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

LiLing Po Volume 1

Found at a Little Free Library in Yarmouth MA USA in October, 2024.

Title: LiLing Po
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2005
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Ako Yutenji
Artist: Ako Yutenji
Letterer: Yoohae Yang
Editor: Julie Taylor

LiLing Po is an infamous thief who is released from prison to help his government recover a set of stolen magical treasures.

This quickly turns into an episodic kind of thing where LiLing Po and the government agents working with him investigate people who have been influenced or changed by the wish-granting powers of the mysterious eight treasures. While this provides some nice structure, I found the characters hard to relate to and the dialogue dense. This could have benefited from slower pacing and a bit of breathing room to get to know everyone before plunging into a sort of monster-of-the-week mode.

Rating: 4/10

Very Funny Charlie Brown

From the Wilbraham Public Library book sale, Wilbraham MA USA, 2024.

Title: Very Funny, Charlie Brown
Date: 1968
Publisher: Fawcett Gold Medal
Writer: Charles M. Schulz
Artist: Charles M. Schulz

Paperback collection of Peanuts cartoons compiled from the larger collection You're Out of Your Mind, Charlie Brown Vol. 1. This was a great collection of older Peanuts material. It covers a lot of the classic jokes: Lucy pulling the football away, kites stuck in trees, baseball games rained out, and Snoopy doing everything at very high speed.

There was also a cartoon about the fear of nuclear war. And I appreciated all of the classical music references in Shroeder's scenes.

Interestingly, the adults do get dialogue rather than mumbles in these cartoons, although it does always come from off-panel.

This was a quick and enjoyable read.

Rating: 8/10

XXXHolic Volume 3

From the books unpacked from storage.

Title: XXXHolic
Issue: Volume 3
Date: 2004
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
Writer: Clamp
Artist: Clamp
Letterer: Dana Hayward

Kimihiro Watanuki can see spirits. Domeki can't see them, but he can repel and exorcise them. They would make an effective team, except for the fact that they can't stand each other.

This volume tells two stories. The first involves the spirit-busting duo investigating a school where a divination game similar to an Ouija board has gotten gotten out of control, and taken control of several of the students.

The second story involves the sorceress Yuko Ichihara, and it's basically a variation on the classic story, "The Monkey's Paw". A young student obtains a box from the sorceress with the warning never to open it. Things go downhill rapidly from there.

This issue has a bit of a monster-of-the-week vibe, without too much focus placed on the longterm plotlines. The book could do a better job of recapping the storyline at the beginning.

Clamp's art is always gorgeous and a highlight of any of their books.

Rating: 6/10

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

All's Faire In Middle School

Borrowed from my school library.

Title: All's Faire In Middle School
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin/Random House)
Date: 2017
Writer: Victoria Jamieson
Artist: Victoria Jamieson

Imogene is about to embark on her most dangerous quest on her path to becoming a knight: Surviving middle school. And even her fellow performers at the Florida Renaissance Faire, where her parents work, seem to agree that middle school is the worst. After being homeschooled through her elementary school years, Imogene navigates friendships, bullying, schoolwork, and teen fashion, all while starting her first faire season as a full cast member.

This is full of cleverness, Shakespearian insults, ren faire culture, wholesome family interaction, and yet more cleverness. The extended "fairemily" steal the show somewhat as Imogene's school drama takes on mostly expected twists and turns, and fun characters like aunt-figure Cussy provide entertainment even as they gently guide Imogene's recovery from a succession of bad decisions.

The ending was heartfelt, and the family and found-family elements were fun and wholesome.

Rating: 8/10

Rave Master Volume 1

From a Little Free Library in Amherst MA USA.

Title: Rave Master
Issue: Volume 1
Date: February, 2003
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Hiro Mashima
Artist: Hiro Mashima

This was full of charmingly odd translations. So there's a set of magical stones called Rave. And there is a series of evil magical stones called Dark Bring. The Dark Bring stones are controlled by an evil organization called Demon Card.

Enter, our hero, sixteen-year-old Haru Glory, resident of the an isolated community called Garage Island. When Haru catches a strange horned creature in the sea, he is set on a course that leads him to become the new controller of the Rave stone and wielder of the Rave-powered shapeshifting sword.

The story here is straightforward hero's journey, but the characters are pretty strong, there is some good tragic backstory going on, and the odd quirky details like the strange talking flower-being that lives attached to the wall of Haru's house really make the story shine.

This was more fun than I expected it to be, and I'm interested in seeing where it goes.

Rating: 7.5/10

Batman/Superman: World's Finest, Vol. 1: The Devil Nezha

Read this at the Clapp Memorial Library in Belchertown MA USA. Nice selection of graphic novels there, considering it's a small library.

Title: Batman/Superman: World's Finest: The Devil Nezha
Issue: Volume 1
Date: January, 2024
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Editor: Paul Kaminski

Reprinting the first four issues of the latest World's Finest reboot. Poison Ivy attacks the Daily Planet, and finds herself up against the Batman, Robin, and Superman. But before the heroes can defeat her, Metallo shows up, adding a whole new level of threat when he injects Superman with red kryptonite.

As it turns out, this is just the beginning, as an ancient demonic figure named Nezha takes control of villains, and then heroes to set them against Superman and the Batman.

This turned complicated quickly, with a time-travel subplot, and continuously-escalating threats as Nexha takes control of more and more powerful metahumans to try to wipe out all potential resistance to his conquest of Earth and beyond.

The character work and action in this story are solid, especially the little insights into the relationship between Clark and Bruce and how they look out for each other.

The weak point is the villain, who's a mess of inconsistent powers, unclear motivation, and bland generic-villain personality.

There was enough of interest here that I'd be willing to check out more of the series once it moves past Nezha.

Rating: 5/10

The Treasure of the Black Swan

Borrowed from the Wilbraham Public Library, Wilbraham MA.

Title: The Treasure of the Black Swan
Publisher: Fantagraphics
Date: 2022
Writer: Guillermo Corral Van Damme, Paco Roca
Artist: Paco Roca
Editor: Conrad Groth

Based on true events, this is a realistic story of the hunt for sunken treasure, and more importantly, the legal battles that occur when a treasure is found. Alex Ventura is a young diplomat, just starting a job with the Spanish government's Ministry of Culture. A late-night call from the Spanish Embassy in the United States puts him on the case of an historic find: a fully-loaded treasure ship has been located by an American salvage company, with a reputation as dirty players in the treasure-hunting business. The Spanish government needs to prove that the treasure is Spanish property against a ruthless and well-funded American conglomerate

This is a great political thriller with elements of history and a sprinkling of romance, all done up in an art style that gives homage to Hergé's classic Tintin stories. I found this enthralling from start to finish, with a great mix of intrigue, drama, some action, and a bittersweet ending with a few nice surprises.

Rating: 9/10

Cardcaptor Sakura Volume 3

Read my friend's copy of this while visiting.

Title: Cardcaptor Sakura
Issue: Volume 3
Date: 2003
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Clamp
Artist: Clamp
Editor: Jake Forbes

Sakura deals with a Clow Card doppelgänger that has led her brother into danger. She also helps her friend deal with a box that refuses to be opened, revealing another Clow Card. This volume ends with the arrival of a mysterious new teacher at Sakura’s school.

I jumped into this series with this issue, and in spite of the big cast, I never felt lost. The book does a nice job of reinforcing the worldbuilding as it expands on the rules and ideas behind the magical Clow Cards. The story is sprinkled with lots of humor, and Clamp always delivers spectacularly on the artwork.

Rating: 7/10