The era where fictional kids continually idolized their fictional parents is long gone. Today’s kids realize their parents are often flawed individuals, often needing the kids’ advice on life, even as many of these kids don’t realize their own flaws. Such a dynamic may not generate familial bliss but they do create good conflict for stories, especially when that parent has a secret life (an interesting and action-packed secret life) that the kid doesn’t know about. Such is the setup of The Sin Bin, written by former “Supernatural” writer Robbie Thompson and illustrated by Patricio Delpeche. The Sin Bin is a charming, monster-bashing good time about a girl and her hockey playing, monster hunting father.
That monster hunting father is Dale “Dukes” Duquesne, a hockey player who’s on the tail end of his career and bouncing from one minor hockey team to another, but his daughter Cat, his biggest supporter and giver of unsolicited advice, believes that he’s just one good game away from the majors. However, young Cat makes a discovery about how her dad spends his time off the ice. It turns out he hunts ghosts and monsters and banishes them to a dimension known as the Sin Bin. Cat soon wants to join the family business, even if she doesn’t realize the danger involved.
Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a television show that artfully straddled the line between horror and humor, should find Cat an interesting heroine. Thompson consistently makes her the book’s emotional center as well as the POV character responsible for how the audience sees this world of fighting monsters, fights at school, and living in hotel after hotel. Fortunately, Cat has enough pluck and determination to deserve her spot as the book’s main character even as Thompson explores the sometimes fraught yet somehow deep bonds between parent and child.
People who remember Buffy the Vampire Slayer might remember the violence Buffy dishes out while serving as the Slayer. However, the book’s aesthetic as constructed by artist Delpeche, focuses more on the action elements than the horror. There are plenty of things here with tentacles and sharp teeth but they’re drawn in a way that’s meant to excite rather than horrify. Rather than spend time illustrating Junji Ito-inspired horrors, Delpeche saves his talents for character design, allowing them to express a plethora of emotions that readers can see and experience.
Clearly written for younger (and older) teen audiences, this book has just enough horror not to be horrifying, and teen librarians with patrons who love Supernatural, Stranger Things, or other series featuring monster fights will be happy to find a monster fighter as relatable as Cat. While hardcore horror fans might not find this scary, this book still excels at being a breezy, fun fight with monsters that never loses its heart.
The Sin Bin By Robbie Thompson Art by Patricio Delpeche IDW, 2025 ISBN: 9798887241678
Company Age Rating: 13-17 years
NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Argentinian,
I knew of the Books of Doom mini-series by reputation, though I had never read it. Coincidentally, I started seeking out the original comics or the TP collection at my local comic shop’s end-of-the-year sale, before spying the new reprint one merry Wednesday several weeks later. I am happy to report that the story lives up to its status as the best retelling of Victor Von Doom’s origins ever.
The 2025 Doctor Doom: Books of Doom collection opens with an introduction by author Ed Brubaker. In it, he discusses the inspiration for the series; a Doctor Doom story from Astonishing Tales #8, written by Gerry Conway with art by Gene Colan. This story revealed that, once a year, Doctor Doom did battle with the demon that claimed the soul of his sorceress mother. Every year, he failed to save her.
I think Astonishing Tales #8 may be the single-most influential comic regarding modern interpretations of Doctor Doom. The same story clearly set up Triumph and Torment – the team-up with Doctor Strange in which Doom asked the Sorcerer Supreme to aid him in this battle. Both stories portray Victor Von Doom as a noble demon. He is a man who may use questionable means, but whose ultimate goals are noble and pure.
Books of Doom says otherwise.
Certainly this is how Doom sees himself, as he dictates the story of his life in his own words to a journalist. This recollection is interrupted with interviews with those who were there for the events Doom describes. Their view of things is different than that of the Latverian monarch. Yet it cannot be definitively said that their viewpoint is the true one either.
