The Question #8

 From the Random Box of Unread Comics.

Title: The Question
Issue: 8
Date: September, 1987
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Dennis O'Neil
Artist: Denys Cowan, Rick Magyar
Colorist: Tatjana Wood
Letterer: Gaspar
Editor: Mike Gold

A deranged Gilbert & Sullivan fan named Mister Mikado is going around mutilating people in revenge for abusive acts they committed toward others, reciting a verse about making the punishment fit the crime before carrying out the nasty bit of revenge.

And they are nasty. The deaths/maimings reminded me a bit of the film Se7en (actually released 8 years after this book).

Vic Sage does a bit of detective/vigilante work to track down Mister Mikado, which is fairly standard fare. The confrontation between them is a lot more interesting, resulting in a verbal showdown about the nature of good and evil, and whether those who have done wrong can be redeemed.

This was a self-contained story (although it did advance some ongoing subplots in the background), and it serves as a pretty good introduction to what makes the Question's seeking of truth different from, for example, the Batman's quest for justice.

Ending was clever and very open-to-interpretation. As always, the Question has one of the best letter columns of its time, and I always enjoy getting Dennis O'Neil's recommended reading suggestion at the end (in this case, a fitting tie-in with the theme of the story: Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment).

Rating: 8/10

Getting Into Gaming: Peaceful Games

From last Spring's Flywheel Zine Fest in Holyoke MA USA.

Title: Getting Into Gaming: Peaceful Games
Date: August, 2023
Writer: Silver Kahn
Artist: Silver Kahn

Video game zine designed as an introduction for non-gamers. This was one of two in the series, this one covering a selection of nonviolent games (and mostly nonviolent ones such as Minecraft). I loved the tone of this because as someone who is into most areas of geekery, but has barely minimal knowledge of video games, I felt like this was right on my level. It's going to come off as probably too basic for a lot of potential readers, but it was a perfect fit for me. As an added bonus, it did feature one of the few games that I have played extensively: Monument Valley, which I enjoyed as much as the author of this zine did.

Your mileage may vary in terms of whether this is telling you anything new, but it is well written with a clear heartfelt love of gaming and a desire to spread the word in a positive way.

Rating: 7.5/10

Choose Your Own Adventure: Tobacco Hornworm

From last Spring's Flywheel Zine Fest in Holyoke MA USA.

Title: Choose Your Own Adventure: Tobacco Hornworm
Writer: ESmorc
Artist: ESmorc

What's better than an educational micro-minicomic about insect life cycles? An insect life cycle minicomic in (abbreviated) Choose Your Own Adventure format! And I do mean abbreviated. This book involves one choice, with one very good outcome and one very bad one. The back cover contains additional useful hornworm facts including what they metamorphose into...

SPOILER WARNING...
...

...

...

...

...

...

...

Sphinx moths!

You'll also learn some size comparisons, as well as the important skill of distinguishing a tobacco hornworm from a tomato hornworm.

This was quick, but so very quirky and amusing. Plus I learned things.

Rating: 8/10

You Know You're A Rural Queer When...

First review of 2025! Not a comic. Prose zine that I got last Spring at the Flywheel Zine Fest.

Title: You Know You're A Rural Queer When...
Date: 2019
Writer: Olivia M.
Artist: Olivia M.

Short essay in micro-zine form that lays out the challenges facing those in the queer community who live in rural areas. There are a lot of isolating factors that are detailed here, not all of them completely obvious, and there are also some issues with misguided our outright counterproductive attempts at allyship that the author has experienced. There is also a good reminder of the role (and limitations) of online supports.

This was a lot of important insights in a small amount of words.

Rating: 8/10

Updated All-Time Top Rated Comics 2024

Here is my updated list of all of the comics I've rated a 9 or above. Two books (Heartstopper Volume 1 and The Treasure of the Black Swan) were added in 2024..


