Baba Yaga's Assistant - Marika McCoola
Baby-Sitters Club - Raina Telgemeier
- Kristy's Great Idea - A faithful, B&W adaptation of the series for tween girls. Makeup and boys and growing up and divorce and mom's new boyfriend issues. Nicely drawn, easy reading. I am not the target audience. Library. [3.5]
- The truth About Stacey - The club has new rivals, older girls who start taking the club's old customers; meanwhile Stacey is dealing with the trials of diabetes and her parents' over-protectiveness. It's rather simplistic, but then it's not for me. Enthusiastically and skillfully adapted. Library. [3.5]
In a small Oregon town, a young man who works with his single mother selling items from estate sales falls in love with the daughter of a nurse who is secretly a hoarder. As the two get to know each other (amid background plots such as a long-lost father, a boyfriend who steals and sells drugs from the old age home, and a gruff antique dealer who has connections to their past), questions of what we do and don't value, what family is and isn't, and what we can ultimately escape from are examined. Wise and tenderly written, with B&W illustrations that fit the tone of the story. Library. [4.5]
Bandette - Paul Tobin + Coleen Coover [Dark Horse]
- #1 Presto! - A freewheeling and impulsive young woman is a master thief and acrobat; with the aid of her street friends, she steals valuable items while aiding the police (personified in the grouchy, slow-footed B.D. Belgique) and sparring with her sometimes friendly rival, Monsieur. As the names suggest, this is an homage to the French and Belgian tradition, and it hits the nail on the head. The art is a perfect mixture of cartoonish and modern, while the story allows only the faintest sense of real danger to creep in and spoil the fun. [5]
- #2 Stealers Keepers! - More of the same as above; it's episodic and comforting. [4.5]
Barbalien: The Red Planet - Tate Brombal
Barbarian Lord - Matt Smith
A grim barbarian lord is
betrayed by his enemy the Skullmaster and flees to another land, where
he performs great feats and returns with an army to reclaim his lands.
This is basically Conan, as drawn by Jeff Smith, set in the world of
the Icelandic eddas with a few Bone characters thrown in. Witty and
straight faced, it's very well done. Nothing original here, but fun.
[4]
BATMAN: BRUCE WAYNE: FUGITIVE (vols 2-3) - various
Decent
superhero crime fodder, mostly by Rucka and Brubaker. The wrap-up
story in which the self-loathing assassin is protected by Batman despite
himself is a high point. [3.5]
Batman Incorporated - Grant Morrison
Including
#1-8 of the series plus a one-shot called Leviathan Strikes! Batman
starts training operatives around the world in order to Leviathan, the
head of a worldwide crime network. Battling enemies such as the bizarre
Lord Death Man and the senile Dr. Dedalus. Fun at times (I really
enjoyed the Native American Man-Of-Bats and Little Raven, presented as
they are with respect and largely self-contained); at others, it is just
too Morrison - all continuity porn, grand announcements of unstoppable
esoteric terrors ("The city of numbers is on fire! All must kneel to the
worm captain!") and deus ex machina resolutions that only open further
layers of abstruse weirdness. [3]
All that bookish Vera wants to do is fit in, but that’s not easy for a Russian girl in the suburbs. Her friends live in fancy houses and their parents can afford to send them to the best summer camps. Vera’s single mother can’t afford that sort of luxury, but there's one summer camp in her price range: Russian summer camp. Vera is sure she's found the one place she can fit in, but camp is far from what she imagined. And nothing could prepare her for all the "cool girl" drama, endless Russian history lessons, and outhouses straight out of nightmares! Sketchy, mono-colored pictures fit the theme. [4]
The Beast of Wolfe's Bay - Erik Evensen [Evensen Creative]
A
blend of modern adaptation of Beowulf with Sasquatch legends. Very
creative idea, lightweight execution. Too short to have in depth
character development, too much Joss Whedon-style indie cool pop
reference dialogue at inappropriate times. The reveal at the end is
clever, though. [3]
Blacksad - Juan Diaz Canales
- Blacksad vol. 1 - It takes Europeans to tackle the tough questions about America (race and class) head-on, while wrapping it all up in thrilling noir as performed by anthropomorphic animals. The art is some of the highest quality I have ever seen; not only is the level of technical proficiency eye-popping, but the way Juanjo Guarnido makes these animals' faces show human emotion is uncanny. [5]
- Blacksad: Amarillo - a decadent poet gets in over his head when he kills his bullying mentor; Blacksad, on vacation, tries to find him before he gets hurt. [4]
Black Hammer - Jeff Lemire
Black Hammer: Visions - various
Blake and Mortimer - Edgar Jacobs
