Classic Fantastic is our series of features on the classics of the format — please check out our other picks for the most important titles, in terms of appeal, innovation, and storytelling, that every library should own.
Lucifer on TV
Six months before it aired its first episode, the Fox Network television series Lucifer was already generating controversy and protest. Numerous religious groups objected to the show’s premise and drafted petitions demanding the show be canceled before its pilot was even filmed. In the show The Devil Himself – now living on Earth having grown bored with running Hell – turns his considerable powers towards helping the LAPD solve crimes as a consulting detective.
Equally passionate in their annoyance were graphic literature readers, who objected to the show on the grounds that it had nothing to do do with the comics on which Lucifer was reportedly based. While the basic set-up for the show mirrored the background of the literary version of Lucifer seen in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, the plot of the Lucifer TV series wildly diverged from that starting point. The character of Lucifer himself was majorly changed as well, being a wise-cracking bad-boy whereas the comic version was dignified and rarely smiled.
Questions about the television series and how it matched up to the comics prompted me to reread the Vertigo series Lucifer, which followed up on stories from Gaiman’s The Sandman. I’d purchased the series when it came out and still have all the original comics in my personal collection. I was pleased to find that the series held up as well as I remembered and that Mike Carey’s continuation of Lucifer’s story was no mere sequel – it was an epic capable of standing alongside The Sandman on its own terms.
What’s it About?
Originally known as Samael, Lucifer was one of the first three angels brought into being to oversee the heavenly host. Lucifer came to chafe in his assigned role, wishing freedom to pursue a destiny free of God’s preordained plan. This led to his rebellion and ruling the space that was known as Hell, until he realized that this too was part of God’s plan. Thus did Lucifer abandon his throne and his power, retiring to the city of Los Angeles where he opened a piano bar called Lux.
As Lucifer opens, the ex-angel is approached by an agent of Heaven regarding a dirty job that God needs doing. His reward for this is a Letter of Passage – a backstage pass that will allow Lucifer to travel into the void outside of God’s creation. Armed with this letter, his own considerable powers and no small amount of base cunning, Lucifer is able to build his own universe outside of God’s control.
As before when he first took charge of Hell, Lucifer opens his realm up to any outcast who wishes to live there. The only condition is that they must obey The One Commandment – do not bow your head in worship to anyone. Not even Lucifer himself. Especially not Lucifer himself!
Unfortunately, there are many beings for whom the idea of a new creation free of God’s influence offers many attractions. And as Lucifer must contest with them to protect what he has created, so too must he return to God’s Creation to deal with the unintended side-effects of his departure. In order to save countless souls from total oblivion, Lucifer will find himself cast as both the reluctant hero and as a maker of reluctant heroes.
Notable Notes
I’m hesitant to describe Lucifer in terms of being a spin-off of The Sandman, due to the negative connotations in the words “spin-off”. And yet it is impossible to tear the two works apart for reasons beyond their shared continuity and characters. There are a number of common themes to both series and the base structure of Mike Carey’s story mirrors that of The Sandman, in that there are an assortment of characters, mortal and supernatural, whose lives are touched by the actions of the titular hero in a wide variety of stories.
Despite this, The Sandman and Lucifer are decidedly different in how we are allowed to view their protagonists. The key difference is that we get direct insight into Dream as a person in The Sandman and, as such, he can be empathized with despite his inhuman nature. By contrast, we get almost no insight into Lucifer’s thoughts. The stories of Lucifer are told exclusively from the viewpoints of other characters in reaction to Lucifer himself, so there is no sympathy for The Devil. One aspect the series share is the recurring theme of freedom versus responsibility in regard to their protagonists. Both Dream and Lucifer are defined by their responsibilities and their roles as rulers. The key difference between them is that Dream meets obligation for obligation’s sake, obeying the rules his role imposes upon him because the rules must be obeyed. By contrast, Lucifer allows himself to break free of his role yet still clings to his responsibilities out of a personal sense of ethics and a proud refusal to fail.
In this, ironically, Lucifer is a very moral character. Lucifer believes in giving people the freedom that has been denied him, prides himself upon always keeping his promises and never speaking an untrue word. However, this does not stop him from omitting details when telling the truth or offering people just enough rope to hang themselves. The Devil will give you a choice, it’s not his fault if you choose poorly.
When considering Lucifer, I am reminded of two separate works – Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor and the television series Fraiser. For as The Sandman begat Lucifer, so too did Shakespeare craft The Merry Wives of Windsor as a vehicle for Falstaff and the stuffy psychiatrist from Cheers found new life as a radio personality in Frasier. These three fictions prove that a creative work can be born from an earlier piece and prove to be a unique construction of quality, Strangely, that metaphor is Lucifer’s character in a nutshell. He wishes to stand apart from God and be considered on his own merits. He wants to be his own man, more than the role he was assigned or the power that he wields. This is ironic from a metaphysical standpoint, as The Devil in The Tarot is the symbolic card of bondage and repression. Inverted, the card becomes a symbol of freedom and empowerment, which is what Lucifer seeks in abandoning his role.
Significance
Apart from its connection to The Sandman, Lucifer is noteworthy as one of Vertigo Comics’ longest running series, numbering 75 issues, a three-issue mini-series, and the one-off special Nirvana. It was a part of the shared Vertigo Universe, which included such titles as Saga of The Swamp Thing and Hellblazer. Indeed, John Constantine makes a quick cameo early on in Lucifer.
Professionally, it is noteworthy as the first work Mike Carey wrote for Vertigo Comics. Since that time, Carey has gone on to be one of the most critically acclaimed authors working in modern comics. He went onto greater prominence as the writer who brought Red Sonja out of obscurity for Dynamite Comics and for his work on X-Men before returning to Vertigo with his original series, The Unwritten.
In mentioning The Unwritten, another fact of significance comes to mind. Lucifer is also noteworthy for being the first professional pairing of Mike Carey with Peter Gross. While a wide variety of artists worked on Lucifer, Gross is considered the series’ second father, despite not starting work on it until the fifth issue. The two are numbered among those rare creative teams who have worked together on over 100 individual comics. This places Carey and Gross in an elite order, alongside other teams like Stan Lee/Jack Kirby, Brian Michael Bendis/Mark Bagley and Marv Wolfman/George Perez among others.
Appeal
Lucifer should appeal to the same audiences that embrace Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and Christopher Moore. Ignoring the connection to Gaiman’s work (Death, Dream, Destiny, and Delirium all make cameos), there is a similar humor to Carey’s writing as well as a complex mythos built upon a variety of world mythologies. The supporting cast includes characters from the Norse, Shinto, and Abrahamic mythologies as well as original creations such as The Basanos – a sentient Tarot deck that sees all but requires a human host.
I would also recommend the series to readers of a certain maturity level, who enjoy Young Adult fiction featuring female protagonists with supernatural powers. One of Lucifer’s most endearing supporting cast is Elaine Belloc, who starts the series as 12 year old girl with a magic she cannot explain, ghostly grandmothers looking after her, and a best friend whose murder needs solving. Elaine is notable as a heroine for being one of the few beings Lucifer respects and the series is more her story than Lucifer’s in many respects.
I make the above recommendation with the caveat regarding “a certain maturity level “ because Lucifer is intended for mature readers. I know some 13 year old girls who would enjoy it and prove capable of handling it. I know many thirty-somethings who would not. The point must be made that the story does involve rape, murder, torture, disturbing imagery, and a lot of the general unpleasantness that permeates the fabric of the Vertigo Comics shared universe. You have been warned.
Why Should You Own This
Lucifer is a historically important series, not only for its connections to other works but also for its creative team. More than that, it is an enjoyable read with a riveting plot, interesting characters and amazing visuals. And with the series having been fairly recently reprinted in five volumes, there is little excuse for any library of adult graphic literature not owning it.
Lucifer: Book 1: 9781401240264 Lucifer: Book 2: 9781401242602 Lucifer: Book 3: 9781401246044 Lucifer: Book 4: 9781401246051 Lucifer: Book 5: 9781401249458
Classic Fantastic is our series of features on the classics of the format — check out our other picks for the most important titles in terms of appeal, innovation, and storytelling, which every library should own.
What’s it about?
Cowboy Bebop is an anime series that presents the exploits of intergalactic bounty hunters as they venture throughout Earth’s planetary colonies in search of wanted criminals and other unsavory individuals. Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, and Faye Valentine make up the crew of the Bebop, a weathered but dependable spaceship that serves as home for these space-faring guns for hire. They are assisted by Edward, an aloof master hacker, and a hyper intelligent Welsh corgi named Ein. Together, this ragtag band of mercenaries bounce around through space looking for work to satiate their empty bellies and bank accounts.
Notable notes
Cowboy Bebop earned its reputation as a critically acclaimed series because it showcases the depth and complexity of the main cast, building a fascinating and well developed world that these characters live in, and wrapping the experience together with a memorable soundtrack performed by a live jazz group. Each of these individual elements come together quite nicely, giving the show a significant amount of charm and a distinct identity.
The heroes and villains of Cowboy Bebop stand out as their individual beliefs and values are put to the test through a multitude of challenges that define their personalities. Out of the entire crew of the Bebop, Spike, Jet, and Faye prove to be the show’s most interesting characters. They are united by their own personal tragedies and shady histories. Each of them bring to the table a past that has left them emotionally, or in some cases, physically scarred and broken. Painful as those injuries are, it is those experiences that define them. Jet, an ex-cop who was injured in the line of duty by corrupt officers, has become a jack of all trades and near master of all. He uses his skills as a former cop to track down bounties, shows exceptional skill in games of strategy, and has a passion for bonsai. Faye Valentine, a femme fatale and amnesiac, lives a conflicted lifestyle. She is desperate for money in order to pay off a massive debt but has developed a gambling addiction, causing her to throw away reward money faster than she can earn it. Spike Spiegel, emerging as the real star of the show, is prone to laziness and chooses to ignore bounty opportunities that don’t interest him. An expert in gun warfare and martial arts, Spike has a tendency to be incredibly cocky, though his proficiency in combat has earned him that right. Spike is a true man of mystery, and very little is known about his past until he is forced to confront it. Coping with one’s past is a major theme in Cowboy Bebop. Faye is the only character who actively tries to find out what happened to her while Jet and Spike are comfortable to let sleeping dogs lie—that is, until they are forced into situations that reacquaint them with old ghosts.
