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Library Comic is published two days a week, Monday and Wednesday. Book reviews Tuesday and Thursday.

We recommend you also read The Haunted Skull by Willow Payne and Gene’s friend’s Tim Allen Stories .

 

twelve hundred seventy nine
Posted on May 4, 2026 by Gene Ambaum

Graphic Novel Review: Halina Filipina by Arnold Arre

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Gene Ambaum
Halina Filipina: A Graphic Novel by Arnold Arre. Tuttle, 2022. 9780804855440. 224pp. Halina Filipina is a romance story full of friendship, shyness, and miscommunication. Halina is visiting Manila from New York, enjoying the city after seeing a bunch of family at a reunion. She keeps crossing paths with Cris, a film critic who loves local B movies. He also seems to want to pursue Halina though he has a hard time even asking for her number. They eventually start to hang out and everything seems to be going great (until suddenly it isn’t). I’d recommend this graphic novel to anyone who enjoyed Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise, both for Arre’s black and white art and its friendly tone. My favorite side character is the hapless Iñigo, a short, dapper dude who can’t control his volume whenever he talks to Halina. Many of my favorite moments in the book involve food. (I now need to find a way to try chicken isaw without buying a plane ticket to Manila.)

Graphic Novel Review: Dracula, Motherf**ker by Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson

Posted on October 18, 2022 by Gene Ambaum
Dracula, Motherf**ker by Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson. Image, 2020 9781534317000. 72pp. Rated T+/Teen Plus. Vienna, 1889. Dracula is sealed in his coffin by three women, his brides. Los Angeles, 1974. Dracula has been set free. When a trap is set for crime scene photographer Quincy Harker, only Dracula’s former brides may be able to keep him safe. (But why would they want to?) Love everything about this short graphic novel, but especially artist Henderson’s Dracula (an inhuman, many-eyed horror) and the colors she used for everything (I bet they’d look fantastic under black light).

New Patches in the Store! New Kickstarter!

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Gene Ambaum
Our new Badass Patches Kickstarter just launched! We’re funding an XL 9″ version of our new FUCK CENSORSHIP patch.   We’re already selling a smaller 4″ version of the FUCK CENSORSHIP patch and sets including some/all of the new patches at https://read-something.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders/

Graphic Novel Review: Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by Jadzia Axelrod and Jess Taylor

Posted on October 13, 2022 by Gene Ambaum
Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by Jadzia Axelrod and Jess Taylor. DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults, 2022. 9781401298531. 192pp. Includes a list of resources at the end for anyone who might need help. Taylor Barzelay doesn’t recognize himself in the mirror. His father and his high school basketball coach rides him pretty hard and keeps him from getting close to other kids. His younger sister and brother offer some distraction, but Taylor is about to explode because of his secret. Those people are not his family. Even his dog, Argus, isn’t really a dog. They’re all from the planet Cyandii, and they’re only pretending to be human (and canine). They fled home when the Vane attacked and they are hiding on our planet, afraid of being discovered, afraid of the finding the gem in Taylor’s chest.. And it’s even worse for Taylor, who was the Galaxy Crowned, the beautiful, horned princess Princess of Cyandi. Taylor’s “dad” General Phil turned her into a boy to make the disguise all the better. They still live in fear of being discovered, of being reveled as aliens. But Taylor has just met Kat, and their friendship seems to be heading toward more, including revealing the truth about who Taylor is. I don’t usually care for comics art without black inks, but artist Jess Taylor makes these pages sparkle. Their art is the perfect compliment to Axelrod’s entirely new take on the alien princess story. I hope to see Galaxy make more appearances in DC comics soon.

Graphic Novel Review: The Last Session Volume 1: Roll for Initiative by Jasmine Walls and Dozerdraws

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Gene Ambaum
The Last Session Volume 1: Roll for Initiative by Jasmine Walls (writer) and Dozerdraws (artist). Mad Cave Studio, 2022. 9781952303197. Includes issues #1 – #5. Members of their high school’s gender sexuality alliance bond over playing a tabletop RPG together (one that includes nonbinary character options). Four years later they’re all good friends, and they’re finally getting close to finishing that first campaign, which is good because they’re all about to graduate and/or move away. They’re super excited, especially Jay (the game master)’s partner, Cassandra, who finally gets to meet Jay’s friends in person and game with them. But Cassandra doesn’t have a lot of RPG experience, and at first she’s kind of rough / annoying / clumsy. Lana (language studies major, about to leave for grad school) has the worst reaction to Cassandra, who is herself very worried about everyone liking her. There’s an epic, fun fantasy story in here role played by the group members, who I’m sure you’ll love, as you see them deal with what’s happening in their own lives at that pivotal moment around the end of college. Worth noting: not all of them have been to college, but everyone else moving away/on gives them something to deal with, too. I haven’t read a graphic novel this fun and inclusive since Megan James’ Innsmouth, which I recommend, too.