- The Secret Of the Swordfish: The Incredible Chase - After an evil "yellow Empire" headquartered in Tibet wipes most of the major cities of the West off the map using advanced technology and a sneak attack, Blake, an MI5 agent, and Mortimer, a scientist, flee with the secret of the Swordfish, an advanced weapon that can turn the tide. After them is the evil Colonel Olrik. It has intricately detailed art in the Hergé style (he worked on the Tintin books), but although the stories are thrilling, the continuous narration and description of nearly every picture, with not a single scene left for the reader to connect, results in a very heavy, verbose style. [3.5]
- The Secret Of the Swordfish: Mortimer's Escape - After a chase through the desert, Mortimer is captured by Olrik, who demands he work on the Swordfish for him. Through disguises, codes, and submarine chases, Blake and his allies try to rescue him, as well as find the lost Swordfish papers. Again, very detailed artwork, with narrative exposition to the point of dulling the senses. [3.5]
- The Secret Of the Swordfish: SX1 Strikes Back - After a climactic battle at the rebels' undersea base, the secret weapon is finally finished, and it turns out to be a sort of flying submarine that launches atomic missiles. Why this is a super weapon that can win all wars and defeat the empire that crushed the entire West is beyond me, as it seems like it could be shot out of the sky, and is no match for the atomic weapons the Tibetans have. But, it is, and at the end there's a sort of, "Well, WWIII happened, time to rebuild civilization" moment. It kind of takes away from the credibility of it all. [3.5]
- The Mystery Of the Great Pyramid: The Papyrus Of Manethon - Mortimer travels to Egypt to visit and friend and gets mixed up in a mystery about a hidden treasure, as well as a drug- and artifact-smuggling ring led by, you guessed it, Colonel Olrik. I was pleased to find that the narrative overload has lessened a great deal, and the story is quite fast-paced. [4]
- The Mystery Of the Great Pyramid: The Chamber Of Horus - Mortimer and Blake go after Olrik's gang and explore the hidden Chamber of Horus hinted at on a papyrus, but even as the two sides play cat and mouse with one another, a more mystical presence is watching. This album takes us from the realm of science fiction to quasi-mystical pulp adventure, and it's an excellent entry. Lots of twists and turns, and I love the way Jacobs keeps swinging the advantage from the good guys to Olrik and back. [4.5]
- The Yellow "M" - A master criminal is on the loose in London, and getting more and more serious in his crimes. He's apparently unstoppable, and leaves his sign, a yellow "M," wherever he strikes. Blake and Mortimer are on the trail, but apparently he can kidnap prominent men from right under their noses! This would be a superb story, except for Jacobs' unbearably tedious and superfluous narration. This is printed in English as the very first B&M case, which is completely stupid, as its plot relies on at least the previous two books. [3.5]
- Atlantis Mystery - unread
- S.O.S. Meteors - Another stunningly illustrated hard science fiction action tale, as Mortimer investigates the possibility that a secret cabal might be responsible for the spate of cataclysmic weather that has hit the west. Once again, a page-turning, enthralling adventure with plenty of twists and turns, marred by the unnecessary narration and verbosity. There are no meteors in the story. [3.5]
- The Time Trap - Here we move from the previous hyper-detailed, plausible, hard science fiction into pure speculative science fiction. A scientist from the last volume leaves for Mortimer in his will a trail to his time machine, which Mortimer uses, but realizes the controls are useless and he is buffeted backwards and forwards in time. It's a terrific adventure in very much the same vein as H.G. Wells' story, plus all that infernal narration. [3.5]
- The Affair of the Necklace - A very valuable necklace is held at a jeweler's residence is stolen, right after Olrik's escape on the way to trial. The jeweler is hounded by both the press and a suspicious caller. Blake and Mortimer descend into the Paris catacombs to hunt for Olrik and the missing necklace. In contrast to the very earliest issues huge death count, bullets fly back and forth here but no one is ever hit, and there is no science fiction element. [3.5]
Blue - Pat Grant [Top Shelf]
A generation ago,
three delinquent Australian kids trek down the railroad tracks, where
an immigrant blue man has been hit by the train. In the present day,
one of the kids, now a man employed in cleaning blue graffiti off the
walls, bemoans the negative changes in his economically depressed town,
brought on by the bizarre blue immigrants. Intricate to the point of
OCD drawing, in soft blue and brown, with ugly, cartoon people. It's an
interesting statement on xenophobia and the tunnel vision of childhood,
but I think it's too flimsy a work to say anything really weighty.
