Garden

Reading “Garden” is strangely meditative or hypnotic. As with most of this mangakas books “Garden” follows a group of deadpan investigators as they comment matter of factly about the landscape and have brusque, cagey conversations with strangers. The calling cards of this artist are loooong terraforming scenes, the construction of modular buildings, looooong battle scenes where the POV is constantly changing, huge repetitive onomatopoeias, groups of laconic travelers each with unique and ridiculous outfits (but always the same build), and no context for anything ever. All of this combines into a strange manga both much better and exactly as bad as it sounds.

🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞/10

PS- I forget the authors name 

Drifting Classroom

The premise: a middle school is isolated from reality, all that's outside the school grounds are creepy sand dunes as far as the eye can see. The stress brings out the worst in the student's caretakers. Lunch ladies grind children up for food, a math teacher stalks and kills students like an animal, children wander into the sandy void driven mad by fear. The main character is trying to keep his classmates safe while dealing with an hysterical mob, betrayal within his own ranks, and other grades viciously competing for resources and control. "Lord of the Flies" and "Battle Royal" are kind of similar but this has the added horror of trusted caretakers turning on their charges.

The art, while not elaborate,(I misremembered this, the art is, in fact, great. Take a look at page 128 in the big hardcover and be amazed. Edit 10/11/21) does a great job of communicating the horror through facial expressions ala Junji Ito. And, there's plenty of creative violence and shock value. Ito has a book called "The Dissolving Classroom," which I haven't read, but assume its an homage (my assumption was wrong. Edit 10/11/21).  

⏳⏳⏳⏳⏳⏳⏳⏳⏳⏳/10

PS-I misremembered this comic pretty grievously but it’s worth reading

Cat eyed boy

"Cat-eyed Boy" pulls out every imaginable stop concerning the odd things that make older manga interesting. The protagonist is never pinned as a hero or villain, narrator or subject. From one story to the next the Cat-eyed Boy in question is helping free villagers from curses, protecting them from homicidal mutants, saving children from abusive families, hiding in attics gleefully narrating as a family is killed by crab monsters or taken one-by-one by a sentient ball of hair, stealing from or cruelly terrorizing townspeople, or saving the town from tsunami summoners only to be chased away and beaten as thanks. The main characters in many classic manga have mysterious motives or no discernable motives at all, none of them are more mystifying than Cat-eyed Boy.

The art has fun proto body horror, kind of campy EC feel with fewer boundaries concerning gore and violence. The character designs are reliably fun and interesting, the "horde of motley monsters" scenes are some of the best parts of the book. (If hordes of miscellaneous monsters appeal to you, which they do, try "Rusty and Big Guy," "Devilman," and almost anything by Yuichi Yokoyama (whose hordes aren't technically monsters but are highly motley.))

As much as I enjoy the comfort of the “rinse and repeat” story arcs of things like "Pokemon" or "Lone Wolf and Cub” the stories in "Cat-eyed Boy" tend to set the table then meander in any random direction. Such a unique series, if this sounds interesting at all read it because no one else does.

🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈/10

Mountains of Madness

Horror travelogues are one of the best genres of the night. “Mountains of Madness” follows an expedition to one of the poles where they find ancient relics and an abandoned city covered in unfamiliar hieroglyphs. You can probably guess the broad strokes of how it unfolds from there from the title. This is the best Lovecraft comic out there. (“Miskatonik” is great other than weak story boarding)

A highlight of the story is a long expository sequence going through the mythology of the elder gods, c’thulu, and shuggoth paired with abstract and disturbing art spreads. The characters are a little hard to tell apart so who’s saying what isn’t always easy to tell. It detracts a little from the flow of the story but overall the book is an enjoyable rendition of the Lovecraft story. 

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸/10

Read “Nyarhylotep” and if you’ve read it reread it.

