It’s the end of another month, but there’s no shortage of titles this week. Bongo gets an early start on Halloween with a new Treehouse of Horror, featuring a story penned by the creator of 30 Days of Night. Staying in the holiday spirit is also the second volume of Vampress Girls, an interesting take on vampires and the battle between good and evil. It’s actually looks intriguing, though may be a little old for this list. Dark Horse has tie-ins ready for the new Star Wars TV series, and debuts the first one this week.

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Tags: Reviews by Lori Henderson
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Traditional comic companies Marvel and DC dominate the list this week with not so traditional titles.  DC’s Billy Batson and Tiny Titans, are like training wheels to get kids started on their books.  Marvel’s Power Pack is sort of the same, with the Power Pack interacting with all of Marvel’s big names, like a tour of the Marvel Universe.  The series also mirrors the MU by having the Power Pack also face some of the same menaces as in the Mainline books.  It is an interesting strategy, and will be even more interesting if it translates into sales for the Teen and Older Teen books.

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Tags: Reviews by Lori Henderson
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Disney Fairies: Vidia and the Fairy Crown
By Haruhi Kato
Tokyopop, 208 pp. $9.99
ISBN 978-1-4278-1503-3
Recommended for ages 7-10

With loose ties to Peter Pan and Never land, this manga is part of the Disney Fairies franchise. It seems to me, that this manga is an adaptation of the series put out by Random House. Tinker Bell features prominently in some of the other Disney Fairies stories, but only gets a mention here.

The story starts with the bubbling excitement of all the fairies of Pixie Hollow, who are eager to attend Queen Clarion’s Arrival Day Bash. But on the eve of the big day, the Queen’s crown goes missing and all fingers are pointing to Vidia, the ‘rough around the edges’ fairy, who earlier that day cavalierly threatened to snatch the crown off the Queen’s head during the party. But if Vidia is found guilty she will be banished from Pixie Hollow forever. Prilla is the only one who believes in Vidia and together they investigate the disappearance of the crown in hopes of clearing Vidia’s name.

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Tags: Reviews by Esther Keller
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There’s an interesting collection of books coming out this weeks for kids.  Little kids will like the Let’s Find Pokemon.  Tweens will like High School Musical the Graphic Novel, Disney’s newest franchise-in-the-making.  There’s also a new Warriors series, centering on Tigerstar of the Shadow Clan and Sasha.  Graphix, the GN division of Scholastic has a new fantasy series that’s worth checking out.  But avoid the Bratz Super Bratz at all costs.  Bratz with super powers is just wrong…

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Tags: Reviews by Lori Henderson
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Because comics are “not good tools for teaching reading”, there are not one but two Phonics Comics out this week.  Comics made for early and developing readers in three increasingly difficult levels.  N-Guard and Dreamland Chronicles could never engage kids enough to make them think while they are reading.  And heaven forbid the kids enjoy the stories they are reading like Pinky and Stinky and Pokemon.  But what do I know? I’m just a Mom with two daughters who started out reading comics and have developed a love for all books.

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Tags: Reviews by Lori Henderson
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Bizenghast: The Novel
Story by Shawn Thorgersen, art by Alice LeGrow

When a young girl moves to the sleepy, forgotten town of Bizenghast, she uncovers a terrifying collection of lost souls that leads her to the brink of insanity…

Only Dinah can see the ghosts that inhabit her home, where she lives with her aunt after her parents’ tragic death. Dinah relies on Vincent, her sole friend, to rescue her from the clutches of the hauntings—and from the doctor who is determined to see her admitted to a mental hospital.

Out of the plethora of original-English-language (OEL) manga available in the United States, there are few that can rise to the top of the pack and become best-sellers. There’s Dramacon, Off*Beat, The Dreaming…and Bizenghast, possibly the biggest success story of them all. [Read more →]

Tags: Reviews by Sabrina Fritz
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Let’s hear it for the Boys! Even though so many comics seemed to be written with only boys in mind, they seem to slip off the reading radar.  My picks this week are titles that are not just written for boys, but for girls and all ages.  Lerner Publishing has another Greek myth tale with Odysseus that boys should like too.  Antarctic Press continues it’s version of Oz this week.  IDW has a few more HCs for the younger readers.  I just wish they would update their site more often.

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Tags: Reviews by Lori Henderson
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Green Manor I: Assassins and Gentlemen
Writer: Fabien Vehlmann
Artist: Denis Brodart
Cinebook, $13.95

Green Manor is like the meta version of Encyclopedia Brown: It’s a collection of mystery stories that are more brainy than bloody, but unlike Donald J. Sobol’s venerable series, these stories rely more on divergent thinking than knowing obscure facts. Each of the six brief stories in this 56-page comic has a twist, and even the framing tale is delightfully ambiguous.

The stories are set in a gentleman’s club, Green Manor, where the members, mostly portly gentlemen with luxurious sideburns, spend their evenings discussing the perfect murder and knocking each other off in supposedly foolproof ways. As you might guess from that description, this book is a bit on the wordy side—several of the stories are told almost entirely in voice-over—but there is enough action in the art to keep things from getting bogged down.

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Tags: Reviews by Brigid Alverson
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The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: the last career guide you’ll ever need
story by Daniel H. Pink; art by Rob Ten Pas
Riverhead Trade, 160 p.
$15.00
Older Teen (16+)

Johnny feels trapped in his dead-end job until a magical pair of chopsticks releases a career counselor unlike any other—a sprite-like creature named Diana. Despite the slightly cheesy-sounding premise, Pink, a writer who focuses on the world of work, offers up a solid career guide with a lively and interesting storyline.

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Tags: Reviews by Snow Wildsmith
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Lots of good books this week.  A new Gargoyles: Bad Guys is out as well as a new Doctor Who series.  Definitely check this out if you’re new to the Doctor and his adventures!  Lerner Publishing adds more titles to it Graphic Myths and Legends line with four new heroes’ stories.  Good reading for boys!  Check out the links in my first pick for more information about boys reading.

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Tags: Reviews by Lori Henderson
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