graphic novels

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Lenni Reviews: “Wolf Girl and Black Prince” Vol. 6, by Ayuko Hatta

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Erika is excited to spend summer break with Kyoya and makes a bunch of plans only to end up spending time with Kyoya’s family; his mother and sister, and working at a cafe to help drum up some business.

I wouldn’t call Kyoya a green flag just yet. He’s coming around from the issues he clearly needs to work through but he’s not as mean and aggressive as he has been. I can actually enjoy them interacting, the little misadventures, and their relationship in general without that ick making me want to scream at Erika to run in the opposite direction as fast as she can. She still needs to come down out of the clouds a bit and, in my opinion, the maid cafe thing was dumb and forced. It can be funny but here, it was silly. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Gargoyles: Here in Manhattan” by Greg Weisman & George Kambadais

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

As the clan grows and the younger ones find their own way, they come against a new threat and the possibility of a new gargoyle egg falling into the wrong hands.

This was fun to read but to try and have the opening line of the show at the beginning of every chapter was less and less fun as the book went on. It just felt repetitive by the end of it and I just skipped it. Other than that, there’s a lot going on. A new egg, the widespread knowledge of gargoyle existence to the general populace, a rift in the gargoyle family; all not bad. It’s still a little narration heavy which makes it feel the dark enigmatic tine of the show is burdened by so much exposition. It was decent, 3 out of 5… Maybe more of a 4 but not something I’m fiending after to read again. 

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Lenni Reivews: “Is Love the Answer?” by Uta Isaki

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High schooler Chika believes something is wrong with her because she’s never fallen in love and has no desire for intimacy; unlike her peers who incessantly talk about it. In college, she finally realizes there is nothing wrong with her at all.

While I get the goal of this manga is to teach the reader about how sexuality is a spectrum and you don’t have to claim a label and live in it forever, it doesn’t do it quite as well as Love’s in Sight or Perfect World. It has a lot of exposition and I got the feeling of being talked at rather than going on the same journey as Chika. It’s not bad but I think it could have been smoother in that respect. It’s probably not really fair to compare a series that has a bunch of time to grow rather than this small collection, though. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Yakuza Lover” Vol. 12, by Nozomi Mino

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Things with Yuri’s family didn’t go well and now, Oya’s mother summons Yuri to give her the truth about what it’s like being a woman of the yakuza.

The final volume brushes aside it’s premise so fast and throws in this random thing with Oya losing his eyesight? That’s never resolved? Then they get married and she’s pregnant: the end. There, I just saved you the time reading this. Watching Yuri prove herself to Oya’s mother would have been awesome to see. Maybe even, oh, I dunno, show the dark side of being a yakuza wife? Any danger it might put her in? Put her family in even though they’re not involved with a dangerous crime organization? Nope. That’s a criticism I’ve had for this whole series. Where there were chances to really go somewhere, it turned into just fluff. 2 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Summer Hikaru Died” Vol. 1, by Mokumokuren

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Hikaru went missing in the mountains for a week and while his friend, Yoshiki, is glad he was found, Yoshiki knows whatever came back is not Hikaru despite wearing his body.

While the mystery of the thing currently living inside Hikaru is intriguing and the main reason why I hadda grab this series, most of this is really sad since we’re watching Yoshiki deal simultaneously deal with his grief and the threat this new entity may pose. Sadness just permeates every inch of this volume; even the thing inside Hikaru laments the fact that Hikaru is really dead and has taken his place. And when I say “sad” I don’t mean like Boy’s Abyss where it’s sad and dark. Unless some darkness is on the way in future volumes but this is an interesting start. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Paris” by Andi Watson & Simon Gane 

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Juliet moves to Paris to follow her dream of studying painting. To make money, she paints portraits for rich debutantes and one of these commissions results in her meeting Deborah; who is under pressure from her parents to meet a nice man but instead is intrigued by Juliet.

Despite being a classic sort of story – a couple divided by class and the expectations of high society – it’s an enjoyable read. I like the characters but I would have enjoyed more development for them and I felt the French stereotypes were a bit much. I’d like to see more detail and really make Paris feel alive. But, I like the happy ending. More sapphic stories deserve a happy ending. 3.4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Brooms” by Jasmine Walls & Teo Duvall

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In 1930’s Mississippi, magic is common but either banned or severely restricted for people of color. Despite this, Billie Mae and Cheng Kwan introduce young Mattie and Emma broom racing in order to participate in underground broom racing to earn money to learn magic from a real school.

Despite the abundance of characters, it’s easy to empathize with their struggles and hopes. The racing is a lot of fun and while the representation is wide – there are participants of all races, ages, and ability – it doesn’t feel forced; more like all of these “outcasts” can come together to buck the system and cut loose. I would LOVE to see this as an animated movie. The flying scenes scream for it. Absolutely check this one out! 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Mutant Cats” Vol. 1, by Matthew Medney, Alex Arizmendi & Morgan Rosenblum

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Mutant Labs is hard at work on The Cluster; a project that will provide renewable energy that’s small enough to hold in your hand. The device is composed of a threat that draws power from other universes. Flux and his team are under huge pressure to get it completed in three days and the rush inevitably causes an interdimensional catastrophe (pun not intended but appreciated).

Edgy teenage me probably would have gotten a kick out of this. From the Garbage Pail Kids kind of art to the Bored Ape parodies and frequent foul language; it would be a blast and a half for a brief moment but for me, it garnered a smirk here and there. I didn’t like it but I didn’t hate it either and once it was done, I completely forgot about it until I came back to type up this review. I don’t think it’s “low brow” but it is low hanging fruit in regards to humor even though some of the alternate universe stuff was interesting. 2.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “PTSD” by Guillaume Singelin

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Jun is struggling to get by day to day, relying on drugs to deal with the demons of war still haunting her. After robbing the wrong people, Jun finds she needs the help of others whether she likes it or not.

I like that this is set in a fictional universe but still portrays the horrible treatment of veterans in a realistic and sympathetic way. The art style is cool and unique; gritty but cute in all the right places. If I had a complaint, it would be the ending came on too fast for me after spending so much time with Jun but we can’t spend forever watching her help the people around her but I still really enjoyed it. Granted, it’s more about the characters than PTSD itself but it’s still a good story. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Porcelain” by Maria Llovet

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Beryl lives with her aunt and her cat in a ramshackle house in the desert. While on the way to get supplies, she passes a building called Dollhouse that wasn’t there before and visiting plunges her into a trippy adventure through it’s psychedelic corridors.

This could have been so much better. The art and concept deserve to have more time taken to enjoy the story being told. Unfortunately, it feels rushed and incomplete. This could easily be double the page length to give us more world building, time to get to know the characters, and time to get a better sense of the threat at hand. It’s beautiful and deserves that expansion. 3 out of 5.

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