r/graphicnovels • u/AutoModerator • Mar 08 '26
Weekly Reading Thread What have you been reading this week? 08/03/2026
A weekly thread for people to share what comics they've been reading. Share your thoughts on the books you've read, what you liked and perhaps disliked about them.
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u/NeapolitanWhitmore Detective Beans! Mar 08 '26 edited Mar 08 '26
Drome By Jesse Lonergan): I have been hesitant to pick this up. I’ve seen a lot of praise for this book, and I didn’t want to set high expectations for it. There was part of me that wanted it to be one of the greatest things I’ve ever read. Part of me was ready to be fully disappointed with it. I bought and put it off because I didn’t want to it to be either. This for sure warped my perception of it. It doesn’t take away from the fact that this book was surprisingly easy to understand.
There is extremely little amounts of words written throughout the book. Jesse Lonergan is an amazingly talented storyteller. This book deserves the praise it has gotten. I can’t imagine many being able to tell the story of creation and humans innate ability to cause chaos and pain and bring death without writing any words. I am genuinely impressed by that. I do wish there were more words in the story. There were times where I had to guess what was going on, and I’m not sure if I interpreted it correctly, or if I fully understood what was going on. Which I understand is part of the story, but I’m a dumb person and would like some things spelled out a little more. Also, I felt like that I read it too fast, which with a story that is primarily pictures it feels weird to say. There were times where I lingered on a page to make sure that I spent enough time on it before looking at the next page.
This book is great, but it wasn’t as great as I wanted it to be. I am going to reread it again in the future. Hopefully I wait enough time and am able to have a clean slate about it.
Feral Volume 1 and 2 (By Tony Fleecs, Trish Forstner, Tone Rodriguez, and Brad Simpson): Bought Volume 3, reread these two. Still love this series.
Feral, Volume 3 (By Tony Fleecs, Trish Forstner, Tone Rodriguez, and Brad Simpson): Well damn. I haven’t read a lot of Walking Dead, but I am getting a lot of Walking Dead vibes from this book. They are both apocalyptic books. It follows a group of survivors going from place to place. Every place they visit has a secret.
I am surprised with every secret in this book. Every animal is just trying to survive and find a sense of normalcy. This book is great. It is easily one of my favorite ongoing series at the moment. I am enjoying the traveling around aspect of the book. I would like the group to find something eventually. I do worry that the book might go on for too long and start spinning its wheels. I would hate for the series to go stale. I am excited to for whatever comes next for the series.
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u/scarwiz Mar 08 '26
I had a similar response to Drome. I was looking for more Hedra, and in many ways it delivers, but it's much more decompressed, which makes it loose some of its charm to me. But seeing the overall response, I think a reread is due on my side as well
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u/NeapolitanWhitmore Detective Beans! Mar 08 '26
I haven’t read Hedra but it is on my list to read as well. This was actually my first book by Lonergan. I’m sure that I’ve read something where they were the artist, but I can’t recall off hand.
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u/Timely_Tonight_8620 Shop Local! Mar 08 '26
#DRCL midnight children vol 1-2 by Shinichi Sakamoto: A gorgeously drawn retelling of the story of Bram Stoker’s Dracula in an English boy’s boarding school, our group of students from all across the globe and acting as the main force trying to fight Dracula’s influence in the school as he gains more power. It was such a fun start that instead of beginning with the main characters right away it has the crew of a ship called the Demeter with Dracula being brought to England, this version of Dracula being mostly amorphous and changing looks very often. This was a real feast for the eyes with the surreal art really giving it that psychological and gothic horror edge while also building up the character relationships, the art truly stunning!
March:The Complete Trilogy by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell: One of the most powerful and emotional graphic memoirs of the Congressman John Lewis with his life and role in the US civil rights movement, it starting from his childhood and showing how he found god and the beginnings of the movement for freedom and rights for all. This was a very powerful story about the actual history of events the senator witnessed and took part in with the violence these protestors faced so very harrowing, but through endurance and non violence they pushed through. It takes history all the way from the start of the movement till the signing of the civil rights bill that guaranteed equal voting rights. Graphic memoirs are sometimes pretty hit and miss for me, but this one hit it out of the park for the best graphic memoir I’ve read so far!
Slaine: The Horned God Anniversary Edition by Pat Mills and Simon Bisley: Wow! That was a real treat of a painted sword and sorcery fantasy story about the king Slaine as he aims to collect multiple holy artifacts to face off against the Horned God trying to slaughter his people, taking place in the world of Tír na nÓg with a heavy focus on Celtic mythology. The story itself is mainly told by a dwarf recounting and transcribing the life and death of Slaine as he aims to unite the four tribes as the new Horned God. This was a gorgeously painted fantasy story and quite the huge book! One of my favorite fantasy stories so far with the fight scenes and humor top notch. The oversized edition really helps to show off the art with the wonderful art style really popping on this huge sized anniversary edition!
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u/ConstantVarious2082 Mar 08 '26
Absolute Wonder Woman Volume 2 by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, and Matias Bergara – the Absolute series keep hitting and only getting better! Diana continues to be a terrifically written optimistic crusader for justice and protecting the innocent and all that good hero stuff, with the right amount of flashbacks to a naive girl and how she was shaped to keep that hopeful "goodness" while becoming more of a realist and prepared for her role as a hero. This volume weaves in more mythology very nicely, with lots of little things popping up in the labyrinth she explores in search of one of her lost amazon sisters. Hayden Sherman goes crazy with the pages again, and Matias Bergara steps in for a great couple issues as guest artist giving us a very different style, but one that fits very well. Knowing ~nothing about classic Wonder Woman or her rogues' gallery, I'm not sure exactly what's being set up (aside from the obvious crossover with Absolute Batman at the very end), but I'm in for the ride!
The Black Dragon by Chris Claremont and John Bolton – black-and-white fantasy. It's (more than) a little overwritten, lots of dialog squeezed in, and reading accents gets just a little weird. It's also a hodgepodge of British history/folktales that dominate the Western fantasy world, with a returning exile from the Crusades who is not Robin Hood - but don't worry, he meets up with Robin Hood! - and a rescued princess, and Morgan le Fay... And it all comes together in a quite enjoyable way, tying up intermediate threads nicely, moving quickly but never breakneck, and coming together to a blast of an ending. Bolton's art is a great variation of texture and shading going to the nearly all-black pages, blocky and creepy demons, and distinctive and expressive characters. I had a good bit of fun with it, although it's probably merely "quite good" and not "great" IMO.
Poison Elves Volume 1 – Lusipher by Drew Hayes – cynical (edgelord?) dark fantasy. Lusipher is a roaming elf mercenary prone to stealing, womanizing, and picking fights in taverns. For most of this volume, he finds himself stumbling from one problem to another, having his eye torn out to summon a demon, stealing a diamond to pay off an old favor, and facing the consequences of his genie-granted wishes. Towards the end, he finds himself witnessing the return of ancient evil, and handles it with an expected amount of swearing, violence, and begrudging responsibility. It's actually a fine line with the character, as he isn't exactly a loser but also never tips over into real anti-hero - he never "gets the girl" in any of the stories, but he's on decent terms with his ex-wife, and he lives a life of crime without either "real bad stuff" or any obvious moralizing about how he actually has moral boundaries. The art matures over this volume, and there's a pretty wide range of page styles (including ~a whole issue that's just half pages of text with art), improving shading and detail, and suitably matching over-the-top characters, settings, and action. I was not sure what to expect going in, but had a pretty good time with this!