The universe that Jet, Spike, Faye, Edward, and Ein play in is just as interesting as the characters themselves. Set in the distant future, mankind has moved away from Earth out of necessity. Earth has been battered and bruised after a hyperspace gate located near the moon malfunctions and explodes. Colonizing the solar system’s inner planets, humans live on in a new civilization that bears similarities to Joss Whedon’s Firefly television series. Although humans have mastered faster-than-light travel, they still use automobiles to get around and shoot at each other with standard firearms. Planets and moons closest to Mars are modern, comfortable, and technologically advanced while frontier worlds are governed by the old world sensibilities of the Wild West. Bounty hunters are colloquially known as “cowboys” who regularly tune into “Big Shot,” a light hearted, Western-themed version of America’s Most Wanted starring slick cowboy Punch and cute cowgirl Judy. Throughout the show, there is attention to every type of person trying to eke out an existence, from criminal syndicate enforcers to blue collar space truckers, giving the show’s universe a genuine “lived in” feeling.
No discussion of Cowboy Bebop is complete without addressing its soundtrack. Though the characters and world building drive the series forward, the music by Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts gives it heart, soul, and a high sense of style. The music of Cowboy Bebop employs a variety of different musical styles, most notably blues and jazz as well as subgenres including bebop and fusion. In any anime series, there is much consideration for the opening and closing credits and the songs produced for both. I normally skip them after the first time, but not so with Cowboy Bebop. The music is so well done, so incredibly produced that it can easily be enjoyed by itself, making the purchase of the show’s numerous soundtracks a wise investment.
Significance
Cowboy Bebop remains one of the most popular anime series of all time, having earned top honors in many “Best Of” and “Top 10” lists from numerous print and online sources. The show ranked second in Newtype USA’s 2004 Top 25 Anime Of All Time and earned recognition in the 1999 and 2000 Anime Grand Prix awards. The success of Cowboy Bebop spawned a short-lived manga series, a feature film and video game. Besides its critical accolades, the influence of Shinichiro Watanabe’s slick direction has carried over into his other productions, Samurai Champloo and, more recently, Space Dandy.
Appeal
Cowboy Bebop is the perfect gateway show for those looking to break into the world of Japanese animation as it is readily accessible and lacks some of the more notorious elements the format is known for. The show relies heavily on high quality animation, thoughtful storytelling, and deep, complex characters while simultaneously avoiding gratuitous violence and sexuality.
Why should you own this?
Cowboy Bebop has withstood the test of time, becoming the genre’s most talked about and revered television series and an essential addition to any personal or organizational library. With a long lasting and influential legacy, it is easily accessible to each and every type of anime fan.
Classic Fantastic is our series of features on the classics of the format — please check out our other picks for the most important titles, in terms of appeal, innovation, and storytelling, that every library should own.
How do you make an often idealized historical icon endearingly human? By putting him in the hands of a master storyteller like Takehiko Inoue. The award-winning creator of the exceptional REAL and best-selling Slam Dunk! series excels at pairing deeply relatable characters with visual and emotional realism. With Vagabond, he turns those prodigious talents to loosely adapting Eiji Yoshikawa’s 1935 classic novel Musashi, a fictionalized account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi, the author of The Book of Five Rings and Japan’s most celebrated swordsman. The result is a powerful yet personal historical drama that more than deserves its place on literature shelves and in the reader’s heart.
What’s it about?
Scruffy young firebrand Takezô isn’t ruthlessly aggressive enough for his violent, invincibility-obsessed father, nor is he civilized enough for his rural mountain village. When political upheaval brings about a decisive battle at Sekigahara, restless Takezô and his best friend Matahachi leave behind the familiarity and commitments of home to join the fray and make their names. When the dust settles, the boys find themselves alive but on the losing side. Pent-up energy and frustrated ambition lead them in different directions: Takezô throws himself into building the most famous name in sword-swinging history, becoming the storied Miyamoto Musashi, while Matahachi ill-advisedly appropriates the name Sasaki Kojirô, unaware that his stolen identity’s rightful owner will become Musashi’s greatest rival.
Notable notes
Sympathetic, complicated characters are Vagabond’s lifeblood. Whether they’re destined to achieve greatness themselves, to help it along, or to simply witness it, Inoue treats them with the same gentle, humanizing touch.
Vagabond is the story of a giant among men. With his title choice, however, Inoue brings such titans down to earth by shifting the focus to the journey rather than the end result, the wandering soul rather than the legend.
Wild child Takezô may gradually transform himself into the “sword saint” Musashi, but he’s still a self-described bumpkin. He pouts, he doubts, he cries, he makes a big, doofy fool of himself. As he picks out his difficult path step by faltering step, he brazenly chases after worthy men to challenge. He humbly, if hungrily, requests wisdom from those wiser and stronger than himself. It can be challenging: when it comes to his first true mentor, warrior monk Takuan, the great man thinks it’s hilarious to break the ice by breaking wind. When Musashi later sees his younger self in a lost boy who looks to him for guidance, his heart won’t let him turn away. The fact that Musashi and his towering peers can be awkward, embarrassing, compassionate human beings and still inspire fear, awe, and respect endears them to the reader and makes their accomplishments all the greater.
In the same way, characters of smaller stature display dignity and depth. Musashi’s earthbound, self-defeating, shortcut-taking best friend lands himself in one mess after another, yet he’s such a likeable, well-intentioned, and flawed everyman that his struggles tug at the reader’s heart. Matahachi’s stooped and wrinkled bulldog of a mother, who unfairly blames Musashi for her ne’er-do-well son’s bad choices, knows in her heart that she needs a scapegoat. Even the unnamed foes who fall on the edge of Musashi’s sword are understood to have lives, loves, fears, and dreams of their own. Inoue takes care to acknowledge their history and makes sure Musashi learns to, too.
Then there’s Sasaki Kojirô. Despite not being introduced until the fourteenth volume, enigmatic Kojirô is so fascinating a personality, and Inoue blends him into Musashi’s tale with such ease, that the reader instantly accepts him as an integral part of the story. His multi-volume backstory spans from the day a battered boat carrying his infant self and his dead father’s sword washes up at the feet of an aging hermit to the moment he and Musashi find themselves gleefully fighting back-to-back in the chaotic aftermath of Sekigahara. The main narrative seamlessly adds in Kojirô’s thread as characters’ paths diverge and converge.
Essential to bringing the characters, setting, and story to life is the series’ effective art. Telling details show fine or frayed clothing, expressive faces, ramshackle huts, gleaming dojos, muddied fields, and hushed forests. The reader is transported to Japan at the dawn of the Tokugawa shogunate, which is populated with diverse, expressive individuals. Due to Musashi and Kojirô’s affinity for all things wild, the natural world features prominently, with Musashi staring up at the night sky or Kojirô mesmerized by a tiny frog. Trees, in particular, are striking, including the solitary majestic giant under which Musashi confronts the Yoshioka. Continuity is carefully maintained as the reader sees Musashi accumulating scars and Matahachi’s slow-to-fill-in tuft of yanked-out bangs.
Inoue’s visual storytelling advances the narrative with impressive skill. Inoue’s striking portrayal of Kojirô is key. In addition to being a beautiful, selectively attentive young man with the smile of a child and a place in the heart of every woman he meets, the lethal swordsman is also a deaf mute. With no internal monologues for guidance, only Kojirô’s emotive vocalizations, the reader must rely on Inoue’s detail to be able to follow the young man’s keen eyes as he assesses threats, allies, and opportunities.
Every panel sequence functions on multiple levels, defining personalities and relationships, establishing setting and tone, moving the story forward, and engaging the reader’s emotions. Take, for example, a scene in which supposed strangers Kojirô and Musashi run into each other while practice-dueling with the same snowman. The two quickly fall into a giddy, joyful, all-out twig-fight that only narrowly avoids evolving into a true and deadly contest. Then the pleasant aroma of supper lures them to the table. The reader giggles at the childish horseplay and grumbling tummies, takes comfort in the young men’s kinship, feels goose bumps at the crackling energy of their confrontation, and tearfully doubts such serendipitous interruptions in their future bouts.
Inoue’s story rings true even when cold logic dictates it should not, such as when Musashi takes on the entire Yoshioka school of pride-bruised swordsmen and overcomes their numbers through skill and desperate persistence. This conflict plays out over multiple volumes, yet the reader’s attention never flags as Inoue shifts perspectives and balances the stress of bloody action with moments of calm on the battlefield.
To understand and appreciate Musashi, you have to understand and appreciate the people, places, and experiences that shape him. It’s not enough to say a man is great. To believe it, you need context. And Inoue offers exactly that on page after lovely page.
Significance
Vagabond is a benchmark of both graphic literature and historical fiction, garnering numerous honors at home and abroad, including the Japan Media Arts Festival Grand Prize for manga (2000), the 24th Kodansha Manga Award (2000), the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize (2002), and an Eisner Award nomination for Best Writer / Artist (2003).
Appeal
Although originally published in a seinen (geared toward men in their twenties and thirties) magazine in Japan, Vagabond’s appeal is in no way limited by gender. Despite the focus on the men folk, there are a number of strong female characters who appear throughout the story, particularly Musashi and Matahachi’s childhood friend Otsû. While there are occasionally sexually explicit situations and nudity, they are always in service of the story and are far from gratuitous. Likewise, graphic violence is prevalent, but it’s an absolutely necessary facet of the story being told and is never played for shock value. The richly detailed and lovely art, the story’s emotional heft, the characters’ sympathetic and approachable natures and the bonds between them, the heart-racing life-and-death action, the enlightening history, the touching moments, the silly ones, the heartbreaking ones, the breathtaking ones: they all meld together to create something rich and involving and wonderful.
Why should you own this?
Vagabond breathes life into a celebrated legend and a defining period that may be unfamiliar to some readers, provides context for those who know a little something of Japanese history already, and expands the concept of what manga (and comics in general) can be and do (at least in the minds of those who mistakenly think it is limited in the first place). It’s also a lot of fun to read.
After the release of volume 33, Inoue put the series on hiatus for about two years to address health concerns and renew his creative spirit. He has since resumed drawing the series, with the English volume 34 just released this spring, volume 35 slated for March of 2014, and the conclusion to the wanderer’s journey drawing ever closer.
Earlier original single-volume editions appear to be dropping out of print, but VIZ is reissuing the series in 3-in-1 VizBig omnibus editions. These ever-so-slightly-larger formatted volumes include the color pages and cultural notes from the original printings, as well as a few new extras, such as interviews. Sadly, they lose the original individual volumes’ attractive color covers, which have been replaced with new two- or three-tone cover art. While the single-volume editions may be preferable for their readability (200 pages are a lot easier to hold in your hand than 600) and pretty covers, the omnibus editions are a more efficient and affordable way to add the series to your collection, especially now that the others are becoming less reliably available.
