A Shining Beacon by James Albon. Top Shelf, 2019. 9781603094450. 205pp. An authoritarian government has created a new pool that’s both a grand rejuvenation project and a national sporting monument! All that remains is to find an artist to create […]
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Author: Gene Ambaum
Graphic Novel Review: Trumpets of Death by Simon Bournel-Bosson
Trumpets of Death by Simon Bournel-Bosson. Translated by Edward Gauvin. Graphic Universe, 2025. 9798765644324. 230pp. One night, Antoine’s father drops him off at his grandparents’ place in the country. He’s never liked it there; it’s full of his grandfather’s spooky […]
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Graphic Novel Review: Tower Dungeon Volume 1 by Tsutomu Nihei
Tower Dungeon Volume 1 by Tsutomu Nihei. Translation: Sam Malissa. Kodansha, 2025. 9781647294540. Publisher’s Rating: 13+. Princess Ignelia has been taken to the Dragon Tower, where most of the troops who tried to rescue her have been killed. Each village […]
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Graphic Novel Review: The Great American Dust Bowl written and illustrated by Don Brown
The Great American Dust Bowl written and illustrated by Don Brown. Houghton Mifflin, 2013. 9780547815503. Includes a selected bibliography and source notes that include a few stunning photographs. I recently ordered every one of Don Brown’s nonfiction graphic novels from […]
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Graphic Novel Review: Tall Water by SJ Sindo and illustrated by Dion MB
Tall Water by SJ Sindo and illustrated by Dion MB. HarperAlley, 2025. 9780063090163. 248pp. Nimmi wants to become a journalist like her father, but her interview to get into Columbia goes badly. When she gets home, her dad has a […]
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Graphic Novel Review: Black Cloak Volume One by Kelly Thompson, art and colors by Meredith McClaren
Black Cloak Volume One by Kelly Thompson, art and colors by Meredith McClaren. Image, 2023. Contains. Publisher’s Rating: T+/Teen Plus. #1 – 6. Black Cloaks are investigators in the “last city in the known world,” Kiros. It’s a place full […]
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Graphic Novel Review: They Were 11! by Moto Hagio
They Were 11! by Moto Hagio. Translator: Ajani Oloye. Denpa, 2024. 9781634428156. Publisher’s Rating: Teen (13+). I don’t read much shojo manga, but this graphic novel has so much shelf appeal I had to pick it up. The eleven characters […]
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Fiction Review: The Traitor & The Wretch by Jasmine Walls, Illustrated by Rowan MacColl
The Traitor & The Wretch by Jasmine Walls, Illustrated by Rowan MacColl. Bonedust Press, 2025. 9798999373403. 375pp. Knell, a cultist, was part of a group trying to summon a god onto a battlefield. He’s not a bad guy, though — […]
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Graphic Novel Review: The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and The Case of the Two-Faced Statue by Jerzy Drozd
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 […]
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Graphic Novel Review: Grommets by Rick Remender and Brian Posehn (writers), Brett Parson (artist)
Grommets by Rick Remender and Brian Posehn (writers), Brett Parson (artist), and others. Image, 2025. 9781534366480. 192pp. Publisher’s Rating: T+ (Teen Plus). Contains #1-7 of the series. Sacramento, 1985. Rick is a new student at his junior high school. He […]
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