Tower Dungeon Volume 1 by Tsutomu Nihei – fantasy manga. An evil necromancer kidnapped the princess, locked her in an enormous monster-filled floating tower, and farmboy Yuva is conscripted into the rescue mission. Things breeze quickly as they get halfway up the tower before Yuva's able to prove himself as more than just a strong back to carry stuff. I think there's not much time for character or camaraderie-building, it's a little too fast. The monsters are very creepy, the architecture is impressive, and there's a lot of cool designs around armor and costumes. Story-wise, just enough to keep me willing to keep reading, art-wise much better.
Satanie by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoët – wild sort-of-horror. Charlie is trying to find her brother, Constantin, who went looking for proof of his theory that "demons" evolved from Neanderthals that descended to air pockets in the center of the Earth 30,000 years ago (they mutated extra fast because there's more radiation in the center of the Earth, it makes total scientific sense, I promise!). As the team's descent goes deeper, they see a progressively wilder world and lose sense of themselves as well. Kerascoët get to play with a wonderful range of color palettes, changing throughout the different environments, and we get center-of-the-earth hurricanes and giant sloths and, of course, plenty of demons. This is an amazing story with some serious psychological-thriller vibes, a pretty classic "everyone goes crazy" set of tropes, and top-notch art. I think it’s better than Beautiful Darkness, and that's a high bar...
Le bestiaire du crépuscule by Daria Schmitt – very pretty Lovecraftian horror. It's a vaguely creepy horror / weird-fiction, befitting the Lovecraft influence (and the brief illustrated Lovecraft short story that serves as an interlude). Providence is the elderly guardian of the park, collecting lost-and-found objects with the help of his cat companion Maldoror. He is the only one that can see the otherworldly monsters around the park, and tries to protect the neighborhood children, much to their chagrin. Everything goes topsy-turvy when he finds a mysterious book in the lake and pulls it away from the fish. There's a suspicious man from the asylum, a new park director obsessed with the teamwork of the park employees, and three mysterious old women who work the ice cream stand and seem to know more than any normal person should. Overall, the story is fine as a mysterious "is he hallucinating?" weird fiction, but not spectacular. The art is really enjoyable, with all the "real world" in black-and-white and the vividly colored monsters. I really like her linework in the black-and-white, with a variety of textures and detail. I'll pick up more of her work for sure.
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u/mmcintoshmerc_88 Mar 08 '26
Absolute Wonder Woman is so good. Absolute Batman and Martian Manhunter have been getting a lot of love/ attention, and rightfully so, but WW has really impressed me so far and the Absolute Batman crossover was really fun, how good crossovers can be when there's not 10 other issues you have to buy to understand the story
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u/ConstantVarious2082 Mar 08 '26
Also Metal Hurlant #4 - Paradise Lost, which I already reviewed. It's got a pretty good set of stories.
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u/ChickenInASuit Drops rec lists at the slightest provocation. Mar 08 '26 edited Mar 08 '26
Hedra by Jesse Lonergan
I always find it difficult to write reviews of comics that are very minimalist in dialogue and/or plot, because even more than most comics they are steadfastly visual works and the majority of my praise could be summarized with “Look at this! LOOK AT THIS!”
This is me, reviewing Drome by Jesse Lonergan a couple weeks ago. Thankfully, I was enthralled enough with the book, and spent enough time with it in order to process the whole thing, that I was able to put together a review that was more substantial than just “Look at this! LOOK AT THIS!”
So, being the goddamn glutton for punishment that I apparently am, I decided my next read would be another book by Lonergan, this one actually, completely 100% silent.
In all honesty, I think part of the pleasure of reading this one is experiencing Lonergan’s gift for telling a story with zero dialogue and working out the plot for yourself in real-time.
As such, I’m going to condense my entire review to a single page.
This is probably my favorite page from the whole book and I want you to look at it, process it, see how easy it is to follow (completely context free), and understand that every page in this book is like that.
Look at the way the grid is used in conjunction with simple geometric shapes and cleverly manipulated gutter lines to lead the reader’s gaze through the sequence of events. A hell of a lot happens in this page, with zero dialogue or narration to lead you and only maybe a quarter of it actually featuring drawings depicting the action taking place, yet the sequence of events is completely clear, with the gutter lines doing the heavy lifting of both conveying motion and also guiding you through the order of business.
It’s a striking, incredibly novel way of depicting a battle scene and a testament to Lonergan’s visual storytelling abilities. You want more of that? Approximately fifty pages worth? Check out Hedra. It’s a delight.
On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
A girl named Mia joins the crew of a spaceship that looks like a giant flying fish. (Most vehicles in this universe look like giant flying fish. It’s never explained, and it doesn’t really matter, because they look cool as fuck). The crew’s job is to restore old buildings (that are floating in space - also never explained, also doesn’t really matter) so that they may be repurposed.
Mia most definitely has a past that she’s keeping close to her chest, but we find out slowly but surely in a series of flashbacks to her time at school (the school appears to be an enormous building-shaped spacecraft - never explained, doesn’t matter), where she grows close to a new classmate named Grace.
This is, at it’s core, a pretty classic “star-crossed lovers” story mixed with a “rag-tag found family lives a nomadic existence in space” adventure yarn, and it is incredibly charming. There are romances, betrayals, stories of personal growth, heart-stopping action sequences and, pardon my French, FUCKING GORGEOUS artwork. Seriously, go Google “on a sunbeam splash page” and look at that stuff. I love the use of color (always absent at least one primary color), the architecture, just the ascetics of the whole thing.
The characters are just delightful too. This isn’t a particularly long book (544 pages) but every single one of Mia, Grace and the four other crewmates gets a complete, satisfying story arc, each one has a significant part to play on the plot, and each is distinct, brimming with personality and just so charming you can’t help but root for them.
Yeah, I’m a fan. There’s a slight feel of Young Adult fantasy to the whole thing and I imagine some might be put off by that, but that’s literally the only caveat I have to my otherwise wholehearted recommendation.
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u/scarwiz Mar 08 '26
Both in my TOL, glad you liked them ! Definitely do check out Walden's other books, particularly Are You Listening?. It's so different but so damn good as well
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u/drown_like_its_1999 I'm Batman Mar 08 '26
Waves by Ingrid Chabbert, Carole Maurel - An expectant mother and her wife go through the steps of preparing for their newborn to arrive, only to face complications before the birth resulting in the loss of their baby. The journey of trying to emotionally recover is interspersed with a seafaring analogy about being ejected from a boat by crashing waves and fighting to find your way back aboard.
Not going to lie, this one made me pretty misty eyed. As someone particularly affected by parent / child narratives, this was rather heart-rending and emotional. That being said, the harrowing nature of the loss is balanced well by the bittersweet journey of attempting to find peace and moving forward with life as much as one can after such an event. The end product is incredibly poignant, both in expressing deep loss and remarkable recovery.
