Sequential State – the comics criticism archive of Alex Hoffman

Category: Reviews

  • Review: Piero by Edmond Baudoin

    Review: Piero by Edmond Baudoin

    New York Review Comics has quietly become one of my favorite comics publishers over the last two years. At the end of 2018, they published a slim volume of comics by Edmond Baudoin titled Piero. Baudoin is celebrated as a master cartoonist in Europe, but this book is one of the first of his comics…

  • Enemies of the State #002 – Egg Cream #1 by Liz Suburbia

    Enemies of the State #002 – Egg Cream #1 by Liz Suburbia

    Enemies of the State is a monthly virtual book club discussion on a recently published comic, featuring a rotating cast of comics critics. Episode #2 of Enemies of the State features commentary on Liz Suburbia’s new annual Egg Cream #1, co-published by Czap Books and Silver Sprocket in 2019. Egg Cream #1 expands the story…

  • Review: Hobo Mom by Charles Forsman & Max de Radigués

    Review: Hobo Mom by Charles Forsman & Max de Radigués

    There’s a whole story to write about the publication of Hobo Mom, a recent release from Fantagraphics. Charles Forsman and Max de Radiguès are recently published authors from the press, and Forsman specifically has had some recent popular success with the adaptation of his comic The End of the Fucking World for a Netflix series.…

  • Review: Meal by Blue Delliquanti & Soleil Ho

    Review: Meal by Blue Delliquanti & Soleil Ho

    If recent studies are to be believed, the world is consuming way more meat than it can handle long-term; the production of meat for food is the source of at least 8% of the total greenhouse gas emissions across the world, and the production of meat, especially beef, is inefficient at best. A discussion that’s…

  • Review: Follow Me In by Katriona Chapman

    Review: Follow Me In by Katriona Chapman

    Katriona Chapman’s Follow Me In is the recent subject of the Enemies of the State Podcast, a brand new podcasting project from Sequential State and Your Chicken Enemy. The first part of that project is the actual conversation, which you can read more about here. The second part of that project is an encouragement to…

  • Enemies of the State #001 – Follow Me In by Katriona Chapman

    Enemies of the State #001 – Follow Me In by Katriona Chapman

    I’m really pleased to announce a brand new project co-sponsored by Sequential State and our esteemed colleagues over at Your Chicken Enemy, entitled Enemies of the State. Enemies of the State is a monthly virtual book club discussion on a recently published comic, featuring a rotating cast of comics critics. Episode #1 of Enemies of the State features…

  • Review: Coyote Doggirl by Lisa Hanawalt

    Review: Coyote Doggirl by Lisa Hanawalt

    Lisa Hanawalt has a lot of talent as a short story writer. Her first two books, My Dirty Dumb Eyes and Hot Dog Taste Test established her as a cartoonist with a knack for finding humor in everyday objections and expressions, and as a person whose work borders the fluorescent and the surreal. But I…

  • Review: An Invitation from a Crab by panpanya

    Review: An Invitation from a Crab by panpanya

    An Invitation from a Crab is a recent release from Denpa, a new manga publisher helmed by Ed Chavez. Chavez is well respected in the English-language manga market and has a reputation as a tastemaker from his time at Vertical Inc, another small manga publisher. Denpa has already made a name for itself through its…

  • Review: Red Winter by Anneli Furmark

    Review: Red Winter by Anneli Furmark

    Some books demand to be reviewed. This is certainly the case with Anneli Furmark’s period drama Red Winter, set in 1970s Sweden, where a secret affair between a young man named Ulrik and an older woman named Siv ricochets around a small northern community. Red Winter is Furmark’s first comic to be published in English,…

  • Review: Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak

    Review: Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak

    It is about time that Carolyn Nowak has a collection of her work. Having won two Ignatz awards and plenty of critical acclaim (including from this critic), Nowak now has her first collection, titled Girl Town out from Top Shelf at the end of 2018. Girl Town is a collection of short stories, starting from…

  • Review: Dark Angels of Darkness by Al Gofa

    Review: Dark Angels of Darkness by Al Gofa

    Dark Angels of Darkness is a comic that’s been floating around my house for a few months now. I can’t seem to get it onto a shelf – that’s a good sign in my book-cluttered home. The comic is a recent release from Peow Press, and it’s a selection that falls well into their wheelhouse.…