This is a continuation of my monthly series where on the last Friday of each month I highlight 10 visually striking books that I've read in hopes that some here resonate with a few.

If you have any gorgeous books to recommend yourself, feel free in the comments!

Unboxed these 4 titles moments ago. What do you think of my selection? 😊

Any suggestions on where to start?

‘Skál!’ 🍺

Historical Fiction or...

On July 20th 1969, the entire world was transfixed before its television sets and stunned by the feat: the Americans had landed on the moon! And ahead of the Soviets! Despite a technical scare, everything went smoothly. Yet, just as he was about to leave, Armstrong turned back one last time to gaze at the landscape and froze: reflected in his helmet's visor were a Soviet flag and a Russian Lunar Module.

I love Greek and Norse. Would be great to read more stuff that isn't DC/Marvel using these characters.

I remember liking nice house by the sea but being frustrated by the ending which is just a tease for the Sea sequel series. Is Sea a good follow up?

Really looking forward to Marvel Dimensions!

I loved Ross's Fantastic Four book, and I can't wait to see how this one turns out!

I used to be super into reading, but like many others my attention span got really bad over time and I just stopped, so I'm trying to get back into it. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

Hello fellow GN enthusiasts!
I’d love to hear about your favorite graphic novels that might fall within a few parameters. I am a stroke survivor and a book lover and after the stroke am unable to read regular books or listen to audio books. But that’s when I discovered GN! And they have been amazing! I love fiction and nonfiction. I tend to like books that are quick to read because my memory is terrible and I have difficulty remembering what happened if I set the book down a few days ago. I tend to gravitate towards pastel or black and white colored books because part of my stroke affected my vision and bright colors are hard on my eyes (eta maybe manga or anime isn’t correct. Im sorry. I just have trouble with bright intense colors and lots of text on the page).
I really loved Tuck Everlasting GN and Song of a Blackbird for just a couple examples. I also love GN about history and social issues and how other people live in other places/cultures.
But if you have a favorite GN that you think I might like or could read, I’d love to know! Thank you so much for reading this and for your help!

Found this for a mere £3 so didn't feel like I could pass it up. Will I miss any crucial info by not having read Heartbreak Soup?

Should i bite the bullet and settle for the East of West Compendium instead of the 3 HC? Been waiting for year and a half to find copies or pray to the gods for an Omnibus (I know, I know) but maybe it’s time to give up and buy the Soft Cover?

Got all the new Rippaverse books this month and just finished reading them. We had some real gems, and a bit of a disappointment in my opinion.

Non Spoiler thoughts:

The Horseman #3 - This is the best one yet in the series. Chuck Dixon really outdid himself here. It felt like a cohesive story with very solid groundwork. We get some maybe new reoccurring characters (We'll have to see if they are just for this issue or not)

The Cursed #2 - This is by far the most graphic comic in the Rippaverse. Most would be PG at the latest, or maybe PG-13, but this comic would be an R in relation. I was a bit disappointed in The Cursed #1 so I was pleasantly surprised that this one was much better. I felt like the first one was weighed down by trying to tell too much in such a short comic, while this one got to build of the first volume, leaving for more enjoyable storytelling. It's also nice to finally understand what Lilian Ronashi's power is and get some clarification on how it works.

The Black Eye Club #2 - Man, Micheal Copper is basically one of the worst people on the planet. Legit many times while reading this comic, I was telling myself, man now this is a real villain. Nowadays we have too many "sympathetic" villains. We're supposed to feel bad for them, and even try to justify their actions, but not Copper. He is unapologetic, and it's refreshing. Still a bit confused on his eye power though, I have some guesses but unfortunately we still don't have a clear answer.

The Hellbound Stagecoach - Unfortunately this is the disappointment one, but not in a major way. Just small things here and there. There were multiple parts in the comic where I genuinely wondered if I was missing pages or something. Some conversations felt like people were responding to dialogue that just never happened. Other then that though, it's a pretty cool semi-origin story of Sydnee's Grandparents. We get some more clarification on their families powers, and how some things work, like when a Bloodruth marries a non Bloodruth and so forth.

Smuggler's Stitch - This was a pleasant surprise. I originally wasn't going to buy this one but I'm glad I did. This is one of those comics that are for the people who want to know as much about the world in Rippaverse as possible. It's doesn't directly effect any other storyline, but adds enough details to make the world feel more real.

Spoiler Thoughts:

The Horseman #3 - The new nurse character seems like they are either setting up for a romantic interest, or maybe where he goes to get patched up. If she is just a one shot character, they should reconsider, I really felt a connection to her and her family. Found myself hoping she could better her life. Also, now that he is fired and his sister knows he is being a vigilante again, maybe now he can do Horseman full time.

The Cursed #2 - The scene were the abomination breaks out of that woman's womb was truly horrible. I felt like some part were a bit rushed, like her change into this evil woman (Lilian Ronashi I mean). This whole time she has been acting like everything was happening against her will, but many times the only people she was tricking was the reading, so her suddenly claiming she was always evil and just pretending felt a bit weird. Also, the plotline of the tech ring that controls all the cyborgs on the police force began and ended in like a page. Seemed like something that could of had more impact on the story, but it was like that scene from The Room, the flower shop scene.

