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Manga Review: Dreamin’ Sun, vol.1 by Ichigo Takano
Ichigo Takano is building a reputation in the United States as a mangaka of note. Takano’s comic orange was published in two omnibus editions by Seven Seas Entertainment and was nominated for an Eisner this year in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia category. This is Seven Seas’ first Eisner nomination, and orange garnered quite a bit of…
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Review: Spookytongue by Hetamoé
Review: Spookytongue by Hetamoé I recently ordered a slew of comics from Ediciones Valientes, a Valencia-based Spanish publisher known best in the US for publishing the work of Martín López Lam. I’m not certain what the structure of Ediciones Valientes looks like – it’s possible that López Lam is also the publisher. Regardless, Ediciones Valientes…
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Truth Zone Antics: Thoughts on Portrait and Simon Hanselmann’s Recent Feud/Roast Comics
Truth Zone Antics: Thoughts on Portrait and Simon Hanselmann’s Recent Feud/Roast Comics Simon Hanselmann is one of alternative comics’ foremost gossipmongers and roasters; his Truth Zone comics, using his Megg, Mogg, and Owl characters, are comics as criticism; they show his take on recent events, his opinion on specific creators and their work, and goings-on…
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Review: The Fever Closing by Liam Cobb
It’s hard to stay current with all of the independent comics scenes across the English-speaking world, but I have recently been keeping track of Liam Cobb, a UK-based cartoonist whose stock seems to be on the rise. Cobb has done quite a few self-published books over the last two years, but The Fever Closing is…
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Review: Diana’s Electric Tongue by Carolyn Nowak
Review: Diana’s Electric Tongue by Carolyn Nowak Carolyn Nowak’s comic Radishes won a 2016 Ignatz award and was one of my favorite comics from SPX 2015. Now Nowak is back with a new 70 page full color comic, originally released with a special cover through the international ShortBox comics box program and now out self-published from…
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Review: Decelerate Blue by Adam Rapp and Mike Cavallaro
I recently found a copy of Decelerate Blue at the local library, and picked it up on a whim. I have the habit of doing this for First Second books, which are often in abundant supply in the graphic novel-centric public library space. The book is 200+ pages long, mostly black and white with some color pages…
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Review: Angel of a Rope by Adam Buttrick
Review: Angel of a Rope by Adam Buttrick I recently got a copy of Angel of a Rope from Domino Books, the publisher and distro run by Austin English. English’s comics are quite dense, and it wasn’t a surprise to find that the books he distributes are similarly inclined. Adam Buttrick’s work recently came to my attention…
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Review: Book of Void by Viktor Hachmang
The UK-based publisher Landfill Editions is best known in the USA for its anthology series Mould Map, but they also publish a selection of shorter works. I recently picked up a copy of Viktor Hachmang’s debut comic Book of Void. This is a 20-page comic with jet-black dust jacket and an obi band, and is printed mostly…
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Review: Snotgirl, vol. 1, script by Bryan Lee O’Malley, art by Leslie Hung, colors by Mickey Quinn, and letters by Maré Odomo
Snotgirl is Bryan Lee O’Malley’s latest project, and his first monthly comic book. I heard the hubbub about the book when the first issue came out, but I recently picked up a copy of the first trade paperback to see how the story held up. I enjoyed Seconds, ’Malley’s latest graphic novel, but I find myself…
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Quick Picks #6 – Witches, Spirits, and Songs
Quick Picks is an occasionally written series of microreviews of books I’ve read over the past two weeks. Here’s a selection of manga I’ve been reading recently. Flying Witch #1 – Vertical Inc.’s big Spring debut, this series started its life in the USA with a relatively popular anime adaption. Vertical later picked up the title,…
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Review: Draw Blood by Ron Hotz
Last year at TCAF, I met up with cartoonist Ron Hotz and he handed me a copy of Draw Blood. Draw Blood is a 68+ page graphic novella published in 2016. Ron writes a webcomic called Best Day Evr! that’s been running since 2014. Best Day Evr! is a high school drama featuring anthropomorphic characters and Draw…
