April 10, 2006 Johanna Tokyopop Manga Reviews 3 comments

Sorcerers & Secretaries Volume 1

Sorcerers & Secretaries, the debut graphic novel from web cartoonist Amy Kim Ganter, is a charming story of a young New Yorker whose dreams of fantasy conflict with her everyday life. Nicole is going to business school to please her mother and working as a receptionist to pay the bills. The only thing in her daily life she enjoys doing is daydreaming about the adventures of a kind sorcerer and then writing stories based on her dreams. This creative outlet […]

April 9, 2006 Johanna Tokyopop Manga Reviews 4 comments

Off*Beat Volume 1

Tory’s a really bright kid with some really strange hobbies. He documents everything in his notebooks, and he’s obsessed with the new neighbor, Colin, another 15-year-old who moved in at midnight. Tory convinces his mother to switch him to Colin’s school, necessitating a two-hour commute from Queens to Long Island every day. There, Tory breaks into the guidance counselor’s office to find out more about the boy he’s fixated on Tory eventually gets to know Colin by using his perfect […]

April 8, 2006 Johanna DC / Vertigo 3 comments

Superman: Secret Identity

Superman: Secret Identity is a Superman story for everyone. If you like the superhero concept, this story will provide a new take on what heroism really means. If you don’t know much about Superman, this story demonstrates the core of the character. If you’re bored with Superman, thinking so many stories have been written that no one can provide a fresh approach, here you’ll get something original and unexpected. If you know too much about Superman, this story shows why […]

April 5, 2006 Johanna Viz Manga Reviews One comment

Tokyo Boys & Girls Volume 4

When I reviewed Tokyo Boys & Girls volume 1, I called this series “enjoyable high school soap opera”. By this installment, though, it’s closer to family drama. Mimori’s still trying to date Haruta even though Kazukita keeps interfering. The latest source of confusion occurs when Mimori thinks the lonely Kazukita is sick. She rushes over to his apartment to take care of him, because she’s that kind of young-mother-in-training, and Haruta finds her there. The real conflict, though, is driven […]

March 30, 2006 Johanna DC / Vertigo 3 comments

Icon: A Hero’s Welcome

In a clever twist on the familiar Superman story, Augustus Freeman was an adult alien who escaped to earth in a rocket pod. When the pod was discovered by a slave woman, he was reconfigured into a black baby who, by the time of this story, has become an accomplished lawyer. A teenage girl from the projects, Raquel Ervin, encounters Augustus when she goes with her boyfriend to rob his suburban mansion. She’s surprised when she sees Augustus take a […]

March 27, 2006 Johanna Manga News One comment

HarperCollins/Tokyopop Deal

HarperCollins put out a press release today announcing that they would be handling Tokyopop’s bookstore sales and distribution as well as co-publishing adaptations of best-selling young adult novels. HarperCollins Publishers and TOKYOPOP today announced the companies will join forces in a unique co-publishing agreement to create a progressive new line of co-branded manga titles. The program will include several projects from bestselling author Meg Cabot, whose HarperCollins novels have sold more than six million copies to date. In addition, HarperCollins […]

March 26, 2006 Johanna Oni Press / Lion Forge 3 comments

Gray Horses

The point of Hope Larson’s comics is never the destination but the journey. Raina Telgemeier calls them “visual poetry”, just the right description. Gray Horses opens with travel, as French exchange student Noémie reaches her new city, taking the subway from the airport to her rooming house. While she adjusts to her foreign surroundings, she dreams of a girl named Marcy riding a wild talking horse. In the daytime, she makes friends with a neighbor, a girl who’s in her […]

March 25, 2006 Johanna Fantagraphics One comment

Monkey Food

Monkey Food is a collection of semi-autobiographical strips based on growing up in the 70s. Even though Ellen Forney and I are about the same age, I didn’t go through many of the things she remembers, like pot busts or CB radios. Then again, I did have to deal with winged hair, and the Judy Blume books were minor classics for my age group. Plus, when thinking back on childhood, some things are timeless, like the family dog having puppies, […]

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