Before Superman and superheroes came to dominate American comics, there was an age undreamed of. Pulp fiction was gaining in popularity, and it occurred to advertising agent Joseph H. Neebe that there might be a market for comic strips based on action and adventure rather than comedy. He approached Edgar Rice Burroughs (who had just set up shop in what would become Tarzana, California) about licensing his Tarzan character as a comic strip. Burroughs, who was already aiming to make movies based on the Lord of the Jungle agreed, but this still left the question of who would draw the comic.
Enter Harold “Hal” Foster—a Canadian illustrator who had little interest in drawing comics. However, with times being tough (and about to become tougher when The Great Depression hit), Smith got the comic off the ground by drawing the daily strip in 1929. He would later return, reluctantly, to draw a full-color Sunday strip in 1931. And yet, over the next few years, Smith began to believe he could take the comics he crafted and turn them into the high art he’d wanted to create.
However, Foster grew increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of the scripts he was given. He was also unhappy with the increasingly inadequate flat fee he was paid when the writers were given a percentage of the profits. He eventually left Tarzan for a more lucrative deal with King Features, where he was given more money, creative control, and the ability to write and draw his own adventure comic, the equally revolutionary Prince Valiant.
This history is detailed in the introduction to Hal Foster’s Tarzan. The Complete Sunday Comics 1931-1937. However, it understates just how important these comics were to the medium. Legends like Frank Frazetta, Wally Wood, Bernie Wrightson and Jack Kirby all cited Hal Foster as a major influence on their own comics. And without the success of the first Tarzan newspaper comics fueled by Foster’s work, it is possible that the action/adventure comics and the later comic books might never have come about. For that reason alone, this volume is well worth studying on a scholarly level.
Another reason is Foster’s command of anatomy, which was impressive and unlike anything appearing in the funny pages at the time. Foster took his research seriously and lamented that some of the writers he worked with failed to consider things like what kind of trees were likely to line an African river. Alas, his dedication was not appreciated by his employers and one of the chief reasons Burroughs considered Foster the best artist to handle Tarzan was that he was very good at drawing attractive women. (This skill, it might be noted, was honed by Foster’s work as a commercial artist, drawing women in lingerie in catalogs in the days before photography became inexpensive.)
On that note, there is no publisher rating for this collection. The amount of sex and violence within it was shocking for its time, but there’s nothing that would be inappropriate for a teenage audience today. There are a few bare male backsides and one naked boy who comes to Tarzan’s aid in one story, but nothing more overtly sexual than various queens of lost cities informing Tarzan that he is now theirs.
It should also be noted there is some material in these comics that has not aged well. There are multiple instances of the white goddess trope, with superstitious African natives taking in a white woman as their leader. Thankfully, Smith does not present these characters as the offensive caricatures that were commonplace in other comics of the time, but the four-color recreations for this book do feature some Asian characters with dimly yellowed skin.
One final warning. At $200 this volume may be a bit expensive for a library collection. Serious collectors of Tarzan lore and comics history should consider this a must-have. However, unless one’s library has a special collection devoted to Platinum Age comics or something similar, this one may be a bit of a budget breaker.
Hal Foster’s Tarzan: The Complete Sunday Comics 1931-1937 By Dian Hanson Art by Hal Foster TASCHEN, 2026 ISBN: 9783754402641
Related media: Book to Comic
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: Canadian,
When an unremarkable player in an expansive virtual fantasy world discovers legendary blacksmithing abilities, it’s not exactly the answer to all his problems—but the ability to craft godlike equipment certainly goes a long way toward changing his circumstances.
Overgeared from IZE Press adapts this story of Youngwoo Shin from the Korean light novel of the same title. Youngwoo ks a bit of a loser in real life, and in the massive online VR Game Satisfy, he’s also a low ranging errand boy. However, when a job goes badly, he uses a powerful in-game item to turn his character into a smith and the successor to the greatest blacksmith in the game’s lore. Reset to base level but with an abundance of new abilities, Youngwoo decides to seize the opportunity in front of him in an effort to make something of himself in the game and out of it (there’s a pile of debt waiting for him back in the real world after all). However, alone and with the odds stacked against him, his only chance will be to craft an arsenal of advanced gear capable of offsetting his weaknesses (and there are many of those). It’s a difficult enough challenge on his own, but Youngwoo’s change has not gone unnoticed, and there are others who are quite interested in seeing what the newly forged smith will make of himself.
