Tag: graphic novels

Review of Shadows of the Sea on Comics Beat

~ Kathryn ~ Leave a comment

I recently had the privilege of writing a review for Comics Beat about Cathy Malkasian’s new graphic novel, Shadows of the Sea. I have to admit that I struggled with Malkasian’s previous books, which are brilliant but tonally dark and emotionally devastating. Shadows of the Sea is just as strange and heartbreaking as the artist’s earlier work, but it ends on a gloriously high note that gives me hope for the future. I was prepared to write a review about the value of portraying despair in dark times, but man. Hope is good too.

Here’s an excerpt:

In his review on The Beat, John Seven assesses Malkasian’s 2017 graphic novel Eartha as one of the artist’s characteristic “gloomy, apocalyptic parables that don’t make you feel so great about humankind.” It’s difficult to disagree, as Eartha is deeply disquieting. In contrast, Shadows of the Sea feels like a gentler turn of the same thematic wheel, presenting a story that’s smaller in scope but richer in emotional immediacy. The fantastic world Malkasian has painted is cruel and strange, to be sure, but it still affords the possibility of healing. Shadows of the Sea lingers not because of its darkness, but because of the hope that emerges after a brave confrontation with bitter truths.

You can read the full review on Comics Beat here:
https://www.comicsbeat.com/graphic-novel-review-shadows-of-the-sea/

Review of The Corus Wave on Comics Beat

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I really enjoyed writing a review of Karenza Sparks’s debut graphic novel, The Corus Wave, for Comics Beat.

The Corus Wave is a cozy science mystery about a grad student who inadvertently tumbles down a research rabbit hole while writing her thesis about an unusual (and potentially supernatural) fossil. The story quickly becomes a low-stakes Da Vinci Code adventure with a lot of local color borrowed from the artist’s home in Cornwall, and it’s super charming. I really love this book.

Here’s an excerpt from my review:

The Corus Wave is a celebration of the joys of research. The hunt for Corus’ manuscripts begins with a footnote that becomes a rabbit hole, but the story evolves in a more practical direction as the two students find friendship and support in a scholarly community. Their fieldwork provides opportunities to appreciate the human stories behind a built environment whose unique design flourishes might otherwise be taken for granted. The Corus Wave is about going offline and touching grass, the pleasure of which is conveyed through gentle and attractive art that presents lively and expressive characters navigating interior spaces that only reveal their secrets under close observation.

You can read the full review on Comics Beat here:
https://www.comicsbeat.com/graphic-novel-review-the-corus-wave/

Review of Let Me in Your Window on Comics Beat

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I’m super grateful to Comics Beat for giving me the opportunity to review the newest horror comics collection from Adam Ellis, Let Me in Your Window. These gorgeously drawn stories offer disturbing insights into the murky shadows of internet culture, as well as brilliant speculation on potential digital futures.

Something I always appreciate about Ellis is how he documents the many absurdities of both corporate platform policies and social media subcultures alike. It’s easy to read the stories in Let Me in Your Window as spooky urban legends with no allegory… but also, I feel extremely Seen by Ellis’s characteristic take on digital horror. Here’s an excerpt from my review:

Adam Ellis’s second horror comic collection, Let Me in Your Window, is digital horror at its finest. As the successor to Ellis’s 2024 collection Bad Dreams in the Night, Let Me in Your Window ventures even deeper into the wires as it speaks to anxieties surrounding the omnipresent ghosts that speak to us through our screens. Even if most of us are content to allow these phantoms to pass unnoticed, it can be unnerving to realize that we’re ghosts as well – ghosts being watched, ghosts being catalogued, and ghosts that constantly leave behind traces of our former selves. The ten stories collected in Let Me in Your Window invite the reader to reflect on what it means to inhabit the constantly unfolding urban legends of online culture.

You can read the full review on Comics Beat here:
https://www.comicsbeat.com/graphic-novel-review-let-me-in-your-window/

Review of Bramble on Comics Beat

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My review of Hollow Press’s newest publication, Bramble, was posted on Comics Beat!

Hollow Press is an Italian micropress that publishes strategy guides for dark fantasy adventure games that don’t exist. Their most well-known book is Vermis (which I wrote about here), but I think Bramble is probably more accessible to a wider readership. It’s very weird and creative, and the art style is a lot of fun. Here’s an excerpt from my review…

Bramble is a worthy successor to Vermis, and the book proudly stands on its own as an accessible introduction to the emerging genre of original strategy guides. Its story is driven by the forward momentum of a traditional graphic novel and augmented by the intriguingly fragmented worldbuilding presented by digital RPGs. As a physical object, Bramble also suggests the nostalgic mystery of forgotten media, and the reader can easily imagine coming across this book hidden in the back of a closet or buried at the bottom of a box at a flea market. 

You can read the full review on Comics Beat here:
https://www.comicsbeat.com/graphic-novel-review-bramble/

Review of Model Five Murder on Comics Beat

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I really enjoyed Tan Juan Gee’s Model Five Murder, which was just published by Silver Sprocket. This graphic novella is an intriguing sci-fi noir mystery with stylish art that investigates the issues of AI, technology, and labor. I’m very lucky to have been able to write a review for Comics Beat. Here’s an excerpt…

Model Five Murder is a thematically rich murder mystery that plays with the question of whether concepts like “victim” and “murderer” have any meaning in a situation involving artificial life and artificial intelligence. If memories and consciousness can be transferred between bodies, is it murder to shoot an android? If androids are proprietary technology owned by a corporation, who has the legal right to make decisions about their bodies?

