volume. “Country mouse” Haruka came to Tokyo for university. She had dreams of romance and popularity but finds herself working hard at a cafe and no time to be cute or do anything else but study. A random encounter with an attractive young woman, […]
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Can You Survive the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes? combines the interactivity of a choose-your-own-path book with three classic Sherlock Holmes stories: “The Red-Headed League,” “The Speckled Band,” and to say the other would be giving things away. The reader gets to pretend to be Sherlock Holmes himself, which is fun, particularly as you can’t be too cautious. You’re told at the start that Moriarty may have sent you a case as a trap, but if you turn down too many, […]
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