Vagabond
by Takehiko Inoue, inspired by the novel Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
Viz, 2002-2013
Vols. 1-34, ongoing
Vol. 1 ISBN: 9781421519111
Vol. 2 ISBN: 9781591160359
Vol. 3 ISBN: 9781421519135
Vol. 4 ISBN: 9781421519142
Vol. 5 ISBN: 9781569318935
Vol. 6 ISBN: 9781569318942
Vol. 7 ISBN: 9781591160731
Vol. 8 ISBN: 9781591161196
Vol. 9 ISBN: 9781591162568
Vol. 10 ISBN: 9781591163404
Vol. 11 ISBN: 9781591163961
Vol. 12 ISBN: 9781591164340
Vol. 13 ISBN: 9781591164517
Vol. 14 ISBN: 9781591164524
Vol. 15 ISBN: 9781591164531
Vol. 16 ISBN: 9781591164548
Vol. 17 ISBN: 9781591164555
Vol. 18 ISBN: 9781591166429
Vol. 19 ISBN: 9781591166436
Vol. 20 ISBN: 9781591165835
Vol. 21 ISBN: 9781421507415
Vol. 22 ISBN: 9781421508184
Vol. 23 ISBN: 9781421508269
Vol. 24 ISBN: 9781421508276
Vol. 25 ISBN: 9781421509754
Vol. 26 ISBN: 9781421519838
Vol. 27 ISBN: 9781421520087
Vol. 28 ISBN: 9781421527086
Vol. 29 ISBN: 9781421531489
Vol. 30 ISBN: 9781421534381
Vol. 31 ISBN: 9781421536316
Vol. 32 ISBN: 9781421538136
Vol. 33 ISBN: 9781421538143
Vol. 34 ISBN: 9781421549309
VizBig 3-in-1 editions, 2008-2012
Vols. 1-11, ongoing
Vol. 1 ISBN: 9781421520544
Vol. 1 ISBN: 9781421519111
Vol. 2 ISBN: 9781421522449
Vol. 3 ISBN: 9781421522456
Vol. 4 ISBN: 9781421522463
Vol. 5 ISBN: 9781421522470
Vol. 6 ISBN: 9781421522807
Vol. 7 ISBN: 9781421522814
Vol. 8 ISBN: 9781421522821
Vol. 9 ISBN: 9781421523132
Vol. 10 ISBN: 9781421529158
Vol. 11 ISBN: 9781421549293
Related media: Sumi and Water art books
Awards: Japan Media Arts Festival Grand Prize for manga (2000); 24th Kodansha Manga Award (2000); Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize (2002); Eisner Award Nominee for Best Writer / Artist (2003)
Classic Fantastic is our series of features on the classics of the format — please check out our other picks for the most important titles, in terms of appeal, innovation, and storytelling, that every library should own.
What is it About?
Think back on every character you know from fairy tales and folklore. Now picture them all living incognito in modern-day New York. This is the premise at the start of Fables, which is still going strong as a monthly comics series after over ten years. These ageless storybook characters, aka fables, have left their various homelands to hide among us normal folks (mundanes, or ‘mundies’) after being driven out one by one by the nameless Adversary.
With the wellspring of various mythologies and oral traditions to work from (not to mention public domain children’s classics such as Alice and Wonderland, the Jungle Book, and the Wizard of Oz), Fables boasts one of the most varied casts of characters in graphic novels. This leads to interesting story turns and juxtapositions as writer Bill Willingham throws all those characters you think you know together and lets them interact in original ways.
Case in point: We all know that Snow White married Prince Charming. But think for a moment – he also married Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty! So of course in Fables, Charming ends up being a rather likeable Lothario, a three-time divorcee who has the magic ability to attract and be attracted to women, only to find he is incapable of maintaining any sort of relationship after the attraction.
Each new volume of Fables continues the story of the centuries-long struggle with the Adversary and beyond, and each story arc tends to add more and more postmodern takes on new fairy tale characters. For instance Volume 2, Animal Farm, highlights how the non-human fables, like the Three Little Pigs, live away from the prying eyes of us mundies in upstate New York. As of this writing, Fables is up to volume 18, with no end in sight.
Notable Notes
Fables has won multiple Eisner awards in many categories, both for its writing and artwork, including the wonderful cover art by James Jean and later João Ruas. While many popular artists have contributed at various times, it is Mark Buckingham who does the lion’s share of the storytelling duties. His clean, straightforward style does much to set the tone for the series. He manages to both ground the characters in a realistic, believable environment as well as stretch artistically to pay homage to their fairy tale inspirations, especially in fanciful side borders on most pages which give the feel of a classic storybook experience. He is a true co-collaborator along with Willingham’s writing, and that shows in every page.
And due to the postmodern nature of the work, that writing allows the fables to be cast in a variety of story genres, including (but not limited to) mystery, comedy, war, spy, horror, even at one point a caper-style story arc, all with a modern fantasy twist. Literary references, perhaps obviously, abound. And perhaps the most appealing aspect is the internal logic of the Fables universe. It somehow all hangs together in Willingham’s and Buckingham’s hands, even while taking inspiration from sources worldwide and spanning hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The fables living in exile in our world have agreed to abide by very practical and modernistic rules as a community, complete with their own legal systems and government.
The main characters of Snow White, Bigby (formerly Big Bad) Wolf, Pinocchio, and the others – different characters tend to be highlighted each time – are all well-crafted and fully dimensional. From the usually one-note sources that we’re familiar with they are spun into something new and original, while still staying true to the source material. One thing not carried over from the fairy tales is that moral certitude one might expect. Good and evil are not clear cut in the Fables world, and moral ambiguity abounds. Bad guys, like Bigby, can reform. And good guys? Well, let’s just say Hansel was a pretty big deal during the Salem witch trials, for example. Willingham excels at extracting and extrapolating believable motivations from the fairy tales and then showing how these attitudes play out in our world.
Significance
In general, Fables has become known for its well-crafted stories, its humor, and its wonderful characterization. Being published by Vertigo, Fables is an obvious direct descendant of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, though it charts much different ground. Willingham had been doing contract work for DC/Vertigo for a few years before this series started, filling in both as an artist and a writer in a range of things from superheroes to the adult Vertigo titles, including telling further tales set in the Sandman universe. One of these featured his first collaboration with Buckingham, whimsically recasting Gaiman’s Merv the Pumpkin character as a secret agent. One can’t help but wonder if this helped provide inspiration. Looking at especially Willingham’s Vertigo work, one can see him working towards the concept that would eventually become Fables.
In its own right Fables has spawned 2 continuing series, the now-concluded Jack of Fables, starring – well, Jack – who is literally every “Jack” you have ever heard of in folklore (Frost, ‘be nimble’, the beanstalk, etc…). And more recently Fairest, which highlights the stories of the more popular female fables. There have also been additional Cinderella mini-series, highlighting her espionage career, an original prose novel about the Pied Piper titled Peter and Max, and other graphic novels set apart from the main storyline and which usually fill in and explain things from the past. Of these, the stand alone Eisner award-winning short story anthology Fables: 1,001 Nights of Snowfall is easily the best, and also a good entry to the Fables series in general.
Curiously enough, Fables has also been twice optioned for TV but not developed past the script stage by NBC and then ABC – who later broadcast Grimm and Once Upon a Time respectively.
Appeal
Take a look at the current trends in fantasy fiction and it is easy to see why Fables is popular. There are more modern urban fantasy series dealing with magic in today’s world coming out every day, and Fables easily fits that niche. But the appeal of Fables will extend far beyond that genre, as the stories range far afield of the typical gritty urban fantasy tale, sometimes verging on a truly epic scale. Yet, due to its very nature and huge cast, it is easy for the creators to take a break in the plot and focus on an intimate story of a particular character, or have fun with quick vignettes answering readers’ questions. Humor and drama and action are all in abundance and well-balanced. As mentioned before, fans of the Sandman will most likely enjoy the mythical permutations of Fables as well. And there are literary Easter eggs peppered throughout the entire run. One caveat: These are definitely tales meant for older teens and up, and not sanitized fairy tales by any means. There is sex and blood and some tasteful nudity.
Why You Should Own This
There are few series, especially being produced in the US, that have as much consistent quality for such a long run as Fables. Far from losing steam, Willingham and Buckingham seem to have no end of new stories about their well-realized characters. Each story arc or plot element seems to lay the foundation for what comes afterwards, and continues be engaging. It’s not often that you find a classic, which Fables surely is, that is also one of the best comics titles coming out each month.
Trade Paperbacks
Legends in Exile (Volume 1): 9781401237554
Animal Farm (Volume 2): 978-1401200770
Storybook Love (Volume 3): 978-1401202569
March of the Wooden Soldiers (Volume 4): 978-1401202224
The Mean Seasons (Volume 5): 978-1401204860
Homelands (Volume 6): 978-1401205003
Arabian Nights (and Days) (Volume 7): 978-1401210007
Wolves (Volume 8): 978-1401210014
Sons of Empire (Volume 9): 978-1401213169
The Good Prince (Volume 10): 978-1401216863
War and Pieces (Volume 11): 978-1401219130
The Dark Ages (Volume 12): 978-1401223168
The Great Fables Crossover (Volume 13): 978-1401225728
Classic Fantastic is our series of features on the classics of the format — please check out our other picks for the most important titles, in terms of appeal, innovation, and storytelling, that every library should own.
What’s it about?
Hellboy is the “World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator”. His expertise stems partly from being a demon himself. Summoned into the world by Rasputin for a world-ending Nazi scheme, Hellboy has seen his share of extraordinary things. Fortunately for our world, Hellboy is not very interested in jump-starting the apocalypse.
Hellboy was discovered and sheltered by his adoptive father, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), a global agency with field agents who are trained for dealing with the impossible. Though some are human, many of the agents have their own abilities that make them best equipped to deal with the supernatural, just like our eponymous hero, Hellboy.
Hellboy is good at his job. It’s hard to hurt him and he has ridiculous strength as well as a right hand of impervious stone. While he does work with agents from BPRD on and off, often his stories show Hellboy dealing with all sorts of sorcery and monsters. Because he could meet demons or fairies or Egyptian gods, he is prepared for anything, especially since so many creatures seem to have it out for him. He tries to joke and punch his way through life without having to confront the realities of his origin, but too many monsters don’t let him leave it entirely alone.
Notable Notes
Readers can’t get enough of Mignola’s universe. Since Hellboy doesn’t really age, Mignola can drop the reader off anywhere, anywhen. If Hellboy makes anything clear, it is that Mignola is an intelligent man. Folklore is at the heart of Hellboy, and Mignola uses his knowledge to throw Hellboy into the middle of obscure stories and monsters of the month.