Bookstabber Episode 25: The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

Posted on October 7, 2022 by Gene Ambaum
Just when you thought it was safe to podcast! Gene and Willow stare into the dark hearts of fictional, meta-narrative murderers and victims. Can our heroes unmask this book before it kills again?! Available at bookstabber.podbean.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

Graphic Novel Review: Slip by Marika McCoola and Aatmaja Pandya

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Gene Ambaum
Slip by Marika McCoola (text) and Aatmaja Pandya (illustrations). Algonquin Young Readers, 2022. 9781616207892. Jade is heading off for a month-long residency at the Art Farm to work on ceramics that will (she hopes) get her a scholarship to art school. She’s worried about her best friend Phoebe, who recently attempted suicide, but the intensive learning experience she’s there for seems like an amazing opportunity — her workspace is beautiful, and there’s also a wood fired kiln she may be able to fire some of her work in. Her mentor is supportive, but Jade is distracted. She does find a way to commune if not communicate with Phoebe, and even meets someone, Mary, who potentially seems like she might be more than a friend. But Jade’s inner doubts continue to plague her, and critique sessions don’t add to her confidence. Can she get in touch with her feelings and figure out the concept behind the animal figures she’s been sculpting? The art in this book is great. It switches between blue and red ink (and sometimes combines them) in different contexts to great effect. There’s a little magic, some romance, and just enough drama that it all feels real.  

Novella Review: Spear by Nicola Griffith

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Gene Ambaum
Spear by Nicola Griffith. Tordotcom, 2022. 9781250819321. 184pp. This tale starts with a girl growing up in a secret, hidden space in a somewhat magical part of a forest and ends in a full-on Arthurian romance, a heroic journey of the best type. It’s not too much of a spoiler to say that at a point early on the young woman in question leaves the safety of home to find her way in the world disguised as a man (or at least dressed in a way that she’s mistaken for one), and that the Tuath Dé figure into it. I don’t want to say more — if you like the sound of that, just read it. I love Griffith’s writing in every way, right down to her sentences. And as with all of her books, I feel like this one resisted my attention for a bit, like my brain just can’t handle writing this good without ramping up its processing power. I started and restarted reading this book three times in a week, and then its rhythm took hold of my brain and I could not put it down. It’s one of my favorite books.

My Friend Tim Allen’s Stories

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Gene Ambaum
I met my friend Tim over 30 years ago in a writing class I took to find folks interested in writing the same kind of things I wanted to write — science fiction and fantasy and horror. Genre stuff. (My university looked down on that sort of thing.) That group was filled with extraordinary writers and amazing stories, and Tim wrote many of the best. (He’s also always supported my work — he gave Bill and I detailed feedback on early Unshelved strips, and he even performed my much-much-too-long wedding ceremony.) Over the years I’ve begged and badgered Tim to follow my lead and just put his stories up somewhere for folks to enjoy. He would not listen…until now. Tim has a website! https://timallenstories.net/ (There’s a convenient link beneath our comic strips if you misplace that.) Pretty please, go read some of his work before he changes his mind and locks it in his vault again. -Gene

Graphic Novel Review: Gay Giant by Gabriel Ebensperger

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Gene Ambaum
Gay Giant by Gabriel Ebensperger. Translated by Kelley D. Salas with Mercedes Guhl. Street Noise, 2022. 9781951491161. 256pp. Ebensperger’s comics are big and bright and his font of choice and drawings make everything feel positive, even when he’s working through some stuff. It’s probably got something to do with the art being overwhelmingly, wonderfully pink. As a little boy Ebensperger played with girls and girls toys, and people often thought he was a girl. He didn’t feel that he fit in. He was a bit of a fashion trendsetter. He had a crush on both Chris Pine and Ferris Bueller at different times, and loved Jem and the Holograms. For a long time h kinda avoided admitting, even to himself, that he was gay. I don’t remember a big coming out scene with his parents or family, but there’s a hilarious description of the first time he masturbated, and a very touching first kiss. My favorite moments: the pages showing that he’s not really a giant compared to his brothers and others (including Totoro), and, when he’s a little kid, when he puts on his mom’s red shoes and asks his dad to pretend it’s his wedding. The whole thing has a bit of a science fiction ending that I didn’t see coming (and that I don’t think mentioning in this way will ruin for you).