Dogs of War by Sheila Keenan & Nathan Fox YP FIC KEENAN

Boots, Loki, Sheba.  Three dogs in three wars that wagged their take in the face of death.  Boots braves the dangers and rats of trench warfare of WW I, Loki pulls a sled in a forgotten front of WW II, and Sheba sniffs out snipers and booby traps in the jungles of Vietnam. A harrowing but hopeful look at the ravages of war and the humanity and canine-ity  that comes from unlikely heroes.

This is a gorgeously illustrated and very well measured look at war.  It has all the rousing adventure and excitement that is common of classic war movies and stories, but looks at the all-too-high human cost of war. It never turns The Enemy into an evil monolithic force, and invites the reader to both feel the fear of being fired upon and the sadness of having to fire back to survive. Best of all is it has dogs!  Great, beautiful, heroic dogs that absolutely leap off the page and into your heart!  I felt as much (if not more) tension worrying what would happen to the dogs as I did for the human characters. the book does occasionally stray very close to cliche, but the unique and detailed artwork keeps it from every feeling cheesy or stagnant. Fox uses a slew of clever artistic devices to bring the reader into the action: tight, cramped panels to press the claustrophobia of trench warfare, the use of bright color against expanses of white and light blues to play off the feeling of being all too visible against an invisible enemy, dreams and reality fading into each other for a vet that is still in the jungle even when he make sit home, and more. The only gripe I have is that it perpetuates the long discredited myth of Vietnam veterans being spat upon when returning home. This is a commonly told myth, so it doesn't distract too much from the overall story. If you are a fan of comics, then you have a great beautiful book to read, and if you like war stories at all this could be a great way to break into graphic novels.

You can find Dogs of War in our catalog here.

Bandette Volume One: Presto! by Paul Tobin art by Colleen Coover YP FIC TOBIN

Bandette is the world's greatest thief!  She steals from the dastardly and gives to well, herself, but also to claims adjusters and museums (if the pay is right).  And she does so with panache,  style, flair, elan, dash, verve, zest, spirit, brio, éclat, vivacity, and gusto!  She outwits the long suffering Police Inspector Belgique, matches wits with the other world's greatest thief (the title is currently contested), Monsieur, and draws the ire of the Arch Criminal Absinthe.  Can Bandette and her crew of urchin helpers defy the world's deadliest criminal empire?  Presto!

This book is flat-out fun. It is (sadly) so very rare to say that about any comics these days.  Every one thinks that being moody, violent, and depressing is super mature and deep. This results in a LOT of overly and unnecessarily violent books that all feel sophomoric instead of smart.  I mean, even Superman is brooding and dark these days!  SUPERMAN! So this retro-cool throwback to heist movies and books of the 60s is a glorious breath of fresh air.  Bandette, the carefree thief, who can outsmart everyone and have fun doing it is an antidote to the antihero!  The art is as vibrant, colorful, and fun as Bandette herself. It has a simple, painted look of old French posters, that evoke the spirit of energy and motion perfectly.  the characters aren't incredibly deep, nor do they need to be.  They are fun archetypes that move the clever and absurd plot forward. Also, it is very nice to see a female lead that isn't a pin-up girl wearing as little skin tight clothing as possible. This is a great read for fans of fun, happiness, and comics that are actually comic.

You can find Bandette (but you'll never catch her!) in our catalog here.

Unwritten by Mike Carey art by Peter Gross SF CAREY

Tommy Taylor is a worldwide phenomenon.  The boy wizard that has repeatedly bested the evil Count Ambrosio is beloved by people of all ages across the globe, and even has a almost religious following among his most fanatical fans.  Tom Taylor is just the son of the author and coasting on his celebrity as the 'inspiration' for Tommy.  Then a woman tells him he has it all backwards.  He IS Tommy and fiction is far realer than any of us know.  Happy to write her off as a raving lunatic, Tom changes his tune when he becomes targeted by a secret society dedicated to controlling all human history and destiny by controlling the stories we tell. This starts an amazing adventure beyond truth, fiction, fantasy, or reality.

