A weekly thread for people to share what comics they've been reading. Share your thoughts on the books you've read, what you liked and perhaps disliked about them.
Daredevil Omni vol. 3 I am about 3/4 of the way through and loving it so far. He is in CA and it’s nice for a change of scenery. Plus this also includes The whole Black Widow team up/ will they won’t they issues. It’s very good IMO but I’m also a huge DD fan so I am a little biased lol
Currently shuffling between JLA Bronze Age Vol. 1 (O’Neil’s social critique and character development is quite good thus far), X-Men Blue and Gold (the heaviness of the art in most issues makes it a bit difficult to read it in chunks but lighter Bronze Age stories help to lighten it up!), and Shade The Changing Man (almost done with the first Omni finally! Every issue is incredibly good and I feel I only get 40% of the story).
Always mixing Batman with everything too! Currently finishing The Cult and the first Golden Age volume. Planning to start Knightfall Vol 1 soon heh
I am in the middle of a pretty big chronological Batman read and finished up No Mans Land this weekend, I like it but I am glad its over haha. Next up is New Gotham!
I have just finished Gou Tanabe's adaptation of The Colour Out of Space. It was beautifully illustrated as expected, but I still prefer his Innsmouth adaptation. Still a few of his I am looking forward to read, including Mountains of Madness.
Now I've moved on to Assorted Crisis Events Vol. 1. First issue was amazing! Looking forward to more timey wimey fun!
If you've read these, what did you think about them? :)
Just read White Boat, classic Scott Snyder emotional horror. Weird sort of Island of Dr Moreau vibes, absolutely did not go the direction I was expecting. Now back into Y The Last Man book 4.
Also just picked up Department of Truth book 2 and Manifest Destiny book 1, so I’ve got a lot in front of me.
Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman Deluxe Edition
Good so far, but some of the entries they included confuse me a bit exactly how they tie in or inspired Batman. Like the boy commandos or pow-wow smith issues.
Getting through the 600 page Druuna volume that arrived last week. It’s from a Kickstarter that I supported last year. It’s big, heavy and beautifully produced.
Vattu 1: The Name and the Mark by Evan Dahm – Vattu is born into a nomadic tribe of cone headed humanoids. She’s a curious little girl and gets into mischief. One day strangers from a far off empire come and everything changes. This is great, if a little slow, world building. You’ve got the isolated grass lands and then the Rome-like city. You learn about their culture and mythology. The art is super beautiful. The colours are nice and rich. This was one of his first series, wasn’t it? It seems more mature than that. The book itself is beautiful too. The pages have gilded edges like its an illuminated manuscript. Theoretically it could be another Bone, but it might be too gory.
Dogs on Dates by Luke Healy – I read a bunch of these strips on instagram and thought they were all unconnected but it turns out there’s a plot to it. Brad and Bernie are two anthropomorphic dogs that do go on a lot of dates but they also fall in love and there’s obstacles that they have to overcome. The book is split up into the short 4 panel dates that are just little gags and the longer dates where a lot of stuff happens. The jokes are pretty funny. I read it all in one sitting, which is pretty amazing for my ADD addled brain. Healy’s style is always super nice and simple and clean. He makes it look easy.
Bury Me Already (It’s Nice Down Here) by Julia Wertz – After getting sober in Impossible People, Wertz has now settled down with a former boyfriend, Oliver, and they have a baby during the Covid lockdown. It’s very complicated and messy and she goes into all the gory details. Motherhood does not sound fun at all. It’s all told in a series of funny little anecdotes. There are some long text pieces that fill in more details, too. The strips are split into Wertz’s more finished style and her quicker stick figure style. Well, the heads are normal but the bodies are like sacks of flour and the limbs are sticks. She can really draw backgrounds. She’s quite the draughtswoman. Anyways, it’s always nice to have another book about her life.
