Draw the Line Various creators, Myfanwy Tristram (editor) 2017 Draw the Line is an anthology webcomic, in which “over 100 comic(s) artists present positive political actions anyone can take.” It recently won the Broken Frontier Award for best Web Comic in 2017, and it does indeed offer a wide array of positive actions aimed at…
Valiant’s Secret Weapons are Sensible Shortcuts and Condensed Character
Secret Weapons #0: Nikki’s Story does something very cute with its panelling. I’ve been saying this since the previews: it’s doing something very cute. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be something worthwhile or just a natty little gimmick.
A Good Roundtable on The Good War
“The Good War” is a comic collaboration between cartoonist Mike Dawson and MSNBC anchor and author Chris Hayes, examining how WWII nostalgia played a part in post-9/11 pop culture and political messaging. Published on The Nib, “The Good War” adapts Chris Hayes’ piece “The Good War on Terror,” published by In These Times in 2006…
Ladycastle Is Almost Great, Except for Eyebrows
Ladycastle Delilah Dawson (Writer), Ashley Woods (Artist, #1), Becca Farrow (Artist, #2-#4), Rebecca Nalty (Colorist), Jim Campbell (Letterer) BOOM! Studios October 11, 2017 The first time I read Ladycastle, I felt confused. Firstly because I felt as if it was exactly the kind of story I should like. This otherwise standard fantasy tale throws out traditional gender…
Going Abstract with Kindling
Kindling Xia Gordon (CREATOR) 2dcloud 2017 I first discovered Xia Gordon at the 2017 Toronto Comics Art Festival where I saw her beautiful artwork and included her in my Comics Creators You Should Look Out For list over at Book Riot. It was some breathtaking stuff and I filed it away in my brain, waiting…
Star Wars Adventures’ Princess Leia: Enjoyable Throwback to the Classic Trilogy
Star Wars Adventures: Forces of Destiny – Princess Leia Elsa Charretier (Writer and Artist). Pierrick Colinet (Writer), Sarah Stern (Colourer), Tom B. Long (Letterer) IDW January 3, 2018 Since 2015, we have had the pleasure of receiving a new Star Wars film every year. This is exciting for established fans who now not only have…
WWE Royal Rumble #1: Gettin’ Pretty Weird in this Station Wagon, YEAHHH!
WWE’s Royal Rumble match is a major yearly event, heralded as “The Beginning of the Road To Wrestlemania.” The match itself is massive: 30 participants, two starting the match, and the other 28 entering at 90 second intervals (give or take). The goal is to be the last person standing after everyone else has been…
Leslie Stein’s Present is an Abstract Treasure
Present Leslie Stein (Writer and Artist) Drawn & Quarterly October, 2017 Leslie Stein’s Present has garnered the kind of praise that an artist can only dream of. “Like Kandinsky illustrating Virginia Woolf” reads a blurb by The Globe and Mail on the back of the book. Everyone everywhere, from Paste magazine to The Comics Journal…
Shiver: Junji Ito Collected Stories’ is a Nightmare You Never Want to End
Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories Vol. 1 Junji Ito (Writer and Artist) Viz December 19, 2017 Junji Ito’s work was some of the first manga I ever came across. When I was 12 we moved to a new part of London, one that was utterly detached from the place I’d grown up. But it was…
Quarry’s War and the Inescapable Trap of Convention
Quarry’s War #1 Max Allan Collins (Writer), Szymon Kudranski (Artist), Guy Major (Colorist), Comicraft (Letterer), Charles Ardai (Consulting Editor) Hard Case Crime / Titan Comics 29 November 2017 If you’re like me, you may not be overly familiar with Quarry, the series of novels that inspired this comic, or the fact that it has also…
The Comic Book History of Comics #1: Fun, Detailed but Limited
The Comic Book History of Comics: Comics For All #1 Fred Van Lente (Writer and Letters), Ryan Dunlavey (Artist), Adam Guzowski (Colours) IDW December 20, 2017 We all know the term “graphic novel.” Most of us have graphic novels on our bookshelves. But where did this term originate? How did comic strips lead to comic…