This series just keeps getting better and better! It starts as a mystery/thriller and the story keeps twisting and turning and adding all sorts of amazing new layers.  The slower start really lets you get to know Tom and watch him grow and falter. It helps build the relationships between Tom and his two companions to something of real substance. What makes the series so great is that Tom isn't just a reluctant hero, he's not necessarily even a hero at all.  He has been written to be a hero by his controlling, reality-altering father for ;the greater good', but he balks at heroism at every turn.  The book's villains are definitely capital E evil, and raise the stakes remarkably well.  However, Carey isn't afraid to upend everything and start anew with Volume 7.  The book feels epic in scope and grandeur, without ever feeling forced or corny.  It has a lot to stay about the power and source of stories and builds a fascinating and ever growing world of fiction that lies underneath our own.  You will find yourself finishing one volume and jumping to the next immediately.  You will also find yourself rereading several pages over and over, or even whole issues to relive a big moment.  This book has serious complexity and depth and challenges the very notions of what is fiction and what is real.  It does it all with a mix of action, adventure, romance, humor, and philosophy that is hard to match in comics today.  

The art took a while for me to really appreciate. Peter Gross isn't the flashiest or most detailed artist, but he really does work for this project.  He helps ground the book in a sense of reality, so when they interact with the world of fiction it feels momentous.  That's hard to do in a comic book, where we are used to impossible things on every page.  This is an absolute must read for fans of serious comics, and I think it will make a lot of fans of comics for anyone that gives it a shot.

SIDENOTE: We have volumes 1-7 and a sort of prequel called Tommy Taylor and the Ship that Sank Twice.  I'd wait to read it until you've finished Volume 6.  That was when it was published and it fits really well there.

You can find the first volume of Unwritten in our catalog here.

Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang YP FIC YANG

Boxers- Little Bao was happy with his simple life in his small village, but when foreign missionaries smash the harvest idol it leads to a path of destruction for his family.  A strange man come to town that teaches the ways of kung fu, he becomes his disciple and later the student of the man's master.  He learns the skills to drawn in spirits and gods to become invincible warriors.  They realize they must drive out the foreign influence that is killing their nation and kill any, including women and children, that stand in their way. 

Saints- Four-Girl.  She doesn't even get a name. Born fourth means born unlucky. Four means death, so when she meets a strange doctor that gives free cookies and tells her that a Christian church will giver her a new name, she jumps at the chance.  She is reborn as Vibiana, but that rebirth marks her for death. Her visions of Joan of Arc make her want her own calling, but what will it be and will it call for her to suffer the same fate as Joan? The Boxers are slaying Christians wherever they find them and she has put herself right in their path.

This is a brilliant look at cost of war, violence, and oppression.  It makes no excuses for the atrocities on either side, while populating the book with all too human characters.  Little Bao is driven by heartbreak, desperation, patriotism, and hope.  Unfortunately, he is driven to commit atrocities against innocent people.  Vibiana is driven to find some sort of destiny after being born cursed.  Her early attempts to be a devil are one of my favorite parts of the whole story, as are the young Little Bao's love of Chinese opera.  It was very hard to follow Little Bao down a path of darkness and watch him continually betray his own principles. It was hard to watch Vibiana blindly head straight to her own destruction, but in crossing paths they find a way for the death to actually have some meaning, if only for one person. This story of childhood to adulthood makes the death and murder that comes later all the more tragic.  Yang has taken a very tricky historical period and looked at it on a human level.  He populates the book with various characters of Chinese culture and Christian culture, never questioning their 'reality'.  This makes the book a work of not just warring people, nations, and ideas, but of the power and dangers of stories themselves.  The book offers no clear heroes and few clear villains, it also offers no easy answers.  It does ask very good questions.  I think it will lead most readers to seek out more information on the Boxer rebellion and Chinese history, which is always a great thing.  Even if it doesn't, it stands by itself as a powerful example of what comics can do.

You can find Boxer in our catalog here and Saints in our catalog here.

Batman VS Superman: Batman: Year One by Frank Miller art by David Mazzuchelli YP FIC MILLER

In celebration of our Batman VS Superman election, I'll be reviewing MY favorite Superman and Batman books Of All Time! I'll try not to reveal any Bat-Bias or Super-Subjectiveness that could unduly influence this election. 

One night changed Bruce Wayne's life forever. A random act of violence took away his parents and gave him something new: a mission.  Now, after year of training his body and mind he is ready to com home.  He is ready to take back Gotham.  A city of crime, sin, and corruption at the highest levels.  Can one man save a city? No, but maybe a bat can.

This one book, even more than Miller's also excellent the Dark Knight Returns, changed the course of Batman forever.  It is as if Miller completely rewrote his DNA and brought Batman in all his dark glory into the real world. This is a young and inexperienced Bruce Wayne, that barely survives his first disastrous outings. It allows the reader to see the Batman form over time and have a real understanding and investment in what makes Bruce into Batman. In starting Batman over from scratch, Miler gets to the core of what makes Batman so fascinating: an obsessive drive to make sure that no one else has to watch their loved ones die by crime and a fanatical devotion to a code of honor.  

