Manga and Comic Reviews
Seven volumes in and Kore Yamazaki’s “The Ancient Magus’ Bride” remains one of the most entertaining titles I read. It’s mix of excellent characterization, meticulous worldbuilding, and imaginative storytelling is something I continue to look forward to with each volume. While you would think that the mangaka would have her hands full with this title […]
It feels like damning with faint praise to say that writer James Tynion IV has turned in a better volume of “Detective Comics” this time around by simply not attacking the underpinnings of the superhero genre. Tynion instead delivers a story that, as you’d probably expect given the volume’s title, pays off on all the […]
Readers with long memories (or the ability to click on this link) may recall that I’ve had my eye on this series ever since it was first solicited. It’s got a setup that’s just wrong enough to get me interested: Edwyn used to be a serial killer. He retired after he met Virginia online as […]
Netflix bought Millarworld last month and the “Kick-Ass” comics are coming to Image until the streaming company figures out this whole “publishing comics” thing. There’s going to be a new “Kick-Ass” series featuring an African-American mother of two who is also a veteran of the Afghanistan war. While having a minority protagonist for the next […]
After vol. 17 spent its last couple of chapters setting things up for Nagisa and Karma to pull a heist on the International Space Station, I was expecting some slam-bang action to be in the offing. That’s… not what happens here. The two middle-school-kids get the drop on the astronauts and after some posturing and […]
I’m not sure if we’ll ever get an official statement from Bendis as to why he decided to leave Marvel or DC. There are plausible-sounding rumors as to why, though. He had pretty much accomplished everything he wanted at the company, from writing all of his favorite characters to creating several new ones. At this […]
Is there anything we can learn from Berganza-gate over at DC? Based on what has happened it would appear that the only way sexual harassers can be dealt with at a comic book company is if their notoriety reaches the mainstream. Superman group editor Eddie Berganza’s behavior was well-known within the industry but he wound […]
Another month without any manga solicitations, and no the Zelda Encyclopedia doesn’t count. We do have word of some manga-adjacent announcements from the company in the past month, however. “Berserk”-related ones, even. The “Berserk Official Guidebook” will be published next March and will set you back $15 for 200 pages about the world of the […]
Mike Mignola’s “Hellboy” is home to lots of random bits of weirdness. The series was designed accommodate this, but there’s one bit that has always felt more out of place than others. That would be the alien spirit Hellboy met back in vol. 5, “Conqueror Worm.” It’s one thing to have the character encounter all […]
Does this volume lead “anywhere interesting?” Well, it starts off by introducing us to Kei’s mother. She’s a ruthlessly blunt and pragmatic person who has some choice words for her son in regards to the situation he has found himself in. For a series that usually winds up going down the most conventional path I […]