Brubaker’s script builds upon the original Doctor Doom origin envisioned by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He inspires sympathy for the devil but does not allow us to forget for one moment what sort of man Victor Von Doom is. For all his talk of building a better tomorrow, he is trapped in the past. From his obsession with saving his mother, to his belief that Reed Richards sabotaged his experiments, he cannot move on from avenging the slights inflicted upon him. Whether or not he was wronged is immaterial. He cannot advance in either case.
The artwork by Argentinian artist Pablo Raimonid shows similar depth and complexity. One particularly noteworthy point is his use of shadow, which hints at the inner darkness of Doom’s soul and the world of espionage into which he is drawn as a young man. Raimonid also offers one of the strongest designs for Doctor Doom’s armor ever envisioned.
Marvel Comics rates this collection T+, for readers 13 and up. I believe this to be a fair assessment. There is violence and death in this series, and we are not spared the horrific details of how Doctor Doom was forever burned and scarred by a lab accident. There is some sexual content, with Doom depicted naked in bed after being reunited with his first love, Valeria. Nothing is shown, however, and their brief love scene is shrouded in shadows and limited to two panels. There is nothing here that is inappropriate for a teen audience, and I think most libraires would benefit from having a copy of this volume in their collection.
Doctor Doom: Books of Doom By Ed Brubaker Art by Pablo Raimond Marvel, 2025 ISBN: 9781302964733
Company Age Rating: T+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Argentinian, Character Representation: Romanian,
In comics, there are numerous examples of marginalized groups that are hidden away beneath the Earth’s surface (the Morlocks of Uncanny X-Men and the Moloids of Fantastic Four come to mind), but Sabir Pirzada flips this idea by presenting a world wherein immigrants, displaced workers, and other “Exiles” are relegated to the sky. Told across a series of short, loosely connected stories featuring different artists, Dandelion gives us a glimpse into a near future in which the skies are full of floating, habitable pods. Known as Dandelions, these pods are occupied by people who have renounced citizenship of the surface world in exchange for the safety and security of a new home in the sky. The lower class is literally hovering high above the rich and powerful, but we soon discover that many of the familiar struggles still remain.
Against the backdrop of an Earth ravaged by global warming and dwindling resources, the comic kicks off with the story of a couple making the painful decision to leave behind their life on Earth to live in a Dandelion, but goes on to tell tales that explore the ways these pods impact relationships, mental health, and humanity’s connection to nature and tradition. While each story touches on a different aspect of life in the age of Dandelions, these seemingly disparate narratives are united by mentions of the mysterious Jen Nakamuto, the supposed inventor of the Dandelions.
Much like its sci-fi anthology predecessors such as The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror,Dandelion takes a simple high concept and explores it in ways that raise questions about current-day concerns. Themes of class warfare, the destruction of the environment, the displacement of humans by technology, and the sacrifices we make to have comfort and stability under a Capitalist system linger throughout. However, Pirzada keeps things grounded and explores these issues through the lens of actual human beings who are affected by them. Across the various chapters, we see characters who are faced with loneliness, regret, and frustration as a result of technological advances that make it possible to sequester unwanted citizens to the sky.
Pirzada mostly keeps the narrative going at a quick pace, allowing his artists to do much of the storytelling legwork, and never really gives the comic a chance to get too heavy or preachy, despite the extremely weighty themes. While not a dealbreaker, the use of different artists for each story means that occasionally, the transition from one tale to the next feels slightly jarring, and not every artist brings the same level of clarity and readability. Highlights include the two sections drawn by Martín Morazzo, who is no stranger to ambitious comics that ask big, uncomfortable questions, as evidenced by his work on Ice Cream Man. His work, which is wisely chosen for the opening chapter, demonstrates legible linework that evokes the works of artists like Steve Dillon or Frank Quitely, and brings a sense of accessibility that shouldn’t scare away new comic readers.
It’s also worth noting the degree that Pirzada normalizes diversity within the different stories of Dandelion. LGBTQIA+ characters, couples of different skin colors, and various forms of disability are on full display, such that they are merely an accepted part of everyday life. Although Pirzada and the artists are more explicit in the questions they raise about technology and social class than, say, racial and gender politics, they nonetheless make an important statement that the world is meant to be populated by a diverse group of people.
