Characters: Fiends of the Library
Graphic Novel Review: Seoul Before Sunrise by Samir Dahmani
Posted on October 30, 2025 at 6:19 am by Gene Ambaum
Seoul Before Sunrise by Samir Dahmani. Life Drawn / Humanoids, 2024. Translated by Nanette McGuinness. 144pp.
Seong-ji and her friend Ji-won get into different universities after taking South Korea’s entrance exams. Even before it happens, Seong-ji is nostalgic for high school and afraid they’ll lose their connection. Ji-won is just excited about the future.
Then the story jumps ahead into their first year at university, when Ji-won hasn’t called or texted Seong-ji for some time. Seong-ji works nights at a convenience store where she thinks about Ji-won and also realizes that she can see clearly into people’s homes at night. And in one of those apartments, she sees a young woman who then comes into the store. She says people tell her things at night, that they’re “chattier than in the daytime.” She starts to stop in regularly. And then she asks Seong-ji to step away from the store for a bit, so she can show Seong-ji something. And that’s how they start to visit empty apartments together.
It’s a quiet, dreamlike adventure in which they get to know each other, as well as people in the neighborhood. Seong-ji also comes to some realizations about herself.
Dahmani really captures Seoul at night, the sense of almost supernatural weirdness that can come over you when the bright, busy city is so still and quiet that it seems like you’re the only person there. I love the transitional moment in Seong-ji’s life he captures, too, as well as the way he illustrates everything. His art is sublime.
Cartoon Collection Review: Love & Vermin: A Collection of Cartoons by The New Yorker’s Will McPhail
Posted on October 28, 2025 at 8:08 am by Gene Ambaum
Love & Vermin: A Collection of Cartoons by The New Yorker’s Will McPhail. Mariner Books, 2022. 9780358346227. 240pp.
A collection of cartoonist / graphic novelist McPhail’s. comics; most are one-panel, and most of which appeared originally in the New Yorker. Many feature rats and pigeons. McPhail excels at capturing performative moments and straight-up, wide-eyed madness.
This is a work of genius, as was his graphic novel, In.
Graphic Novel Review: Fitting Indian by Jyoti Chand and Tara Anand
Posted on October 23, 2025 at 7:31 am by Gene Ambaum
Fitting Indian by Jyoti Chand and Tara Anand. HarperAlley, 2025. 9780063237544. 288pp.
Nitasha is under a lot of pressure from her parents to be the perfect student and daughter, though she quietly rebels against those expectations. The fact that her brother is a doctor and also engaged to a lawyer only adds to her stress , though her brother treats her well. She also has her friends Ava and Nick, too, though maybe Nick wants to be more than friends.
Nitasha’s life implodes in ways that involve social media, alcohol, depression, and self-harm. There’s a trigger warning about most of the above on the first page, as well as a list of resources in the back for teens and others dealing with these issues. Nitasha is such a well-rounded character, as are her friends, brother, and most of the rest of her family, that this isn’t some After School Special. Rooting for her and her loved ones pulled me through this graphic novel.
Book Review: Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Posted on October 21, 2025 at 6:21 am by Gene Ambaum
Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Orbit, 2025. 9780316579025. 464pp.
This is my favorite first contact novel. It’s set in a post-Earth interstellar future where humans function as assets for expansion across the galaxy. A ship has arrived at an unexplored star system to start exploiting local assets in order to create a waystation for humanity.
The most notable body in the system is a large moon. It’s a dark, inhospitable place where light has never reached the surface (if it has one). But it is alive with a cacophony of radio signals. Scientists began studying and, via drones, exploring the moon. They discover life there. And as they begin to plan to send humans to the surface to try to make sense of what their cameras are seeing, the novel turns into a tale of survival, as well as one of trying to recognize a truly alien intelligence. (The book is told from both alien and human points-of-view).
Worth noting: one of the characters in this novel has a role on their ship that’s unique among all of the futuristic jobs I’ve read about. I don’t want to spoil anything about the story, but this character and the way they help things work is amazing.
Tags 1 Comment - Read MoreGraphic Novel Review: Zeroed Out: A Sci-Fi Rom-Com by Jim Munroe and Eric Kim
Posted on October 16, 2025 at 6:47 am by Gene Ambaum
Zeroed Out: A Sci-Fi Rom-Com by Jim Munroe and Eric Kim (artist). At Bay Press, 2025. 9781998779673. 163pp.
Offworlders and their tech have improved life for most folks on Earth. But Matias lost a girlfriend to one of the shapeshifting offworlders. Now he has a job working for them that’s so boring that all he can think about is how lonely he is. (He spends all day overwriting hard drives with zeroes.) But things start to change after his offworlder boss, Sam, introduces himself. At work, Sam looks like a neanderthal, and finds it refreshing how honestly Matias talks to him. Sam offers Matias overtime as an advisor, and Matias accepts. Matias soon finds out that on weekends Sam chooses to appear as an incredibly attractive young woman, and that Sam is lonely, too.
The whole story is super weird, a not-quite-romance that goes in unexpected directions and which I thoroughly enjoyed. Between this graphic novel and Munroe’s prose novel We Are Raccoons I’ve become a fan, and plan to continue seeking out his work in books and other media.
