The Universe Box by Michael Swanwick. Tachyon, 2026. 9781616964504. 304pp.
I was lucky enough to attend Swanwick’s flash fiction writing seminar at Seattle’s Worldcon last August. He was a generous, attentive teacher, and I decided to read some of his shorter work. This new collection of his stories is the best I’ve read in years; they’re consistently entertaining and their subjects span the genre. And Swanwick not only knows how to write short stories, he knows how to end them! Highly recommended.
Lost Marvels No. 2: Howard Chaykin Vol. 1: Dominic Fortune, Monark Starstalker, and Phantom Eagle by Howard Chaykin and others. Fantagraphics, 2025. 9798875000362. 256pp. Contains an introduction by Brannon Costello.
This collection of Marvel comics by Chaykin includes a singular Dominic Fortune issue of Marvel Premiere (#56) plus a later 4-issue Marvel MAX miniseries featring the character; a complete WWI epic by Garth Ennis that was drawn by Chaykin (War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle); and Marvel Premier #32 featuring Monark Starstalker, a bounty hunter who is attacked moments after arriving on the remote planet where he’s tracked his quarry. All of the stories were entertaining (and entertainingly adult). I loved the Starstalker story the best; Chaykin delivered a great story within the restrictive bounds of the Comics Code Authority, and it reminded me of how much I enjoyed finding random issues of the original Marvel Premiere series at Fred Meyer as a kid.
Preparing to Bite by Keiler Roberts. Drawn & Quaraterly, 2025. 9781770467743. 168pp.
Roberts’ deadpan, autobiographical comics about her family continue to make me laugh. I find the way she draws exquisite, and I envy her ability to tell a story in a single panel. Now that her daughter is getting a bit older, they’re a nice reminder of many absurd moments I experienced with mine. I hope Roberts never stops publishing these collections.
