Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Vol. 1 Written by: Kanehito Yamada Drawn by: Tsukasa Abe Published by: VIZ Media LLC
The Skinny: Fantasy manga grows up.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is part of a new sub-genre of manga and anime that doesn’t merely adopt Western Fantasy tropes, but expands then into a deep examination of the characters and settings. After defeating The Demon King and restoring peace to the land, four adventurers go their separate ways. Elven mage Frieren goes back to her old life of wandering alone without much thought for her companions. When they meet again fifty years later, she finds that her companions have all aged, while she hasn’t changed at all. After their leader Himmel passes away, she realizes that she hardly knew anything about him, and goes on a journey both to learn more about her companions and herself. With such a long-lived central character, author Yamada and artist Abe are able to explore the themes in unique and interesting ways. They transform what appears to be a standard heroic fantasy story into a poignant examination of loss, regret, and the passage of time. The creators are able to play with the pacing of the story in interesting ways, having months or even years pass between chapters. The manga is filled with page sequences where months pass like days. Rather than feeling rushed, however, these sections evoke a sense of stillness and calm. The story also flashes back between the party’s original adventures and the current journey to great effect. Frieren often interacts with people she met in her travels who were children during their quest, and are now elderly. In one particularly interesting chapter, she visits a village where they sealed a demon, knowing that it will soon break free. This is somewhat of a one-off story, but the creators give a lot of insight into the world building and magic system of the setting. The demon was too powerful to defeat outright eighty years ago, but the development of magic has continued apace since he was sealed, in large part as part of an arms race to discover a defense for a particularly dangerous killing spell that the demon developed. Frieren unseals the demon, tells him that his king is dead, and after a short battle, kills him with his own spell. While he was sealed, the world, and the study of magic, had passed him by. His powerful magic became ordinary. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is a melancholiac, thought-provoking, and beautiful examination of how we view the passage of time and our connections to others. It is available in print from your local comics shop or digitally from Comixology. There is also a new anime adaptation available through Crunchyroll!
Sand Land Written and Drawn by Akira Toriyama Published by Viz Read in digital format on Amazon Kindle
The Skinny: Akira Toriyama’s “Mad Max”
With a major adaptation of Akira Toriyama’s short manga Sand Land set to be adapted into a video game this spring, I finally decided to fill a hole in my collection of the great manga artist, and I’m glad I did. This single-volume adventure is a charming delight. Originally published in 2001, the single volume is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth where the remaining survivors live in a desert ruled over by a despotic king with control over the dwindling water supply. When the elderly Sheriff Rao embarks on a dangerous journey across the desert, he makes a deal with the demons for help, promising them not his soul, but a rare Playstation 6 video game console. Beelzebub, an apparently adolescent prince of the demons agrees to accompany him along with his servant, Thief. The resulting adventures is a little bit ‘Fist ‘of the North Star,’ a little bit ‘Peewee’s Big Adventure,’ and it oozes Toriyama’s signature humor and charm. From a stolen tank in Toriyama’s signature bulbous design style to a family of bandits dressed as olympic swimmers, this version of the post-apocalypse doesn’t take itself too seriously, while still managing to have a hard-hitting, emotional story at its heart. While not as long-running or complex as some of his earlier work, Sand Land displays all of the skill and humor that Toriyama is known for but sometimes gets lost amid the big fights and drama of his best-known work. It is a work created by a master given the opportunity to just play without the demands of continuity to previous works. The result is a book that is as joyful as it is dramatic, a satire and critique of hyper-masculine action-zests like Mad Max and Fist of the North Star, and an empathetic post-apocalypse where even the demons aren’t bad guys at heart. I’m greatly looking forward to the upcoming video game adaptation of this story, coming this spring for PC and Playstation. Even if you don’t have any interest, I recommend picking up this heartwarming story about survival and justice after the end of the world. You can read Sand Land digitally from Viz and other comics retailers, or in print from your Local Comic Shop or wherever you buy manga.
Godzilla Valentine’s Day Special #1 Written by: Zoe Tunnel Drawn by: Sebastian Piriz Colored by: Rebecca Nalty Lettered by: Johanna Nattalie Published by IDW
The Skinny: Spoiler alert: Godzilla doesn’t find romance.
