Continuing to showcase fan favorites from the original show, Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, and T’Lyn, this first volume in the new ongoing series features the same humor and adventure from the cartoon in episodic comic form. Starting off with a series of short adventures that solve themselves, we see our lower decks’ lieutenants in the bar, where Mariner is complaining about the lack of substantive adventure. This is obviously followed by adventures that get a little too dangerous, including a battle royale with mentors from previous iterations of Star Trek, a new universe quickly consuming theirs, and a time traveling menace wreaking havoc on the timeline.
I appreciated that the artists used the same character styles as the original cartoon and that it was consistent across issues. The primary color scheme of bright and bold with only cel shading really showcases the Star Fleet uniforms and aliens they encounter periodically. And it was fun to see previous favorites like Picard and Scott drawn in this style.
Although you can read this volume without seeing any of the cartoon’s five seasons, it would probably lead new readers to some confusion when character growth or previous adventures are referenced. The footnotes at the bottom of almost every page were fun but mostly unnecessary to the story after the first issue. They also seemed to be attributed to various characters and the narrator without identifying who was speaking in most cases, which was confusing more often than not. This would work best in public libraries since the show was produced for adults and contains adult themes and bleeped language. The subject matter can also get a little dark and depressing, so it’s definitely not meant for children to read although upper teens would likely enjoy it. If you have fans of the show at your library, they should enjoy reading this tie-in continuation.
Star Trek Lower Decks: Second Contact By Ryan North Art by Derek Charm and Jack Lawrence IDW, 2025 ISBN: 9798887243030
Related media: TV to Comic
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
What happens when the leader of a major political superpower is compromised? What if a supernatural evil possesses someone who has control of our nation’s military or its nuclear weapons? In a world that’s already fraught with political tension, such a story might be considered either utterly taboo or absolutely necessary to discuss, but The Exorcism at 1600 Penn doesn’t wade too deeply into our current political morass; rather, writer Hanna Rose May and illustrator Vanesa Del Rey chose not to reinvent the demonic wheel in this straight-up story of possession that happens to take place at one of the most famous and powerful addresses in our country.
The story opens with Kelly Doyle finding her feet as the first female elected as President of the United States, which means her husband and children, teenage siblings Mara and Kevin, must also adjust Soon, Mara begins displaying some odd behaviors that can initially be chalked up to adjusting to a new school but soon become not only a source of concern for the family but a political concern for Kelly. Soon, Kevin and the rest of the family discover the truth; a demon has gotten into Mara and it sees destroying Kelly’s family as its mission until it realizes that Kelly’s office means it can spread human misery (and even violent destruction) on a much larger scale.
Fans of possession tales will be very familiar with the plot structure here: a person who seems well-adjusted starts behaving strangely, then that behavior escalates until the harried family, seemingly at their wits end, must accept that something supernaturally evil has entered that person. May’s story, however, adds an interesting wrinkle by adding the pressure of occupying the White House. For daughter Mara, it means dealing with the pressure of being a member of the First Family, and the bullying it engenders, which creates the right mindset for something demonic to enter. For mother Kelly, it means watching her daughter’s condition worsen while trying to handle an international crisis and her falling approval ratings. Having this situation happen to the first family also raises the stakes when said demon begins plotting to possess Kelly who, once again, controls the nation’s nuclear weapons.
Possession films like The Exorcist and Paranormal Activity aren’t known for their bright colors and Del Rey’s illustrations set the proper tone for this slow burn horror story. Apart from the characters looking like they stepped from a 14th century woodcutting page before dressing in modern clothes, the colors are very muted, save for angrier colors like red. The result is, while not necessarily looking realistic, a palette and overall appearance that doesn’t disturb the brooding atmosphere of the overall story. This art style also allows the demon, when it finally reveals itself, to be both unreal and real enough to appear threatening. Even the Capitol Building, which usually appears in illustrations and photographs a pristine white, is an ashy gray, which in itself might be a political statement.
