Serial Box #4: Bee and Puppycat #01

Welcome back to Serial Box, my (semi) regular discussions on comics I've recently read! This time...

Written by Natasha Allegri and Garrett Jackson
Artwork by Natasha Allegri

If you like pastel colors, fluffy animals, eating food (and watching people on TV eat food), fun costumes, and temp jobs then Bee and Puppycat, the fun YouTube show from Frederator, is probably already on your radar. If not, it should be!

Bee and Puppycat is a series of short episodes on YouTube about a girl named Bee who meets a strange creature named Puppycat. The two of them work for Tempbot who sends them on different ridiculous jobs around the galaxy. There’s only five episodes so far at about six minutes each so they’re perfect for when you’re eating lunch/ waiting for someone to pick you up/ avoiding finishing an essay/ etc.

This comic, understandably, is pretty lighthearted and fluffy. Not much happens, nor does it seem to be going in any certain direction or following a really strict plot. The creator, Natasha Allegheri, is responsible for Fiona and Cake of "Adventure Time" fame, so if you’re familiar with the art and silliness featured there then you already know what to expect.

I tend to like more serious works that follow a stricter plot line, but this makes for a nice read if you just need something to kick back to. It’s cute and funny and is great for kids or adults who love cute things. The art has beautiful pastel colors that fit perfectly with the mood of the comic. I’m glad I nabbed this one when I had the chance and if you like the Bee and Puppycat show then by all means pick it up too!

Serial Box #3: Princess Leia #01

Welcome back to Serial Box, my (semi) regular discussions on comics I've recently read! This time...

Written by Mark Waid
Pencils by Terry Dodson
Inks by Rachel Dodson
Colorist is Jordie Bellaire
Cover art by Terry Dodson

Marvel Description

When Princess Leia Organa was captured by the Empire as a Rebel spy, she never betrayed her convictions, even in the face of the complete destruction of her home world, Alderaan. When her rescue came, she grabbed a blaster and joined the fight, escaping back to the Rebel Alliance and helping strike the biggest blow against the Empire—the destruction of the Death Star. But in the aftermath of that victory, the question remains...what is a princess without a world? Writer Mark Waid (Daredevil, S.H.I.E.L.D.) and artist Terry Dodson (Avengers & X-Men: Axis, Uncanny X-Men) bring us a story of Leia’s quest to help her people and find her place in the galaxy.

 My current Star Wars obsession is still relatively young; I first saw the original trilogy in 2010 and sat through all six movies together in 2011. I only really got into Star Wars as a series last summer when I started reading the comics, and even more so in January when I read my first novel (A New Dawn, which, why haven’t I reviewed yet?)

I’ll admit that I like the comics, books, and various shows more than I like the movies. I feel like the six hours we get to learn so many characters just isn’t enough. That goes especially for Princess Leia, the tough, brave, smart-mouthed lady who, for the longest time, was the only lady most fans of the Star Wars series could name. (Sorry, Mon Mothma!)

Now we’ve improved: Padme Amidala, Ahsoka Tano, Asajj Ventress, and all kinds of ladies both canon and not have filled up books, movies, cartoons, and comics. It’s nice to see that, in their reboot, Disney hasn’t forgotten to include the gal who started it all.

Readers only need to be familiar with Episode IV: A New Hope to start Princess Leia. In fact, the first few panels pick up right at the awards ceremony where A New Hope leaves off. Where this takes us after that I’ll leave up to the reader to read and find out, but it includes a lot of decisions that line up perfectly with some of what her father pulled during the Clone Wars: stealing ships, dramatic rescue missions, and flat-out usurping authority (which, believe it or not, you still have to do when you’re technically the highest authority.) As for the art, the cover alone is stellar (no pun intended) and the panels are colorful and fun without being cartoony.

Princess Leia #1 is definitely worth an investment for new fans of Star Wars who are jumping on board with the new movies and rediscovering the old ones. I’m excited to see where Leia, and new character Evaan Verlaine, take us. Judging from Leia’s valor and quick wit from A New Hope, I know it’ll be worth it. 

Serial Box #2: The Midas Flesh Vol. 1

Welcome to Serial Box! Here, I talk about comics that I've been checking out recently. This week:

Written by Ryan North
Illustrated by Braden Lamb and Shelli Paroline

Goodreads Description 

We've all heard of the Midas Touch. You know, the Greek myth about the man who did a number on himself by wishing everything he touched to turn to gold? Well, you haven't heard everything.

