Sequential State – the comics criticism archive of Alex Hoffman

Month: May 2014

  • Review: Over the Wall by Peter Wartman

    sequentialstate: Going from the web to print can be tricky. Do the stylistic choices you made when the comic was digital only make sense for an actual paper book? Should you leave things the way they are? Or do things need to change? I think Peter Wartman has argued the second point nicely with Over the…

  • Review: This One Summer, by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki

    Review: This One Summer, by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki

    One of my favorite literary genres is the slice of life story. Manga has these stories in spades (Cross Game, Twin Spica, Sunny) and the series that are published in English are often really great. So knowing that First Second/Groundwood Books was going to be publishing This One Summer, a slice of life story about…

  • Manga Worth Reading #2: Gangsta.

    Manga Worth Reading #2: Gangsta.

      This week I’m featuring another seinen title – this time a little more traditional than A Bride’s Story.  Gangsta. (Japanese: ギャングスタ) is a comic that follows two “handymen,” Worick and Nic, two guys who are willing to do any job for a price. The first volume opens to finds the two of them closing down a…

  • Review: Petty Theft, by Pascal Girard

    Review: Petty Theft, by Pascal Girard

    I have a slight confession to make: I do not handle awkward moments in movies and comic books very well. I always have this urge to put a book down whenever the main character does something unbelievably awkward or dumb, and I have been known to pause or walk away from movies if I know…

  • Kickstarter Feature #1: Strong Female Protagonist In the world of Kickstarter: Molly Ostertag (monstertag on tumblr) and Brennan Lee Mulligan are hoping to print a the first volume of their webcomic, Strong Female Protagonist. The series focuses on 20 year-old Alison Green, a former superhero, Mega Girl, who is now trying to change the world…

  • Fun Comix #1

    I’ve spent some time the past week reading “serious” comics, books like Asterios Polyp, that while beautiful, are also a bit emotionally challenging. Comics as a medium has a great range in tone, and this week I wanted to highlight some books that were just plain fun to read. Mini reviews, covers, and links to…

  • Review: The Amateurs by Conor Stechschulte

    Review: The Amateurs by Conor Stechschulte

    Most of the comics I’ve read up to this point (read: manga) do the bulk of their work by being as straight forward as humanly possible. The editorial maxim is to lead the reader by the nose through any plot, and resolution to questions and mysteries is valued extremely highly. This makes Conor Stechschulte’s The…

  • Transmissions from: TCAF 2014

    This was my first TCAF. It was the big promise I made to myself earlier this year when the indie comics crowd started rumbling. I was hooked when I read con reports of TCAF 2013, but hadn’t admitted it to myself. I drove in from Cleveland. It was about 4.5 hours + 2 hours sitting…

  • Review: The Lizard Laughed, by Noah Van Sciver (I’m recovering from TCAF, which was this weekend. I got plenty of great comics, but I haven’t had any time to read them yet, so this review is from work I read prior to the show. It was great to meet so many talented artists and publishers!)…

  • My 2014 Comics Journey (so far)

    Subtitle: How I started reading Asterios Polyp at the same time as Hawkeye: Little Hits and Tezuka’s Message to Adolf. (I’m heading to TCAF today, so instead of a review or booklist, I’m putting up a more personal piece. Hope to see you in Toronto!) Today, in the mail, I got a copy of The…

  • Manga Worth Reading: A Bride’s Story by Kaoru Mori

    Manga Worth Reading: A Bride’s Story by Kaoru Mori

    Manga is a tricky type of comic. There’s a higher barrier to entry due to the flipped pages, cultural cues that may not be easily understood or explained, and there’s a lot of chaff available on the market. It’s hard to know where to start. With this in mind, Sequential State will be putting out…