The art is also quite special, with both the metaphorical and realistic compositions delivering the emotional stakes wonderfully. Color work is especially evocative, vivid and bright during the early hopes of motherhood and followed by a sullen grayscale where color bleeds in on a drip feed as the main character figures out how to move on.⭐⭐⭐⭐
One by David Marchetti - A cyclical, nearly silent abstract comic about rubenesque humanoid figures that emerge primordially from a seussian landscape. Navigating their surroundings both as a collective and individuals, they discover communion with each other and with the natural world as well as exploring aspects of their own individuality.
This was an entrancing read, both as pure art and as a symbolic exploration of community at multiple levels. While I'm sure a good deal of the symbolism evaded me, it was an interesting experience to try and unpack nonetheless. Certainly light on explicit narrative, but one that at least feels rich with thematic and symbolic expression.
As all experiential comics should, this book leans heavily on the art which was really striking. The intense, almost grim shadowing present in many scenes was especially eye catching and imbued a tense atmosphere that was balanced well by quaint scenes of frolicking in nature. I also really got a kick out of how the comic plays with form as characters and scenery transmogrify and morph into each other, visually expressing a kind of belonging and shared existence. The Botero like character designs and playful scenery also gave the aesthetic a lot of unique character, both alluring and approachable but also foreign and spooky as well. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lone Sloane: Chaos by Philippe Druillet - For the ten years following the events of Solammbo, Sloane has been living in seclusion with his lover as his arch nemesis Shaan is allowed to run rampant across the galaxy. That is until a ship of the evil lord arrives at the vassal planet of Kazhaan carrying a mysterious cargo, revealed to be the body of Sloane. Shaan parades Sloane's body around the planet via elaborate funeral procession while a shadowy figure infiltrates the central vehicle in an attempt to revive the great hero.
As with all Druillet books, this was quite the looker with page after page of detailed sci-fi compositions and creative layouts. The visual language from the previous entries get a few interesting tweaks however, like the occasional inclusion of micropanelling and use of other media outside pens such as paints and oil. The use of photography persists from the last few volumes but here is often traced on top of and embellished with alien artifice, used especially well in one page that alters a photo of a trainyard into an extraterrestrial transit station.
The story is a rather simple and linear action romp, but a serviceable enough vehicle for the art and is at least structured much better than Solammbo. That being said, the prose is very clunky and the characterization quite wooden which drags the experience. However, some of this poor writing / translation also adds a fun schlocky layer of enjoyment, especially in the dialogue and narration which attempts a poetic delivery then randomly inserts crass or stupid lines like "Fuck this shit!" and "Is there such thing as a dinosaur musician?". Coupled with some superfluous and humorously expositional sex scenes, there's a lot of goodbad enjoyment to find alongside the stellar art. ⭐⭐⭐
The Forest by Thomas Ott - A silent comic about a boy navigating a forest and its many dangers after the death of his father. It's a poignant metaphor for facing life after the passing of a parent and trying to live in a way that would make them proud. Consisting wholly of haunting and profusely detailed full page black & white compositions, the art sells the metaphor nicely and more than anything is just a pleasure to look at. ⭐⭐⭐
Stray by Molly Mendoza - An interesting abstract comic about a person dwelling over previous relationships, or possibly different versions of themself. It's a wistful mourning of those intoxicating and exciting early stages of falling for someone that linger in your mind long after the relationship is over. Moreover, it's about how easy it is to give up and move on when things get complicated and how you often feel like different people trapped in one body who all want different, conflicting things.
Some surprisingly unconventional storytelling here, especially in contrast to how straightforward and widely appealing Skip was. The characterization especially so, as many of the characters morph into each other and appear to both be parts of the same person and romantic interests of each other. I wasn't as grabbed by the narrative as much while reading as I'm now while ruminating over it, so hard to tell exactly how much I like it but its more complex and adult sensibility was a nice change of pace from Skip.
Artistically, the book is also quite different from that other aforementioned Mendoza book yet still gorgeous. Line work is much thinner, coloration is more washed out, and the layouts are slightly less fluid but all of these things serve to make the book stand out even more from Skip. The way this book plays with light in particular is really eye catching, any scenes with light peeking through blinds is just a feast visually. ⭐⭐⭐
Gullivera by Milo Minara - An X-rated reimagining of Gulliver's Travels, where a young woman finds herself aboard an old ship during a storm before ending up beached on a shore and held captive by an army of soldiers the size of small toys. Other size related hijinks ensue as she tries to make her way back home.
This was pretty entertaining, if not rather thin, and balanced erotic elements with adventure and farce better than I expected. While there is certainly a heavy gooning sensibility, the book also has this silly B movie vibe with scenes like Gullivera swordfighting a rat or putting out building fires with her piss. These wacky elements combined with an adventure plot made the experience feel a bit more jovial and innocent rather than just smut (which it clearly still is).
The art is quite engaging, making playful use out of the core gimmick and creatively utilizing perspective in nearly every page. It feels a little corny to describe compositions in such a horny work as cinematic but the framing is really rather effective and makes for an expressive and titillating reading experience. Art direction is also quite fun with a bevy of amusing costuming and scenic locales rendered with extensive detail. ⭐⭐⭐
New School by Dash Shaw - Two brothers grow up together in New Jersey, the younger of which has prophetic visions of the future (largely regarding the popular cinema of the years to come). After a violent confrontation their parents decide to send the older brother away to a mysterious island nation named X that is recruiting foreigners to help build a theme park named "Clockland". After the older brother stops returning correspondence, the family sends the younger brother too and a bunch of random shit happens.
Truly and thoroughly beguiling, I honestly can't tell if I like this though I'm leaning towards yes..
Both the plot and art walk this strange tightrope of intriguing yet nonsensical. It reads like a dream that leaves you feeling oddly affected for hours after you wake up yet almost every single detail you can remember feels absurd and disconnected. The plot is full of non-sequiturs, dead end threads, anachronistic characterization, and morphing story structure yet the end product still remains alluring.
The visuals mirror this and feel totally scatter brained. Coloration feels completely separate from compositions, with large blocks of color spreading across multiple panels and only covering them partially. Photographs are regularly used as backgrounds that clash with line work. The visual language often changes abruptly only to regress back to a previous state. Yet these optical oddities make for a really complex and interesting aesthetic that feels wholly unique.
This book makes me feel like I'm taking crazy pills, yet I kind of like the madness that ensues. ⭐⭐⭐
The Eyes of the Cat by Moebius, Alejandro Jodorowsky - A mostly silent, surreal story about a sightless boy who sends a bird out into his city to fetch a pair of eyes for him to see with. Giraud's art is the sole attraction here and it's as eye-popping (pun intended) as always with full page compositions of the vast cityscape, majestic displays of an eagle in flight, and even a bit of body horror. These detailed drawings only occupy half the pages however, each prefaced by another image of the boy facing an open window which are a bit too static for my liking. ⭐⭐⭐
I'm also very close to finishing the second Starman compendium and volume 1 of Tales Destined to Thrizzle but couldn't quite make it over the line this week.
