Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
I should have had my 2010 Small Press Expo convention report up by now, since it was last weekend (feels like much further away), but yesterday, Ed, Julia, and I recorded a podcast about it, so I feel like I’ve already shared my stories. What’s here is just some quick thoughts. The shortest version: it’s a great show, especially to find new, promising work, and well worth your time to attend. This year it was busier than I expected, with […]
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Raina Telgemeier, previously known for her excellent work adapting the The Baby-Sitters Club into four graphic novels, tells in Smile her own teen story, one of much dental trauma. One night, sixth-grader Raina trips and falls at a Girl Scout meeting. She hits the ground, is shaken for a moment, but sits up thinking everything’s ok … until she sees blood on the ground. Her front teeth are gone. (A personal note: about the same age, I had a similar, […]
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X-Men: Misfits was a shojo twist on the superhero team that came out Summer 2009. Now, its future (or lack thereof) has been revealed on Twitter. First, @debaoki asked got a tweet from a reader that Del Rey has opted to not publish X-Men Misfits Vol. 2. true? not true? To which @yaytime, aka co-writer Dave Roman, responded Wow! News travels fast! @goraina [co-writer Raina Telgemeier] and I super disappointed since it was written as a 2-part story and it […]
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Earlier this year, Del Rey (in conjunction with Marvel) published Wolverine: Prodigal Son, a shonen manga take on the loner with a healing factor. I thought it wasn’t bad, but I was really looking forward to this take on the characters, also part of the deal: X-Men: Misfits is a shojo approach to the classic mutant superhero team. I’ve always wanted to like the X-Men more than I did. I like the characters, and I like the angsty approach (when […]
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I’ve been remiss in keeping up with this young adult series, adapted and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier based on the books by Ann M. Martin. I very much enjoyed the first book, and now the third’s already been out for two months and I haven’t talked about it. The first volume featured the founder of the baby-sitters club, Kristy, and each subsequent book focuses on another of the girls, which is a nice way to get to know the characters […]
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Heidi has the news: In an effort to reach out to and recognize an even greater sphere of women creators, Friends of Lulu has decided for the first time ever to open the nominations and voting of our Lulu Awards to non-members! In order to accommodate our new voters, the deadline for nominations has been extended through May 7th, 2007! In case you’re new to Friends of Lulu, our annual Lulu Awards bring honor and recognition to the most inspiring […]
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The Baby-Sitters Club: Kristy’s Great Idea adapts the first book in the popular novel series by Ann M. Martin into comic form. Raina Telgemeier beautifully handles the conversion, creating a work that reads as though it had always been illustrated. It’s a great story for girls of all ages. Kristy has the idea of forming the club with two friends and a new acquaintance. Mary Anne is shy, with an overprotective single father. Claudia’s growing up a bit faster than […]
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I was rather pleasantly surprised to see the following card flyer given out at my comic store a couple of weeks ago, promoting Scholastic’s Graphix line of graphic novels. The back text reads as follows. (I’ve inserted links to their website and my reviews of certain titles.) From Scholastic’s Graphix, the official home of Bone, new graphic novels for girls of all ages. Become BFF with the new Baby-Sitters Club! Ann M. Martin’s original series is now a graphic novel […]
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