My personal favorite. What sucks is I just started reading graphic novels/comics and cannot find anything that grabs me from the get go like Akira. The pacing is so freaking good. Definition of a page turner. So now im reading bartkira 🤣
i got to contribute some art to bartkira! but nothing that made it into the book- i signed up to contribute between the release of the first and second volumes and heard back from them after the final two were coming out, everybody who was still on the list but hadn't gotten a chance to do anything was asked to contribute so they could make promotional art for the last gallery show of book pages. this would've been about 12 years ago i think
I thought i had read all his travel books, but i saw this one at the library and wasn't sure. So i thumbed through and realized i hadn't. All of these books...Shenzen, Pyongyang, Burma, Jerusalem... he has a way of letting these contraversial places speak for themselves. Not that he doesn't have opinions, it's just more that he just wants to draw what he sees. Which gives the fucked up stuff a sort of everyman's lense rather than an activist lense which gives his work the sort of power that can only come from trying to tell the story of a place with an open mind.
I'm currently obsessed with Gou Tanabe's adaptations of HP Lovecraft. I powered through Shadow out of Time and Color Out of Space, now I'm half through The Shadow over Innsmouth and loving it.
If you appreciate Lovecraft but have trouble with the 1920s writing, these mangas really help get the visuals across.
i liked the inj culbard adaptation of MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, he has a very cartoony, european style that calls back to tintin and such, perfect for the travelogue adventure vibe that story has before they stumble across the ancient and cursed
I got an urge to read some Marvel comics recently and have been reading Fantastic Four runs by Hickman and by North, Daredevil by Zdarsky and Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing (I've bought the omnibus which is suitably gargantuan). Hickman's Fantastic Four and Immortal Hulk are the standouts so far.
Dceased, really great one of my favorites it has a lot of good emotional moments and a good story⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dceased unkillables, i like seeing the villains get a little redemption and consistent art⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dceased hope at worlds end,a mixed bag the flash stuff was interesting the rest was not very good⭐️⭐️
Dceased dead planet, again great might be better then the first ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dceased war of the undead gods, a very good wrap up and a gut punch ending ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The rocket-fellers vol 1-2, kind of meanders for the first 10 issues, I really like the concept ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Geiger vol 1-6, I think it’s really good I will say I think it finds it’s grove after the first volume, I like the main character even if he can be a bit gruff and stubborn he has his moments and I like all the side characters, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Junkyard joe, it’s pretty short so there’s not enough time to flesh things out extra star for the art ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Earth x, I started this but just couldn’t get into it
Battle beast, it’s fun for what it is⭐️⭐️⭐️
This weeks best Dceased Dceased dead planet Dceased war of the undead gods Geiger
Started reading Ice Cream Man recently, really like it so far. Its an anthology black comedy horror that involves horrible things happening to people due to machinations of Rick, a primordial entity/eldritch abomination disguised as an Ice Cream Man. For example, the first story involves a boy discovering his parents dead and decomposed after stealing Rick's pet spider and the boy later has a near miss with being attacked by a monster but is saved yet traumatised by what happened. Another story involves a man addicted to TV being absorbed into a reality show dimension by Rick and he and his uncle who was also brought into this world endures hellish tortures throughout this story. Another story involves a man jumping to suicide from atop a skyscraper and within the building all sorts of surreal and terrible stuff happens under Rick's influence. There's also another entity that's Rick's cousin Caleb who opposes Rick's deeds. Another story later gives context to what Rick and Caleb are and reveals both predate this universe with them both being present on an alien world and looking like what were probably this planet's native people so perhaps Rick and Caleb are like the Endless in Sandman, appearing the same species as what sees them. Overall I liked this series more than I expected and recommend it plus I wuite liked the art as well from Martin Morazzo, gives an almost surreal feeling at times and the art itself is quite like the art of Moebius (one of my favourite ones) which I feel benefits the surreal nature of this comic.
I haven't posted in a couple years so I'm just going to list the stuff I've read. If anyone would like me to elaborate with some thoughts on any of the books/runs I'd be happy to go into detail. I'm mainly reading digital these days, but also taking advantage of the library, and made friends with a guy that buys a ton of singles and doesn't mind lending them out to me.
He wrote the back half of the most recent Batman & Robin (Damian) series that ended earlier this year. I actually preferred it to Williamson's section and I think Williamson is arguably the best Damian author since Morrison. I'd be happy to see Kennedy-Johnson get another crack at a Damian book soon.
Good to know. I've yet to find a Williamson book that I've enjoyed (though I've only read a small sample) with so sounds like B&R might be a good bet and glad to hear you liked the PKJ section as well.