Dandelion is suggested for readers 16 and up, perhaps due to a few instances of profanity, blood, and gore, but I think the comprehensible art style, social awareness, and clever concept could also speak to adventurous sci-fi fans who are slightly younger. As a well-paced, self-contained book that highlights major issues of today, Dandelion is great for readers of sci-fi anthologies (or sci-fi in general) who like their speculative fiction focused on the human condition. Fans of Tales from the Loop, Snowpiercer, or the previously mentioned Black Mirror would feel right at home.
Dandelion By Sabir Pirzada Art by Martín Morazzo, Vanesa Del Rey, Eric Koda, Roy Allan Martinez Image, 2024 ISBN: 9781534397545
Publisher Age Rating: 16+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Argentinian, Cuban, Pakistani, Character Representation: Japanese,
Picking up the story two weeks after the end of volume one, Aella is still recovering and trying to process those events. Her mother is gone, her crush betrayed her, and her “aunts” want different things from her. Plus, there’s the evil god reincarnated within her to deal with. With attacks coming more frequently, Aella makes the decision to accept Xir’s power and strength to exact her revenge on the Church of the First Light for killing her mother while trying to unite the disparate pirate crews under her leadership. But pirates and politics are difficult to navigate for Aella, especially when her advisors are telling her two very different opinions. So Aella turns to Xir for guidance and support.
This volume follows closely on the revelations at the end of volume one, which means it is absolutely necessary to read them in order. Volume two does provide a brief one-page summary of the events up to this point to help guide the reader. There is plenty of action, however, more conceptual ideas are explored through character growth and story development. Specifically, what leadership looks like, how friendships work, and self-control. The beautiful color and attention to detail match volume one. I really like the artist’s use of so many bold colors. It really makes the story feel unique and helps the reader understand what emotions the characters are feeling. With the focus on the characters, readers will enjoy getting to know more about the side characters’ back stories as well as more world building. With the amount of violence on page and the more conceptual topics, this is still a great addition to teen and adult collections.
Sea Serpent’s Heir, bk 2: Black Wave By Mairghread Scott Art by Pablo Tunica Skybound Comet, 2023 ISBN: 9781534399938
Publisher Age Rating: 12-17 NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
“It’s going to come at you fast, and you’re going to freeze.” For Kit Hobbs, fighting monsters is the family business. But facing unexpected responsibilities she didn’t want is only the beginning. It’s salvaging her family that’s truly going to be the challenge.
In a world where monstrous kaiju regularly attack cities, Nexus Command oversees a network of city defenders known as Titans, gigantic robots with human pilots who serve as the only line of defense between the kaiju and human civilization. When Kit’s father lost the use of his legs piloting a Titan, the job fell to his son—leaving Kit feeling discarded as second best and estranged from her family. However, when addiction and depression make Kit’s brother more of a liability than an asset, she is called back home, both to look after her brother and take his seat in the Titan for as long as she’s needed.
Remembering her training and fighting kaiju is hard enough, but there’s an unidentified Titan making appearances in Kit’s city, picking fights and disappearing without a trace, a Titan with no pilot. It’s one more problem to solve even as Kit fights for her life every time she climbs into the pilot’s seat. And that’s not even the biggest issue facing her. Family legacy is a heavy thing. The demands of the job haunt her parents, causing rifts between them and their children. The pressure and never-ending expectations drove Kit’s brother to the bottle and kept Kit from her family for years. And now, returning home and reopening old wounds is straining Kit’s relationship with her partner. Hoping for redemption is easy. Finding it is hard. And if Kit manages to survive the threats encroaching on her city, there are still years of trauma left to confront on the way to something resembling a happy ending.