Overall, the book is less politically charged and more demonically charged. It shows some element of political intrigue, but at its heart, it’s a story about well-meaning good people battling demonic forces. Adult readers who want a richly done demonic possession tale should check this book out, but they shouldn’t expect anything close to political satire.
The Exorcism at 1600 Penn By Hannah Rose May Art by Vanesa Del Rey IDW, 2025 ISBN: 9798887243177
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Irish,
The era where fictional kids continually idolized their fictional parents is long gone. Today’s kids realize their parents are often flawed individuals, often needing the kids’ advice on life, even as many of these kids don’t realize their own flaws. Such a dynamic may not generate familial bliss but they do create good conflict for stories, especially when that parent has a secret life (an interesting and action-packed secret life) that the kid doesn’t know about. Such is the setup of The Sin Bin, written by former “Supernatural” writer Robbie Thompson and illustrated by Patricio Delpeche. The Sin Bin is a charming, monster-bashing good time about a girl and her hockey playing, monster hunting father.
That monster hunting father is Dale “Dukes” Duquesne, a hockey player who’s on the tail end of his career and bouncing from one minor hockey team to another, but his daughter Cat, his biggest supporter and giver of unsolicited advice, believes that he’s just one good game away from the majors. However, young Cat makes a discovery about how her dad spends his time off the ice. It turns out he hunts ghosts and monsters and banishes them to a dimension known as the Sin Bin. Cat soon wants to join the family business, even if she doesn’t realize the danger involved.
Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a television show that artfully straddled the line between horror and humor, should find Cat an interesting heroine. Thompson consistently makes her the book’s emotional center as well as the POV character responsible for how the audience sees this world of fighting monsters, fights at school, and living in hotel after hotel. Fortunately, Cat has enough pluck and determination to deserve her spot as the book’s main character even as Thompson explores the sometimes fraught yet somehow deep bonds between parent and child.
People who remember Buffy the Vampire Slayer might remember the violence Buffy dishes out while serving as the Slayer. However, the book’s aesthetic as constructed by artist Delpeche, focuses more on the action elements than the horror. There are plenty of things here with tentacles and sharp teeth but they’re drawn in a way that’s meant to excite rather than horrify. Rather than spend time illustrating Junji Ito-inspired horrors, Delpeche saves his talents for character design, allowing them to express a plethora of emotions that readers can see and experience.
Clearly written for younger (and older) teen audiences, this book has just enough horror not to be horrifying, and teen librarians with patrons who love Supernatural, Stranger Things, or other series featuring monster fights will be happy to find a monster fighter as relatable as Cat. While hardcore horror fans might not find this scary, this book still excels at being a breezy, fun fight with monsters that never loses its heart.
The Sin Bin By Robbie Thompson Art by Patricio Delpeche IDW, 2025 ISBN: 9798887241678
Company Age Rating: 13-17 years
NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Argentinian,
Horror stories might have monsters like vampires or werewolves who are obviously malevolent, but sometimes horror monsters come from well-known symbols of innocence, specifically the twisting and corruption of that innocence. Many children have owned dolls and spent many hours playing with them. However, killer dolls like Annabelle and Chucky prove that all it takes is some smudges of dirt (or blood) and a maniacal expression, to make a toy terrifying enough to have a movie (or series of movies) made about them. Writer and artist Patrick Horvath has also corrupted a seemingly benevolent children’s property, evoking Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busytown in his serial killer story Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees.
The story follows Samantha Strong, serial killer and owner of the hardware store in the small town of Woodbrook. Samantha is also a bear and Woodbrook is a town full of cuddly critters who love their community and their neighbors. When Samantha needs to satisfy her murderous urges, she doesn’t do it in Woodbrook. That means, when a critter is brutally murdered in the town where Samantha has built a life, she tries to find the other killer before the authorities start to notice her activities.
Those who know of Jeff Lindsay’s serial killer protagonist Dexter will probably notice the titular killer has a lot in common with Samantha. Both are serial killers who have cultivated a life that camouflages their darker natures and both adhere to a strict set of rules, even if Samantha’s rules are less about morals and more about not getting caught. Horvath isn’t necessarily breaking new ground in his narrative because, like Dexter, the conflict comes from another killer on Samantha’s turf, and like any predator, she doesn’t appreciate the intrusion into her territory. The story might have all the beats of a Dexter story, but Horvath does a superb job of exploring Samantha’s motivations and building the Busytown adjacent community of Woodbrook.
