Not sure about you, but this was a rough month for me. Deaths in the family, medical worries, plus the latest case of the Common Covid (to say nothing of the latest madness of the wider world) have all left me feeling somewhat diminished. It’s at times like this that I’m honestly grateful for the SEL and Graphic Medicine collections we have available on Comics Plus, and the ones we added last month seemed to really widen my perspective where I needed it most.
It was a much needed recharge for my batteries…
As such, this month’s picks also constitute something of an emotional rollercoaster, or closer to an entire theme park — including some charming kiddie rides, a weird trip through the funhouse, and a whole bunch more titles that aim right for the feels in ways that are clearly only too real. Thrills and chills, laughter and tears… this month had it all.
Strap in.
Middle Grade
While it’s always great to see new editions of Big Nate — No Harm Done by Lincoln Peirce (Andrews McMeel) — and Crabgrass — The World Is Lava by Tauhid Bondia (Andrews McMeel) — I was personally most excited to see the newest installment from the super-cute world of Detective Beans!
Everything I praised about it in my advisory the first time around still holds true, but somehow Detective Beans: Adventures in Cat Town by Li Chen (Andrews McMeel) seems even more “charmingly sweet” than the first volume, if that’s even possible. Maybe it’s because rather than one big story, this time we’re treated to a plethora of adorably hilarious vignettes concerning the various “adventures” of the titular kitty cat, and I promise it’s a chuckle-a-minute experience that you’ll be sorry to see end.
Normally that would have been my top pick for middle grade readers, but I didn’t let my cat bias exert too much influence, mostly because I was so very impressed with From Memen to Mori by Shinsuke Yoshitake (Yen Press). Some of its concepts are heady enough that it might be more interesting to younger teens, but it’s written in such a way that makes those ideas pretty accessible, which is actually something of a triumph. It’s one that many adults could definitely appreciate, too.
Throughout the story, the two young siblings, Memen and Mori, find themselves ruminating on all manner of small occurrences, but with big ideas. Think of it as a non-denominational introduction to “Eastern Philosophy Lite”, even going so far as to meditate on thoughts about life and loss, death and rebirth. Yoshitake-san transcends expectations further still, tackling even more universal concepts such as embracing your joy, the power of imagination, living your life deliberately, and maybe even hinting at there actually being a point to our very existence.
See what I mean? Sure, it sounds like it might be above middle grade readers’ heads, but in retrospect, kids probably can’t be introduced to some of these ideas early enough! I can see this being an influential book in a lot of youngsters’ reading journeys, and another valuable contribution towards a happier, healthier world.
Teen & Young Adult
Firstly, I hope you’ll join in my relief to finally have the third and final volume of Hakim’s Odyssey available on Comics Plus. It’s the harrowing true story of an ordinary man thrust into extraordinary (but sadly not as uncommon as we’d wish) circumstances. Forced to flee first Syria for Turkey, then Turkey for Greece, in Hakim’s Odyssey Book 3: From Macedonia to France by Fabien Toulmé and Hannah Chute (Graphic Mundi) we experience the final leg of the titular refugee’s epic struggle to finally gain safe asylum for his family in Europe… a bittersweet victory indeed. It’s also one hell of an amazing journey, and I’ll always take stories of real life heroes like Hakim over superhero fantasies any day of the week.
The SEL and Graphic Medicine trains keep on rolling, next with a humorous exploration of the horrors of the modern (almost Orwellian) health care system. Bipolar Bear and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Health Insurance by Kathleen Founds (Graphic Mundi) is a not-so-playful mockery of the various absurdities faced by those seeking support for their mental health issues, often in vain, as well as a providing some humorous catharsis (and possibly camaraderie) for anyone who might recognize themselves or a loved one in similarly absurd straights.
Additionally, while I thought the memoir In Mourning by Paula Cheshire, Agnese Innocente, and Jodie Troutman (Mad Cave) presented an earnest, honest, and heartfelt portrait of death, grief, and finally moving on, it’s actually the ending of the next book that I seem to have trouble accepting… or at least I can’t seem to stop thinking about it since I read it. Illustratively drawn with her own hand, the memoir Down to the Bone by Catherine Pioli and J.T. Mahany (Graphic Mundi) is an unflinching firsthand account of the author’s discovery and subsequent protracted struggle with an aggressive type of leukemia. Throughout she demonstrates a studious (and thus quite informative for the reader) drive to understand her illness, coupled with an enthusiastic desire to live, even as she (literally) illustrates an grimly honest portrait of her declining health — all expressed with a courageous sense of humor that’s very self-aware
It was so easy to forget it was nonfiction, getting swept up in the drama and hoping for a happy ending… so maybe you can start to guess why I can’t stop thinking about what kind of a testament this book winds up being. May Ms. Pioli’s work survive us all.