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Graphic Novel Review: The Fable Omnibus 1 by Katsuhisa Minami
Posted on October 14, 2025 at 6:41 am by Gene Ambaum
The Fable Omnibus 1 by Katsuhisa Minami. Kodansha, 2024. 9978888772447. 416pp. Publisher’s Rating: Mature 18+
This manga series opens with Fable, a legendary hit man, taking out a bunch of goons. He’s unhurried, the violence is balletic, and when he takes off the hood he’s wearing he’s a bit of a goofball. He loves Jackal Tomioka, a third-rate comedian who can make Fable laugh no matter how many people he’s killed. (That’s Fable on the cover with his pet bird on his head.)
Fable’s boss tells him and his driver that they won’t be taking any new jobs for a while. He wants them to lie low in Osaka and to try acting like normal people for a change. They’re to pose as brother and sister, and they are absolutely not supposed to kill anyone while they’re there.
The local yakuza give them apartments and are instructed to leave them alone. But some of them have other ideas, including members set on testing Fable’s skills, running him out of town, and trying to follow in his footsteps.
This first volume is odd, at least if violence doesn’t bother you. The next two get rougher when, among other things, a gang member returns from prison and tries to force Fable’s neighbor into prostitution. Fable’s unique, light approach to life stands in contrast to this character and others, which seems to be setting him up to be a hero of sorts.
Picture Books!
Posted on October 9, 2025 at 6:26 am by Gene Ambaum
Umami by Jacob Grant. Viking, 2024. 9780593624067.
Umami (a penguin) is tired of eating cold fish, so she sets out on an adventure. She travels and eats foods with lots of different flavors, and then she decides to bring those home for the other penguins to try.
I loved the cover of this book and all of Grant’s illustrations throughout, so I went to the library and checked out all of the books by him (and drawn by him) that I could. This next book was my favorite of the rest:
Cat Knit by Jacob Grant. Feiwel and Friends, 2016. 9781250051509.
Cat and Girl are friends, but then Girl brings home Yarn, and Cat really loves him. But Girl changes Yarn into an itchy sweater that Cat does not like that much… (Grant’s illustrations still have the same life in this book, but they’re drawn in a different style that I also loved.)
The Everything Trail by Meg Fleming, illustrated by Chuck Groenink. Beach Lane Books, 2025. 9781665924870.
I do not love roaming in the forest, but this book almost makes me want to hang out with trees, so I know it’s excellent. Bonus points for the giant slug and the high-fiving of ferns. And the redwoods, because even I love redwoods.
Book Review: Questions Without Answers by Sarah Manguso, illustrated by Liana Finck
Posted on October 7, 2025 at 6:25 am by Gene Ambaum
Questions Without Answers by Sarah Manguso, illustrated by Liana Finck. Hogarth, 2025. 9780593733622. 160pp.
The book is full of the best questions kids have ever asked. They’re profound and strange, and arranged into the following subjects: people, animals, things, big things, you, and me.
Finck’s illustrations turn each question into a one-panel comic. If you haven’t fallen in love with Finck’s style already, this book will push you over the edge. I love the way her drawings can be silly and still express a childlike wonder, even though they’ve clearly been drawn by an adult.
I know everyone is going to tell you this is a great book for folks who have kids and love kids and so on. But get a copy for that friend of yours who says they hate kids. I think this will help them more.
Woo! Picture Books!
Posted on October 2, 2025 at 7:18 am by Gene Ambaum
This Year, A Witch by Zoey Abbott. A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, 2025. 9781665956024.
The little girl narrating this tale is done with cute costumes! She’s ready to be a witch! And this is amazing because of the bright colors in this lovely picture book and the surprise ending. (Plus her dad sews. And there’s a cat.)
The Zom Bees by Justin Colón, illustrated by Kaly Quarles. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025.
Green zombie bees in a graveyard! But they’re not here to eat our brains; they’re flying about for a much nicer reason. (This book also has a surprise ending that leaves room for a sequel.)
Aggie And The Ghost by Matthew Forsythe. A Paula Wiseman Book, 2025. 9781534478206.
Aggie is a bit annoyed by the fact that her house is haunted, so she gives the ghost a few rules. But the ghost is terrible at following rules. They play an epic, exhausting game of tic-tac-toe to figure out which of them has to leave. (The ending isn’t a surprise exactly, but it’s one of my favorites. Plus Forsythe’s illustrations have amazing blends of colors.)
I Hate Everything! By Sophy Henn. Beach Lane Books, 2025. 9781665980494.
One ghost says it hates everything, but the other reminds it that it doesn’t really. It’s a book full of big feelings, and I love Henn’s use of word balloons and simple facial expressions. (If your kids might be freaked out by other ghostly or witchy picture books, this is the one to bring home.)
Graphic Novel Review: Jazzy The Witch In Broom Doom by Jessixa Bagley
Posted on September 30, 2025 at 6:30 am by Gene Ambaum
Jazzy The Witch In Broom Doom by Jessixa Bagley. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. 9781665922326. 232pp. Includes an author’s note and an excerpt of the next book in the series.
Jazzy’s moms and granny are very excited when she leaves for school on the day all of the young witches start their flying lessons. They hope she’ll one day take over the family’s broom business! But Jazzy can’t really get off the ground. In fact, she’s not great at magic in general; she feels like she’s missing something.
While watching TV with her familiar, Fiona (a bat), she figures out what that is. She was born to be a cyclist! She enlists the help of her friend Aggie to get a bike, and then spends all of her time learning to ride it. It’s clearly her jam, but she’s lying to her family, not getting ready for the flying parade in honor of the super moon, and she’s also not being a great friend.
Bagley’s picture books are beautiful, but this graphic novel is my favorite. It feels personal and joyous, and the witches and their town really come alive in its pages.
