In My Brother’s Husband, writer and artist Gengoroh Tagame takes a heartfelt look at what it means to be a family and gay in Japan.
After sending his young daughter Kana off to elementary school, divorced stay-at-home dad Yaichi is surprised to find on his suburban Tokyo doorstep, a large, friendly, Canadian man who claims to be his dead brother’s husband. What follows is a sweet but awkward look into familial relationships and the cultural, social taboos still present in modern-day Japan. Kana serves as the bluntly honest conscience of this first volume by asking the questions adults are afraid to ask. This allows her bewildered father to ask questions about the biases of himself and of his community, ready to defend his new, albeit unusual, family member, and protect his daughter’s heart.
This is more of a slice-of-life story with larger issues at work but told in an easy-to-read language. It contains plenty of explanations of everyday life and customs in Japan for the hulking-but-affable Mike, as well as for the reader. The story covers some fairly common societal assumptions about homosexuality: whether gay individuals are a “bad influence” on children; do gay men find heterosexual men attractive; and how young gay people come out to their families. Bigger questions arise as Yaichi takes Mike on a tour of their hometown, which brings back memories of his twin, Ryoji. Mike, who’s still grieving, begins making an emotional connection with Yaichi and, especially, Kana.
Like Kana, I was charmed by Mike’s friendly, outgoing attitude and eagerness to learn more about his Japanese family. Her easy acceptance of the situation is what makes the story great. It is the adults who are most confused about the simple act of loving another human being. The child simply opens her heart and, I hope, her father and Japanese society follow suit. Gay marriage is not currently legal in Japan and, despite the openly embraced and highly-selling manga genres of yaoi, yuri, and bara, open homosexual relationships are still fairly taboo. I am definitely interested to see where the next volume takes the story. Yaichi has unresolved issues with his dead brother and subconscious worries about his daughter and Mike that manifest in dream sequences.
While the issue of gay marriage is an adult one, the manga is not inappropriate for teens or middle grade kids (depending on their maturity). The language, art, and ideas are presented in a straightforward manner without salacious details or sexual situations. This manga is Tagame’s first venture into an all-ages story. His previous work has been in mostly bara, sexually explicit manga geared towards homosexual readers. Tagame’s artwork isn’t typical of other manga genres. His male characters are hyper-masculine, sometimes bearish (common in bara). With simple, strong lines, and clean backgrounds, the characters’ faces are expressive and convey plenty of emotion to draw the reader into the story.
The comic was serialized in Japan in the seinen manga magazine Monthly Action in 2014. It’s been licensed in English and published in the US by Pantheon Books. Printed as a graphic novel in 2017, this volume is sold in a hardcover, omnibus edition, which makes it more expensive than most manga or graphic novels. It reads in classic manga style—right to left—and is also available in a Kindle version. The manga was adapted into a live-action television mini-series and aired in March of 2018.
As a realistic, slice-of-life manga it would fit in any collection. For yaoi fans like myself, it gives a different perspective on the real status of homosexuality and Japanese life.
My Brother’s Husband, vol. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame ISBN: 9781101871515 Pantheon Books, NY, 2017 Publisher Age Rating: no rating
Tokyo Ghoul: re is the sequel to Sui Ishida’s hit horror manga, Tokyo Ghoul. The setting is a Tokyo not unlike ours, with the exception that monstrous ghouls walk among us, disguised as humans, while preying on them for food. The ghouls are gruesome killers and operate similarly to street gangs or the mafia. They organize as clans and get up to all kinds of nefarious stuff, mostly eating humans and sometimes other ghouls. To combat the ghouls, there is a Commission of Counter Ghouls. This group works as a supernatural police force investigating murders and crimes related to ghoul activity. The book centers around one group of new recruits, the Quinx Squad, led by Haise Sasaki. Readers familiar with Tokyo Ghoul will quickly realize Sasaki is actually Ken Kaneki who is suffering from amnesia.
Kaneki was the central character in Tokyo Ghoul. In it, he survived an attack by a ghoul, but surgeons unknowingly transplanted a ghoul organ into his body. This organ, called a kagune, turns Kaneki into a ghoul/human hybrid. The kagune acts like a flexible, bony, deadly tentacle and is a ghoul’s predatory organ, emerging when the ghoul is stressed, in danger, or hungry. Kagunes are nearly indestructible with conventional weapons, so the CCG harvests the kagune from deceased ghouls to create weapons called quinques for their investigators.
Following the events of Tokyo Ghoul, the CCG creates the Quinx Squad. This squad is special as recruits signed up to have quinques surgically implanted in their bodies, making them ghoul hybrids like Kaneki/Sasaki. (I will refer to him as Sasaki from here on.)
