Aliens attack Earth! Panic ensues! Humanity is lost! A father and son duo learn to rely on one another like never before. Mars Attacks! is a riveting story of duty and family set at the very brink of human destruction. With classic illustrations and a good dose of humor, Mars Attacks! is a non-stop adventure.
Spencer is an average guy. He doesn’t know what he’s doing with his life but he knows that he’s unhappy. His father, The Major, is an ex-Marine who is deeply disappointed in his son’s lackadaisical ways and that Spencer dropped out of the military. While the two share a tense visit, the Earth is attacked by alien creatures who appear bent on complete destruction. Spencer and the Major find themselves running for their lives.
They embark on a topsy-turvy adventure: crossing paths with a gun-friendly militia group with a cool dog, the actual military, and a paranoid survivor who attempts to kill the two of them when they try to hide in his bunker. In the end, Spencer must make the choice to either continue to employ his passive resistance mentality or return to his more primal instincts to survive. After taking one of the aliens hostage, Spencer learns that these creatures from outer space have used up their own planet’s resources and plan to make the Earth their new home. He then turns the creature over the United States government for further questions. In the end, though, is the martians’ situation really any different from the current state of humanity?
Mars Attacks! by Kyle Starks and Chris Schweizer takes a beloved piece of pop culture and provides a new look for the franchise. The dialogue feels lived-in. The conversations between Spencer and his father are organic and natural. Schweizer captures the bulbous, bugged-eyed look of the aliens perfectly. They are frightening enough to be a threat, but also ridiculous-looking enough to keep with the theme of camp. With a bit of thoughtful commentary on modern social requirements in the writing and eye-catching old-school illustrations, Mars Attacks is an alien invasion tale with heart. The apocalypse is nigh anyway, so might as well enjoy the ride.
Mars Attacks! is appropriate for older teens and adults.. There is some cartoon-y violence and bloodshed. Mars Attacks! will be enjoyable to readers of the Creepshow comics by Stephen King and fans of the original Mars Attacks! comics by John Layman.
Mars Attacks! By Kyle Starks Illustrated by Chris Schweizer ISBN: 9781524109943 Dynamite, 2019 Publisher Age Rating: Teen +
Mars Attacks! By Kyle Starks Art by Chris Schweizer ISBN: 9781524109943 Dynamite, 2009 Publisher Age Rating: Teen +
Vincent, Book One: Guide to Love, Magic, and RPG tells the semi-autobiographical story of a man looking for true love. Created by Vitor Cafaggi, Vincent started as a newspaper comic strip in Brazil. It has won one of the most prestigious comic book awards in Brazil, the HQ Mix Trophy, and even inspired its own hamburger (sans pickles).
Vincent, an adorably fluffy dog, has fallen in love at first sight with Lady, an equally adorable pooch, who he saw at the bus stop. Since his fateful encounter, Vincent has come up with a very elaborate plan to catch her attention. His plan will not only show off his kindness and talent, but when a “robber” shows up, the plan will also make Vincent look like a hero. It’s a flawed plan to say the least, and quickly goes out the window when he asks Lady for the time.
And so begins a series of wild schemes to win over Lady. With each encounter that Vincent has with Lady, he relays his story to a female friend. As you might be able to predict, love isn’t going to come easy for Vincent with Lady or his next love interest, Princess.
Flashbacks and daydreams are depicted with little bubbles in the frames. The narrator lets us know not only the date and time (down to the seconds), but also how the characters are feeling. While I loved this element of the storytelling, it should be an indicator to readers that Vincent is a wordy comic. The text bubbles often overtake their corresponding panels.
Vincent comprises two chapters, Chapter One: Love on a Bus and Chapter 2: Vincent for All, along with a shorter comic, The Amazing Adventures of Little Vincent.
The art is consistent throughout and does a good job of depicting the emotions of its all-animal cast of characters. All the characters are cute and cartoon-y, with some animal types being more identifiable than others. The animals are all highly anthropomorphized and often seen doing things that we readers will relate to like texting, riding public transit, and playing video games.
Vincent will fit nicely into large graphic novel collections and will most appeal to a teen audience looking for a light, slice-of-life read. Adult readers will also be able to enjoy and sympathize with Vincent and his quest for love.
