Buffy: Season 10, Vol. 1 – I Wish
Christos Gage (w), Rebekah Isaacs (a)
Dark Horse
November 25, 2014
As a full-fledged Buffy fangirl, I will probably read these for as long as they are around — though I do wait for them to come out in trade. Anyway, magic is back, and Buffy and the Scoobies are trying to figure out the new rules. Meanwhile, zompires are everywhere, and now there is a new kind of vampire in town that is even harder to kill. The zompires thing hasn’t really been appealing to me – of all the horror tropes out there, zombies are my least favorite. Regardless, from a critical perspective, I find it interesting to watch the Buffy comic series continue to struggle with conquering the new medium. Interestingly, this hasn’t been as much as a problem for Angel and Faith which has really found its stride. Despite my Buffy fangirlness, I never cared for Angel nor the Angel series. (Spike all the way!) So it’s funny to me that it is Angel and Faith that I look forward to the most coming out in trade, but that may have more to do with the presence of Faith and Giles than Angel (omg-dess, the brooding, ugh). However, I am excited that Rebekah Isaacs is now working on the Buffy comics because I enjoyed her artwork in Angel and Faith.
— Ginnis
Veil, Vol. 1
Greg Rucka (w), Toni Fejzula (a)
Dark Horse
November 25, 2014
I have been heavily anticipating this trade. DC Women Kicking Ass has continually given each issue rave reviews, and the concept is intriguing; the premise: “A beautiful girl wakes up in an abandoned subway station with no memory of how she got there. When men try to hurt her … they wind up dead. Where did she come from? And what is she capable of?” DC Women Kicking Ass interviewed Rucka about Veil which also piqued my interest. Veil looks dark and critical of many of the traditional conventions for how women are represented in comics and pop culture more widely. While a mystery, the story also incorporates elements of horror so obviously I’m in.
— Ginnis
Earthling
Aisha Franz (w&a)
Drawn and Quarterly
November 4, 2014
Earthling is the debut graphic novel from German cartoonist Aisha Franz. It’s the story of two sisters and their single mother living in the suburbs and struggling to come to terms with the expectations society places upon them. Something about it reminds me of This One Summer which I read earlier this year and loved. I’m also intrigued by the art which is completely done in pencils and gives the book a very serious sombre tone.