Saints

Bought at Garden Books, Shanghai, China.

Title: Saints
Date: 2013
Publisher: First Second Books
Writer: Gene Luen Yang
Art: Gene Luen Yang
Colorist: Lark Pien

Saints is the companion piece to Gene Luen Yang's Boxers (reviewed here), telling the story of the China's Boxer Rebellion, this time from the point of view of a Christian woman whose visions of Joan of Arc lead her into the conflict. The main character in this story appears briefly, but significantly, at two points in Boxers, and Saints brings her story to life.

Vibiana was called "Four Girl" growing up in a household that considered her to be cursed with bad fortune. She finds her refuge and her new name among the Chinese Christian community, and she struggles to understand the visions she has received even as the world around her descends into war.

While the ultimate direction of this volume is as violent and tragic as Boxers was, the beginning has a more witty and sarcastic tone, even as it deals with serious issues of abuse and family.

There is less sweeping story here, but it is more focused and personal.

It does significantly alter the resolution of Boxers, but it does it in a way that I thought added to the story rather than negating aspects of it.

The use of Joan of Arc comes off as odd choice in some ways, and the author has do dance a bit around the issue that she had not actually been canonized at the time the story was set. That being said, the character of Joan is handled well, and the artwork on her scenes is especially good.

This did a nice job of expanding the world of Boxers and deepening the story.

Rating 8.5/10

Spill Zone Book 1

Bought at a book fair at my school in Shanghai, China.

Title: Spill Zone
Issue: Book 1
Date: 2018
Publisher: First Second Books
Writer: Scott Westerfeld
Art: Alex Puvilland
Colorist: Hilary Sycamore

Set in the aftermath of an unexplained incident that has destroyed the city of (lovely) Poughkeepsie, New York, and left it a wasteland ofinexplicable phenomena, the story follows former resident Addison, who lost her parents in the disaster, and whose younger sister has not spoken in the three years since that night.

Addison leads a dangerous life on the outskirts of the Spill Zone, sneaking inside to take photos that she sells to black-market collectors. But her biggest customer has now approached her with an offer too good to pass up, one that will take her right into the heart of the madness.

Meanwhile, the only arrival of a second spill incident, this one in North Korea, has arrived in New York with a mission of his own.

This was a great blend of SF, fantasy, and horror that tells a fast-paced story without giving too much away. Addison is tough, resourceful, and possibly in over her head, but her grief for the loss of her parents and her love for her sister guide her actions. Meanwhile younger sister Lexa has a wonderfully creepy ongoing silent interaction with a ragdoll named Vespertine that is definitely more than it appears.

Bonus story reveals now Lexa and Vespertine survived Spill Night.

In terms of the main plot, not a ton is resolved, but this opening volume still felt satisfying while leaving tons of room for exploration as the story continues.

Rating: 8.5/10

The Amazing Spider-Man: Spiral

Bought at Boocup, Kerry Parkside, Pudong, Shanghai, China.

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue: Volume 5: Spiral
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: 2015
Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Carlo Barberi
Inker: Juan Vlasco
Colorist: Israel Silva
Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
Editor: Nick Lowe, Devin Lewis

With the Kingpin out of the picture, New York's criminal gangs are in a war for territory with NYPD Captain Yuri Watanabe's Third Precinct as the top prize. This volume collects The Amazing Spider-Man #16-20 from 2014, and it follows up on a bunch of Spiderverse adventures by bringing Peter Parker back to his "Friendly Neighborhood" roots fighting New York crime.

The result is a rapid-fire succession of classic Spider-Man villains. Unfortunately, by "classic" here we generally mean third-rate. Admittedly, it's fun seeing Spidey score one-punch knockouts on guys like Hammerhead, Ringmaster, the Enforcers, Tombstone, and Crime Master. But nostalgia only goes so far.

The real heart of this story is a battle for the soul of Yuri Watanabe, who has gone back to moonlighting as the Wraith, and who has entered into a dangerous game of manipulation with the Negative Man. Did I mention there are a lot of villains in this book? Black Cat also shows up, fairly interesting in full-on heel mode.

But the theme of where to draw the line between "by the book" police work and vigilanteism is muddled by Peter Parker, longtime vigilante, trying to lecture Watanabe on where the line should be drawn. It doesn't help that the actual moment when Wraith crosses the line is not a terribly impactful scene. It helps even less that the confrontation between Wraith and Spider-Man is anticlimactic, and the final battle between Spider-Man and Negative Man is even more so.

This had fun pacing and that comfy nostalgic vibe, but it never rose to the level of seriousness that it was going for.

Rating: 5/10

Rival Angels: Season 3 Volume 1

Part of a Kickstarter reward package.

Title: Rival Angels: Season 3 Volume 1
Date: 2017
Publisher: Rival Angels
Writer: Alan Evans, Justin Riley
Artist: Alan Evans, Dave Reynolds
Colorist: Aaron Daly

The action here focuses primarily on Ultradragon (Sabrina and Sun) and their quest for the tag team championship, as Sabrina deals with her doubts about not being able to "win the big one". Meanwhile the Upstarts continue on their slow path toward forgiving past issues and restoring their friendships. And there's a new threat on the horizon as Olympic medalist Camile Cote debuts, and proceeds to destroy everyone in her path.

This was a really focused story, which has not always been the case with Rival Angels. It's nice to see the pacing balance between in-ring action and out-of-ring soap opera continue to improve.

Ultradragon's quest for tag team gold was a great storyline, but Brooke had some excellent moments as well as she had taken on a more serious role in the story. Def Tech's plot was on more of a slow burn during this volume, but there was enough there to keep things interesting.

A new segment at the start of each chapter featuring a page of internet fan commentary was a nice addition, and a decent representation/parody of online wrestling fans.

A Christmas-themed story drawn by Dave Reynolds gave some background insights into Sabrina's relationship with her family.

Rating: 8/10

Boxers

 Bought at Garden Books, Shanghai, China.

Title: Boxers
Date: 2013
Publisher: First Second Books
Writer: Gene Luen Yang
Art: Gene Luen Yang
Colorist: Lark Pien

Tragic and intense story of China's Boxer Rebellion of 1900. Little Bao witnesses the injustices of the foreigners who have been bullying the common folk of China, and he begins the practice of Kung Fu, as the conflicts escalate. Soon, Bao is being led into a crusade against the invaders by the Opera Gods, who inspire Bao and the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist. As the violence of the conflict escalates, Bao finds himself caught up in a conflict that he no longer has the power to control.

The working of Chinese mythology into the story provided some beautiful visual elements, but the story and the art do not shy away from the horrors of the conflict, and the mythical elements do not overshadow the human drama of the story.

I look forward to reading the companion volume, Saints, which tells the story from the other side of the conflict.

Rating: 9/10

Dog Man: Grime and Punishment

The Kiddo borrowed this one from a friend at school.

Title: Dog Man: Grime and Punishment
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: September, 2020
Writer: Dav Pilkey
Artist: Dav Pilkey
Colorist: Jose Garibaldi

This is the most serious of the Dog Man books so far, with a surprisingly deep examination of loss and forgiveness as the story explores the relationship between Petey and his father.

Of course there's also a giant animated lunchbag destroying the city, a subplot about Dog Man being fired and returning to work in a cat disguise, and all of the usual silliness, but it's the quiet beauty of the ending pages that will stick with me.

The promotional pages at the end suggest that the author is moving on to a Cat Kid comic series. If so, then this was a lovely and satisfying conclusion to a series that really delivered far beyond its roots as a side joke in Captain Underpants.

Rating: 9/10