Comics Roundup #44: Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1

I really enjoyed reading this story 😄. A conversation with my fellow bookseller friends made me buy it. One of them mentioned wanting to read it, so I took it as a sign that I should purchase it because I was considering to do so before, 🤣. I love the cover and when I started reading, I quickly fell for the illustrations.

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 by Kamome Shirahama (illus.), transl. by Stephen Kohler

Genre:

Manga — fantasy

Series:

Witch Hat Atelier

Pubbed:

2017

Goodreads summary:

In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: She wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch…until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she’s never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem… (Goodreads)

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Comics Roundup #43: How to Treat Magical Beasts: Mine and Master’s Medical Journal, Vol. 1

I bought this and the second volume from Book Outlet because it kept popping up there. I always clicked on it because I like the cover. I didn’t even bother looking up what it’s about. I just went ahead and bought it for the cover 🤣.

How to Treat Magical Beasts: Mine and Master’s Medical Journal, Vol. 1 by Kaziya (illus.), transl. by Angela Liu

Genre:

Manga — fantasy

Series:

How to Treat Magical Beasts: Mine and Master’s Medical Journal

Pubbed:

2017

Goodreads summary:

In an age of science and forgotten magic, mythic beasts are beginning to disappear from the world. A young girl named Ziska, born into a line of mages, becomes the apprentice to a veterinarian of regular animals–but Ziska’s interests lie with beasts of a more magical nature. Can she help these creatures of legend survive in a world that is leaving them behind?! (Goodreads)

Comics Roundup #42: Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san, Vol. 1

I work part-time at a bookstore and one day when I visited to shop, a coworker told me about this manga that she’d just read. It was obvious that she enjoyed it, so I ran over to the manga section of the bookstore and got myself a copy too. I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed it.

Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san, Vol. 1 by Honda (illus.), transl. by Amanda Haley

Genre:

Manga — contemporary

Series:

Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san

Pubbed:

2016

Goodreads summary:

Ever wonder what it’s like to sell comics at a Japanese bookstore? Honda provides a hilarious firsthand account from the front lines! Whether it’s handling the store, out-of-print books, or enthusiastic manga fans, Honda takes on every challenge! (Goodreads)

Comics Roundup #41: The Boys, Vol. 1

The Boys, Vol. 1: The Name of the Game by Garth Ennis, illus. by Darick Robertson with colors by Tony Aviña

Genre:

Sci-fi

Series:

The Boys

Pubbed:

2007

Goodreads summary:

THIS IS GOING TO HURT! In a world where costumed heroes soar through the sky and masked vigilantes prowl the night, someone’s got to make sure the “supes” don’t get out of line. And someone will. Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother’s Milk, The Frenchman and The Female are The Boys: A CIA backed team of very dangerous people, each one dedicated to the struggle against the most dangerous force on Earth — superpower. Some superheroes have to be watched. Some have to be controlled. And some of them — sometimes — need to be taken out of the picture. That’s when you call in THE BOYS. (Goodreads)

Comics Roundup #40: Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1

Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike by Kelly Sue DeConnick, illus. by Emma Rios with colors by Jordie Bellaire

Genre:

Fantasy; Western

Series:

Pretty Deadly

Pubbed:

2014

Goodreads summary:

Kelly Sue DeConnick (Avengers Assemble, Captain Marvel) and Emma Rios (Dr. Strange, Osborn) present the collected opening arc of their surprise-hit series that marries the magical realism of Sandman with the western brutality of Preacher. Death’s daughter rides the wind on a horse made of smoke and her face bears the skull marks of her father. Her origin story is a tale of retribution as beautifully lush as it is unflinchingly savage. (Goodreads)

Comics Roundup #39: Sex Criminals, Vol. 1

Sex Criminals, Vol. 1: One Weird Trick by Matt Fraction, illus. by Chip Zdarsky with colors by Becka Kinzie and Christopher Sebela

Genre:

Fantasy; Humor

Series:

Sex Criminals

Pubbed:

2014

Goodreads summary:

Suzie’s just a regular gal with an irregular gift: when she has sex, she stops time. One day she meets Jon and it turns out he has the same ability. And sooner or later they get around to using their gifts to do what we’d ALL do: rob a couple banks. A bawdy and brazen sex comedy for comics begins here! (Goodreads)

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading this. The story was entertaining and unexpected because I didn’t know where they would go with such a premise: girl and guy can stop time by having sex, so they rob a couple banks. What?!