Vincent Book One: Guide to Love, Magic, and RPG By Vitor Cafaggi ISBN: 9781545805343 Super Genius, 2019 Publisher Age Rating: Teen
Browse for more like this title Creator Highlights: BIPOC Creator
Jo Wilson is a repair technician for the Interior, a subterranean organization that maintains the planet and where rules and order… well… rule. When she botches a repair job and learns that the supplies for the job won’t come anytime soon, Jo runs away to Topside—the forbidden surface—in order to get the equipment she needs to finish the job. With the help of criminals and bounty hunters, Jo goes on a quest for a legendary cache while being pursued by Interior agents.
Topside is a compelling adventure with a strong character arc for its protagonist. Jo begins the story as a loner who wants to be an independent repair technician, and her difficult journey—which includes learning to navigate the surface and slip past the agents—teaches her to welcome help and form bonds. Her team is an entertaining blend of grifters and bounty hunters, which frequently leads to humorous bantering and infighting. In addition to plenty of action, Topside also has plenty of humor; the antagonists are bureaucrats, which means they frequently delay their own pursuit. The result is a compelling story with plenty of humor and charm.
What might be the most intriguing aspect of the story is Jo and her companions’ exploration of the world. The world of Topside is an imaginative blend of science fiction and fantasy with plenty of secrets that is brought to life with bright, colorful illustrations. Jo’s home blends high-tech science fiction with post-apocalyptic fantasy with Wild West elements, if the Wild West were populated by alien creatures just trying to carve out a life alongside sapient, moving towns. Most of Jo’s companions are not human—one is a bipedal shark, the other a walking light bulb—and their character designs convey their non-human status, but still capture distinct personalities. The humans themselves come in various shades, and Jo herself is a character of color. Over the course of the story, Jo and her companions come to learn a lot about their world, and the reader gets the pleasure of learning alongside them.
Topside is a charming high-tech fantasy adventure that should appeal to teen and adult readers who are looking for some fun, light fantasy or science fiction. With its rich setting and engaging adventure, fans of Amulet and similar works will likely enjoy Topside. Libraries looking to expand the fantasy offerings in their graphic novel collections—particularly ones that feature characters of color—would do well to procure this one.
Topside By J.N Monk Art by Harry Bogosian ISBN: 9781541572850 Graphic Universe, 2019 Publisher Age Rating: Young Adult
Browse for more like this title Character Traits: Black Creator Highlights: LGBTQIA+ Creator
In the world of the MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) Cross Reverie, no one is as feared as the dreaded demon king Diablo. Yet in the real world, Diablo is Takuma Sakamoto, a shy, shut-in who can’t even talk to cashiers without freezing up. Despite this, Takuma is satisfied with his existence until he suddenly finds himself in a magical realm very much like the world of Cross Reverie. He also finds himself under attack by two young summoners: the elf, Shera, and cat-girl, Rem.
Luckily, Takuma has entered the world in the form of Diablo and has possession of all his magic items and abilities. Unluckily, this means that his spell-reflecting ring causes the binding spells the summoners cast on him to bounce-back, leaving them wearing slave collars and subject to obey his every whim. Why is that unlucky for Takuma? Because he is so scared of women and intimacy that he can’t talk to them at all… unless he plays the role of the demon king Diablo.
The situation is equally frustrating for Rem and Shera, who argue about which one of them truly summoned Diablo and should have gained control of his favors. It seems they both had good reason to summon a powerful demon for protection. Throw in the fact that the realm is in need of a hero and it seems that Diablo’s arrival is well-timed and it will fall to him and his slowly-growing harem of heroines to save the kingdom of Faltra!
Based on the light novel series of the same name, How Not To Summon A Demon Lord truly surprised me. Given the premise, I had expected it to be full of fan-service driven artwork and the usual jokes about an awkward otaku suddenly finding himself having gorgeous, powerful women too close for comfort. And it was. Yet it also showed a surprising amount of heart and a healthy respect for its heroines that I did not see coming.
Author Yukiya Murasaki gives Shera and Ren fully developed backstories and personalities, far more involved than is typical of the love interests in a fantasy-themed harem manga. Both women have secrets that tie into why they became adventurers and why they sought demonic intervention to deal with their problems. The irony that they both wind up in bonded servitude while trying to avoid similar fates is not lost on them and the fact that Diablo treats them far better as his slaves than they were often treated as free adventurers only makes the two summoners start to fall for him all the faster. Which only further fuels his awkwardness.