Volume 1 opens with intercuts of past and present, introducing Youngwoo’s in-game character named Grid in his overgeared state along with flashbacks to how this adventure began. It’s a bit of a jarring opening to follow, but once the stage is set, the story settles on following Grid in the immediate aftermath of his rebirth as an adventuring smith. There’s lots of game lore and rule mechanics mixed in with the gameplay, but with excitement and humor, the story strikes a fairly quick pace of daring and misadventures. Outside of the game, Youngwoo proves to be a bit of an unlikeable character. Struggling with money, jobs, and relationships, his video game addiction and general lack of motivation hang over his decisions. It’s early in the story yet, so there’s presumably room for growth, but it’s Grid’s sometimes bumbling attempts at gaining levels and fighting enemies that drives most of the story. Volume 1 already establishes a cast of in-game characters and conflicts that promise to kick off more shenanigans. And back in the real world, the game’s developers have also taken notice of Youngwoo’s new fortune, though it remains unclear exactly what they expect of him.
Illustrated in full color, this volume is a vibrant romp through the digital world of Satisfy. Video game menus and notifications are integrated into the story, visible to the characters as much as they are to the reader. And when the action kicks off, magic and combat explode across the page with stylization worthy of adventure comics and video games alike. The characters are distinct and the narrative is generally easy to follow, hitting the range of emotional beats effectively. It’s a comic that seems to relish its own concept and execution, and the art team brings the story to life with a visual language that’s engaging and fun to read.
On the whole, Overgeared is an enjoyable start to a new series. For those not thoroughly familiar with the genre already, the digressions into game mechanics and stats screens might be a bit distracting. And though I expect there’s much more to come, Youngwoo’s shortcomings as a protagonist make him occasionally tricky to root for with full sincerity. All that aside though, there’s a great deal to enjoy here in a comic that, while not necessarily treading any new ground, seems to have a great deal of fun setting out on an adventure. It’s a story aimed comfortably at teens, with plenty of fantasy violence but nothing too troubling in the content otherwise. Especially if readers have previously enjoyed titles like Solo Leveling and Ready Player One, Overgeared should find happy readers ready to settle into familiar territory and see where Grid’s often poor decision making leads next.
Overgeared Vol. One By Team Argo IZE Press, 2023 ISBN: 9798400900518
Related media: Book to Comic
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Korean, Character Representation: Korean,
Giovanni is the kind of painfully shy child bullies focus on. He’s intelligent, despite doubting himself, and is devoted to his homebound mother. Since his father is away and his mother too ill to work, he must support the family—which he does happily—but this means he can’t play with the other children after school. This, of course, doesn’t help his social standing. His one friend is Campanella, who is friends with absolutely everyone. After a brief meeting at the Star Festival, the two find themselves inexplicably on a train to the stars.
They’re awed by their journey through strange lands where birds taste like candy, scorpions burn brightly, and scientists excavate fossils eternally. It’s Giovanni’s first real adventure and he’s delighted with Campanella’s full attention. At each stop they meet new travelers full of purpose. Giovanni—and readers—will slowly realize that there’s a reason the boys are on the train and why he has a special ticket different from everyone else’s.
While I have not yet read the original novel, I was fascinated and followed the story easily, indicating that it made the transition to graphic novel well. This classic story has been adapted several times, including to stage and screen, so it may be of particular interest to readers who enjoy learning about Japanese literature. I’ve even been enticed to check out the novel so I can experience the journey again in another format.
The art style uses fine lines and plenty of detail to bring each stop to life during the journey. At the same time, there are often aspects of the celestial lands that don’t quite feel real. The characters sometimes seem separate from the scenery and some elements almost look like stage props. The level of care and detail elsewhere—particularly on Earth—make this seem planned, as if the other lands truly aren’t quite real or, perhaps, not something Giovanni can fully understand.
