Comics and More

Here is the book you should be paying attention to in comic shops tomorrow! H Day HC - I don't really know anything about this graphic novel, but it's Renee French, so it's bound to be a visual treat. Other Noteworthy Releases Avengers vs. Pet Avengers #1 (of 4) Beasts of Burden/Hellboy One-Shot Epic Chronicles of Hagar the Horrible: 1974-1975 HC Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman (Volume 3) HC Geronimo Stilton (Volume 6) HC Green Lantern Chronicles (Volume 3) TP JLA: The 99 #1 (of 6) The Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion HC Secret Avengers #6 Secret Warriors #21 Star Trek: Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor (Volume 1) TP

Ax: A Collection of Alternative Manga (Volume 1) GN Edited by Sean Michael Wilson Ax is an alternative manga magazine in Japan, a kind of go-to for exciting creators.  This new anthology from Top Shelf collects a sampling of stories that have been published in Ax since its debut in 1998.  As with most anthologies, I found myself drawn to some stories, while left cold to others, but you can't argue that this isn't a great showcase for some really great comics.  33 manga artists are sampled here, with biographies compiled in back and an introduction by Paul Gravett.  I feel like I've been waiting forever for this to come out, as it's seen a series of delays, but it has finally arrived. My Favorites Inside the Gourd by Ayuko Akiyama is a magical, gentle story told with soft lines, about a man misunderstood by those around him.  It was kind of refreshing to read a story like this in an anthology that offers a lot of sex and violence, illustrating that ...

Changing Moon Mathieu Mariolle, MiniKim & Pop Originally published in France, Nola's World follows Nola York-Stein, a teen who lives in the beautiful seaside paradise town Alta Donna...resulting in a rather boring existence.  Nothing ever happens there, and life has been even lonelier for Nola since her parents divorced.  Now, she hardly ever sees her father, who has his own new family to support, and her mother is a workaholic who tends to choose a night out with friends over her own daughter.  But her life gets a little more exciting when two new kids show up at school.  Nola thinks that something is funny about the brother and sister, and is determined to get to the bottom of things, if anything, for something to do .  And it turns out that her hunch is right - they are harboring a secret, one that she couldn't have imagined.  While stalking the pair (pretending she's a super-sleuth), Nola inadvertently makes friends with them, enjoying time with...

Megan Kelso This is the first work that I've read from Megan Kelso ( The Squirrel Mother Stories ) , and I really like her storytelling style.  She has a nice cartoony style with delicate little swirls and funny-looking characters with sprouts on their heads.  It's a story that feels whimsical throughout, with playful characters that partake in festivals to celebrate the changing of the seasons, but has a serious side, as it's a multi-generational tale that sees two sides of a civil war that has seen devastation in the south, and has put lovers at odds with one another.  The family of women that we follow comes with knowledge of the land, and have made a living through an apothecary.  We see how the herbs and ointments are collected, how they run it, and its transition through the years, at the same time that we learn of the war that has devastated them, and the cold queen that was born in the north that laid siege to their towns.  I ...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to in comic shops this Wednesday... Picture This HC - A week with a new Charles Burns graphic novel AND a Lynda Barry hardcover is quite a week indeed, but I have to go with Lynda Barry as the most exciting release between the two.  I really, really loved Lynda Barry's first inspiring book dedicated to the creative process, What It Is , and this follow-up is easily one of my most anticipated releases of the year. Other Noteworthy Releases 40 Doonesbury Retrospective HC Cardcaptor Sakura Omnibus Edition (Volume 1) Charles Burns' X'ed Out GN Daniel X: The Manga (Volume 1) Dragon Girl (Volume 1) Dragon Puncher (Book 1) HC God Complex Complete Collection TP Johnny Boo (Volume 4): Mean Little Boy HC Kick-Ass 2 #1 Luthor HC March Story (Volume 1) Marvel Zombies 5 HC Saga of Rex TP Shuddertown HC Stan Lee's Soldier Zero #1 Y - The Last Man Deluxe Edition (Volume 4) HC

