The genre of gothic horror is replete with imagery from an imagined past of crumbling castles and abandoned graveyards. Even in the Victorian era, whose media culture evinced a strong interest in the gothic, these spooky stories were often set in isolated country manors far away from the innovations of modern society. The past, after…
REVIEW: The Bubble Graphic Novel is Beautiful But Empty
Bubble, the graphic novel adaptation of the Maximum Fun podcast, feels a lot like fanfiction. I don’t mean that to denigrate fanfiction, nor necessarily even Bubble. If you’re the audience for it, you’re the audience for it, and as it turns out, I am most definitely not the audience.
First Second Pubwatch: March 2020
Welcome to the new Pubwatch series for First Second Books! Stories about the magic of friendship and social issues that affect young people dominate my reviews of the graphic novels this month from the publisher First Second. This will regularly be the new place to learn about what’s happening with this innovative publisher for comics…
Kitten Construction Company is a Sure Hit for Reluctant Readers
Kitten Construction Company: A Bridge Too Fur John Patrick Green First Second October 1, 2019 Welcome back to another edition of Melissa and Alenka Review a Comic about Cats! In past installations we talked about cats and identity in Finding Molly from Emet Comics and the delightful strangeness of Benji Nate’s Catboy. This time we leaned…
Shannon Hale’s Best Friends is an Unintentionally Helpful Guidebook for Parents of Preteens
Best Friends Shannon Hale (writer), LeUyen Pham (illustrator), Hilary Sycamore (colourist) First Second August 27, 2019 Shannon Hale’s Best Friends is a graphic memoir of her elementary school experiences. The sequel to 2017’s Real Friends, it covers everything from body image issues to crushes, and all the emotional turmoil in between that is the life of…
Learn to Be a Supportive Friend with The Breakaways!
The Breakaways Cathy G. Johnson (Writer and artist) and Kevin Czap (Colorist) First Second March 2019 Faith just started middle school, and on her very first day, she joined the soccer team—but not because she’s a confident go-getter. She maybe did it because Amanda, the pretty upperclassman who handed her the clipboard, is really cool…
On a Sunbeam is Beautiful, Kind, and Not About Men
On a Sunbeam Tillie Walden First Second (US), Avery Hill (UK) October 2, 2018 In Tillie Walden’s On a Sunbeam, kids go to school in giant floating buildings. The world is awash in rusty reds, sunny yellows, and dusky blues, and construction workers fly from world to world in spaceships that look like fish. People…
Young Love is Perfectly Baked in Bloom
Bloom Savanna Ganucheau (artist), Kevin Panetta (writer) First Second Books January 29, 2019 Bloom is the story of Ari Kyrkos, a Greek teenager who feels suffocated by the expectation he’ll continue working in his family’s struggling bakery. Unable to afford to go to music school, he wants to move to the city with his friends…
WWAC’s Favorite Small Press Comics of 2018
There are some amazing comics that came out this past year, and we unfortunately don’t have the capacity to showcase every incredible indie book. The to-read pile is high, stacked with promise and adventure. But, we took a crack at it anyway! Below is a selection of what small press releases we loved over at…
Women Making Comics: Gina Gagliano on Her Career, Her Journey into Comics and Her Move to Random House
Gina Gagliano is nothing less than a powerhouse in the comics industry. Creating a name for herself at First Second, Gagliano has been a force for good when it comes to making sequential storytelling accessible, exciting, and interesting. It was with great pleasure that I chatted with Gagliano about her decade long career, her love…
The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins is a Critical Hit
The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins Clint McElroy (Writer), Carey Pietsch (Writer, Art), Tess Stone (Letterer) First Second July 17, 2018 It’s incredibly difficult to convince anybody to listen to a 60+ hour Dungeons and Dragons podcast, which is why I’m glad that The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins is finally here.
A Brazen Look into Amazing Woman in History: A Review
Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked The World Penelope Bagieu (cartoonist and writer) First Second Books March 6, 2018 I took this book from my friend after five minutes of looking at it. In that little of time, I knew that Brazen was something special. Created by the French cartoonist Penelope Bagieu, Brazen is a bewitching…