When Mignola wants to immerse you in a world, you’re not dipped in, you’re dunked. If he’s dealing with vampires or werewolves, he goes much deeper than the usual pop culture interpretation. There are curses and cycles and incantations and betrayal, all well researched and placed in an accurately depicted setting. More often the featured creatures have such unknown names and origins that the rich history Mignola draws on becomes a fantastic discovery for the reader.
Hellboy treats all of these horrors with an amazing deference. Though Hellboy is haunted, he is also a funny and likeable guy. Dragging corpses around and punching stories-high pig monsters is just another day at work for him. All of the ritual and reverence that goes into so many of these legends isn’t something he subscribes to, and interactions between what may be centuries-old beings and a wise-cracking, hornless demon highlight how mundane events are for him.
The fact that the story can veer between chilling and hilarious is a testament to Mignola’s abilities. What makes Hellboy the masterwork it is, though, is that the art matches it stroke for stroke.
Since it’s inception, the book has a haunting beauty. If you want to see how to use contrast, pick up a Hellboy trade. Mignola indulges in blacks as much as possible, to stunning effect. A line through a shadow can become Hellboy’s hulking form or a battle between monsters or a solitary character deep in thought. There’s a minimalism to the art than lets Mignola’s meaning assault the reader. There’s such great action and framing variety that Hellboy is one of the most engaging comics hands down.
Significance
Designing a world that takes so much research, writing, and art is not the recipe for a quick comic. The world of Hellboy is vast and Mignola is just one man. That is, until he realized that he could find some help.
Mignola’s fans weren’t just readers, but contemporaries. When he asked around to see if people would be interested in drawing stories he scripted, he got a response. In the first few collections, you’ll see different artists, the most frequent guest being Richard Corben. Then, starting with the Darkness Calls mini-series, Duncan Fegredo became the series artist. Taking on new artists allowed the Hellboy universe to expand in ways it couldn’t with only Mignola behind the pen. In addition to Hellboy, there’s the ongoing BPRD, and several mini-series featuring key characters from the Hellboy universe including Lobster Johnson and Abe Sapien.
All of the artists do their own interpretations of Mignola’s style, but throughout the collections there’s little departure in tone. Fegredo in particular does a great service to the series by taking it out of the shadows slightly, and instead giving a more illustrious look to the inks.
Recently, Mignola took back lead art duties for the current mini-series, Hellboy in Hell. Every time it’s released, is one of the most anticipated titles on the stacks.
Appeal
When it comes to audience, it’s a horror comic, so don’t pass it around to elementary school kids. It’s hard to pin down an exact age because you need to be mindful that some enemies are ancient beings, and they just don’t care about wearing clothing. A lot is hidden in shadow, and there’s never anything lurid in Hellboy, but you still might want to use discretion. Depending on your area, that might mean the Adult section, but I’ve seen it on Teen and Adult shelves, so flip through a volume and make your decision.
Why should you own this?
Like most of the Classic Fantastics, you should give this to everyone. It’s not just a solid comic; it is one of the cornerstones of comics. When you want to argue about high art and comics, this is one of the works you reference. With that caveat, this would be a particular treat for anyone who loves the paranormal. Mignola dredges up fantastic stories and creates captivating images – it won’t disappoint.
Dark Horse has specifically made hardback library editions, so they’re very convinced that you need to collect it. Currently there are six library editions and they typically contain two standard volumes apiece. Otherwise you can collect the twelve paperback volumes that are currently out.
Classic Fantastic is our series of features on the classics of the format — please check out our other picks for the most important titles, in terms of appeal, innovation, and storytelling, that every library should own.
What’s it about?
You’d think with a title like Young Avengers, this book would be about the Avengers training their teenage sidekicks. You would be wrong. Shortly after the Avengers broke up in the 2005 Marvel event Avengers Disassembled, a group of teens decided that if the Avengers wouldn’t do their job, then someone else had to. And who better than a group of super powered fanboys? Well, honestly, just about anyone. But they’re the ones with the initiative to get a team together and start fighting crime, so they get to be a superhero team, whether Captain America and Iron Man like it or not. Spoiler: They don’t. But we’re talking about teenagers. So they do what teens do best and rebel against authority. It doesn’t matter if that authority is parents, teachers or the superheroes the team idolizes. Nothing is going to stop them from being heroes.
Despite good sales, a quickly developing fan base, and good reviews from critics, Marvel cancelled the series after 12 issues and a special because creator Allen Heinberg no longer had time for it. Thus the first series includes only a few story arcs. Despite that, the books covers a wide range of issues.
The first , “Sidekicks,” deals with getting the team together, facing its first major threat and showing the team members’ determination to be heroes, despite opposition from one of the Avengers’ greatest villains, Kang, and from the Avengers themselves, who have declared Young Avengers too young and not well trained enough to be heroes. Despite the Avengers having officially shut the new group down at the end of their first major outing, the arc ends with the team heading out to battle crime despite the disapproval of the the heroes they idolize.
The second arc, “Secret Identities,” deals with the team trying to come out as heroes to their parents, which, due to a misunderstanding leads to Wiccan coming out as gay, but not disclosing his secret identity. It also deals with drug use coming back to haunt the team leader, Patriot.
The final arc, “Family Matters,” deals with family and helps tie the team firmly to the Marvel Universe’s history. It reveals that unknown to him, Hulkling is the son of the prince of the alien Kree Empire and princess of the alien Skrull Empire. These, as longtime fans already know, are two of the largest alien Empires in the galaxy (matched only by the Shi’ar) and that they absolutely hate each other. When both Empires send delegations to claim the heir it leads to trouble. In the midst of that catastrophe, Wiccan learns that he is far more intimately tied to the Scarlet Witch than he could have known and, on top of that, he has a twin brother. Despite the team reeling from these revelations, they manage to team up with the Avengers and to fight the two invading alien armadas.
Sadly that is where the series ends. And while it doesn’t leave any major cliffhangers, there is a sense of unfulfilled potential. However, Marvel saw how popular the characters were and later released a six issue mini-series with each issue focused on one character and his development (twins Wiccan and Speed had to share an issue). They also appear in crossover mini-series with the other teen team of the Marvel Universe, the Runaways, during major events.
Eventually the original creative team, Allen Heinberg and Jim Cheung, came together and wrote a 9 issue mini-series Avengers: Children’s Crusade, which involved the Avengers, the X-Men and at its heart, the Young Avengers. It tied up many remaining plot points both for the Young Avengers and for larger events of this era Marvel Universe as a whole, and indirectly led into the Avengers vs. X-Men event, which ended the 2004-2013 Marvel Universe Era and launched Marvel NOW! So you can think of the Young Avengers as bookends for that era of Marvel.
Notable Notes
Several things help the series stand out. Firstly it’s a fantastic introduction to the “era” of Marvel that lasted from mid-2004 until the start of 2013. The events of the comic occur right at the opening of that era and help get it started. The story references Marvel’s rich history without making you feel overwhelmed by it. While it doesn’t make you feel like you have to read 60 years of comics to understand anything that’s going on, it does make you want to read them so you can better understand the complex history of the company. All of the protagonists are either new characters or had only been incredibly minor in the past. Still, each one of them has ties to important characters and events in Marvel history. Learning more about these characters helps you better understand the Marvel universe.
Another thing that helps it stand out is that the teenage protagonists of the series actually act and sound like teenagers. A lot of times when adults write teenagers, their adult voice is incredibly obvious, especially to any teenagers reading. When I first read the series at age 14, I found the characters realistic and relatable.
Appeal
This series will appeal to a lot of people. For starters, the book is well written and beautifully drawn, so people who are fans of comics in general should enjoy it.
In addition, the book is fantastic for teens. The characters are relatable and their struggles are as well, if on a slightly bigger scale. Teens reading this may not have to stand up to Captain America, but odds are they are rebelling against authority figures. They might not be finding out that they are the heir to two feuding alien empires, but they might just have found out they’re adopted. They might not be beating up drug dealers, so they can get their next hit of super strength, but they might be tempted by drugs and cigarettes. And teens struggling with their sexual identity can find positive, relevant role models in Wiccan and Hulkling.
Finally, this book is particularly good for people trying to get into comics, but who aren’t sure where to start. The book slowly helps immerse the reader in Marvel’s vibrant and interesting history without overwhelming them with it. Many books try to introduce new readers to the Universe gently, but I haven’t seen any that do so half as well as this does.
Significance
A major element the series gets right is inclusivity. Two of the main characters, Wiccan and Hulkling, are gay and dating, but the comic never makes the relationship feel forced or uses them for token diversity. It is not presented as a stunt to show how open minded Marvel is. The story treats them as two complete heroic characters who simply happen to both be men and to be dating each other. The characters have become fan favorites and well-liked by critics, even winning the book a 2006 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book.
The Young Avengers bookend the era of Marvel that got my entire generation into comics. It appeals to teens for their ability to relate to the characters and to adults for its solid story telling. In addition it’s got connections to Marvel NOW! Hawkeye is one of Marvel NOW!’s best-selling books and it’s deuteragonist, Kate Bishop, got her start in Young Avengers. In addition to that, Young Avengers Volume 2 is a part of Marvel Now! and ties in closely to the original series.
Why should you own this?
Honestly? It’s a fantastic series. It’s practically the Firefly of comics. It was amazing, has a loyal fanbase and ended too soon. I can say that I literally do not know anyone who has read the series and not thoroughly enjoyed it. It appeals even to non-comics fans. It’s a comic series that, perhaps due to its brevity, doesn’t have single bad panel in the core twelve issues. The later mini-series are kind of hit or miss, but there’s still more good than bad. Avengers: Children’s Crusade is of the same quality of the issues that came seven years before it. The series is worth owning because although it’s quick enough to devour in a day, it bears re-reading and there’s enough there that you feel you got your money’s worth. It’s a series you will never regret buying.
Volume 1: Sidekicks (ISBN: 9780785120186)
Volume 2: Family Matters (ISBN: 9780785117544)
Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways (ISBN: 9780785123170)
Avengers: The Children’s Crusade (ISBN: 9780785135494)
If you can get it, the Young Avengers Ultimate Edition paperback edition (9780785149071) is more readily available and includes the first two volume’s stories plus extra content.
Classic Fantastic is our series of features on the classics of the format — please check out our other picks for the most important titles, in terms of appeal, innovation, and storytelling, that every library should own.
What’s it about?
On the surface, Atomic Robo is exactly what the cover promises, “The World’s Greatest Science Adventure Magazine!” It has all the pulp adventure spirit of Indiana Jones or the Rocketeer, but there’s something much, much, better about Atomic Robo. No offense to Indy.