The artwork by Naoto Fukuda (based on the character designs of Takahiro Tsurusaki) is skillfully handled. Fukuda proves capable of depicting a wide variety of body types and characters and there is never any difficulty in telling the various characters apart. The monsters are all memorable and the action sequences well-choreographed.
Fukuda also shows tremendous versatility, often switching the story up into different styles as Takuma daydreams and imagines himself and his companions in non-fantasy situations, such as when he imagines himself as the hero of a slice-of-life school anime and the Adventurer’s Guild master as the principal, when he is called to a private meeting. Naturally Shera and Rem show up in schoolgirl uniforms and turn into the Betty and Veronica fighting for his attentions.
The series is suggested for Older Teens and I consider this a fair rating. While there is little outright nudity in the first three volumes, there is a lot of skimpy costuming and sexual content. The BDSM implications of Rem and Shera’s servitude is explored in-depth and assuming the concept of the series itself isn’t problematic for some readers, the details of Shera’s mysterious past (in which she was fleeing a deranged older brother who wished to claim her as a concubine) may trigger unwanted memories for some survivors, though the story itself does nothing to glamorize the idea of sexual slavery outside of some clearly consensual slave-play.
How Not To Summon A Demon Lord, vols. 1-3 By Yukiya Murasaki Art by Naoto Fukuda vol 1 ISBN: 9781626927605 vol 2 ISBN: 9781626928657 vol 3 ISBN: 9781626929654 Seven Seas Entertainment, 2016 Publisher Age Rating: Older Teen
Reading Gumballs is like being invited to read someone else’s journal. Gumballs is comprised of a few dozen stories that are color-coded in the table of contents into a few different categories: twins-triplet, pleasant people, tales of being trans, illustrations, personal ads, visual diary, Tobias, and miscellanea. While only one of these gumballs is labeled visual diary, it’s the best way of summing up the book as a whole. It’s deeply personal and wholly intimate, whether the stories are childhood memories, what they ate one day, or short fictional stories about an awkward kid named Tobias. This personal invitation into Erin Nations’ life makes his experiences highly relatable for the reader. Even if you’ve never experienced social anxiety or gender dysphoria, being placed into the daily situations he describes effectively conveys the tension and struggle of his experiences.
Nations speaks frankly about being trans, and how his emotions and experiences around gender affect his daily life, whether that includes being harassed on the subway by strangers, what gender dysphoria feels like, the mixed blessings of second puberty, the joy of a stranger using the right pronouns, and the excitement of seeing physical changes after starting hormone replacement therapy. This openness makes it a perfect read for teens or adults who might be able to identify with some of these feelings, or to answer questions about exploring their gender that they never knew how to ask.
The book doesn’t have a single or overarching narrative, which keeps it fresh and somewhat unexpected. The humor in Gumballs feels less like a concerted effort to make you laugh, and more like sharing the absurdity of daily life with friends over drinks. The pages that fall under the sarcastic “pleasant people” category are primarily one-page customer service interactions that Nations has had at his job at the grocery store. These are some of my favorite pages, as they are somewhat bizarre but altogether too believable; I have to wonder if he’s actually said all of those responses or if these pages hold what he wishes he could say.
Nations’ art style is primarily blocky, including the speech bubbles, with mostly flat colors, evoking the style of a newspaper comic strip or zine. However, the book is fairly text-heavy, and the art usually functions to support the text fairly closely. There are some very personal instances that are told with fairly great detail, building trust with the reader. There are also a few moments when Nations declines to illustrate what he narrates—how taking testosterone affected his sex drive and how it affected his genitals. In the second instance, he instead draws himself saying, “I’m not drawing myself naked. It’s just not gonna happen…” Even though he has created such an open book, he still literally draws and communicates his boundaries, making it easy for the reader for respect these boundaries and understand that just because they are invited into someone’s life does not mean all details are up for discussion. This is important, because cisgender people frequently ask trans people invasive personal questions that they wouldn’t otherwise ask a cis person. Gumballs is an opportunity for readers to learn and broaden their perspectives on gender, particularly for folks who may not think about these issues often.
This title was a 2019 Eisner Award nominee in the category of best publication for teens, and while this book is also relevant for adults, I think it would make the most impact in a young adult section. Librarians should be aware of the following content notes for this book: there is some non-sexual nudity, brief discussion of suicide, dealing with transphobic remarks, some swearing, responsible alcohol consumption, and discussion of genitals as they relate to gender and hormone replacement therapy.
