Artist by Yeong-shin Ma Review

Three struggling Korean artists - a writer, a painter and a musician - in their 40s eventually make it big on the art scene but success changes them.

Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto Review

Fujino draws a celebrated manga for her high school paper. Then one day another strip appears alongside hers by a shut-in classmate who doesn’t attend school: Kyomoto - and the new girl’s artistic abilities shows Fujino’s to be amateurish. A rivalry - and later a friendship - is born as the two head down the path of future mangaka. Until tragedy strikes leading to the question: can one small cartoon strip literally save lives?

Dark Knights of Steel, Volume 1 Review (Tom Taylor, Yasmine Putri)

In Injustice we saw a world dominated by an evil Superman. In DCeased we saw zombies overrun the DC Universe. Now, in Dark Knights of Steel, we see Tom Taylor’s latest Elseworlds-style series, where familiar DC characters are placed in a generic fantasy setting. And, like Injustice and DCeased, Dark Knights of Steel is pretty underwhelming.

Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris Review

1649, a decisive moment happens in the English Civil War with the execution of King Charles I. 1660, Oliver Cromwell is dead having won the war but his short-lived Republic is over and the Restoration of the Monarchy has happened with Charles II installed as King of Britland. Parliament passes an “Act of Oblivion” which pardons everyone who committed crimes during the Civil War and subsequent Commonwealth period - except for 59 “Regicides” who signed their names on the King’s death warrant.

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton Review

Hark! Kate Beaton’s back with her first non-kiddles comic in seven years, and her first feature-length narrative - a memoir called Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands. It’s about her time working for various oil companies in rural Canadia between 2005 and 2008 and her observations on what that business does to the people who work in it, the surrounding environment, and, of course, her.

BRZRKR, Volume 2 Review (Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt)

W FND T N TH FRST BK THT B (THT’S KN RVS’ “CHRCTR”) WS BRN F LGHTNNG BLT BT, RTHR THN CCPT THT HS DD WS LTRL FLSH N TH PN, H DCDS T FND T F TH LGHTNNG BLT CM FRM SMN - SMTHNG? - LS. THT SMS T B TH STRY F TH TTRLY BRNG ND FRGTTBL SCND VLM F THS BRNLSS CTNR: STP FR FTR STRYLN THT’S NT NTRSTNG T BGN WTH.

The Pachinko Parlour by Elisa Shua Dusapin Review

Claire is in Tokyo for the summer to be with her aging Korean grandparents who run a pachinko parlour. But, thinking she’ll have too much time on her hands, she accepts a part-time gig tutoring Mieko, a lonely 10 year old, in French language. And that’s both the premise and the “story”... Hmm.

Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter Review (David Dastmalchian, Lukas Ketner)

It’s nearly Halloween in smalltown Missouri, 1983, and local news anchor Jerri Butler’s boozing gets her fired. Out of choices and in need of a job, she accepts the role of host of a cheesy horror movie showcase: Count Crowley. Except she finds out monsters do exist off the TV screen and her real job will be keeping them in check!

The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry Review

A library patron somehow falls asleep and stays overnight in the library to be awakened by the narrator of this novella: a lovesick librarian who decides to use her surprised audience as a sounding board for her thoughts on her job, myriad subjects of interest and - of course - the graduate student she’s secreting pining for.

Batman: One Bad Day - The Riddler Review (Tom King, Mitch Gerads)

The Killing Joke is one of the most famous and bestselling Batman books of all time so it makes sense that DC would model an entire series around it to try to replicate that success for each of Batman’s less-but-still-quite-famous villains.

As a Cartoonist by Noah Van Sciver Review

I love me some Noah Van Sciver but his latest collection, As a Cartoonist, was very weak with few strips in it that were entertaining or funny.

Mona by Pola Oloixarac Review

Mona is a novelist who gets nominated for a prestigious award in Sweden (not the Nobel), so goes there to be with her fellow nominees and enjoy Swedish hospitality, etc. Riveting stuff, eh?

Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld Review

Tom Gauld’s latest comic strip collection, Revenge of the Librarians, is a bookish-themed one and, perhaps being a bookish chap (as you are too, probably, being on this supposedly-book site - oh, you’re here to natter about the She-Hulk TV show and post Office reaction gifs? Well I suppose it’s also a social media site…), I really enjoyed this one.

Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse Review (Scott Snyder, Kyle Higgins)

Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse is an anthology of really bad bumper-sized one-shots presenting What If…?-style retellings of famous, and also really bad, storylines. Two bad tastes that taste bad together. I’m guessing it’s “dark” because it’s spinning out of one of those Dark Nights things. Ugh…