Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol. First Second, 2024. 9781250314864. 364pp. Includes an author’s note, sketches, beat boards, and two wonderful pages on the coloring process at the end. (The book was colored by the mighty Alex Longstreth.) […]
Read More
Author: Gene Ambaum
Graphic Novel Review: Swords, Spacemen, and Superspies Box Set by James Kochalka
Swords, Spacemen, and Superspies Box Set by James Kochalka. Black Eye Books, 2024. 9781738920082. (The box set includes a digital edition of each book.) The three books in this boxed set are fun and showcase both Kochalka’s skills and silliness […]
Read More
Graphic Novel Review: East District by Ash H.G
East District by Ash H.G. 2dcloud, 2024. 9781937541613. 88pp. https://2dcloud.com/products/east-district-ash-h-g Three young men try to find their way through an apocalypse where others become violent or maybe undead. There are confrontations and honest conversations as they look for Sheila, who […]
Read More
Book Review: Comics 1964 – 2024
Comics 1964 – 2024 edited by Thierry Groensteen, Lucas Hureau, Ann Lemonnier, and Emmanuèle Payen. Thames & Hudson, 2024. 9780500028407. 288pp. I didn’t get to see the exhibit at the Centre Pompidou this book is based on — it closed […]
Read More
Book Review: Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story (Mutts) by Patrick McDonnell
Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story (Mutts) by Patrick McDonnell. Abrams ComicArts, 2024. 9781419779084. 192pp. This is the story of the guard dog in the comic strip Mutts. It’s the beautiful “conclusion” to the story of a dog left […]
Read More
Book Review: Big Breath In by John Straley
Big Breath In by John Straley. Soho Crime, 2024. 9781641296540. 274pp. Delphine has cancer, and she doesn’t have much longer to live. After stepping into the middle of a violent incident involving a man, the woman he’s beating up, and […]
Read More
Graphic Novel Review: Somna: A Bedtime Story by Beckly Cloon and Tula Lotay
Somna: A Bedtime Story by Beckly Cloon and Tula Lotay. DSTLRY, 2024. 9781962265010. 168pp. Contains #1 – #3. Publisher’s Rating: Mature Roland is the town bailiff in a small English village where he has developed a reputation as a witch […]
Read More
Graphic Novel Review: Nights Season One Part One written by Wyatt Kennedy, art by Luigi Formisano
Nights Season One Part One written by Wyatt Kennedy, art by Luigi Formisano. Image, 2024. 9781534397743. Publisher’s Rating: M / Mature. Contains Nights #1 – #5. I was looking at the staff picks shelf in Seattle’s Phoenix Comics & Games, […]
Read More
Graphic Novel Review: Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley
Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley. RH Graphic, 2024. 9780593177631. 208pp. Knisley and her family adopted the apricot-hued Linney when she was an adult, and it feels like she was already full of personality, which Knisley’s drawings […]
Read More
Book Review: The Employees: a workplace novel of the 22nd century by Olga Ravn
The Employees: a workplace novel of the 22nd century by Olga Ravn. Translated by Martin Aitken. New Directions, 2023. 9780811234825. 144pp. I love short novels by poets, and I saw this one on many Staff Picks shelves in independent bookstores […]
Read More