Gumballs By Erin Nations ISBN: 9781603094313 Top Shelf, 2018
Browse for more like this title NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16), Older Teen (16-18), Adult (18+) Character Traits: Trans Creator Highlights: Own Voices, LGBTQIA+ Creator
If you want to learn a new skill but find it daunting to dig into technical texts and instruction manuals, you will want to explore Maker Comics, a series of single-topic educational graphic novels. So far, Maker Comics includes a handful of different books. This review will cover Bake Like a Pro! by Falynn Koch and Fix a Car! by Chris Schweizer. I have not read other books in the series, but will assume these two are representative of Maker Comics as a whole.
Each book in the series focuses on a central topic (car repair/maintenance, baking, gardening, drawing comics, etc.) and takes readers through some background information, then step-by-step instructions for a variety of tasks. Bake Like a Pro! outlines a number of recipes, ranging from simple chocolate chip cookies to the more advanced sponge cake with Swiss buttercream frosting. It also works in a lot of information about the science of baking. Fix a Car! details projects ranging from checking fluid levels and jump-starting a car to changing the oil and replacing a drive belt, along with diagrams and details about how cars work. Though the books wrap the information in fictional premises with characters and plots, the majority of what’s offered is non-fiction and instructional.
As a librarian who facilitates a makerspace, I was very interested in checking out these comics. For the most part, the characters and stories of each book are decent, but fairly thin. They exist to dress up the educational content and make it more accessible, and they do achieve that, but these aren’t books to go into expecting a compelling plot. That said, the characters of Fix a Car! were more interesting and memorable for me than in Bake Like a Pro!
The information offered can, at times, be a bit dense. Based on the length of the books, I expected them to be quick reads, but each took longer than I anticipated due to how much is packed into the pages. There were also many moments I needed to stop and think about or absorb some of the more technical information being explained. On one hand, this is good, because it means there is a lot of useful content, but it can also result in the comics being difficult to get through without sufficient motivation. For me, reading them occasionally felt like homework, or like struggling through a textbook. Readers with a more casual interest in the subjects, or those without the appropriate grounding or education level, may find the comics somewhat challenging.
My other big concern was the amount of time spent on each task or recipe. The books are split, roughly equally, among the various projects, but I would expect some to have more time devoted to them due to the difficulty level. For example, Fix a Car! spends around as much time on washing and detailing a car as it does on changing a drive belt, which seems like an odd balance to me. Similarly, in Bake Like a Pro!, we spend quite a while on chocolate chip cookies, while lemon meringue pie is relegated to a recipe in the back of the book without additional instructions, simply encouraging readers to combine methods learned previously. As such, the comics are better at the beginner level than for the more advanced topics they cover. I walked away feeling like I could attempt checking my car fluid levels or changing a taillight bulb, but that I wouldn’t be comfortable enough to try changing my own oil or replacing a pulley in the drive belt system.
The art styles of the comics vary, due to different creators, but both were well-done. Schweizer does a good job depicting complex car systems in a way that is relatively easy to follow, while still keeping his characters loose and expressive. Koch goes for a different approach, making just about everything cute and anthropomorphized, from the ingredients to some of the appliances to the microscopic elements featured in the higher-level scientific explanations.
Maker Comics are certainly a more accessible way to approach learning a new skill than advanced technical documentation, textbooks, or manuals. While they aren’t perfect, they can be useful as introductions to the topics they cover, empowering readers to tackle at least the lower-level projects contained within. As parts of them can be a bit of a deep dive into the science or can be a little dense with technical explanations, they will be most interesting to those with an existing interest in the topics or strong motivation to learn the content.
The publishers recommend both books for ages 9-13. Bake Like a Pro! could work for this age level, but there is no reason older readers won’t enjoy it, as well. I would recommend Fix a Car! for older readers—beginning around high school—especially as teenagers who may have their licenses and even own cars will find the information more helpful and relevant.
Maker Comics: Bake Like a Pro! and Fix a Car! By Falynn Koch ISBN: 9781250150066 Maker Comics: Fix a Car! By Chris Schweizer ISBN: 9781250150042 First Second, 2019 Publisher Age Rating: 9-13
George Takei is known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek and for his passionate commitment to civil rights. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Takei and his family—along with over 100,000 Japanese Americans—were imprisoned in internment camps for the rest of World War II. Their crime? They were Japanese. They Called Us Enemy portrays Takei’s family’s experiences in the camps and the impact they had on his life. The result is a compelling and powerful narrative that lays bare the continuing prejudice, injustice, and passion in America.