Savvy readers will quickly pick up on the twist in the story as the illustrations provide many clues, but it’s also easy to just follow Giovanni’s journey and tensely wait for his intelligence to catch up with the unexpected joy. That intense happiness is readily apparently since Kitahara’s art has a strong focus on the characters’ emotions from blatant to subtle. They’ll display a nearly comical level of exuberance on one page and be sharing a million thoughts with a tiny smile on the next.
As a small critique, the font used for the English translations doesn’t fit all the speech bubbles well, presumably because of the way the Japanese and English writing is oriented differently.
This is a coming of age tale best appreciated by younger teens as the galactic journey is also Giovanni’s road to maturity. While he’s needed to work hard and be responsible, that’s isolated him from his community and many experiences that could shape his older self. On the Galactic Railway he’ll confront the true meaning of friendship, religion, compassion, and loss while having an adventure that may jar him out of his timid life.
This lovely, quiet graphic novel is definitely recommended for library collections.
Kenji Miyazawa’s A Night on the Galactic Railway By Ayano Kitahara Tuttle, 2025 ISBN: 9784805318713
Company Age Rating: Teen Related media: Book to Comic
The Further Adventures of Red Sonja may be the only omnibus collection whose existence was necessitated by American copyright law. While originally created for Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian series as a pastiche of two of Robert E. Howard’s historic heroines—Red Sonya of Rogatino and Dark Agnes de Chastillon—Red Sonja has been run through her own LLC for several decades.
The practical upshot of this is that when Dark Horse Comics began printing omnibus editions of the classic Savage Sword of Conan magazines in 2008, they did not collect those stories starring Red Sonja. Stories where Sonja was a supporting character in Conan the Barbarian were apparently fair game, as she appears with regularity in the Conan the Barbarian reprints. So it was that, for a decade, the only way to enjoy those solo Sonja stories was to track down the original magazines.
Hither came The Further Adventures of Red Sonja, which collects all the Red Sonja tales originally presented in both Savage Sword of Conan magazine and the short-lived Kull and the Barbarians magazine. This would be good news for fans of sword-and-sorcery in general and the She-Devil with a Sword in particular if not for one issue; this is one of the most slap-dash reprints I have ever seen!
The chief problem is that Dynamite Entertainment elected to colorize every story in this collection. Presumably they feared modern comic readers would not want to read a Red Sonja story rendered in monochrome. While some of the colorized comics are not bad, the ones handled by Mike Kelleher are simply awful.
I have seen colorists whose work obscured the original pencils before. Kelleher is the first colorist who I have seen paint over the original inks! Beyond that, he clearly didn’t bother reading the stories he was working on. The text refers to Sonja’s horse as a black steed, and Kelleher renders it in brown. The narration refers to Sonja’s blue eyes closing, and Kelleher gives her green eyes.
It would seem the editors were similarly rushed in their work. Beyond nobody noticing Kelleher’s mistakes, there are two instances of pages being printed out of order in this book. Two of the stories in this volume; “The Road to Zamboula” and “Swordless Zamboula”—have their last pages placed immediately after their opening pages. That is a minor mistake, however, compared to this volume cutting the final page of “The Day of the Sword”.
“The Day of the Sword” is notable historically as the first telling of Red Sonja’s classic origin. It involves Sonja saving a man from being tortured by bandits, only to recognize the victim as the commander of the soldiers who killed her family and raped her. The final page of the original tale ends with Sonja abandoning the man to the wolves of the forest after realizing he’s lost his mind. There is no clear reason for this cut, apart from an apparent desire to make Red Sonja seem more heroic. It can’t be for the sake of content, as the flashback to Sonja’s assault is included in full and depicted again in a different story in this collection.