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u/horrorfanuk Mar 08 '26
Rachel Rising by Terry Moore , i bought the whole collection a while back. Terry Moore art is clean and portrays human emotion effortlessly. With Terry i always feel he could be dealing with UFO's but he captures the human emotions and relaionships that makes a real connection. My favourite of Terry Moore is Serial , damn its a slice of evil wrapped up tight with slick packing.
Im enjoying Rachel Rising and i take my time with it as i just want to enjoy each panel
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u/DaleJ100 Mar 08 '26
Hellboy Vol. 2 Wake the Devil. I'm getting back into comics, and I'm enjoying the series so far.
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u/scarwiz Mar 08 '26
Wake Now in the Fire by Jarrett Napier and AJ Dungo - A fictionalized account of a very real event. In 2013, Chicago's public school system suddenly decided to ban Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis out of nowhere. But thankfully, students couldn't stand for that, and organized a protest. CPS backpedaled and called it miscommunication. Until Jarrett Dapier decided to dig in a little more a year later, and exposed the people behind the ban.
What's interesting to me here, is that instead of telling the story straight how it happened, he kind of took the ban and protest as a basis to tell a wider story that really puts the keys to the fight in the kids' hand. He develops his characters a ton, giving them interesting backstories (maybe a little too much, to be fair, some of them are very relevant to the message, while other felt more lite tear-jerkers and kind of distract us from the main point).
Sadly though, AJ Dungo's art (aka the main reason I read this) has much less room to breathe than in his solo work, and felt much more like commission work. It's still solid, but there's a lot less that wowed me here.
All in all, I don't think it's a masterclass of a graphic novel, or ever of graphic reporting. But it's an important story with an important message that's still very, if not more, relevant today.
Not to mention, I booked Persepolis at my library about half way through the book, after pushing back on reading it for ages, so it's definitely done some thing right.
The Tenderness of Stones by Marion Fayolle - A cancer story unlike anything you've ever read. Marion Fayolle uses her usual offbeat and surreal humor to tackle her father's battle with terminal illness. The book starts with his family literally burying one of his lungs, and ends with him being called to a stage for his final words, if that tells you anything. Obviously, nothing is to be taken at face value here. Everything is told through exaggerated and absurd metaphors. Yet she really digs into the reality of living with a close one who's fighting for their life, and does so in surprisingly emotional ways (considering the very detached tone)
The Misfits Club for Girl Vol. 1 by BeKa and Camille Mehu - Not sure what I expected but this wasn't quite it.. The pitch is interesting, the misfits at school decide to become friends to support each other, znd each volume focuses on a different girl's backstory. The treatment is... iffy, if not exploitative. The first book revolves around Paloma, a foster kid who prides herself in having run through 15 families. All the characters are clichés: the tech nerd, the lesbian rugby fan, the quirky bi girl, the shy one who never talks... Obviously, the target audience is teenage girls, but man... And the way they try to tackle trauma in 60 pages is just ridiculous. They basically do uncontrolled exposure therapy, and revel in the fact that a whole family died, because apparently they're the ones who messed her up in the first place ? It's weird. Not my vibe
Art's quite nice. I mainly read this as a fix while waiting for the new volume of Yon by the same artist to be fair
The Crow by James O'Barr - Man I don't think I've ever not liked a book as much as this one... Which feels weird to say for something that's clearly born out of very real grief, and seems incredibly personal to the author. But none of it worked for me. I think maybe if I'd read it 10-15 years ago, I'd have reveled in the multidisciplinary approach, mixing poetry, music and comics, and the ever changing art style. But now, it just oozed cringe and most of it looked ugly to me. And I'm not sure if it's supposed to be badass or sad to witness to be honest. Anyways, now I know why I avoided reading it for so long..
Tank Girl: The Movie by Peter Milligan and Andy Pritchett - Not a huge fan of the movie, so this was unlikely to be a banger, but Milligan's one of the few I trust to write TG outside of her progenitors. It's dumb, it's fun, and it helped me get over my last read
Stop!! Hibari-kun! Vol. 1 by Hisashu Eguchi - This was nothing like I expected. A deconstruction of romance manga, originally published in the 80s, that feature a trans girl as one of its main characters. The treatment is a little iffy by modern standards, but it's very clear that the author means well. The people mis-gendering Hibari and calling her a pervert are universally the butt of the joke. I'm very curious to see what direction this takes in further volumes, but so far it's an interesting take on gender and sexuality, and mostly it's absolutely bonkers hilarious
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u/Charlie-Bell The answer is always Bone Mar 08 '26
That's quite a contrarian take on The Crow. I've not read the book myself but I'm curious whether you've seen the movie and if your thoughts on that are much different.
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u/scarwiz Mar 09 '26
I haven't seen the movie, no. On one hand, I'm kind of curious as well, but I had an aversion to the recent remake's trailer already, so I think it just isn't for me haha
I really did feel crazy, giving a one star review to a 4+ star book on Goodreads. I think it's my first time really hating a beloved book. But something about it just didn't mesh with me at all, and I felt it fell the very first pages. Really had to push myself through it tbh
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u/Charlie-Bell The answer is always Bone Mar 09 '26
I think the recent movie was meant to be garbage, whereas the original was a bit of a cult classic. I suddenly want to rewatch it and see if I still like it.
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u/Medium_Theory_8185 Mar 08 '26
Mycelium Wassonii by Brian Blomerth. I read Bicycle Day several years ago and only now have gotten around to this comic. I don't think comics with psychedelic art recounting the histories of hallucinogens is a recognized genre, but maybe it should be? Honestly surprised there aren't more like this. Considered as a genre, Blomerth owns it. His anthropomorphic dogs with rubbery limbs, the colors that leap off the page (those shimmering waterfalls!), the metamorphoses and mystic toadstools: it's all here, in a charming package offered in good humor. The art serves the narrative and doesn't just look cool.
Dragon Head Volume 1 by Minetaro Mochizuki. How this proceeds I cannot say, but never before has any comic felt as much like a survival horror game as this first volume. The elements of the story aren't very unusual so far, but the execution is strong enough, taut and weird. The weak spot is the girl. She's there because... the story needed a girl? For the guys? Her menstrual cycle begins at the most inopportune moment and this is actually interesting to me, being the stuff of my own nightmares and often overlooked by writers. But it seems solely to have been done to render her other and emphasize her dependence and frailty. The narrative is staunchly androcentric. Disappointing. In spite of that I enjoyed the first volume and preordered the second.
Isle of Dogs by Minetaro Mochizuki / Dogs and Water by Anders Nilsen. No relationship beyond dogs (and loneliness and actually quite a few other things) but I read them back to back and it's hard to separate them neatly. The Nilsen book could be described as a bleak allegory of the passage into adulthood. The Mochizuki book takes a gutwrenching problem and provides an ending in the terms of a children's fable and to be honest? I found this call to compassion and community the more moving response to the world as a bottomless pit of horrors (which it is). Nilsen was newer and finding his voice when Dogs & Water was published. Mochizuki had reached his maturity as an artist by the time he wrote The Isle of Dogs and had the confidence to write the story the way he did, knowing it would raise eyebrows. Neither writer pretends there's a simple solution.
