Grovel » Review

Soul Stealer

Andy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:00:43 +0000

Some people believe that love is the most powerful force in the universe. It’s a nice thought but, when you think about it, there are plenty of obstacles love still struggles to cross, including death and time. Michael Easton and Christopher Shy explore this and a few other things besides in Soul Stealer. When a mighty [...]

Silverfish

Andy — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Step-mothers are something of a thriller cliché. The standard wicked step-mother pattern usually involves a recently bereaved widower finding solace in the arms of another woman. Meanwhile, teenage daughter, who’s probably had the thankless task of being mother to younger siblings and held the family together while Dad falls apart, sees this usurper of her [...]

Eternal Smile, The

Andy — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:00:23 +0000

American Born Chinese was always going to be a tough act for Gene Yang to follow and The Eternal Smile, illustrated by Derek Kirk Kim, doesn’t quite hit the mark. Although the three short stories offered here are interesting, it’s only the last one that shines with anything like the brightness of American Born Chinese. Each [...]

Aldebaran 1: The Catastrophe

Andy — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:00:05 +0000

When humans eventually go off and settle on new worlds, it’s hard enough to imagine what life might be like for the first few colonists. But what about generations later? When the original settlers have died and it’s their children, and their children’s children, who are left to live on this potentially wild frontier? This [...]

Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil

Andy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:00:39 +0000

UPDATE: Now available in paperback in the UK There used to be a time when superhero comics were aimed at children, before DVDs, computer games and teen-wizards finally swamped comics with their superior sales. As existing audiences grew up and new blood failed to appear, the themes and content of superhero comics cranked up to a [...]

Miss Don’t Touch Me

Andy — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:00:27 +0000

The last place Blanche, a 1930s housemaid in the service of an elderly Parisien lady, thought she would work is in a brothel. But this uptight and inexperienced young woman finds herself doing just that, following a tragic sequence of events that see her witness a murder then find her roommate shot dead by the [...]

All-Star Superman Volume 2

Andy — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:00:44 +0000

The second and final volume in Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman sees the ultimate superhero continue his Herculean tasks, which he must complete in order to save the world. Superman seems better suited to Morrison’s epic, mythical style than Batman. Superman is a god on earth, like a character from Greek or Roman [...]

Wolverine: Prodigal Son Volume 1

Andy — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:00:12 +0000

Looking at the current roster of superhero titles (or, at least, the ones I see here at Grovel) it’s easy to mourn the passing of titles for kids. When I was young, superhero comics were a rite of passage – a sign that you were moving on from the weedy humour comics based on the [...]

Color of Earth, The

Andy — Tue, 19 May 2009 07:00:18 +0000

Although comics and graphic novels come in all shapes, sizes, genres and styles, it’s still the creators in the far east who have had the most success in making comics appeal to women. Just how far this has come in certain corners of the comic creating world is evident in The Color of Earth, the [...]

Batman: R.I.P.

Andy — Mon, 11 May 2009 07:00:50 +0000

I’ve said it in previous reviews of Grant Morrison’s work and I feel obliged to say it again here – there are times when he can create works of mastery, and others when he’s ultimately disappointing. Generally speaking, we’ve found his work on Batman to be among the more disappointing. And while Batman R.I.P. is [...]