-
Review: Children of the Whales V.1 by Abi Umeda
Today’s manga review is the upcoming Children of the Whales from Viz Media. Running in their Viz Signature line, this is Abi Umeda’s debut in English. The first volume will be released on November 21st – a digital advance reading copy was provided for this review. Images used in this review are © 2013 ABI…
-
Review: Sukibito Diary by Chu Nap
I’m starting to dig deeper into the comics I got at SPX this year, and one in particular has been stuck in my craw. Carta Monir, a fellow critic and previous collaborator, recommended I pick up a copy of Sukibito Diary, a 120-page perfect-bound softcover book from Chu Nap. Nap is a Toronto-based cartoonist and…
-
Review: Stages of Rot by Linnea Sterte
The SPX pile is slowly getting smaller, and I’m starting in on some of the bigger books from the show. One of those is Linnea Sterte’s Stages of Rot from PEOW Studio. The book is 152 pages in full color, with french flaps and spot gloss. Sterte works mostly in cool pastel colors, and…
-
Review: Sound of Snow Falling by Maggie Umber
Maggie Umber is one of the unsung heroes of art comics. Her status as the assistant publisher at 2dcloud led to the expansion of an anthologies-based print collective to a significant force in alternative comics publishing. The micropress is a bustling, risk-taking enterprise that wouldn’t exist without Umber’s hard work. Over the course of…
-
Review: I Hear the Sunspot by Yuki Fumino
One Peace Books occasionally sends me a review copy of new comics they have recently released, and one of their latest is I Hear The Sunspot, a comic about two young men, one with a hearing disability, and the other, a brash interloper who agrees to take notes for this classmate in college in exchange for…
-
Review: I’m Not Here by GG
I’ve been following GG’s work since her minicomic Semi-Vivi appeared in the 2014 Comics Workbook Composition Competition, taking second place in that year. GG’s work has continued to bloom over the past few years, but I’m Not Here, a new 104-page graphic novel from Koyama Press, is her longest published work to date. In…
-
Review: Poppies of Iraq by Brigitte Findakly and Lewis Trondheim
I’ve been having a hard time finding graphic memoirs that I truly love. I reviewed Tillie Walden’s Spinning earlier this week, which, while captivating, left me a little cold. I recently took the plunge on Brigitte Findakly and Lewis Trondheim’s Poppies of Iraq, which was published in English by Canadian publisher Drawn and Quarterly. The book…
-
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…
-
Review: Bloom Into You Volumes 1-2 by Nakatani Nio
I’m trying to broaden my horizons when it comes to manga, so I’ve specifically been searching out yuri and BL titles. Seven Seas has recently ramped up their yuri offerings, and I was drawn to the cover of Bloom Into You, a title which has three English volumes currently in print and is currently ongoing…
-
Review: Father and Son by E.O. Plauen
In today’s review, I’m taking a look at Father and Son, a collection of reprinted work. I’ve been thinking a lot about reprints ever since RJ Casey’s piece on The Comics Journal garnered so much attention. Earlier this fall, RJ Casey wrote a long article about Yoe Books and made an impassioned argument against sloppy,…
-
Review: Easy Rider by Jaakko Pallasvuo
Landfill Editions recently sent over a copy of Easy Rider, Jaakko Pallasvuo’s latest comic. Easy Rider was originally released as a part of two separate art installations, in various stages of completion; in process as a part of MOULD MAP 6 TERRAFORMERS in 2016, and then as a completed work as a part of the…