Joey and her space crew have decided to return to Earth--a planet completely sectioned off, abandoned, and covered in gold--to find out exactly what happened to this once thriving planet and see if they can use that knowledge against the evil empire that's tracking them down. As luck would have it, they just landed the most powerful weapon in the universe: some ancient dead guy's body.

The totally unpredictable first collection of Ryan North's debut original print comic book series The Midas Touch, featuring art by illustration dynamos Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb, will leave the reader reeling from start to gilded finish.

The first four issues of an eight-issue series, the first volume of The Midas Flesh is awesome. It's a totally original story, so there's no worrying about catching up or who or what you'll be able to recognize. I love the premise most of all: I was already familiar with the story of King Midas, so this was a really interesting twist on his story.

I've also been getting more and more into space stories recently. The Midas Flesh follows the pretty typical space opera plot of "rebels" vs. some kind of evil empire/ society/ fleet, here called "The Federation," so you know kind of what to expect in that field. Still, the mixture of futuristic with mythological keeps things pretty interesting and fresh, which was really nice. I'll be picking up the second volume for sure, but all eight issues are already out and available to read if you can track them down online or at your local comic shop.

Also, reading this is another tally towards my Diverse Books Challenge! So happy to see a Muslin girl named Fatty, short for Fatima, in this book. She's one of the three protagonists and has frequent speaking roles and is heavily involved in the daily activities of their ship. Ms. Marvel has been getting a lot of (very well-deserved) praise recently, but it's nice to see that more comic publishers are branching out as well.

 Volume 2 will be published on June 9th, 2015.

Serial Box #1: Marceline Gone Adrift #01

Welcome to the first installation of Serial Box! 2014 was a big year in comics for me, and I've had plenty of time to build up my collection of comic series both short and on-going.I've really enjoyed my sojourn into comics so far and I look forward to this segment where I get to talk about them!

Written by Meredith Gran
Illustrated by Carey Pietsch

BOOM! Studios Description

Marceline is on a rampage for mysterious reasons, and the kingdom of Ooo is desperately scrambling to stop her. In trying to save both Ooo and Marceline herself, Princess Bubblegum accidentally propels Marceline into the farthest reaches of space...and strips her of her powers! Guilt-ridden, Princess Bubblegum sets off on a space rescue that’ll test the power of her mind...as well as the power of friendship.

The first volume in a planned series of six, Marceline Gone Adrift has grabbed my attention with just the first issue. I stopped by a new comic store this weekend, a little one in the town over, and decided to grab it. It's written by Meredith Gran of Octopus Pie and illustrated by Carey Pietsch.

The art and color palette are amazing; mostly pinks and blues (for obvious reasons, for those who are familiar with Adventure Time.) You can see more of Pietsch's work at her website to get a feel for it; it's very lovely. She's new to the Adventure Time series (besides a variant cover for Banana Guard Academy), which already has several other comic series out, but her character designs and expressions fit right in with the style of the show.

We're only just getting started plot-wise but already enough questions have been introduced to keep the series going. I'm sure that once we hit the second issue we'll start answering these questions, but until then we have a solid beginning. I look forward to issue #2!

Review: Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory

Title: Chew vol. 1: Taster's Choice
Author: John Layman
Artist: Rob Ruillory
Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: November 1st, 2009
Page #: 128
ISBN: 1607061597
Acquired: Purchased

Amazon, Goodreads, series website











From Goodreads:

Tony Chu is a detective with a secret. A weird secret. Tony Chu is Cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It also means he's a hell of a detective, as long as he doesn't mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit, and why. He's been brought on by the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet, to investigate their strangest, sickest, and most bizarre cases.
Collects CHEW #1-5.

I've been staring at my draft page for this review for a while now, having put off writing it for two weeks after I devoured volumes one and two, no pun intended, as quickly as I could. You'll have to forgive all of the eating puns, but Chew is very much like your favorite food. It's indescribable, and whether or not everyone loves it as much as you do doesn't matter because you will still go and tell your family, your friends, and any person who asks just how much it satiated you.

Chew is one of those stories that can only be told in comic form. I've been turning to comics more and more often because the stories are grittier, more mature with a hint (or in the case of Chew, bucketloads) of quirkness that you can't always find in novels.

I can't really describe Chew for you, and I know that me just telling you "Go read this," won't be enough for the people that follow this blog for the young adult novels. YA and comics like Chew don't mesh well, I can't remember the last time I read a young adult novel that gave me the same strange, obsessive, slightly nauseous (in a good way) feeling that Chew gave me. All I can do is ask you to step out of your comfort zone just this once and give it a shot.