With all that being noted, I should say the Further Adventures of Red Sonja is not entirely without merit. Of note is “The Wizard and Red Sonja Show”, which writer/artist Frank Thorne adapted from his own stage show. Not even Kelleher’s bumbling can ruin this burlesque tale, in which a bumbling wizard summons multiple Red Sonjas and must determine which is the real one. The closing tale, a four-part adaptation of the first Red Sonja novel, The Ring of Ikribu, is also enjoyable. Despite this, I cannot recommend this volume to anyone but the most die-hard of Red Sonja completists.
The Further Adventures of Red Sonja is rated T+ for readers 16 and up. I would push that up to an Adults Only, should any librarian feel compelled to add this to their collection despite my warnings. While the bloodshed is on par with most OT manga, with severed limbs a common sight, it is the sexual content that is more problematic. There is a bare breast in one of the two comics depicting Sonja’s sexual assault and one provocative scene of her taking a bath. Beyond that, most of the stories open with a group of bandits threatening further sexual assault before Sonja teaches them a lesson. Empowering as this might be, it may also be triggering for some, though one of the stories does explore the idea of Sonja suffering from PTSD and the goddess who blessed her after her family died being a hallucination brought on by grief.
The Further Adventures of Red Sonja Vol. 1 By Roy Thomas, Frank Thorne, Christy Marx, and Bruce Jones Art by Howard Chaykin, John Buscema, Tony Dezuniga, and Esteban Maroto Dynamite, 2018 ISBN: 9781524107994
Company Age Rating: 16+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+)
Character Representation: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
To fully appreciate the 2025 Savage Sword of Conan Vol. 1, a little history must be known.
The first revisions of the Comics Code Authority (CCA) in 1971 paved the way for a Renaissance in the American comic industry. Whole genres once made unviable by the CCA regulations, like fantasy and horror, were once again fair game. Hither came Conan, the most popular of the creations of pulp writer Robert E. Howard, who gained a solo series at Marvel Comics. This Conan the Barbarian title swiftly became one of their best-selling books.
Yet even the new CCA rules did not allow for wholly accurate adaptations of Howard’s stories, or pastiches in the same spirit. Thankfully, the CCA rules did not apply to magazines. So, it was in 1974 that Marvel launched The Savage Sword of Conan; a comic magazine which told adult tales of Conan the Barbarian and other Howard heroes.
Titan Comics acquired the Conan license in 2023 and launched a new Savage Sword of Conan magazine in 2024. This volume collects the first three issues of the magazine, which adheres to the aesthetics of the classic Savage Sword of Conan magazine. Beyond being published in a magazine size, the artwork is all monochromatic and the stories far more visceral. It is also an anthology, featuring stories by a variety of artists and writers. Also, while the lion’s share of stories center around Conan, there are other tales featuring Robert E. Howard’s other creations.
“Conan and the Dragon Horde” by John Arcudi and Max von Fafner tells the tale of an older Conan, not yet a king but a general in command of a cavalry company. He and his men follow a would-be usurper, who promises them wealth in plenty once he takes his rival’s palace. However, the city turns out to be guarded by reptilian beasts.
“Master of the Hunt” by writer/artist Patrick Zircher is a three-part story starring the Puritan Solomon Kane. The witch-hunter is traveling through Wales, when he hears tale of an ungodly beast in need of smiting. This quest turns into a mission of mercy, when a young boy disappears seeking his father, who also vanished hunting the monster.
“Conan: Leaving the Garden” by Jim Zub and Richard Pace is a more horrific tale, which opens with Conan digging himself out of a shallow grave. Wounded and weakened, he nurses his wounds with the aid of a young boy. Unfortunately, the boy’s village hides the same evil that sought to kill and corrupt Conan.
“Conan: Wolves of the Tundra” by Frank Tieri and Cary Nord is another story the leans heavier into horror than fantasy. This time, Conan himself is the monster, cursed with lycanthropy. This leads him on a hunt to find the leader of the pack, whose death is the only thing that might save his soul.
“Conan: Lure of the Pit Creature” by writer/artist Alah Quah is a short, silent story. It finds Conan falling into a pit and chasing after a pretty girl. However, as the title implies, this is bait for a trap.
