Squirrel Girl Gets a Novel, Plus Black Widow Book Sequel

I guess the Black Widow novel Forever Red novel did well, since Marvel Press has announced a followup, as well as four more young adult and middle-grade books due out in 2016. * Margaret Stohl’s Natasha Romanov sequel will be titled Black Widow: Red Vengeance and feature “her fellow vigilante operative,...

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Constantine Appears on Arrow

I haven’t been watching the new season of Arrow so far, because I like thinking of him getting a temporary happy ending (as happened last year), and I’m not sure I’m ready to jump back into the drama and angst. There are four episodes so far in season 4, but the next episode, promoted in the clip below,...

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Calvin: A Novel About Schizophrenia With Hobbes

Out next month is a fascinating novel by Martine Leavitt. Calvin is the story of a 17-year-old, born on the last day of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip and coincidentally named to match, who’s convinced Bill Watterson can fix his life. Calvin has just been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and hearing...

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Kiss Him, Not Me! Volume 1

It’s such a pleasure to try a manga series you know nothing about and have it turn out to be hilarious! Kiss Him, Not Me! is silly but amusing, making fun of both shojo cliches and fandom. The author Junko knows the subject well, since her other works are boys’ love titles, and she talks in an end note...

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Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection

Kate Beaton’s new collection of her Hark! A Vagrant comics is just as entertaining as the previous, titled simply Hark! A Vagrant. Reading Step Aside, Pops is the best kind of entertainment, the kind that makes you feel smarter. It’s always a pleasure to read such witty work with such detailed cartooning....

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Yukarism Volumes 2-3

Now that the premise has been established — young writer Yukari flips back and forth between now and the Edo Period, when he was a high-class courtesan — we can get down to the mystery of figuring out who else among Yukari’s new acquaintances are also reincarnated with him. There’s Mahoro, a shy classmate...

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High School Debut 3-in-1 Edition Volume 5

High School Debut 3-in-1 Edition volume 5 is the final volume of the series, and it contains the equivalent of volumes 13, 14, and 15 of the single-volume run. Only volume 13 was previously published here, back in 2010. Having the volume start with a book I already read was a big help in catching up...

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Emma Volume 2

The Yen Press rescue of Kaoru Mori’s Emma series continues here. Emma volume 2 reprints the paperback volumes 3 and 4 in a larger-size hardcover with a reversible dust jacket. This part of the story splits up the maid Emma and the well-off William. After the death of her mistress, Emma is returning...

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The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss

Max Wirestone combines geek culture, Millennial struggles, and the detective genre in The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss. It’s a fun read, with plenty of touch points for a particular generation or type of fan. Dahlia is unemployed and living in friend Charice’s apartment. Charice tends to throw...

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Ant-Man DVD Date Announced

The more I think about Ant-Man, the more I like it. It’s been treated as a poor cousin of the Marvel movie universe, not tying into the big Avengers franchise, but that gives it the ability to operate on its own as a more stand-alone “man finds his destiny through gaining powers and learning to help...

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ComiqueCon a Comic Con for Women

ComiqueCon is taking place next month. It’s a one-day gathering on Saturday, November 7, at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Organizers describe the show, appearing for the first time, as “a one-day celebration of the amazing work of female comic creators” where they want to...

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Powers Comes to Crackle

Now that it’s been about a year, as I predicted when the TV adaptation of Powers was first announced as a PlayStation exclusive, the series will now be coming to Sony’s free streaming network Crackle in November. The pilot is now posted. The series stars Sharlto Copley as detective Christian Walker...

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H.R. Pufnstuf Returns!

That giant dragon-y paragon of kids’ shows, H.R. Pufnstuf, will be returning to TV for the first time in over 45 years. The Nickelodeon live-action preschool series Mutt & Stuff will include a special guest-starring H.R. Pufnstuf, Cling and Clang, Freddy the Flute, and the Rescue Racer. “H.R. Pufnstuf...

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Human Body Theater

Human Body Theater is a whimsical exploration of our own anatomy. Maris Wicks (Primates, Yes, Let’s) makes an important (but sometimes dry) subject amusing and educational. As seen on the cover, her anthropomorphized body parts are adorable! Eleven chapters cover the main systems of the body, including...

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My Neighbor Seki Volumes 3-4

My Neighbor Seki is the kind of series it’s difficult to continue talking about, because it’s full of stand-alone chapters, all of the same consistent high quality. As I’ve previously explained, Seki comes up with all kinds of distractions during class, which drives Rumi crazy, since she’s trying to...

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Secret Volume 2

Secret volume 2 continues to be an improvement over Yoshiki Tonogai’s previous series, with more emphasis on character profiles and less on gratuitous murders. The deaths happened in the past, so now people are analyzing them — although there is the occasional attempted homicide, just to ramp up the...

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Arrow: The Complete Third Season

Poor Arrow. I enjoyed watching it more when it was the only superhero TV show. Now there are a lot more choices, with more variety in tone, and I’m finding a few things not so enjoyable any more. Like the requirement that there be some kind of flashback plotline throughout the episodes. Now in season...

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Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan

Although intimidating, with its doorstop size and historical focus, Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan is surprisingly readable. I found it fast-moving, with an inviting combination of personal reminiscence and an educational approach to cultural history. This is the first of four volumes covering...

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Faith Erin Hicks to Write Buffy the Vampire Slayer Graphic Novel

Dark Horse has announced that they will be expanding their Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic line with an original graphic novel series called Buffy: The High School Years. The first volume, Freaks & Geeks, will be written by Faith Erin Hicks (Friends With Boys, The Adventures of Superhero Girl) with...

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Watch Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, Other Paramount Classics, on YouTube

Thanks to cinematically insane, I found out that the Paramount Vault is now a thing. Paramount Pictures has put a number of their movies on YouTube in full for free (with some ads). These include 91 full-length feature films originally released between 1941 and 2014, which makes for quite the range....

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Dark Horse Brings Single Issues to ComiXology, More Digital Distributors

Earlier this year, Dark Horse announced that their graphic novels would be available on ComiXology, finally giving the digital distributor access to all the major comic book publishers. Now, the rest of the Dark Horse titles join the party, as Dark Horse has now announced that they will make their monthly...

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DC Super Hero Girls Launches

Warner Bros. Consumer Products is now pushing a “new Super Hero universe created for girls featuring iconic DC Comics female characters including Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, and Harley Quinn.” Other characters included in the diverse line are Katana, Bumblebee (who’s also a “tech genius” in addition...

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Danger Mouse Returns!

While reading this ICv2 article about an upcoming Danger Mouse movie, I was shocked to see the following: A rebooted Danger Mouse TV cartoon series, with original creator [Brian] Cosgrove acting as a consultant and a voice cast that includes John Oliver, Lena Headey, and Kevin Eldon, debuted in England...

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Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma Volume 8

Most of Food Wars volume 8 is dedicated to the ongoing competition of the Fall Classic, as begun in the previous book, but there are a few digressions that serve as highlights. First, as the finals to determine the Classic participants conclude, Soma faces off with Akira, a spice expert, in making curry...

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The Flash: The Complete First Season

Review by KC Carlson I have a great affection for the Barry Allen/Flash character from DC Comics. The Flash was the first comic book series I “collected” (as opposed to just “read”), and I’ve read all of his classic comics adventures (at least up to the “New 52” era of the comics series). So you can...

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