Five stars!

Review: Y: The Last Man (series) by Brian K. Vaughan

*Spoiler Free!*

From Wikipedia

Y: The Last Man tells the story of Yorick, a young man who finds himself to be the last male on the planet, aside from his pet monkey Ampersand, after a mysterious even called "the plague" results in the deaths of every creature possessing a Y chromosome.

Divided into several arcs that take Yorick and Ampersand, along with Agent 355, the woman protecting him, and Dr. Allison Mann, a genius geneticist, across the world in search of a cause for the plague and to find Yorick's girlfriend, Beth. Along the way they meet up with women some strong, some violent, some desperate and broken, but all trying to make it another day in a collapsed society after many of their friends and family die.

I had reviewed the first volume of Y: The Last Man earlier, but felt that since the series spans ten great, well-written books it was worth writing another review once I had finished.

The plague's cause isn't laid out in black and white like the apocalyptic disasters of other series. Throughout Y: The Last Man theories range from Mother Earth "cleansing" herself, an act of God, scientific accidents, government attacks, to just an abnormal one-time deal. I enjoyed how this set-up prevented the reader from developing a sense of omnipotence; we're kept in the dark just as the characters are.

I applaud Vaughan's ability to juggle so many characters, some whom we only see for a chapter or two, and give them believeable emotions and realistic lives. Not one introduced character had a boring backstory or a uninteresting exchange upon meeting Yorick, as short as many of those meetings were.

I have a hard time picking a favorite character, but even if I was to I feel that my opinion would just fall flat. I could see a little bit of myself in every character as I thought about how I would deal with my situation if I were in their shoes.

Rest assured that the ending, no spoilers given, was the perfect wrap-up to such a lofty series. I cannot conceive of another way for it to end, Y: The Last Man concluded just as it was supposed to.

A lot of thinking on my part went into reading this series. After every book I spent some time musing about Vaughan's world and our world alike, especially in regards to what it means to survive, to adapt, and my connection to other women both in my community and my world at large. This may have been easier for me because I am a woman, but I still have no doubt that men will take something away from this series too. How would you see yourself in the shoes of the remaining women, or in Yorick's?

Y: The Last Man is a mature, dystopian/ post-apocalyptic series that, despite it's frightening world-building, says plenty about the world we exist in. If you're still unconvinced, here's a fan film that a very talented group of people made. It differs from the plot of the comics, but if the fans are this devoted, just picture how fantastic the series itself is! Now double that. Yup, the comics are that good:

Author: Brian K. Vaughan
Artists: Pia Guerra (lead penciller), various

Publisher: Vertigo

Publication Date: 2002-2007

Books: 10 regular volumes, or, 5 deluxe edition books

Reviewed for Dystopian August (2012) over at Presenting Lenore!

Review: The Runaways, Vol 1: Pride & Joy by Brian K. Vaughan

From Goodreads:

All young people believe their parents are evil ... but what if they really are? Meet Alex, Karolina, Gert, Chase, Molly and Nico - whose lives are about to take an unexpected turn. When these six young friends discover their parents are all secretly super-powered villains, the shocked teens find strength in one another. Together, they run away from home and straight into the adventure of their lives - vowing to turn the tables on their evil legacy.

I feel that my expectations for this book might have been too high, but to say that it is on par with Vaughan's Y: The Last Man, I feel, would be just wrong.

It wasn't the writing that I so much took an issue with, thankfully. Vaughan has managed to pepper the work with music and book references as I've seen him do before, but other than those little snippets I didn't feel a huge draw to the writing.

The plot proceedings were confusing, but I chalk part of that up to the fact that I'm only on book one of the series, and I'm sure that more becomes clear as time goes on. One of the things that confused me was just how evil I was supposed to see Pride, the villainous group of the comic.

I can certainly understand why the teens in the book see their parents as evil, they do witness their folks murder a teenage girl, but I had hoped to see a little bit more of Pride. Why do they have such a hold on the city? Are their threats just threats, or do they frequently carry them out? Why are their costumes so oddly hilarious for a group that I'm supposed to see with hatred? I must just have high expectations for my evildoers, which Runaways didn't fulfill.

I don't like judging art, seeing as I have no artistic skills whatsoever, but being a comic book I have no choice but to do so. The greatest issue I had was with the character's mouths, which seemed to only switch between gaping holes or puckers (say "prunes" out loud) regardless of the words within their conversation.