This setting and the artwork is what truly allows Beneath the Trees to stand out from many other serial killer-focused narratives. Horvath’s watercolor-inspired artwork, save for his graphic depictions of violence, could be found in any quality-illustrated children’s book. Like many horror works that reference a much more innocent series, Beneath the Trees works because Horvath’s choices, like his art style, readily reference the intellectual property that inspired his world while also adding his own bloody red flourishes. Rather than descend into anything goes parody, Horvath shows readers a town that could be in the same world as Busytown while also being a town that’s housing a very lethal predator.
While not as gory as some horror graphic novels, the fact that it takes place in a seemingly squeaky clean universe will interest horror fans due to its original concept. IThere are plenty of stories involving serial killers but very few of them feature cuddly animals who work, live and die violently like some unfortunate humans. And it’s not like adult horror fans have never had things from their childhood stripped of their innocence.
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees By Patrick Horvath IDW, 2024 ISBN: 9798887241081
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
J. R. R. Tolkein’s epic fantasy series The Lord of the Rings (with a sizable assist from Gary Gygax’s role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons) helped create many of the fantasy tropes we see today. These include the various races that populate these worlds and, for better or worse, fall within very established stereotypes. There are the stout and stern dwarves, the aloof and ethereal elves, and the brutish and belligerent orcs. G Willow Wilson has taken these tropes and spins at least one of them on its head in The Hunger and the Dusk, Vol. 1, a high fantasy graphic novel illustrated by Chris Wildgoose.
There are no elves or dwarves in this world because they were wiped out by humanoid creatures known as the Vangol, who have their sights set on eliminating the two remaining races: the orcs and the humans. Orcs and humans, at war with each other for centuries, band together to combat this evil, but the distrust between these races runs deep. As a gesture of good faith, the orc leader Troth Icemane, sends his cousin Tara, a talented healer, to join a band of human fighters led by Callum Battlechild. As the Vangol menace spreads across the land, the two peoples must put aside their distrust, among other feelings, to avoid destruction.
Wilson, who has worked on the superhero titles Wonder Woman and Ms. Marvel, has already shown she understands how to blend high-octane action with character depth. That balancing act is on display in this story, which puts the focus on its characters instead of the sword combat. Most of the story focuses on Tara and Callum’s burgeoning relationship that could develop into something more, but it also gives time to leader Troth, who must balance his responsibilities to his people with his newly arranged marriage and own protective feelings for Tara. Wilson also avoids many of the tropes that produce more cringe-inducing fantasy; rather than being simply warlike brutes, the orcs in this universe are organized into clans, have their own kind of magic, and overall seem not too different from humans in their demeanor.
Though there is plenty of character development, meaning a lot of dialogue and enigmatic looks among characters, Wildgoose’s artwork includes the clashing swords and flying arrows that fantasy fans crave. Little is known about the Vangol, save they have come from across the sea, and they are depicted and long-limbed and monstrous, which is appropriate enough for the series’ big bad. Wildgoose also depicts the orcs and humans in very distinct and realistic ways; the humans all look very different from each other and the orcs, looking more like Vikings who happen to have green skin and pointed ears, look similar yet different to their human counterparts.
The Hunger and the Dusk is a high fantasy series that borrows from many different fantasy series and tropes to create something unique; it has the beloved (yet expanded) tropes from Tolkein’s series, it has moments of political intrigue like Game of Thrones (without the more adult, incestuous moments), and it even has the monster fighting of Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher series. All these are blended into a high fantasy/adventure cocktail that older teen and adult fantasy fans will want to get lost in.
