What is a Homestuck, exactly? On the most basic level, it’s a long-running webcomic about kids playing video games and forming friendships amidst the apocalypse. It’s a phenomenon that took the internet by storm, inspiring such depths of fandom that the size and enthusiasm of its followers became a meme (“Let me tell you about…
Folk Magic and Healing: A Treasure Trove of Botanical Folklore
Folk Magic and Healing: An Unusual History of Everday Plants Fez Inkwright Liminal 11 October 2, 2019 The latest addition to the Liminal 11 catalogue is a new edition of Folk Magic and Healing: An Unusual History of Everyday Plants. Previously self-published by British author and illustrator Fez Inkwright, it’s a book about the folklore…
Insta Made Me Read It: Eggnoid and Deor
Insta Made Me Read It is a twice-monthly column covering the webtoons advertised by Webtoon (used to be LINE Webtoon—now just Webtoon) on their Instagram account webtoonofficial and on their app (also available on webtoons.com). The focus of this column is on what’s both popular and encouraged to be popular by the publisher-platform itself. I…
Street Noise: Taking a Stand and Giving a Damn With New Nonfiction Graphic Novels for 2020
In 2016, fifteen-year publishing veteran Liz Frances decided enough was enough. In the wake of the U.S. presidential election, she was compelled to take a stand and has “become passionately driven to advocate for the power of love and compassion in the face of hate and oppression.” Bringing that passion and her years of experience and…
Peering Through a Different Lens in Stargazing
Stargazing Jen Wang (artist & writer), Lark Pien (colors) September 10, 2019 First Second Jen Wang, creator of The Prince and the Dressmaker and contributor to several Adventure Time: Fiona & Cake comics, draws from her own life in this personal exploration of identity through simple childhood pleasantries and a budding friendship.
The ABC of Typography is a Font of Knowledge
The ABC of Typography Seyhan Argun, Aseyn, François Ayroles, Hervé Bourhis, Alexandre Clérisse, Olivier Deloye Libon, Delphine Panique, Jake Raynal, Anne Simon, and Singeon (illustrators), Edward Gauvin (translator), David Rault (writer) SelfMadeHero September 12, 2019 From its title The ABC of Typography may seem like it would be for toddlers, but it actually offers a…
Stage Dreams is the Comic Queer and Trans Teens Deserve
Stage Dreams Mel Gillman Lerner Publishing/Graphic Universe September 3, 2019 A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Three years ago, I interviewed incredible color pencil artist Mel Gillman about Stage Dreams, a young adult graphic novel they were drawing for Lerner Publishing’s imprint, Graphic Universe….
A Fresh Take on Tarot: Isabella Rotman’s This Might Hurt Deck
It has been a great couple of years to be a tarot reader. The rise in popularity of self published decks has been amazing and some truly talented artists have undertaken the extraordinary task of illustrating all 78 cards. My latest tarot obsession is comic artist Isabella Rotman’s This Might Hurt Tarot Deck, a modernized…
Benji Nate’s Lorna is Cute, Violent and Relatable
Lorna Benji Nate Silver Sprocket May 2019 A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Lorna is a comic about a girl who loves knives, loves to threaten boys, collects skeletons, and maybe is the reason those skeletons are available to be collected. It is about…
Fluid, Urgent, and Sensual, Isadora Sings with Life
Isadora Julie Birmant (writer); Clement Oubreie (artist) SelfMadeHero September 17th, 2019 Isadora is a beautifully drawn and elegant erotic graphic novel for adults which does a fantastic job reimagining the life of the famous dancer, Isadora Duncan, who both conceptualized modern dance and led a colorful, storied life. From the loss of her two children…
Insta Made Me Read It: Random Chat & The Croaking
Insta Made Me Read It is a column zoned in on the webtoons that get repped by the official Instagram account of Line Webtoon. I think it’s interesting and telling which titles get real support from the platform, and what that tells us about the target audience for this tremendously successful comics app. Random Chat…
Dead Legends #1 Wants to Test Your Might
Dead Legends #1 Ryan Ferrier (letterer), James Maddox (writer), Gavin Smith (artist) A Wave Blue World October 9, 2019 Descending a long staircase buried deep in a lush forest, competitors bring their medallions to the registration table, marking their names to become part of the Dead Legends fighting tournament. Winners become legends. Losers become, well, dead…