Miller also greatly enlarges the importance of characters that were underutilized at the time, like Catwoman and Jim Gordon. Placing a young and principled Jim Gordon on the incredibly corrupt Gotham police force made Gordon into a whole new character as vital to the Batman story as any character.  

Mazzuchelli's art is perfect for the book.  He has Batman as a menacing figure using shadows and his cape to look larger than life, but gives Bruce the realistic body of a superb athlete.  This isn't the highly muscled Batman that is seen in most comics and this makes the Batman even more impressive, because he seems so much more human.  The reality makes the idea of a man taking on crime single handed all the more impressive.

Miller is able to make Batman's war with the mob that owns the city as compelling as any Two-Face or Joker story ever written.  If you are a fan of the Christopher Nolan Batman films, then you owe a debt of thanks to Year One.  This is a perfect book for both those that are already batty for Batman or total Bat-beginners.

You can find Batman: Year One in our catalog here.

Batman VS Superman: All Star Superman by Grant Morrison Art by Frank Quitely YP FIC MORRISON

In celebration of our Batman VS Superman election, I'll be reviewing MY favorite Superman and Batman books Of All Time! I'll try not to reveal any Bat-Bias or Super-Subjectiveness that could unduly influence this election. A coin flip decided that this time Superman goes first (but YOU will decide who laughs last!)

Superman is dying.  A fiendish plot by the archest of fiends, Lex Luthor has overdosed Superman on solar radiation.  Superman has to decide how to best spend his last days while also uncovering Lex's final plan to Take over the World!  Will Superman be able to save the day one last time? Or will the Last Son of Krypton fizzle out too soon?

This is my all time favorite Superman story by miles and miles.  It is a two volume masterwork that pays homage to over 70 years of Superman comics.  Morrison is a huge fan of the entire run of Superman, including the often wacky and bizarre storylines of the 1940s and 50s that saw Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen getting weird powers as well as all sorts of other zaniness.  Morrison melds these wacky plots with a serious and at times sad and uplifting story of a dying Superman.  By taking silliness seriously he is able to look at Superman as a man and a myth at the same time.  There is an overabundance of big ideas that Morrison explores and the plot careens between one odd adventure to the next leaving the reader reeling.  There is a mix of science fiction, comedy, two-fisted combat, horror, philosophy, and loads of other influences. Fortunately, the books many plots all end up making sense together and pay off incredibly well.  

The art by Frank Quitely is quite breathtaking in places.  It has a fine level of detail, but remains unrealistic enough to have the garish costumes of superheroes not look silly. The beautiful art and daring design work make reading and rereading a consummate pleasure even when the plot threatens to go (way) over the reader's head.  

This is a treasure trove for long time Superfans with an almost uncountable in-continuity references to the entire Superhistory and a wonderful place for new fans to jump in and learn everything that makes Superman so super.


You can find All Star Superman in our catalog here

Thor, God of thunder : The God Butcher by Jason Aaron art by Esad Ribic YP FIC AARON

Thor is a brash young god (just a few 100 years old!) in the age of vikings who lives for adventure and conquest, but is not yet ready to wield Mjolnir*, on of the mightiest weapons of all gods.  Thor is the God of Thunder, possessor of Mjolnir, Avenger, protector of Earth.  Thor is king of all of Asgard and the last living God in the universe thousands of years into the future.  In all these times Thor must face an enemy like he has never conceived of: the God Butcher.  A being that is so powerful he searches the cosmos to methodically, slowly, ruthlessly torture and kill entire pantheons of gods.  If he fails in this task then all of creation is threatened.

This comic is absolutely epic.  It tells three unique stories in Thor's youth, maturity, and old age and all three work to build the tension and make the story larger than life.  The three separate arcs all meet up in very interesting ways, so it isn't just pointless flashbacks to convey character. It also harkens back to good ole' Jack Kirby Thor comics that often had back up stories of young Thor.  In this case it makes the story one beyond the limits of time itself, which makes it seem a tale fit for mythology and the gods!  Plotting, dialogue, and character are all top notch, but it's the absolutely gorgeous
painted art that makes it's something really special.  Esad Ribic is a true talent and his full and beautiful images make this seem like an instant classic.  He can convey beauty and grisly horror equally well, and really brings back the awe in reading about gods and monsters. This is easily the best new book in the Marvel Comics line and a great place for new fans to start. So if you are a long time super hero fan or just want to know who the blond dude in The Avengers was, check out Thor, God of Thunder: The God Butcher!


You can find Thor, God of Thunder: The God Butcher in our catalog here.




*Which translates to "That which smashes".  AWESOME!

