Sequential State – the comics criticism archive of Alex Hoffman

Tag: first second books

  • 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: Spinning by Tillie Walden

    Review: Spinning by Tillie Walden

      Tillie Walden is one of the youngest celebrated cartoonists currently working. Her comics have been acclaimed by critics and readers alike. Her first three books, published by Avery Hill, have garnered her two Ignatz wins and an Eisner nomination. Her longest work to date, Spinning is a 400-page memoir of her life starting at…

  • Quick Picks #3 – Bugs and TCAF

    Quick Picks is an occasionally written series of microreviews of books I’ve read over the past two weeks. Here’s a selection of books I’ve been thinking about over the last two weeks. Last of the Sandwalkers by Jay Hosler A recent release from First Second, Last of the Sandwalkers features a family of extraordinary beetles as they…

  • Review: The Sculptor, by Scott McCloud

    Review: The Sculptor, by Scott McCloud

      One of the more highly-trumpeted comics to be published in 2015 is Scott McCloud’s The Sculptor with interviews and reviews in  national media like NPR and on popular media sites like Boing Boing. McCloud is best known for his nonfiction comics about understanding and making comics, but The Sculptor is a work that apparently…

  • Review: In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang “Anda’s Game” is a short story collected in a 2007 book by Cory Doctorow titled Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present, one of Doctorow’s books published under a creative common’s license. The license encourages remixing and sharing, provided proper credit is given and the same…

  • Review: The Wrenchies, by Farel Dalrymple Last week was a surprisingly great week for new comics. Books like Terraformars, Through the Woods, and Seconds all were published to great fanfare. But the book that came out last week that I read first was Farel Dalrymple’s The Wrenchies. I was expecting it to be out around…

  • Review: Anya’s Ghost, by Vera Brosgol One thing that I think is a universal experience is the feeling of being bullied. I was bullied in junior high for my weight, my overeagerness to please teachers, and all the things a bookworm is generally noticed for. Looking back at that time, I realize now that there…

  • 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…