By Sophie Campbell
240 pages, two-color
Published by Tokyopop
Saying that there are a lot of zombies in all forms of media lately is a bit of an understatement. Comics, television, movies, books… you name it, there’s an undead creature begging to eat your brains. With that in mind, I really have to give Sophie Campbell’s The Abandoned a lot of credit; it’s the only one I’ve encountered in the last year or so that over a month later is still creeping me out.
By Liz Prince
80 pages, black and white
Published by Top Shelf Productions
Some books grab you from the second you see the cover. Others take a page or two. And then there are the ones that just sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it, and that’s exactly what happened with me and Liz Prince’s Will You Still Love Me If I Wet The Bed?
By Hiroki Endo
216 pages, black and white
Published by Dark Horse
Science-fiction stories about a future apocalypse are a dime a dozen. Like so many stories, the secret isn’t necessarily what the story’s about, but rather how it’s told. That for me was the case with Hiroki Endo’s Eden; while Endo’s basic ideas were good in their own right, it’s the storytelling that ultimately sold me.
Enoah and Hannah are living in Eden, but the rest of the world is anything but. A virus has ravaged the planet, killing most of its population. Now the only survivors are either those who were born with immunity to the virus, or people who have upgraded their bodies into cybernetic forms. When the outside world invades Eden, though, Enoah is confronted with the past of both his and Hannah’s protector, as well as that of his long deceased family. Can one spot of paradise still remain even as the rest of the world continues to crumble?
Written by Kurt Busiek and Geoff Johns
Art by Pete Woods
32 pages, color
Published by DC Comics
It’s tough to write Superman. Maybe it’s because the character’s been around for so long that everyone has grafted in their head exactly what he should be like; maybe it’s a perception from the first two movies starring the character. Regardless, he’s a very difficult character to write. Fortunately, Kurt Busiek and Geoff Johns seem to know exactly how to do just that.
By Paul Chadwick
208 pages, black and white or color
Published by Dark Horse
One of the real joys of reading Concrete is that Paul Chadwick is able to use a wide variety of genres and moods in his series. One story may be a rip-roaring action adventure, the next a socially-conscious tale with no right answers. It’s something that I’ve really noticed reading Dark Horse’s recent series of Concrete reprints—that no matter what tactic Chadwick takes, it’s always undeniably Concrete.
By Stan Sakai
24 pages, black and white
Published by Dark Horse Comics
It may have been a while since I’ve checked in with Usagi Yojimbo; the book was one of the very first reviews I posted on iComics.com back in 1999. That doesn’t mean I don’t love the comic, though. Stan Sakai’s creation is one of the smartest ongoing series being produced right now, and when I read a new issue like this one it just reminds me all over again why it’s so good.
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Ben Templesmith
20 pages, color
Published by Image Comics
In many ways, Fell is an experiment. It’s a series of 16-page stories in comics, each intended to be self-contained, and priced at just $1.99. Can a cheaper-and-shorter series work, not only financially, but to the reader’s satisfaction?
By Naoki Urasawa
224 pages, black and white
Published by Viz
Everyone knows the old theoretical philosophical question by now. “If you could travel back and time and kill Adolf Hitler as a child, would you?” I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s exactly what inspired Naoki Urasawa’s Monster. The one big difference? I think Monster‘s twist on that old chestnut is the far more interesting scenario.
By Chynna Clugston
112 pages, black and white
Published by Graphix/Scholastic Books
Chynna Clugston’s Blue Monday is often characterized as “what would happen if Archie comics were written for older readers.” It’s certainly true that Clugston’s comics like Blue Monday and Scooter Girl aren’t intended for younger readers—so in many ways, that was one of the immediate attractions in looking at Queen Bee. What would happen when Clugston’s humor and sensibilities went to work on a book intended for all ages?
By Jimmie Robinson
28 pages, color
Published by Image Comics
There are two kinds of “over-the-top” and it’s important to understand the difference. The first kind is when something is utterly crazy and implausible, but meant to be taken seriously. The creator has no idea that it’s gone off the rails, even as drinking games form around its existence. Then there’s the second kind, where it’s deliberately silly and nuts and the creator is laughing right along with you. That’s the kind I like, and it seems that Jimmie Robinson does too.