Written by Tres Dan, We Ride Titans from Vault Comics searches for a balance between kaiju vs. mecha action and emotionally grounded family drama. The limited series delivers on its promise in the opening pages as Kit’s brother teeters on the edge of success and calamity in a fight against the newest monster. As the story continues, the action is intriguing, but it is the family moments which carry the most weight. The comic’s examination of family trauma and healing is strikingly relatable and delivered with empathy and nuance from all the various members of the family. With only 5 issues, the story does end up feeling rushed in places, especially the drama of the larger kaiju/Titan conflict. However, given the amount of space these creators have to work with, they do serve up some bold mecha action alongside strikingly tender family moments grounded in flawed characters who are worth spending time with.
Bringing the action and emotion to life, Sebastian Piriz captures the epic scale of the physical conflicts as well as the intimate moments of conversation, hurt, and beauty that continue to shape the lives of the characters. The action sequences are occasionally difficult to follow, but the range of gross monsters is fun to watch as they rampage across the page, and Piriz conveys the very human lives of these characters in engaging detail. In facial expressions and dynamic paneling, Piriz and the other artists work to convey the depth of the story with each new twist of the plot.
Vault does not provide a specific age rating for this title, but with sci-fi violence, strong language, and thematic elements, it’s a story aimed at older teens and adults. The creators organically include a good range of diversity in terms of race, sexuality, and disability, and the main setup of Titans fighting kaiju across cities is sure to have appeal to fans of anime and science fiction. With everything else this title does well, its greatest strength really is the character relationships and examination of family at the story’s center. For We Ride Titans, its greatest flaw is its brevity, but as it delivers on its epic premise and grounds everything in its characters and their complicated lives, there’s plenty here to enjoy for a wide range of readers.
We Ride Titans By Tres Dean Art by Sebastian Piriz Vault, 2022 ISBN: 9781638491187
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Argentinian Character Representation: Black, Lesbian, Mobility Impairment, Addiction
Transporting the reader back to the arts scene of Argentina in the sixties, Fantagraphics’ translation of Beatnik Buenos Aires, by Diego Arandojo and Facundo Percio, is an atmospheric exploration of the interconnected lives and passions of the artists and dreamers searching for meaning in the smoky cafes and dim streets brimming with an energy only found after the sun has set.
With no central plot, Beatnik Buenos Aires weaves together anecdotes and episodes from the true lives of various artists, writers, and other creatives that lived and worked amidst an artistic landscape now sixty years past. In the opening note, Arandojo explains how the comic grew out of interviews and research that were part of his documentary on the same time period. While more an artistic exploration than a traditional nonfiction comic, the pages of this book are inhabited by very real people. In various chapters, they move from center stage to the background and then return, inviting the reader to sit alongside them in the cafes full of voices and poetry and debate about the meaning of art and life. In piecing together these separate stories, a greater whole takes shape, a whole that offers glimpses into who these people were, into the things that drove them so fiercely to create, to understand, to leave their mark on the world.
Arandojo’s writing is restrained, moving from dialogue and narration to poetic quotes and references to the existing work of the comic’s subjects. The Buenos Aires he captures is not always a place of beauty. Many of these artists struggle in darkness. A man seduced by a charismatic leader stands in front of an oncoming train. A boy’s piano playing serves as a source of both beauty and strife. The subjects of these stories are sex and violence, politics and passion. This is not an idealized view of the artistic process. Rather, it carries the reader into the tumult and conflicts that form the soil from which so much art has grown. Quiet, sometimes grim, tinged with social upheaval and glimpses of the unreal—Beatnik Buenos Aires seeks out the beating hearts amidst the successes, failures, and raw humanity of the people it explores.
Arandojo’s script is brought to marvelous life in Percio’s hazy charcoal artwork. The Argentina we encounter in these pages is a time past; it is almost a dream. Its subjects are all-too real, but their longings are mythic. Under cover of darkness, huddled together in shared isolation, adrift in a world they seek to understand—Percio’s characters live and love and fight under the dim lights of the cafes they call home.
As a comic, Beatnik Buenos Aires seems to have a simple goal—to capture some piece of a time that is past and the people who lived there. Its themes are as varied as its subjects, but the book and its creators do not set out with a message. They bear witness. And in the closing pages, as Arandojo provides some context for each chapter, the lives of these creatives are set down so that we might catch a glimpse through a window, or through the cigarette smoke of a noisy room—and in that glimpse, perhaps we see the world a little differently than we did before.