All these stories and the art that defines them are fine work. The anthology format emulates the pulps of old. Even with the focus on Conan, there is variety. Many of these stories will hold appeal to fans of horror rather than fantasy in general and sword and sorcery in particular. I dare say some manga readers might appreciate the black-and-white artwork.
Titan Comics rates this volume as appropriate for readers 15 and up. I generally agree with the assessment but would advise that the British standards are somewhat looser than those of American publishers. There is considerable violence, on par with an OT manga. This is also some nudity and implied sexual content, with Conan enjoying the affections of a female engineer in “Conan and the Dragon Horde.” Bare breasts and buttocks are visible as they lounge in the afterglow, though the actual act is not shown. To that end, I would suggest librarians shelve this one in the adult collection, lest you face a savage book banner.
The Savage Sword of Conan Vol. 1 By John Arcudi, Patch Zircher, Jim Zub, and Frank Tieri Art by Max von Fafner, Alan Quah, Richard Pace, and Cary Nord Titan, 2025 ISBN: 9781787744318
Company Age Rating: 15+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Canadian, Malaysian,
At five, Ivy learns that she is starless in her useless beast tamer skill. Because of this, her family distances themselves from her andeven sides with the village chief when he demands her sacrifice three years later in order to end their curse and make life better for everyone else in the village. With the help of her only friend, the village seeress, Ivy successfully runs away and makes her way toward the capital.
Ivy disguises herself as a boy, based on a vague feeling from a previous life, and survives by hunting and foraging for food and supplementing her supplies from the various trash piles she comes across on her journey.Ivy forms a bond with a very rare type of slime and a large cat monster. Not trusting people after how her village treated her, Ivy mostly keeps to herself; however, after she arrives at a new town, the captain and vice-captain take a liking to her and go out of their way to help her (all while thinking she is a boy).
Ivy learns that there are good people in the world but gets spooked when reports of others fleeing her village reach her. She decides to move on to continue her journey.This story is an isekai (someone from our world is reincarnated or summoned to another world-either with game-like mechanics or fantasy elements), but unlike in other isekai, Ivy doesn’t seem to remember any specifics from her previous life, just feelings or facts about that help her survive.
This story features a young girl under 10 disguised as a boy, which would appeal to younger, middle grade readers. And I would recommend putting it in your middle grade graphic novel collection. The only issue that might come up is that in later volumes (4 or 5) starts an arc that deals with child abduction into the slave trade. This arc is also included in the anime adaptation. If the anime followed the manga, then none of the violence against children is shown on screen. Most of the fifth manga volume is actually just discussion of events and possible solutions, including using Ivy as bait.I appreciated that the theme of the series seems to be on trust and building relationships with caution and kindness.
A nice departure from the more violent isekai that focus on beating monsters to level up. I also liked the world building aspects. There’s quite a few scenes devoted to money, banking, and trash clean up. Specifically, trash is collected in specified areas near town and monster tamers who bond with slimes travel around to dissolve the trash that can’t be reused. I don’t think readers will be put off by these bits of world building since they are sprinkled throughout the character building.The art style matched the story, whimsical and fluid, lots of small details to flesh out the characters and the world. And it’s consistent through the first five volumes as well. It softens the harsher discussions and themes. Each volume has also included a bonus comic and short story. There are six manga volumes out in English and volume eight of the original light novel was just released in December with volume nine planned to release in April 2025.
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash By Honobonoru500 Art by Tou Fukino Seven Seas, 2022 ISBN: 9781638584124
Volume
ISBN
2
9781638587323
3
9781685795429
4
9798888430477
5
9798888433973
Company Age Rating: Teen Series ISBNs and Order Related media: Book to Comic, Comic to TV
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
Youngwoo Shin is a total loser. He is in debt to his parents, working freelance construction jobs to pay the bills, and has no hobbies or interests beyond video games. His favorite is the VR MMORPG Satisfy, which is the biggest fantasy game of its kind. It is there that Yongwoo becomes Grid the Warrior… and is just as much a loser as in the real world.
Three years of grinding and Grid has only managed to attain the modest rank of Level 73. Most other players who have been playing that long have levels over 200 and have found rare artifacts and unlocked special legendary classes. And Youngwoo loses even that after he stumbles across a magical tome containing the knowledge of a legendary blacksmith.
