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A1: Big Issue #0

Written by Alan Moore, Steve Dillon, Ronald Shusett, Bob Burden, and Dave Gibbons
Art by Steve Parkhouse, Steve Dillon, Steve Pugh, Bob Burden, and Ted McKeever
48 pages, black and white
Published by Atomeka Press

Let there be no doubt about it: the original incarnation of the A1 comic anthology was nothing short of spectacular. With each new issue, the one certainty was that you’d get a lot of top-notch stories by some of the best writers and artists in the business. And then, after six issues and one special edition, that was it. (Well, there was the not-quite-as-good A1 anthology mini-series from Marvel’s Epic imprint but we’re willing to forget it.) Now Atomeka Press has brought A1 back from limbo… but is it the same?

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Dungeon Zenith Vol. 1: Duck Heart

Written by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim
Art by Lewis Trondheim
96 pages, color
Published by NBM

Two of the biggest comic creators in France are Lewis Trondheim and Joann Sfar… so when they decided to co-create the Donjon series of graphic novels in France, there was a lot of reason for celebration. NBM started translating the series into English (as Dungeon) in late 2002 and publishing it as a black and white series of comic books. Now that it’s showing up as full-color graphic albums, though, it’s time for everyone to get reminded about just how good Dungeon really is.

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American Elf: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries of James Kochalka

By James Kochalka
520 pages, black and white, with some color pages
Published by Top Shelf Productions

In 1998, James Kochalka started keeping a daily “sketchbook diary”. Every day he draws a little comic strip (usually four panels) about what he did. Sounds easy, right? What began as just a humorous little side diversion turned into something much larger, though, and five years Kochalka’s sketchbook diary has turned into a phenomenon of its own right.

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Return of the Elephant

By Paul Hornschemeier
48 pages, two-color
Published by AdHouse Books

One trait that all of my favorite comic creators share is that I never really know what to expect. I’ve just learned that’s true with Paul Hornschemeier, someone who’s quickly moved his way onto that select group. His first issue of Forlorn Funnies was an inventive and humorous mixture of genres and styles, while Mother, Come Home was a meticulously crafted story of loss and remembrance. I thought that maybe I could expect what to get out of his new comic Return of the Elephant. I was wrong.

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Saikano Vol. 1

By Shin Takahashi
232 pages, black and white
Published by Viz

Relationships, under the best of circumstances, can be a little rocky when they’re first starting out. You’re figuring out your place in the other person’s life, as well as their place in yours. There’s a lot of learning that needs to be done, and pitfalls just waiting to trap you. In the case of Shin Takahashi’s Saikano, though, Takahashi is able to create a relationship hurdle like no other you’ve ever experienced.

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Doing Time

By Kazuichi Hanawa
240 pages, black and white
Published by Fanfare/Ponent Mon

When I heard about Doing Time I got really excited. The idea of comic creator Kazuichi Hanawa going to prison for three years (over an illegal private gun collection) and then creating a comic about his experience sounded really intriguing. After seeing sensationalized accounts in the media like HBO’s Oz, or the comic book series Hard Time, this promised to show what the real deal was, at least in Japan. Well, the truth is now out there thanks to Doing Time and let it be known: prison is boring.

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Sylvia Faust #1

Written by Jason Henderson
Art by Greg Scott
32 pages, color
Published by Image Comics

It may sound silly, but sometimes all you need is a good title to get a reader’s attention. Jason Henderson certainly found that in Sylvia Faust. Faust alone brings up memories of Dr. Faustus and his deal to sell his soul to the devil, but somehow the name Sylvia being attached adds a certain level of class and style to it. With that alone, I felt like I just had to give the book a try.

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Imadoki! Vol. 1

By Yû Watase
200 pages, black and white
Published by Viz

Long-time readers of these reviews might have figured out by now that I’m a big fan of Yu Watase. From her most famous series Fushigi Yugi, to more recent books like Ceres, Celestial Legend and Alice 19th, if a new Watase series is released in English, I’m ready to take a look. Her new series Imadoki! (which means “Nowadays”) really surprised me, though, because there’s one thing that sets it apart from the other Watase series released in English. Unlike all of her other books, Imadoki! is set entirely in the real world.

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Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #1-2

Story by Si Spencer and Neil Gaiman
Written by Si Spencer
Art by Dean Ormston
32 pages, color
Published by Vertigo/DC Comics

What do you do when one of your flagship books is, well, flagging? The Books of Magic started as a mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, introducing Tim Hunter as the world’s most powerful magician provided he headed down that path. Next was a 75-issue Books of Magic series written by John Ney Rieber and Peter Gross, and the Hunter: The Age of Magic series helmed by Dylan Horrocks. And for a while… nothing. Now Gaiman’s come back to the fold to help give a new series its initial push out of the gate, but is it too late for Tim Hunter to make a return?

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Fade from Grace #1

Written by Gabriel Benson
Art by Jeff Amano
32 pages, color
Published by Beckett Comics

Beckett Comics opened its doors with low priced comics offering a wide variety of subject material; movie tie-ins (Terminator 3), post-apocalyptic gang warfare (Ruule), and western-meets-fairy tale (The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty). Now with their new book, Fade from Grace, it looks like they’ve got a superhero book. But is it just more of the same?

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