Volume one centers around introducing the Quinx Squad and how the CCG operates. The Quinx Squad’s goal is that its members will surpass the CCG’s star ghoul investigator, Kisho Arima. Of course, the Squad bumbles along, in spite of their powers. Sasaki struggles to control his subordinates and often flounders as the mentor he’s supposed to be. Toru Mutsuki is unable to get his kagune to manifest and wears an eye patch to cover up the ghoul eye he can’t make go away. Ghouls’ eyes glow red when fighting or eating but otherwise remain normal as part of their human disguise. Matsuki’s inability to hide his ghoul eye is a serious problem. Mutsuki also identifies as trans and the Squad is unaware. Kuki Urie is the new recruit with a chip on his shoulder. Urie thinks he’s better than everyone else and often makes foolish decisions. His arrogance leads him into things like not waiting for backup or chasing down ghoul suspects on his own. Ambitious and manipulative, Urie hates Sasaki and wants to be in charge. Ginshi Shirazu is the affable screw up. He joined the squad because he’s always behind on his bills and needed the money. The last Quinx Squad member is absent from the first volume. Saiko Yonebayashi spends her days locked in her room at the Quinx apartment. She spends most of her time playing video games and watching anime. She did really well on the Quinx aptitude test in school, so her mother signed her up for the financial compensation. Saiko doesn’t want to work but she really doesn’t want to go back to her abusive mother. Sasaki is empathetic to this situation.
Volume one of Tokyo Ghoul: re does a great job weaving the character introductions within the context of the storyline. There is a ghoul called “the Torso” that is killing women and taking their torsos, leaving behind the head and appendages. Quinx Squad isn’t supposed to investigate the case as they are still too green. Egotistical Urie decides he can solve this case, despite not being fulling trained. Through a series of events that leads to angering the more experienced squad handling the Torso case, Quinx Squad ends up collaborating with them at the request of a senior investigator. It’s a race to who can get a physical description of the Torso first. They figure out, based on the murder victims and locations, that the ghoul must be a taxi driver who picks up people around hospitals. All the victims have surgery scars on their torsos. The squad splits up to cover more ground, investigating different hospitals. Mutsuki jumps into a cab following a hunch. The driver is the Torso. He attacks Mutsuki, ripping open his shirt, revealing his trans identity. There is an immediate backstory flashback. This reveal is an example of trans body horror and is incredibly disrespectful to trans individuals. It is degradingly played out for shock value. Mutsuki is able to get away from the ghoul and the rest of the team attacks. The Torso turns out to be part of the Aogori Tree Clan and a ghoul named Orochi shows up to save him. Sasaki goes head to head with Orochi and that’s when we find out Sasaki is part ghoul.
As in the original series, Sasaki continues an internal struggle with his internal ghoul personality. Sasaki, fighting in full ghoul mode, has a hard time regaining his control. The CCG, aware of this problem, is ready to eliminate him if he cannot control the monster within, but Sasaki comes back to himself. Volume one concludes with the squad finding out they will investigate the Aogori Tree Clan. Quinx Squad goes to the coffee house Sasaki used to hang out at when he was Ken Keneki. The ghouls running the place recognize him but he doesn’t remember them.
Volume two finally introduces Saiko Yonebayashi. Sasaki promoted Shirazu to leader and demoted Urie from leadership position to teach him humility. Now Shirazu is tasked with getting Saiko up and working which lends the story some comic relief.
The Quinx Squad is assigned the Nutcracker case. The Nutcracker is a ghoul who consumes men’s testicles. She also works for ghoul madams and there is an upcoming ghoul auction in which human victims will be auctioned off. A sting operation is put into place to get close to the Nutcracker and get into the auction. Since the ghoul is looking for women, the squad dresses as women, hoping to get an introduction to the Nutcracker at a nightclub.
This creates an awkward situation with Mutsuki’s trans identity and he is obviously uncomfortable. However, Mutsuki makes a connection with the Nutcracker, and they get the information regarding the location and time of the auction. Suzuya decides to use Mutsuki as bait, which leads to Mutsuki in another dress, getting kidnapped and sold on the auction floor along with CCG investigator, Juzo Suzuya. All hell opens up when it’s Suzuya’s turn to be auctioned off. He has a prosthetic leg filled with knives that he unleashes into the audience. Volume two ends in chaos.
Volume three has multiple events taking place at the ghoul auction. This series is really good at threading subplots throughout the main story line and you really see that here. This is a high level CCG operation mobilizing all their squads. It can be a little chaotic keeping up with everything going on as there are a lot of quick cuts to the next subplot/main plot element. The reader is introduced to more ghouls like the Clowns, more members of Aogori Tree (who are providing security for the auction), Big Madam, and Kanae. Mutsuki keeps trying to get away, but is chased by the Torso and then by Kanae. Kanae works for Master Shu, the ghoul that was obsessed with trying to eat Ken Kaneki in the original series. He is sure that his master will enjoy eating Matuski and wants to bring him back with him. Urie ends up rescuing Matuski. Instead of regrouping with other squads, they strike out for Big Madam because Urie is only thinking about glory gained. It does not go well for him, but Suzuya steps in and deals with the Madame. His story is in Tokyo Ghoul and this wraps up some unfinished business from his past. Shirazu and Saiko go toe-to-toe with the Nutcracker and win by using the ghoul’s own traps against her. Meanwhile, Sasaki is in a fight with a ghoul who calls him Ken Kanaki, causing another internal struggle between him and his inner ghoul. Sasaki comes to terms with the fact that he is also Ken Kaneki. Another ghoul defends Sasaki because she was friends with Ken Kaneki while Sasaki is wrestling with his identity. Volume three wraps with the CCG debriefing the case. There were a lot of casualties on both sides, ghoul threats eradicated, and important intel gained.