7 Billion Needles (Volume 1) Nobuaki Tadano The new science fiction manga series from Vertical , 7 Billion Needles , sees introverted high school girl Hikaru Takabe joined with an alien lifeform.  At first, it's just annoying, breaking through her mind and talking to her incessantly.  Then it demonstrates unusual, and pretty amazing, powers.  Hikaru herself is one of those kids who sits in the corner of class, trying her best not to be noticed, sporting head phones as an extra incentive to get people to avoid speaking with her.  When she joins with this being calling itself "Horizon," she finds that she must interact with the people around her if she's to uncover the malicious alien that Horizon came to Earth to hunt down.  Without her help, Earth will be overtaken and destroyed by this evil alien.  So Hikaru breaks out of her comfort zone.  It's nice to see her do this - Hikaru's a really neat character, with something pretty devastating hinted at ...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to in comic shops on Wednesday... Nola's World (Volume 1): Changing Moon GN - Coming from France is this full-color magical kids' comic for just $9.95.  The book follows tween Nola as she investigates some suspicious people she meets and discovers that her small town may not be all that it appears to be.  Two more volumes are on the way, sure to boast art just as beautiful as this. Other Noteworthy Releases Angel vs. Frankenstein II Bloom County: The Complete Library (Volume 3) HC Celadore (Volume 1) TP Dick Briefer's Frankenstein HC Harvey Comics Classics Treasury (Volume 2): Hot Stuff TP Hellboy (Volume 11): Mask and Monsters TP Knight & Squire #1 Percy Jackson & The Olympians (Volume 1): The Lightning Thief GN Spike #1 (of 8) Strange Tales 2 #1 Superior #1 (of 6) Tiny Titans/Little Archie #1 (of 3) Vampire Boy TP War Machine Classic (Volume 1) TP X-Babies Classic (Volume 1) TP

House of Five Leaves (Volume 1) Natsume Ono I've become quite a fan of Ono's since Viz began collecting her material early this year.  Her style isn't like anyone's out there, and she writes such great stuff, very character-driven, which is what I gravitate toward in fiction.  In House of Five Leaves , Ono may have begun a story featuring her best characters yet, all shrouded in mystery.  Akitsu Masanosuke is at the center of the story, a samurai without a job, who begins to be pulled into an organization called "Five Leaves," first as work as a bodyguard.  But it becomes clear very quickly that the Five Leaves is a criminal organization, involved in several kidnappings for ransom money, and while he turns away from the group, his desperation for money to send back home to his family, and to fill his stomach, draws him back to them, again and again.  Akitsu is a very conflicted character, and wants very much to see the good in everybody, which is probably w...

Wading through the phonebook that is Previews Catalogue so you don't have to... Here are fifteen choice books that you may have overlooked or that I'm just plain excited about, shipping to comic shops in December! John Byrne's Next Men #1 - A new ongoing series that brings back John Byrne's beloved creation The Next Men !  I know a lot of people are big fans of this series, and while it was exciting to see IDW collect his complete run into two volumes, it's even more exciting to see new stories produced by the creator. The Hidden HC - A new Richard Sala graphic novel from Fantagraphics that features eight people stuck in a snowbound diner, telling stories to one another while as a madman stalks the night. Age of Reptiles Omnibus (Volume 1) TP - This new Dark Horse omnibus collects the first two Age of Reptiles series, which haven't been in print for a while, as well as the recent Age of Reptiles: The Journey . Heroes For Hire #1 - A new series focusing...