The Hunger and the Dusk Vol. 01 By G. Willow Wilson Art by Chris Wildgoose IDW, 2024 ISBN: 9798887240824
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Muslim
Stephen Graham Jones, a renowned horror writer with novels like Mongrels and My Heart is a Chainsaw under his belt, recently tried his hand at writing a comic book. The result was Earthdivers. This story begins in a world torn apart by climate change and features an indigenous man using a magic cave to travel back in time to assassinate Christopher Columbus before he discovers the new world (and the story itself is just as bonkers as the premise). However, the second volume of Earthdivers titled Ice Age and illustrated by Riccardo Burchielli, goes further back into the past while also focusing on different characters.
The protagonist in this tale is Tawny, an indigenous woman who found her way into the magic cave as she and her husband search for their lost children. Instead of 1492, however, Tawny is sent to prehistoric Florida, circa 20,000 BC. Not only must she navigate a world full of megafauna and prehistoric beasts, she is also trapped in a war brewing between the native Paleo-indians that inhabit the area and invaders coming from what is today Europe. All this mother wants is to find her children, but Tawny’s spear is sharp and she’s ready to do whatever it takes to find them.
One thing reviewers can’t say about Stephen Graham Jones is that he’s unwilling to experiment. Much in the way his fiction uses indigenous myths and metafiction, this second volume of Earthdivers mostly chucks the story from volume 1 and begins a totally new one featuring a minor character. It’s a risk that might alienate those that want a continuation of volume 1’s story, but Tawny’s quest for her children is a well-told tale in its own right, showing off a survival narrative that lays bare Tawny’s psyche as she searches seemingly in vain for her children. Dropped into a time where survival is dependent on if you’re willing to kill, she faces down both creatures and humans who get in her way.
Bringing to life this prehistoric world where killing is necessary are Burchielli’s illustrations. Mountains are jagged and foreboding. Whirling snowstorms blow mercilessly against Tawny as she struggles to stay upright. The animals here look large and strong enough to tear Tawny in half. Even the way he depicts the humans who survive in this world, with their animal-inspired clothing, make them seem otherworldly but still tangible, at least tangible enough to stab someone.
It was a big risk for Jones to start a new story in this volume, but that risk pays off. It helps that this is a well-crafted story about a mother’s love and what kind of violence a mother can commit when the possibility of finding her children is at stake. Jones also adds some moments that connect this story to the previous tale and perhaps to the overall narrative. It’s a risk to commit to a multivolume work where the story’s payoff might let readers down, but Jones has the tools that will lure readers into the magic cave for many volumes.
Earthdivers: Ice Age; Vol. 2 By Stephen Graham Jones Art by Riccardo Burchielli IDW, 2024 ISBN: 9798887240688
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Those that know the name Steve Niles are likely familiar with his seminal work, 30 Days of Night, which had vampires run amok in an Alaska town where the nights, as the title says and to the vampires’ delight, last around 30 days. Horror fans were also delighted with the story, which led to subsequent sequels and a feature film starring Josh Hartnett. Helping to popularize horror comic books in the early 2000’s, Niles has been steadily working on horror comics and more mainstream superhero titles. That said, his latest comic, a supernatural story called Brynmore, doesn’t live up to Niles’s reputation.
Forgoing vampires, the terror in this tale comes from a multigenerational curse. Walking into that curse is Mark Turner, a recently divorced and recently sober man who returns to his hometown of Turner Island to try and find his emotional footing, even though Mark’s family name is as welcomed by the locals as a beached whale carcass at low tide. That’s because Mark’s ancestors brought a curse to the island, one that Mark accidentally releases when he releases Brynmore. Now Mark must avoid the supernatural terror closing around the island but he must also escape the anger of the townspeople.
The structure of Brynmore is so evident, Niles could have plugged the elements in on a flow chart: man comes back to hometown where he’s not wanted, Mark accidentally unleashes ancient evil, and Mark and others (including the zombie/monster/superhero Brynmore) are the only ones who can stop it. There seems to be an overall lack of details that would flesh out the characters, explain their motivations, or move the plot along in a logical fashion. Story elements merely happen and the readers are whiplashed from one plot point to the next. This is rather disappointing, considering how strongly the first issue opens. That first issue does a thorough job leaving the proper breadcrumbs of a mystery that will draw readers, and the subsequent issues squander that potential.
