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January 2020

Strange Comics

I recently read two comic books that were both funny and have strange in the title, hence this post! While I didn’t feel I could write long enough blog posts about these webcomics individually, combined I could.

Strange Planet by Nathan W Pyle

I adored this comic book! This comic, most commonly viewed on Instagram, has blue aliens going about their lives in a human-like manner. The humor lies in the way they describe what they are doing, and you realize the absurdness of many of our rituals. After you read just a few of Pyle’s strips you will start to think about how you could describe what you are doing in a sly manner. Divided into sections- young beings, friendship, adulthood and recreation; these four-paneled strips have an appealing blue, purple and pink color palette. My favorites included having a cat as a pet, parenthood (the lies we tell our children about Santa and the tooth fairy!), star damage, eating honey and wearing ties. The author’s off-beat perspective on our everyday life made for a clever book, and can be enjoyed daily by following his online work.

 

Comics for a Strange World by Reza Farazmand

This collected book of comic strips from the Poorly Drawn Lines website was the December pick for the I Read Comics Books bookclub on Goodreads. It was amusing, with minimalist drawings with typically four to five panels. However, the simple drawings don’t necessarily mean simple ideas, as many of the strips were very clever with sly humor. Two animals showed up over and over again, a large green bear and a bluebird that looked suspiciously like the Pigeon from Mo Willem’s children’s books, that were funnier than if a human character said the same thing. My favorite strips were the baby that plagiarized, the shapes club, asteroid plans, planets talking about life (“it’s when a bunch of tiny organisms do sex on you”) and the longer astronauts in a cave story.

Nathan Pyle and Reza Farazmand now join Sarah Andersen’s Sarah’s Scribbles and Nick Seluk’s Heart and Brain comics that I follow on Twitter and Instagram for their insightful jokes. These two author and illustrators offer some strange and wonderful comics!

-Nancy

2

The Golden Compass: The Graphic Novel

Lyra Belacqua is a 12-year-old girl who lives at Jordan College in Oxford along with her dæmon Pantalaimon. They are under the guardianship of the Master of the College, but Lyra longs for her explorer Uncle Asriel to come back so she can explore the North with him. She discovers that he is researching a phenomena called Dust, and wants to help, but he will not take her along. A friend of her uncle’s, a woman named Mrs. Coulter, offers to take Lyra in and not only teach her how to be a lady, but all the skills she needs to explore the North as well. The night before Lyra leaves with Mrs. Coulter, the Master gives Lyra an alethiometer: a device that can tell the truth, if Lyra learns how to read it. Using the alethiometer and her own wits, Lyra learns that Mrs. Coulter is head of the General Oblation Board, or “Gobblers,” which is a project secretly funded by the Church that kidnaps children and experiments on the connection between them and their dæmons. Lyra escapes and what follows is an extraordinary tale involving the frozen North, a camp full of kidnapped children, and a Texan aeronaut and his armored polar bear friend.

I must admit once more that I’ve never read the original novel on which this graphic novel is based. I was completely spell-bound from start to finish, and now am curious as to how this graphic novel holds up to the original.

One element I know holds true from the novel to the graphic novel is the portrayal of religion. In this world, the church has control of the world. Any perceived heresy is condemned and some truths are repressed. The act of the Master giving Lyra the alethiometer could be seen as a heretical one.  Unlike the 2007 movie, the graphic novel does not shy away from these elements of the original novel, instead showing the readers and Lyra how sometimes authority (no matter the kind) isn’t always correct, and that sometimes one must find out the truth for themselves.

Clément Oubrerie’s illustrations are fantastic. Playing off the nature of the story, the colors are murky and brown-tinged, hard to see through, even at the brighter parts. Not to say that the art is poor or hard to understand; that’s not it at all. It’s as if the readers are trying to discern the truth right along with Lyra. Features of the human characters and backgrounds are sharp and lively, while the animals, dæmons, and more fantastical elements have more fluid features.

Overall I was impressed with this graphic novel adaptation. The fantasy and real-world elements coupled with the art made for a satisfying experience. I will now be checking out the print novel to compare notes.

-Kathleen

Pullman, Philip (adapted by Stéphane Melchior-Durand and Clément Oubrerie). The Golden Compass: The Graphic Novel. 2017.

