Attack on Titan Volume 7

Bought at Barnes & Noble, Middletown RI USA.

Title: Attack on Titan
Issue: Volume 7
Date: 2013
Publisher: Kodansha
Creator: Hajime Isayama
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Ben Applegate

With the abnormal female titan immobilized, the survey corps tries to force the titan to release it's human controller, but the titan fights back with new powers that the survey corps has never seen before.

This leads to an absolutely epic battle between the female titan and Eren in titan form that goes on for over 30 pages of this volume. The artwork is spectacular in this sequence, and the aftermath does a good job of conveying the emotional toll of the outcome on the survey corps.

There's also the setup for a major new plot complication in the final pages, as well as significant continued deepening of titan lore.

Rating: 7.5/10

Spy Family Volume 5

 Bought at Barnes & Noble, Middletown RI USA.

Title: Spy Family
Issue: Volume 5
Publisher: Viz Media
Date: July, 2022
Writer: Tatsuya Endo
Artist: Tatsuya Endo
Letterer: Rina Mapa
Editor: Amy Yu, John Bae

It's back to school for Anya, and she's got midterm exams coming up, with a dreaded Tonitrus Bolt for any exam she fails. Even worse, the exams are happening on a day when Anya's mindreading powers won't be functional.

So it's up to Loid to cheat on his "daughter"'s exams the old fashioned way. By breaking into the school and changing her answers. The only problem is that there's a less-than-competent rival spy with the same idea.

This issue had a very different style and pacing than volume 4 (reviewed here). This was loaded with quick plot developments, short bits of comedy, and the introduction of several new characters. This was fun and a quick read that sets of lots of future storylines.

Rating: 6.5/10

Spy Family Volume 4

Bought at Barnes & Noble, Enfield CT USA.

Title: Spy Family
Issue: Volume 4
Publisher: Viz Media
Date: November, 2023
Writer: Tatsuya Endo
Artist: Tatsuya Endo

A group of student terrorists are about to try to carry out an assassination using trained dogs carrying explosives, and Loid needs to stop them.

And speaking of dogs, Loid also just promised to get Anya a dog. So it's off to the dog adoption fair.

You can see where this is going, right?

And, since everyone else in the story is walking around with a big secret, it turns out that the adorable dog, eventually named Bond, is precognitive.

This had some of the best action so far in the series, with Anya and Bond rushing to prevent a future where Loid is killed in a booby trap explosion, and then Loid racing to stop the assassination plot. Yor gets a couple of moments, but is in the background more in this story.

This had much better pacing than the previous issue (reviewed here), and was more of a self-contained story. Bond is a great addition to the cast, and is drawn delightfully. While it didn't advance the main plot of the series much, it provided some needed character development time while giving Loid a chance to show of some of his skills.

Two backup stories in this issue. The first is a cute game of make-believe with Anya and a large plushie penguin. The second has Franky asking Loid for dating advice, in a quick story that is mostly silly, but takes a surprisingly poignant turn at the end.

Rating: 7.5/10

Attack on Titan Volume 6

Bought at Barnes & Noble, Enfield CT USA.

Title: Attack on Titan
Issue: Volume 6
Date: 2013
Publisher: Kodansha
Creator: Hajime Isayama
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Ben Applegate

This was action from start to finish when an abnormal female titan, possibly a human in titan form wreaks havoc on the Survey Corps expedition. The result is a frantic battle/chase sequence that keeps the tension high for the entire issue. Eren has to decide whether to trust his teammates or go against orders. The one break from the action we get is a flashback sequence that gives a bit more insight into how Eren's transformation power works.

The character development in this issue is subtle because it happens in the midst of all of the action, but it's effective. The artwork on the chase and fighting in a forest setting is great, although the scene transitions can be a bit abrupt.

Rating: 7/10

Attack on Titan Volume 5

Bought at Barnes & Noble, Enfield CT USA.

Title: Attack on Titan
Issue: Volume 5
Date: 2013
Publisher: Kodansha
Creator: Hajime Isayama
Letterer: Steve Wands

In spite of having won the day in humanity's first major victory against the titans, Eren finds himself imprisoned and put on trial for his life. There are many among the powers that be who feel that Eren would be most useful to humanity if her were killed and dissected. Fortunately, Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps has a different idea.

Eren finds himself on a major expedition outside the walls in the hope of recovering vital information about the Titans, information that my be found in the ruins of Eren's own home.

