Return To Labyrinth Volume 1

From a Little Free Library in Wilbraham MA USA.

Title: Return To Labyrinth
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2006
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Jake T. Forbes
Artist: Chris Lie,
Inker: Jeremy Freeman, Robert Grabe, Alex McCaffrey, Tyler Niccum, Em Stone
Letterer: Lucas Rivera
Editor: Rob Valois
Cover: Kouyu Shurei

Manga sequel to the film Labyrinth, featuring a high school aged Toby who has grown up with secret "help" from the Goblin King whenever he makes a wish. But this has not always worked entirely in his favor. When things escalate and Toby becomes aware to the strange happenings around him, he soon finds himself in the Labyrinth world, and a pawn in the Goblin King's intrigues.

This was a nice introduction from my perspective as someone who has vague memories of the film, but isn't completely up to date on the lore and characters. The story jumps right into things, leaving the awkward high school drama and family issues behind quickly and introducing a bunch of new characters. Particularly intriguing is Moppet, the servant of the goblin mayor. 

The artwork is a nice blend of manga style with the influence of Jim Henson's work, and the action flows nicely.

Rating: 8/10

Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists

From the book sale shelf at the East Longmeadow Public Library, East Longmeadow MA USA.

Title: Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women's Fight For Their Rights
Date: 2019
Publisher: Ten Speed Press (Penguin Random House)
Writer: Mikki Kendall
Artist: A. D'Amico

Gorgeously illustrated overview of this history of women's rights and activism. The format and scope of this means it's going for breadth rather than depth, but it works well in terms of highlighting plenty of history that readers can look into further. 

The framing story, a group of students in a future AI-powered classroom guided by a holographic narrator is a bit clunky at first, and a little bit cringe in terms of the concept of education being handed over to AI, but that aspect of the story quickly fades into the background in favor of the actual history being presented, and the student characters end up serving an important role as critics pointing out when some of this historical figures presented had their problematic aspects. 

The book does a good job of supporting its intersectional approach, and presents a diverse range of historical figures, including many I wasn't familiar with. It achieves its purpose as a jumping-off point for further research and reflection.

Rating: 8/10

Batman: Gates of Gotham #1

 

Bought at Dollar Tree in Enfield CT USA.

Title: Batman: Gates of Gotham
Issue: 1
Date: June 2026 (reprint from 2011)
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott Snyder, Kyle Higgins
Artist: Trevor McCarthy
Colorist: Guy Major
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Mike Marts, Janelle Asselin. Katie Kubert
Cover: Trevor McCarthy

Opening with a flashback to 1881, and then moving foward to an attack on three of Gotham's original bridges, this story focuses on deep connections between prominent families of Gotham. With the Batman in a race against time to find the person responsible for bombing the bridges, the first clues lead to the Penguin.

This is a good classic-feeling Batman story that's in the regular continuity, and rooted in the past history of Gotham City. It's nice to see multiple members of the Bat-Family involved, and Penguin has a nice scene.

Not all of the art was as effective as it could have been, but a lot was good, especially in the flashback to the 19th Century. This was a fun start to what looks to be a satisfying story.

Rating: 7/10

Shogun Warriors #12

I picked this up at the Spring 2026 Brimfield Antiques Shows in Brimfield MA USA.

Title: Shogun Warriors
Issue: 12 
Date: 1979
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Doug Moench 
Artist: Herb Trimpe, Mike Esposito
Colorist: George Bell
Letterer: Jim Novak
Editor: Allen Milgrom

The Shogun Warrior pilots are summoned to prevent a worldwide disaster as a meteor hurtles toward Earth. So, this was a total blast of nostalgia for me, as Shogun Warriors was one of the first Marvel series I was into as a kid. The other series I loved at that time was Marvel's Godzilla, so I was very excited to find a bit of a crossover happening here.

The meteor proved to be not that much of a challenge for the team of giant robots and their pilots, but that was all just a setup to reveal the return of a major villain from the early issues of Marvel's Godzilla. Reading it now, I felt like the human elements of the story were handled well, especially the easy comradery of the three pilots. There's an early scene where Genji shows up looking for crash space at Richard Carson's house in Los Angeles, resulting in a bit of a jealous tiff from Carson's girlfriend, Deena, but even that gets tempered down a bit in a follow-up scene that has Deena acting a bit more real.

The battle with the  meteor is rather anticlimactic, and it's necessary to suspend disbelief a bit around the idea that this is all actually taking place in the regular Marvel Universe continuity, but that was typical for a lot of toy-licensed books in this era. This was a great reveal when I read it as a kid and it still holds up reasonably well.

Rating: 6/10

Icelandic Hot Dog 101

From this year's Flywheel Zine Fest in Holyoke MA USA.

Title: Icelandic Hot Dog 101
Publisher: My Monster Hat
Date: March, 2026
Writer: Anne Thalheimer
Artist: Anne Thalheimer

Everything you need to know about hot dogs in Iceland, courtesy of the author's recent travels. This hit several topics I love: Travel, food in general, and hot dogs, particularly regional hot dog variations! There's even a bit of Icelandic language in here to help you order one with everything (fried and raw onions, apple ketchup, sweet brown mustard, and remoulade). Fun bit of regional food lore in micro-minicomic form!

Rating: 7.5/10