Created by Nikola Tesla, Atomic Robo is a robot with sophisticated A.I. He’s nearly indestructible and he doesn’t age, so he’s been an agent in Tesladyne Industries since it’s beginning. Oh, you haven’t heard of them? They’re a little top secret and too busy to talk with you since there are scientific catastrophes happening all over. You don’t need to worry though, Robo and the Action Scientists will confront all dangers for you. Of course, they may not know what they’re fighting, and get blown up a lot, but you can be sure you’re relatively safe. If it’s any consolation, Robo will be really sarcastic to the world-ending science problem.
What are these problems? They are myriad and amazing. Sometimes it’s Nazi test-tube monstrosities. Other times it’s time travel conundrums. Or maybe Robo was innocently flying his plane around and was blown out of the sky by a crew of lady pirate pilots who are all sporting jetpacks. You know, a Tuesday.
Notable Notes
Started in 2007, Atomic Robo has become a welcome fixture in the comics’ world. There are plenty of reasons to make it a fan favorite, but plot wise, there are some really great strengths Robo has going for it. First, Robo doesn’t age. That alone has amazing possibilities. For instance, the volumes aren’t told in a chronological order. In between any issue you might travel days or decades. Since Robo has been alive for 80 years, he can tell you just how he was messing with significant historical happenings in any era. Brian Clevinger has it all mapped out too, so you can get great hints at what’s to come, or at what has happened to Robo. For history and science buffs, this open path to the past also means some of the best cameos possible. You’d probably be right in guessing that Carl Sagan doesn’t make a lot of appearances in standard comics fare, but he is right at home in the pages of Atomic Robo.
There’s also some fantastic imagination throughout the comic. Before I get to the art, let me mention that there is a lot of inspiration in the story structure. Since Atomic Robo can be anywhen, it allows for a lot of manipulation in the presentation of his story, both in a macro and a micro sense. Probably the best example of the minutia Atomic Robo’s structure involves is volume three, Atomic Robo and the Shadow from Beyond Time. Atomic Robo has to deal with one monster that explodes out of a gentleman’s head. What ends up being the enemy and how it is detailed in the story across those issues is fantastic.
Now on to the fascinating artwork! In many of the forwards and afterwords Scott Wegener will mention something that he found difficult to draw, but worked really hard on to keep Robo’s quality up to snuff. With over seven volumes under his belt, there’s been an ongoing refining to Wegner’s art. All of his time studying really shows in cleaner pencils, greater consistency and a stronger page structure. Atomic Robo has always been an engaging treat for the eyes. It’s nonetheless gratifying to know that the creative team is really working towards improvement for the reader’s benefit, and then to see that realized on the page.
The last thing I’ll mention is how wonderful these creators are to science. There’s certainly an edge of ‘comics science’ in Atomic Robo. You know, the type of science that just mentions radioactivity to explain why superheroes happen. Overall, Atomic Robo shrugs that off whenever it can, in favor of smarter science. There’s hyper dimensional physics and electromagnetic artillery and spatial inversion in relation to giant ants. While that’s gibberish by itself, it’s so nicely ingrained in the comic that it’s not hard to suspend your disbelief. The science delivery is also wrapped in a nice layer of timely historical references and enclosed in a case of smarm. The ensemble let’s your critical impulses relax and let you enjoy a great comic.
Significance
The comic industry has problems and Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegner know it. Atomic Robo is the comic’s fan reprieve from dealing with whatever kerfuffle passes for the issue of the day, be it fan-service or creator delays or the renumbering of an entire comics line. From day one of Atomic Robo, Clevinger and Wegner literally promised that they would produce a product of consistency and integrity. Not because Atomic Robo is better than the rest, but because that should be the base line for the comics industry.
Their commitment to provide a quality comic sets a great industry precedent, but it would be for nothing if they didn’t have the talent to back up their promise. It’s a good thing, then, that these gents are comic wonders. I think one of the most important talents of Clevinger and Wegener is their ability to collaborate. Obviously, their partnership has produced a fantastic comic, but over the years they’ve also worked with other creators in the Atomic Robo universe. There’s already an additional on-going series of Atomic Robo: Real Science Adventures that is being written by Clevinger and drawn by a horde of amazing artists. In the main comic, they also reference their comic friends. So if you’re reading and you think you see another comic’s creator – you’re probably right.
Being Atomic Robo, they continue to react to comics industry issues. When there was a blowback in the comics’ community for yet another comic that had a ludicrously scantily clad heroine, Clevinger and Wegner decided that they’d use their comics’ power for good. Teaming up with a bevy of talented independent female creators, they asked each to design themselves as aviators. They then used those character sketches to make up the team that stars in the seventh volume, The Flying She-Devils of the Pacific. Part of the mission was to tell a great tale, the other was to show the comics’ world that women can be amazing characters without being objectified.
Appeal
As a series Atomic Robo is one of those rare beauties in comics: it is truly all ages. With it’s sophisticated treatment of science, and it’s commitment to use expletives like “Applesauce!” Robo is engaging for any age to read. When it comes to comprehension, you’d probably be better starting no younger than a middle schooler, but it’s certainly not beyond an interested elementary schooler. There’s some violence, lots of explosions, and minimal blood.
While being in the mythic all ages status, Atomic Robo is most popular with adults. It’s silly and smart, and everything you want out of a comics reading experience without having to wade through a bunch of melodrama.
Why should you own this?
Atomic Robo‘s creators promised from its inception that they would deliver on a core set of principles, and they have not disappointed. Clevinger and Wegener consistently deliver an entertaining, intelligent story. The series is purposefully constructed so that any reader can pick up any volume and get a full story. Every library knows their readership best, so you’ll have to decide what collection will see the highest circulation of our atomic buddy. There are seven published collections, and since it’s an on going there’s more coming out all the time. If you’re interested in seeing what a comic looks like when it’s less commercial and more explosive, bonkers fun, there’s no better title than Atomic Robo.
Atomic Robo
Atomic Robo and the Fightin’ Scientists of Tesladyne (ISBN 0-9809302-0-0)
Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War (ISBN 0-9809302-2-7)
Atomic Robo and the Shadow from Beyond Time (ISBN 0-9809302-5-1)
Atomic Robo and Other Strangeness (ISBN 0-9809302-8-6)
Atomic Robo and the Deadly Art of Science (ISBN 0-9809302-4-3)
Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X (ISBN 0-9868985-0-3)
Atomic Robo and the Flying She-Devils of the Pacific (ISBN 0-9868985-2-X)
Classic Fantastic is our series of features on the classics of the format — please check out our other picks for the most important titles, in terms of appeal, innovation, and storytelling, that every library should own.
What’s it about?
Ouran High School Host Club is a mouthful. Let’s go by Ouran for simplicity’s sake. Recite the name to someone who doesn’t know the series and you’re sure to be greeted with stares that range from blank, puzzled, or a little concerned that you’re a perv. But talk to a person who knows the series and you’re almost sure to find a fan who will tell you about their favorite episode, their love for characters Hunny, the twins, Haruhi, or cosplay plans. Ouran was originally published in LaLa magazine from September 2002 to November 2010. All volumes of the manga have been published in the U.S.
Ouran is both an anime (26 episodes) and a manga series (18 volumes). Each version follows a similar plot. Haruhi Fujioka is a scholarship student at the elite Ouran Academy, a school where money and lineage rule. Looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi wanders into a music room, only to discover the Host Club, a group of elite, beautiful boys with lots of leisure time. The club entertains young ladies with equal amounts of spare time, putting on lavish events and making constant costume changes. Haruhi quickly attempts to leave, accidentally smashing an $80,000 vase on the way out. Suddenly indebted to the club, Haruhi begins working as a host. Unfortunately, Haruhi is a girl, a fact the boys don’t recognize at first. Fortunately, she’s fairly androgynous and is a natural at hosting. What starts as a jumble of oddball episodes with the Host Club throwing parties, competing with other clubs, and mending relationships between students, gradually becomes a semi-serious romance and a coming-of-age story.
The main cast of characters consists of the seven members of Host Club. Plots generally revolve around one or all of them. Here’s a quick breakdown:
Haruhi Fujioka – Our female lead! Haruhi is down-to-earth and plain-spoken, frequently to the point of being blunt. Her family is relatively poor, with her mother having passed away years ago and her father working full-time in a cross-dressing bar.
Tamaki Suoh – The self-proclaimed King of the Host Club. Tamaki is depicted as the typical princely character, but is also a drama queen and a narcissist. He deeply cares about the club and his family, and is attracted to Haruhi.
Kyoya Ootori – Vice President and often referred to as Mom of the Host Club. Kyoya is cold and calculating, only doing what best benefits himself and the club.
Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin – Twin brothers with a mischievous streak. The brothers often play up on forbidden brotherly love in front of the club’s customers (much to the girls’ delight). Hikaru and Kaoru have created a strong bond, but it’s left them feeling like outsiders when surrounded by others. Hikaru grows to love Haruhi, but does not recognize his feelings at first – a recurring problem for many characters
Mitsukuni “Hunny” Haninozuka – One of the oldest members of the Host Club, Hunny looks like a young boy. He loves sweets, particularly cakes, and his stuffed rabbit Bun-Bun. Hunny has a dark side that occasionally surfaces and the other students live in fear of these moments. He is an expert martial artist.
Takashi “Mori” Morinozuka – The strong silent type. Mori is a fan favorite, but often a background character for most of the club’s antics. He rarely speaks and is Hunny’s constant companion.
There are oodles of side characters in Ouran and some very important recurring characters. Fans of titles with large casts will enjoy the extensive amount of people populating the storyline of Ouran.
Notable Notes
Ouran is a shojo title, meaning that it’s typically aimed at girls younger than 20 years old. The series works on multiple levels, though, and has a wide-ranging audience. On the surface, Ouran is what’s known in manga terms as a harem comedy; we have a large cast of beautiful boys flirting with girls and getting into outrageous situations. One of their members is a girl disguised as a boy, and though the customers never suspect, they do love it when Haruhi “cross-dresses”. Traditional harem storylines have a troupe of girls falling all over the male lead – Ouran is very much the opposite of the norm, what’s known as a reverse harem.
On another level, we have a romantic comedy that becomes more serious as the story progresses. Tamaki falls for Haruhi almost immediately, but he announces that he feels strictly platonic, comparing his feelings to those a father has for his daughter. Only deep into the story arc does Tamaki realizes he’s been trying to mask his feelings all along. She, on the other hand, is often annoyed with Tamaki’s flightiness and narcissism. It’s even further into the story that Haruhi realizes what readers suspect all along – she loves Tamaki. Hikaru also falls for Haruhi, but his attempts to win her take a very different path than Tamaki’s, as the twin begins to expand his boundaries and take on an identity that’s separate from his brother.