For the most part, the thing that irritates me the most about Hollywood adaptations of properties such as Godzilla or Transformers is the repeated attempts to force the narrative into a human story. I cared very little for the humans when the story should be about the transforming robots or giant monsters that have secured top billing. But as a one-off story, I really enjoyed this comic, which focuses on the relationship between a, for lack of a better term, dai kaiju chaser, and an EDF lieutenant trying to keep her out of harm’s way. When Piper is caught up in a Godzilla attack while at work, she’s 1. critically injured, and 2. suddenly unemployed. But the sight of seeing the giant monster so close was exhilarating. She begins studying and chasing the giant monsters. When Sauveterre finds her running towards the danger instead of away from it, they try and stop her, through steadily escalating means, for her own safety. A cat-and-mouse game ensues, and this being a valentine’s day comic, I’m pretty sure you know where it’s heading. The writing is light and sweet, with just enough kaiju action to feel like we see enough of the behemoths to justify their presence in the story. The characters work because they don’t come on too thick and feel appropriately small compared to the giant monsters they are chasing. The art is clean and engaging, with bright colors. It is a good match for the tone of the story, and a sunny, personal contrast for the usual Godzilla stories. The reader gets a good view of the monsters, but almost always at a remove, contrasting the personal conflict with global ones. Godzilla:Valentine’s Day Special is a fun little one-shot comic, even if you aren’t a romance reader or a fan of giant monsters. You can pick up a copy digitally through Amazon, or in print at your Local Comics Shop!
The Resurrection of Magneto #1 Written by Al Ewing Drawn by Luciano Vecchio Colored by David Curiel Lettered by VC’s Joe Sabino Published by Marvel Comics
The Skinny: Spoiler alert for issue four, I guess. (Also spoilers for Judgement Day)
In Big-2 comics, no character death is forever. Characters get endings, but the nature of serialized storytelling, and Marvel and DC’s highly valuable intellectual property, means that characters move in cycles rather than linear paths, and their stories come around again, through reboots or retcons. As Marvel’s Fall of X enters its finale, The Resurrection of Magneto is writer Al Ewing and artist Luciano Vecchio’s swan song with these characters, and this is by far my favorite book of the final chapter of the X-Men’s Krakoan era. While Magneto’s name is on the event, this issue is focused with laser precision on Storm, following her as she makes the decision to bring Magneto back to life in violation of his last wishes. But while usually resurrecting an X-character is easily accomplished, and in the current era more than most, Storm and Magneto had vowed to forego the chance to return to life, even destroying their ‘backups.’ So instead, Storm has to travel into the afterlife and go get him. She’s assisted by a brief cameo from the Blue Marvel, star of Ewing’s most recent Defenders series, and the ensuing magical journey is filled with symbolic battles and eye-catching, tarot inspired spreads. And let me tell you, Vecchio and Curiel kill it with the art. This is a drop-dead gorgeous book, from the opening panel of Magneto as the 5 of cups from the Rider-Whyte tarot to a climactic battle with a surprising but cool villain, this book hits all the Storm notes, and while it may feel a little bit like it’s going in the same circles, it feels pretty fitting for the end of the era. Magneto’s death was one of the most impressive moments in recent comics history, and is that rare earned ending that characters get so rarely in modern comics. Ewing and Vecchio have their work cut out for them making his journey back to the land of the living as momentous as his end. But this new first issue is a good first step. I can’t wait to see where the journey ends up. The Resurrection of Magneto #1 is available digitally from the usual suspects, and in print at your local comics shop.
If his long-running webtoon Lavender Jack proved anything, it was that Dan Schkade knows how golden-age comics work, and how to take everything that’s great about them and present them for a modern audience. Long-since relegated to reruns, Schkade brings us into his new take on the classic hero in medias res, as we follow the Earthman on an exciting attack on Ming the Merciless that is equal parts rescue and climactic final battle. But when the smoke clears and Ming is seemingly defeated, what happens next? Following a classic newspaper serial format of six short comics and one full page a week, Schkade’s writing is thrilling without getting bogged down or getting confusing by the format, and his art is kinetic and clear in an incredibly tight space. The launch is only a couple of months old, so if you’ve ever been curious about this classic character but hesitant to pick up the originals, this is a fantastic place to start.
Birds of Prey Written by Kelly Thompson Drawn by Leonardo Romero Colored by Jordie Bellaire Lettered by Clayton Cowles Published by DC Comics
Comics are all about reinvention, and this classic team on DC’s super-heroines is getting the band back together in the wake of 2020’s Birds of Prey feature film. Reinventing the team as less of a group of superheroes and more of a heist is always a compelling choice for me, and it puts classic leader Black Canary in an interesting and fun position. The dynamic for the team is fun and explosive, and the requisite inclusion of DC’s breakout star Harley Quinn is well-handled and feels natural. The rest of the team is made up of fun fan-favorites who rarely get their on spotlights like Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) and Big Barda, which is icing on a cool superhero cake.