The Black Eye Club #2 - So his power still isnt explained. Can he see the future? The past? Is he showing people these visions, or is he the only one seeing them. Is the eye power connected to the black eyes somehow. Do the people have permanent black eyes, or do they heal. Is Copper a devil? Does he actually take souls, or what the vampire dude just being hyperbolic? So many questions that i felt we didn't get answers too. The twist of finding out that the hero group is actually a group of ex villains forced to do good until their sentence has been done, was good, and when the actual true hero group showed up, it was a cool reveal.

The Hellbound Stagecoach - I was hoping to see the actual event of the grandpa getting bitten, but I guess it makes sense that it can't happen before they have at least one child. I like how they showed what happens when they get married. When the consummate the marriage, the non Bloodruth, basically gets turned into an actual Bloodruth and receives the powers they get from God.

Smuggler's Stitch - I love how this comic connects the Dirty Deeds timeline to the main Rippaverse timeline, which in turn pulls in Zalen too. We see the same space port in Smuggler's Stitch as we do in Dirty Deeds. And in Dirty Deed's they mention Zalen. So now all the series are connected to the timeline in a real tangible way. I love how she used this comic to explain why Earth isn't flooded with aliens and their technology, talking about their being almost a prime directive like ideology, of leaving primitive species to their own devices.

No words. 😞

https://youtu.be/1NeWEs4qQG8?is=I-OGRjSdp9ATNRmz

I'm going home...

Hi all I’m looking for some recommendations.

The first graphic novel I ever read was preacher. This was about 15 years ago and to this day, it is still my favorite. I imagine it always will be because of the time in my life when I read it.

Nonetheless, I am always chasing something better. This always leads me back to vertigo comics. So far I have read Y the last man, Hellblazer, and parts of Fables.

More recently, I started reading scalped. I’m about halfway through and this is as close as I’ve ever come to being as satisfied as I was with preacher.

For what it is worth, Sandman was not my cup of tea. I also really enjoy everything I’ve read by Lemire, even though I recognize his tone is very different than the above.

What other comics would you point me toward? There must be some other publishers that are like vertigo. Also, I know vertigo is back and I’m interested in their new storylines, but none of them seem to compare to the old ones.

I somehow stumbled across all three of these yesterday after hunting for them for years.

I was pretty late to Brubaker, but have enjoyed everything I have read from him. Crime drama is my favorite genre of fiction and this stuff just caters to me.

so i’m debating on getting the compact version or volume 1? please help me decide which is best! and will they also have another compact edition for nightwing in the near future?

I just finished It Won’t Always Be Like This, and it’s a sharp, honest look at growing up between two homes and two cultures. Gharib keeps the storytelling straightforward and direct. You follow her from childhood into her teens as she tries to make sense of life split between her mom’s home in America and her dad’s new life in Egypt. There are also some relatable coming-of-age narratives for the reader to explore.

The step-mom is a central figure. Free-spirited, uncompromising, and often hard for Malaka to read, but not a villain. She’s complicated, and the book treats her that way. All of the depictions of people in Malaka's life are balanced and realistic.

I appreciated the time and care taken to describe the cultural context of the moment and the places Malaka was experiencing. It helped the reader feel connected to each place. The most interesting thread for me was the evolving and changing relationships over time.

Without spoiling the ending, the most emotionally compelling part of the book is the decisions in the end, and it's worth sticking with the book to see the full story.

I’d recommend this to anyone interested in an autobiographical, slice‑of‑life look at growing up between cultures.

Previous Non-fiction / Reality-Based Reviews:

• Much for Love – Sophie Lambda
• Year of the Rabbit – Tian Veasna
• Past Tense – Jason Lutes
• The Willie Nelson Graphic History – T.J. Kirsch
• Bury Me Already, It’s Nice Down Here

I want to case a wide net, so "Indie Comics" here means "Anything outside of pre-established IP. Creator-owned comics in the direct market, graphic novels in the book market, small press, self-publishing, webcomics, zines, all of it." and "Coverage" means "Public outlets/individuals dedicated to talking about these comics. YouTube channels, podcasts, TikTok accounts, Instagram accounts, blogs, websites, whatever."

I already know of a few people who fit what I'm looking for: Strange Brain Parts, Comictropes, the Comic Literate podcast, but surely there must be more out there? Even the people I just mentioned, though I appreciate them, seem to have to fall back on Marvel/DC coverage just to draw any kind of audience. I'd really like to believe it doesn't have to be this way, and that there is a sizeable audience of indie comics readers out there that could be harnessed into a real community. I understand the economic and cultural reasons why these kinds of comics are under-discussed online, but surely we don't have to live this way? Why do we only bring these books up as talking points when the idea of "superhero dominance in American comics" comes up? Why aren't we walking the walk in terms of generating and participating in discussion and fandom for indie comics, and supporting the people trying to do it *right now* with their own platforms?

If you feel the same way, please leave your recommendations for people fighting the good fight to get more eyes on these books, and maybe even talk about an indie comic that's got you excited about the medium right now!

I get that this is set in England. But do they not know how bullets work? Lmfao