Category Archives: Graphic Literature

Momoko Tenzen’s Seven

Momoko Tenzen’s Seven is another one of those boys’ love manga that, like Kimi Shiruya, moves the genre boundaries outward, although unlike the latter — and most popular examples of the type — it is rather bleak, at least at … Continue reading

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Satoru Ishihara’s Kimi Shiruya: Dost Thou Know?

A few general remarks on Japanese comics first, for those who are new to this area. Manga is the term for Japanese comics in general, within which the two major divisions are shoujo, or “manga for girls,” and shounen, “manga … Continue reading

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Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba’s The Umbrella Academy: Dallas

Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba have come up with what is one of the most original “superhero” series I’ve seen: The Umbrella Academy. It’s a group, all young, who have powers of one sort or another, but don’t look for … Continue reading

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Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba’s The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite

Part steam punk, part superhero comic and all attitude, Umbrella Academy is the brainchild of rock front man Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance). The titular “academy” is actually a group of oddly powered kids, raised by an eccentric space alien … Continue reading

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David Wohl et al’s The Witchblade Compendium, Volume 1

Andrew Wheeler penned this review. Some stories are merely bad — dull, uninspired, or simply misformed. Others are bad in entertaining ways — bad movies, outsider art, and demented pulp fiction. Some stories are so horrible that it’s physically painful … Continue reading

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David Wohl et al’s Tomb Raider Compendium

My, that was a great deal of truly fun reading! All fifty issues of the series, (1,248 pages!) including the covers for each individual issue, have been collected in a trade paper edition. Oh, did I mention the superb color? … Continue reading

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Joss Whedon’s Fray

I was, once upon a time, one of a mere handful of people who had had no experience of the work of Joss Whedon. The others were, I’m sure, comfortably ensconced in caves in the Himalayas. (I’m a non-TV person. … Continue reading

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John Ostrander’s Suicide Squad: Trial by Fire

I first ran across the work of John Ostrander in his collaboration with Gail Simone in Secret Six: Danse Macabre. I had my reservations, but now that I’ve read what may be considered the forerunner to that series, Suicide Squad: … Continue reading

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Hyouta Fujiyama’s Ordinary Crush, Vols. 1 & 2

Hyouta Fujiyama has become one of my favorite mangaka doing BL, mostly because of her strong, clean graphics and charming stories. (For some general remarks on BL, see my comments on Dash!.) In Ordinary Crush we have the core of … Continue reading

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Isaku Natsume’s Dash!

Isaku Natsume’s Dash represents an excellent example of the genre in shoujo manga (“manga for girls”) known in Japan as BL (boys’ love), bishonen-ai or shonen-ai, or, as is generally the case in the West, yaoi (pronounced, if one is … Continue reading

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