Hawkgirl Written by Jadzia Axelrod Drawn by Amancay Nahuelpan Colored by Adriano Lucas Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou Published by DC Comics
This one is a gimme for my list. Hawkgirl isn’t a character I’m very familiar with, aside from a similar character from the early-00’s Justice League cartoon. Rising star Jadzia Axelrod clearly knows her stuff, though, and tells a compelling and satisfying story in six short issues. Accompanied by her own hit creation Galaxy, who debuted in a graphic novel in 2022, this is a showcase of cool high concepts and character-defining moments, delivered with the force of a superhero diving through a skylight. This is how you do legacy right, stitching character around (and sometimes through) established history while making something new and exciting. This was a six-issue mini, but I hope we see more of these characters (and this creative team) in the future. I could’ve read thirty issues, easy!
Fantastic Four Written by Ryan North Drawn by Iban Coello Colored by Jesus Aburtov Lettered by Joe Caramagna Published by Marvel Comics
I will admit that of all of the various Marvel characters and teams, The Fantastic Four has always ranked near the bottom, personally. They have a fun cohesive design, and smarter writers than I have written about how cleanly their debut marks the end of the Golden Age and the rise of the Silver Age. But aside from The Thing, I’ve never really cared much for them. They feel a bit too rooted in their time and place of creation, products of the Cold War, a nuclear family for the nuclear age. They’ve never really caught with me, and Mr. Fantastic in particular has always struck me as being a cliched relic, a Man of Science accompanied by his literally invisible housewife. But Ryan North has managed to find the great in these characters by driving them out of their secure and comfortable Manhattan skyscraper and sending them out on a trip across the country. As an X-Men fan, making your heroes pariahs is always going to be a step in the right direction for me, and giving them some meaty super-science problems to tackle outside of the mad scientist of the week has done wonders. This is going to be a run for the ages, and it’s (hopefully) just getting started. This is North’s Squirrel Girl writing all grown up.
X-Men Red Written by Al Ewing Drawn by Stefano Caselli, Jacopo Camagni, and Yildiray Cinar Colored by Federico Blee Lettered by Ariana Maher
It was difficult to choose just one X-book to put on this list, but X-Men Red takes the edge in terms of drama, scope, and shout out loud superhero moments. X-Men books are all about being outsiders, but what could be more outsider than an ancient civilization of super-powered beings finally trying to learn how to be at peace after milllenia of war? Marvel has a collection of these types of hidden civilizations, most of which came from the Fantastic Four’s rogues gallery, in fact. But the Araki have something a bit extra that groups like the Atlanteans and the Inhumans just don’t have going for them. Ewing knows his stuff and brings it to the table. It helps that we aren’t really supposed to be sure where we stand with the Araki, with their strange powers and alien morality. But where Blackbolt and his kin feel like plantation owners, perpetually ruling over an underclass they don’t view as human, the Araki are Klingons, strange and difficult, but with a refined sense of honor that can be tested. Having characters like Storm and Sunspot to bounce against them, forming rivalries and friendships, helps. That the strange warlords, who felt like they might invade Earth at any moment felt like they were also on their own back foot, from antagonists like Uranos and Genesis helped immensely as well.
Dracula, Motherf**cker! Written by Alex de Campi Drawn by Erica Henderson Published by Image Comics
The Skinny: A ’70s Neo-Noir take on the classic Dracula story.
1970s Los Angeles is a city in love with youth, and with death. And when aging starlet Bebe Beauland faces losing the former, she turns to the later, resurrectomg Dracula. The vampire was attacked and imprisoned by his brides nearly a century before. When crime-scene photography Quincy Harker sells evidence of Bebe’s apparent death, he becomes a target for the Dracula and Bebe. But his brides aren’t about to leave their job half-done. Dracula, Motherf**cker! positively oozes sleezy, ’70s neo-noir and Hammer horror personality. Short and stylish, this graphic novel pulls you in like a vampire’s gaze, demanding you pore over each sumptuous page. de Campi’s fang-sharp writing and Henderson’s at times grotesque art, colored in eye-searing saturated palates, never letting go until the very last page. Henderson’s softer drawing style creates an appealing contrast with the gritty subject matter, and her depiction of the count, not as a suave and seductive foreign nobleman, but as a sort of impenetrable, unknowable cloud of darkness, protean and shadowy, with too many eyes, mouths, or hands, shifting from panel to panel, is unsettling and masterfully juxtaposed to Quincy’s gritty and detailed corpse photography, much of which we see from the point-of-view of his camera lens. De Campi’s writing is also layered and intriguing, taking the unusual perspective of the three brides, barely bit-players in Stokers novel, raised to the status of dubious anti-heroes as they revenge themselves on their creator and disrupt his own plans for them. It’s a refreshing take on a well-tread tale, and the book is exceptional for it. If you’re looking for a treat this Halloween, Dracula, Motherf**ker! fits the bill. You can find it digitally via Comixolgy, or in print at your local comics shop.
