Grovel

Color of Water, The

Andy — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:00:05 +0000

In the second volume of Kim Dong Hwa’s Colors trilogy, we see daughter Ewha truly coming of age. The early crushes of the first book are swept aside as we meet Duksam, a young labourer from a nearby village, who literally sweeps Ewha off her feet as they cross a swollen river. A bond forms [...]

Batman: Battle for the Cowl Companion

Andy — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:00:56 +0000

While the Battle for the Cowl is in full swing, those not involved in the tussle to become the new Batman are holding things together, or at least trying to. This collection of side stories, originally published as one-shots alongside the main event, are collected here into a single volume. So we find out what [...]

Batman: Battle for the Cowl

Andy — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:00:34 +0000

With Bruce Wayne out of the picture in Batman: R.I.P., Gotham City is left in tatters. Arkham Asylum is ruined and the streets are crawling with supervillains. It’s obvious that Gotham needs Batman. But who should take his place? Robin? Nightwing? Batgirl? Catwoman? The list of contenders is long but this book promises to answer [...]

Vlad the Impaler

Andy — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:00:55 +0000

Perhaps one of the most notoriously violent rulers of human history, Vlad Dracula of Wallachia went on to inspire Bram Stoker to create his infamous vampire. The real Vlad, however, seems even more horrific than Stoker’s undead blood-sucker. Vlad justly earned his impaler reputation, skewering thousands of his enemies and subjects on long sharp poles, [...]

On the Odd Hours

Andy — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:00:55 +0000

What happens in the Musée du Louvre when the sun goes down? Simple: all the exhibits come alive. As a deaf night watchman shows the reader around the exhibits, we see his silent connection with the very souls of the artwork. You can see some examples of the stunning illustration at NBM’s On the Odd [...]

Logicomix

Andy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:00:28 +0000

In what might seem like the most unlikely subject for a graphic novel to date, Bloomsbury has pulled something of a publishing coup this year with Logicomix. It retells the true story of how genius philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell tried to find the Foundations of Mathematics – general truths that could be used to [...]

Footnotes in Gaza

Andy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:00:37 +0000

Joe Sacco’s Palestine brought the concept of the illustrated journalism to a new level of popularity and appreciation, investigating the issue of Israeli occupation of Gaza from the perspective of the Palestinians. Now Sacco has returned to Gaza to investigate the 1956 slaughter of over a hundred Palestinians at the hands of Israeli soldiers, in [...]

Spirou & Fantasio: Adventure Down Under

Andy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:00:54 +0000

Spirou & Fantasio has been around since 1938, following a tradition of Belgian graphic novels that started with Tintin. Having been passed on to various writers and artists over the years, Cinebook is picking up from the 34th book, originally published in 1985. Spirou is a Tintin-esque boy reporter, who travels the world fighting villains and [...]

Aldebaran 3: The Creature

Andy — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:00:06 +0000

The third and final instalment of Aldebaran answers a few questions but leaves many hanging. While humanity finishes this book looking in rude health on the colonised planet, its mysterious fauna – particularly the strange shape-shifting sea giant Mantris – remain an unknown quantity. This may be a bit of a disappointment to those expecting [...]

Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives Volume 1

Andy — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:00:24 +0000

Steve Ditko might be most famous for his work on Marvel heroes, including Spider-Man, Hulk and Dr. Strange. But his first professional comics assignments were hard-boiled pulp comics. Brought out before the Comics Code Authority shackled comics into a more child-friendly world, creators like Ditko were turning out monsters and psychological horror, scarier and more [...]