Takei and his co-writers, Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott, have developed an engaging and relevant narrative. The story goes back and forth between the World War II era and contemporary times as it traces Takei’s family’s experience in the internment camps and his career as an actor and activist. The authors also provide accessible explanations of the political forces and factions at play, but it’s the personal story that drives home Takei’s points. Takei narrates his family’s experience from the perspective of an adult who has come to understand what happened, yet goes on to show how this experience and his family’s support have helped him in his career as an actor and activist. The mix of the past and the present with the personal and the political gives the story a balance between sad and hopeful. Takei also draws connections between the Japanese internment camps and the cruel treatment of immigrant children at the border, thus sending an important message about injustice and the importance of action in a democracy.
Illustrator Harmony Becker’s black and white illustrations both capture key historical events and figures as well as the emotional impact of Takei’s experiences. The illustrations portray historical figures in recognizable ways, yet the particular strength of Becker’s work lies in the emotional impact her work carries. Deceptively simple with strong manga influences, Becker’s illustrations portray the difficulties of Takei’s family and a child’s youthful exuberance and innocence with equal aplomb; the illustrations work well with Takei’s reflections, contributing to the surreal and painful mood that arises from the contrast between a child’s experience with an adult’s understanding of the injustice.
They Called Us Enemy is a powerful work that, thanks to its important message, the discussion of historical events, and Takei’s popularity, should find a readership in both public and academic libraries. The book explains the internment camps and themes of injustice and activism in a way that should be accessible to a range of ages. There are a couple of violent scenes (portrayed with minimal gore), and there are some difficult topics whose subtle presentation might go over the head of very young readers; therefore, this reviewer would recommend early middle school and up as the audience for They Called Us Enemy.
They Called Us Enemy By George Takei Justin Eisinger Steven Scott Art by Harmony Becker ISBN: 9781603094504 Top Shelf Productions, 2019
Browse for more like this title Character Traits: Japanese, Japanese-American Gay Creator Highlights: Own Voices, BIPOC Creator
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass kicks off a line of stand-alone stories from DC Ink, a new imprint of DC Comics aimed at young adult readers. While the story and characters take their inspiration from existing DC content, Breaking Glass does not fit into established the comics canon or current comics universe from DC’s main titles. The graphic novel reimagines anti-hero Harley Quinn (Harleen Quinzel) as a high schooler with a troubled life and a unique way of viewing the world. Harleen is new to Gotham, sent by her mother to live with a relative while her mother works to support them both. She faces challenges from day one with her living situation and new school; things eventually escalate until Harleen finds herself pitted against forces like gentrification, patriarchy, and inequality, and must work out the best course of action, legal or otherwise.
As a Batman fan and as someone who enjoys Mariko Tamaki’s work (such as This One Summer and Skim), I was excited to read this comic. At its core, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is an alternate origin story for the character that pays tribute to her other iterations through both the content and the artwork. Much like in her main DC canon story, Harley finds herself caught between reimagined versions of Poison Ivy and the Joker. Ivy is cast as a vocal, smart, and strong activist against all forms of inequality and corruption, and as Harleen’s best and only friend at school. Harleen doesn’t know the Joker’s identity behind his mask, but feels pulled toward his direct, immediate, and often violent methods of addressing perceived unfairness.
There’s a lot in this title to appeal to a wide range of readers, whether they have previous knowledge of the character or not. I enjoyed the reimagining of most of the existing Batman canon characters, especially Ivy, who I think very much benefits from the changes. I had mixed feelings about Harley’s characterization. I do appreciate comics in which Harley leans more toward quirky than the vaguely-defined and problematic “insane,” and this comic achieves that. However, in the original canon, Harleen is an accomplished and intelligent psychiatrist, while the Breaking Glass version struggles with school work and demonstrates a lot of ignorance about the world around her. This may have been a deliberate decision to make her more relatable to readers, but I have seen a lot of DC de-aging and infantilizing their female characters (and a lot of stories that infantilize Harley or ignore her intelligence), and could do without this aspect. The story is told with first-person narration from Harleen’s perspective, and while there were a few moments that made me cringe or seemed to be trying too hard, overall the voice Tamaki develops for the character works well.