Batman: Death Mask by Yoshinori Natsume YP FIC NATSUME

Is Batman really Bruce Wayne? Or is Bruce Wayne a mask the Batman wears for the public? There's a demon from Japan in Gotham stealing faces and taunting the Dark Knight; a demon straight from Bruce Wayne's time training in Japan before he was Batman.  He'll have to find the answer to who Batman is and face his own dark shadow to stop this deadly new threat.

How can you not love BatManga? It's got Batman and Manga! That's chocolate and peanut butter levels of greater than the sum of its parts! This definitely isn't the best or most original Batman story or the best manga, BUT it is a fun and stylish Batman adventure.  I love the face stealing baddie best of all.  He's a super cool masked assasin with the same silhouette as Batman, but in a traditional Japanese style.  It works really well for the  book, because he is super creepy and a great visual counterpoint to Batman.  The visuals are by far the strongest selling point of the book, as Batman really pops in a manga style.  i also like how the book kept me guessing about whether the villain is REALLY a demon or if there is some sort of scientific explanation behind the mystery.  They have several fun twists with this and I love it when Batman stories are also mysteries.  The only real down sides are that these ideas have been looked at before in loads of other Batman comics and that the dialogue is a little wooden.  I think the language barrier probalby explains the latter, and it's never so bad that it's unreadable.  As for the story covering old ground, many readers won't have read quite as many Batstories as I have and the book will feel fresher to them.  Also, the great visuals more than carry the book to being a can't miss Batbook.  It's Batastic! Batrific! Batstanding! Okay, that's probably enough bats for...ever.  So if you like Batman or manga, definitely give this one a read.  If you like Batman and Manga then you are pretty much legally obligated to love it!  

You can find Batman: Death Mask in our catalog here.

Bad Machinery: The Case of the Team Spirit by John Allison YP FIC ALLISON

In less-than-jolly old Tackleford, England there are mysteries afoot, and two separate trios of youths are on the cases!  Shauna and Charlotte are total BFFs, but Mildred is totes butting in, will they be able to save poor old Mrs. Biscuits from the evil developer that wants to destroy her home to build a new football (the soccer kind) stadium? Jack, Sonny, and Linton want to solve the curse of the local football team (well Linton does, Jack and Sonny are just bored) who happens to be the aforementioned evil developer.  Also there may be a ghost!

This book is absolutely hilarious.  It is filled with clever gags, great characters and at least one joke on every page!  The book is a recurring webcomic (read it here), so that means every page has to have at  LEAST one joke and forces the funny to be on the money. The cast of sort of wonky 12 year-olds looking for something to do really drives a lot of the jokes.  They're in the middle of not being silly kids anymore and having no clue of how to start being teenagers. Allison has absolutely crackling dialogue and knows how to use lettering and pacing to maximize his jokes.  My favorite bit has to be when Mildred points out how illogical ghosts are, because if ghosts DID exist they would absolutely show up every time an American president made a speech to make fart noises. He also makes all the side characters wonderfully weird.  Even the mysteries which are silly and solved in a ludicrously lazy fashion by the kids pay off very nicely.  there are quite a few Britishisms, but they usally make sense in context and there is a helpful glossary in the back. All in all it's a must read for any one that likes their comics actually comic.

You can look for Bad Machinery: The Case of the Team Spirit here.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell YP FIC ROWELL

1986. Eleanor: new kid, big, awkward, crazy-curly super-bright red hair.  Wants everything to just stop. Park: virtually the only Asian in school. Nerdy without being officially classified as a nerd. Wants to drown out the world.  There was no reason they should be together, except for an empty bus seat and a love of X-Men.  Now they’re finding about the power of first love and the powerlessness of love to overcome some obstacles.

This is smart, fun, funny, sweet, genuine, sexy (sta-sta-sta-steamy in parts!), and sad love story that will ABSOLUTELY win over anyone that believes in first love.  You have to love a book where a guy tells a girl, “You can be Han Solo and I’ll be Boba Fett. I’ll cross the sky for you.”  You simply have no choice. I think it could almost function as a human test.  If this book doesn’t make you happy and sad all at the same time you may have to turn in your human card and join the Robot Registry. It takes two very real characters and puts you in both their heads.  The book alternates between both their points of view so you see how both of them view the same situations.  This really makes you feel for and root for this couple, which makes it all the more heartrending when their young love is threatened.  It was also super smart to set the book in the near past.  It brings in obsolete technologies like mix tapes and landline telephones that made connecting with people harder, but perhaps more personal (but that could just be my oldness showing!) Like The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman (which I LOVED as well), this book is realistic about how rare it is for teenage love to work out. So fair warning: this is a definite have a hanky handy read.  Without giving TOO MUCH away, I will say that I loved the ending and it melted by cold dark heart.  It is sweet sad and totally open-ended, so you can write your own ending for these kooky kiddos. 