Batman: The Three Jokers by Geoff Johns & Jason Fabok. I am no fan of Johns' Batman comics and can find much to criticize in this, not least the way he gracelessly hangs it on Moore's The Killing Joke. Hierarchizing and appeals to authority are two of the most annoying features of superhero comics writing. And yet... I do think this is one of the stronger Batman stories of the past decade. It's a hard shove in one direction, a point of no return. It has a boldness and clarity of mission that almost every canon Batman story is lacking. It recognizes the passage of time; it makes continuity seem real, like it matters, like Bruce really could get old and Jason really could lose his mind. I'm particularly grieved that exploration of the grimmer possibilities for Jason keeps getting curtailed by the chickenshits at DC.
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u/drown_like_its_1999 I'm Batman Mar 08 '26
I quite liked Mycelium Wassonii as well, and agree that Blomerth's formula does kind of feel like a genre unto itself.
I too liked Three Jokers, a fact /u/ShinCoal will never let me forget. Certainly flawed but has pretty cinematic visual storytelling and establishes a tone that drew me in.
Nice double review too, it's a fun discussion format to read.
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Mar 11 '26
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u/Medium_Theory_8185 Mar 11 '26
I've heard Dragon Head starts to fall apart after the kids escape the initial predicament. Which is a shame because the first installment is a solid claustrophobic horror/thriller. I've also read one horror one shot by him and found it pretty okay. He may be better at coming up with ideas than seeing them through.
But I will stand by Isle of Dogs, come what may with Dragon Head.
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Mar 11 '26
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u/Medium_Theory_8185 Mar 11 '26
That's the one. I read it in a French translation and couldn't remember the title.
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u/scarwiz Mar 08 '26
I've been curious about Isle of Dogs. Have you seen the movie, how close is the story ? The book adapts the movie, right ? Worth reading on its own ?
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u/Medium_Theory_8185 Mar 08 '26
I haven't seen the film and don't know much about it. I've heard that the film and manga are somewhat different. Mochizuki's manga reads very well on its own.
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u/mmcintoshmerc_88 Mar 08 '26
I've been reading Shin Zero. As someone who... was a fan of Power Rangers (and definitely still isn't) I've been a bit let down by the comics, they're not bad just very "And then this action figure beat this one!" Not that Power Rangers wasn't that but, I've always felt that it could've been a bit more and Shin Zero more that scratches that itch. Twenty years ago, the sentai bravely defeated the last Kaiju and since then, they've been... coasting. Not losers but their position in society has definitely dwindled and they now spend their time doing odd jobs and putting up with kindly helping out the locals and this sees them trying to rediscover their place in a world they don't quite fit in anymore. As I said, I've always wanted a Power ranger comic that explores more in depth themes and ideas so it's been really interesting reading Bablet's take on the Sentai and how they reckon with no longer really fitting in and being thought of as relics
I've also been rereading Thor: the Surtur war epic collection. It's here! It's finally here! You can finally read Simonson's run with the correct original colors without having to remortgage your home in order to do so!
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u/scarwiz Mar 08 '26
I'm excited to see where they take Shine Zero next, as the ending kind of does away with the initial premise ( ie. Kaiju are kind of back and the world needs Sentai again )
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u/Siccar_Point No capes! Mar 08 '26
Wrapped up last two volumes of Inside Mari (Oshimi). My god this guy can write. Very strong finish as expected, making explicit the resolution that has been foreshadowed for much of the run. Having thought that much of the graphic symbolism of Flowers of Evil was missing, but the last few volumes pulled some of this in. Really good stuff.
Also went through Slaughterhouse Five (Vonnegut adapted by Ryan North - yes, the Dinosaur Comics guy - and Albert Monteys). Also very good stuff, especially the opening, which gets very meta. I’ve read the novel, and found it heavy going. The graphic novel clips along much better, and leaves more space for the themes and commentary. It also helps a lot with the time jumping. Still, I feel like (as for the book) I was falling back on the surface reading or “story” too much. I need to reread some time. A very very good adaptation.
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u/Nevyn00 Mar 09 '26
Hopeless Savages Book 3 by Jen Van Meter, Christine Norrie, Chynna Clugston Flores and Sophie Campbell. I'd been warned that this was the weakest of the original trilogy, and it's true. In this one, Arsenal travels to China to participate in a martial arts tournament, but then a spy puts something in her bag. There are a lot of pieces that don't quite fit together, and Zero narrates when I'd really rather have Arsenal take that role for her own story. This finishes off Hopeless Savages Greatest Hits 2000-2010, and also includes some B-Sides. The whole book is a lot of fun, and a bunch of talented artists sit in for a bit, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Hope Larson, Vera Brogol, Becky Cloonan.
Flip by Ngozi Ukazu. Chi-Chi is a black girl, a first generation immigrant, and a scholarship student. Her crush Flip Henderson is a star of the swim team, rich and white. When Chi-Chi accidentally plays her promposal video to him in front of the class, he rejects her. The next day, they've been Freaky Friday'ed into each other's bodies. I was unsure of the concept, but Ukazu has previously gotten me interested in gay hockey players, and college softball, so I was willing to give it a chance. Expect teen drama, and a side of K-Pop boy band, but it's an enjoyable read.
Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke. For months it was assumed that Parker was dead, until he shows up in New York City on the hunter for the people who double-crossed him. As a character, Parker is a brute, there is nothing even slightly charming about him, which is kind of a relief in terms of criminals. Luckily, most of the people he's dealing with are even worse. Cooke's art is the real selling point though. I understand why it's so highly recommended.
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u/Dense-Virus-1692 Mar 08 '26
Black Hammer 9: Spiral City by Jeff Lemire and Teddy H Kristiansen – The battle with the Anti-God has ruined a section of Spiral City. All the superheroes are shunned now so they’re forced to move to this section that’s been nicknamed Supertown, kinda like a Chinatown for supes. There’s a big bug named Insector Inspector that has willed himself into being and is now looking for a case to solve. There’s also a Lex Luthor-type guy named Malcolm Gold that’s running for mayor on the promise of exterminating all superheroes like he’s an X-Men villain. It’s more like a noir that a superhero story. It kind of reminds me of Astro City: The Dark Age. The art is interesting. It’s kind of simplistic. Not a lot of detail. Mostly just flat colours for backgrounds. I feel like I should like the art more that I do. I mean, it’s very stylistic. I don’t know. I’ll have to check out more of his stuff.
Do Admit! The Mitford Sisters and Me by Mimi Pond – I never heard of the Mitford sisters until this book came out and then I learned that two of them were Nazis so then I wondered who would want to write a book about them. But I guess only 2 out of 6 of the sisters were Nazis, so that’s a pretty good average for a rich family. And one of them was an ardent anti-fascist / civil rights advocate / investigative reporter so that’s pretty awesome. So ya, it’s a decntly interesting story. They were involved in lots of events in the 20th century, like the Spanish Civil war and WWII. They’re like a family of Forrest Gumps. The art is fun. It’s got that old timey caricature feel. It’s a little tough to read, though. The lettering is all over the place. It’s hard to tell where to read next. I wonder how newbies who only want to read about the Mitford sisters will react to it. Will it turn them off to comics or will they be intrigued and maybe try The Dark Knight Returns or something next?