Birds of Prey #1 Written by Kelly Thompson Drawn by Leonardo Romero Colored by Jordie Bellaire Lettered by Clayton Cowles Published by DC Comics
The Skinny: A bold and intriguing first step for a brand new team. Plus Harley Quinn is also here.
Birds of Prey #1 by Kelly Thompson and (artist) is a delightful first issue for a new team book, and like many such books, the first issue is mostly centered around getting the team together. it’s a bit of a whirlwind tour of the DC Universe as Black Canary gathers a team for a dangerous mission to save her adopted sister. There’s lots of action while most of the plot is teased at as being off the page for now. The hook, and the engaging characters, keep the pace going. The team is one of contrasts, with Dinah not having her first pick of DC’s usual heroes. It’s a fun mix of characters that is appealing to long-time fans as well as newcomers such as myself. I never knew I wanted a scene of Cassandra Cain Batgirl and Big Barda fighting 4th World vampires, but it sings on the page. Harley Quinn is the anchor of the team in what feels like editorial reasons, but Thompson turns the unlikely recruitment around in an interesting way that builds up the characters.The art is the real MVP on this book. Romero delivers a clean, heavy-lined style that makes the action easy to follow, with a drop-dead gorgeous splash page early in the issue that I will not spoil. Along with Bellaire’s bold, solid colors, the art has a classic DC style to it that is very appealing. If they added some dot printing, it would feel like this book could have been picked up off a spinner rack in the ’70s or ’80s.This is still an early book, but this first issue delivers with a fun premise, an intriguing mystery, and a last-page reveal that made me shout out loud. I’m placing a large bet that this is going to be the DC book to watch going into the next year, and it is entirely my jam. I heartily recommend you pick up a copy from your local comics shop, or check it out digitally wherever you get your comics.
Batman: The Juro Kuwata Batmanga Volunme 1 Written and Drawn by Juro Kuwata Published by DC Comics
The Skinny: The Other ’60s Batman
During the height of the 1960s Batman TV show, Juro Kuwata a manga-ka who brought the Dynamic Duo to Japan with his own unique spin on the Caped Crusader. The resulting collection was not available in English in a complete format until 2014, but it is well worth your time and consideration. The art is a delightful mix of Golden Age DC and classic manga aesthetics, riding high on an international wave of the live-action Batman TV show’s success. The stories are all fairly straightforward and of their time, but also take some interesting swings. Eschewing the Dark Knight’s well-known rogues gallery, Kuwata turned his hand to making his own villains, opening with the very strong and exceptionally well-named “Lord Death Man” and setting Batman and Robin against a super-intelligent gorilla (not Gorilla Grodd) with a fun twist, a powerful mutant that echoes the creation of Marvel’s X-Men while looking like a weird space alien, and The Human Ball, which probably sounded less hilarious in the original Japanese. Kuwata’s art is striking and iconic, although the stories feel somewhat poorly served by manga’s black-and-white format. Several insert sections also include red tones for a deluxe feel, but one of the key clues for one of the villains includes the fact that his powers were color based. Which came out of left field in this black-and-white comic Batman and Robin also have a distinct feel to them in this version, with Batman being much more of a man of action rather than a detective, and this Dick Grayson is delightfully sassy. While not exactly ground-breaking, this collection of ‘lost’ Batman comics feels both classic and astonishingly different. Kuwata’s style is distinct and iconic, while still highly recognizable, and Batman and Robin’s adventures don’t feel too far removed from his live-action TV Adventures. It is a curious little oddity that is well worth the time of fans of both anime and Batman, if only as a reminder of where the character has gone in his many years of publication history. Batmanga Volume 1 is available digitally from Comixology or in print from your local comics shop.