You can check our catalog for Eleanor & Park here.

Hellboy: The Bride of Hell and Others by Mike Mignola Illustrated by Rixhard Corben, Kevin Nowlan, and Scott Hampton YP FIC MIGNOLA

He was summoned from hell, but fights on the side of the angels. Hellboy continues his unending quest to fight all forms of evil in this collection of short comics.  He faces a carnivorous house, vampire Mexican wrestlers, space aliens that dabble in the occult, vengeful mummies, ghost cows, and even more!

The various anthology collections of Hellboy are always some of his most fun, weird adventures, and this is definitely towards the very top of his best shorts collection.  Mignola very rarely draws anymore, but he is so well respected in comics that he can get the best illustrators in all of comics to work with him.  Both Richard Corben and Kevin Nowlan were all but retired, and Mignola was able to convince them to draw full comics.  This makes for some of the most richly drawn, inventive horror comics being drawn today.  The stories are all short and pack a lot of great twists, gags, and sublime weirdness in as few panels as possible.  My personal favorites have to be the vampire ghost story and the story about the house that eats people. However all the other stories are just as perfectly bizarre. All in all this is a must read for fans of comics of all stripes, and might make a great stepping in point for people looking to get into comics.

You can check our catalog for The Bride of Hell and Others here.

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life: Color Edition by Bryan Lee O’Malley YP FIC OMALLEY

Scott Pilgrim is dating a highschooler! And he’s totally 23 (and unemployed)!  (Don’t worry, they’ve only held hands.) Just when things feel nice and simple he meets the girl of his dreams, (Literally.  She rollerblades through his dreams to deliver packaged for amazon.com), and decides to fall head over heels.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t tell his high school girlfriend and even more unfortunately his new girlfriend has Seven Evil Exes that he must defeat to continue dating her.  NOW IN COLOR!

Okay, I know I already gave a rave review to the Scott Pilgrim series, so it may seem silly to re-review a book just because it’s in color.  Who do I even think I am, Ted Turner!?  Well, I understand your skepticism and must admit that I too was skeptical of a Colorized Scott Pilgrim, cynical even.  However, the superb job Nathan Fairbarn (the ONLY colorist I’ve yet to praise by name) did on this book really makes it worth a second look even if you have already read the series. I rarely find a series that changes so much with the addition of color as this one. It adds a new depth to the art and the new larger pages are dynamite.  Maybe even best of all is the extra content at the back.  There’s character design sheets and stories about how O’Malley came up with all the names and designs and ideas in the book!  Scott Pilgrim fans simply HAVE to read this and Soon-to-Be-Scott-Pilgrim-Fans should read it too.  I think anyone with an even passing interest in comics or manga should give this one a try.  

You can check our catalog for Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life: Color Edition here.

Riding Invisible by Sandra Alonzo Illustrated by Nathan Huang YP FIC ALONZO

Yancy didn’t run away from home.  He rode…a horse.  That’s vaquero style!  Unfortunately, he doesn’t feel muy macho, because he’s running away from his older brother, The Monster (the docs call it Conduct disorder, but Yancy knows Pure EVIL when he sees it).  Yancy brought his journal so he writes everything that is happening with drawings and comics and everything.

This is one of the best coming-of-age going on a journey books I’ve read in a long time.  First, Yancy is hilarious and his voice seems genuine.  Also his adventure is realistic, exciting, and the people he meets aren’t just there to teach him lessons. Also, his journey from sniveling in fear of his brother to learning to face his problems head on his handled realistically and smartly.  For instance, all of Yancy’s problems aren’t solved in a climactic scene where he finally has to face down his brother and his on fears.  Nope, poor Yancy is powerless to change much of his problems, because he’s fifteen.  This book works so well as a vision of a family dealing with mental illness because it looks at how hopeless it can seem and how only the Adults can make any real changes.  I really wasn’t sure how I’d like the journal format; the font looks like handwriting and instead of chapters we get date entries, but it grew on me and helped me see Yancy as a real person.  The art throughout is quite good and works, because Yancy wants to be an artist.  It never feels like a cheap gimmick.  This is one of those surprising gems that can fall through the cracks, because it isn’t based on a movie, have zombies, or about the world ending.  However, if you want a funny and unique book you should really give Riding Invisible a chance.

You can check our catalog for Riding Invisible here.