Ouran is typically recognized as being a parody of otaku culture. It spoofs so many genres and character types that it’s difficult to keep track. Yaoi and yuri, bishounen and moe, megane and shota – they’re all there, with countless others. Both the anime and the manga lovingly depcit these different subgenres, but always tongue-in-cheek. Haruhi often serves as the skeptical outsider, voicing reader opinions.
Despite the ridiculous plots and the light-hearted tone, one of Ouran’s strengths is character development. While it’s cliche to have each and every character suffer from some sort of troubled past – Kyoya’s pressured by his father to surpass his older brothers, Tamaki has been disowned by his grandmother and forced to leave his mother, Hunny’s younger brother doesn’t respect him, etc. – Ouran makes it work. The cast grows and changes, more so in the manga than the anime. We see that the club was more than just a way to pass the time – it brought friends together and gave them a family.
Significance
Ouran is well-known for parodying a variety of genres and otaku culture. Renge, a rich otaku girl who loves dating sims, makes brief appearances in the manga. She is infatuated with Kyoya, believing he’s the personification of a video game character. While there, she recognizes all of the character tropes and assigns “better” personas to each member of the host club. Bisco Hatori perfectly captures the art and tone of each genre. While Renge is a minor character in the manga, she’s a regular in the anime, often appearing to tell viewers what sort of plot line we’re experiencing and what the typical response should be. Renge’s entrances involve a rotating pedestal rising from nowhere and lots of cackling. The show is worth it if only for Renge’s appearances and exposition.
While it seems that Haruhi pales in comparison to the other club members, she serves as our center. We see through her eyes, and she isn’t shy about breaking the fourth wall to tell you when the plot isn’t making any sense. Hatori also makes several author’s asides to warn you about ignoring certain plot points. What’s unique about Haruhi is that she doesn’t fit the stereotyped female lead. She’s cute, but doesn’t care about appearances or the differences between genders. She doesn’t spend time fawning over the boys and is usually the one to put them in their place. Even as she realizes her feelings for Tamaki, she still gets frustrated with him. Haruhi speaks her mind (with more than a little sarcasm), is fearless (except for thunder), and is treated as just one of the guys, even when most of them are angling for a way to get a date.
Appeal
Ouran can appeal to fans of many different genres. It’s probably not the best manga to hand to someone who’s unfamiliar with the format, though. The series can be manic at times and, while the characters are easy enough to recognize, it’s an extensive cast. Throughout chapters, characters will make asides, art styles will change, and backgrounds will be flooded with detail. For this reason, I would recommend the anime as a great starting place for this series. It’s better able to capture the fast-paced storytelling and the flair of characters like Tamaki and the twins. There are often sudden transitions between over-the-top plots and serious exchanges between characters; this can feel as if someone suddenly put the brakes on the story. While not seamless, it’s still enjoyable and fits with the style of the Host Club.
Why should you own this?
Ouran is hilarious, with memorable characters and a heavy dose of anime/manga styles that will aid you when someone asks if you understand what yaoi or moe mean. The characters are memorable and you’ll find yourself rooting for them as the volumes wind down. This is also a series that just makes you feel happy when you read it. The art is wonderful and even the smallest scene can leave you a giggling mess.
The anime was completed before the manga series and only borrows stories from the first nine volumes. This means we get a different ending for the anime. Both are good, just not the same. BONES produced the show and, as usual, they did excellent work. The animation is beautiful, smooth, and just as full of detail as the manga. The voice actors are recognizable from a variety of shows, which only makes the otaku spoofing more enjoyable. The theme songs are infectious and bubbly. If you don’t have time to read all 18 volumes of the manga – and they are packed with stories – do yourself a favor and pick up the anime!
Ouran High School Host Club: Complete Edition
Directed by Takuya Igarashi (2006)
Available on DVD and Blu-Ray
Ouran High School Host Club volumes 1 – 18
Written and illustrated by Bisco Hatori (2002 – 2010)
Classic Fantastic is our series of features on the classics of the format — please check out our other picks for the most important titles, in terms of appeal, innovation, and storytelling, that every library should own.
My first exposure to Starman came about when I was first getting into comics. As I recall I was in my local comic book store fishing through The Quarter Bins. Primarily the final resting place of whatever Bad-Girl books with a dozen variant covers the owner had over-ordered the previous year, The Quarter Bins still yielded the occasional treasure.
It was here, digging through several dozen copies of Danger Girl, where I stumbled across a copy of Starman #29. With a cover painted – yes, painted! – by Tony Harris, it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before in a comic and the interior work was just as impressive. I must have starred at it for quite some time, broken from my reverie by the scornful snort of one of the shop employees – the one whose tastes were diametrically opposed to my own.
“You WOULD like that one. The main guy? He sounds like you.”
His disdain was all the invitation I needed to spend 25 cents. Thankfully, Starman #29 turned out to be a prefect jumping-on issue, aimed at bringing new readers up to speed on The Story So Far. And as promised the main character, Jack Knight, did indeed sound like me.
Jack was a self-proclaimed geek, “more in love with yesterday than tomorrow.” Jack’s humor tilted in favor of heavy sarcasm and obscure pop-culture references that went over most people’s heads. He was verbose, inclined to using a dozen words when one would do. He was also, I realized sometime later, a bit of a jerk. That revelation helped me to recognize my own character flaws and inspired me to correct them.
Even without that, I can honestly say without any hyperbole that Starman changed my life. While other series brought me into comics, Starman kept me in them. It gave me a penname and a nickname. Jack Knight was my first cosplay. And after a decade of reading comics and writing about comics, it’s still my favorite series of all time.
What’s it about?
Our story begins in the gloriously Art Deco town of Opal City. We’re introduced to Jack Knight – a Bohemian artist and collectibles shop-owner who never got along with his scientist father, Ted Knight, or his athletic older brother, David Knight. Jack was just as happy to stay out of the family business of protecting Opal City using his father’s starlight-fueled inventions as David was happy to take up their father’s mantle as the superhero Starman. But when David is killed and Ted left hospitalized as a result of a crime spree orchestrated by The Mist – Starman’s arch-enemy – Jack reluctantly assumes his father’s role as Opal City’s protector.
Aiding Jack in his new job are The O’Dares – a quintet of cops, all the children of legendary local beat-cop Billy O’Dare, who was the closest thing Ted Knight had to a partner. Guiding Jack in his assumption of the hero’s mantle is The Shade – a mysterious immortal and sometimes super-villain, who makes his home in Opal City and wishes to see it well protected… so long as nobody expects him to do the protecting. As the series progresses, Jack will grow into his father’s shoes, become a true hero, find the love of his life, meet the other heroes who bore the name Starman, journey into space, travel back in time and even become a better person.
Notable Notes
There are many reasons why Starman is notable but I’m going to focus upon three of them – the colorful cast of characters, the wonderful creative teams and the theme of transformation.
I’ve already spoken a bit about how unique Jack Knight was as a protagonist but that difference extends to the rest of the supporting cast. Jack’s mentor The Shade is an unapologetic villain yet he aids Jack in protecting Opal City because of his personal vow to commit no crime there and see to the peace of his own home – presumably even super-criminals want a nice neighborhood to live in! Each of the five O’Dare cops have a unique personality. And that’s just the main cast. I could write for pages about all the interesting incidental characters like the ghost pirate John Valor or Rat-Pack loving bank robber Jake “Bobo” Benetti. Even the random thugs break the mold, arguing over which Sondheim musical was the best instead of the more usual sports-related minion chatter.
Artistically, Starman has a unique aesthetic, thanks to the efforts of some truly legendary creators. Like Metropolis and Gotham City, Opal City has a unique feel to it that makes it as much a character as the people who inhabit it. This is due to the Art Deco designs of artist Tony Harris. Harris also painted the covers for most of the issues of the original comics as well as crafting original paintings for most of the soft-cover and all of the hard-cover collections of the series. Though he only penciled the interiors of a little over half the series, Starman is as much Harris’ child as it is James Robinson’s. Tribute must also be paid to David S. Goyer, who assisted Robinson with writing several issues. Goyer is most famous today for his work as a screenwriter on various superhero movies, including Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and Man of Steel.
Thematically, the book is all about the ability we all have to change ourselves for the better. This is virtually unheard of in superhero comics, where most of the characters are static and their personalities unchanging. The series is primarily about Jack’s transformation from a self-absorbed fanboy into a hero and a decent human being. And yes, there is a difference between the two. As one of Jack’s ex-girlfriends notes, “You may be a hero, Jack Knight, but that still doesn’t make you a nice person.” This theme also extends to most of the series’ main characters, who change for the better as the story progresses.
I’m hard pressed to think of one story arc out of dozens to hold up as the best or most memorable. But if I had to pick one, I’d say Sand And Stars – an arc collected in The Starman Omnibus: Volume 2. I picked this one for two reasons. The first is that this is the arc that won Robinson and Harris an Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story. The second is that this story contains a line, thought by retired superhero Wesley Dodds (a.k.a. The Sandman) as he watches Jack Knight fly into battle, that I think sums up the appeal of adventure fiction in three short sentences. “He’s in danger. He may die. And I envy him the thrill of it.”
Significance
Starman came about because writer James Robinson wanted to establish a common mythology for every character published by DC Comics who ever used the codename Starman. When the series started in 1994, there had been six separate heroes who had used the name and only two of them had any link to one another. Starman was meant to create those missing connections.
Starman was also significant for promoting the glorious past of DC Comics at a time when the American comics industry seemed to be abandoning their roots in favor of books centered upon violent anti-heroes. As part of the series, James Robinson penned a number of flashback stories known as Times Past, which told epic tales in a modern style using the characters and trappings of yesteryear. This proved the value of the early superheroes and the relevance of their morality to the modern world.
In many ways, Starman predated Kingdom Come in rejecting the values of The Dark Age and introducing the storytelling techniques common to The Modern Age. If it hadn’t been for Starman, it’s unlikely we would have had a revival of the Justice Society of America and the heroes affiliated with that group in the pages of JSA. There’s also a chance that Geoff Johns – DC Comics current Chief Creative Officer – would have had a markedly different career path as his first professional comics work – Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. – was created with input from James Robinson and spun out of Starman.
Appeal
It’s difficult to suggest an ready-made audience for Starman as the people I know who enjoy the series besides myself are as eclectic as the series itself and defy easy classification. It’s a superhero book but it’s unlike any other superhero series I can think of and I can’t see your average X-Men fan seeing the appeal. Fans of Golden Age comics will find a lot to enjoy, though. There are elements of the series that will likely appeal to fans of science-fiction (particularly the Stars My Destination arc) but it isn’t entirely a science-fiction series, being closer to classic Doctor Who in tone than Star Trek.