Toyko Ghoul: re is a gory horror manga suited more for older teens and adults. The art is really well done and the fight scenes are so frenetic readers can feel the energy jumping off the page. There is so much happening in big action sequences that it can be a little confusing. Each character has a well thought-out design and all are easy to visually tell apart. Readers should read the first series for a better understanding of plot lines and character motivations. I did not read Tokyo Ghoul, but was able to follow the story well enough. I did look things up if I felt I was reading something about a character that I should know from the original series. Each volume has extra content at the end of the book: small character vignettes or even short stories which add some more depth. I really enjoyed Sasaki’s conflict over his identity. It is a great metaphor for mental illness or accepting one’s flaws and vulnerabilities.
Where this series fell apart for me was Mutsuki’s trans identity. His trans reveal is done in a very disrespectful way and he’s never given real agency over his plot line. Using him as bait and having him dress as a woman is a transphobic creative choice and is not the only one in this series. I can’t in good conscience recommend adding it to a library collection. An LGBT character needs to have agency over their own storyline and also have acceptance of that identity. That is not present in this manga.
Tokyo Ghoul: re, vols. 1-3 By Sui Ishida Vol. 1 ISBN: 9781421594965 Vol. 2 ISBN: 9781421594972 Vol. 3 ISBN: 9781421594989 Viz Media. 2017-2018 Publisher Age Range: Older Teen
For those familiar with Pearson’s comics, Hilda and the Hidden People is a retread of the events of Hilda and the Midnight Giant and Hilda and the Troll, with some expansions and embellishments to pad the spare story out into a 170 page novel.
Hilda is a young girl living in a Scandinavian-esque northern valley she shares with trolls, elves, and giants. The young adventurer passes her days tramping around the hills with her deer fox Twig and filling her sketchbook, followed by cozy evenings curled up by fire with her mother. Life is peaceful until the pair receive threatening letters from a group calling themselves the Hidden People, demanding that Hilda and her mother abandon their home. When the invisible creatures lead an all-out attack on the house, Hilda’s mother begins to think that moving to Trolberg, the nearest human metropolis, might be the best course. Hilda, who loves the valley and her magical friends, is determined to neutralize the threat and change her mother’s mind about moving to the city.
Luckily, she has the help of one of the Hidden People, a diminutive elf named Alfur. It turns out that the Hidden People aren’t so much hidden as invisible—in order to see them, considerable paperwork must be processed. Hilda soon realizes that her seemingly isolated home is actually surrounded by a sprawling community of tiny elves of which she has never been aware (and to which she has apparently been causing some inconvenience). As Hilda struggles to reach a peaceful resolution with the leaders of the Hidden People, she is also caught up in a different puzzle. A mountain-sized giant has been stalking the hills at midnight, and Hilda is the only one who has seen him. Hilda finds that her small elf problem may be unexpectedly connected to her giant mystery—and that moving to Trolberg may not be so bad after all.
Hilda and the Hidden People is the first of several illustrated middle grade novels Flying Eye Books has planned to coincide with the debut of the Hilda animated series on Netflix. Originally created by Luke Pearson as a series of large-format graphic novels, Hilda is adapted to prose by British author Stephen Davies, with illustrations by Seaerra Miller. Miller does an admirable job capturing Pearson’s characters and aesthetics in chapter headings and occasional full-page illustrations. Unfortunately, Davies has not captured Pearson’s authorial voice nearly so well.
Davies’s adaptation is rather bland as a whole, and he writes Hilda as very young and excitable—absent is the dry humor and wiser-than-her-years self-assurance of Pearson’s graphic heroine. Much of the dialogue comes straight from the graphic novel, though vocabulary seems to be simplified in places. Visual jokes are retained, but don’t come across in prose without additional (and unfunny) explanation. Most significantly, this adaptation lacks the sense of folkloric texture and everyday magic that is so present in Pearson’s comics. The book reads as a young middle grade or advanced chapter book, and although the Hildafolk comics can be heartily enjoyed by an adult as easily as a child, I don’t expect Hilda and the Hidden People will be much enjoyed outside the seven-to-ten audience Flying Eye is targeting.
Hilda and the Hidden People is a serviceable introduction to the world of Hildafolk for young middle grade readers. It doesn’t stand well on its own as middle-grade fantasy, and will work best as a tie-in for fans brought in by the new animated series. For existing fans of the comics, this novel is not a particularly good supplement. It adds no new material to the stories and largely fails to capture much of the sophisticated charm and snarky tone of the Pearson’s work. Two more Hilda novels are scheduled for 2019, the first of which, Hilda and the Great Parade, is due out in January.
