The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and The Case of the Two-Faced Statue by Jerzy Drozd. Iron Circus, 2024. 978163899143. 248pp.

Doctor Baer (that’s him, the plush-bear-looking dude on the cover) stores adventurers’ cursed objects. His house is also home to many a weird, possibly evil magical creature, as two adventurers discover when they bring a cursed werewolf head to him. Once placed in his vault, in the gaze of his stone guardians, the werewolf’s spirit emerges to join his household.

Outside, a bird sorcerer (Gallus) and his trusty steed (Wilhemina) are trying to break in. Inside, Doctor Baer is feeding his residents. Soon two new adventurers, Pickles (a pig) and Taft (a huge turtle), approach the house. Their entrance gives Gallus and Wilhemina the opportunity to break in and try to steal Baer’s stone guardian, though Doctor Baer manages to save the elemental wisps in the stone, and its parts are scattered.

If Gallus puts the stone guardian back together first, he’ll be able to nullify any magic used against him. Dr. Baer has to stop that, obviously. The wisps of elemental magic will help, as will Pickles and Taft, who both feel a little guilty.

What follows is a lighthearted adventure with lots of action. Drozd’s art carries the story right along, and the colors are truly magical.

Madame Livingstone: Congo, The First World War written by Christophe Cassiau-Haurie, illustrated by Barly Baruti. Translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger. Catalyst Press, 2021. 9781946395474. 132pp. Oversized.

“Lake Tanganyika, Congo in the year 1915. Two vastly different men in a war that is not theirs. Assigned a virtually impossible mission: sink the German battleship, the Graf von Gotzen.” (back jacket copy)

Those men are pilot Gaston Mercier, of the Belgian army, and his guide, rumored to be the mixed-race, kilt-wearing son of David Livingstone. (His nickname “Madame Livingstone” is one used to tease/harass him.)

I don’t go in much for historical stories, and even less for historical French comics — the art and storytelling style don’t often appeal to me, but this is a standout. The story is compelling, but it was Congo-born artist Baruti’s illustrations, from the beautiful nature scenes to the battles and the characters; everything wowed me. Kudos to Catalyst for publishing it in what is, in the US at least, an oversized format.

Young Hag And The Witches’ Quest by Isabel Greenberg. Amulet, 2024. 9781419765117. 272pp.

At one point, I loved nothing more than an Arthurian tale of knights and magic, but these days I find myself a bit bored with most. But I could not put Greenberg’s graphic novel down.

This tale opens with Young Hag coming of age and joining the coven that includes her mother, now called Nearly Wizend One, and her grandmother, Ancient Crone. But after a night of celebration, she is told the truth; they don’t make magic like she expects because the doors to Faerie are closed. She is told why via the story of Morgan le Fay, who was supposed to keep magic alive, but who stole Excalibur. The Ancient Crone then shows Young Hag the piece of Excalibur, which they are keeping safe until they find a way to return it to the lake and lift the curse that keeps magic from le Fay and Britain.

The story of returning magic to our world is what takes up the rest of the book. Along the way, there are retellings of classic moments of involving Arthur, his father, and a few of his knights, both in the past and the story’s present. It has a few twists and turns that shouldn’t be given away or even hinted at in a review.

Worth noting: I love Greenberg’s illustrations so much that I even love the two pages at the front of the book that introduce the characters inside. And of all characters that made me smile, Britomart and Faithful Steed are my favorites.

Roman’s father is in a coma after someone ran him off the road, and it’s clear from the recent vandalism of his father’s work vans that this is no accident, so Roman returns home for the first time in years. His sister, Neveah, is taking care of the family’s business, a crematorium, at the cost of having any kind of life. His brother Dante is hiding from reality in a fog of drugs and booze. It quickly becomes clear that part of what Dante is trying not to think about is the debt he owes the Black Baron Boys gang.

Roman needs to bail out his brother, keep their sister in the dark if possible, and make sure his family is safe. He brings to bear his skills at making money (both legal and illegal), but that’s not enough. Luckily Roman has a friend who specializes in violence and chaos, and who may be able to help him find a solution to the whole mess.

Throughout the novel, the question of what happened to the siblings’ mother decades ago, when she simply disappeared after work, hangs over all of them. Did their father kill her and then cremate her body, as many suspect? Or is she still out in the world somewhere, living a secret life?

Cosby is one of my favorite contemporary crime writers, and this is one of his best books.