Sequential State – the comics criticism archive of Alex Hoffman

Tag: comics

  • Review: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, Written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero O’Connell

    Review: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, Written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero O’Connell

    The 2019 Small Press Expo Ignatz Award nominations were announced last week, and Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero O’Connell’s new graphic novel, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me garnered nominations in three categories, which is a stunning accomplishment. Mariko Tamaki is a well-known author of comics. Her graphic novel This One Summer (illustrated by…

  • Enemies of the State #005 – The Breakaways by Cathy G. Johnson

    Enemies of the State #005 – The Breakaways by Cathy G. Johnson

    Enemies of the State is a monthly virtual book club discussion on a recently published comic, featuring a rotating cast of comics critics. Episode #5 of Enemies of the State is an interview between critic Alex Hoffman and cartoonist Cathy G. Johnson about her comic The Breakaways, a 2019 middle grade graphic novel from First…

  • Review: Trans Girls Hit the Town by Emma Jayne

    Review: Trans Girls Hit the Town by Emma Jayne

    As a cis-gendered white man, I have the privilege of “public privacy.” I’m not going to get yelled at or threatened with a police call if I’m talking in another language in a coffee shop. I can walk down a street by myself and not get harassed or catcalled. I can get in a rideshare…

  • Review: Off Season, by James Sturm

    Review: Off Season, by James Sturm

    James Sturm has had an interesting couple of years as a cartoonist. His latest book, Off Season, was serialized on Slate, starting in September of 2016 and running through the presidential election and its aftermath. While the final compiled version, out this year from D&Q, is cleaned up and expanded, it is a fascinating examination…

  • Review: Harukana Receive v. 1-3, by Nyoijizai

    Review: Harukana Receive v. 1-3, by Nyoijizai

    A few months ago, I stumbled across the Otaku USA review of Harukana Receive, a new-ish sports manga from Seven Seas. The comic attracted some early attention and garnered a 12-episode anime adaptation in 2018. Six volumes are currently on the Seven Seas publishing schedule through 2020, and the fourth volume was just released last…

  • Review: BTTM FDRS by Ezra Clayton Daniels & Ben Passmore

    Review: BTTM FDRS by Ezra Clayton Daniels & Ben Passmore

    Horror as a genre has a long history of addressing systemic injustice and BTTM FDRS falls firmly in that vein. Published by Fantagraphics, BTTM FDRS is the latest comic from Ezra Clayton Daniels and Ben Passmore, two rising stars in the small press comics world. The book stars Darla, a young and talented clothing designer…

  • Review: Ginseng Roots #1 by Craig Thompson

    Review: Ginseng Roots #1 by Craig Thompson

    Craig Thompson has something of a reputation amongst indie comics readers, both good and bad. The first issue of his new serialized comic, Ginseng Roots, comes out this July, and his publisher Uncivilized Books sent a review copy earlier this month. Thompson’s last major literary work, Habibi, continues to leave a sour taste in many…

  • Review: The Perineum Technique by Ruppert & Mulot

    Review: The Perineum Technique by Ruppert & Mulot

    My introduction to Ruppert & Mulot as comics creators was through Barrel of Monkeys, published by Bill Kartalopoulos through Rebus Books. Barrel of Monkeys was formalist and experimental, and so I expected something of the same with The Perineum Technique, their new release from Fantagraphics. What I got was a book that mimics the structure…

  • Review: Witch Hat Atelier v.1 by Kamome Shirahama

    Review: Witch Hat Atelier v.1 by Kamome Shirahama

    Comics are magic, aren’t they? That’s less of a question, and more of a realization; Comics have a profound power over those who read them, shaping their mental process, causing delight, and dread, wonder, and horror. I’ve devoted a lot of my life to the magic of comics, and I’m grateful for that. Art-making calls…

  • Review: Letter to Survivors by GÉBÉ

    Review: Letter to Survivors by GÉBÉ

    Given recent political maneuverings and dire climate catastrophe, it feels like the dim haze of the apocalypse is just around the corner. GÉBÉ’s 1982 comic Lettre aux survivants has been recently translated and published in English as Letter to Survivors by New York Review Comics, and this book was originally published at a time when…

  • 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…