2

The Mandalorian aka The Baby Yoda Show

After some recent shaky and uneven Star Wars movies, The Mandalorian has reaffirmed my love for this franchise! In addition to the strong hero’s journey storyline, introducing the new character of Baby Yoda was a stroke of genius. I had put off watching this series, as I’m mostly a fan of the movies and have only watched a few episodes of The Clone Wars and none of Star Wars Rebels. Plus, I didn’t want to buck up money for a new channel. But then I started to hear about the big reveal after episode one, and started seeing memes for Baby Yoda and I had to watch the show for myself.

Warning- Spoilers Ahead!

The Mandalorian

Set five years after the Galactic Empire was defeated in Return of The Jedi, the Star Wars universe is in disarray. We are introduced to a new bounty hunter who looks like Boba Fett, but is a Mandalorian, from a warrior society that adheres to tenets of their faith and has their own unique integrity in regards to being bounty hunters. He accepts a bounty to search for a 50-year-old creature on a desert planet, where he is aided by a vapor farmer and bounty-droid IG-11. When he and the droid find their target they are shocked to find this adorable Yoda-like creature! I’m in love…

The Child

The Mandalorian (name unknown as of yet) fights off others just to discover the sneaky Jawas have dismantled his ship. Kuiil, the kindly farmer, helps him negotiate with the Jawas in getting his parts back that entails him fighting a huge Mudhorn. Right when things look like the Mandalorian will be defeated, Baby Yoda uses the Force to levitate the beast enabling the Mandalorian to kill it. So this begs the question- is this species born with the Force power or are they taught like we have seen other Jedi’s taught? He’s only a toddler and non-verbal, so how did he become so powerful?

The Sin

Baby Yoda is turned in for the bounty to a nefarious trader and scientist, but the Mandalorian inquires about the creature, which is atypical as bounty hunters are expected to turn in their prey with no questions asked. He is given a large payment of Besker steel which he takes to an enclave of his fellow warriors and we learn more about his society. That they seem to be honorable goes in the face of what bounty hunters do, and luckily he feels guilty and goes back to retrieve Baby Yoda. Guess what- it’s not easy getting him back.

Sanctuary

Trying to hide on the sparsely populated planet Sorgan, the Mandalorian meets Cara Dune (love her!) a kick-ass former Rebel shock trooper-turned-mercenary. Their fight for dominance ends in the cutest ever shot of Baby Yoda sipping bone broth. Squeee!  These two warriors end up helping a group of villagers who are being terrorized by raiders, and for a moment the Mandolorian feels as if he could rest and maybe even find love with a hot widowed villager. But when another bounty hunter comes looking for Baby Yoda he knows he and the baby need to leave.

The Gunslinger

After a space dogfight, the Mandalorian lands on Tatooine for repairs. While there the mechanic Peli Motto takes on a mothering role for Baby Yoda while the Mandalorian deals with other bounty hunters. Needing money he agrees to help a young bounty hunter who needs to nab a target to get his guild card. Needless to say, there are several double-crosses and it doesn’t fare well for a few of them involved in the fight.

The Prisoner

Still needing money the Mandalorian agrees to help a former friend of his whom he used to work with. His ship is used by a motley group of mercenaries who want to rescue one of the group’s brothers who is being kept on a prison ship. But everyone is out for themselves and there is betrayal after betrayal from these nasty criminals. There is true suspense when this group seems to get the better of the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda is in danger from an evil droid. But never fear, this duo outsmarts them all!

The Reckoning

The Mandalorian is contacted by the bounty hunter guild leader Greef Karga with an improbable request that supposedly will clear his name, but we all know its a set-up, so I’m kinda pissed when the Mandalorian goes along with it. He does recruit Cara and Kuiill to help him, but in doing so puts them in danger. Not surprisingly, Karga had plans to double-cross him from the start but has a change of heart when Baby Yoda saves him from dying. Moff Gideon turns up with a fleet of troopers and the group is pinned down. What will happen to the Baby?!?!

Redemption

Reprogrammed droid IG-11 redeems himself in saving Baby Yoda- because there always needs to be a good droid in every Star Wars story. He further helps by healing the Mandalorian when he seems to have a fatal wound, and we briefly see his face for the first time and learn his name is Din Djarin, who as an orphan was taken in by the Mandalorians and trained to be a warrior. Sacrifices are made, but most of the group is able to escape from Moff Gideon, setting the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda up for further adventures in season two.