The publisher does not offer a specific age recommendation, but the book will appeal most to older readers. Generally subdued and occasionally bleak, Beatnik Buenos Aires does include strong moments of realistic sex, nudity, and violence. Combining this with the overall themes and content, the book aims comfortably at an adult audience with potential appeal to older teens.
In total, Beatnik Buenos Aires is a quiet book hovering at the edges of complex lives and big questions. With controlled writing and a strong artistic style, it’s a worthy read for any audience interested in artistic and cultural history, realistic stories, or comics operating with more traditionally literary sensibilities. Intriguing and well-delivered, it may lack the wide appeal of some other titles on the shelves, but for the right audience, it’s a book worth both reading and revisiting.
Beatnik Buenos Aires Vol. By Diego Arandojo Art by Facundo Percio Fantagraphics, 2021 ISBN: 9781683964032
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: Argentinian Character Representation: Argentinian
Winner of the Best Foreign Graphic Album at the Angoulème Festival in Belgium and recently translated into English from the original French text, this version of the traditional Jewish legend of the Golem is innovative for me, a person who has collected these legends for a long time.
Inspired by oral stories told to the author by his grandmother, the story follows young Malka and her family from the pogroms of the Russian shtetl to the Argentine pampas to better their living conditions at the end of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, things are not much improved for them in this new scorched country. A visit from the prophet Elias to Malka’s uncle results in the creation of a Golem to aid and protect the new comers. Their mythical Golem, created from the earth, resembles a human and lives among the people as a neighbor peacefully for many years.
As time passes, however, another danger emerges when the Golem aids the family in taking an ill child, on the recommendation of their doctor, to the indigenous Old Wise Medicine Woman, Tomasa. The child is fine but the Golem and Tomasa’s young niece, Rosita, notice each other. Events escalate when Tomasa prepares a love potent which backfires horrifically. The Golem murders Rosita and then, running amuck as the Golem often does in the variants of these legends, he continues his murderous journey. Years later Malka, now an adult, meets Elias and is told the Golem’s story and instructed on how to destroy the monster who has continued his murderous journey as a bodyguard to corrupt politicians and gangsters.
The story is equally violent and hopeful, with a wide and vivid array of brightly and menacingly illustrations ardently activating this powerful tale. The imaginative layout and strong artwork bring, simultaneously, a historical time alive and subtly highlights the relevancy to today’s political environment. All while reworking one of the most powerful Jewish legends and breathing fresh air into its creation.
Prefacing the story is an essay by the author describing the genesis of his story and a concise history of the Jewish journey from Russia to a land of promise. There are also numerous sketches, figure studies, and full page watercolor paintings that follow the story itself, enclosing the hardcover graphic novel in a circle of love, memory, tragedy and hope. Highly recommended.
The Silence of Malka by Jorge Zentner Art by Rubén Pellejero ISBN: 9781684052875 IDW, 2018 Publisher Age Rating: OT (16+)
My knowledge of music is spotty at best, and my knowledge of who was active when is even thinner. I was thrilled when I came across this reissue of Carlos Sampayo and Jose Munoz’s 1993 graphic novel Billie Holiday so I could learn more about one of the first black female celebrities of the 20th century and her lasting impact on the times and culture around her. Billie was powerful and influential, yet she was also a victim of police violence, sexual assault, and drug addiction. She sang so unflinchingly and brazenly about race and lynching in ‘Strange Fruit’ that Columbia refused to release the song, yet she was unable to escape racism in her daily life. She seems like a fascinating person for contemplation, study, and discussion. Unfortunately, this book flattens Billie’s story in several ways.
While the publisher lists this book among its biography collection, I have a difficult time describing it as a biography. The narrative zooms back and forth between the 30-year anniversary of Billie’s death and the heyday of Billie’s life and career. Not only are these cuts back and forth confusing, but their framing causes readers to pay less attention to Billie and more attention to how three men (possibly fictional?) relate and connect to her. Most of the moments we see of Billie’s life were some of her most traumatizing ones, and these moments don’t feel like part of a greater storytelling whole.