If anything can draw readers away from Niles’s barely there story, it’s the artwork by Damien Worm, who adds a distinct and measured aesthetic to Turner’s Island. All of the backgrounds are rendered in the somber colors of a Southern Gothic novel. Porches and docks look ready to creak once someone steps on them and shadows pool around everything once the sun goes down. The titular Brynmore, looking less something from Southern Gothic and more like a centerpiece of a supernatural superhero comic, draws the eye with a look that is somehow both handsome and dour, like the stone statue atop a crypt that has come to life.
Though the book has some delightfully dark eye candy, the story within makes me hesitant to recommend it, especially since there’s so much better examples of Niles’ work, whether its 30 Days of Night and its spinoffs or his other forays into horror like “Remains,” where it’s zombies in Las Vegas. The slow pace of Brynmore doesn’t help Niles. His best work involves people pushed against the wall by a terror that’s relentlessly coming for them.
Brynmore By Steve Niles Art by Damien Worm IDW, 2024 ISBN: 9798887240640
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Horror readers might be familiar with the name Stephen Graham Jones. A writer of indigenous fiction that features slashers, werewolves, and vengeful spirits, Jones is steadily becoming a household name in horror. Having already won major horror and science fiction awards like the Stoker from the Horror Writers Association and the Locus Award from Locus magazine, Jones and his fiction has appeared on the New York Times best seller list. However, he’s not a writer who just rests on his laurels. Like many writers who’ve been in the writing game for a while, he isn’t just sticking to just one medium; he’s also broken into comics. His most recent foray into storytelling through words and pictures is Earthdivers Vol. 1: Kill Columbus. Illustrated by Davide Gianfelice, Earthdivers is a time travel epic about the dangers of trying to unravel history and how bloody such undertakings can be.
The book begins in a post-apocalyptic future, where much of humanity has retreated from a broken and dying earth. The story follows a group of indigenous survivors who discover a cave that allows those who enter to travel through time. These survivors decide that the only way to save the world is traveling back in time, killing Christopher Columbus, and preventing the creation of America. However, the man they send to accomplish this task, a linguist named Tad, might not have the skills or the mentality necessary to kill Columbus before he and his ships reach the New World. Not to mention that messing with any timeline is bound to create some truly horrifying consequences.
Though most of this story is head-spinning time travel science fiction, Jones’ signature style is obvious, not only in the subject matter as it deals with the plight of Indigenous peoples from different moments in time, but in how the story moves. Jones is foremost an efficient writer, never letting flowery language or unnecessary explanations slow down the plot. With the time travel narrative wreaking havoc on the order of events, readers will have to pay attention or lose track of what’s happening. That simply makes Jones’ story a roller coaster ride where readers will enjoy the story even if they feel like they’re gripping the safety bar with white knuckles. Sticking with Jones’ story will reward readers with a wild tale full of horror with occasional snatches of humor and heart.
And speaking of horror, Davide Gianfelice proves he is the right artist for Jones’ story. This story does get bloody and Gianfelice shows he has the chops to depict the red stuff flowing out of the body in a variety of ways while the supernatural elements (or whatever fever dream hallucinations Tad is seeing) can raise a reader’s hackles. He also shows a penchant for detailing more mundane details that help immerse readers. He depicts various characters, from the slightly futuristic-looking survivors to the surly sailors in the 15th century, in a way that grounds the story in reality before those characters’ bodies and minds are put through various traumas.
Writers often experiment with different mediums with varying levels of success. They might alienate fans of their earlier work or even show that are ill-equipped to create in the new medium. It is fortunate that Jones does not have that problem. This is a great choice for graphic novel selectors who want a robust horror section and is an excellent choice if the selector serves patrons who are fans of Stephen Graham Jones.
Earthdivers, Vol. 1: Kill Columbus By Stephen Graham Jones Art by Davide Gianfelice IDW, 2023 ISBN: 9798887240459
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a franchise that has many different meanings depending on your generation. For some, it was a dark comedy, parodying the sudden obsession with ninjas that infused comic book culture in the 1980s. For others, it was a silly syndicated cartoon, with a lot of awesome action figures.