I really enjoyed this series, and despite a few errant distractions, I thought this new series was beyond excellent. It definitely had a Lone Wolf and Cub vibe, as a hardened warrior needs to care for an adorable child and through their interactions, the elder character is redeemed and changed for the better. I’m glad to be so excited about Star Wars again, as the last few movies have been disappointing. I will now eagerly anticipate the next season- so in the meantime, may the Force be with you, readers!

-Nancy

16

How I Broke Up With My Colon

Heart: Author and illustrator Nick Seluk has a new comic book coming out soon!

Brain: Well, Heart, it’s not about us- it’s about “fascinating, bizarre and true health stories”.

Colon: Stand back Heart and Brain, and let some other parts of the body take center stage in this comic book. In my chapter, The Breakup, I treat my human horribly and get removed.

Spine: Seluk illustrated 24 weird medical stories that different people shared with him. I star in Attack of the Spine!

Stomach: I play havoc in several stories, with a new nurse getting the brunt of my distress in the chapter Pancakes.

Kidneys: I make stones that sadly are not appreciated in the chapter The Geologist.

Gall Bladder: I’m a big big helper in the same chapter!

Butt: Some people are complete idiots with their body, as in the solution my human came up with to prevent diarrhea in MacGyver Syndrome.

Testicle: Although the less precise medical terms nuts was used in my chapter The Shark That Went Nuts, this last chapter included the craziest story with a shark that bit my human in a very delicate location.

Eyes: Be on the lookout for this book in March, drawn in Selak’s trademark adorable anthropomorphism-like style. Thanks to NetGalley for this early copy.

Brain: Until next time! For more comic books in the Awkward Yeti series read: Heart and Brain, Gut Instincts, and Body Language.

-Nancy

0

Superman (Rebirth, Vol. 1): Son of Superman

The events of Flashpoint created two Supermen, with two separate timelines. Rebirth merged these two Supermen and timelines into one, and the result is the start of Superman’s Rebirth title.

Clark Kent and Lois Lane have a son named Johnathan Kent. The boy is half human, half Kryptonian, and is developing powers and resistances like his father’s. The three are happy, though Jon is both itching to and dreading becoming Superman like his father. Superman was not the only survivor of the past reality, however. The Eradicator, a machine from Krypton, has found the Kent family. He sees Jon as an abomination of Kryptonian blood, due to his part-human heritage; as such an abomination, he must be eliminated. Superman can’t defeat the Eradicator alone. Can Jon step up to the plate to defend his blood?

It’s easy to see why this Rebirth title was so acclaimed. It takes all the best parts of Superman and introduces a new challenge: Clark’s son. Part of the mass appeal of Superman’s character is that he believes anyone can be a hero, which is very inspiring. With Jon, we ask the question if he can also be a hero, if he will also be inspired and take his father’s values to heart and take up the huge mantle, or if he will forge his own path. It certainly will be an interesting ride as we see more of Jon’s character unfold.

Five artists worked on issues in this volume alone, making it hard to appraise. All was serviceable, and there certainly were not any weak links, but I enjoyed Gleason’s work best. I thought he was able to most effectively capture Jon’s childlike innocence and strong emotions, especially in the eyes. Like Jon’s character, I am eager to see how his design changes over the course of the arc.

I’ve said before that while I love Superman’s character, it’s been hard for me to find an arc that I really, genuinely enjoy. I do believe I’ve found one 😉

– Kathleen

Tomasi, Peter J., Patrick Gleason, Doug Mahnke, and Jorge Jiminez. Superman (Rebirth, Vol. 1): Son of Superman. 2017.

3

In The Pines: Five Murder Ballads

I was sold on this graphic novel as soon as I read murder ballads in the title! I’ve long been a fan of narrative songs that tell a story, with Appalachian inspired murder ballads being particularly appealing to me. I have paired a mini-synopsis of each story with a rendition of the song it is based on. Often these songs have been covered by many artists, but I selected versions that were most well-known, or I just really liked the singer.

Author and illustrator Erik Kriek is actually Danish, but took an American type of ballad, and turned it into a new type of art. He didn’t just adapt the song straight into comic form, instead he interpreted the lyrics to tell a fresh story, sometimes to my liking and sometimes not. The art was in duotone, with a different color for each tale. Reminiscent of scratch art or wood reliefs, Kriek’s black inks were evocative of Appalachian landscapes and times gone by.

