graphic novels

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Lenni Reviews: “Mad Dog Morgan” by Adam Lawson, Brian Christgau & Maxi Dall’o

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is suggested for mature readers.

Mitchell “Mad Dog” Morgan is an indie wrestler hoping to make it big, but ends up at rock bottom. Drowning his sorrows in alcohol, he ends up squatting in a creepy house across the street from Hilda, a paraplegic who’s wrestling dreams were shattered by her mother’s addiction and is aware of the entities in that house.

The idea of a down-on-his-luck drunken wrestler punching demons in a haunted house sounds like old-school Sam Raimi, and I am so on board. I love the art; it’s very good at the squelching, gross parts. While this is gory good fun, the story feels unfocused and doesn’t smoothly merge in a way that felt satisfying to me. I thought Hilda would play a bigger role given we spend so much time on her backstory. I wouldn’t mind a follow-up to flesh things out a bit more. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Horror Picture Book: A Bad Book” by Miyuki Miyabe & Hisanori Yoshida

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

A Book of Bad Things tempts a young girl to open its pages.

Out of the three, this one is the least scary. They all have fantastic art:

But this book leans more into “creepy cute” than scary. Also, I can’t really see these as more than a seasonal coffee table set rather than something I’d return to and read over and over. They all would make for gorgeous displays or collectables. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Boy’s Abyss” Vol. 15, by Ryo Minenami

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

Reiji finds a sickly Chako armed with a knife and ready to jump off a bridge after she’d run away from home. After he talks her down, the pair of them run into some unexpected help.

Fucking FINALLY, some halfway decent adults are involved: Saki (Esemori’s ex) and Detective Ishibashi. But of course, this couldn’t last because despair is the name of the game in this series. Reiji, I believe, not only does he not want help; he feels he doesn’t deserve it. So, when it’s on a platter in front of him, he won’t take it.

Understatement of the year there, detective. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Horror Picture Book: Looking at Me” by Soshichi Tonari & Junji Ito

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

A young boy sees faces in everything. When he tries to tell his parents, they take notice of him.

I mean… When you involve Junji Ito, you’re gonna get some creepy imagery. One thing I like about this is the slow escalation. The faces are subtle at first, but they get more prominent as the story goes on. It’s all pretty menacing except for this guy:

He made me laugh, so he’s alright. 3 out of 5

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Lenni Reviews: “Horror Picture Book: Is It There or Not” by Natsuhiko Kyogoku & Naoko Machida

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

A young boy moves in with his grandmother and starts seeing scary things in her old house.

The art is beautiful but it’s exactly what it says on the tin: a picture book. So other than how lovely it is and how amusingly unhelpful the grandmother is,

there isnt much to say about the plot or the characters. Its unsettling but not really scary. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Shinobi Undercover” Vol. 3, by Ippon Takegushi & Santa Mitarashi

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

After guarding Aoi on a school trip, Yodaka joins an infiltration mission and faces the fugitive ninjas Ban and Kawasemi.

I’m glad this is mostly action. The teen drama stuff is fun, but lingering in the background is why Aoi would need such protection in the first place. And, like Marriage Toxin, this series doesn’t let you forget that these people are dangerous. It’s not all fun and games. The dichotomy keeps things interesting. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Man and His Cat” Vol. 15, by Umi Sakurai

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Fukumaru tries to get Kanda to understand that the reason why he desperately needs to go outside is that he’d spotted his long-lost brother.

A good chunk of this is Kobayashi getting his grumpy father-in-law to warm up to him by just refusing to be anything other than cheerful and friendly. What’s great about this series is it stays upbeat and cozy, even when it broaches darker subjects; meaning that it’s inevitable that the father-in-law will face the immutable fact of this universe: a cat will find you and it will make you love it. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Black Night Parade” Vol. 4, by Hikaru Nakamura

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The reindeer exams end, and as our trio awaits the results, they go on break, and Miharu visits his mother.

Each volume is slowly building things up to some interesting lore that’s deeply connected to Miharu and his family. The abilities being handed out to the workers are intriguing, and I wonder how they’re going to function with the actual process of making and delivering toys for children. I am enjoying the backstories and the fun side story of Miharu’s mother deciding she wants to visit her son’s fancy new job. And Benjamin is such a silly goober. He provides some great humor. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Strange Cases” by RiotBones

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

Law student Jude Aquilar returns to Lazaro after his mother’s death. While he does expect to take over his mother’s law practice, he does not anticipate how deep the corruption goes or how deeply they are connected to him.

I love the twists and turns in this book. Even if the cases weren’t all supernatural in nature, it would still have the familiar concepts of entrenched corruption, classism, and classic small-town gothic mysteries. The colors are moody and beautiful, hitting that perfect level to enhance the tone of the story. Unfortunately, this is another book that suffers from not having enough time. This could easily be 2-5 volumes of cases Jude unravels as he uncovers the town’s secrets, but as it is, it feels as if it ends before it’s even begun. This makes the ending less impactful than I think it hoped to be. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Callisto” by Steve Niles, Lee Loughridge & Andrea Mutti

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

In the year 2526, on a mining settlement on Jupiter’s moon Callisto, Detective Becca Ramos and her partner, Rusty, investigate a series of kidnappings and murders that cause them to run afoul of a cult.

I’m not gonna sit here and say I know how to write a good mystery. Hell, I don’t even really read them because they make me feel stupid for not puzzling out the solution before it’s told to me. This time, I figured it out, and I was still fucking confused. The art is confusing, the plot is confusing, and the whole damn thing left me with the feeling of one big shrug. Which sucks because there are elements I like: scifi and tech and religion all colliding in a tech noir type of story… Right up my alley! I enjoyed Becca, but I can’t say I enjoyed this book overall. 2 out of 5.

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