There was a host of animated series, live-action movies and more comics which followed. All different timelines, but with generally the same characters. No matter what incarnation of TMNT you follow, Leonardo leads, Donatello builds machines, Raphael is cool but rude, and Michaelangelo is a party dude.
I had heard that IDW’s new TMNT comics were a fair attempt to put a more mature spin on the concept. Yet I had not read any of the recent series until Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game – Opening Moves. Having read it, I can say that what I heard was true, but this may be the most awkward entry point into the series I could have possibly chosen.
The Armageddon Game – Opening Moves is an anthology collecting six different stories from across IDW’s TMNT series. The only common link between them is that they all connect to the character of the Rat King. Rather than being some sewer-dweller with the power to control rats, this Rat King is a chaos god and part of a pantheon of deities who have played games with humanity since the dawn of time.
With his siblings growing tired of the game, the Rat King has decided to kick things up a notch by manipulating various players into bringing about the end of the world. Hence the title “Armageddon Game”. This is a solid set up for a fantasy story. Unfortunately, this explanation does not come until the book is nearly half over!
Before that, we get a prelude showing Rat King reveling in a destroyed New York City, a reprint of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #84 (where the turtles show up to rescue some kidnapped children from Rat King) and the 2020 TMNT Annual. This story features Rat King taunting a recently resurrected and redeemed Shredder, who is determined to live a life of honor after somehow escaping Hell. This sets up the final two chapters, collectively known as “Opening Moves”, in which Shredder and his lover, the goddess Kitsune, explore the dreams of Rat King’s followers.
To describe this as convoluted would be putting it mildly. While I believe this anthology prints its chapters in order of release, the prelude feels like a non-sequitur. The story with the Turtles is good, but only serves to confuse things when it ends with Baxter Stockman deciding to run for Mayor and the next chapter opening with a description of how his reign has made life harder for Mutants in Manhattan. The writing isn’t bad, but it would save the reader a lot of trouble if it opened with the 2021 Annual story where Rat King introduces himself and the cast to the readers.
The artwork is similarly conflicted. There is a different art team on each chapter of this book. All of them are good artists, but there’s no real sense of visual unity to the story. This is often the case with anthology collections, but it is more vexing here where the book seems to be trying to relate a history, only to wind up jumping around in time.
IDW does not rate their comics, but I believe this volume to be on par with a T for 13 and up audience. There is plentiful action and adventure anf a few curse words, but no nudity or sexual content. The larger problems is that TMNT fans looking for a fun story will be more confused than amused by The Armageddon Game.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game – Opening Moves By Tom Waltz, Bobby Curnow, Kevin Eastman, Art by Pablo Tunica, Dave Watcher, Adam Gorham, Casey Maloney IDW, 2023 ISBN: 9781684059737
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
In the first book of this series, Canto: If I Only Had a Heart, we learn Canto’s people are enslaved and their hearts are removed and replaced with clocks. They are not allowed to have names or love one another, but Canto has a name and he was given it by a girl who loved him. She tries to step between Canto and their slavers who beat her near death. Canto tries to offer his clock heart to save her, but the elder of their people cannot save her. The elder finally relents and tells Canto that the only way to save her is to trust a legend that says if her heart can be recovered it will replace the clock and she’ll live again. Canto’s story begins in earnest at this point and he sets out on an adventure the likes of which his people have never seen.
His people aren’t the only ones who have been subjugated in this world and Canto finds himself face to face with the person who controls all, the Shrouded Man. His plan is to free everyone from the shackles of hope and dreams. His story once ended in heartbreak and he won’t allow that to happen to the rest of the world. This is his twisted plan and Canto refuses to believe this is their fate. In the next two books, The Hollow Men and Lionhearted, Canto will make new friends, fight new enemies, face dangers untold and keep searching for a way to truly free his people. He’ll learn how closely his own life and fate are tied to the Shrouded Man and discover how truly large the world around them is.