Pretty Polly and the Ship’s Carpenter

This song is the oldest of the bunch, as early versions were sung in the British Isles hundreds of years ago. In it, a woman is enticed by a sailor who promises he will marry her, but when she becomes pregnant because of their liaison and pushes for marriage, he instead kills her. He is racked by guilt and supposedly Polly’s ghost haunts his ship, wanting revenge. I did not like one of the last panels because I don’t see how Polly would ever forgive him.

The Long Black Veil

A man is having an affair with his best friend’s wife, and one night while heading home after a rendezvous, is mistaken for the killer of a local man. Not willing to betray his lover, he is hanged for he had no alibi. This story has a neat twist, that I always guessed at, but is not explicitly said in the song.

Johnny Cash is king, thus I shared one of his renditions, but Mick Jaggar did a good version of the song with The Chieftains.

Taneytown

Made famous by singer Steve Earle, this story tells of a young black man who heads into Taneytown against his mother’s advice. Upon arriving, he is set upon by a white mob and kills one of them in self-defense on his way back home. He later finds out an innocent man was accused of the crime and was hung.

Caleb Meyer

When Nellie’s husband is away, the hired man comes to terrorize her as she is left alone in a remote cabin. The most violent and graphic of all the dark stories. Although justice is served, there is an uncomfortable indication at the end of the story, when you infer that Caleb left behind a reminder of that terrible night.

Where The Wild Roses Grow

Kriek took the most artistic license with this song written and sung by Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue, and because I was already a huge fan of this moody ballad and video, I didn’t enjoy this adaptation as much as the others.

An escaped convict meets a young woman who helps him saw off his chains, and who is easily seduced by him. Despite this, he threatens to kill her if she doesn’t hand over money that he assumes was hidden by her father who was known for robbing several banks. The conclusion was rather talky and clunky, and I didn’t think it was a good match for this murder ballad.

This book sent me on many music journeys, as I enjoyed listening to ballad after ballad, and reminding me of family vacations in the Appalachian region where my parents took my younger sister and I to music festivals and to watch clogging. So while this post became more an ode to music than to the book, it was a fun read and I’m glad I discovered it!

-Nancy

5

Bury the Lede

Madison Jackson interns at the prestigious Boston Lede newspaper, and she’s determined to prove that she deserves to be there. She picks up a crime scene in progress on a police scanner, the address of which is tied to a prominently social and wealthy family. Madison hopes to snatch up the scoop that will prove her worth, but she ends up being the scoop. Celebrity Dahlia Kennedy, accused of murdering her husband and son, refuses to talk to anyone but Madison, creating a social media storm that puts Madison right in the center of her own story. She tries to navigate the spotlight she doesn’t want, while trying to navigate her working relationship with Dahlia. They both want Madison to get to the truth, but Dahlia’s information doesn’t come easily, or cheaply. How far will Madison go to get the full story?

According to Wiktionary, to “bury the lede” means:

To begin a story with details of secondary importance to the reader while postponing more essential points or facts.

This graphic novel is aptly titled, as there are plot points that come up during the second act like a punch to the gut and change everything. I can’t say more without spoilers, but suffice it to say that this story wasn’t at all what I expected. It’s a psychological thriller in which you think you know the real story, who the characters really are, but by the end you find you don’t know anything at all.

The art was a little wonky – in some ways good, in some bad. The bad: the characters are rendered passably well, except for multiple instances where facial features are skewed one way or another for seemingly no reason. Lips, nose, eyes, would be slightly off-center or askew even when we’re looking at a character head-on. This occurred too often to be a printing error, and was off-putting and distracting for me. That said, the use of color, especially in the background as paint splatters, were effective in communicating lights, a mood, or a sudden emotion.

This graphic novel contains strong language, nudity, blood and gore, and love scenes, which puts it at high school age and up. The majority of the love scenes are between an LGBTQ+ couple. I must commend writer Gaby Dunn for the way these characters were written – they are characters, first and foremost, who just happen to be gay. As it turns out, Gaby herself is publicly bisexual and non-monogamous, and is a writer for various publications and media. She knew how important it was for the sexual orientation of her characters to not be a huge deal in the story, which can not only make the book awkward, but make it seem forced for the sake of inclusion and not serving the story. More media, not just graphic novels, with LGBTQ+ characters should strive to this standard.

-Kathleen

Dunn, Gaby, Claire Roe, and Miquel Muerto. Bury the Lede. 2019.