I would instead recommend this series to fans of quirky dialogue and unusual characters in general. If you enjoy Jerry Seinfeld’s talking about nothing, Christopher Moore novels, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Michael Stipe’s music or Chuck Klosterman’s essays, there’s a fair chance you’ll enjoy Jack’s dialogue and adventures. I’d also recommend the series to anyone who is a collector, whether it be of comics, tin signs, baseball cards, Barbie dolls or anything that anyone might consider cool and put on a shelf. You’re likely to find a kindred spirit in Jack Knight as I did.
I consider this series a must-read for all graphic novel enthusiasts 16 and up. That age restriction is due less to the content (though there are a few graphic deaths, a fair bit of innuendo and suggested nudity) and more to the fact that a certain level of maturity is needed to appreciate the growth of the characters as well as some of the dramatic situations and most teenagers lack the patience to muddle through the talky bits between the action scenes.
Why should you own this?
Historically, Starman is an important series for students of the genre to study. It’s an award-winner, frequently held up as a source of inspiration by many of today’s most popular graphic novel writers and artists. It’s also a damn fine read on its own terms. With the recent Omnibus collection of the series – currently available in its entirety in Hardcover with paperback editions on the way – there’s no excuse for a library NOT to have this series in their adult graphic novel collection, in my professional opinion.
Classic Fantastic is our series of features on the classics of the format — please check out our other picks for the most important titles, in terms of appeal, innovation, and storytelling, that every library should own.
What’s it about?
For all that heroes try their best to save the world, they usually don’t make much of a difference to it. Sure, we may not get invaded by aliens, but street level crime is still widespread, slavery still exists, corporations are still corrupt, people still die from easily treatable and preventable diseases, starvation runs rampant in some parts of the world while other parts throw out tons of perfectly edible food on a daily basis. “The Authority” is a comic book about a group of incredibly violent and amazingly powerful superheroes that have decided to not just save the world, but also to improve it. They don’t care whom they anger, or what their public image is. They will make the world better, at any cost.
Notable Notes
There are two things that really make the series stand out from most other superhero series.
The first is that the characters aren’t heroes. At their best they’re all anti-heroes. The series creator has said he wrote the characters as “villains, just ones who happened to fight even bigger villains”. And it’s not hard to see them that way. The protagonists swear, show up to fights drunk, humiliate their enemies in totally unheroic ways and they kill. They kill a lot. They don’t have many recurring enemies, because they kill people who get in the way. It is not an exaggeration to say that they have murdered entire countries worth of people. In fact, given how much the series deals with the multiverse, it’s not even an exaggeration to say that they have murdered planets worth of sentient beings. They may do it to protect the earth, but the collateral damage from most of their battles is astronomical. In any other comic they would unquestionably be bad guys. But here the people they face are so much worse that they’re the heroes, if only by comparison.
The other thing that really sets this comic apart from the others is the lack of status quo. In other comics we know that things basically stay the same. No matter how hard Batman works, Gotham will still be a crime-filled city. No matter how much Xavier preaches, mutants will always be hated and feared. No matter how many dates he goes on, Archie will never choose between Betty and Veronica. That’s not the case here. The Authority means it when they said they wanted to change the world for the better. After taking down a religion of evil, one of the team members took over its churches, changed the message and developed a massive following, nearly matching Catholicism. When the team members thought the U.S Government had gotten too corrupt, they pulled a coup d’etat and took it over. They have unseated dictators and helped those countries improve. They freed Tibet. They create a lasting peace in the Middle East. They have cured cancer. Because it is comics, not all of the changes stick, but more do than don’t. Despite the fact that they’re a group of awful murderers, it would be very hard to argue that they haven’t helped save the world.
Highlights and notable Story Arcs
The first 3 arcs (4 issues each) of Volume 1 are possibly the best. It’s the original team, written by Warren Ellis, who came up with the ideas in the first place. The team is highly powered, but its members are less broken then they become in later arcs. They’re also less unnecessarily violent, and while they’re still political and want to change the world, they’re less radical and villainous about it.
Transfer of Power/ Brave New World (Volume 1, #22-29): In this story arc, Germany, Italy, Japan, France, USA, Canada and the UK are sick of the Authority challenging their long-held power and changing the status quo. So they have them replaced with knock-offs who will help the rich and powerful stay that way. And for a time it works. At the end the team comes back and is…creatively violent in taking back their power and punishing those responsible for having deposed them.
The Authority-Revolution: This takes place right after the Authority’s coup d’etat of the United States’ government. While it’s not the start of the series, it is the start of a new volume with new characters and a new story. A lot of the team’s history can be implied from side comments. It’s the first book I picked up when I started reading this series and it’s not an awful starting point.
Appeal
This series is quite clearly intended for adults. It is full of political commentary. And while more and more teens are paying attention to politics, they tend to be more idealistic, while the series seems to be targeting the cynicism that many adults have developed in this arena. In addition, there’s more violence then in a Grand Theft Auto game and about twice as much swearing as you’d hear on HBO. This is definitely an 18 and over series.
Significance
The Authority was the first comic to be really political. Comics have always had political undertones, and while modern comics have heroes actively meddling in politics and current affairs (Like DC’s The Movement series or Iron Man’s stint as Secretary of Defense), The Authority was the first comic series to make it a central part of the book. Quite possibly, this is part of what pushed other comics to add more political elements into their books.
Why should you own this series?
This series is great if you like the idea of superheroes who actually do something and accomplish change. That is, if you like your change of the left wing variety. Because that is firmly where this book sits on the political scale. If you like watching super-powered people punch out bigger and bigger threats in bloody detail, then you will probably enjoy this as well. Additionally, if you’re someone who likes chronicling the “ages” of comics, this comic may interest you, because it was published in the 1990s and contains all the violence emblematic of comics in that decade. However, since it starts at the very end of that decade, it contains none of the grimness that many people found to be the bane of comics of that era. Instead, it pulls off the impressive balancing act of being both cynical and hopeful.
Collected editions
The Authority Volume 1 (May 2013)
The Authority Volume 2 (December 2013)
Main series
The Authority vol. 1 (1999-2002). 29 issues.
The Authority vol. 2 (2003-2004). 15 issues, numbering started with issue #0.
The Authority: Revolution (2004-2005). 12 issues.
The Authority vol. 4 (2006-2007). 2 issues.
Authority: Prime (2007-2008). 6 issues.
The Authority vol. 5 (2008-2011). 29 issues.
The Authority: The Lost Year (2010). 10 issues. Continuation of vol. 4, starting numbering with issue #3.
Spin offs and mini-series of note
The Kev series
The Authority: Kev (2002). A one-shot, popular enough to gain sequels.
The Authority: More Kev (2004). 4 issues.
The Authority: The Magnificent Kevin (2005-2006). 5 issues.
A Man called Kev (2006-2007). 5 issues.
Side stories
Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority (2000-2001). 5 issues.
Coup d’Etat (2004). 5 issues. Crossover with other Wildstorm comics.
The Secret History of The Authority: Jack Hawksmoor (2008). 6 issues.
Lucifer on TV
Cowboy Bebop is an anime series that presents the exploits of intergalactic bounty hunters as they venture throughout Earth’s planetary colonies in search of wanted criminals and other unsavory individuals. Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, and Faye Valentine make up the crew of the Bebop, a weathered but dependable spaceship that serves as home for these space-faring guns for hire. They are assisted by Edward, an aloof master hacker, and a hyper intelligent Welsh corgi named Ein. Together, this ragtag band of mercenaries bounce around through space looking for work to satiate their empty bellies and bank accounts.
Cowboy Bebop earned its reputation as a critically acclaimed series because it showcases the depth and complexity of the main cast, building a fascinating and well developed world that these characters live in, and wrapping the experience together with a memorable soundtrack performed by a live jazz group. Each of these individual elements come together quite nicely, giving the show a significant amount of charm and a distinct identity.
The universe that Jet, Spike, Faye, Edward, and Ein play in is just as interesting as the characters themselves. Set in the distant future, mankind has moved away from Earth out of necessity. Earth has been battered and bruised after a hyperspace gate located near the moon malfunctions and explodes. Colonizing the solar system’s inner planets, humans live on in a new civilization that bears similarities to Joss Whedon’s Firefly television series. Although humans have mastered faster-than-light travel, they still use automobiles to get around and shoot at each other with standard firearms. Planets and moons closest to Mars are modern, comfortable, and technologically advanced while frontier worlds are governed by the old world sensibilities of the Wild West. Bounty hunters are colloquially known as “cowboys” who regularly tune into “Big Shot,” a light hearted, Western-themed version of America’s Most Wanted starring slick cowboy Punch and cute cowgirl Judy. Throughout the show, there is attention to every type of person trying to eke out an existence, from criminal syndicate enforcers to blue collar space truckers, giving the show’s universe a genuine “lived in” feeling.
No discussion of Cowboy Bebop is complete without addressing its soundtrack. Though the characters and world building drive the series forward, the music by Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts gives it heart, soul, and a high sense of style. The music of Cowboy Bebop employs a variety of different musical styles, most notably blues and jazz as well as subgenres including bebop and fusion. In any anime series, there is much consideration for the opening and closing credits and the songs produced for both. I normally skip them after the first time, but not so with Cowboy Bebop. The music is so well done, so incredibly produced that it can easily be enjoyed by itself, making the purchase of the show’s numerous soundtracks a wise investment.
Cowboy Bebop is the perfect gateway show for those looking to break into the world of Japanese animation as it is readily accessible and lacks some of the more notorious elements the format is known for. The show relies heavily on high quality animation, thoughtful storytelling, and deep, complex characters while simultaneously avoiding gratuitous violence and sexuality.
Scruffy young firebrand Takezô isn’t ruthlessly aggressive enough for his violent, invincibility-obsessed father, nor is he civilized enough for his rural mountain village. When political upheaval brings about a decisive battle at Sekigahara, restless Takezô and his best friend Matahachi leave behind the familiarity and commitments of home to join the fray and make their names. When the dust settles, the boys find themselves alive but on the losing side. Pent-up energy and frustrated ambition lead them in different directions: Takezô throws himself into building the most famous name in sword-swinging history, becoming the storied Miyamoto Musashi, while Matahachi ill-advisedly appropriates the name Sasaki Kojirô, unaware that his stolen identity’s rightful owner will become Musashi’s greatest rival.
In the same way, characters of smaller stature display dignity and depth. Musashi’s earthbound, self-defeating, shortcut-taking best friend lands himself in one mess after another, yet he’s such a likeable, well-intentioned, and flawed everyman that his struggles tug at the reader’s heart. Matahachi’s stooped and wrinkled bulldog of a mother, who unfairly blames Musashi for her ne’er-do-well son’s bad choices, knows in her heart that she needs a scapegoat. Even the unnamed foes who fall on the edge of Musashi’s sword are understood to have lives, loves, fears, and dreams of their own. Inoue takes care to acknowledge their history and makes sure Musashi learns to, too.