Canto: Tales of the Unnamed World collects the stories Canto & the City of Giants and Canto: Tales of the Unnamed World and fills in the gaps between Canto II: The Hollow Men and Canto III: Lionhearted. The stories contained in this volume are great additions to the larger world Canto and his friends inhabit, but it needs to be noted that this is more a waypoint than another chapter. In this volume, Canto and his good friends Ritka and Falco find themselves heading towards the city of giants, Dis, to enlist their help fighting the Shrouded Man. The have captured a Misturian Witch and, like so many things in this world, she is more than they understand. In the second part of the book we see Canto, Ritka, and Falco on their way home to New Arcana when they find a mysterious bridge that wasn’t there on their way to Dis. Their way is blocked by the Bard, a Cheshire cat in motley, who demands from each of them a story he has never heard before. Canto eventually realizes this is Ragno, the trickster who had a run in with the Shrouded Man when he was merely a boy. The stories they tell him are written or illustrated by guest creators and while it’s a break from the main plot it is a fun and intriguing way to further fill out their world and lore.
The influence of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz can be felt throughout these books and movies like The Dark Crystal or The Neverending Story have also left an impression here. These stories are hopeful, fantastical, and at times hint at darkness. It’s not always easy or light, but the heroes push forward and have goodness at their core. For tiny tin knights, they have big personality and—pun intended—plenty of heart.
The art by Drew Zucker and guest artists also reflects these influences, as well as books like Elf Quest and Wynd. It isn’t overtly realistic, as it’s a very stylized world, but it will feel familiar. There are beasts of unusual anatomy, elves and giants aplenty, and an actual yellow brick road they travel. The color palette shifts with location to help give a sense of environment, at times dark and foreboding, at others bright and hopeful. It remains accessible to the intended audience while also presenting more challenging and dynamic layout than some comics for younger readers achieve. This helps drive the story forward and keeps the reader turning pages as the action escalates. The overall approach to the art really does present a good step-up for readers just getting into teen comics and getting ready for complex graphic storytelling.
For libraries looking for teen fantasy stories, these are well written and the world is fully realized. I would argue that advanced middle grade readers would enjoy these as a first step in what is categorized as Teen reading. I think the context and vocabulary of these stories are more preventative for younger readers than the content. There is no bad language here and, as it’s a fantasy world, the violence is usually in the name of self-defense and towards magical or fantastical/clockwork beasts. In terms of audience appeal, I haven’t read many graphic novels that leave the door as wide open for so many ages and interests. I realize this endorsement is asking you to buy four books altogether, but it is a great series that I think will find a lot of fans if given the chance.
Canto, vol 1: If I Only Had a Heart By David M. Booher Art by Drew Zucker IDW, 2020 ISBN: 9781684056217
Canto, vol 2: The Hollow Men By David M. Booher Art by Drew Zucker IDW, 2021 ISBN: 9781684058006
Canto: Tales of the Unnamed World By David M. Booher Art by Drew Zucker, Sebastian Piriz IDW, 2023 ISBN: 9781684059362
Canto, vol 3: Lionhearted By David M. Booher Art by Drew Zucker IDW, 2022 ISBN: 9781684058983
Publisher Age Rating: Teen NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13)
Continuing to showcase fan favorites from the original show, Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, and T’Lyn, this first volume in the new ongoing series features the same humor and adventure from the cartoon in episodic comic form. Starting off with a series of short adventures that solve themselves, we see our lower decks’ lieutenants in the bar, where Mariner is complaining about the lack of substantive adventure. This is obviously followed by adventures that get a little too dangerous, including a battle royale with mentors from previous iterations of Star Trek, a new universe quickly consuming theirs, and a time traveling menace wreaking havoc on the timeline.
the leader of a major political superpower is compromised? What if a supernatural evil possesses someone who has control of our nation’s military or its nuclear weapons? In a world that’s already fraught with political tension, such a story might be considered either utterly taboo or absolutely necessary to discuss, but The Exorcism at 1600 Penn doesn’t wade too deeply into our current political morass; rather, writer Hanna Rose May and illustrator Vanesa Del Rey chose not to reinvent the demonic wheel in this straight-up story of possession that happens to take place at one of the most famous and powerful addresses in our country.
