Yikes! I often lament the difficulty of narrowing down my list of recent additions to Comics Plus to spotlight each month, but this time I really had so many to choose between it was starting to feel more like triage. So, rather than relegating too many fine titles to the honorable mentions below — which is still its usually long length — I’ll do my best to keep things short and sweet for each title. I’ll hopefully highlight enough to pique your curiosity on at least a few of them, but I have a sneaking suspicion that if you’re reading this, you’re likely the type to go and “look it up yourself” anyway.
With this many books, it’s hard to pin down a theme for last month’s reads, but it did get me thinking about the true value of books in general, at least philosophically. It doesn’t feel cliché to say that wisdom is the most valuable thing a person can possess, and that our works of art and literature number among our greatest treasures. I’d argue that the truest exercise of the power of knowledge is to confront one’s inherent fears of the unknown and overcome the concept of the Other. Not to neutralize, appropriate, or homogenize, but to allow for an unadulterated crossing into different territory and see how you might be the one to be changed by such a process.
I’ll skip the Campbellian diatribe here, and simply say if you take the Hero’s Journey through this reading list, you’re sure to gain some new enriching perspectives I’m sure you weren’t expecting. Indeed, it’s an embarrassment of riches — enough to keep you busy until next month anyway!
YOUNG READERS
While I have lived and breathed comics most of my career, I definitely count myself fortunate that so many of my erudite LibraryPass colleagues have continued to broaden my horizons in so many ways. Not only in terms of who is actually reading sequential art these days, but particularly where it concerns issues of a “perceived” reluctance to read and accessibility to relevant reading materials. Notably, the so-called “reluctant reader” may not be reluctant at all, but whose misgivings may instead stem from issues of dyslexia, autism, or other examples of neurodivergence.
As Ellie Lathbridge’s fascinating essay recently highlighted, that’s where comics can truly be your best friend, and possibly one of the best examples for young readers has a second volume to check out: Pocket Peaches: At the Fair (Andrews McMeel). Not only proudly featuring a dyslexia-friendly font, the cast of highly emotive characters helps communicate their adorable feelings in a way that (sorry, not sorry) even 1000 words could ever match! Plus it’s just so freaking cute, it’s almost hypnotizing.
My top selection for young readers (that many older readers will enjoy, too) is a one-two punch; slight pun intended. James Kochalka is the master of capturing that feeling of being a silly little kid again, and if you’re familiar with the playful magic of the (also totally super-cute) Johnny Boo series, Johnny Boo Goes to School (IDW) is just as fun as the previous twelve volumes. Meanwhile, the latest volume of Dragon Puncher (IDW) is equal parts love letter to the unfettered creativity of a child, as it is a goofy dad’s eternal love letter to his own imaginative children and a very patient pet cat, of course.
BONUS: Be sure to check out the self-explanatory crossover, Johnny Boo Meets Dragon Puncher, too. If Kochalka’s work is new to you, then you’re in for a real treat!
MIDDLE GRADE
It was a good month of releases for readers of all ages, and my highlights started getting a little harder to narrow down as the age level went up. First, the I Fell into a Fairy Tale (Capstone) series offers non-traditional takes on classic fairy tales, reimagined for modern readers. If you’ve ever wanted to see the wicked stepmother come to terms with her bullying behavior, or the princess receive a wake-up call that she doesn’t need to wait around for a Prince Charming, then this series is for you and yours.
The gripping, enigmatic, steampunky fairy tale Canto (Dark Horse) aims for the feels in ways that are reminiscent of the great works that inspired it in the first place, like The Wizard of Oz, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, and others. We’re pleased the series found a new publisher and is back on Comics Plus, and the final volume may leave readers feeling like their own heart has been ripped out and replaced with a clock, like our poor titular tin-man. (Canto is also featured in our roundup of fantasy titles that can help teach character development.)
Imagine if Hello Kitty and Adventure Time (Oni Press) had a precocious kid and moved to a quaint suburb designed by Richard Scarry, and you might have a sense of the tone of my top pick last month for middle grade readers, the loveable Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat (Andrews McMeel). Comics don’t “need” to be anything more than comics but, maybe thanks once more to Pendelton Ward, this is another example of a style that’s just begging to be animated. It’s unabashedly cute, surprising, and clever, with a cartoonish humor that doesn’t skimp on the silly. Most of all, it remains charmingly sweet throughout, even as the oddball stakes snowball into even more and more “noirish” ridiculousness. I love all ages books that really are for all ages.