Smurfs (Volume 1): The Purple Smurfs TP , and Smurfs (Volume 2): The Smurfs and the Magic Flute TP Peyo and Yvan Delporte I spent hours upon hours watching Smurfs on television on Saturday mornings growing up, but I had no idea that they'd been based on a popular Belgian comic by Peyo.  Hell, until this archival project was announced, I hadn't known.  But the comics are every bit as magical and entertaining as I remember from my childhood, and are still a lot of fun to read as an adult.  The way Papercutz is reprinting them, the original story that introduces the smurfs is actually reprinted in the second volume they've released, in The Smurfs and the Magic Flute .  That story appeared in a different comic that Peyo was working on, Johan and Peewit , and eventually they spun out into their own series, spawning toys and the television show that many have come to know and love.  The smurfs don't even appear until well into the story, focusing mostly on t...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to in comic stores today... Nipper (Volume 1): 1963-1964 TP - Last year, Drawn & Quarterly released The Collected Doug Wright: Canada's Master Cartoonist , which included the fantastic, and quite funny,  Nipper strips.  Now they begin collecting the complete comic strip in a new archival project, featuring the mischievous little guy. Other Noteworthy Releases Art of Neal Adams SC Batman: Hidden Treasures #1 Blondie (Volume 1) HC Chaos War #1 (of 5) Deadpoolmax #1 Fish N Chips (Volume 1) TP Frankie Stein HC Ghost Rider by Jason Aaron Omnibus HC Green Woman HC Kizuna Deluxe Edition (Volume 1) Naruto (Volume 49) Stephen King's N HC Superman: Nightwing and Flamebird (Volume 2) HC Ultimate Comics: Thor #1 (of 4) Uncanny X-Force #1

I was originally going to talk about House of Five Leaves this week, but after reading the ninth volume of Sand Chronicles , I was reminded of its awesomeness and wanted to highlight that series again, so you'll see Natume Ono next week. Sand Chronicles (Volume 9) Hinako Ashihara One of the best shojo manga on the market in the US right now, Hinako Ashihara's Sand Chronicles , takes a detour with the latest (and second-to-last) volume, focusing on several secondary characters of the series in three stories. For those who haven't followed the series, this is a very emotional series, full of characters with deep emotional scars. The main character is Ann, whose mother committed suicide when she was young and blames herself for the incident in some ways, and wonders if she is also too weak for this world. For the first time, we get the full story on Ann's mother in the first story contained in this volume, "Canary." I usually find myself crying at least onc...

Greg Rucka & J.H. Williams III This hardcover collects issues #854-860 of Detective Comics . A lot has been said about J.H. Williams III's art on this run, and I'm also quite a fan of it. Some of his scenes are just stunning, and demand that you stop to admire them. He kind of jumps between a more traditional art that he uses on panels when the story focuses on Kate Kane's civilian life, to a more painted look with tons of splash pages and elaborate designs when she's Batwoman, out fighting crime. Dave Stewart is due credit for his coloring on this title, making happier moments more bright and lively, with shadows and more subdued tones darkening the panels as Batwoman skulks the streets of Gotham (except for that lovely flair of bright red hair). People weren't exaggerating when they said this was one of the best superhero titles coming out last year. A lot of that has to do with the art, but Greg Rucka's writing is top-notch here as well and might be a l...

Here are a few quick reviews to get caught up on some titles that I've recently read... Weathercraft HC  ( Jim Woodring) - I've never read any of Jim Woodring's Frank comics before, but his latest addition to the universe he created, and his first full-length graphic novel period, features his character Manhog, whose luck seems like it can't get any worse.  He is tortured, stalked, and imprisoned as he makes his way through the crazy world he lives in, discovering fantastic creatures and ways to manipulate the environment.  He has some fun along the way too, but it's always short-lived.  This is a nice showcase for Woodring's beautiful art, which often dips into the grotesque, but is always interesting and somehow pretty no matter what is depicted.  He's a great cartoonist, which he shows off through his imaginative creatures and the curious monsters, and fully-realized alien world.  It's a whimsical journey, completely silent, but un...

