Dear White People Returns May 4

Dear White People, the Netflix show based on the 2014 movie, drops all ten episodes of season two on May 4. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing review episodes, and I couldn’t stop watching this fascinating and addictive show, binging all the episodes today. Justin Simien wrote and directed the movie, and...

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Kodansha Announces Five Digital-First Manga Series Debuts for May

Kodansha aims to put out a “more diverse and robust library of manga officially than what’s available in print” by releasing a number of series digitally. They call them “digital-first” because the most successful ones may come to print release later. For the month of May, they’ll be putting out these...

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Archival Quality

This impressive debut graphic novel uses a ghost story to explore questions of medical ethics and mental health. I found myself eager to follow along with Celeste as she struggles to understand the situation she’s in in Archival Quality, written by Ivy Noelle Weir and illustrated by Steenz. Celeste’s...

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Anxiety Is Really Strange

As part of a graphic series on self-care and mind/body understanding, Steve Haines (a chiropractor who teaches Trauma Releasing Exercises) writes and Sophie Standing illustrates Anxiety Is Really Strange. (They have also done Trauma Is Really Strange and Pain Is Really Strange, while Forgiveness Is...

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Previews’ Digital Comic Shop Catalog Is Here — For $4

As I mentioned in my most recent Previews roundup, the comic shop ordering catalog has gone digital for consumers. (The fact that the business owner uses the same catalog as the end customer is a long-standing structural problem that goes along with the blurry line between fan and professional in the...

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Celebrate the Avengers Movie by Dressing Your Tech Gear

I wasn’t previously familiar with Skinit, but now I’m amazed that they put out so many different cases and vinyl decal skins and designs for so many types of devices: smartphones, gaming devices, tablets, laptops, headphones, and more. They have official licenses from DC, NFL, MLB, NBA, Hello Kitty,...

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Read Herring Hunt

The sequel to The Plot Is Murder by V.M. Burns is just as much a pleasant, undemanding diversion. I won’t remember much of Read Herring Hunt, but I didn’t regret spending an hour or so with the characters. There’s not as much in the bookstore this time around. Instead, Sam (the owner and our protagonist)...

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Beasts of Burden Return Date, Covers

Last summer, writer Evan Dorkin tweeted that his award-winning series Beasts of Burden would be returning with a new artist. Now the details (and some lovely covers) have appeared, including a release date. Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men will be a four-issue miniseries, illustrated by...

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Crossplay

Iron Circus’ newest book of erotica was a disappointment. I loved the idea of a varied bunch of fans hooking up at a convention — I was hoping it would be as fun as Dramacon, but with actual sex scenes — but I never got enough information about most of the cast to care about what they were or weren’t...

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Upcoming Science Comics (Revised With New Covers)

A little less than a year ago, I wrote about the plans for upcoming releases in First Second’s outstanding line of Science Comics. Looks like some of the dates have changed, so I thought I’d update the list. Released Plagues: The Microscopic Battlefield by Falynn Koch (August 2017) Dogs: From Predator...

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Science Comics: Sharks: Nature’s Perfect Hunter

The latest in the outstanding line of Science Comics, non-fiction graphic novels for kids about technology and our natural world, is Joe Flood’s Sharks: Nature’s Perfect Hunter. Unlike other animal books in the line, such as Dogs or Bats, this volume doesn’t have a bridging story or a cute narrator...

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Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths

Graham Annable’s distinctive, googly-eyed style is a wonderful match for this odd little fable about two friends, Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths. Ernesto wants to leave their comfortable tree home to “see ALL of the sky!” while Peter enjoys staying put, looking at clouds and enjoying hibiscus....

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Catching Up With Phoebe and Her Unicorn

It’s much too easy to take good entertainment in a continuing series for granted. I talked about how much I liked the first two books, Phoebe and Her Unicorn and Unicorn on a Roll, and then it seems like I blinked and there were five more. But it’s been four years now that these volumes have been collecting...

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Kiss Him, Not Me Volume 13

As I mentioned in my review of the previous volume, Kae is now dating. However, this installment gets back to wacky fan behavior, as she keeps forgetting about her boyfriend when offered cool events to go to featuring her favorite anime. That’s a challenge many people have, learning how to consider...

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Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom

Out later this month is Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom, a terrific concept that unfortunately disappoints in the execution. This camp-based murder mystery is the debut graphic novel of co-writers Terry Blas and Molly Muldoon as well as artist Matthew Seely. Seely has an animation background, which...

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Interview With Kristen Gudsnuk and Rafer Roberts of Modern Fantasy

Due out in June is the first issue of Modern Fantasy. It’s written by Rafer Roberts (A&A: The Adventures of Archer and Armstrong, Plastic Farm) and illustrated by Kristen Gudsnuk (Henchgirl), and here’s the description: A young Ranger woman who came to the city with dreams of adventure, her drug-dealing...

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Where Are Lion Forge’s Female Heroes?

I’ve been interested in finding out more about the publisher Lion Forge. As Heidi MacDonald (whose site the Beat is now owned by a subsidiary of Lion Forge) says, their Catalyst Prime superhero line aims to represent “a diverse and inclusive world of superheroes that reflects the changing demographics...

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One Month to TCAF!

I am not as on top of things as I should be this year, or I would have told you about TCAF before now! The Toronto Comic Arts Festival is one of my favorite shows of the year because 1) it’s free (and held in a library) 2) it’s amazing and 3) it’s in another country, so it feels like a real vacation....

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Resident Alien: An Alien in New York #1

I always enjoy reading a new installment of Resident Alien. It’s a strong, simple concept — an alien, marooned on Earth, tries to live an undiscovered life as a retired country doctor, until the neighbors in the small town he’s settled in start incorporating him into their lives. This usually involves...

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Black Panther DVD Date, Details Announced

As I suspected, Black Panther will be available on home video on May 15, with digital release a week earlier on May 8. The Blu-ray Combo Pack has been renamed the Multiscreen edition, which means it comes with a digital copy (but no DVD). It’s currently available for preorder at many retailers for $23...

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Diamond Pullbox Releases Pricing, Release Information

I thought I was late in talking about Diamond’s Pullbox software plans last week, but it seems I was right on time, since they’ve just released pricing information (one of THE most important factors when talking about services for the direct comic shop market, since those stores often don’t have a lot...

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Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay demonstrates how strong the movies in the DC Original Animated line can be when they’re not tied to the best-known characters or repeating widely read storylines. It’s a road trip/object chase movie with a ton of villains chasing after a magical MacGuffin. It’s rated R for...

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Diamond Pullbox Aims to Automate the Subscription List

Diamond Comic Distributors has announced plans to create “a cloud-based software application” that will allow customers to update subscription lists and preorder items from their local comic shop (assuming it subscribes to the product). It will be called Pullbox (TM), but no word yet on release date...

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DC Kids’ Imprints Delayed

When announced, DC’s Zoom and Ink imprints were seen as welcome indicators that the comic company was serious about reaching beyond the traditional comic shop market. By focusing on middle grade and young adult readers, DC was seen to be acknowledging how much growth is happening in kids’ comics, and...

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DC Comics Variant Covers: The Complete Visual History

Reviewed by KC Carlson DC Comics Variant Covers: The Complete Visual History is the latest offering from Insight Editions, who specialize in 11″x14″ oversize hardcovers covering the best of comics. Some of their previous selections include Marvel’s Black Panther: The Illustrated History of a King: The...

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