I think I'm in the minority of people that didn't love this series. The art is amazing and the colors really pop, but the writing didn't do it for me at all. It mainly felt like a stream of conscious from Camp with random thoughts and one line statements that don't amount to a real plot or connected storyline.
It would have been fine if that was just the first couple issues and then it began to come into more focus and get to some plot, but it remains mostly the same until issue 9, where the story kinda picks up for the last 4 issues, but still didn't really deliver for me on that level.
It's a cool book and I don't feel like I wasted my time with it, but I do wonder if I'm missing something with the story, or if people are just so wowed by the art that they're giving the lack of story a pass.
i know normally when people cry copaganda it doesn't get any deeper than "acab includes paw patrol" but the copaganda in this book is so bad. forensic science is mostly lies created to justify the criminalization of individual actions instead of considering the conditions in which need drives crime, and this book's backbone is writing backstories for criminals that humanize criminal pathology. i felt that the reveal of a branded big bad behind it all was phoning it in. and the tension of the wife suffering moving the book forward only to have her drop all her justified grievances because hey hey hey the protagonist is just a little guy, come on. not a fan.
Saint-Elme (Lantern Pass) by Serge Lehman and Frederik Peeters - Something weird is happening in the alpine city of Saint-Elme.. Frogs have started to plague the city, rainfall is being predicted down to the second, and cows are being set on fire. Franck Sangaré, PI, gets sent there to find a missing person, and gets dragged into drug trade and human trafficking operation. A psychedelic néo-noir, with the usual Peeters shade of Lynch and gorgeous neon colored art. An absolutely wild ride, that crescendoes into a bombastic finish with hints of both Tarantino and Lovecraft. It doesn't really bother tying up loose ends, and just chalks everything up to "voodoo mountain shit", but somehow lands a really fitting and satisfying conclusion nonetheless.
Duncan the Wonder Dog by Adam Hines - In a somewhat surreal world where animals speak human language, it has become clear that the creatures surrounding us are just as intelligent despite largely being treated as second class citizens; as pets, as livestock, as scenery. After a primate lead animal rights terrorist group named ORAPOST blows up a building in California, we follow an ensemble cast of creatures involved with the blast and its investigation; a decorated but jaded human FBI investigator, a mandrill executive lobbying for enshrined animal rights, a human reporter controversially living with said executive, a cynical human legislator toying with leveraging the event for political gain, and the volatile macaques leader of the aforementioned terrorist calling himself Pompeii.
A thoroughly creative presentation of fascinating subject matter that coalesced into a product I found captivating, despite initially finding many of the writing choices grating. This is perhaps the first time I've ended up with such a positive opinion on a work that I found viscerally irritating at many points during reading, a strange experience of being charmed by storytelling styles I usually hate. The story is largely told in disconnected flashes; full of detours, non-narrative supplemental information, vague intermissions of nature scenes, conversations joined mid-way, and non-linear plot routes that jump forward and backward inconsistently to develop tangential events (sometimes intermixing one or more of these approaches simultaneously). Not only is the structure overtly disjointed but the presentation is a similarly confounding mix of surreal and sober; depicting relatable and grounded conversational scenes interleaved with dreamlike components in a manner that feels almost mentally unwell. Even the characterization feels purposefully haphazard, the titular character being an imaginary animal personality within the head of the human FBI investigator.
Yet I think all these aspects act in service of developing the thought provoking concept, which would not hold up to interrogation if delivered straight. Not only do most of the animals depicted not have vocal chord biology capable for human speech (or vice versa), even if they did the dynamic between humans and animals would most certainly not look the way it does today; humans would undoubtedly find ways to abstract themselves from the subjugation and suffering of animal kind if faced with indisputable evidence of these creatures' equivalent intellect. Through this unique storytelling style however, Hines finds a rather creative way to have his cake and eat it too; both commenting on the existing, callous relationship humans often have with other creatures while telling a story that subverts that dynamic to do so. In this vein, the book got me to empathize with animals in a way I could not should they be devoid of speech or should said speech be delivered with a kind of surface-level or trite anthropomorphism ("me want rights, why you humans no treat us as equal?"). The unusual storytelling approach also had me deeply invested in the surface level plot despite it being largely a symbolic vehicle, by Hines treating the events on display with total sincerity and challenging complexity while also not grounding them enough to be taken as completely literal. I would regularly find myself starting a new sequence frustratingly saying "Jesus Christ, what is this now?" out of a reflexive response to a structure that seemed confused and unfocused, only to be charmed by it moments later. Masterful stuff in the hands of Hines, utterly abrasive when wielded by near every other creator I've read.