Every panel sequence functions on multiple levels, defining personalities and relationships, establishing setting and tone, moving the story forward, and engaging the reader’s emotions. Take, for example, a scene in which supposed strangers Kojirô and Musashi run into each other while practice-dueling with the same snowman. The two quickly fall into a giddy, joyful, all-out twig-fight that only narrowly avoids evolving into a true and deadly contest. Then the pleasant aroma of supper lures them to the table. The reader giggles at the childish horseplay and grumbling tummies, takes comfort in the young men’s kinship, feels goose bumps at the crackling energy of their confrontation, and tearfully doubts such serendipitous interruptions in their future bouts.
Although originally published in a seinen (geared toward men in their twenties and thirties) magazine in Japan, Vagabond’s appeal is in no way limited by gender. Despite the focus on the men folk, there are a number of strong female characters who appear throughout the story, particularly Musashi and Matahachi’s childhood friend Otsû. While there are occasionally sexually explicit situations and nudity, they are always in service of the story and are far from gratuitous. Likewise, graphic violence is prevalent, but it’s an absolutely necessary facet of the story being told and is never played for shock value. The richly detailed and lovely art, the story’s emotional heft, the characters’ sympathetic and approachable natures and the bonds between them, the heart-racing life-and-death action, the enlightening history, the touching moments, the silly ones, the heartbreaking ones, the breathtaking ones: they all meld together to create something rich and involving and wonderful.
Think back on every character you know from fairy tales and folklore. Now picture them all living incognito in modern-day New York. This is the premise at the start of Fables, which is still going strong as a monthly comics series after over ten years. These ageless storybook characters, aka fables, have left their various homelands to hide among us normal folks (mundanes, or ‘mundies’) after being driven out one by one by the nameless Adversary.
Fables has won multiple Eisner awards in many categories, both for its writing and artwork, including the wonderful cover art by James Jean and later João Ruas. While many popular artists have contributed at various times, it is Mark Buckingham who does the lion’s share of the storytelling duties. His clean, straightforward style does much to set the tone for the series. He manages to both ground the characters in a realistic, believable environment as well as stretch artistically to pay homage to their fairy tale inspirations, especially in fanciful side borders on most pages which give the feel of a classic storybook experience. He is a true co-collaborator along with Willingham’s writing, and that shows in every page.
In general, Fables has become known for its well-crafted stories, its humor, and its wonderful characterization. Being published by Vertigo, Fables is an obvious direct descendant of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, though it charts much different ground. Willingham had been doing contract work for DC/Vertigo for a few years before this series started, filling in both as an artist and a writer in a range of things from superheroes to the adult Vertigo titles, including telling further tales set in the Sandman universe. One of these featured his first collaboration with Buckingham, whimsically recasting Gaiman’s Merv the Pumpkin character as a secret agent. One can’t help but wonder if this helped provide inspiration. Looking at especially Willingham’s Vertigo work, one can see him working towards the concept that would eventually become Fables.
Take a look at the current trends in fantasy fiction and it is easy to see why Fables is popular. There are more modern urban fantasy series dealing with magic in today’s world coming out every day, and Fables easily fits that niche. But the appeal of Fables will extend far beyond that genre, as the stories range far afield of the typical gritty urban fantasy tale, sometimes verging on a truly epic scale. Yet, due to its very nature and huge cast, it is easy for the creators to take a break in the plot and focus on an intimate story of a particular character, or have fun with quick vignettes answering readers’ questions. Humor and drama and action are all in abundance and well-balanced. As mentioned before, fans of the Sandman will most likely enjoy the mythical permutations of Fables as well. And there are literary Easter eggs peppered throughout the entire run. One caveat: These are definitely tales meant for older teens and up, and not sanitized fairy tales by any means. There is sex and blood and some tasteful nudity.
Hellboy is the “World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator”. His expertise stems partly from being a demon himself. Summoned into the world by Rasputin for a world-ending Nazi scheme, Hellboy has seen his share of extraordinary things. Fortunately for our world, Hellboy is not very interested in jump-starting the apocalypse.
Hellboy treats all of these horrors with an amazing deference. Though Hellboy is haunted, he is also a funny and likeable guy. Dragging corpses around and punching stories-high pig monsters is just another day at work for him. All of the ritual and reverence that goes into so many of these legends isn’t something he subscribes to, and interactions between what may be centuries-old beings and a wise-cracking, hornless demon highlight how mundane events are for him.
When it comes to audience, it’s a horror comic, so don’t pass it around to elementary school kids. It’s hard to pin down an exact age because you need to be mindful that some enemies are ancient beings, and they just don’t care about wearing clothing. A lot is hidden in shadow, and there’s never anything lurid in Hellboy, but you still might want to use discretion. Depending on your area, that might mean the Adult section, but I’ve seen it on Teen and Adult shelves, so flip through a volume and make your decision.
You’d think with a title like Young Avengers, this book would be about the Avengers training their teenage sidekicks. You would be wrong. Shortly after the Avengers broke up in the 2005 Marvel event Avengers Disassembled, a group of teens decided that if the Avengers wouldn’t do their job, then someone else had to. And who better than a group of super powered fanboys? Well, honestly, just about anyone. But they’re the ones with the initiative to get a team together and start fighting crime, so they get to be a superhero team, whether Captain America and Iron Man like it or not. Spoiler: They don’t. But we’re talking about teenagers. So they do what teens do best and rebel against authority. It doesn’t matter if that authority is parents, teachers or the superheroes the team idolizes. Nothing is going to stop them from being heroes.
Eventually the original creative team, Allen Heinberg and Jim Cheung, came together and wrote a 9 issue mini-series Avengers: Children’s Crusade, which involved the Avengers, the X-Men and at its heart, the Young Avengers. It tied up many remaining plot points both for the Young Avengers and for larger events of this era Marvel Universe as a whole, and indirectly led into the Avengers vs. X-Men event, which ended the 2004-2013 Marvel Universe Era and launched Marvel NOW! So you can think of the Young Avengers as bookends for that era of Marvel.
A major element the series gets right is inclusivity. Two of the main characters, Wiccan and Hulkling, are gay and dating, but the comic never makes the relationship feel forced or uses them for token diversity. It is not presented as a stunt to show how open minded Marvel is. The story treats them as two complete heroic characters who simply happen to both be men and to be dating each other. The characters have become fan favorites and well-liked by critics, even winning the book a 2006 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book.
On the surface, Atomic Robo is exactly what the cover promises, “The World’s Greatest Science Adventure Magazine!” It has all the pulp adventure spirit of Indiana Jones or the Rocketeer, but there’s something much, much, better about Atomic Robo. No offense to Indy.
Started in 2007, Atomic Robo has become a welcome fixture in the comics’ world. There are plenty of reasons to make it a fan favorite, but plot wise, there are some really great strengths Robo has going for it. First, Robo doesn’t age. That alone has amazing possibilities. For instance, the volumes aren’t told in a chronological order. In between any issue you might travel days or decades. Since Robo has been alive for 80 years, he can tell you just how he was messing with significant historical happenings in any era. Brian Clevinger has it all mapped out too, so you can get great hints at what’s to come, or at what has happened to Robo. For history and science buffs, this open path to the past also means some of the best cameos possible. You’d probably be right in guessing that Carl Sagan doesn’t make a lot of appearances in standard comics fare, but he is right at home in the pages of Atomic Robo.
The comic industry has problems and Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegner know it. Atomic Robo is the comic’s fan reprieve from dealing with whatever kerfuffle passes for the issue of the day, be it fan-service or creator delays or the renumbering of an entire comics line. From day one of Atomic Robo, 
As a series Atomic Robo is one of those rare beauties in comics: it is truly all ages. With it’s sophisticated treatment of science, and it’s commitment to use expletives like “Applesauce!” Robo is engaging for any age to read. When it comes to comprehension, you’d probably be better starting no younger than a middle schooler, but it’s certainly not beyond an interested elementary schooler. There’s some violence, lots of explosions, and minimal blood.
Ouran High School Host Club is a mouthful. Let’s go by Ouran for simplicity’s sake. Recite the name to someone who doesn’t know the series and you’re sure to be greeted with stares that range from blank, puzzled, or a little concerned that you’re a perv. But talk to a person who knows the series and you’re almost sure to find a fan who will tell you about their favorite episode, their love for characters Hunny, the twins, Haruhi, or cosplay plans. Ouran was originally published in LaLa magazine from September 2002 to November 2010. All volumes of the manga have been published in the U.S.
The main cast of characters consists of the seven members of Host Club. Plots generally revolve around one or all of them. Here’s a quick breakdown:
Ouran is a shojo title, meaning that it’s typically aimed at girls younger than 20 years old. The series works on multiple levels, though, and has a wide-ranging audience. On the surface, Ouran is what’s known in manga terms as a harem comedy; we have a large cast of beautiful boys flirting with girls and getting into outrageous situations. One of their members is a girl disguised as a boy, and though the customers never suspect, they do love it when Haruhi “cross-dresses”. Traditional harem storylines have a troupe of girls falling all over the male lead – Ouran is very much the opposite of the norm, what’s known as a reverse harem.
Ouran is well-known for parodying a variety of genres and otaku culture. Renge, a rich otaku girl who loves dating sims, makes brief appearances in the manga. She is infatuated with Kyoya, believing he’s the personification of a video game character. While there, she recognizes all of the character tropes and assigns “better” personas to each member of the host club. Bisco Hatori perfectly captures the art and tone of each genre. While Renge is a minor character in the manga, she’s a regular in the anime, often appearing to tell viewers what sort of plot line we’re experiencing and what the typical response should be. Renge’s entrances involve a rotating pedestal rising from nowhere and lots of cackling. The show is worth it if only for Renge’s appearances and exposition.
My first exposure to Starman came about when I was first getting into comics. As I recall I was in my local comic book store fishing through The Quarter Bins. Primarily the final resting place of whatever Bad-Girl books with a dozen variant covers the owner had over-ordered the previous year, The Quarter Bins still yielded the occasional treasure.
There are many reasons why Starman is notable but I’m going to focus upon three of them – the colorful cast of characters, the wonderful creative teams and the theme of transformation.
Starman came about because writer James Robinson wanted to establish a common mythology for every character published by DC Comics who ever used the codename Starman. When the series started in 1994, there had been six separate heroes who had used the name and only two of them had any link to one another. Starman was meant to create those missing connections.