Alien: Defiance

 Yes it’s another mash of dystopia, scifi, and horror. Being helpless in the vacuum of space faced with a creature as unforgiving and merciless as the void itself is a big theme of Alien. “Defiance” takes that a couple steps further with the main character who was discharged from the marines, has a debilitating back injury, is of very small stature, and is haunted by her failures, also, her only ally is a malfunctioning android. 

This book plays corporate greed, killing-machine aliens, and the void of space off each other better than any of the Alien comics I can think of, though there are quite a few good ones. The battle scenes are among the best I've seen. White knuckle action and high stakes throughout, one of the better written stories I’ve ever read comics wise. 

🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜/10

Uzimaki

Uzimaki is my favorite Ito book. It’s the only comic I’ve read that has had me unsettled or spooked at shadows. Part of it is how well he can draw human facial expressions *shivers*. The themes of Ito’s horror are:  compulsive behaviors, mutation, hidden sickness, the uncanny valley, and isolation. In “Uzimaki” there’s an interesting relationship between people and their environment feeding off each other and becoming more warped and horrible.  There’s also a fun element of characters keeping up appearances in spite of being noticeably mutated ala the excellent and bewildering film “The Color Out of Space.”

🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌/10 

Pluto/astroboy

 I read Pluto first then the Astroboy arc it was based on. It’s amazing how much the creator of Pluto added depth to the characters and brought out the definition in the story. I rarely like sentimentality unless it’s done well, and this is the best example I can think of. MK North💔 

The mysterious villain is written very well and doesn’t fall into dumb tropes.(Much like the villain from “Monster” which I’m only one book into.)

A fun mix of scifi noir mystery and the value and meaning of humanity/human life through the lens of robot eyes.

Reading the original Astroboy story afterwards I found myself adding the backstory from Pluto, a unique and rewarding read. (Any Astroboy stuff gets a 10/10)

🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖/10

Punisher G Force

There's something satisfying about a main character that trades the usual likability and scalable morals for incorruptible conviction in the face of any consequence. I’m a big Punisher fan in spite of most of the canon being no better than CSI type TV starring an unlikeable psychopath. This particular book is my favorite because it goes so far in the other direction. I know this sounds bad but imagine the over the top, campy James Bond movies like Moonraker and the one where the Spector base is in a volcano, but instead of James Bond making puns and banging femme fatales it’s just the Punisher mercilessly executing henchmen and not finding humor in any of it.

🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀/10 I wish there were a way to give this more than ten spaceships, it’s the best mash of enjoyment, idiocy, and bullets I’ve ever read.

Predator

This really is one of the best examples of stone faced supercop in wacky circumstances (Hot Fuzz, Judge Dredd, and Punisher books that aren’t written to be so deadly serious.) The plot, as I remember it, is Dutch’s(Arnold’s character from the movie) brother Duke is a NY cop and goes to the jungle to investigate Dutch’s disappearance. The second book is Duke’s family man partner going to investigate Duke’s disappearance. The writers do a great job holding onto what makes the movie great and use the format to go further with regard to cartoonish physiques and spine-ripping action. Characters are written better than they need to be, better deadpan humor than the movie, fun cop show tropes,  the second book has a lot of fun with old sitcom references.

🦖🦖🦖🦖🦖🦖🦖🦖🦖🦖/10

Mammon

 “Mammon” is a bit of a strange book. It spans eons, travels to various dimensions, breeds all kinds of horrors, really subverts the idea of good/evil in a lot of fun ways especially if you were raised Christian. The strange bit is that the author usually makes children’s storybooks and elements of that style linger in the deeply goth noir atmosphere of the book. The art almost feels collage-like, stark juxtapositions of color and pattern, there’s super unique character design, and you get to see the style play out in all kinds of fun settings, from forests to space to catacombs.  If you like classic horror e.g. Dracula, Frankenstein, Lovecraft ect. grind this book into a powder and boof it.

⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️/10

PS- If this rings your bell try Mike Mignolas “Bram Stokers: Dracula.”