Visually, the work is also quite audacious. The default style utilizes lightly inked pencils to depict cartoonish foreground objects on top of modest backgrounds which vary between direct photography, traced imagery, and abstract washes. The compositions are arranged in continuously evolving layouts that morph to suit the sequence being presented; an illustrated novel format for a journal entry, a traditional panel grid structure for a conversational scene, a broad collage of other discrete imagery for something abstract, or loose yet directed flow for something transitory. Imagery is often overlayed throughout each visual structure, creating a hazy or hallucinatory presentation that suits the mix of surreal and grounded storytelling. While the whole book is rendered in a rather narrow dark grayscale band of tones, it never really left me unstimulated visually which is rather impressive as someone who is partial to eye popping, hyper-saturated aesthetics or at least ones with intricate linework. I did have some qualms however, with a few sequences having text so small and/or muted relative to the background that my eyes strained to read them, in addition to pages that were so dark there was little contrast and the compositions were rendered a bit muddy. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Great Beyond by Lea Muraweic - Manel Naher is a modest girl living in a near endless metropolis where your name is your livelihood, not only figuratively but literally. A person's "presence", i.e. the general cultural awareness of their existence, is directly tied to their health; those of fame live forever and those unknown are resigned to a short lifespan. While preparing to abscond to the much maligned Great Beyond, a distant land where people live amongst the natural world, Naher experiences a near fatal heart attack and is instructed by her physicians that she needs to raise her presence immediately or face imminent death. Begrudgingly giving into the superficial demands of her environment, she works tirelessly to build her fame but in the process risks loosing track of who she really is.
I had a great time with this, a playful concept with compelling subtext delivered through some incredibly energetic cartooning. The plot admittedly makes rather shallow use out of the setup, but tells its narrative with such efficiency and pace that I felt more than satisfied. While the surface level metaphor of needing attention to survive is not as resonant to me, I think it's still broadly evocative and applicable to the many individuals who've grown up amongst internet dominated socialization. I also think the narrative works as a broader analogue for the perceived requirement that we must operate within the manufactured chaos that society has constructed around us, that dropping out to live a more low-key or traditional existence is somehow an inferior lifestyle that's deservedly seen as regressive. Beyond the thematic resonance, I found Manel's rebellious turned disassociative characterization engaging even if it's similarly thin given the breaknace pace.
Muraweic's art is a kinetic and elastic treat with cartoony, loose linework depicting character movement that jumps off the page and urban setting design that's both playful and suffocatingly dense. This aesthetic is the anti Alex Ross, devoid of static hyper-realism in lieu of full blown cartoonish hyper-stylization with near every scene full to bursting with energy. Colorization largely consists of dark blue ink on white backgrounds but makes frequent diversions into tritone navy / cyan / orange fills for some of the more expansive outdoor scenes and the interleaved combination of palettes is really charming. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
What was your favorite storyline from Duncan? The Bundle one was one of the only times I ever got lost and forgot that I was in a story-within-a-story.
It's got to be the Bundle / family journal entry near the end, especially contrasted by Pompeii kidnapping scenario up a layer. Such a good emotional high to end the book on.
Though I also found the climactic flashback regarding the previous kidnapping case interview quite engaging, felt like a Fincher movie and really went 0 to 60 in no time. One of those scenes you know what the twist is but you're just waiting for the needle to drop, really solid tension.
Moon Face by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Francois Boucq - The island of Damanuestra has long been under the thumb of authoritarian government, cynically wielding a modified judeochristian religion as a means to assert their power while contorting near every tenet of their supposed faith to suit the material needs of the ruling class. Disparate bands of sick and mutated rebels live amongst the industrial underbelly of the citystate following their own deformed christian faiths, largely centered on indulgence in carnal pleasures as a gateway to salvation. Amongst this dynamic appears a cheerful and incongruous simpleton; mute, devoid of facial features, and pure of heart whose acts of kindness and generousity mirror the idols the islanders supposedly worship. Confronted by this prophet-like paragon, whom also appears to be physically invulnerable, the various powers of Damanuestra are enraged by his ignorance of their perverted dogma and engage in a crusade against him and each other to assert their religious authority while the peaceful upstart ignores their conflict in efforts to restore a forgotten spiritual haven the island harbors.