TEENS & YOUNG ADULT
No one so effortlessly blends American, Eurocomics, and Manga sensibilities quite like Stan Sakai, and his Space Usagi: Death and Honor (Dark Horse) — a reimagining his beloved Usagi Yojimbo series as an epic samurai space opera — is as awesome as it sounds!
Speaking of manga-inspired eurocomics, My Heart in Braille (Europe Comics) threatens to challenge any preconceived notions about what qualifies as “authentic” manga. It’s about a talented cellist losing her eyesight and needs a sweet, thoughtful guy to help her fool everyone until the big audition kind of story that Shoujo fans will recognize and enjoy. For a bitter(semi?)-sweet high school romance vs. “the world” story, it swings for the fences with the melodrama, but as cynical as I am, I have to admit it pulls it off, too. You might think of it as a Shoujo twin to the much more punk rock The Impending Blindness Blindness of Billie Scott (Avery Hill).
Manga has been inspiring non-Japanese artists around the world for decades, and there’s perhaps no more poignant resource than How to Draw Diverse Manga: Design and Create Anime and Manga Characters with Diverse Identities of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender (Saturday AM). The full title says it all. Instructional on a variety of levels, this guidebook is full of tricks, techniques, and other useful insights to take any artist’s work to the next level, even for those not specifically looking to manga for artistic inspiration.
The cross-cultural square dance continues with A Smart and Courageous Child (Tokyopop), as Miki Yamamoto, a Japanese creator, draws primarily with colored pencils in a more Western style; it even reads left to right. That didn’t stop it from winning the Manga Division Excellence Award at the 2020 Japan Media Arts Festival, though! It’s a heart-wrenchingly insightful exploration of the modern anxieties of motherhood, offering potential catharsis for anyone who has deeply questioned how best to raise the next generation up as positive global citizens — fear-free or fear-less?
Of course, Manga isn’t the only form of comics from East Asia, and we’re slowly starting to see more Manhwa from Korean creators being added to Comics Plus, including the chillingly surreal, and off-putting (in the best way) Maron the Magic Ocean (Tokyopop), which uses its sweet, Shoujo-esque cuteness to cause us to lose our footing way too close to the slippery precipice of the Uncanny Valley. Don’t let the sweet veneer fool you, because this may be one of the frankest, most unflinching depictions of suicidal ideation I’ve seen since… I don’t even know when. It’s also a beautiful exploration of self-love that I believe has the potential to really stick for some readers. This could be one of those “right place, right time” books that changes, or even saves a life one day.
Black Coal and Red Bandanas: An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars (PM Press) presents an important bit of underexplored US history, which also basically doubles as a slice-of-life biography of the notoriously awesome labor organizer Mother Jones. I also couldn’t ignore how much I wound up enjoying Bloody Mary (Silver Sprocket), which was perfect for spooky season, but definitely has year-round appeal. Taking place over the course of a single night, it’s basically a fun modern vampire love story that continually (hardhouse) dances the line between cute and scary.
Finally, when it comes to fertile sci-fi minds, there is probably no artist alive or dead who could quite compare with the great Jean Giraud (aka Mœbius), who I had the distinct privilege of meeting once before he passed. Moebius Library: The Major (Dark Horse) was my personal favorite last month for a number of reasons, but I promise my personal brush with greatness was not one of them. In truth, my reasons are quite varied, but Mœbius’s surreal and existential explorations of the ultimate meta-relationship between artist and creation probably cinches it for me. The man was a master, so I don’t expect anyone else to necessarily appreciate his work for exactly those reasons — but if it is, we should definitely grab a drink sometime.
ADULT
Mature readers always have something new to read on Comics Plus, and we added some don’t-miss titles last month. First, the intense and visceral When to Pick a Pomegranate (Silver Sprocket) is a twisted piece of psycho-sexual drama (and seemingly religious indifference) that may make you reconsider how you treat those most closely intertwined with you — possibly across many lifetimes.
