Monday — Into the Cave of Thieves (Total Mayhem 1) by Ralph Lazar. Scholastic, 2021. 9781338770377. 208pp. So much of what makes this book great appears in the almanac, including Lazar’s illustrations! It’s available at http://total-mayhem.com/almanac/ I recommend just going […]
Read More
Author: Gene Ambaum
Graphic Novel Review: Manu by Kelly Fernández
Manu by Kelly Fernández. Scholastic Graphix, 2021. 9781338264180. 186pp. Manu is always getting into trouble at La Academia de Santa Dominga, where she attends school with her friend Josephina and other magically talented girls. In part it’s because she’s so […]
Read More
Graphic Novel Review: Oksi by Mari Ahokoivu
Oksi by Mari Ahokoivu. Translated from Finnish by Silja-Maaria Aronpuro. Levine Querido, 2021. 9781646141135. 408pp. This graphic novel is a great example of how well illustrations, words, and comics’ storytelling tools can work together. Here they create an entirely immersive […]
Read More
Bookstabber Episode 7: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Bookstabber Episode 7: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison https://bookstabber.podbean.com/ In this episode, Gene and Willow discuss The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. The title character, Maia, is the unlikely, half-goblin ruler of the Elflands who comes to power after […]
Read More
Picture Book Reviews!
Weekend Dad by Naseem Hrab and Frank Viva. Groundwood, 2020. 9781773061085. After his dad moves out, a kid goes for their first weekend visit to their father’s new apartment. It’s clearly going to take them a while to think if […]
Read More
Graphic Novel Review: Athena: Goddess of Wisdom and War by Imogen and Isabel Greenberg
Athena: Goddess of Wisdom and War by Imogen and Isabel Greenberg. Amulet, 2021. 9781419748592. 91pp. After opening with a short guide to the gods and goddesses appearing in the book, the story of Athena’s birth from Zeus’s head, with help […]
Read More
Graphic Novel Review: The Thud by Mikaël Ross
The Thud by Mikaël Ross. Translated by Nika Knight. Fantagraphics, 2021. 9781683964063. 126pp. http://www.powells.com/book/-9781683964063?partnerid=34778&p_bt It’s Noel’s birthday, and he’s super excited about celebrating it with his mumsie. She gives him a guitar, tells him they’ll be seeing AC/DC together in […]
Read More
Graphic Novel Review: Perfect Example by John Porcellino
Perfect Example by John Porcellino. Drawn & Quarterly, 2021. 9781770464681. 132pp. http://www.powells.com/book/-9781770464681?partnerid=34778&p_bt The short comics in this collection show Porcellino at the end of high school in 1986, mostly in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Music is a big part of his […]
Read More
Graphic Novel Review: Big Girls by Jason Howard
Big Girls by Jason Howard. Image, 2021. 9781534318397. 144pp. Contains Big Girls #1 – 6. The last remnants of humanity are trying to start over in The Preserve, a city where giant women protect ordinary-sized people from giant monsters. The […]
Read More
Graphic Novel Review: Factory Summers by Guy Delisle
Factory Summers by Guy Delisle. Translated by Helge Dascher and Rob Aspinall. Drawn & Quarterly, 2021. 9781770464599. 156pp. At sixteen, Delisle was hired for a summer job at Quebec City’s pulp and paper mill, where his father had been working […]
Read More