Mirenda

 Visual storytelling with almost no dialogue, the art is like nothing I’ve seen before (or since). “Mirenda” has the feeling of a passion project years in the making. Abrupt changes in art style throughout will keep you turnt. Imagine Fern Gully or Tarzan with a better story and fun fantasy/magic elements. 

🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️/10

Dialogue would be putting a hat on a well drawn hat.

Sobek

 Just finished this, if you’re not familiar with James Stokoe, “Sobek” is a prime example of his sweeping landscapes and action scenes, intricate patterned detail, and color grading from purple to red to green. Amazingly rewarding art and fun visual storytelling in a well thought out setting. Stokoe generally doesn’t take dialogue seriously at all and this is no exception . I’m not going to review “Orphan and the Five Beasts” til it’s done but so far it seems like Stokoe has put it all together🤞. He’s an absolute talent. 

🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊/10

Warlock

 This is another required reading type book. Jim Starlin went to the trouble of making everything about “Warlock” amazing, the bold art, amazing character design, even the panel layout is unique and incredible in some parts. And that’s not to mention the mind blowing scope of the story and epic character arc. My favorite part is the contrast between characters when Warlock meets the X-men, it's like a veteran of the trenches in Somme meeting some Target loss prevention officers.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨/10

PS-When I met Jim Starlin I had no idea who he was, I’m haunted.

Pulp

 Old people aren’t common subjects of entertainment even less so in comics, and, usually, rightfully so. “Pulp” is a hard boiled noir that strips the mystique away from the laconic, too cool, hero figure. This hero is desperate, old, and afraid. The transitions between the hero’s younger life and current life move the story along evenly and build the stakes and intrigue. Ultimately tragic and touching, plus its a rare crime drama that isn’t a complete downer.

👨‍🦳👨‍🦳👨‍🦳👨‍🦳👨‍🦳👨‍🦳👨‍🦳👨‍🦳👨‍🦳👨‍🦳/10

PS- if you like noir stuff, which you do, or I’ll break the bones in your hands, try “Weird Detective,” “Joe Golem,” there’s some great comic versions of Raymond Chandler stories out there, "Vinegar Teeth." 

Orbital

“Orbital” takes place in a deeply dystopian future that draws so much on the current state of things it feels like the reality of the story is right around the corner. Great twists, full of original ideas, hard boiled sci-fi noir. Not a barrel of laughs but so fun and metal. 

🛰🛰🛰🛰🛰🛰🛰🛰🛰🛰/10

Harrow County

Southern horror, small town witchcraft, superstition, bog people, characters you root for, and vile, eldritch, villains. The art in this series is maybe my favorite ever, understated overlapping watercolor depicting humid swaps and dusty farms. The title pages are especially amazing.  If  Cullen Bunn has put out weak work I haven’t seen it. 

🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷/10

Ring of the Neibling

This is another long book that’s so unique that while reading it you’re not comparing it to other things but just living in the world in which it takes place. I still think about this comic every once in a while and recommend it about as often as I meet people that seem like they’d read it (no one ever does because it’s a comic rendition of an opera.) P. Craig Russell regularly does amazing stuff for an audience that doesn’t exist (renditions of Oscar Wilde fairy tales) and that makes him a better hero than John Lennon who was mean to his family. 

💍💍💍💍💍💍💍💍💍💍/10

Judge Dredd

 "Judge Dredd" is the best comic series of all time. "Strontium Dog" is close enough that it counts as "Judge Dredd" stuff, strengthening the canon further. There's fun nihilism in having an authoritarian, super-cop be the hero of a story set in the future. Overpopulation, consumerism, the fragility of societal order, bureaucracy, the balance of freedom and security, exploitation, and corruption all are recurring themes. Most of the new Dredd comics don’t capture the magic of the older comics but False Witness is worth a look. 

Give the Judge Cal story a read for a fun reflection of the last few years. 

8/10, the 8 should be horizontal there. 

