Owly: Tiny Tales is the perfect starting point for someone interested in trying this series of charming fables. The volume collects Andy Runton’s various short stories featuring the characters, so it’s perfect for browsing or dipping into. Four of the tales — “Splashin’ Around”, “Breakin’ the Ice”, “Helping Hands”, and “In a Fix!” — were previously published as giveaway comics for Free Comic Book Day. Others appeared in convention programs or anthology collections or minicomics. Because of the various sources, […]

Tonoharu by Lars Martinson comes in a handsome hardcover, but the book doesn’t live up to the promise raised by its upscale presentation, because it ends before resolving key questions raised by its premise. Dan is an assistant English teacher in Japan, although he speaks very little of that country’s language. He’s miserable. He lives in a small town where the only other English-speakers are gossiped about as weirdos. He has too little to do and no inclination to find […]