In addition to some key plot developments for Eren, we also get to see Eren's training comrades make their final choice of whether to join the Survey Corps or the Military Police. This issue also deepened the mystery of the Titans, kicking things off with an encounter with a titan who could speak, and ending in a battle with a dangerously intelligent abnormal titan. In between, the character of Squad Leader Hange, who is driven to learn all she can about the titans, to the point of conducting gruesome experiments on captured titans.

Although Mikasa and Armin continued to be mostly in the background, this volume did a great job of adding complexity to the titan concept, and ended with some excellent action sequences.

Rating: 7.5/10

Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman

The Kiddo picked this one out when we visited Barnes & Noble in Middletown RI during our visit to the USA on Christmas break.

Title: Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman
Publisher: Scholastic
Date: 2017
Writer: Dav Pilkey
Artist: Dav Pilkey

This is the full-color edition.

When George and Harold's pranks against a mean-spirited retiring teacher escalate to the point where they are both about to flunk the fourth grade, the boys turn to their hypnosis ring. Because that worked so well the first time. Unfortunately, a succession of mishaps results in Miss Ribble turning into exactly the supervillain George and Harold has imagined her as.

Earth's only hope is for Captain Underpants to overcome his one weakness: Spray starch.

This had some funny bits, but was somewhat uneven. I'm also not that big a fan of the hypnosis gimmick, even when totally played for laughs. The plot was about what one would expect, although the new Captain Underpants origin story in comic form that George and Harold create stood out as a pretty amusing bit.

This was entertaining, and my son (age 10) enjoyed it, but neither of us found as laugh-out-loud funny as the Dog Man books (or the earlier Captain Underpants books) have been, and I didn't think it had the heart of the Dog Man stories either.

Entertaining enough, but I have read better by Pilkey.

Rating: 6/10

Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild

This was released on Christmas Eve, 2018. Bought it on the day of release at Barnes & Noble in Manchester NH. This is the special Barnes & Noble exclusive edition with a bonus coloring poster!

Title: Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: January, 2019
Writer: Dav Pilkey
Artist: Dav Pilkey
Colorist: Jose Garibaldi, Rachel Polk
Editor: Ken Geist

Dog Man has been framed! And he's sent packing to dog jail!

While his friends band together to solve the mystery of who really committed the crimes that Dog Man is accused of, Dog Man must battle against his own self-doubt as he wonders if he might really be a misfit, even in dog jail.

This took a little bit to get going, but the final climactic battle was loads of fun, and it was nice to see pretty much every member of the supporting cast get their moments in the spotlight.

There were the usual bad (by which we mean brilliant) puns, a sprinkling of classical literature references, plenty of flip-o-rama, some gross jokes that the Kiddo enjoyed, and "That Living Spray Factory Outlet Over There".

The setup took its time, but there were plenty of laughs to be had.

Rating: 7/10

Warriors: Graystripe's Adventure

The Kiddo picked this one out this past summer at Barnes & Noble in Manchester NH. We've read two Warriors novels in prose form. This is our first time trying out the manga version.

Title: Warriors: Graystripe's Adventure
Date: 2008
Publisher: Tokyopop / Harper Collins Childrens
Writer: Dan Jolley, Erin Hunter
Artist: James L. Barry
Colorist: James L. Barry
Letterer: Mike Estacio, Lucas Rivera, John Hunt
Editor: Lillian Diaz-Przybyl

Originally published as three b/w manga volumes, this full-color collection tells the complete story of Graystripe's capture by the "twolegs", his life as a "kittypet", and his romance with Millie, who makes the decision to join in his attempt to escape back to his beloved Thunderclan.

Erin Hunter's world of feral cats is fun, and it has a an interesting level of depth, especially around the mythology the cats have developed, and those mythological elements play an important role in this epic journey.

There are plenty of encounters and dangers along the way, and the romantic elements between Millie and Graystripe are handled with only the occasional slip too deep into romantic trope territory.

The real strength of the story is Graystripe's internal conflict as he battles his doubts and fears that his time living with humans has somehow altered him so much that he may not be able to regain his warrior nature.

This conflict takes center stage as he is forced to decide whether he can possibly compromise his beliefs that all contact with anything to do with humans must be avoided.

This is an excellent heroic journey with character who experience many stumbles, but find a way to follow their quest to its end.