Munoz’s art style is a grotesque and disfigured white-on-black style inspired by German expressionist painting. This style is unusual in graphic novels and the art emphasizes the unseemly in Billie’s life. However, the blunt line work and the even pacing of the panels lack the rhythm or atmosphere of either Billie’s jazz music or of 1930s Harlem. Because it’s difficult to distinguish time, place, and character nuances, the story feels like it takes place in a void of black ink. This stuck out to me as a mismatch between the potential of the artistic medium and the potential of the story, especially as it has the effect of literally whitewashing Billie (and everyone else).
I also wonder a bit about how this book is received right now, especially in the midst of a public conversation about authorship and representation on Twitter (#ownvoices) and elsewhere at conferences and in publishing. This story felt like it focused on Billie’s pain—the pain of ethnic slurs, the pain of selling sex under duress, the pain of addiction—without providing character and nuance to these pains. I wonder whether a black author might have been able to invent more nuanced dialogue between Billie and the police that went beyond painful name-calling or could have added more emotional resonance between the friendship between Billie and saxophonist Lester “Pres” Young.
This book would not serve as a first selection for graphic novel biography or for Billie Holiday biography. However, if you are purchasing for a large music collection or a large graphic novel collection, this book may add depth to your collection.
Billie Holiday by Carlos Sampayo Art by Jose Munoz ISBN: 9781681120935 NBM, 2017 Publisher Age Rating:
individuals, often needing the kids’ advice on life, even as many of these kids don’t realize their own flaws. Such a dynamic may not generate familial bliss but they do create good conflict for stories, especially when that parent has a secret life (an interesting and action-packed secret life) that the kid doesn’t know about. Such is the setup of The Sin Bin, written by former “Supernatural” writer Robbie Thompson and illustrated by Patricio Delpeche. The Sin Bin is a charming, monster-bashing good time about a girl and her hockey playing, monster hunting father.
I knew of the Books of Doom mini-series by reputation, though I had never read it. Coincidentally, I started seeking out the original comics or the TP collection at my local comic shop’s end-of-the-year sale, before spying the new reprint one merry Wednesday several weeks later. I am happy to report that the story lives up to its status as the best retelling of Victor Von Doom’s origins ever.
Picking up the story two weeks after the end of volume one, Aella is still recovering and trying to process those events. Her mother is gone, her crush betrayed her, and her “aunts” want different things from her. Plus, there’s the evil god reincarnated within her to deal with. With attacks coming more frequently, Aella makes the decision to accept Xir’s power and strength to exact her revenge on the Church of the First Light for killing her mother while trying to unite the disparate pirate crews under her leadership. But pirates and politics are difficult to navigate for Aella, especially when her advisors are telling her two very different opinions. So Aella turns to Xir for guidance and support.
“It’s going to come at you fast, and you’re going to freeze.” For Kit Hobbs, fighting monsters is the family business. But facing unexpected responsibilities she didn’t want is only the beginning. It’s salvaging her family that’s truly going to be the challenge.
Winner of the Best Foreign Graphic Album at the Angoulème Festival in Belgium and recently translated into English from the original French text, this version of the traditional Jewish legend of the Golem is innovative for me, a person who has collected these legends for a long time.
My knowledge of music is spotty at best, and my knowledge of who was active when is even thinner. I was thrilled when I came across this reissue of Carlos Sampayo and Jose Munoz’s 1993 graphic novel Billie Holiday so I could learn more about one of the first black female celebrities of the 20th century and her lasting impact on the times and culture around her. Billie was powerful and influential, yet she was also a victim of police violence, sexual assault, and drug addiction. She sang so unflinchingly and brazenly about race and lynching in ‘Strange Fruit’ that Columbia refused to release the song, yet she was unable to escape racism in her daily life. She seems like a fascinating person for contemplation, study, and discussion. Unfortunately, this book flattens Billie’s story in several ways.