The artwork by Steve Pugh is excellent, and the shading work gives the characters real dimension. The use of color was strategic and pleasing, with lots of black/white/grey palettes and minimalism against which colored details could really stand out. There were plenty of visual references to things like Harley’s well-known harlequin-style costume. I was also very relieved that Harley and Ivy, two characters very frequently sexualized and objectified, were presented much more respectfully, like actual human beings—especially important considering their young age in this book.
It was also a relief to see a mixed-race Ivy and Harleen’s adoptive family of drag queens. DC has not always excelled in the area of representation, so a bit of diversity was a nice addition. The comic does well addressing important modern issues like gentrification and privilege, and the only young, white, male billionaire in the book is not at all admirable—quite a difference from the usual Batman dynamic. Difficult questions about the world are raised, and the book doesn’t necessarily answer them, which I see as a positive in content aimed at teens.
On the whole, Breaking Glass is both appropriate for and likely to be enjoyed by the age group it reaches out to. Readers don’t need to be previous fans of Batman or Harley Quinn, and high school-aged or young adult readers will probably find Harley and/or Ivy relatable and interesting. This is an alternate origin story with modern sensibilities, bringing the characters into the world today’s teenagers think about and encounter on a regular basis. Harleen grappling with morality and the right way to fight injustice is compelling and a good topic for people of any age, but may resonate especially with those who are just beginning to consider the inequity and unfairness in the world.
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass By Mariko Tamaki Art by Steve Pugh ISBN: 9781401283292 DC Ink, 2019 Publisher Age Rating: Young adult
Browse for more like this title Character Traits: Multiracial Creator Highlights: BIPOC Creator, LGBTQIA+ Creator
The ferocious arch of two leonine jaws framing a boy in the middle of an argument. The maw of a tunnel from which three boys fish flyaway baseballs. The dismal interior of a near-empty house, growing progressively darker as the bills stop being paid: the lights refusing to shed light, the phones dead. David Small, author of the best-selling graphic memoir Stitches, layers these and other images into a harrowing, claustrophobic tale of young manhood in his new novel Home After Dark.
After his mom leaves with the town football star, Russ and his dad also leave Youngstown, Ohio, for California, eventually moving in with the Mah family, who are unfailingly kind and generous despite the anti-Chinese racism of the local white townspeople. At thirteen, Russ teeters precariously on the edge of adolescence. He’s bullied at school, but befriended by the oddball Warren McCaw, a friendship Russ abandons after Warren reveals to Russ that he’s queer. Instead, Russ takes up with the more popular Willie and Kurt. While Willie is kind, Kurt is a conscienceless daredevil whose homophobia flares violently in his own mission to assert his masculinity. When Russ’ father stops coming home, Russ finds himself trying to “live without hurting anyone” in a world that mostly shows him nothing but cruelty and neglect.
Though labeled simply “a novel” on the book’s cover, Home After Dark is emphatically a novel of images rather than words. While it would be easy to describe the well-framed panels and pages as cinematic, the real impact of Small’s illustrations comes from their very stillness. Reading Home After Dark feels much like flipping through a grim photo album, where each photograph contains a story simultaneously trapped and preserved by its frozen depiction, leaving one powerless to change what happened, able now only to witness and feel a pinch of discomfort at the beauty of the chilling images. Motifs of caves, cages, animals—and dead animals—are carefully refracted across the pages of the book, standing out evocatively amidst the long planar angles of 1950s suburbs and interiors.
The story is a depressing one, where the cudgel of white, heteronormative masculinity crushes one character after another. The Mah family are positioned as the one indefatigable force of kindness. While not necessarily unrealistic that Russ found no succor from the white men who otherwise made up his social sphere, it is nonetheless problematic that the only non-white characters in Home After Dark are positioned as the white main character’s reliable helpmeets, taking Russ in after his dad leaves, giving him a job, and welcoming him back even after he steals from them. The inclusion of animals killed in sadistic ways and violent homophobic bullying, as well as some drinking and sex, makes this a book best for older teens. Imperfect and beautiful, quiet and powerful, Home After Dark is a graphic novel ripe for reading and re-reading, inviting discussion of whiteness, bullying, insider/outsider status, homophobia and racism, abandonment, and what childhood—and manhood—really mean.