Hilda and the Hidden People by Stephen Davies, Luke Pearson Art by Seaerra Miller ISBN: 9781911171447 Flying Eye Books, 2018 Publisher Age Rating: 7-10
When I was a kid, I got a lot of joy out of reading snippets of Archie and Betty & Veronica comics while waiting in line at the grocery store with my parents. There was something about these short stories, all seemingly pulled from a vast and cyclical pool of common cultural knowledge about the going-ons in Riverdale, that captivated me from a young age. In a lot of ways, I credit Archie for instilling in me a lifelong love of serial stories and graphic narratives, and Your Pal Archie has the potential to do this with a new generation of readers.
Like the original Archie comics from the 1940s and 1950s, Your Pal Archie consists of ten standalone stories that focus on the life of high schooler Archie Andrews, his best friend Jughead Jones, socialite Veronica Lodge, and girl-next-door Betty Cooper. The four teenagers, along with other friends and rivals, get into silly situations together in their small American town of Riverdale.
Your Pal Archie comes on the heels of the explosively popular CW television series Riverdale, which places Archie and his friends within a modern murder mystery. Riverdale sparked a renewed interest in Archie, and with that interest has come several new projects. These include modern comic series about Archie, Jughead, and Betty & Veronica, as well as the imaginative Archie Horror imprint, which publishes Afterlife with Archie, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and other spooky re-imaginings of the classic characters. Though Riverdale’s dark reinvention of the Archie universe has been massively successful, Your Pal Archie is something else entirely. Intended as a family-friendly homage to the classic layout and storytelling of the original strips, Your Pal Archie is unique from the other titles coming out today.
The style and storylines of this title closely mirror the original strips, unlike the other current offerings within the Archie universe, which generally sport a new artistic style and follow one consistent storyline from issue to issue. Aside from Archie’s updated haircut and a subtle redesign of everyone’s outfits, Your Pal Archie sticks to the conventions of the classic stories from the grocery aisles of yore. Artist Dan Parent, notable for his introduction of Kevin Keller, the first openly gay member of in 2002, is a longtime member of the staff and manages to channel the classic artistic style with delightful accuracy. Writer Ty Templeton, known for his work on superhero titles such as Batman & Robin Adventures, sticks to the time-tested formula for an Archie story and does not stray far from the slapstick physical comedy and wacky situations that made the original comic strip popular.
While Your Pal Archie does not contain any surprises or deviations from the classic series, it will not disappoint longtime fans. The book is aimed at children 9-12 years old, and while the stories will be appealing to this age group, it is more likely that older kids and adults who recognize the Archie brand will be most likely to pick it up. It would be an excellent purchase for libraries where classic comic strips like Peanuts and Garfield circulate heavily. It would also be a great place to start for those without a current Archie collection, and may be a more universally appealing purchase than most other current offerings from Archie Comics. Your Pal Archie promises to be the first in a series of volumes, though the stories within are self-contained and can stand alone.
Your Pal Archie, vol. 1 by Ty Templeton Art by Dan Parent ISBN: 9781682559215 Archie Comics, 2018 Publisher Age Rating: 9-12
Occasionally in comics, it’s time to “get the team back together again”. The new Runaways series is no exception. The original concept followed Nico, Chase, Gert, Karolina, Molly, and Alex as they learned their parents were super villains in the Marvel Universe and went on the run together to escape them. With a TV show on Hulu, it is an obvious time to relaunch this series. Marvel has also brought in young adult novelist, Rainbow Rowell of Eleanor & Park fame to write the series. There aren’t many people who could follow up on Brian K. Vaughan’s well known run on a book he created, but I was genuinely excited to see what Rowell could bring to these characters. If the first volume is any indication, it will be a fun ride.
Rowell starts off with some challenges. The team is spread to the wind, several original characters are dead, and it’s hard to call a bunch of 20-year-olds who have lost their parents, “runaways”. Other than Molly, they aren’t kids anymore.
The story begins as Chase finds a way to bring a former teammate back to life. Thus, the first part of the story involves Chase and Nico catching this newly alive character (and the readers) up on what teammates have been doing since that character’s death. Once the exposition is taken care of, these three teammates go out to gather the rest of the team. What they find is that everyone is leading fulfilling lives and are reluctant to start being heroes again. When they reach their youngest and strongest member, Molly, the conflict of this first book in the series starts in earnest.
Molly is living with her grandmother and seems to be thriving. Her grandmother is warm and friendly and seems to understand everything the kids are going through. Yet, in order for them to be Runaways again, history must repeat itself. Soon, we find grandma is up to no good and the team must break free of her influence and go on the run again.
The core team is back together and Rowell captures the characteristics of each team member well. The revived character is now one of the youngest members and past relationships are more complicated (it will be creepy if they revive romantic relationships for this character as their partner is now an adult). Rowell brings a lot of humor to the team and it is welcome. It might be challenging to introduce new readers to this book because their history is so complicated, but I expect future volumes will shine since the complex part of gathering the team again is done.
