|
|
 Written by Marc Guggenheim
Art by Justin Greenwood
32 pages, color
Published by Oni Press
A couple of years ago, Oni Press debuted Resurrection, a title that detailed just what would happen after the end of an alien invasion, once the planet is finally free. After six issues and an Annual, the book went on a temporary hiatus. Now it’s back, and this time in full color. But in an effort to bring in new readers, I fear that Marc Guggenheim is trying to push too much too fast into its new first issue.
Read the rest of this entry »
 Written by Jamie S. Rich
Art by Joëlle Jones
192 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press
It doesn’t take a detective to know that author Jamie S. Rich writes movie reviews for all different sorts of publications, but even without that piece of information I think it’s safe to say that Rich is a fan of movies. Reading his and Joëlle Jones’s new collaboration You Have Killed Me (their first full-length book together being 12 Reasons Why I Love Her) makes me feel like I’m actually watching an old crime noir film. Fortunately, it’s not one that I’ve seen before.
Read the rest of this entry »
 By Chris Schweizer
192 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press
I always loved one of the finer details of Alan Moore’s and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen, and that had to do with the state of the comic book industry. With no comic books about superheroes (what with the real things existing), that gap was instead filled with comics about pirates. That made perfect sense to me; larger than life, full of adventures of daring and surprise. In other words, a real-world equivalent to a superhero. With all that in mind, I’m really happy that Chris Schweizer is able to channel that with his new graphic novel Crogan’s Vengeance; there may have been a lot of pirate comics in our own world, but I think is the one that really best captures that sense of excitement and adventure.
Read the rest of this entry »
 By Matthew Loux
96 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press
When I was a child, one of my favorite books to check out from the library was what I’ve come to think of as, “children’s vacation adventure.” It’s a book where the main characters are school children off on a trip (often but not always their summer vacation), where what may seem to be a boring place turns out to be anything but. It’s a tried and true set-up, in no small part because the reader more often than not can project themselves into the same situation, wishing that their less-than-exciting vacation suddenly was full of magical creatures and items. I know that over the years, books like Susan Cooper’s Over Sea, Under Stone or Edward Eager’s Magic by the Lake grabbed my attention quite firmly on many a long trip. Matthew Loux is using that same basis for his new graphic novel series Salt Water Taffy: The Seaside Adventures of Jack and Benny. And you know, I can’t help but think that kids will be just entranced by Loux’s graphic novel as I was by my books back in the day.
Read the rest of this entry »
 By Lars Brown
152 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press
You’ve no doubt encountered “fusion” cuisine, where two or more different styles of food are applied to the same dish. Japanese meets Italian? Mexican meets Chinese? You name it, it’s out there. I mention this not because I’m craving dinner, but rather because I’m surprised we don’t hear about “fusion genres” when it comes to writing. Take, for instance, Lars Brown’s North World, which takes fantasy and modern day settings and crushes them into one. And you know what? So long as you don’t think about it too hard, it tastes pretty good.
Read the rest of this entry »
 Written by Marc Guggenheim
Art by David Dumeer
32 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press
In creator Marc Guggenheim’s afterword to the first issue of Resurrection, he mentions watching V: The Series on tv and being so disappointed on the chances it had to be a story about what happens after an alien invasion, and failing utterly. It’s funny, because I remember watching both V: The Final Battle and V: The Series and I completely understand his frustration. So it’s with that in mind that I had high hopes for Resurrection, taking what’s generally speaking a squandered setting for a story and giving its own spin on the set-up of Earth after the invasion comes to a close.
Read the rest of this entry »
 By Ted Naifeh
64 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press
It’s been a while, but fans of sarcastic and slightly caustic girls with supernatural powers can rejoice—Courtney Crumrin has returned. With Courtney Crumrin and the Fire Thief’s Tale, Ted Naifeh is continuing to expand the series’s world—not only physically, but emotionally. He’s continuing to raise the stakes for all the characters involved, and the end result? I think it’s an important but good shift for the series.
Read the rest of this entry »
 By Vasilis Lolos
136 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press
Launching a brand-new series requires walking a fine line between plunging the reader directly into the action, and with trying to provide needed background and a feel for the setting. With Vasilis Lolos’s Last Call, the graphic novel format is in some ways both a blessing and a hindrance for that line, but ultimately I think he’s able to keep a sense of balance present.
Read the rest of this entry »
 By Brandon Graham
48 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press
Have you ever read something that seems eerily familiar, but you can’t even begin to place where you think you’ve seen it before? That was the problem I had when I first read Multiple Warheads by Brandon Graham, as its inaugural issue kept reminding me of something that I couldn’t place my finger on. It wasn’t until over a week later that it finally began to sink in. It wasn’t that I had read something like it before, but rather a wish to see this kind of book that was only now being fulfilled. Only in the case of Multiple Warheads, it’s probably a wish you didn’t even know you’d made.
Read the rest of this entry »
 By James Vining
96 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press
I have vague memories of seeing Ham at the National Zoo. Having moved to the DC area in 1974, trips there were very common, and the chimpanzees were no exception. I can sort of recall seeing him on display along with the mention that he was the first chimpanzee in space, and being fascinated by the idea that we’d sent animals into orbit. (I was distinctly less excited upon hearing about the fate of the Russian-sent dog Laika.) James Vining’s First in Space is a book that made me instantly wish it existed 30 years ago. It’s exactly what I would have wanted to read then, but fortunately it was also worth the wait.
Read the rest of this entry »
|
|