You can read the full review here:
https://www.comicsbeat.com/graphic-novel-review-model-five-murder/

Review of The Harrowing Game on Comics Beat

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I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been an early reader of Antoine Revoy’s newest graphic novel, The Harrowing Game. I love this book, which is strongly inspired by Junji Ito but still very much its own thing. I’m also lucky to have gotten an opportunity to write a review for Comics Beat. Here’s an excerpt…

The Harrowing Game will delight fans of Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft, to be sure, and connoisseurs of horror will appreciate Revoy’s intriguing interpretations of familiar tropes. Revoy twists gothic stories into broken reflections of cultural anxieties, and the storytelling is no less dramatic for the subtlety of its social commentary. If nothing else, it’s a pleasure to get lost in the details of Revoy’s spectacular illustrations. Whether you’ll be able to find your way out untouched and undisturbed is another story.

You can read the full review on Comics Beat here:
https://www.comicsbeat.com/graphic-novel-review-the-harrowing-game/

Review of Strange Bedfellows on Comics Beat

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I’m excited to share my review of Ariel Slamet Ries’s newest graphic novel, Strange Bedfellows. This is a solarpunk romantic comedy that’s set in a utopia but still takes the darkness of human nature seriously. The art is gorgeous, and I very much enjoyed the time I spent in this fascinating world with these beautiful trashfire characters. Here’s an excerpt from my review:

Hardship comes to everyone, and romance isn’t always easy. The soft and hopeful message of Oberon’s story is that the flaws and complications in human ambitions are what make our lives interesting and beautiful. Strange Bedfellows assures the reader that, while we may not ever live in a perfect utopia, we don’t have to give up on our dreams of a kinder and greener future.

You can read the full review on Comics Beat here:
https://www.comicsbeat.com/graphic-novel-review-strange-bedfellows-dreams-of-a-romantic-solarpunk-future/

Review of Hourglass on Comics Beat

~ Kathryn ~ Leave a comment

I had the immense honor of publishing a review of Barbara Mazzi’s graphic novella Hourglass on Comics Beat. Hourglass is gorgeous, and it explores the full speculative potential of steampunk. It has its gears and smashes them too, all the while being incredibly stylish. I’m ambivalent about steampunk, but I have nothing but love for this fantastic book. Here’s a short excerpt from my review…

Barbara Mazzi’s stylish artwork is the perfect vehicle for these characters and their world. Instead of moldering in the usual steampunk attachment to the Victorian era, Hourglass delights in the lavish luxury of the 1920s. Designs inspired by Art Deco contrast strong angles against delicate filigree. Meanwhile, the interior of the machine is a chaos of detail that reminds me of the detailed mechanical designs of Studio Ghibli films like Castle in the Sky. Mazzi’s warm shades of gray convey the warmth of the machine’s interior, while the mellow gold of the spot color emphasizes the magic of this world and the humanity of its inhabitants.

You can read the full review on Comics Beat here:
https://www.comicsbeat.com/graphic-novel-review-hourglass-gears-are-powered-by-adventure/

Review of Hunger’s Bite on The Beat

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I’m thrilled to have published another graphic novel review on Comics Beat. I got to write about Hunger’s Bite, a work of historical fantasy set on a luxury passenger ship during the 1920s. I was pleasantly surprised by how hard the artist leans into an anti-capitalist message, and I appreciate how he 100% owns and supports this stance in his author bio. The kids are all right.

Here’s an excerpt of my review:

Hunger’s Bite is an engaging work of historical fantasy that indulges in fun steampunk tropes like plucky young heroes, cigar-smoking villains in sharp suits, and secret magical societies. At the same time, the artist handles the historical reality of the story’s 1920s setting with a critical eye and respect for its startling inequalities. Taylor Robin’s graphic novel will provide ample food for thought for more mature teens in the YA bracket, as well as readers of any age who enjoy period fantasy with a bite.

You can read the full piece on The Beat here:
https://www.comicsbeat.com/graphic-novel-review-hungers-bite-historical-fantasy-inequities-of-the-1920s/

Best Horror Comics on How to Love Comics

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I had the immense honor of being able to contribute to a list of “The 45 Best Horror Comics You Should Read” on the website How To Love Comics. Here’s how I pitched the eight titles I recommended…

Betwixt: A Manga Horror Anthology, edited by Fawn Lau and Mayuko Hirao
A diverse collection of big-name creators showcasing manga-style stories that focus on urban legends and folk horror.

Bloodborne: The Healing Thirst, by Ales Kot and Piotr Kowalski
A stand-alone story that captures the oppressive gothic atmosphere of Bloodborne while being accessible to readers with no knowledge of the game.

The Crossroads at Midnight, by Abby Howard
A single-artist collection of queer short stories with distinctive monochromatic art and intensely disturbing imagery. 

The Hills of Estrella Roja, by Ashley Robin Franklin
A lushly illustrated graphic novel about a college student on the hunt for cryptids in the beautiful but eerie Texas desert.

Loving, Ohio, by Matthew Erman and Sam Beck
A suburban gothic horror story about a small town quietly controlled by an all-too-realistic cult. 

Not Drunk Enough, by Tess Stone
A colorful and stylish horror comedy about being trapped in a mad science corporation after dark.

PTSD Radio, by Masaaki Nakayama
A quiet but intensely creepy collection of Japanese urban legends loosely connected by an overarching narrative.

The Shadow over Innsmouth, by Gou Tanabe
A painstakingly faithful Lovecraft adaptation with meticulously drafted art and a well-researched translation. 

You can check out the fully annotated list (here). There are a lot of famous heavy hitters on this list, and it was a pleasure to be able to include a few lesser-known manga and indie graphic novels.