PS-keep on the lookout for Mike McMahon's schlubs in impractical  helmets, Max Normal(the best bit character of all time), and Dr. Panic, who is among the coolest character designs ever and dies almost immediately after being introduced.(Shoutout to Groribas who is the coolest looking and shortest lived character of all time.)

Prism Stalker

Boundless psychedelic neon, tendrils, patterns, slime. Scifi dystopia where humanity is at the bottom rung. Well written culture clash stuff,  a main character you want to root for in spite of certain predicable tropes, and lots of neon blood. 

🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄/10 very memorable art but I got a little lost storywise.

PS-the creator is really nice.

Tartarus

 The art, the twists, the brutality, the worldbuilding. The story is multigenerational and goes through many unexpected arcs. Maybe if “Shutter” and “Prophet” had a baby, if that doesn’t get your interest, maybe you should consider taking a look at yourself in the mirror. Great scify.

🧑‍🎤🧑‍🎤🧑‍🎤🧑‍🎤🧑‍🎤🧑‍🎤🧑‍🎤🧑‍🎤🧑‍🎤🧑‍🎤/10

PS- Johnnie Christmas is a nice guy if you see him at comicon, plus his rendition of “Alien 3” is great. 

Bloodquest

 A doomy, geneseed enhanced version of the Odyssey from the bowels of the black library. Disgraced super soldiers hack their way through various demon realms each with unique dangers and horrible inhabitants. The length of the story allows you to settle into the warped hellscape and stays rewarding throughout in a surprising way. 

🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑/10 pints of blood for Khorne  

PS-Listening to your favorite deathmetal while reading "Bloodquest" really sprinkles a lime onto the reading experience.

Kocshai the Deathless

 Mike Mignola is so under-appreciated (apoplectic mixture of confusion and rage). As if the Hellboy canon wasn’t enough he’s made BRPD, Baltimore, Alien: Salvation, Joe Golem (not sure he was involved w that), and so many others that we’ve done nothing to deserve. Anyway, I feel that Koshcai the Deathless has the best mix of art, myth, and magic he has to offer all in the space of a 7 or so issue run.

🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟/10

PS- If you’re reading this Mr. Mignola, I deeply apologize for going to your panel with the blood alcohol level I had. 

PPS- Koshcai is probably spelled wrong but its from memory, like the title of the blog suggests.

Thermae Roma

 “Thermae Roma” is hard to find, copies are around $200. I came across it at the library (Multnomah County libraries have incredible selections of comics) by chance and I wish it was in every classroom. A story about the ins and outs of public baths from Rome and Japan steeped in culture shock (and era shock) with fun travelogues at the end of each chapter. The authors genuine excitement for the subject and use of humor really carries the book. 

The first readthrough gets a 🛁🛁🛁🛁🛁🛁🛁🛁🛁🛁/10 for how unique and informative it is. 

Second time around still gets a 8/10.

Shutter

 If you haven’t read “Shutter,” straight up quit your job, abandon your kids, and read it. Rich characters and unique sci-fi world-building. Full of surprises, high stakes, and dire consequences. Really can’t recommend this enough, also, the cat is the best cat since Hobbs. 

📸📸📸📸📸📸📸📸📸📸/10

P.S.- If “Shutter” appeals to you (and it does) try “Tartarus.”

PPS- Both writer and artist are very nice.

Ringside

 I found “Ringside” after searching around for other comics by the creators of “Shutter.” To winnow “Ringside” down to an unfair level, its a touching story about a mentor and his pupil looking to reach pro wrestling stardom. An engaging mix of tragic hope, love, and betrayal playing out in an unforgiving profession.

 🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼/10 (and I don’t know a gotdamn thing about wrestling)

PS- Not meeting your heroes is a good idea comics-wise. Joe Keatinge is an exception, super nice guy, he gave me a pin of the cat from “Shutter” after I said I’d lost mine (which I’ve since lost as well). 10/10