Sorry, no Manga Monday this week.  It will return next week with a review of House of Five Leaves .  Anyway, amid a big week for comic releases, this is the book you should be paying attention to in comic shops this Wednesday... You'll Never Know (Book 2): Collateral Damage HC - Carol Tyler continues to explore her relationship with her father in the second book in her You'll Never Know memoir trilogy, relating her father's time in Italy during World War II while exploring her own family traumas. Other Noteworthy Releases 7 Billion Needles (Volume 1) Absolute Promethea (Volume 2) HC Al Jaffee's Mad Life SC American Vampire (Volume 1) HC Barney Google HC Chip: Second Crack #1 (of 3) De Tales HC Eerie Archives (Volume 4) HC Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius Ultimate Collection (Book 1) TP Heralds HC Hetalia: Axis Powers (Volume 1) John Cullen Murphy's Big Ben Bolt Dailies (Volume 1) TP Liquid City (Volume 2) GN The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor...

Jaime Hernandez & Gilbert Hernandez The Hernandez Brothers return for the third annual release of Love and Rockets: New Stories , and this may be their best offering yet, with both artists contributing a few short stories.  Gilbert Hernandez has long been a favorite artist of mine, and he doesn't disappoint with his new offerings.  The first story from him is "Scarlet by Starlight," another comic adaptation of one of Fritz's movies (of which the graphic novels The Troublemakers , Chance In Hell and Speak of the Devil are a part of), in which she plays a fur-covered beast that becomes curious about some explorers who are doing research in the area.  She becomes attracted to one of the human men, resulting in the jealous rage of her mate.  It's a bloody little fantasy with plenty of disturbing sexual sequences.  Gilbert's second story is "Killer * Sad Girl * Star," following Killer, who may or may not have what it ta...

Here's the book you should be paying attention to in comic stores tomorrow... Smurfs (Volume 1): The Purple Smurf GN  and Smurfs (Volume 2): The Magic Flute GN - These are the classic reprints of Peyo's Smurf comics that Papercutz is beginning to put out.  They are available in both hardcover and paperback formats, the latter available for just $5.99.  Great all-ages stories in full color. Other Noteworthy Releases Art of Neal Adams HC Beetle Bailey Dailies & Sundays: 1965-1966 HC Broadcast GN Earl & Mooch: A Mutts Treasury TP Fire & Water: Bill Everett, The Sub-Mariner, and the Birth of Marvel Comics HC Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950's TP House of Leaves (Volume 1) TP John Stanley Library: Tubby (Volume 1) HC Skullkickers #1 Swedish Comics History HC Telara Chronicles #1 (of 4)

Natsume Ono Gente is a new book from not simple creator Natsume Ono.  It's actually a book that examines characters from another book from her that was recently released through Viz's Signature line, Ristorante Paradiso .  In Ristorante Paradiso , the restaurant Casetta dell'Orso, in Rome, is already a hit, with a loyal clientele who come in droves to be waited on by the gentlemen in glasses.  Gente backs up the story of this chic place to dine to its humble beginnings.  As the owner opens its doors to the public, he hires waiters, establishes the trademark eyeglasses his waitstaff wears, and has to replace a chef who quits early on.  This book ends with the one-year anniversary of the restaurant's opening, getting all of the characters that readers have gotten to know over the course of the previous four short stories together in a nice little gathering celebration.  The art, of course, is fantastic.  We've come to expect this as ...

I've started a new blog focusing on young adult novels in case anybody who enjoys Comics-and-More is interested.  Here's the link: http://teensylittlebook.blogspot.com/

Warren Ellis & Various This didn't hold up very well from my youth.  I was a huge fan of Excalibur growing up.  The very first comic that I picked up (thanks to a Marvel Universe trading card featuring Shadowcat) was Excalibur #48 , and I went back and collected all of the back issues and kept up with it until the series ended.  So, I was rather disappointed when rereading Warren Ellis' run on the title from #83-90.  I'd remembered a few of his storyarcs quite fondly, especially The Soul Sword Trilogy and Dream Nails Trilogy .  And while they are cool stories, they just weren't executed well.  At all.  I had many moments during these stories, particularly in The Soul Sword Trilogy , where I remembered a big reveal or a big moment in my head much differently than how it played out on the page.  I must have just built them up in my mind, turning these sub-par drawings into iconic scenes.  It's a rather odd experience discovering this....