The bad news is that Grid has been knocked down to negative class levels and Youngwoo must start from square one. The good news is that his new Legendary Craftsman class has some special abilities that make up for his lack of combat power. These include the ability to wield any weapon and armor in the game and the ability to craft epic level items.
True, he takes a penalty for wielding unsuitable gear, but what does that matter when he still has an effective level 100 points higher than his single-digit attack score? Or when he can start selling the gear he crafts to make real-world money? Thus begins the legend of a new Legendary Blacksmith, who will forever change the world of Satisfy.
Overgeared started out as a Korean light novel series. It was later adapted into a graphic novel and has now been translated into English. In terms of story, it is like other Isekai science fiction where the hero enters a virtual fantasy world. What reportedly distinguishes it from similar series, however, is how Youngwoo grows as a person as the series continues and the complexity of its mythology.
There are signs of this in the first volume of Overgeared. Much of this book is devoted to explaining the world of Satisfy and the mechanics of how the game works. This is far from expository, however, and the information is naturally conveyed as Youngwoo learns about his new class and compares it to his old one.
We also learn through the eyes of other adventurers, who are stunned to see epic level arrows capable of slaying high-level enemies with a single shot showing up in the marketplace. There is also an early scene showing the game designers discussing the Legendary Blacksmith tome and what may happen when such power falls into the hands of a relative nobody.
The artwork of Team Argo is suitably animated and perfectly suit the story. The shading and inking effects are particularly noteworthy, giving an unusual sense of depth to the finished artwork. There are also subtle shifts in the color palettes, with cooler colors being used to denote the dull reality of Youngwoo’s life compared to the vibrant hues that dominate the world of Satisfy.
This volume is rated T for readers 13 and up. I consider that to be a fair rating. There is no nudity or sexual content, largely because Youngwoo seems uninterested in sex. Indeed, apart from one other warrior in a low-cut corset, there’s hardly any of the usual sexualized fantasy armor one expects to see in an Isekai comic. The violence level is also appropriate to the age range, with no excessive bloodshed.
Overgeared, Vol. 1 By Monohumbug Art by Team Argo Ize Press, 2023 ISBN: 9798400900518
Company Age Rating: 13+ Related media: Book to Comic
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: South Korean, Character Representation: South Korean,
Full Disclosure: This is a self-published graphic novel.
Tobias Henry is a preacher’s son, but he has little use for God or his Bible-thumping father. The only use he has for the Bible is rereading the surprisingly sexual content of the Song of Solomon. His worst fear is the Rapture will come before he finds a wife, because of his father’s assurance that there is no sex in Heaven – just endless hymn singing. Naturally this sounds like Hell to a 19-year-old who’d rather spend his days fishing.
It is thanks to Tobias’ skipping an Easter Sunday service in favor of fishing that an unlikely chain of events leads to his father wrapping his car around a tree and being blinded by bird poop. With his firing from his position eminent, the preacher gives Tobias a tearful confession. He tells Tobias of his misspent youth as a musician and the dirty money he buried in a dry well in Texas. Now the sheltered Tobias must travel across the country on a mission of mercy. This exposes him to the harsh realities of 1930s America, which had not touched his hometown of Remus, Michigan. It also leads him to befriend a hook-handed scoundrel named Craw and a woman named Sarah, who might be everything he ever dreamed of.
I have not read the novel The Dirty Parts of the Bible, so I cannot assess how well or poorly this graphic novel adapts the original text. Author Sam Torode, who also wrote this adaptation, describes the graphic novel as “a complete re-visioning of the story – full of surprises even for those who’ve read the original book.” In any case, both are based on the Book of Tobit, with the characters transplanted from 2nd century Judea to 20th century Texas.