James L. Barry's artwork is excellent, and the vivid use of color brings the story to life in ways that weren't possible in the black-and-white manga version.

Lovely book and an engaging and satisfying story.

Rating: 9/10

Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties

The Kiddo picked this one out at Barnes & Noble in Hyannis MA.

Title: Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: September, 2017
Writer: Dav Pilkey
Artist: Dav Pilkey
Colorist: Jose Garibaldi

The opening origin/recap for this installment of the Dog Man series is a highly amusing parody of Dickens' "Its was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." opening.

From there, the story focuses on the origin of Lil' Petey, the result of Petey's clone machine. Because the clone machine doesn't magically age the clone to adulthood, Petey suddenly finds himself thrust into the role of single parent.

Meanwhile, Dog Man is assigned to guard the dead (and cyber-enhanced) body of Flippy the psychokinetic fish at the Supa Awesome Science Center Over There. Because what could possibly go wrong?

Mayhem and the occasional tender moment follow. Plus some occasional Dickens references.

The Kiddo and I are reading this series in somewhat random order. All of the Dog Man books, this one included, are packed with laughs, and the Kiddo had a blast reading this, even if he knew where things were heading. I though Dog Man & Cat Kid was slightly better on the literary reference front, but this was definitely a solid entry in a series that is really finding its stride.

Rating: 8/10

Batgirl #27

Got an unexpected gift of a Barnes & Noble giftcard, so I headed to the mall tonight and picked up a couple of books I'd been looking at, along with a random DC comic. I thought the cover of this issue looked interesting, so, why not?

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 27
Date: March 2014
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Robert Gill
Colorist: Blond
Letterer: Dezi Sienty
Editor: Katie Kubert
Cover: Alex Garner

As mentioned above, this issue was pretty much a random grab. Alex Garner's cover, featuring a new, grey costume for Batgirl was gorgeous, and Gail Simone's writing is usually good, so it seemed a nice issue to check in with what's going on in the DC Universe.

Except that it turns out this issue does not take place in the DC Universe. Welcome to Gothtopia, an alternate universe in which Gotham City is the happiest and safest city in the country, and the superheroes seem to spend their time rescuing people from burning buildings when they're not saving cats stuck up trees.

Barbara Gordon patrols the streets as Bluebelle. Her sidekick (who seems to be an alternate version of Spoiler... um... I think...) is Daybreak.

It's a beautiful day, and things are about to go horribly wrong in a city where crime is almost unheard of, courtesy of one employee of the Joker Ice Cream Company who has gotten a glimpse of a Gotham that is a much darker place.

On its own, this is a pretty simple story. The real fun here is the mirror image version of Gotham. In spite of the emphasis on sunshine and happiness, the setting is still handled realistically. The cops still carry guns, and Batgirl still knows how to fight.

The interaction with the villain is intense and effective, and I also like the interplay between Bluebelle and Daybreak.

Apparently, this story continues in Detective Comics #27, although this issue stands on its own as an interesting Elseworlds-type tale.

Rating: 7.5/10

All-Star Superman #1 (Special Edition)

This was "free with any purchase" at Barnes & Noble this week. Free comic? I'll take that, please.

Title: All-Star Superman
Issue: #1
Date: August, 2013
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciler: Frank Quitely
Inker: Jamie Grant
Colorist: Jamie Grant
Letterer: Phil Balsman
Editor: Brandon Montclare, Bob Schreck



This is a reprint of the first issue of the All-Star Superman series from 2005, reissued this year as a free promo given out at various retail stores (I got my copy at Barnes & Noble; I know it's also available at Sears) in conjunction with the release of the film Man of Steel.


Superman rescues a mission organized by Dr. Leo Quintum to research the sun. The ship had been sabotaged by Lex Luthor. As a result, Superman is poisoned by an overdose of solar radiation, the Dr. Quintum determines that Superman is terminally ill. With only one year to live, Superman begins to think about what there still is to accomplish.

This story reminds me a bit of Alan Moore's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" in the sense that it embraces much of the Silver-Age fantastical elements of the Superman mythology and still tells a serious story. This is not a toned-down Superman for the sake of realism. This is a Superman who flies into the sun.

It's also a complex story written for readers who know Superman. There is a lot going on, even in this first issue, and the large cast of supporting characters shows plenty of promise.

Frank Quitely's art is perfect for capturing the awesomeness as well as the humanity of the Man of Steel.

Rating: 8/10