Staff Pick of the Week 4/18

Inio Asano is a creator that has a long history of making some of the most effecting comics I have ever been lucky enough to come by. First discovering SOLANIN when I was working at a different book store and having it absolutely destroy me with it's subtly and genuine depictions of it's characters and a twist that comes from nowhere, just as it would it reality.

Following Asano's career has been one of the most rewarding in my long life of following comics. The range is staggering, shifting effortlessly from the psychological horror of NIJIGHARA HOLOGRAPH to the absurd yet genuine depiction of surviving trauma in GOODNIGHT PUNPUN. Anytime someone tales the time to translate the work to English is an occasion to celebrate.

Luckily, this week, we are blessed with the first installment of one of the longer works in Asano's oeuvre, DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION. While not as heavy as some if their previous work, it still is just as meaningful in the world we experience day to day.

We see a world where Japan has been invaded by an alien force, and after four years everything is juast as different as it has not changed at all. While the Self Defense Force try's futility to retake their home, a group of high school kids does what they can while also living their lives like everything is normal. A grand metaphor for having the end of everything looming but you still have to live your life like it the end will never come.

The TL;DR/Elevator Pitch is if TREES were also a high school drama.

Staff Pick of the Week 3/28/18

Mike Carey and Peter Gross, who previously worked together on THE UNWRITTEN over at Vertigo after pretty illustrative careers independently, join forces once again for a brand new dark fantasy.

There is a fair number of similarities between this and UNWRITTEN, both are the stories of young people with destinies larger than they can fathom at the outset and a connection to a world separate from their own that the series will spend the length of it's run exploring.

Highest House finds it's own identity in leaning into the creators strengths. Mike Carey writes a dense and rewarding script with lavish fantasy flourishes in a world that feels fully formed the moment we walk in to it. The fullness of the setting lays equally at the feet for Peter Gross who gets to do the best work of his career afforded by the larger format of the book, plus Gross seems to have been holding out in the past on his layouts as this is some top tier design happening on these pages.

Issue #2 released this week if you are looking to have a longer read and want to get into some thoughtful, gorgeous fantasy work.

Staff Pick of the Week 3/14/18

• Comic: Eternity Girl #1 by Magdalene Visaggio and Sonny Liew
• Staff: Julie

I’m already a huge sucker for Gerard Way’s Young Animal Line so it was no surprise that I enjoyed the heck out of Eternity Girl #1. Liew’s vibrant brush work combined with Visaggio’s story of an unhinged superheroine trying to get her life back on track is just the comic Young Animal promised me. The comic and character were actually introduced during the recent Milk Wars crossover event and subsequently got me pumped for the series. Using an entirely new character, Eternity Girl is giving us the horror story that is silver age superheroes that’ve been given powers thru government experimentation, been brought back to comics every other decade in an attempt to give that person a good storyline, and then cast away again once they’re outlived their usefulness. Superheroes are always fading in and out of the limelight and Eternity Girl is literally fading in and out of her reality (not to mention attempting to end her life over and over again to no avail because what character ever actually dies?). This series is getting into superhero mental health much like Black Hammer and Mister Miracle does, so I’m extremely excited what this comic is going to do next and hope it can stand the test of comic book time.

Staff Pick of the Week 3/7/18

• Comic: Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu
• Staff Member: Julie

So this book was actually one of our book club nominees and I really wish it had won because it’s a fantastic look at a huge group of different women who led amazing lives. The book is broken up into small chapters, each profiling a different woman – everyone from Josephine Baker to Wu Zetian. Bagieu’s previous books, Exquisite Corpse and California Dreaming were already great comics about strong, intriguing women and Brazen takes that framework and profiles every cool lady rebel you’ve never heard of because all too often history favors the men over women. I love that she profiles women dead AND living- women still fighting for equality in their fields, women still not as well-known as their male counterparts, and women who simply couldn’t take it anymore. I think this is an excellent purchase for this month (Women’s History Month!) and a book that will hopefully teach you a thing or two about why women rock this world.

Staff Pick of the Week 2/14/18

• Comic: Giant Spider & Me: A Post Apocalyptic Tale, Volume 1 by Kikori Morino
• Staff Member: Julie

So I’m a sucker for a cute cooking manga but this one takes the CAKE! (SORRY) Giant Spider & Me blends the cooking theme with a healthy dash of post-apocalyptic sadness. There’s been a rash of really good post-apocalyptic manga as well (Girls Last Tour, I Am Hero, The Girl From the Other Side) and this happily joins the ranks as an adorable girl-meets-horrifying-monster tale. The girl, Nagi, lives alone in the woods outside of a sunken city where she meets Asa, a curious, monster spider who loves her meals and joins her on day-to-day activities. Nagi’s still a little scared of her companion as Asa doesn’t seem to be a normal spider whatsoever, but the friendship is still developing and I’m sure there will be a lot more volumes to spin the yarn (dammit I did it again).

Staff Pick of the Week 2/7/18

• Comic: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra by Kieron Gillen and Kev Walker
• Staff Member: Liz

If you love Indiana Jones but sometimes wish he were a little less good and a lot more female, I need to talk to you about Doctor Aphra. The second volume of Kieron Gillen and Kev Walker's Star Wars comic about a very morally dubious archeologist comes out today, and it's the perfect time to start in on this series. Chelli Lona Aphra is an archeologist in the way that a mattress store jingle is a song. She's all about making money. Technically, she is a doctor and she knows what the heck she's doing, but she's only really concerned with the profit that her discoveries yield, not studying or preserving the precious objects she finds. Somehow, though, Doctor Aphra is a deeply likeable character. She's competent, funny, and exciting. Plus, she's the leader of a crack team made up of two murderous droids (think R2-D2 and C-3P0 but with homicidal tendencies) and a former-gladiator Wookiee that she's indebted to. The Doctor Aphra series is fun, fast-paced, and feels like a Star Wars book without requiring much knowledge of the Star Wars universe to enjoy it. Pick this one up now!