Regardless, this graphic novel is a riveting read I got through in one sitting. The setting is well captured by the text, and Torode does not shy away from showing how rough life was during the Great Depression. Tobias is a likeable protagonist, moral if not godly, who takes people at their word and tries to help others within his means. Craw is a loveable rogue, who manages to defy most of the Magic Negro cliches despite being a stand-in for the archangel Raphael. And Sarah is a likeable love interest, who is not afraid to call Tobias out on his nonsense, as he grows to true manhood while defying the curse she fears controls her life.
The artwork by Tina Ritchie is simple and streamlined. It perfectly captures the spirit of the time period and the attitudes of the characters. I particularly like the expressive faces most of the characters have. The monochromatic coloring is another particularly effective choice, giving the finished art the feeling of a classic movie.
There is no official age rating on the cover of The Dirty Parts of the Bible. Sam Torode himself recommends it for audiences 16 and up and I think that is fair. Some may object to the blasphemy Craw and Tobias express, but this ironically reinforces the novel’s greater themes of goodness existing independent of the structure of a church. There’s no overt nudity, but a fair bit of sexual content. Most of this comes up during Tobias’ daydreams and his encounter with a prostitute after accidentally renting a room in a brothel thinking it is a hotel. There’s also a fair bit of cursing and some violence, but nothing inappropriate for a teen audience. Older teens, however, will be in a better position to appreciate Tobias and Sarah’s respective problems and the romance that blooms between them.
The Dirty Parts of the Bible: A Graphic Novel By Sam Torode Art by Tina Ritchie Independently Published, 2023 ISBN: 9798851983801
Company Age Rating: 16+ Series ISBNs and Order Related media: Book to Comic
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Amber Brown was one of a number of popular beginning chapter series published in the 90s. Others include Junie B. Jones, Bailey School Kids, and Magic Tree House. Like the latter two, Amber Brown has now gotten a graphic novel treatment.
The original book was 80 pages long with illustrations by Tony Ross. Victoria Ying’s adaptation expands it to 100 pages but sticks closely to the story. Readers meet Amber Brown and her best friend Justin in this first book in the series. Amber Brown is quirky, messy, she lives with her mom (her dad moved away when they got divorced) and she has messy brown hair that she wears in pigtails. She loves her third grade class, gets along (mostly) with the other students and especially likes their engaging teacher, Mr. Cohen. She also very much likes her best friend Justin. They have been friends forever and together they complement each other perfectly. Except.
Justin is moving away. Not only that, they have had a big fight and Amber is going to have to find a new best friend right away, just to prove to Justin that she doesn’t need him after all. However, with some advice and patient listening from adults in her life, Amber determines to resolve things and mend their friendship before Justin really does leave.
Ying has created a variety of graphic novels for different ages and she does a good job here of keeping the spirit of the original while updating it for a new audience. Outdated references like cursive are removed and contemporary things like video calls are included. Ying adds her own flair while keeping the original character designs from Ross. Amber still has her white t-shirt and black pants, but leggings have been substituted for her stirrup pants and slip-ons for her tennis shoes. Mr. Cohen still has curly, dark hair, but is now explicitly Black. Ying includes Amber Brown’s memories and imagination, giving those panels a wash of colors to differentiate them from regular occurrences.
While the original books may still be popular in some libraries, I only kept the first title in my library since it’s rarely asked for, other than the occasional teacher assignment. There are plenty of contemporary, realistic fiction books that are similar and while the original is well-written and relatable, the details make the book outdated and Tony Ross’s illustrations are no longer well-known or popular. Victoria Ying’s adaptation gives new life to this classic series and teachers looking for read-alikes for Smile and other realistic graphic novels for 2nd and 3rd graders will be delighted to have a new series to hand out to young readers.
Amber Brown is Not a Crayon, Vol. 1 By Paula Danziger Art by Victoria Ying Putnam Pub Group, 2024 ISBN: 9780593615706
One False Note is the second installment of the 39 Clues series. The series itself is a collaboration between several authors (and, from what I can tell, several different series within the series). It tells the story of two siblings—Amy and Dan Cahill —who find out that their family has had a hand in, not just some, but all of history’s great events; a tradition that they still carry into the present day.