I had picked up Runaways without knowing that Vaughan had written in, intrigued by the premise, and was still disappointed overall. I have no plans on picking up the next issue, but if the description sounds interesting to you it may be nice to know that my sentiments are not shared in a majority of Goodreads reviews. Rather, the series appears to be well-loved, and I agree it would be fitting for a younger comic fan. For older fans looking for a much more serious series, please try Y: The Last Man. I'm certain that you won't regret it.

Amazon, Goodreads

Title: Runaways vol. 1, Pride & Joy

Author: Brian K. Vaughan
Pencils: Adrian Alphona

Publisher: Marvel

Publication Date: December 6th, 2006

Page #: 144

ISBN: 0785113797

Review: Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned

From Goodreads:

"Y" is none other than unemployed escape artist Yorick Brown (his father was a Shakespeare buff), and he's seemingly the only male human left alive after a mysterious plague kills all Y-chromosome carriers on earth. But why are he and his faithful companion, the often testy male monkey Ampersand, still alive? He sets out to find the answer (and his girlfriend), while running from angry female Republicans (now running the government), Amazon wannabes that include his own sister (seemingly brainwashed), and other threats. The Vertigo team of Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and Jose Marzan Jr. have given us a great read!

I've talked before about my newfound love for comics and my desire to get more of them into my life, so I requested Y: The Last Man, Vol 1: Unmanned from my public library and sat down with the intention to just read a few pages. Less than an hour later I was finished and eager for the second.

Y: The Last Man is refreshing in that it can be interpreted as post-apocalyptic (with half of the world's popular dead in a matter of minutes), dystopian (as society crumbles with the workforce halved), utopian (to the extremist militia groups who see an all-woman world as a blessing), and/ or inspiring (as the remaining society is forced to rebuild while facing imminent extinction of the human race) at the same time. Most books nowadays seem to only fit into one category, with authors not knowing how to juggle different themes without pigeonholing or spreading too thin. Nothing here felt campy or forced; emotions come off as genuine and true despite the otherworldly and at times unimaginable circumstances.

I'm only about knee-deep in the series at this point, but I can't wait to go completely under with the next nine books. Vaughan, with the help of the impressive artistic skills of Guerra and Marzán, is well into molding a world that is confusing and unknown with emotions and characters that feel all too real.

Goodreads, Amazon
Title: Y: The Last Man: Unmanned
Authors: Brian K. Vaughan
Illustrators: Pia Guerra and José Marzán, Jr.
Publisher: Vertigo
Publication Date: January 2nd, 2003
ISBN: 1-56389-980-9

Review: Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton

From Goodreads:

Hark! A Vagrant takes readers on a romp through history and literature—with dignity for few and cookies for all—with comic strips about famous authors, their characters, and political and historical figures, all drawn in Kate Beaton’s pared-down, excitable style. This collection features favorite stories as well as new, previously unpublished content. Whether she’s writing about Nikola Tesla, Napoleon, or Nancy Drew, Beaton brings a refined sense of the absurd to every situation.

In just four years, Beaton has taken the comics world by storm with her non sequiturs, cheeky comebacks, and irreverent punch lines. With 1.2 million monthly hits on her site—500,000 of them unique—and comics appearing in Harper’s Magazine, the National Post, and The New Yorker, her caricatures of historical and fictional figures filtered through a contemporary lens display a sharp, quick wit that knows no bounds.

If I said that comic books were my guilty pleasure, I would be lying; I don't feel guilty at all for loving them! I had been reading Kate's comics for at least a year before picking her book up, but even then most of them I hadn't seen before or they gave me a laugh the second time around.

I love English, sure, but I'm still a history buff through and through. Luckily for me, Kate's comics center around both of these things! Some of the most fun I've had while reading this book is looking up new people from history that I haven't heard of before and finding out even more about how cool/ bad-ass they were. For example, the most recent comic? Josephine Baker saves the day. Even if you know little about history, Kate explains some of her comics at the bottom of the page, but even if history comics aren't your style she has plenty poking fun at classic novels and superheroes.

If you're even the littlest bit curious about Kate's comics, you can check out her LiveJournal of the same name to see some samples of her work, or spend hours upon hours reading one right after another. Because, you know, it's not like I have or anything...

I'm loving this string of awesome books I've gotten to review!

