Yotsuba&! Volume 13
Although Yotsuba&! volume 13 came out this past spring, this time of year feels better suited to the series for me, since it’s as warming and comfortable as a cup of cocoa. And waiting an extra six months or so is nothing, since it’s been three years since the previous volume. Any new Yotsuba&! is a gift. Her wide-eyed, accepting attitude to the world and the new experiences she has, as portrayed by author Kiyohiko Azuma, is a tonic. In […]
Read moreGood Books to Order for February 2017
The latest Diamond Previews catalog lists a lot of books worth checking out. Here are a few of them, along with others I had something to say about. You can order them now through your local comic shop for delivery in February or later. The Fuse: Constant Orbital Revolutions Image Comics, $14.99, DEC16 0799, due out February 8 The fourth (and final for a while) Fuse collection reprints issues #19-24, a tale of fighting terrorism that also provides the answer […]
Read more
Behind the Scenes!! Volumes 1-2
Bisco Hatori (best known for Ouran High School Host Club) brings out a rollicking story of a shy young man finding room for his talents when he meets the right group of college friends in Behind the Scenes!!. The twist in this series is the media connection — the Art Squad handles props, costumes, and special effects for all the campus groups who want to make movies. Ranmaru is your typical manga protagonist. He’s an unassuming but high-strung country boy, […]
Read more
Decelerate Blue
Decelerate Blue brings the popular dystopian YA genre of a young rebel finding her people to comics. Adam Rapp writes and Mike Cavallaro draws the story of Angela, a fifteen-year-old living in a world that emphasizes speed and hyper-consumption. All sentences end with the word “go”. Using too many adverbs will draw the wrong kind of attention. Everyone has a tracking chip implanted in their arm. Movies last under fifteen minutes. But Angela has found a copy of the banned […]
Read more
Science Comics: Bats: Learning to Fly
The next Science Comics release (after volumes educating us about Coral Reefs, Dinosaurs, and Volcanoes) tackles those misunderstood mammals, Bats, as written and illustrated by Falynn Koch. There’s not much story in this volume, to make more space for a thorough visual overview of all kinds of bats and their methods of nutrition. The loose framing structure features a Little Brown Bat who’s injured by humans during a night wildlife hike. He’s taken to an animal hospital with a vet […]
Read more
Everyone’s Getting Married Volume 3
Everyone’s Getting Married is such an engrossing soap opera! The concept is basic — two people like each other, they enjoy being together, but they think they want different things in life and have different ideas of commitment — which makes it instantly involving and sympathetic. What older reader hasn’t been in a similar situation at some point? In volume 3, in a gender twist, Asuka’s career takes off while Ryu has a romantic conflict from his past pop up. […]
Read more
Benny and Penny in How to Say Goodbye
Geoffrey Hayes’ adorable field mouse siblings return in a story about dealing with loss. While playing in dead leaves, Penny finds the body of Little Red, a salamander the two had memories of seeing earlier in the year. In only 20-some pages, Hayes manages to move his characters realistically through denial, disgust, resistance, friendship, problem-solving, and navigating the ceremonies of mourning. It’s all beautifully illustrated, and I was particularly happy to see new friend Melina. She’s a mole, and her […]
Read more
The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series
Out this week is a wonderful brick of classic television. The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series is again available on Blu-ray, all 156 episodes in five seasons on 24 discs. There was a previous 2012 set released by another company, but rights have transferred, this package is more compact, and the price has dropped. The show looks beautiful, crisp and yet timeless in black and white, and I was surprised at just how many of the episodes were both new […]
Read more