9/10

All In The Family Part Two: Angel
Amulet Book Two: The Stonekeeper's Curse
Amulet Book Seven: Firelight
Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You
Boxers
Dog Man And Cat Kid
Dog Man: Grime and Punishment
The Flutter Collection
Ghosts
Guts
Heartstopper Volume 1
Life With Archie #16
Lumberjanes Volume 3: A Terrible Plan
Lumberjanes Volume 4: Out of Time
Lumberjanes Volume 5: Band Together
Machiavelli
Rival Angels Season 3 Volume 2
Saga Compendium 1
Small Town Type #1
The Treasure of the Black Swan
Understanding Comics
Warriors: Graystripe's Adventure
We Won't Be Erased
White Bird
With the Light Volume 2

9.5/10

Amelia Rules: When the Past is a Present
The Arrival
Castle Waiting Volume 1
I Kill Giants
A Monster Calls
The Prince and the Dressmaker
Vietnamerica: A Family's Journey

10/10

Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic In One Volume

Looking forward to reading more great books in 2024!

2024 Recap

After two rough years, I improved a bit in 2024, although I was still reading more graphic novels and manga than traditional comics or minicomics.

My total number of reviews in 2024 was 35, which is a big step up from 2023, but still not even one per week. I'm looking to give more attention to the Random Stack (box, really) of Unread Comics in 2025, so let's see if I can improve on that figure of 35.

Here are some highlights and lowlights of the year.

Highest Rated Comics of 2024:

Death Note Volume 3 (8.5)
Heartstopper Volume 2 (8.5)
Mage: The Hero Discovered Collected Edition Book 1 (8.5)
Once Upon a Time in the North (8.5)

Heartstopper Volume 1 (9)
The Treasure of the Black Swan (9)

Lowest Rated Comics of 2024:

Batman/Superman: World's Finest: The Devil Nezha (5)

Angel Sanctuary Volume 1 (4)
LiLing Po Volume 1 (4)

Favorite Books Read in 2024 (Any Genre)

 Comic-specific 2024 recaps coming soon. Here are my top 5 books (prose, comics, anything) read in 2024:

5. Doll Girl Meets Dead Guy by Lidiya Foxglove
4. Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
3. The Treasure of the Black Swan by Paco Roca
2. Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
1. Luchadora by Alvaro Saar Rios

Mage: The Hero Discovered Collected Edition Book 1

From the books unpacked from storage.

Title: Mage: The Hero Discovered Collected Edition
Issue: Book 1
Date: October, 1998
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Matt Wagner
Artist: Matt Wagner
Colorist: Jeromy Cox, James Rochelle

This collected edition from Image Comics reprints the first two issues of Matt Wagner's take on Arthurian mythology which was the precursor to his classic Grendel and one of the mainstays of the independent comics boom of the 1980s.

Loner Kevin Matchstick sits down and spills his guts to a mysterious stranger on a streetcorner, and things get weird from there. Part urban fantasy with a bit of a superhero vibe (and a little bit of a Captain Marvel tribute), the story develops quickly but stays straightforward through concise use of dialogue and some solid action sequences. The coloring by Jeromy Cox and James Rochelle give the story a perfect 80s neon-noir feel.

This was fun without going in for the excessive grimdark that later 80s urban fantasies would rely on.

Rating: 8.5/10

The Baby-Sitters Club Volume 3: Mary Anne Saves the Day

Found in a Little Free Library in Amherst MA USA.

Title: The Baby-Sitters Club
Issue: Volume 3: Mary Anne Saves the Day
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2015
Writer: Raina Telgemeier, Ann M. Martin
Artist: Raina Telgemeier
Letterer: John Green
Editor: Cassandra Pelham Fulton, David Levithan, Sheila Keenan

The main plot in this story, told from Mary Anne's point of view, is that a big fight breaks out between the four members of the Baby-Sitters Club, and none of them are on speaking terms with each other. A few attempts to work it out go wrong for various reasons, and the quality of their work begins to suffer as they close in on an upcoming birthday party that they are all expected to work together.

The main plot here, is a bit generic, and it's the least interesting thing going on in the book. Mary Anne makes a new friend, Dawn, who's new in town and discovers a connection between Dawn's mom and her dad. She also confronts her dad about his overprotective side, handles a genuine emergency on a babysitting job, and even changes her hairstyle.

The character development for Dawn is great, and so are a bunch of the small moments involving interactions with supporting characters. Raina Telgemeier has done a great job bringing Ann M. Martin's setting to life, and all of the small details really give the story some extra sparkle.

The series continues with #4, which I read previously and reviewed here.

Rating: 7/10

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