The story sees our sibling duo, the cat Saladin, and their au pair Nellie Gomez en route to Vienna to find the second of the 39 clues. But this treasure hunt has a ticking time bomb—Amy, Dan, and Nellie are going up against a number of other distant relatives who are much more experienced in clue-finding and much more familiar with the lore of the Cahill Family (unlike myself).
I typically have a structure when I write these reviews. Ordinarily, I would be talking about the art here, but I want to break out of it for this one and just say that I had zero context for the larger story of this series and although that didn’t affect my comprehension of the plot of this book, it definitely left me a little baffled about why some things were significant. Readers going in blind might trouble understanding the stakes in full – the front page with all the expository information mentions that whoever assembles all 39 clues will “become the most powerful Cahill of all,” but never explains how or why or what that might even mean to the world at large. Perhaps I’m not supposed to know at this point.
There is something a little nostalgic and amusing about the narrative and how the characters move and scheme – it reminds me of the original Hanna-Barbera Scooby-Doo cartoon, or maybe Johnny Quest; exotic locations, historical artifacts, animal companions, shadowy legions of enemies, unlikely day-saving coincidences, etc. The art style is functional and reads easily; blocky shapes with minimal highlights and shadows. I would not say it’s visually dynamic. The overall color pallet is muted, which is an interesting choice for a children’s book (in my opinion), but the pallet does change between sets of characters to better express their intentions in relation to the heroes. Historical architecture and buildings are lovingly, if simply, recreated in illustrations. The artwork all seems to have the same weight and visual hierarchy from page-to-page; no high contrast or colors, no large empty spaces to let moments have their impact on the reader, and no high-detail renders of anything.
Young fans of history will be pleased to know that each clue highlights a location and person of historical significance, so there is definitely some potential to foster intellectual curiosity. This specific volume highlights the life and work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
I think this series has a very specific audience; the narrative relies on a lot of heist storytelling tropes – newcomers to the genre will likely be entertained (as folks familiar with it will likely sigh and roll their eyes) – and makes use of puzzles, codes, and ciphers. Younger readers will be able to follow along and solve, if they are so inclined, along with the protagonists. The story is written simply, with a little bit of humor, and makes for a fully cohesive narrative.
If you’re adding this to your collection, I would recommend that you ensure you have all the other 39 Clues books (not necessarily the graphic novels) so that readers who are curious about the overall story are able to access it and fully piece together just what’s going on. But you’re probably just as good giving this one a miss. Much like its distant cousin, The DaVinci Code, with its historical conspiracies, I personally found this book very middle of the road. The best I can say for it, and I hope that this review has conveyed, is that it’s a competent graphic novel.
39 Clues: One False Note By Gordon Korman?I Art by by Hannah Temple Graphix, 2024 ISBN: 9781339026473
Publisher Age Rating: 8-12 NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11)
Company Age Rating: 8-12 Related media: Book to Comic
answer to all his problems—but the ability to craft godlike equipment certainly goes a long way toward changing his circumstances.
mother. Since his father is away and his mother too ill to work, he must support the family—which he does happily—but this means he can’t play with the other children after school. This, of course, doesn’t help his social standing. His one friend is Campanella, who is friends with absolutely everyone. After a brief meeting at the Star Festival, the two find themselves inexplicably on a train to the stars.
law. While originally created for Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian series as a pastiche of two of Robert E. Howard’s historic heroines—Red Sonya of Rogatino and Dark Agnes de Chastillon—Red Sonja has been run through her own LLC for several decades.
To fully appreciate the 2025 Savage Sword of Conan Vol. 1, a little history must be known.
interests beyond video games. His favorite is the VR MMORPG Satisfy, which is the biggest fantasy game of its kind. It is there that Yongwoo becomes Grid the Warrior… and is just as much a loser as in the real world.
Full Disclosure: This is a self-published graphic novel.
Jones, Bailey School Kids, and Magic Tree House. Like the latter two, Amber Brown has now gotten a graphic novel treatment.
authors (and, from what I can tell, several different series within the series). It tells the story of two siblings—Amy and Dan Cahill —who find out that their family has had a hand in, not just some, but all of history’s great events; a tradition that they still carry into the present day.