One of the strongest points of this book is the artwork by Kris Anka and coloring by Matthew Wilson. Anka’s linework is clean, yet still more realistic than cartoonish. His faces are particularly good as he can convey a range of emotions with minimal drawing. Wilson brings vibrant colors to bear on the various skin colors and hair colors of the characters. Fashion is always important to young characters who don’t have costumes and both Anka & Wilson bring style and panache to these characters’ wardrobes. The art team is top notch.
Most libraries with extensive teen graphic novel or YA selections will want this book. Followers of the previous books, Rowell’s fans and people interested in the TV show will want to take a look. I’m hopeful that future volumes can shine a spotlight on these great characters and help them reach a new audience. Runaways was the first in a wave of young superhero books that led to Ms. Marvel, Squirrel-Girl, and many more great new heroes. They deserve more time in the spotlight.
Runaways, vol. 1: Find Your Way Home by Rainbow Rowell Art by Kris Anka and Matthew Wilson ISBN: 9781302908522 Marvel, 2018 Publisher Age Rating: teen
Justice, like lightning Should ever appear To some men hope, And to other men fear!
Paraphrasing a poem by Thomas Randolph, Jefferson Pierce penned those prophetic lines as a student in the Metropolis neighborhood known as Suicide Slum. A gifted athlete and scholar, Pierce could have escaped the bad side of town after finding success as an Olympic decathlete and winning a gold medal. Instead, he earned a degree and returned to Garfield High School as a teacher, hoping he could inspire the next generation to follow his example.
Pierce would prove successful, but not in the way he wanted. After forcibly removing a drug dealer from the school grounds, one of his students joined him in fighting back when the drug dealer returned with muscle from The 100—the criminal gang that ran most of Suicide Slum. That student died later that same night—a warning to Pierce and anyone else who had any bright ideas about fighting back.
Thinking of the poem from his youth, Pierce resolved to keep fighting but in a way that would protect his students from harm. Donning a costume and wig provided by his foster father, tailor Paul Gambi, as well as a special belt that generated a force-field that repelled bullets and gave him a shocking touch, Pierce, as Black Lightning, vowed to rid his neighborhood of The 100 and anyone else who threatened his students.
Black Lightning is a notable character for many reasons. In addition to being the first black superhero to headline his own comic at DC Comics, he was the first black superhero born of a working-class background. Writer Tony Isabella discussed this point in his introduction to this volume, while discussing the history of Black Lightning in specific, black characters in comics in general, and the need for a character like Jefferson Pierce.
Until Jefferson Pierce, all the most famous black superheroes were, in Isabella’s words, “all foreign or street with little middle ground.” Shockingly Jefferson Pierce was the first black superhero who was depicted as having a day job and a secret identity, rather than being a full-time trouble-shooter like Luke Cage or Misty Knight. Isabella’s essay is a thoughtful read and makes this volume well worth reading even ignoring the comics.
Of course we can’t ignore the comics, which have aged surprisingly well over the past forty years. The only sour note in the writing is the occasional bit of “jive turkey” slang, yet even that works as the language is an affectation Jefferson adopts so no one will connect Black Lightning to the more articulate Jefferson Pierce. There’s also a slight oddity in the final two stories, written by Dennis O’Neil, which are focused on the one-shot characters Black Lightning is helping rather than Jefferson Pierce himself. The stories aren’t bad but O’Neil is far preachier in how he tackles social issues than Isabella and the lack of subtlety between their styles is like night or day.
The artwork is uniformly fantastic. Both Trevor Von Eeden and Mike Nasser do an amazing job of translating Isabella and O’Neil’s scripts into visual action. The only oddity to the artwork is that DC Comics didn’t see fit to correct the coloring mistakes from the original comics that depict Black Lightning with white skin in a few stray panels!
This volume is rated 12+ for teen audiences and that rating is a fair one. There’s no objectionable content given that these stories were originally written to meet the Comics Code Authority guidelines of the late 1970s. There is discussion of drug use but nothing is depicted. People are shot and die, but there’s no blood or gore amid the action. There’s no sexual content and no language stronger than “damn”. I dare say that more sophisticated tweens might be able to handle this volume without issue.
Black Lightning, vol. 1 by Tony Isabella and Dennis O’Neil Art by Trevor Von Eeden and Michael O’Neil ISBN: 9781401260712 DC Comics, 2016 Publisher Age Rating: 12+
Today’s graphic literature fans are enjoying a golden age of television undreamed of. Whether you’re a fan of superheroics, spy-thrillers, or horror, there’s something for virtually everyone. But what happens when someone goes looking for the books that inspired their favorite shows? More often than not they get confused,.
It’s fairly simple to track down The Walking Dead books. iZombie and Preacher (soon to be a series on AMC) have been collected into neat little volumes. Even the various volumes of Hellblazer aren’t too difficult to navigate for those proud Constantine fans still hoping for a revival on The CW Network. But where do you send the little girls who want to see more Supergirl? The tweens who want to read about The Flash? The teens who want more Green Arrow?
Face Front, True Believers! We’ve got the reading lists to help you save the day!