[3.5]
BLUFFTON - Mat Whelan [Candlewick Press]
In
a small Michigan town in 1908, a traveling show comes to stay. Among
the performers is a young Buster Keaton, who enthralls local kid Henry.
But while Henry wants to learns how to be like Buster, the tumbler seems
to prefer baseball and talking to Henry's little girl friend. Written
in an understated tone, with no sound effects, and in rather muted
watercolors, this is a quaint and tender period piece. It's sweet, if
inessential. [3]
Bone - Jeff Smith
Vols. 1-8 - Pogo meets Conan, and he is us. Brilliantly executed B&W romantic dramedy fantasy saga with talking... animals? Superb. [5]
BOXERS & SAINTS - Gene Luen Yang [First Second]
Two
volumes, telling two views of the vast historical epic that is the
Boxer Rebellion. Boxers follows Little Bo, who becomes a hero warlord
when his visions lead him to victory after victory against the English
and the converts. Saints tells the story of Four-Girl, or Vibiana, who
follows her own visions of Joan of Arc and becomes a Christian. A
sophisticated and powerful tale of wishing to make a difference, and the
possible futility of fighting one's fate. [5]
The Boys - Garth Ennis [Dynamite]
Breaking Up - Aimee Friedman [Graphix]
A teen girl drama
about popularity contests, first loves, and testing friendships. Well
written and drawn. Strictly for teen girls, however. [3.5]
BREAKFAST AFTER NOON - Andi Watson [Oni]
A
skilled worker in a British factory is laid off, and he falls into a
cycle of apathy and self-pity, while his fiancee sets up a financial
plan and goes back to school. Well-done realistic tale of economic woe
and how money troubles affect romantic relationships. Not terribly
original. Bleak but with tacked-on happy ending. Watson (who is a
male) uses simple, thick-lined B&W drawings to tell the story. [3]
Buz Sawyer - Roy Crane
BY THE NUMBERS - Laurent Rullier
- 1. Traffic In Indochina: In 1950, a seemingly mild-mannered accountant is drawn into a currency-smuggling ring that takes him to Saigon and up against some thugs willing to kill. Illustrations that evoke a less-detailed Tintin, and a story that's more akin to a dramatic film than a Tintin adventure. [4]
- 2. The Road To Cau Bang: Victor, the accountant, stays in Vietnam, having recovered the missing money, and becomes something of a trafficker himself. He falls for a Vietnamese refugee, but is soon caught between two gangsters, one who wants his money back and the other who wants his gambling-addicted girl. Meanwhile, the war rages on. [4.5]
- 3. The Night Watchman - Back in Paris (and dispensing with the flashback conceit), Victor becomes a night watchman, only to get mixed up in a spy ring willing to kill to get their hands on information about experimental planes. This is extremely reminiscent of Marlowe, as Victor has become a sort of unfeeling, reluctant crusader, following a moral code he himself doesn't fully understand. [4.5]
- 4. Meet Me in Saint-Nazaire - Victor is asked by his grandfather to pick up a demented old relation, fresh out of prison. But he isn't the only one who has an interest in the old man; two sets of thugs are after his hidden war gold. This series has lost a lot of the atmosphere that made the middle two episodes so enthralling. Maybe Rullier has reached the end of what he wants to say about the accountant, because this is the last book. [3.5]