How was that not one of my top picks for this month?
In some ways it kind of still is, but I also just couldn’t overlook what an accomplishment The Pass by Espé (Graphic Mundi) turned out to be. If you’re not already familiar with his moving work on The Parakeet (Graphic Mundi), definitely start there. While that memoir of his youthful reflections concerning the severe and ever-deteriorating state of his mother’s mental health was done with a deliberate, almost “childish” approach, The Pass is in many ways a much more mature “sequel” to that book — technically speaking, as both works are ultimately autobiographical.
Now a parent himself, we get served a double dose of graphic medicine as we experience the heartbreaking worry and fraught helplessness of learning your child was born with a life-threatening medical condition, as well as the joyful bonds formed when a dying grandfather begins to assist with the ailing child’s care.
It’s as intense a life-or-death drama and as thrilling as any work of fiction, and after my experiences with Down to the Bone, I wasn’t making any assumptions until the book’s final pages. Regardless of outcome, that’s a good life lesson in general, and the experience of books like this winds up being a fitting tribute to those whose lives had been affected by illness, but would not allow themselves to be entirely shaped by it.
Adult
Would you believe the choices for mature readers feel somehow less intense than my other picks?
It seems I can’t get through an advisory lately without at least mentioning another Millarworld title being added to Comics Plus, but I swear Starlight Library Edition by Mark Millar and Goran Parlov (Dark Horse) was “tame” enough (by comparison anyway) that it almost wound up with our Young Adult titles. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun read with some great art, but if you’re expecting “the usual” Millar-esque litany of depraved characters, or a gut-punch of a twist ending… you might find yourself disappointed. Instead, Starlight reads something more like Flash Gordon (Mad Cave) crossed with The Incredibles, and aims for being so “unironically earnest” it’s actually kinda refreshing.
Next up is a book that’s almost as funny as it is freaky. Barstow by David Mckendry, Rebekah McKendry, Justin Birch, and Tyler Jenkins (Dark Horse) is like the apocalyptic version of Twin Peaks, and features enough madcap violence, grotesque demons, and unsettling body horror to potentially last a lifetime. With a quirky art style, creepy AF character designs, and a host of memorably oddball characters, this is the kind of title that’s certain to attract some equally oddball fans (like me).
As far as odd picks go, though, my #1 selection is definitely not going to be for everybody. Consider for yourself the luscious fantasy tale of Dur-an-ki by Studio Gaga (Dark Horse), created by the same art studio founded by the late, great mangaka Kentaro Miura (of Berserk fame).
The book is loosely inspired by a story idea he once proposed… but dang if the stunning art in this fever dream of a book doesn’t look like it could have been drawn by the master himself! Steeped in mythological imagery, and laced with all manner of healthy psycho-sexual undercurrents, these elements of subtle tension are further complicated by the protagonist’s androgynous/hermaphroditic nature.
Miura-sama may no longer be with us, but his fingerprints are all over this thing! Plus you’re not likely to find a cuter depiction of the god Pan anywhere in comics…
I feel better already.
Honorable Mentions
That was a lot of books to cover in one advisory, and yet still so many more I didn’t get to. Remember, there’s always more to read every month on Comics Plus! 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 (and/or your readers) may also enjoy checking out:
- A Misanthrope Teaches a Class for Demi-Humans, Vol. 1 (Yen Press)
- Adabana Volume 1 (Dark Horse)
- Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra (Yen Press)
- The Art of Fantastic Four (Dark Horse)
- The Art of Marvel Rivals (Dark Horse)
- Beasts of the Four Nations: Creatures from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra (Dark Horse)
- The Blue Falcon & Dynomutt #1 (Dynamite)
- Common-Sense Monster Vol. 1 (Yen Press)
- Dark Pyramid (Mad Cave)
- Desperate March for Love (Yen Press)
- Do You Really Want Only a Meal?, Volume 1 (Tokyopop)
- Eternal Covenant, Volume 1 (Tokyopop)
- Folk Remedy: Book 1 (Andrews McMeel)
- Galaxy of Madness (Mad Cave)
- The Hexiles (Mad Cave)
- Hi, It’s Me Again: A Cartoon Collection from the New Yorker’s Asher Perlman (Andrews McMeel)
- Hotblood!, Vol. 1 (Mad Cave)
- Jacob’s Apartment (Graphic Mundi)
- MONSTER TRIBE, Vol. 1 (Yen Press)
- Nuking Alaska (Graphic Mundi)
- Queen of Snails (Graphic Mundi)
- Riptide (Dark Horse)
- Stitch #1 (Dynamite)
- What Do You Call This Trash? (Yen Press)
- Zits: Movie Night (Andrews McMeel)
Rob Randle is the Director of Content Management 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 LLC 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, Rob 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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