individuals, often needing the kids’ advice on life, even as many of these kids don’t realize their own flaws. Such a dynamic may not generate familial bliss but they do create good conflict for stories, especially when that parent has a secret life (an interesting and action-packed secret life) that the kid doesn’t know about. Such is the setup of The Sin Bin, written by former “Supernatural” writer Robbie Thompson and illustrated by Patricio Delpeche. The Sin Bin is a charming, monster-bashing good time about a girl and her hockey playing, monster hunting father.
horror monsters come from well-known symbols of innocence, specifically the twisting and corruption of that innocence. Many children have owned dolls and spent many hours playing with them. However, killer dolls like Annabelle and Chucky prove that all it takes is some smudges of dirt (or blood) and a maniacal expression, to make a toy terrifying enough to have a movie (or series of movies) made about them. Writer and artist Patrick Horvath has also corrupted a seemingly benevolent children’s property, evoking Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busytown in his serial killer story Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees.
J. R. R. Tolkein’s epic fantasy series The Lord of the Rings (with a sizable assist from Gary Gygax’s role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons) helped create many of the fantasy tropes we see today. These include the various races that populate these worlds and, for better or worse, fall within very established stereotypes. There are the stout and stern dwarves, the aloof and ethereal elves, and the brutish and belligerent orcs. G Willow Wilson has taken these tropes and spins at least one of them on its head in The Hunger and the Dusk, Vol. 1, a high fantasy graphic novel illustrated by Chris Wildgoose.
recently tried his hand at writing a comic book. The result was Earthdivers. This story begins in a world torn apart by climate change and features an indigenous man using a magic cave to travel back in time to assassinate Christopher Columbus before he discovers the new world (and the story itself is just as bonkers as the premise). However, the second volume of Earthdivers titled Ice Age and illustrated by Riccardo Burchielli, goes further back into the past while also focusing on different characters.
amok in an Alaska town where the nights, as the title says and to the vampires’ delight, last around 30 days. Horror fans were also delighted with the story, which led to subsequent sequels and a feature film starring Josh Hartnett. Helping to popularize horror comic books in the early 2000’s, Niles has been steadily working on horror comics and more mainstream superhero titles. That said, his latest comic, a supernatural story called Brynmore, doesn’t live up to Niles’s reputation.
Horror readers might be familiar with the name Stephen Graham Jones. A writer of indigenous fiction that features slashers, werewolves, and vengeful spirits, Jones is steadily becoming a household name in horror. Having already won major horror and science fiction awards like the Stoker from the Horror Writers Association and the Locus Award from Locus magazine, Jones and his fiction has appeared on the New York Times best seller list. However, he’s not a writer who just rests on his laurels. Like many writers who’ve been in the writing game for a while, he isn’t just sticking to just one medium; he’s also broken into comics. His most recent foray into storytelling through words and pictures is Earthdivers Vol. 1: Kill Columbus. Illustrated by Davide Gianfelice, Earthdivers is a time travel epic about the dangers of trying to unravel history and how bloody such undertakings can be.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a franchise that has many different meanings depending on your generation. For some, it was a dark comedy, parodying the sudden obsession with ninjas that infused comic book culture in the 1980s. For others, it was a silly syndicated cartoon, with a lot of awesome action figures.
In the first book of this series, Canto: If I Only Had a Heart, we learn Canto’s people are enslaved and their hearts are removed and replaced with clocks. They are not allowed to have names or love one another, but Canto has a name and he was given it by a girl who loved him. She tries to step between Canto and their slavers who beat her near death. Canto tries to offer his clock heart to save her, but the elder of their people cannot save her. The elder finally relents and tells Canto that the only way to save her is to trust a legend that says if her heart can be recovered it will replace the clock and she’ll live again. Canto’s story begins in earnest at this point and he sets out on an adventure the likes of which his people have never seen.