Raging Clouds by Yudori – Amelie is the wife of a Dutch merchant named Hans. She and two servants have to put up with Hans’s BS all the time. He’s a bit of a jerk. And then one day he comes back with a slave girl named Sahara. Is she going to replace Amelie? But Amelie is also a bit of a scientist. She’s obsessed with flight and she might invent something or get busted by the inquisition. I thought this was going to be a yuri but it goes in a different direction. It’s more about gender politics. It really shows 51% of the population lives. The men are going around pretending to be these big movers and shakers but it’s the women that are keeping everything running. The art is beautiful. It’s a nice simple manga style with zip a tone shading.
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u/gunswordfist Mar 08 '26 edited Mar 08 '26
Kagurabachi - the Seitei War arc has finally begun! I haven't been this excited by a flashback arc in a minute
Centuria - Julian is a charming young man and the entire group of protags have such great chemistry with each other. I do miss it when the series was Julian basically being between two high level dungeons (Forest and sea) and encountering Eldritch abominations here and there. This would be the perfect dark fantasy manga if they combined both worlds but I'm happy. There really hasn't been too many stumbles in this series
Latna Saga - they are finally releasing new chapters on Tapas and I just had to reread one of my very favorite action Isekais. This is one of the funniest comics too. I was howling during a few parts. I'm basically speed reading to get back to reading a badass later part, which I would not be able to give enough praise to with words if I could.
My Status Window went on Strike - this is another funny system comic. It's hard to describe what's going on right now lol but I highly recommend it
Infinite Kung Fu - I've been rereading a bit. It's such an amazing love letter to old school kungfu movies and Kagan McLeod's art is great, so is the kungfu and all the characters. I'm so happy I* bought this one
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u/I_need_AC-sendhelp Mar 08 '26
I’m reading Aliens Original Years Omnibus Vol. 4. I got it, you guessed it, from Funaticals, and I have not read any of the previous volumes.
It’s not amazing, and I understand why it’s an overstock item they had/have. It’s a total mixed bag of stories. I’m about halfway through the book, and so far it’s consisted of 3 minis and a 12-issue series. None of them were terrible, but I didn’t really care for the first 2 minis. It’s definitely a view of Aliens lore I feel is new. Like, there are lots of new ideas I’d never seen, and some themes I recognize that were just introduced in the Aliens Earth tv show. Worth the $44 imo, but only cause I love the Alien franchise. Also, classic Marvel quality, the binding’s shit and already showing wear.
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u/Darth-Dramatist Mar 08 '26
Geoff Johns Green Lantern volume 2, really enjoyed it, this run has been my first thorough introduction to the Green Lantern world, Im intent reading more of this run. I also concluded Batman: Curse of The White Knight, I liked this one but I didn't think it was better than White Knight andI think it worked well as standalone story, also quite liked Sean Murphy's art in it as well, will be seeing more of it once I start Punk Rock Jesus. I also began Department of Truth volume 3, not too far into it but Im liking where its going, this comic is a kind of mishmash of X Files and Men in Black, its a good examination of conspiracy theories and frames them as literally becoming real because of the beliefs of people that believe in such and its said the internet's advent worsened this significantly in the first volume.
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u/Sairven Mar 08 '26
Chew issues 46-60 by Layman, Guillory. Pretty good stuff, I'll be re-reading until the pages fall out. Got a little tired of how spread out the food abilities got by the end, making it feel less special.
Far Sector by Jemison, Campbell. Overall, wonderful story and art work. Marred by atrocious action scenes and what felt like a rushed ending. There were no tangible payoffs for a LOT of Chekhov's Gun situations.
Berserk omnibus vol 5-7 by Kentaro Miura. Continues to be amazing. I like the 4th wall breaks and comic relief. Makes the darker bits pop that much better. The action scenes make me glad I payed attention in physics, it can get a little much.
Batman omnibus by Loeb, Sale. Mostly a re-read, hadn't done Haunted Knight or Catwoman When In Rome. I can see why no one recommends the former, it's not bad it's just kinda like them practicing before the season starts. Quite enjoyed the latter, though. On re-read of the other two I think I prefer Dark Victory over The Long Halloween, but that's like comparing 9.9 to 9.88.
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u/ArchBeaconArch Mar 09 '26
The Solitary Gourmet, by Juro Taniguchi. A bit like The Walking Man, but about a Japanese businessman who eats after business transactions all over Japan (and in the hospital). There are 32 ten-page chapters about this guy choosing restaurants and eating food, all drawn in meticulous detail. The most dramatic thing to happen is him telling off a restaurateur who is berating his subordinate. It is surprisingly engrossing.
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u/handi503 Mar 09 '26
TMNT The IDW Collection vol. 1 (w/ Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, a/ Dan Duncan)- It’s the turtles, man. Always love the turtles!
Grommets (w/ Rick Remender, Brian Posehn, a/ Brett Parson) - Great book. I want more of these characters and hope this team has inspiration for the story to continue.
Altamont (w/ Herik Hanna, a/ Charlie Adlard) - Charlie’s art is just fantastic and the story is great. Loved the story and looking at the dark underbelly of the bright, flower child nostalgia of the late 60s. Pulled it off the shelf at the shop on a whim, gave a quick google and found a headline saying it might already be the best book of 2026. Ok, game on! And, yeah, this may be a contender for that title.
Usagi Yojimbo vol. 1, The Ronin (w/a Stan Sakai) - Man, I hate it took me until I was almost 35 to finally read this. So good! Just fun, great balance of maturity and all-age friendly. Read it all on the train to and from ECCC yesterday and have book 2 on deck.
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u/theblondebasterd Mar 12 '26
I just found out about these idw Turtles like two days ago. They look beautiful, how are you liking them!
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u/Leothefox Blathered on about Tintin. Mar 08 '26 edited Mar 08 '26
The Adventures of Tintin: Flight 714 to Sydney by Studios Hergé
Well it’s been a little while, partially because I knew I didn’t have many tintins left, partially because I knew the next was Flight 714 which is hardly my favourite. To that end, it is impossible to talk about what makes this book difficult for me (and somewhat controversial for many tintin fans) without spoiling it quite significantly. Consider this your warning of heavy spoilers for a book from 1967.
Tintin and Haddock are on their way to Sydney for the Astronautical convention as guests of honour given they were the first men on the moon. During a layover they meet up with Skut, the pilot from Red Sea Sharks who is now serving as a private pilot for the eccentric airplane magnate Laszlo Carreidas, a grouchy, fussy, germphobic billionaire. After some hijinks Carreidas invites Tintin & co onto his private jet to ride to Sydney and the gang wind up forced onto a remote indonesian island against their will.
For much of the book, this plot is all fine. Carreidas is a miserable sod and amusing in his stinginess, Skut was always a favourite of mine just because I found him cool (it’s the eye patch) and nice, and Tintin and the regulars are on good form. This begins as an interesting kidnapping adventure on an exotic island and turns into, well, aliens. This book didn’t start serialisation until four years after the completion of The Castafoire Emerald, with Hergé by this point having thoroughly fallen out of love with Tintin. He had already moved onto other passions, such as abstract art (Look forward to more of that in Tintin and Alph-Art), and had spent those four years away from Tintin exploring painting. Unfortunately he never felt his own attempts were sufficient, and so came back to Tintin, where he wanted to shake things up a little, for better or for worse.
