Comics Worth Reading Named Best Comics-Related Website

I am touched and honored to have been named “Best Comics-Related Website / Publications” in the Tripwire Awards 2022. I had the pleasure of meeting up with Tripwire Magazine editor Joel Meadows when I visited London last year, and he’s putting out some lovely editions. Thank you to anyone who voted...

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DC Super Hero Girls: At Metropolis High

As noted at the end of my DC Super Hero Girls: Spaced Out review, DC Super Hero Girls: At Metropolis High is the first of a new run of the series that changes the concept, characters, and look to match the TV cartoon. It’s written by Amy Wolfram and illustrated by Yancey Labat. One of the key differences...

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DC Super Hero Girls: Spaced Out

After a set of great stories in this franchise, DC Super Hero Girls: Spaced Out concludes writer Shea Fontana’s run with the characters. There are three major plot lines in this volume, all of which involve classic superhero premises and concepts. A group of Kryptonians have returned, and they kidnap...

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Doughnuts and Doom (With Preview)

Doughnuts and Doom is one of those modern fantasies for which I’m still looking for a good genre name. You know the kind… Young people work in a coffee shop — but they’re werewolves! Or they work at a call center — but they’re also on a fantasy quest! Or they’re looking to find a purpose in life now...

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The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor

Haley loves gothic romance. She only wants to read stories such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. In The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor, after she rescues a man from the river on a dark and rainy night, she finds herself in the storybook setting she’s always dreamed of. This graphic novel is written...

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Heartstopper (the Netflix Show)

I adored the Heartstopper graphic novel when I read it two years ago. So I was thrilled to discover that the Netflix TV show version is one of the best comic adaptations I’ve ever seen. Heartstopper is all about cute boys in love, and it’s wonderful. It’s written by Alice Oseman based on her own graphic...

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All My Friends

All My Friends concludes Hope Larson’s Eagle Rock trilogy that began in All Summer Long and continued in All Together Now. Bina has formed a band with two new friends, and they’re about to play a show as an opening act. It leads to a big break, but the question of how to handle “being discovered” sensibly...

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Rocky Becomes a Superhero

Sylvester Stallone stars in a new take on the superhero idea in Samaritan, available via Prime Video. In this film, Thirteen-year-old Sam Cleary (Javon “Wanna” Walton) suspects that his mysterious and reclusive neighbor Mr. Smith (Sylvester Stallone) is actually a legend hiding in plain sight. Twenty-five...

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Naomi: The Complete Series

It’s a shame that we’re finally seeing many more diverse takes on the superhero genre now that it’s been so overworked. The exhaustion of fans and creators with this genre means no one’s sure what to do with it any more, so we’re finally getting characters beyond the usual white guy. That’s a very admirable...

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A Tour of SherlockComics.com

I was invited to give a history and tour of my SherlockComics.com website at the most recent “Five Miles From Anywhere” virtual scion meeting, and it’s now available for viewing, in case you’re curious. Watch me talk about different kinds of comics featuring Sherlock Holmes for 45 minutes. (If that...

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Salt Magic

Salt Magic is the kind of book that makes you glad to read comics. It blends fantasy and history and authentic characters and fairy tale happenings into a story of growing up and protecting those you love. Writer Hope Larson is no stranger to magical fables. I’m fond of what I think is her earliest...

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Cat + Gamer Volume 2

Although I’m neither a cat owner nor a gamer, I enjoyed the first volume of this series by Wataru Nadatami because of the way it used the language of one hobby to talk about another. Cat + Gamer volume 2 has moved away from that premise somewhat to present more generic examples of how life works with...

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Lost Lad London Volume 2

There’s not much progression in the solution of the mystery in this second volume of the series, but Lost Lad London volume 2 sets up more threats against Al as we learn more about the forces arrayed against him. Al ponders the depth of the situation he’s in — framed for murder, and living in the detective’s...

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Unicorn Playlist: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure

For a comic strip on its fourteenth volume (as this one is), it’s amazing to me how good Unicorn Playlist still is. Settling down with a new Phoebe and Her Unicorn book means a satisfying read. The familiar characters — unusual young woman Phoebe, her magical best friend Marigold the unicorn, her frenemy...

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