Home After Dark By David Small ISBN: 9780871403155 Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2018 NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Adult (18+)
Browse for more like this title Character Traits: Queer,
I think it’s safe to say most of us have heard of the infamous girl detective, Nancy Drew. Created in 1930 as the counterpart to popular teenage detectives, The Hardy Boys, Nancy has been solving mysteries for nearly 90 years. Nancy remains wildly popular as ever; she is everywhere from books to movies, to TV shows (with a third incarnation happening this fall on The CW). There is also the award-winning popular computer game series about Drew which you can buy on Steam and there is even an annual Nancy Drew convention. Nancy is also the inspiration for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars.
Nancy is everywhere.
In Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom, Nancy has received a threatening letter and returns to BayPort after many years. After much admonishing from her friends for not keeping in touch, Nancy reconnects with bestie Bess Martin, along with Bess’s cousin, George Fayne, George’s girlfriend, Danica, the Hardy brothers; Frank and Joe, as well as newcomer Pete, to solve a cold case: the death of Pete’s mother. While digging deeper into Pete’s mother’s death, Nancy stumbles upon a drug cartel masquerading behind a commercial lobster company as the bodies continue to pile up. What do the drugs, lobsters, and Pete’s mother’s death have in common? A lot, it seems.
With a nearly 100-year-old property, it’s always dicey to see how the reinvention will turn out. Kelly Thompson, of Mega Princess, Jessica Jones, and Jem and the Holograms fame, stays true to her style with feminist and diverse characters. George is a lesbian and her girlfriend, Danica, is a person of color. Nancy’s love interest, Peter, is half-Mexican and half-Black. The diversity of the characters isn’t used cheaply and it paints a portrait of 21st-century life. Thompson’s version of Nancy and her crew are realized characters with their own personalities and quirks. The only umbrage I take with Thompson’s universe is she made the librarian, Mrs. Simpson, a stereotype, which rankles my librarian self. But I digress.
Thompson’s writing is smart and her voice clear and fresh with its customary wit and banter. Nancy’s inner dialogue sometimes borders on fourth-wall breaking and at times it can be a bit heavy-handed, but it is used to further the action along rather than just produce thoughts. While sex and romance are sub-sub plots, it does warrant the age range of Young Adult, a time when sex and romance can be a bit tricky, and Thompson pulls it off beautifully.
The art by Jenn St-Onge, Thompson’s long-time collaborator, is gorgeous. I love her view of the Bayport gang. In previous versions of Nancy Drew, Nancy is often drawn a bit exaggerated while here she looks like a normal teenager. The only thing missing is Nancy’s trademark blue convertible, but alas we can’t have everything. The visual storytelling is straight forward and constant as well as the characters themselves. The colorist, Triona Farrell, uses color as a shift in the storyline. St-Onge and Farrell are perfectly paired.
There is a lot to recommend about The Palace of Wisdom. It’s a quick read that introduces a new generation to Nancy Drew. The language and attitudes of the teens are on par with today’s generation, so the speech will feel natural to the reader. The characters feel like your best friends, so there is a definite connection between the book and the characters. The mystery can be a bit choppy at some points, but it still remains polished. The book ends with Nancy being handcuffed by the police, leaving the story open-ended. I reached out to Thompson to see if there will be a continuation of the storyline; the answer is no. There was a pitch to continue with the story, but Dynamite passed. This is such a shame, because The Palace of Wisdom is a lot better both storytelling and art-wise than most books on the market.
The Palace of Wisdom does not disappoint in capturing the spirit of Nancy Drew. There is some intrigue, romance (Bess and Joe! George and Danica! Nancy and Pete!), and of course sleuthing. While the story itself is more focused on friendship and togetherness in addition to the mystery, it does not diminish the undercurrent reality of racism, classism, and sexism that are so pervasive in the 21st century. Nancy Drew has always been a sign of the times, but this time she is as finely written as she should have been all that long ago and that is a huge relief.
Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom By Kelly Thompson Art by Jenn St-Onge ISBN: 9781524108496 Dynamite, 2019 Publisher Age Rating: Young Adult
Browse for more like this title Character Traits: Black, Latinx Lesbian, Straight
Aliens attack Earth! Panic ensues! Humanity is lost! A father and son duo learn to rely on one another like never before. Mars Attacks! is a riveting story of duty and family set at the very brink of human destruction. With classic illustrations and a good dose of humor, Mars Attacks! is a non-stop adventure.