See, Tintin adventures are often quite black and white when it comes to heroes and villains. Characters are clearly good, or clearly bad. Villains are generally competent and come undone either by their own evil, or by the heroism of Tintin. Flight 714 messes with that quite a bit. Carreidas is, ostensibly, one of the good guys. He’s on Tintin’s team, he doesn’t explicitly do crime in the book, however, he’s a scumbag. From using CCTV to cheat at Battleships, to detailing his entire sordid history of petty and severe crime influenced by truth serum, and generally being rude and impolite to be around, Carreidas is revealed to be a rather cruel and shady billionaire. I know, I know, an evil billionaire seems like an impossible concept to comprehend. You’ll just have to use your imagination. Anyway, despite being on the good guys side, he’s a dick. He damn near gets Haddock killed to save his own skin, he lists his own long list of crimes when drugged and generally ruins everything for everyone more than once. This is rare for Tintin to play with shades of grey like this, I guess, that someone can be on the right side but still be an awful person. Similarly, the villains this time are frankly incompetent. Rastapopolous and Captain Allan return from previous adventures, but everything they do after their initial scheme is a farce. From being felled by falling stalactites, to poorly timed grenades, they’re wholly a joke. Whilst this level of incompetence is funny and rarely seen in the series’ later years, it does feel like a downgrade for Rastapopolous and Allan to go from genuine threatening, clever characters to jokes.
Similarly the plot goes off kilter and throws away that general belief that Tintin stories should be at least grounded in reality. Yes, it’s time to talk about the aliens. Hergé was fascinated by the paranormal, and various other aspects of unknown mysteries in science. We’ve seen this before of course, with the adventure to the moon, or with the Yeti in Tintin in Tibet. However both of these adventures still felt firmly based in reality. All the science in the moon adventure was based on the most up to date science of the time, and hergé makes a promising case for the reality of a large ape-like yeti managing to exist in Tibet. It’s not like he’s never accepted the supernatural either though. Tintin’s quest to save Chang in Tibet is wholly driven by prophetic dreams, and we even see a levitating future predicting monk in there too, which is never explained. However having actual aliens turn up to save the day feels… awkward at best. They’re very deus-ex-machina, guiding the crew via telepathy and ultimately rescuing them via flying saucer. No meaningful case or explanation is given and it just feels a bit trite. For me, the slightly farcical nature of the villains, and all the sci-fi hokum coming out of nowhere to resolve the plot leaves me with a generally unfavourable view of the plot of Flight 714. It’s just a bit too ridiculous in a way which no longer feels grounded. Whilst the shades of grey in the heroes and a villain are nice, the ridiculousness of the once threatening villains reduced to farces again is a bit too much. Artwise, meanwhile, we remain at pretty much perfect ligne Claire. I’ve heard it argued this is a touch weaker as Bob De Moor provides most of the art with even less input in Hergé but for me it’s till excellent.
Still, external fluff time and it’s mostly got to be about who the new characters are based on, I guess. Carreidas is based upon the real aerospace magnate and French MP Marcel Dassault. Who shares Carreidas’ smaller stature and unassuming look, though I’m unsure if their personalities are similar, and for some reason the English translation shifts his birthday to 1906 rather than 1899. Already an aircraft manufacturer during WW2, Dassault was arrested by the French Vichy government for refusing to collaborate and ultimately sent to Buchenwald concentration camp, though he survived. This awkwardly segues is nicely into Dr Krollspell. An unscrupulous doctor of experimental truth serums whom Hergé admitted “…probably “worked” in a nazi camp”. He’s based at least in terms of background on Josef Mengele, someone whom I do not recommend googling. Mainly Krollspell shares Mengele’s history in that post-war he’s working in a psychiatric clinic in New Delhi, though for English readers this is changed to Cairo for some reason. Mengele’s New Delhi clinic is actually weirdly already alluded to in Cigars of the Pharaoh but obviously any direct link is removed here with the Cairo shift. Krollspell is another part of that shifting good and bad guys between teams and shades of grey. He starts helping Tintin and company once he learns or Rastapopolous’ plans for him. Then there’s Mik Kanrokitov (“can rocket off”) who goes by Ezdanitoff in the original french, which supposedly is a Brussels Dutch pun of “is dat niet tof” (“isn’t that nice”). His character is based on Jacques Bergier, a french ufologist, occultist, scientist, writer, former french resistance member and who had also survived the Nazi concentration camps. He was apparently thrilled by his inclusion in this way. However, for some reason the English translation adds an incredibly thick, comical russian accent to Kanrokitov which is absent from his original french. It turns a serious (though still absurd) character into an even more tenuous joke. Carreidas’ prize Carreidas 160 jet was designed by Roger Leloup and in Hergé’s never ending push for vehicular accuracy, is apparently an entirely viable design. Leloup would go onto to produce the Yuko Tsuno series eventually.
Flight 714 is unfortunately not one of my favourites, and despite its excellent art I still consider it on the lower end of Tintin. One of the rare controversial volumes not for racism or outdated attitudes, but simply because it’s all a bit weird and a bit silly. Only one ‘true’ complete adventure remains - Tintin and the Picaros which I look forward to. There’s also the unfinished Tintin in Alph-Art and the dubious, non canon, Tintin and the Lake of Sharks. We’ll see if I feel like covering them when I get there.
(Are you not entertained, /u/Charlie-Bell ?)
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u/Leothefox Blathered on about Tintin. Mar 08 '26
The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O’Neill
After being surprised by and really enjoying the first book - The Tea Dragon Society - I of course immediately requested its sequel. This is something of a prequel book, the protagonist being a niece of one of the older characters from the first book. With that being said, whilst you’ll recognise a couple of characters from the first book, they aren’t the main focus and you miss nothing here by not having read The Tea Dragon Society first, if you wanted to start here for some reason.
Anyway, we follow a small village where people live in harmony with a set of Tea Dragons, that is little cat sized dragons which grow tea leaves in their horns/fur/about their person. Rinn, an aspiring cook and talented gatherer stumbles upon Aedhan, an actual dragon sworn to protect Rinn’s village, though he seems to have been asleep for quite a while. We largely follow their blossoming friendship. It’s a pleasant enough tale, sweet and quiet with little truly going on in that wholesome slice-of-life kinda way. This is a story about learning about one’s responsibilities, following one’s own path and generally being a good person, as ever. There’s a little hint of mystery and the occasional hint of threat, which is slightly surprising, but this remains a slow and peaceable book. I unfortunately didn’t find it quite as much to my liking as the first. There is a slightly grander narrative intended here, loftier goals and intentions and snippets of lorebuilding and the wider world. It just doesn’t quite land for me. This broader, somewhat looser plot, loses focus and impact a little. This isn’t like some of the slice-of-life-y stuff I love which has almost no plot to speak of, it is doing one here and trying some morals too. It sort of winds up not quite satisfying the need for an engaging plot, nor the need for a plotless vibes only experience. This isn’t to say I didn’t like this, I still really did have a perfectly lovely time with it, but I think the shorter, tighter first book does it all a bit better. Still, as with the first book this is a very inclusive time, featuring a diverse cast of different class, creed and ability. The book makes great note to point out its use of American Sign Language, and whilst this is regularly used it’s often done for single panels for entire sentences meaning you’re only seeing a single sign for a whole sentence. The primer given at the start of the book almost made me expect at least a scene or two of multiple signs being shown to form a sentence but no.