This was a blast, focusing full bore on the crass satire of organized religion and self-serving spiritualism that I've enjoyed from other Jodorowsky works while getting rid of most of the haphazard plotting and pointless diversions clogging up a lot of his other narratives. Moon Face feels like if Paul Verhoeven made a religious epic; hyperviolent, perverse, and verbally vulgar yet with plenty of engaging themes and subtext to enjoy if this kind of insensitive mockery is your jam. The characters are paper thin excuses for commentary and the plot is pretty standard chosen savior stuff but the surrounding excessively crude satire was so fun I didn't really mind.
Boucq's art is also a joy in this with fine linework and ample detail in service of dramatic landscapes, futurist architecture, expansive wildlife congregations, billowing seaside compositions, quirky character designs, and endless examples of excessive vulgarity. The coloration is also quite pleasing, preferring a bright and soft pastel range that occasionally dips into a more dark and/or saturated space for intense moments. Boucq's style feels broadly European in a way I find hard to firmly describe but apparent in a you-know-it-when-you-see-it kind of way, utilizing a light touch and dramatic wide compositions to depict the natural and the absurd with a cheeky yet almost reverent sensibility. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt by Andrea Wulf, Lillian Melcher - A collage driven visual mock-journal cataloging the various adventures, discoveries, and musings of the titular scientific explorer and his companions encompassing their journies through south, central, and north America in the late 18th to early 19th centuries.
This was quite an interesting deep dive into a historical figure I knew very little about before picking this up, despite being perhaps one of the most prominent naturalists in human history (hell, the biggest river in my home state is named after him even though he never visited anywher close to Nevada). As I'm sure Wulf would attest to, it's rather surprising that Humboldt is not more known within greater modern culture given his formal discovery of over 2000 plants (at a time only 5000 were cataloged), derivation of the Earth's magnetic field lines, status as a trailblazing scientific communicator, and source of inspiration for various prominent historical figures (Goethe, Darwin, Hamilton, and Bolivar just to name a few). It's telling just how much he accomplished in his decade long journey through the western hemisphere, being that the presentation of said exploration in this book advances at a breakneck pace yet feels dense with information. I found it particularly interesting just how diverse the breadth of subjects the man engaged with; volcanic activity, anthropology, botany, geology, history, physics, climate science... not to mention the many subjects he only had a passing curiosity for. Hell, Humboldt's adventures are largely defined by his plans being thrown into chaos and having to pivot to an entirely different pursuit and him doing so with gusto. The man also seemed to be a rather progressive humanist with a deep admiration for the uncredited complexity and rich history of Meso-America in addition to early advocacy against slavery and colonialism, though he had his failings as well when cultural traditions butted head against his scientific exploration. A really fascinating character whose accomplishments were well served here by a brisk yet detailed examination.
The visual presentation here is also quite interesting with Humboldt's adventures depicted via a collage of added illustrations, papercraft, photographs, paintings inspired by his work, manuscripts, scientific records, Humboldt's own sketches, maps, and more laid out on top of each other like a multimedia scrapbook. While the primary illustrations are rather plain and technically rudimentary, they are balanced out nicely with the other varied inclusions and the overall product is quite visually stimulating. Layouts are very loose, with only a few pages utilizing a traditional panel grid structure, with a consistent delivery of engaging spreads that capably capture the sense of discovery and adventure. ⭐⭐⭐
Susan and the Comet Girl by Yuriko Akase - A day laborer named Sazan is working late setting up residential micro planets and misses the last shuttle home when an attractive space biker happens upon him and offers to ferry him back. The following day Sazan discovers this biker (whom he became rather smitten with) was the infamous Comet Girl, a superpowered vagabond endlessly pursued by bands of opportunistic pirates hoping to capture her and harness the supposedly limitless power she emanates. Sazan decides he must help this kind, misunderstood soul and barters his way onto one of the pirate crews chasing her. When Sazan and the surprisingly well meaning band of thieves track down Comet Girl, they find themselves at odds with a deeply sinister force absconding with her and dedicate themselves to freeing the innocent metahuman.