Daredevil by Frank Miller
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear (9780785134794) Daredevil By Frank Miller & Klaus Johnson, vol. 1 (9780785134732) Daredevil By Frank Miller & Klaus Johnson, vol. 2 (9780785134749) Daredevil By Frank Miller & Klaus Johnson, vol. 3 (9780785134756) Daredevil: Born Again (9780785134817)
While Frank Miller’s recent works have been widely disparaged and Frank himself is apparently no big fan of the Netflix Daredevil series, his influence upon the character and the TV series cannot be denied. The black ninja costume, which Matt utilized for most of the show’s first season, came directly from his retelling of Daredevil’s origins in The Man Without Fear. Miller was also responsible for the modern characterization of Kingpin and the creation of Matt’s first tragic love, Elektra. We would be remiss in not recommending the whole of Miller’s work with the character, particularly his final story, Born Again, which is not only a great Daredevil story but also features one of the best portrayals of The Avengers and Captain America in comic history.
Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev
Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Ultimate Collection, vol. 1 (9780785143888) Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Ultimate Collection, vol. 2 (9780785149507) Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Ultimate Collection, vol. 3 (9780785149514)
The Bendis/Maleev run has done more to influence Daredevil as a character than any other creative team in recent memory. As such, it is well worth considering though it focuses upon an older Matt Murdock facing new challenges as an established vigilante and lawyer.
Daredevil by Mark Waid
Daredevil by Mark Waid, vol. 1 (9780785152385) Daredevil by Mark Waid, vol. 2 (9780785152408) Daredevil by Mark Waid, vol. 3 (9780785161011) Daredevil by Mark Waid, vol. 4 (9780785161035) Daredevil by Mark Waid, vol. 5 (9780785161059) Daredevil by Mark Waid, vol. 6 (9780785166795) Daredevil by Mark Waid, vol. 7 (9780785189619) Daredevil, vol. 1: Devil At Bay (9780785154112) Daredevil, vol. 2: West-Case Scenario (9780785154129) Daredevil, vol. 3: The Daredevil You Know (9780785192282) Daredevil, vol. 4: The Autobiography of Matt Murdock (9780785198024)
Waid’s recent runs on Daredevil stand out in sharp contrast to the works of Miller and Bendis. Faced with no other way to make Matt Murdock’s life any more depressing, Waid decided to do the unthinkable and return Matt Murdock to his swashbuckling, laugh-in-the-face-of-danger roots under Stan Lee’s pen. This is not to say that this book is any less dark or disturbed at times. Indeed, the story arcs involving the slave-trading villain Coyote and a grave-robbing Mole Man are some of the most nightmarish scenarios we’ve ever seen! But Waid restored a sense of fun that was sorely lacking in the character for several decades. It should prove an interesting contrast for those who only know the character from Netflix.
[Note: All of these series have been released multiple times in different editions (hardcover, softcover, etc.) with differing content. Before ordering, you might want to check exactly which “Daredevil, vol. 4” you already have in your collection.]
Let’s be clear: what the title refers to as “Season Zero” is really “Unfilmed filler stories taking place during Season One.” Far from a criticism, that synopsis is meant to signal fans of the CW network series that if they like the show, they will find more of their favorite elements in action on the page. Barry Allen’s life as a forensic scientist often takes fantastic turns into the superheroic as he uses his powers of super-speed as The Flash to combat crimes both human and superhuman. The stories collected in this edition started as digital-first chapters that were then collected in print issues, now bound in one 12-issue trade collection. The variety of story lengths makes this a The Flash anthology more than anything, with the seven tales in this collection varying in length from 10 to 80 pages.
As with the television show, the comics tend to follow the story beats of a super-powered police procedural, with Barry discovering threats that only he and his scientifically brilliant team at STAR Labs can solve. Each story provides a variety of character moments for Barry’s team, from the geeky jokes of computer whiz Cisco to the reserved, serious Caitlin. One short story follows Barry as he tries to kick back with his adoptive father Joe, but is pulled away by pressing emergencies around the world. It’s the sort of story that reinforces the notion of the noble superhero, the put-upon hero who sacrifices his personal time to make a difference in the hopes that he not only saves lives but inspires others to make a positive impact, too. As noted above, these are filler episodes, designed to fit within the structure of the TV show without advancing much. The two stories that make the strongest impression revolve around Caitlin and feature a forsaken science experiment gone wrong and her university mentor. The worst chapter is a short story about two villains with opposite temperaments who team up and the police look forward to The Flash helping to take them down. It ends with a dud just as the conflict begins.
Characters are generally illustrated as streamlined caricatures of their televised actors, which doesn’t mean much in the way of detail but, combined with simple layouts and a constant dash of The Flash as a red bolt on the page, means easy visual flow. These details are by design: as a digital-first comic, this series was planned for short reading sessions and compatible configuration within digital comics apps. These aren’t sophisticated pages, but readers won’t get turned around, either. Kelsey and Nick Filardi’s colors go a long way toward forming a visual standard for each scene and character. Cameos from Felicity, from the TV show Arrow, take on a bright pink hue, while a mind-bending supervillain’s scenes glow with secondary purple, green, and orange colors.
