Filmish: A Graphic Journey Through Film by Edward Ross Review

Have you ever wanted to read the most elementary first year film course communicated to you by a man with no personality - in comics form, drawn in a bland, lifeless style? Then Filmish is for you!

George Sand: True Genius, True Woman Review (Severine Vidal, Kim Consigny)

George Sand was the pen name of 19th century French novelist/playwright Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, or simply “Aurore” to her nearest and dearest. George Sand: True Genius, True Woman is Severine Vidal and Kim Consigny’s comics biography of the artist and not an especially good one at that - although that might be in part to Sand not being that compelling a subject too.

The Philosopher, the Dog and the Wedding by Barbara Stok Review

Barbara Stok is back with a new biographical comic, this time on Hipparchia, one of the first female philosophers, who lived 2300 years ago in Ancient Greece. Stok’s story centres around a young Hipparchia who is preparing to be married off to a wealthy Athenian family - until her intelligence, curiosity and love of learning get in the way of her potential future, particularly once she meets the Cynic philosopher Crates. What will Hipparchia’s fate be?

The Nao of Brown by Glyn Dillon Review

Nao Brown is a half-English/half-Japanese young woman with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. After a visit to her dad in Japan, she returns to London to work at her friend’s kitschy Japanese toy shop where she meets and falls for an alcoholic washing machine repairman. Also Buddhism and Ghibli-esque stuff.

Blossoms in Autumn Review (Zidrou, Aimee de Jongh)

Mediterranea, 61, is feeling her mortality more than ever after her elderly mother passes - now she’s the oldest woman in her family. Ulysses, 59, widowed, forced into early retirement, and lacking the skills to get back into the job market, finds his days empty and frustratingly lonely. And then one day they meet each other. Amour... eh?

Maggy Garrisson Review (Lewis Trondheim, Stephane Oiry)

Unemployed Maggy lands a secretarial job at a private investigator’s office - except the PI turns out to be an incompetent boob so she takes over his caseload and pockets the fees once she solves them! But when the PI is brutally beaten and hospitalised over (what else?) a pile of hidden cash, Maggy finds herself caught in a dangerous battle between cops and robbers and no one is quite who they seem. How will her quick thinking get her out of this jam?

Cannabis: An American History by Box Brown Review

Box Brown gives a pretty thorough account of how one of the most unfairly maligned drugs of all time arrived at its current perception in Cannabis: An American History.

Wolf by Rachael Ball Review

Set in 1970s England, Hugo’s dad dies in an accident and the family moves into a new, smaller house and deal with grief in their own way. Except Hugo has a plan: to build a time machine and bring his dad back. And he’s going to need the help of the Wolfman next door…!

Irmina by Barbara Yelin Review

Set in 1930s England, Irmina, a young German exchange student, befriends Howard, a black scholarship student from Barbados attending Oxford, but money problems force her back to Germany, prematurely ending their burgeoning relationship. Before she can make it back to England, WW2 kicks off – will the two ever see each other again?

The Smell of Starving Boys Review (Frederik Peeters, Loo Hui Phang)

There’s not much of a story to The Smell of Starving Boys. It’s set in the 19th century on the American Frontier where a sleazy American, an Irish photographer with a shady past, and a teenage assistant are surveying Comanche territory. There seems to be a bounty hunter after the photographer. And… that’s it?

Magritte: This is Not a Biography Review (Vincent Zabus, Thomas Campi)

A man buys a bowler hat that magically transports him into the surrealist world of painter Rene Magritte, surrounded by the artist’s images and themes. Why a bowler hat? Because of Magritte’s most famous painting, The Son of Man (the businessman in a bowler hat whose face is obscured by a green apple). 

The Valley of Fear Review (Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Edginton)

A wealthy American businessman is murdered in his English manor house, his head blown off by a double-barrelled shotgun - whodunit and why? 

The Valley of Fear is one of the better Sherlock Holmes stories but it’s still a fairly mediocre read. It’s a fine story of revenge and intrigue full of American gangsters and Freemasons (like A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle clearly viewed the United States as a romantically dangerous country full of rogues!), and the mystery is well put-together. 

The Hound of the Baskervilles Review (Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Edginton)

The toffee-nosed Baskervilles are cursed with a spooky monster dog that’s killing off the family, one by one – the game is a-paw, Watson!

You know what I’ve remembered reading these comics adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes novels? I don’t like the originals and I never did - Conan Doyle was a lousy writer! (The Lost World: has there ever been such an awesome concept so poorly realised?) The Hound of the Baskervilles is probably my favourite book of his but I only ever thought it was mediocre.

The Sign of the Four Review (Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Edginton)

The more I read these comics adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original novels, the more I feel affirmed in the view that the enduring popularity of these books comes from the richness of the characters rather than the dreary stories they appear in. 

A Study in Scarlet Review (Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Edginton)

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson meet for the first time in A Study in Scarlet, becoming roomies at 221b Baker Street and solving their first case together: murder most foul!

Ian Edginton and INJ Culbard’s comics adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic is about as good as the original which is to say that it’s just ok; Scarlet definitely isn’t the best Sherlock Holmes book. That’s largely down to the plodding explanation of the murderer’s motivations that take up most of the second half. It’s your standard lover’s revenge told in that rambling, overlong Victorian style that didn’t jibe with my modern reader’s tastes. Culbard’s art is also visually uninteresting and is more serviceable than anything.

Outburst by Pieter Coudyzer Review

I do enjoy me some sad bastard comics now and then but Pieter Coudyzer’s debut Outburst was a bit too depressing even for me!

Herman By Trade by Chris W. Kim Review

A humble street cleaner, Herman has a startling secret: at night he transforms into an imposing cloaked figure who wanders the city narrating his actions and thoughts aloud! When indie film director Mio chooses to film her next project in Herman’s town, he decides to audition for a part, revealing his secret side for the first time. Herman’s life is about to change… 

FUN: Spies, Puzzle Solvers, and a Century of Crosswords by Paolo Bacilieri Review

Paolo Bacilieri’s Fun is a graphic history of the crossword puzzle - and it’s as exciting as it sounds! It’s also a bit of a mess. 

Along with the actual history of the crossword is the story of a fictional Italian novelist and a Disney comics writer who become friends and some random woman tries to assassinate the novelist. Not only that but there are a myriad number of digressions chucked in randomly like the story of: Spider-Man villain Hammerhead’s character, an English politician, an old man, the Disney comics writer’s mundane travels, a pug dog, a married woman having an affair, the strained relationship between an art collector and his father, an Italian graveyard, JD Salinger, Georges Perec, and an art student.  

Haddon Hall: When David Invented Bowie by Nejib Review

In 1969 David and Angie Bowie moved into Haddon Hall, a large Victorian house in suburban London, where a then-practically-unknown Bowie wrote some of his most famous songs (Life on Mars, Changes) and created his Ziggy Stardust persona that would propel him to superstardom and rock legend. 

Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown Review

We’ve all played Tetris and enjoyed its blocky goodness (until the pieces start coming down too quickly and that damn long piece won’t appear and it’s game over, man, GAME OVER!!!). Box Brown’s Tetris: The Games People Play tells its origin story and unfortunately it’s not nearly as fun.