The Mountain’s Shadow is now available from Amazon and Smashwords!
Waller Vs. Wildstorm #1 Written by Spencer Ackerman & Evan Narcisse Drawn by Jesus Merino with Vicente Cifuentes Colored by Michael Atiyeh Published by DC Comics
The Skinny: Cold War spy craft meets ’90s superhero excess in this unique miniseries. I’m the biggest fan of DC’s Black Label comics. I found previous comics in the line oversized, overpriced, and all too often reliant on shock value and gimmickry rather than their story. (See Batman: Damned for more hot tea on Batman’s junk) But Waller Vs. Wildstorm is a book that I have been looking forward to, and it did not disappoint. Written by famed political journalist Spencer Ackerman, and Evan Narcisse, the book is a taut reimagining of Checkmate, one of the DC universe’s metahuman government organizations, as a late Cold War-era spy agency, doing shadowy deeds in war-torn proxy states. But with super-powers. The whole issue serves as a framing device, with Stormwatch leader Battalion meeting cub reporter Lois Lane in the hotel bar of one of DC’s many fictional third-world countries. He is trying to get her to dig into the past of a black site operative who is gaining control of Checkmate, an ambitious young woman named Amanda Waller. My background with the Wildstorm universe and Stormwatch is spotty, having only picked up the books during The Authority and having seen little of the line’s reinvention as a part of the already overly stuffed DC Universe. But this issue gave me the relevant information without needing a degree in DC lore or becoming too much of an information dump. This issue serves primarily as an introduction to the story and universe, so I’m interested in where the book goes from here. Jesus Merino’s art is showcased by the DC Black Label large print size, and looks absolutely gorgeous paired with Cifuentes’s inks and Atiyeh’s rich, vibrant colors. The more grounded, serious story really pops against the colorful era-accurate designs for these ’90s heroes. Waller Vs. Wildstorm is a prestige miniseries being released episodically from DC Black label. The first issue is available now digitally through Comixology, or in print at Your Local Comics Shop. If you are in the mood for some late Cold-War nostalgia, or want a superhero comic with a bit more bite to it, I recommend you give it a look!
Chainsaw Man Volume 1: Dog and Chainsaw Written & Drawn by Tatsuki Fujimoto Published by Viz Media
The Skinny: Three chainsaws and one brain cell.
Chainsaw Man is a delight of a manga that is taking the world by storm, and I can see why. It follows Denji, a young man saddled by the Yakuza with his father’s debts. Forced to pay an impossible sum, Denji’s only companion and source of income is his pet Pochita, a dog-like devil with a chainsaw for a snout. Denji uses his monster pup to hunt other demons for cash. But when his yakuza debtors turn on him, Pochita sacrifices itself, merging with Denji to make him the eponymous Chainsaw Man, a powerful combination of human and devil.Chainsaw Man is one of those manga that sits squarely in the Venn diagram of a number of genres. It isn’t quite a horror comic, and it has a lot of comedic elements, and Denji sort of, but doesn’t quite fit into a superhero mould. The book sits somewhere uncomfortably between all three genres, allowing the tension of that placement to drive the story.In a world where devils walk the Earth, this is the type of story that examines the humanity, or lack thereof, of its characters. From the abusive Yakuza who hounded Denji’s father to suicide to his new boss Makijima, who threatens to have Denji executed if he doesn’t produce results, the humans take advantage of Denji’s situation as a half-devil for their own ends, leaving him to suffer. But Denji isn’t without flaws himself, as he uses his newfound freedom to support his one goal in life: To ever touch a boob. Largely the inhumanity of these characters is played for laughs or pathos rather than as a serious societal critique. Denji is a character raised outside of civilization, and becomes a lens to view civilization’s flaws, ramped up to eleven by the threat of marauding devils. Denji himself is so simple that he is played as a sort of a noble savage, alongside zombie-like devil girl Power. In other situations, this could be very uncomfortable, but Fujimoto pulls the trick off, for the most part. Fujimoto’s art is detailed, and often grotesque without being overly complex or difficult to read. I read the manga on my tablet, and it came through very legibly, and is easy to follow. His monster designs are clever and unexpected, and manage to never cross the line into being too gross. Part horror reflecting man’s inhumanity to man, part workplace comedy, part gristly spectacle, Chainsaw Man walks a thin line, but the fresh writing and fast pace propel it along fast enough that it never falls into any pits. If you’re looking for something new to read, it’s well worth your time.
Hugh J. O'Donnell 