In general, I would recommend this comic for fans of The Flash, whether or not they’ve seen the TV show. The comics format lets the storytellers go weird in a way television budgets probably don’t allow, including a story about a humanoid shark joining the Suicide Squad, an encounter with a giant spider, and a woman with a glowing skeleton. I would classify these comics as kid-friendly, with scenes of violence comparable to the Adventures of Superman cartoons from the ’90s. The danger in these stories never outweighs the optimism and fun, and The Flash’s brand of superheroics is the kind that understandably draws a wide crowd.
The Flash: Season Zero by Andrew Kreisberg, Brooke Eikmeier, Katherine Walczak, Marc Guggenheim, Kai Yu Wu, Lauren Certo, Ben Sokolowski, Sterling Gates Art by Marcus To, Phil Hester, Eric Gaspur, Ibrahim Moustafa ISBN: 9781401257712 DC, 2015
Today’s graphic literature fans are enjoying a golden age of television undreamed of. Whether you’re a fan of superheroics, spy-thrillers, or horror, there’s something for virtually everyone. But what happens when someone goes looking for the books that inspired their favorite shows? More often than not they get confused,.
It’s fairly simple to track down The Walking Dead books. iZombie and Preacher (soon to be a series on AMC) have been collected into neat little volumes. Even the various volumes of Hellblazer aren’t too difficult to navigate for those proud Constantine fans still hoping for a revival on The CW Network. But where do you send the little girls who want to see more Supergirl? The tweens who want to read about The Flash? The teens who want more Green Arrow?
Face Front, True Believers! We’ve got the reading lists to help you save the day!
The Flash: Season Zero
Written by various Art by various
The Flash: Season Zero Vol. 1 (9781401257712) The Flash: Season Zero Vol. 2 (due out 07/05/16 ) – (9781401263386)
Set in the reality of the television series and written by writers on the show’s writing staff, this series is a must-have. All of your favorite characters are here and every issue reads like an episode of the show. You can find No Flying No Tights’ full review of this title here.
New 52: The Flash
Written by Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, Robert Venditti, and Van Jensen Art by Francis Manapul, Patrick Zircher, and Brett Booth
The Flash: Vol 1 – Move Forward (9781401235536) The Flash: Vol 2 – Rogues’ Revolution (9781401240318) The Flash: Vol 3 – Gorilla Warfare (9781401242749) The Flash: Vol 4 – Reverse (9781401247133) The Flash: Vol 5 – History Lessons (9781401249502) The Flash: Vol 6 – Out Of Time (9781401254278) The Flash: Vol 7 – Savage World (due out 01/19/16) – (9781401258757)
Unlike a lot of The New 52 comics, The Flash has been consistently well-written and easily accessible to new readers. The artwork has proven equally amazing. This is another must-have for your teen collection.
The Flash by Geoff Johns
Written by Geoff Johns Art by various
The Flash by Geoff Johns: Book 1 (9781401258733) The Flash by Geoff Johns: Book 2 (due out 05/24/16) – (9781401261016)
Johns was the definitive Flash writer throughout the 2000s and he’s co-written several episodes of The Flash TV series in addition to being an Executive Producer.
The Flash: Rebirth (9781401230012)
While it may have set the land-speed record for going out of continuity (the New 52 reboot occurred just months after this TPB hit the stands), Geoff Johns’ story detailing Barry Allen’s adjusting to life in the modern DCU after coming back from the dead is still a good crash-course in the history of all the heroes to call themselves The Flash.
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Written by Marv Wolfman Art by George Pérez
Crisis On Infinite Earths: Deluxe Edition (9781401258412)
Not the first Crisis story, but it is the one that set the standard by which all crossovers are measured. It appears that The Flash TV series may be building toward this point, at least based on the quick glimpses we’ve seen of future newspapers. Even so, this story is worth having in your collection regardless of it revealing the final fate of Barry Allen… at least until The Flash: Rebirth.
The Flash by Mark Waid
Written by Mark Waid Art by various
The Flash: The Return of Barry Allen (9781563892684) The Flash: Terminal Velocity (9781563892493) The Flash: Dead Heat (9781563896231) The Flash: Race Against Time (9781563897214)
Despite being considered by many to be the definitive Flash writer, surprisingly little of Mark Waid’s run from the 1990s has been collected. These four volumes are worth a look, though they’re focused upon the third Flash, Wally West.
The Flash by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar
Written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar Art by Paul Ryan, John Nyberg, and Ron Wagner
The Flash by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar (9781401261023) (due out 04/19/16)
At the time of this partnership, Morrison was just barely getting his feet wet on JLA and was still better known for his Vertigo work than for redefining superheroes for the modern age. And Mark Millar was a relative unknown compared to the heights of fame he would later find for his independent work and on various titles set in Marvel Comics’ Ultimate universe. Definitely worth a look to see these two legendary creators working together.
Had someone told me two years ago that the “archer” books at both major comics publishers would be among the best in comics today, I doubt I could have maintained a straight face—yet Hawkeye and Green Arrow have carved out distinctive places in each universe with engaging storytelling and stunning art. This is particularly startling considering where Green Arrow began after DC’s “New 52” relaunch three years ago, well-received by neither critics nor fans.