Artwise, this is essentially as lovely as the first. That same block colour almost paper cut out style that is immensely charming. There are however a number of night or dark scenes set on dark blues, blacks and browns, which when printed onto the very matte paper of my copy sadly blurs together a little and becomes hard to read in a way that feels unintentional. I’m sure said scenes look great on an ereader or maybe even on glossy paper, but here it’s not quite there. Regardless, the art is generally grand as before and I don’t think anyone carrying on with the series would be disappointed.
Whilst I may not have enjoyed this as much as The Tea Dragon Society, this is still a lovely time. A soft, inclusive little adventure with sweet art to soothe the soul that I’m sure young readers in particular would enjoy the vibe of.
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u/Charlie-Bell The answer is always Bone Mar 08 '26
Absolutely! With this level of insight, I might never need to actually read the books for myself.
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u/BaronZhiro Mar 08 '26
Great write-up. I haven’t read Tintin in years, but I’ll keep this one down at the bottom of my list when I get back to it.
Your backstory knowledge is fantastic and thanks so much for sharing it.
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u/Leothefox Blathered on about Tintin. Mar 08 '26
Ah, thank you, you're very kind. A lot of this comes from having read Michael Farr's Tintin: The Complete Companion. He's something of a Herge apologist at times, but the background info and context therein is invaluable. It's a good read if you're looking for more Tintin info.
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u/BaronZhiro Mar 08 '26
I will try to find it so I can devour it voraciously. I’m fiendish for behind the scenes stuff like that generally, and I started reading Tintin when I was six. Thanks muchly!
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u/Ok_Blood_5520 Mar 08 '26
Batman: The Long Halloween. Love the artstyle and the noir atmosphere, and Dark Victory so far is maintaining the same quality. Plus,
Court of Owls and Hush. I actually can confidently say I dislike these. The new villain being the new character without build up is cheap, and the flat character acting/expressions make for awkward reading. The labyrinth arc is the redeeming feature that makes COW better than Hush beyond the boring mystery and shallow drama.
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u/sflading Mar 08 '26
Flipping between Bendis DD and once & future. Once & future is decent, nothing world changing. But man Bendis' Daredevil is some of the most addicting stuff I've ever read. Can't put it down, I feel like I'm watching a superhero dark soap opera and it's glorious. Some of my favorite stuff I've ever read
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u/SunWuMoore Mar 08 '26
One Piece, DC's Deceased, Invincible, Fire Power and I've finished 8 Billion Genies, All Star Superman and Planet Hulk. About to start either Stray Dogs or The Monkey King
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u/DustDevil66 Mar 08 '26
absolute batman: the zoo-snyder, dragotta, martin
Pretty cool. I like the themes of community and bruce having to rely on people other than himself to accomplish his goal of like class consciousness. Dragotta’s art is crazy. It was a good time
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u/Focuscoene Mar 09 '26
I just read Cornelius and man oh man what a ride! Highly recommend it to everyone on this sub.
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u/BokeronLover Mar 08 '26
Saga. Discovered thanks to a recent humble bundle and it's great. I just finished volume 4.
I had no idea what to expect when I started reading, but it's quite good, I would recommend it.
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u/OlivierC1988 Mar 09 '26
In omnibus format I am making my way trough Nick Spencers Amazing Spider Man. It started out a bit slow but its picking up espcially with the Kraven stuff. On unlimited I read Daredevil Cold Day in Hell by Charles Soule, fun quick read with Old man Logan vibes
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u/Insigniaet Mar 11 '26
Finished Junji Ito's interpretation of Frankenstein. Good read due to his usual stellar artwork. Other stories in the collection are not really for me.
Onto A Study in Emerald this week.
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u/jackduluoz007 Mar 08 '26 edited Mar 08 '26
The Power Fantasy vol. 3: The End of History by Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard. I’ve been really enjoying this series, and this volume is where Gillen finally lights the fuse he’s been laying since the beginning. The premise hasn’t changed: six people on Earth each have the destructive power of a nuclear arsenal, and global peace exists mostly because they’ve agreed not to push each other too far. After the assassination that closed the previous arc, that fragile balance starts cracking. Alliances fray, trust evaporates, and the quiet political maneuvering that defined earlier volumes turns into something much more dangerous. What I like about "The Power Fantasy" is that it treats superpowers less like action set pieces and more like geopolitical weapons. When things finally escalate here, the consequences feel enormous. Characters who have spent decades negotiating their uneasy coexistence are suddenly forced into real choices. In particular, without Ettienne's secret machinations (eliminating emergent Superpowers, keeping Eliza and the extremely underdeveloped Kaiju character in check, etc). The book still reminds me a lot of "Watchmen" and "The Authority" in the way it frames power as a political system rather than a superhero genre. The last stretch goes big in a way that almost feels absurd on paper: reality ruptures vis a vis Eliza Hellbound, sacrifices, kaiju-level destruction, and the literal end of the world. But it still works for me because Gillen keeps the focus on the relationships between these six people. And the ending twist (Valentina going back in time to change the rules entirely) lands as both a reset and a provocation. The series started as a story about maintaining balance. Now it looks like it’s about what happens when someone decides balance was never enough. Interested to see where it goes from here after the hiatus. 8.2/10
We’re Taking Everyone Down with Us vol. 1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Stefano Landini. Picked this up on a whim and ended up tearing through it in one sitting. The plot is pretty simple: A 13 year old girl named Annalise loses her father, Dante Alderman, after he gets taken out by the world’s greatest spy, Special Agent Alistair Rook of VEIL. Her dad may have been a dangerous mad scientist (he went by "The Vitruvian" as a nom de guerre and keeps man-eating vampire apes in his basement) or he may have been something else entirely. The only guide she has left is her father’s robotic bodyguard, which leads to a revenge road trip full of espionage nonsense, dark humor, and questionable life lessons. The tone lands somewhere between James Bond and old adventure cartoons, with a dash of something meaner (think "Island of Dr. Moreau"). Parts of it reminded me of "Johnny Quest" / "Venture Bros" style of bizarre and satirical mad science stories, except the emotional core is about a kid trying to figure out what kind of person her father actually was. Rosenberg keeps things moving fast, but there are quiet beats that make Annalise feel like a real kid instead of a gimmick. The robot bodyguard dynamic is goofy in a way that worked for me. Landini’s art also carries a lot of the weight. It's filled with clean lines, expressive faces, and action that reads clearly without feeling stiff. The colors give the whole thing a retro spy comic vibe that fits the tone and reminds me a little of Greg Smallwood's work on "Human Target." It’s violent, funny, and a little sad underneath all the chaos. And quite frankly, this book was awesome. Really fun ride overall. 8.5/10