Goodreads, Her Store, her Tumblr
Title: Hark! A Vagrant
Author/ Artist: Kate Beaton
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
Publication Year: 2011
Page #: 166
ISBN: 978-1-77046-060-7

Her book is available for sale at her store, along with other things with her drawings printed on them, so you can look extra-cool while you read it.

Great Graphics #2: Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori

Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori (Emma, Shirley) brings the nineteenth-century Silk Road to lavish life, chronicling the story of Amir Halgal, a young woman from a nomadic tribe betrothed to a twelve-year-old boy eight years her junior. Coping with cultural differences, blossoming feelings for her new husband, and expectations from both her adopted and birth families, Amir strives to find her role as she settles into a new life and a new home in a society quick to define that role for her.
Crafted in painstaking detail, Ms. Mori's pen breathes life into the scenery and architecture of the period in this heartwarming slice-of-life tale that is at once both wholly exotic, yet familiar and accessible through the everyday lives of the rich characters she has created.

(Description from inside cover)

Let me start by saying that "crafted in painstaking detail," is perhaps the understatement of the year. The scenery, clothing... everything contains so much detail that your eye can't simply gloss over the page; you have to stop and take some time to view every last line, mark, and shade that has been made. In short, it is fantastic. I'm also familiar with Emma and Shirley, which are both set in Victorian England, and though they both contain their fair share of wonderful detail, neither is anything like the creative and colorful patterns of central Asia.

Rather than a continuous story like Emma, Bride's Story is split into a couple short stories, two of which are strung together by Amir's old clans desire to have her returned. These small stories give the larger piece a nice flow, and in no way does it feel choppy. Amir herself is also wonderful for a main character, and I really enjoyed watching her character develop throughout the tales. She's a bit quirky due to her "outside-ness" in her new tribe, that only adds to my love for her.

I know that, from the description, a few people may be uncomfortable with the large age difference between Amir, 20, and her husband, Karluk, 12. There's really very little to worry about: the two, in one scene at night, share a kiss in the semi-dark that is more cute and familiar than romantic or sexy. There is also a scene where the two sleep naked together, though that stems only from Amir's insistence that you will be too cold if you sleep clothed in a yurt (a type of housing) rather than nude, and the scene itself is not sexual. Other than that, their relationship is much more like that of an older sister/ younger brother than anything like a husband and wife.

All in all, this book comes highly recommended, and I look forward for the second one, if nothing for the art that my hands and eyes ache just looking at.

5/5
The book is unrated, and I personally would rate it PG-13 (for three panels of topless nudity and... almost violence? Then again, your mileage may vary.)
(Amazon - Goodreads)

Review: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Sorry if things have been a little slow-going in terns of Dystopian August, vacation set me back a bit further than I thought it would (if that makes any sense.) I'll have some novel reviews as soon as I can, I promise! In the meantime, here's an extra-special Great Graphics just for Dystopian August! Huzzah!

...

As the Holy Empire of Britannia expands, the freedoms and rights of the citizens of the countries that it has conquered begin to shrink. Japan, once a strong and noble land, has since been renamed "Area 11," and the people live in fear of the soldiers that roam the streets as all that they once knew crumbles around them.

Enter Lelouch ("leh-louche"). An exiled child of the Emperor of Britannia, he seems like the least likely candiate to rally a desperate nation to action. With no political connections in his exiled state and few friends, his hope for topplling the kingdom that betrayed him seems unlikely until he meets C.C., a young woman whom he rescues from a military vehicle. In return she grants him a very powerful and dangerous gift, a "geass." With this ability, Lelouch can influence any human to do anything he commands. Weak no more, Lelouch begins to get the ball of revolution rolling with the help of a rebel group, of which one of the members is Kallen, a "sickly" girl whom is tougher than her school persona makes her out to be.

Armed with a new power, Lelouch dons a mask and reinvents himself as Zero, a crusader who fights for the weak with only one goal in mind: to fell the kingdom that shamed him years ago.

...

Code Geass has been around for a while now and has yet to show signs of falling out of style. The plot is fairly linear, with Lelouch's goal being the main focus of the story. There is a light side to this though, as Bandai has also been publishing spin-off series that take place in alternate universes, not only allowing for the story to take a different path, but also giving some other characters their chance to shine as more than pawns in Lelouch's game.

The plot is also quick-paced, with each action leading into the next smoothly and swiftly. There are no "filler" panels added in to make it feel as though the story is longer, and everything serves either to introduce new characters or to set the scene for Lelouch's next daring move.