The new Oliver Queen is still learning how to be a hero. After learning survival and archery skills while stranded on an island, he returns to the U.S. and begins to use his inherited wealth to wage a war on crime as Green Arrow—but he still comes off as a rich and entitled young man with a lot of anger and little direction. However, writer Jeff Lemire has changed the status quo with his new take on the character. Oliver soon loses his company, his fortune, and many of his friends while accumulating a variety of new enemies. These new foes, including Komodo, have a secret agenda that Oliver can barely comprehend as he struggles to survive. In a controversial move, Lemire has introduced eight ancient societies called the Outsiders to the Green Arrow mythos; Oliver discovers that his family belongs to one of the clans and its special totem is the “Green Arrow.” While this leads to some interesting storylines, it also threatens to rob Oliver of agency and free will. Is he really in control of his destiny? Did he choose to be a hero called Green Arrow or was it preordained? Time will tell, but at least fans are talking about the series instead of ignoring it as they have in the past.
While Lemire’s story has imbued Oliver’s life with mystery and danger, the artwork of Andrea Sorrentino makes this one of the best comics being produced by a major publisher. Sorrentino first caught my eye when he was working on I, Vampire for DC; his dark, heavy lines and use of negative space seemed perfect for a horror comic about vampires. When poor sales doomed that book, DC moved him to its struggling Green Arrow title, and amazingly, his style may work even better for a weapons-heavy superhero book. Sorrentino uses boxes and circles to highlight important details in his panels, like the tip of an arrow or the crack of an elbow against someone’s neck. His work is greatly enhanced by his colorists as they often leave these smaller panels black and white and surrounded by color on all sides. The artist’s imaginative and creative panel work is truly something to be seen, especially when Oliver is confronted by Count Vertigo, a villain with mental powers.
While it’s hard to deny that most mainstream superhero titles are aimed at men, teens will enjoy the action-packed story and artistic tour de force of Green Arrow. It is violent, but no more than the typical PG-13 movie. Based on the DC character, the successful CW TV series Arrow will no doubt attract even more interest to the graphic novel. It’s great that there is a writer-and-artist team on this title whose work is worthy of renewed interest in the character.
Green Arrow, Vol. 4: The Kill Machine by Jeff Lemire Art by Andrea Sorrentino ISBN: 9781401246907 DC Comics, 2014
In My Brother’s Husband, writer and artist Gengoroh Tagame takes a heartfelt look at what it means to be a family and gay in Japan.
Tokyo Ghoul: re
For those familiar with Pearson’s comics, Hilda and the Hidden People is a retread of the events of Hilda and the Midnight Giant and Hilda and the Troll, with some expansions and embellishments to pad the spare story out into a 170 page novel.
When I was a kid, I got a lot of joy out of reading snippets of Archie and Betty & Veronica comics while waiting in line at the grocery store with my parents. There was something about these short stories, all seemingly pulled from a vast and cyclical pool of common cultural knowledge about the going-ons in Riverdale, that captivated me from a young age. In a lot of ways, I credit Archie for instilling in me a lifelong love of serial stories and graphic narratives, and Your Pal Archie has the potential to do this with a new generation of readers.
Occasionally in comics, it’s time to “get the team back together again”. The new Runaways series is no exception. The original concept followed Nico, Chase, Gert, Karolina, Molly, and Alex as they learned their parents were super villains in the Marvel Universe and went on the run together to escape them. With a TV show on Hulu, it is an obvious time to relaunch this series. Marvel has also brought in young adult novelist, Rainbow Rowell of Eleanor & Park fame to write the series. There aren’t many people who could follow up on Brian K. Vaughan’s well known run on a book he created, but I was genuinely excited to see what Rowell could bring to these characters. If the first volume is any indication, it will be a fun ride.
Justice, like lightning
Daredevil by Frank Miller
Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev
Daredevil by Mark Waid
Let’s be clear: what the title refers to as “Season Zero” is really “Unfilmed filler stories taking place during Season One.” Far from a criticism, that synopsis is meant to signal fans of the CW network series that if they like the show, they will find more of their favorite elements in action on the page. Barry Allen’s life as a forensic scientist often takes fantastic turns into the superheroic as he uses his powers of super-speed as The Flash to combat crimes both human and superhuman. The stories collected in this edition started as digital-first chapters that were then collected in print issues, now bound in one 12-issue trade collection. The variety of story lengths makes this a The Flash anthology more than anything, with the seven tales in this collection varying in length from 10 to 80 pages. 
The Flash: Season Zero
New 52: The Flash
The Flash by Geoff Johns
Crisis On Infinite Earths
The Flash by Mark Waid
Had someone told me two years ago that the “archer” books at both major comics publishers would be among the best in comics today, I doubt I could have maintained a straight face—yet Hawkeye and Green Arrow have carved out distinctive places in each universe with engaging storytelling and stunning art. This is particularly startling considering where Green Arrow began after DC’s “New 52” relaunch three years ago, well-received by neither critics nor fans.