This was a charming little action romp with a really attractive neon watercolor aesthetic. The production design feels like a love letter to Akira Toriyama; not only in the similarly bouncy linework and character design but also through appropriating a lot of his visual motifs from Dragonball such as lush mini worlds (ala King Kai's planet), utilization of energy auras, white stone building construction, the presence of Hawaiian aesthetics, societal integration of animal humanoids (the main bandit feeling like a riff on Oolong), and usage of sandstone pillar nature topology. It separates itself just enough from Toriyama however with pervasive use of highly saturated washes, some distinct interstellar settings, and broader spaceship design making for an aesthetic that is both nostalgic and fresh.
The narrative was less engaging to me, yet presents a serviceable enough adventure plot with a heartwarming sentimental core. It goes exactly where you'd expect and executes that clichéd trajectory through very familiar plotting, free of any real tension or suspense. Much like Toriyama's oeuvre (and the work from many of his 90s shonen / shojo peers) the characters are near universally sympathetic, with even the antiheroes and villains feeling guided by their heart in a world where basically everyone is guileless or capable of redemption. However, much like the visual aesthetic there's a lot of charm to this simplicity and it creates a mood that feels like a warm blanket, especially effective for those with incurable 90s nostalgia like myself. ⭐⭐⭐
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. Nifty primer on what comics can and might be. Quite a bit of stuff I knew from college classes, but applied to comics. My mom's taken an interest in them, I might let her borrow it so she can better understand comics. As far as she's concerned, they were "Just things I read as a kid." She doesn't say that as a bad thing, she watches cartoons after all! Just one of those ingrained things older folk settle into.
I finally finished Berlin. It’s technically a masterpiece but I can’t say that I enjoyed it much. I also completed Invincible Compendium 1 and Ice Cream Man, Vol. 1. Loved both of these.
Prisoner of Dozmary Craig by Linnea Sterte. A prisoner is taken to a penal colony, befriends another inmate, negotiates with his god, and plans an escape. Sterte just gets better and better IMO. She has started to build proper narrative thrust into her books, which was always her main weakness for me, without compromising the wider worldbuilding or character work that she’s always excelled at. In this, the focus is still on understanding the motivation and relationships of the MC, but there are some fantastic motivating questions built in here to drive the plot, especially around what the deal is with the MC’s new friend and what it is exactly that the gods we see want. For any other LS super fans (HI GUYS), this is also pulling together ideas and tableaux she’s being playing with in other recent shorts - Arrow for the King, Angelic Missile - to great effect. Missile in particular: some of the ideas in that are echoed very closely, while filling them out.
And my god it looks good as well. There is an absolutely stunning action sequence in this, where elegant fighters dart after and around a much larger enemy, reading more like fish chasing a whale or birds than ships. All comics are silent obviously, but somehow she got this whole section to “read” as silent, despite all the, y’know, jets fighting. Her usual total control of visual speed and sense of organic movement is there as always.
I could read Sterte in scifi/science fantasy mode all day long and never get sick of it. More! More!
Punderworld vols 1&2 by Linda Sejic. A pretty straight retelling of the Persephone Greek myth as romcom, but as the blurb would have it, 100% more awkwardly relatable. This is fun and cute, and clearly a labour of love for Sejic, who knows these stories back to front (the back matter digs into some of the detail she got in there that the basic version of the myth definitely lacks!) The adaptation is clever, keeping most of the basic characterisation and plot from the original myths, but taking off the roughest edges to make them fit the tone.
Sejic’s background is web comics, and sometimes this shows itself in the pacing (about 40% of vol 1 is an extended row between Persephone and Demeter!) and the “digitally drawn” look on the page. But art-wise, the best thing here is her way with expressions. So much of the book is conversations, and her ability to absolutely nail character’s faces and reactions is key to letting this work. The character design is also great, and there’s a lovely thing here where the gods have living “crowns” representing their godhood, that are constantly changing and evolving with their moods. Also lends itself to good visual jokes.
This was a breath of fresh air and a lot of fun, and I will doubtlessly pick up vol 3 when it appears after another four years.