4

LeVar Burton Reads: Season Four

LeVar Burton Reads season four included some real gems in the following eleven short stories!

Miracle by Tope Folarin

A young man, a recent immigrant, attends an evangelical Nigerian church where the congregation has gathered to witness the healing powers of a pastor who they believe can perform miracles. When he is chosen and the prophet declares that his eyes are healed, yet he still needs his glasses, he plays along for he realizes that the true miracle is the faith one holds and that his family is safely together in America.

Free Jim’s Mine by Tananarive Due

Lottie, a slave pregnant with her first child, escapes with her Cherokee husband William, and hopes for freedom. Lottie is eager to find her Uncle Jim, a former slave who is now free, in North Carolina as part of their journey as they head North. Jim warns them that he doubts their journey will end well and decides to hide them for the evening in a mine shaft. In the wet gloom, they are faced with supernatural evil, and Lottie discovers her uncle bought his freedom at a high cost. While the story starts with a historical fiction angle, it takes a dark turn and was quite effective.

Kwoon by Charles Johnson

Set in Chicago, a young man named David opens a martial art studio to not only teach fighting skills but to teach others self-control and accountability. Ed, an older new student joins and challenges David to a fight in front of other students, but fights dirty and beats David up. Although we are given Ed’s perspective of why he choose to do this, this puts David’s livelihood in jeopardy as he was shamed in front of everyone. But David perseveres in the end, not through physical fighting, but through his attitude and values. I was really rooting for the aptly named David, in what turned out to be a David and Goliath tale.

The Best We Can by Carrie Vaughn

Star Trek and other science fiction stories would lead you to believe that “first contact” is a game-changer for Earth civilizations and pushes us to discover the rest of the universe and countless other species. But this short story wryly recounts how when a scientist finds an abandoned alien space vessel in Jupiter’s orbit, how bureaucracy gets in the way of progress. This story seemed very realistic in how a discovery that you think would be life-changing ends up as almost an after-thought in the scientific world.

Mister Hadj’s Sunset Ride by Saladin Ahmed

In this old west tale, a young bounty hunter recounts his previous adventures with an older Arabian bounty hunter, whom he shared a common heritage with. The two men fight an evil preacher and his two sons and have a showdown with these men, with a bit of a supernatural twist. Often when we think of early immigrants, we think of those with European backgrounds, but this story had a welcome diversity although it also showcased how people lose their customs and family connections. This storyline reminded me of the graphic novel High Moon.

Republica and Grau by Daniel Alarcón

Maico is a ten-year-old boy who is forced to beg with a blind man on a street corner and is to bring all his wages home to his abusive father. The boy is compliant and does what he can to please both his father and the blind man until they both betray him and use him as a pawn. I was aghast at both men, whose selfish machoism affected both Maico and his poor mother. I was so proud of Maico of how he stood up to them, and what he did to end his partnership, yet…what does the future hold for him? As a reader, you hope this coming-of-age moment is the pivot for turning his life for the better, but reality is often harsh and you know he will face consequences for his actions.

The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex by Tobias S. Buckell

I found this tongue-in-cheek short story delightful. Sometime in the future, Earth has become a tourist playground for wealthy aliens, with Manhattan being the favored location. While aliens are looking for authentic experiences in the city, life for humans actually living on Earth has become anything but, as the entire economy is based on the service industry and catering to tourists. A cab driver, whose flying taxi is on its last legs, has to deal with an alien falling to their death from his vehicle and trying to avoid an interspecies war when the aliens family investigates. While this tale is amusing, it’s also a reflection on how our society relies on social media with trying to make their life look perfect when really it’s only a facade.

Toward Happy Civilization by Samanta Schweblin

In this surrealistic short story, a man is caught at a railroad station when the ticket master won’t give him a ticket out of town because he doesn’t have the correct change. Oddly, the ticket master and his wife take him in along with other passengers and they form a makeshift family of sorts. Eventually, they try to escape this purgatory type of existence, but the entire time I just wondered why they didn’t revolt or walk to the next station. Highly unsatisfying- my least favorite of the LeVar Burton Reads stories.

Flying Carpets by Steven Millhauser

This coming of age story was of the magical realism genre, which I typically do not like, but this story gets it right. A pre-teen youth is given a magical flying carpet to master, and although you might first think of Arabian Nights, he lives in an anonymous suburb. Master it he does and pushes it to the extreme limits before tiring of it and putting it away. The flying carpet is more a metaphor for growing up and outgrowing things you previously loved.