Comics Roundup #38: Lumberjanes, Vol. 1

Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy by Grace Ellis and Noelle Stevenson, illus. by Brooke A. Allen

Genre:

MG Fantasy

Series:

Lumberjanes, volume 1

Pubbed:

2015

Goodreads summary:

At Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s camp for hard-core lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together… And they’re not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here. (Goodreads)

My thoughts:

Lumberjanes is another popular comic book series I was curious about, so I read it on Comixology during my comic-book bingeing days. However, unlike Nimona, this one didn’t work out for me, and I thought it was a little overrated.

Comics Roundup #38: Assassin Nation, Django/Zorro, Prodigy

I rediscovered my Comixology account a couple weeks ago and was so happy about it that I downloaded the app and binged on a couple comics because I received free access to them for about five days or so.

I read popular comics I’ve always heard about and whatever else caught my attention, which is why I tried these three. Assassin Nation has “assassin” in the title, so that immediately caught my interest. Django/Zorro has the names of two intriguing characters in its title, and Prodigy has a Black dude on the cover, so of course I wanted to read it.

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Assassin Nation, #1 by Kyle Starks, illus. by Erica Henderson

Genre:

Thriller, Humor

Series:

Assassin Nation, issue 1

Pubbed:

2019

Goodreads summary:

The World’s Former Greatest Hitman hires the 20 best assassins in the world to be his bodyguards. These mean-as-hell hired guns and murderers must work together to keep the new crime boss safe while attempting to solve the mystery of who’s trying to off him. (Goodreads)

My thoughts:

It was entertaining. I didn’t know what to expect, so I went in with an open mind. Basically a dude who was the world’s best hitman rounds up the 20 best assassins in the world for a soiree to ask them to become his bodyguards because someone’s trying to kill him.

Comics Roundup #37: Sylvania

Sylvania, #1 by Kristin Kemper (illus.)

Genre:

YA Fantasy

Series:

Sylvania, issue 1

Pubbed:

2015

Quick summary:

Sylvania is a YA comic book series about three sisters — Juniper, Willow, and Rowan — who are tree witches, meaning their magic affects plants. When the story begins, the star witches, who seem to live in space, are seeking volunteers to help them terraform Mars. They gain recruits from the tree, fish, and bird witches, who they send to space to help on the project.

Of the sisters, Rowan, the youngest, really wants to go to Mars. She wants to be able to use her magic like her older sisters can. Willow, the middle one, is deeply committed to the forest and can’t imagine leaving it while the eldest, Juniper, is willing to consider the venture to Mars. One of them leaves the forest behind for the unknown among the stars. (Goodreads)

Comics Roundup #36: Oddly Normal

Oddly Normal, bk. 1 by Otis Frampton (illus.)

Genre:

MG Fantasy

Series:

Oddly Normal, book 1

Pubbed:

2015

Goodreads summary:

Meet Oddly Normal, a ten-year-old girl with pointed ears and green hair—a half-witch who will be the first to tell you that having a mother from a magical land called Fignation and a father from Earth doesn’t make it easy to make friends at school! On her tenth birthday, she blows out her cake’s candles and makes a disastrous wish. Now, Oddly must travel to Fignation to uncover the mystery of her parents’ disappearance. (Goodreads)

My thoughts:

Oddly Normal is a middle-grade fantasy comic book series about a girl named Oddly Normal who’s lonely and bullied at school because she’s a half-witch. On her 10^th birthday, she makes a wish that upends her life causing her parents to disappear but for her to be whisked away to the world her witch mother is from, Fignation.