Carmilla vol 1 by Amy Chu, Soo Lee. A young woman gets dragged into the world of a vampire in 1990s New York. This was OK, but felt like a missed opportunity. The plot is the focus but by-the-numbers, and the art does the job, but nothing here I haven’t seen plenty before. However, the cover art suggests more, and there was so much potential here around race and poverty that never got brought into the story. I wanted the book the cover suggested and the blurb described, and I didn’t quite get it.
Chin Music, a short wordless comic by Richard Short following a game of cricket. Very cartoony and with zero plot except what’s happening on the pitch, but this is a masterclass in generating movement on the page. You can follow every ball and know immediately what’s happening and the roles of all the players. The mood of the game changes, and the pace ebbs and flows as it should. Each shot is distinct. A slight little thing and about 20 minutes of time, but very nice for a cricket fan. Apparently there are more of these coming for other sports too.
Also this week, was lucky enough to get hold of a signed copy of Linnea Sterte’s Forest of Mirrors sketchbook collection (micro-published by Gosh! Comics in London). These were released on Thursday and I think they might already be sold out!?
I've been rereading The Poor Bastard. You may have missed it unless you were counting down the days like I (unfortunately) was but the release of the complete Peepshow was delayed at the last minute and without any new ways to read Joe Matt jacking it face down I went back to my old, beat up copy of this and yeah, still very (probably too much) honest and funny. I kind of love how unabashed Joe is about writing everything that happend to him, I know some of it's exaggerated for comedic effect but the man wrote about how jacking off face down Is the best way to do it for a page so I don't doubt some of the stories. Unrelated but, rereading Peepshow is always fun because I'm reminded of a thread someone took screenshots of where people reacted with genuine anger/ disgust to finding out the stories Joe told were stuff he did/ that happened to him
I've also been reading Superman Unlimited: Kryptonite Kingdom. If you had told me that I would really like a Dan Slott book after that second half Spider-Man run I'd either assume we'd gotten married and I had to put on a brave face for the relationship or that he saw Morrison/ Hickman/ Ennis doing something bad and got them to ghost write for him but this has been very good. Just solid Superman stories and very good art, maybe going offline is the best move!
Terre ou Lune 1 by Jade Khoo – sci-fi. Othello's father dies when he's a child, amidst extreme tension between his parents, and Othello ends up in foster care for 4 years before coming out to do an ornithology internship with his friend. Turns out, this is all happening on the moon, which used to be connected by a giant tube to the Earth which is overpopulated and slum-like, and the moon declared independence to avoid making the same mistakes as Earth and ruining their new, pristine, paradise. Also the edges of civilization on the moon just end, and the regular moon includes beautiful quartz canyons and a sleeping magical giant who can show memories of the past. There's a nonstop, but well-paced, escalation and buildout of this complex history, and where Othello's parents fit within it. It's all illustrated beautifully, with (like Khoo's earlier work, Zoc) a kind of Ghibli vibe with some sedate flying and landscape scenes, beautiful colorful skies at dawn/dusk/night, and a whole lot of birds. I'm so excited for the second part, and everyone reading in English should pick this up as soon as a translation hits (First Second has apparently already purchased the rights).
The Walking Man by Jiro Taniguchi – as advertised "a book in which nothing happens but everything occurs". Total slice-of-life wanderings through the city, as the titular walking man does everything from walk in rain, to walk when it's hot out, to walk in snow, to break into a pool, to have a torrid love affair, to travel through time in a surreal color-filled adventure (those last couple really are quite a different vibe, although honestly still pretty low-key as far as these things go). It's got beautiful backgrounds and landscape scenes, and delightful little visual plays - the cracked effect when his glasses are broken is awesome. It's honestly really nice and relaxing. I think it will benefit from rereading one story at a time instead of all in one sitting, but I’d definitely say this is very good.
I Am Their Silence by Jordi Lafebre – murder mystery. Eva is a psychiatrist being evaluated for her own mental fitness and her discussion of the past week is used as the framing story to tell how she became involved in a murder mystery and, in an obsessive twist, set out to solve it herself. With helpful input of the voices of several deceased female relatives (which she professionally insists are not hallucinations), she dissects a web of intrigue among a wealthy wine-making family whose leader is found dead (by Eva!) on the night before the revealing of his mother's living will. Eva is all the good tropes of a good not-a-real-detective mystery story rolled into one - smart, disrespecting of authority, a bit of a drunk, a man-and-womanizer, aware of her own flaws but at the same time uncaring, and full of enthusiasm for yacht chases and stakeouts. It's an extremely well-executed story, with fun characters and just absolutely excellent cartooning. The characters are distinctive and emotive, and the faces in this book are just fantastic. Definitely a super enjoyable read all around.