The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate by Ted Chiang

A lyrical Arabian Nights fable meets science fiction time traveling tale in this evocative short story. Fuwaad, a merchant in Bagdad, enters a new silver shop in the marketplace and unexpectedly is shown a time-traveling hoop that the shop owner, who is also an alchemist, explains to him. He is told three stories of people who have utilized time travel-“The Tale of the Fortunate Rope-Maker,” “The Tale of the Weaver Who Stole from Himself,” and “The Tale of the Wife and Her Lover” – and thus we begin a tale within a tale. Finally, Fuwaad tries the time travel himself, going back 20 years, as he hopes to right a wrong from his past although he is told that events can not be undone- the past or future will not change. Lessons are learned in these lovely circular tales of fate and were worth the two storytelling sessions taken on the podcast to finish.

L’Aquilone du Estrellas (The Kite of Stars) by Dean Francis Alfar

The story starts out promisingly as 16-year-old Maria Isabella from the Philippines falls in love with a young man who is an astronomer. Determined to catch his attention, she convinces a butcher’s boy to help her find all the materials she will need to construct a kite that she could fly to the stars and get the astronomer to fall in love with her. But the quest to find the materials takes her 60 years and during that time she conscripted the butcher’s boy to help, thus wasting both of their lives. Despite being her traveling companion for decades she never once asks him his name or returns his affections. Her obsession was cruel, misguided and foolish to the extreme. While she is successful in obtaining what is needed, it comes at a steep price, and I hated her for it. I was shocked the LeVar said this was one of his favorite stories, as this tale of unrequited love was one of my least favorites.

This season proved to be it’s most uneven- I had more favorites than usual, but then it had two stories that I hated. My favorites included The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate, Republica and Grau, The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex, and Free Jim’s Mine. The two I disliked were The Kite of Stars and Toward Happy Civilization.

As of now, I only have one more season until I catch up. LeVar’s selections are always interesting (even if I don’t like them) and I have been exposed to so many wonderful authors and stories through his podcast. Listen for yourself, “but you don’t have to take my word for it.”

-Nancy

2

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass

Harleen Quinzel has a measly $5 in her pocket when she gets off the bus at Gotham City. Her mother has sent her to live with her grandmother for a while. To Harleen’s chagrin, she finds her grandmother has passed away, but Mama, the current tenant of her apartment, gladly takes in the eccentric teenager. Harleen’s spirits are not dampened by this turn of events; she embraces Mama and his cohort of drag queens just as enthusiastically as they’ve embraced her. However, big changes are coming to the neighborhood. The Kane family, who owns Millennium Enterprises, are looking to buy out the block to build upscale condos and “improve” the area. Harleen faces a difficult choice. Should she organize community protests with her new friend Ivy and her family? Or should she burn the corporation down with the mysterious Joker?

I have to say, this one surprised me. I’m not a Harley Quinn fan, but DC Ink has put out some fine stories, so I decided to check it out. This reimagining of Harley’s origin story will be hard to top.

Harley’s distinctive voice and character lent particular weight to the themes in this story: African-American and LGBTQ+ rights, gentrification, and poverty. As it’s written from Harley’s point of view, her colorful and optimistic speech firmly place us in her head. We see from the art more than hear from Harley about the injustice that happens in the world around her, showing the audience that while you can hide from problems in your head, you can’t escape the real-world causes and consequences. Harley ultimately has a choice: whether or not to see the problems, and how to respond to them. Is there a right or wrong way to fight for justice?

The art is phenomenal. In both an homage to and deviation from your typical Batman, Gotham-style book, it’s rendered in cool sepia. Pops of color come through at critical moments or in flashbacks: Harley red, Joker yellow and purple, hot pink. It feels like reading an old black and white film where someone expertly colored over the reel in the most emotionally charged moments. There are a few Easter eggs and homages to Harley’s history sprinkled throughout that both old and new fans will enjoy.

The question Harley faces here, how to respond to injustice and what the right way is to fight for justice, is something many teens can relate to. The timely, yet timeless, message and stellar art make for a Harley origin story that will be hard to beat in the future.

– Kathleen

Tamaki, Mariko, and Steve Pugh. Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass. 2019.

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