RuriDragon, Vol. 1 is a coming-of-age manga that throws an interesting spin onto female adolescence. Aoki wakes up with horns growing out of her head. Her mother nonchalantly mentions that Aoki’s father is a Ryu, or Japanese water dragon, so that explains it. Her girlfriends can’t stop groping them. TheContinue Reading
What causes a horror manga author to get into horror? In Uncanny: The Origins of Fear, we see (through vivid drawings) that it started with an outdoor toilet. The book is largely text but does include a few illustrations too. It begins as Junji Ito’s autobiography written in first person.Continue Reading
Capital & Ideology is a graphic novel adaption of the famous non-fiction book of the same name. This version uses a fictional family across centuries to teach basic economics history and theories. It works well for high schoolers and up. However, younger children will be quickly bored by all theContinue Reading
I love the Spy x Family manga. It is inventive and exciting. The anime was good too. Spy x Family: The Official Anime Guide is a very methodical and dry guide to the characters and the production staff that put together the anime series. While I didn’t find much toContinue Reading
With ten eerie tales, Alley is a fascinating look into Japanese fears. With serial killers, ghosts and demons, most horror sub-genres are represented. My favorite story, Blessing, even has a mystery to solve within it. Many of the stories are unique enough to be remembered long after the story isContinue Reading
I read books for plots and comics/graphic novels/manga for the artwork. BRZRKR: Bloodlines contains great vibrant western style artwork. The bright red of blood is splashed throughout this comic. The fact that the main character, B, has the face of Keanu is just an added plus. Unfortunately, the plot, ofContinue Reading
In Edenfrost, the Russian Civil War between the socialists and royalists is being brutally carried out. After their house is invaded and burned to the ground, two children run from the soldiers who killed their parents. The children are unarmed and the November night in Ukraine is cold. Groups ofContinue Reading
What you don’t know about American history could fill a book. In fact, the book is here and entitled Lies My Teacher Told Me. This graphic true story tells the rest of the tales not told in traditional history books. It also corrects some frequently repeated outright falsehoods. Some areContinue Reading
The Harrowing is Minority Report crossed with a standard teen superhero in training tale. I feel like similar plots have been around for ages. For a graphic novel, this was more violent than most. Still, this book might be okay for older teens that enjoy that a female superhero tale.Continue Reading
Hound GN is a classically illustrated graphic novel about war and what it does to its combatants. Private Barrow is a tosher, who hunts for sellable goods within the London sewers. He is the newest recruit in The Hounds, a special unit in the British army during World War I.Continue Reading
What would happen if a verified alien crash landed on Earth? In Rocopon 1, the alien is welcomed, made an honored citizen and chooses to call himself Rocopon. But soon the alien is last week’s news. He appears to wander aimlessly around the Earth. However, Rocopon has a secret. HeContinue Reading
The Robin Hood stories are reimagined as medieval history in the graphic novel, Tales from Nottingham Vol. 1. The artwork is detailed and colorful. It has the mood of the old Classics Illustrated comics or the pictures in an old history book. The plot takes real, but long dead, royaltyContinue Reading
A former television star has an evening go quickly from bad to worse in the new graphic novel, Parasocial. Luke Indiana is at a comics convention signing autographs and posing for fan selfies. His evening soon descends into a cat-and-mouse thriller between himself and his “number 1 fan”. I wasn’tContinue Reading
In Glitch, Vol. 1, a Japanese exchange student sees dark shadows on his first day in a new high school. On the way home after picking up his younger sister, they both see the same shadows. There are relieved that if they are both seeing it, it must really beContinue Reading
“Fourteen competitors. Seven Days. A thirty-minute hiding window given at the dawn of each day. Gameplay continues until dusk…” So, begins Hide: The Graphic Novel, which is set in an abandoned amusement park in a cellphone free zone. One winner gets $50,000…but what happens to the losers? A gripping plotContinue Reading
The artwork in Dahlia in the Dark Vol. 1 is great. However, the plot is confusing. While the idea of a fairy world living side-by-side with humans is intriguing, the execution is choppy, and the characters are paper thin. It’s a shame. 3 stars. Thanks to Mad Cave Studios andContinue Reading