Justice Society of America: Savage Times (collecting #39–45) Geoff Johns, David Goyer and Leonard Kirk There are two conclusions that can be easily drawn from my From A Library reviews: 1. My local library has quite a good stock of graphic novels/collections 2. I will read just about anything I’m…
Shimura Robbie Morrison, Frank Quitely et al. The 'et al.' after Frank’s name is quite important; he only illustrates the first story (and a short, sexually charged tale, Judge Inaba: Babes with Big Bazookas) but his shadow falls over the remaining stories, even if he didn’t design the character (that…
Garth Ennis' War Stories Vol. 1 Johann’s Tiger (with Chris Weston) reminds me of the film Cross of Iron, both being about German officers who have had their fill of the war and are trying to protect their squads. However, this story admits our protagonist’s guilt in the atrocities on…
Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar, Dave Johnson, Killian Plunkett This is a great story concept – What if Superman was a commie? It brings a smile to the face just saying it out loud. It genuinely subverts the basis of the mythos and uses it for something entirely new,…
Nextwave #1 by Warren Ellis, Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger I thought I should stem the potential tide of negativity that my Trimming the Collection reviews might create by waxing rhapsodic about a comic that will definitely stay in the collection. Nextwave is funny. That is all you need…
Channel Zero by Brian Wood; sorry, 'created, written and illustrated by' The excessive credits for Wood on the front cover should have given me a hint about what to expect. Something where the author (if that isn’t too limiting a description for Mr Wood) believes they know better, is going…
Grrl Scouts by Jim Mahfood I really like Jim Mahfood's work. His art has this great, funky, angular, graffitti-cartoon vibe going on; his characters are visually unique and compelling; and there's a 'comics are fucking cool' attitude to his work. Some of his one-pagers are very funny, as can be…
New Avengers TP#1 (collecting issues #1–6) by Brian Michael Bendis & David Finch I didn’t grow up reading the Avengers. Bendis destroying them meant nothing to me. Even though I enjoy Bendis’ work and Finch’s art, I wasn’t compelled to try this out when it first arrived in stores. I…
The Annotated Mantooth! by Matt Fraction and Andy Kuhn I feel a little guilty when I find books I have been meaning to try at half price but also feel good because I’ve found a bargain. Yes, I am conflicted, but that didn't stop me buying it. I had been…
Ghost World by Daniel Clowes Clowes is a darling of the critical comic literati and the serious end of the comic blogosphere. I hadn’t sampled any of his work prior to this graphic novel, apart from seeing the film based on this work. Much like my view of the film,…