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Akira, Vol. 1
Akira, Vol. 1 by Katsuhiro Otomo Format: Hardcover manga Series: Akira #1 Publisher: Kodansha Comics Originally Published: 1984 Length: 359 pages I haven’t read this series before, and I haven’t watched the popular 80’s movie adaptation of this, yet I somehow found myself ordering the 35th Anniversary Box Set after seeing it on sale. I don’t have much experience at all with manga, but this is a classic of the genre and something that influenced science fiction as a whole, regardless of medium, so I’ve been wanting to read it for a quite a long time now. It’s a beautiful collection of all six hardcover volumes and an additional art…
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Small Gods
Small Gods: A Discworld Graphic Novel by Terry Pratchett Illustrated by: Ray Friesen Series: Discworld Graphic Novels #4 Publisher: Doubleday Published: 2016 Length: 128 pages It’s been about twenty years since I read Small Gods, but I have fond memories of it. I still consider it one of my favourite Pratchett novels, and although my memory is quite hazy on the plot, I can still vividly picture an enraged tortoise bouncing up and down and screaming threats of smiting by thunderbolts. I love the idea that the power of a God is determined by the strength of the faith of his believers, which in this case results in the Great…
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Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi
Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi by Anthony Bourdain, Joel Rose Illustrated by: Alé Garza Series: Get Jiro #2 Publisher: Vertigo Published: 2015 Length: 160 pages This is the prequel to Get Jiro!, Anthony Bourdain’s debut comic. Here we get a small glimpse of Jiro’s origins, how he lived in Japan and how he came to live in America. Interestingly, Get Jiro! depicted L.A. as a sort of foodie dystopia, a wasteland essentially ruled by Food Network chefs turned mob bosses, where all forms of traditional entertainment disappeared, but this comic has a very different tone. There’s no attempt at a creative setting in this. What we see of Japanese society…
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Back, Sack & Crack (& Brain)
Back, Sack & Crack (& Brain): A Rather Graphic Novel About Living With Embarrassing Health Problems by Robert Wells Format: Original Graphic Novel Illustrated by: Robert Wells Publisher: Robinson Published: 2017 Length: 224 pages We came across this in Forbidden Planet while we were browsing nerdy things this summer in London, and I was excited to see what it was all about. In this graphic novel, Robert Wells details his long-term struggle with various health issues, namely stomach problems and chronic, intermittently crippling, groin and back pain. He writes about how these symptoms first presented themselves, his difficulty in trying to get a diagnosis, and how these problems have affected…
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Get Jiro!
Get Jiro! by Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose Illustrated by: Langdon Foss Series: Get Jiro #1 Publisher: Vertigo Published: 2012 Length: 160 pages I was very excited when this comic was announced, being a fan of everything Bourdain does, but I remember reading quite a few bad reviews for it. Comics are expensive, so I do like to be selective, but having read it now, it was actually much better than I thought it would be. He didn’t reinvent the medium or anything, but for a first time comic writer, it was an enjoyable story. This takes place in a future L.A. where the city is now ruled by chefs,…
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Saga, Volume 7
Saga, Vol. 7 by Brian K. Vaughan Illustrated by: Fiona Staples Published: 2017 Publisher: Image Comics Length: 152 pages Collects: issues #37–42 I had no idea the new volume of Saga was out until I saw it on the shelf, so that was a nice surprise. This series has had some ups and downs, as most do I suppose, but overall it’s still been fantastic. And honestly, even the downs haven’t been that bad, forgettable but still enjoyable to read. In this volume the group is forced to land on a war-torn comet to gather fuel. They end up staying longer than expected and allowing a local family of native…
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I Was the Cat
I Was the Cat by Paul Tobin Format: Original Graphic Novel Illustrated by: Benjamin Dewey Publisher: Oni Press Published: 2014 Length: 144 pages This is one of the books we bought from the Oni Press booth at Pax West last year. It’s the story of a cat writing the memoirs of his previous eight lives, most of which involved him trying to take over the world. It’s a great looking little hardcover and was on sale, so how could we resist? A rich stranger invites an American journalist (or, blogger, I guess?) to London under much secrecy in order to write his memoirs. The stranger, it turns out, is a…
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Kaijumax, Season 1
Kaijumax, Season 1 by Zander Cannon Format: Trade Paperback Illustrated by: Zander Cannon Series: Kaijumax #1 Publisher: Oni Press Published: 2016 Length: 168 pages Last year, while attending PAX West, we dropped by the Oni Press booth. They had some discounted comics for sale, and since I’ve only read their Bryan Lee O’Malley books, most of it was new to me. I picked out the first volume of The Sixth Gun and a funny little book called I Was the Cat, both of which I still haven’t read, and then I asked which book he’d recommend. He chose Kaijumax, because it’s hilarious and different from anything he’d come across. He…
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Sex Criminals, Vol. 3: Three the Hard Way
Sex Criminals, Volume Three: Three the Hard Way by Matt Fraction Illustrated by: Chip Zdarsky Series: Sex Criminals #3 Published: 2016 Publisher: Image Comics Length: 160 pages Collects: issues #11-15 When I was skimming reviews before purchasing this, I saw that they were generally less enthusiastic than the last two volumes, but I seem to be having the opposite experience as everyone else. I was lukewarm on the first volume, really enjoyed the second volume, and I thought this latest one was just as strong. At this rate, the comic will be cancelled as soon as it becomes my favourite series of all time. Sex Criminals is a filthy, juvenile,…
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French Milk
French Milk by Lucy Knisley Illustrated by: Lucy Knisley Published: 2007 Publisher: Touchstone Length: 188 pages I really enjoyed Relish when I read it last year, so I’ve been meaning to try Knisley’s other graphic novels since then. Her Wikipedia page shows five books released through publishers and a number of self-published works as well. This one is a food-centric travelogue through Paris, which ticked all the right boxes for me. Lucy Knisley wrote this at the age of twenty three while spending six weeks in Paris with her mother. It’s a great way to keep a journal, a mix of traditional journaling and illustration. I love the idea of…