We welcomed a new publisher, White Ash Comics, last month, adding two interesting series: The Game, every gamers dream/nightmare the totally gonzo life-as-a-videogame; and White Ash, the modern fairy tale take on Norse mythology set in rural Pennsylvania. Both are totally fun and imaginative, have great art, and are the kinds of sexy that’s appropriate for mature readers.
My highlight this month, though, is the critically beloved Saga (Image Comics), Brian K. Vaugn and Fiona Staples’ Shakespearian sci-fantasy, sex-positive space opera — because we now have the entire collected series to-date available. I’ve loved Staples’ art since her North 40 days, and although Vaughn’s Y: The Last Man was definitely interesting, I only really first truly appreciated his brilliant sci-fi mind during my very awesome (but very long) weekend as an Eisner judge back in 2006. I didn’t think I’d like anything of his more than Ex Machina, but Saga has it all beat. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s Top 100, deserted island comics
I promise you, I could have scrapped this entire article and dedicated all this space to what this “beyond weird” series is actually about. It’s definitely about parenthood, and it’s also allegorically rich with identity politics, and it displays a truly brilliant spectrum of LGBTQIA+ themes, and sure, it is definitely very overtly about sex and violence. Where I think it really succeeds, though, is in the way it balances the grotesque and the titillating, forcing readers to engage with something they will definitely see as an “other” in any manner of unexpected ways, until one’s sense of revulsion has been suddenly transmuted into empathy. It’s kind of incredible.
And I promise you, Staples’ artwork has completely set up shop in the deepest depths of the ol’ Uncanny Valley, and will continually push the boundaries of what you do and don’t want to look at — often in the same panel! If I still haven’t sold you on taking a trip to a war-torn galaxy where the subtext hidden in the words of a trashy romance novel may be the most important thing ever written, then I’ll leave you with the riddle that so elegantly underpins the entire series: If Peace isn’t the opposite of War, what is?
Honestly, that’s just a small sample of the great comics, manga, and picture books added to Comics Plus last month. With literally thousands of titles to choose from across a wide range of genres, I could keep writing forever! Be sure to check in every month for more highlights, and browse our expanding list of past Rob’s Advisory selections.
Until next month, here are some more honorable mentions that (mostly for space reasons) didn’t quite make my list, but you may also enjoy checking out:
- Abortion Pill Zine: A Community Guide to Misoprostol and Mifepristone (Silver Sprocket)
- Best Friends Until the End (Capstone)
- Digital Lizards of Doom Volume 1 (Papercutz)
- Fry Guys: Batter of the Bands (Andrews McMeel)
- Goblin Volume 2: The Wolf and the Well (Dark Horse)
- Happy! Deluxe Edition (Image Comics)
- The Moosicians (Andrews McMeel)
- My Contract With the Apothecary Monster, Vol #1 (Tokyopop)
- Once Our Land Remastered (Scout Comics)
- Red Panda & Moon Bear (Book 2): The Curse of the Evil Eye (IDW)
- Rossi Guides the Way (Capstone)
- The Skin You’re In: A Collection of Horror Comics (Silver Sprocket)
- Sonic the Hedgehog: Imposter Syndrome (IDW)
- The Terminator #1 (Dynamite)
- Trve Kvlt (IDW)
- Turtle and the Geese (Capstone)
- Upgrade Soul (Collector Edition) (Oni Press)
- World Class (Mad Cave)
- Zips and Eeloo Make a Friend (Andrews McMeel)
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Rob Randle is the Production Director for LibraryPass, and has worked in and around the comic book industry in various capacities, including as a book reviewer for the NY Journal of Books, and a judge for various comic book industry awards—the 2006 Eisner Awards, among others. Before joining LibraryPass, he had been the Director of Publishing for iVerse Media since 2010, and prior to that was a purchasing manager for Diamond Comic Distributors where he helped to manage the monthly Previews catalog for close to a decade starting in 2002. Additionally, he occasionally does freelance work as a comics creator, and is the author of the critically acclaimed graphic novel Serial Artist. Rob holds a B.A. of Illustration from the Maryland Institute, College of Art (MICA).
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