Vincent, Book One: Guide to Love, Magic, and RPG tells the semi-autobiographical story of a man looking for true love. Created by Vitor Cafaggi, Vincent started as a newspaper comic strip in Brazil. It has won one of the most prestigious comic book awards in Brazil, the HQ Mix Trophy, and even inspired its own hamburger (sans pickles).
Jo Wilson is a repair technician for the Interior, a subterranean organization that maintains the planet and where rules and order… well… rule. When she botches a repair job and learns that the supplies for the job won’t come anytime soon, Jo runs away to Topside—the forbidden surface—in order to get the equipment she needs to finish the job. With the help of criminals and bounty hunters, Jo goes on a quest for a legendary cache while being pursued by Interior agents.
In the world of the MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) Cross Reverie, no one is as feared as the dreaded demon king Diablo. Yet in the real world, Diablo is Takuma Sakamoto, a shy, shut-in who can’t even talk to cashiers without freezing up. Despite this, Takuma is satisfied with his existence until he suddenly finds himself in a magical realm very much like the world of Cross Reverie. He also finds himself under attack by two young summoners: the elf, Shera, and cat-girl, Rem.
Reading Gumballs is like being invited to read someone else’s journal. Gumballs is comprised of a few dozen stories that are color-coded in the table of contents into a few different categories: twins-triplet, pleasant people, tales of being trans, illustrations, personal ads, visual diary, Tobias, and miscellanea. While only one of these gumballs is labeled visual diary, it’s the best way of summing up the book as a whole. It’s deeply personal and wholly intimate, whether the stories are childhood memories, what they ate one day, or short fictional stories about an awkward kid named Tobias. This personal invitation into Erin Nations’ life makes his experiences highly relatable for the reader. Even if you’ve never experienced social anxiety or gender dysphoria, being placed into the daily situations he describes effectively conveys the tension and struggle of his experiences.
If you want to learn a new skill but find it daunting to dig into technical texts and instruction manuals, you will want to explore Maker Comics, a series of single-topic educational graphic novels. So far, Maker Comics includes a handful of different books. This review will cover Bake Like a Pro! by Falynn Koch and Fix a Car! by Chris Schweizer. I have not read other books in the series, but will assume these two are representative of Maker Comics as a whole.
George Takei is known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek and for his passionate commitment to civil rights. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Takei and his family—along with over 100,000 Japanese Americans—were imprisoned in internment camps for the rest of World War II. Their crime? They were Japanese. They Called Us Enemy portrays Takei’s family’s experiences in the camps and the impact they had on his life. The result is a compelling and powerful narrative that lays bare the continuing prejudice, injustice, and passion in America.
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass kicks off a line of stand-alone stories from DC Ink, a new imprint of DC Comics aimed at young adult readers. While the story and characters take their inspiration from existing DC content, Breaking Glass does not fit into established the comics canon or current comics universe from DC’s main titles. The graphic novel reimagines anti-hero Harley Quinn (Harleen Quinzel) as a high schooler with a troubled life and a unique way of viewing the world. Harleen is new to Gotham, sent by her mother to live with a relative while her mother works to support them both. She faces challenges from day one with her living situation and new school; things eventually escalate until Harleen finds herself pitted against forces like gentrification, patriarchy, and inequality, and must work out the best course of action, legal or otherwise.
The ferocious arch of two leonine jaws framing a boy in the middle of an argument. The maw of a tunnel from which three boys fish flyaway baseballs. The dismal interior of a near-empty house, growing progressively darker as the bills stop being paid: the lights refusing to shed light, the phones dead. David Small, author of the best-selling graphic memoir Stitches, layers these and other images into a harrowing, claustrophobic tale of young manhood in his new novel Home After Dark.
I think it’s safe to say most of us have heard of the infamous girl detective, Nancy Drew. Created in 1930 as the counterpart to popular teenage detectives, The Hardy Boys, Nancy has been solving mysteries for nearly 90 years. Nancy remains wildly popular as ever; she is everywhere from books to movies, to TV shows (with a third incarnation happening this fall on The CW). There is also the award-winning popular computer game series about Drew which you can buy on Steam and there is even an annual Nancy Drew convention. Nancy is also the inspiration for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars.