I actually find Lelouch to be a bit dry at points, as many people do with characters that only have one goal in their lives. Lucky for the reader though, he is flanked by interesting friends and family from his childhood friend Suzaku, a Japanese citizen fighting in the Britannian army, to his blind sister Nunnally, to the mysterious C.C.

The main series spans eight, manageable books. You can find these at your local bookstore (not Borders anymore...*sniff*), or if you're lucky, your local library. They are also sold online, and as far as I know Bandai is still printing copies. Also, the great thing about this graphic novel is that there is also an anime available. The DVD's can be purchased at F.Y.E. or at an online anime retailer. Nothing like curling up with a good dystopian TV series, right?

(Amazon) Rated 13 and up (for some blood and violence) by publisher Bandai Entertainment and spans eight, 200 page volumes

Great Graphics: Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Welcome to a new feature here at Brave New Shelf that I affectionately call Great Graphics. The first Tuesday of every month I will post a review of a graphic novel/ comic/ manga (Japanese comic). Graphics novels have been a part of my life for almost five years now, and I can't help but feel that a lot of people turn away from them for one reason or another. Maybe you think they are childish picture books. Maybe you think that they are too violent, or too sexual. Maybe you don't want to be a "nerd," "geek," or any other one of those terms associated with people who read graphic novels. (And yes, I have heard those reasons.)  To those who adhere to those beliefs, I say that you simply haven't been looking hard enough for something that you might enjoy :)

Or, maybe you have been reading them for a while and are hoping for a couple of recommendations, or simply want to chat about them. That's cool too, and I'd love to hear some input in the comments! All of these posts will be tagged with "graphic novels," along with any other corresponding tags.

And so proceeds our first installment with Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol!

...

If you looked up the word "popular" in the dictionary, there is a good chance that Anya's picture won't be there. Embarrassed by her family, her body, and her social status, Anya begins to think that all hope is lost. That is, until she meets someone that really has lost everything, including her life.

Anya meets Emily after falling into a well while on a walk, and while Anya survives the fall it is clear to her that Emily, a girl who lived over one hundred years ago, did not. Surprised at seeing the ghost girl, Anya is even more surprised when one of Emily's bones ends up in her bag, allowing for Emily to follow her home. 

At first, things are working out alright. Emily aids Anya in numerous aspects of her life, academic and social. But as time progresses, Anya learns that Emily may have a bigger problem than the obvious.

Anya's Ghost was overall enjoyable, and I can understand all of the love it has gotten (and has been getting) from novel and comic blogs alike. The main character, Anya, is easy to relate to as a teenager. She struggles to fit in, on which she blames her lack of friends, lack of a boyfriend, and her body. The buildup for the other main character, Emily, was certainly an interesting if not creepy one. At the beginning, she appears to only want to help Anya improve her life, but then as the story progresses the reader begins to realize that Emily is changing, and not for the better. Anya's crush Sean, who is not as appealing as he seems, her sort-of best friend Siobhan, and her doting Russian-immigrant mother round off the cast of interesting minor characters.

I found myself getting very into the book, plot-wise. Of course, from the moment that Emily offered to help Anya to improve her grades and her love life we knew that things were too good to be true for the ghost girl, and the build-up is steady with a quick-paced climax and happy ending.

The art itself is great, with a color scheme of black, white, and shades of purple that is not so complicated that you lose track of the characters or the story in the process of admiring the drawings. Brosgol's style is easy on the eyes with just enough attention to detail to show that she put love and effort into drawing, as well as writing, Anya's Ghost.

4.5/5- Recommended for anyone with an interest in single-volume comics with PG rating (assigned by myself; actual volume is not rated)

(Amazon - Goodreads)

Review: After School Charisma by Kumiko Suekane

It's difficult to live up to your expectations, especially if you happen to be a clone of those such as Albert Einstein, Marie Currie, and Queen Elizabeth I. But that's exactly the situation at St. Kleio Academy, where every student (save for the very average Shiro Kamiya) is a clone of a famous, or infamous, person.

As if you couldn't already cut the tension with a knife, just as the clone of former President Kennedy is about to be elected, he is shot by a member of a secret organization determined to make sure that the once-silenced leaders of the world stay silent. Afraid that they may soon follow the same fate, many of the students begin to take solace in "The Almighty Dolly," Dolly the sheep, one of the first cloned mammals.

Far from the typical high school manga that many of us are used to, High School Charisma treats the reader not only to an interesting and gripping story line, but also to likeable characters (many of whom you may recognize from their past lives) and beautiful art.

4/5
(Amazon - Goodreads)