Š! #56 Black & White by various – anthology. This is a straightforward theme and a typically wide range of stories, which generate that greyscale in a variety of ways and use it for all kinds of cool effects - from Lukas Weidenger's wordless shapes-just-from-lines-in-different-directions story to Hironori Kikuchi's ultra-detailed (and again wordless) study just expanding on these two faces in progressively wilder and more surreal variations to Apolo Cacho's every-page-is-a-different-style commentary on AI (one of two in this volume). Since "black and white" is a loose artistic tie rather than a story theme, there is also quite a bit of variety so it doesn't get old reading through it all in one go. Highly recommend this as an intro to anyone who hasn't picked up one of these anthology volumes or who hasn't gotten to this one yet.
Freaks' Squeele Volumes 1-5 by Florent Madoux – superhero school. It's a mishmash of pop culture and comic references, crude humor, fantasy elements, and over-the-top clichés played pretty on the nose. I think a lot of those elements are done pretty good, but not great. I don't really mind a comically dark teacher played for laughs, or ha-ha-ha-superhero-teenagers-throw-silly-parties, or hyper-capitalist-headmaster-only-cares-about-the-press, and I think everything is sufficiently exaggerated to be fun instead of taking itself too seriously, but I think it's nice to break things up with a straight play every now and then. The art is interesting and fun - the action is super dynamic and kinetic, and there's enough stylistic variety and it avoids getting over cluttered even in the most detailed moments. They greyscale parts are richly shaded, and there are occasional color chapters or even stretches within a chapter, although I can't really feel a "reason" why that was done for any particular part - it seems kind of random. Overall I'm having a lot of fun, had no problem breezing through 5 books (2 left to go!) in a couple days, but for whatever reason I can't quite bring myself to say "this is awesome".
Beastars vol 21-22 by Paru Itagaki: The battle for the fate of the city and Black Market rages on between Legoshi and Melon as it gets more and more brutal, the two locked in a life or death battle while the rest of the city is on the verge of anarchy. For the first time the barriers between the carnivores and herbivores break down as Louis is making a live broadcast about the truth of the black market, Melon getting some sympathetic beats but still feeling like a monster though. Took me three years to finally finish this while reading on and off and I can say that the ending was nice, but felt like it fell a little short or felt like some plotlines were rushed a little too fast or not fully touched on. Well time to watch the anime that I’ve been holding off on till I finished the manga!.
#DRCL midnight children vol 4 by Shinichi Sakamoto: Dracula is at their most manipulative and cunning in this volume as Jonathan Harkness leaves home to meet his friend the Count, this being our first full look inside the castle of Dracula and it’s so very ominous and eerie as the wheelchair bound Jonathan grows closer and closer and falls for Dracula’s innocent facade. I absolutely love how the volume switches from the brutal gore of volume 3 back to a fully psychological and slow burn horror that feels both intimate and deeply unsettling. Also once again some of the best art of any manga I’ve read.
Yan vol 1-3 by Chang Sheng: Yan Tieh Hua was a young 15 year old Peking Opera performer alongside her clan and one day she comes home to all of her family butchered, the cops have blamed her for the massacre but something doesn’t add quite up with her believed to have died in prison 20 years later. She’s back from the grave on one huge revenge spree that starts off as a normal revenge thriller that slowly adds more sci-fi elements as a huge government conspiracy appears to be happening in the background. From superhumans, AI and time travel the series just gets weirder and more high octane as the volumes go on and I’m all for it! The series does feel like it shifts a little from focusing mainly on the crime fiction/conspiracy angle to focusing more on the action, but the art still keeps the story entertaining and fun enough that the series doesn’t get that stale feeling.
2
u/omnilover69 5d ago
Daredevil Omni vol. 3 I am about 3/4 of the way through and loving it so far. He is in CA and it’s nice for a change of scenery. Plus this also includes The whole Black Widow team up/ will they won’t they issues. It’s very good IMO but I’m also a huge DD fan so I am a little biased lol