- Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships by Eric Shanower. I don't know why I didn't buy this series when it first came out (in individual issues). It's exactly the sort of thing I like: gorgeous art, retelling of old tales (Homer's Illiad in this case), great writing and characterization. I'm very glad the library had it, and I hope they get the next volume.
- Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics by Ted Naifeh. Courtney Crumin is cool. I read the first volume (Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things) and loved it, so when I saw this one, I had to have it. Fairies (alias Night Things), a creepy but lovable sorcerer uncle, a big old house, scary and wonderful forest--everything I like best in my fiction (er . . . and non-fiction, for that matter). Plus the art is lovely, even though this volume is reprinted at a smaller size than the original comics (and the copy of Night Things I have).
- Nightmares & Fairytales: Once Upon a Time by Serena Valentino. Illos by FSc. Once upon a time. I came across a single issue of this comic, and was so excited I blogged about it. So more recently I found this collection of the first bunch of issues. I like some stories better than others, but it's scary fairytales, right? My favourite (I think it's starting to sound like everything I read is my favourite).
- Meridian: Flying Solo (CrossGen Comics). I like most of the CrossGen comics I've read, though I really tried not to (blogged here and here). Meridian is a nice fantasy with a young girl protagonist (who doesn't have huge boobs!). The overall "CrossGen" story bits that are supposed to connect all the publisher's titles were a bit annoying and unnecessary, but otherwise it's a nicely plotted book. It's just too bad CrossGen's been so crappy to their freelancers and has gone down the toilet (scroll to "CrossGen Chronicles" midway down).
- Black Jack volume 1 by Osamu Tezuka. This is a really odd book about an unlicensed surgeon who performs miraculous operations. The creator was also responsible for the much more famous Astroboy.
- 2001 Nights: Journey Beyond Tomorrow by Yukinobu Hoshino. My manga infatuation has returned, I think. I picked this one up because I felt like a good space adventure. I was expecting something along the lines of Starblazers or Robotech, but the book turned out to be a really nice collection of short stories. Some of them were horrific while others were much more dreamy, but they all sort of added up to something bigger. Unfortunately, this was volume two of a trilogy, and though it was easy enough to jump in (given that they're short stories and not one narrative), I would've liked to read the first one, too.
- 2001 Nights: Children of Earth by Yukinobu Hoshino. This is book 3 of the trilogy, and really made me wish I could've read book 1. It continued the short stories, but by the end you realize that there was an overall narrative, too, a story about one possible future for humankind. I've added this series to my "books to look for" list, but comics of any kind, let alone manga, don't turn up in used bookstores very often, alas. Though once the Value Village in Nanaimo had a huge pile of manga, but all in Japanese, so I wouldn't have been able to actually read it. Sigh.
- Sleepwalk and Other Stories by Adrian Tomine. Classic independent black and white stuff. This book is short stories and, though a few of them are a bit . . . inscrutable? . . . they're mostly very effectively written and beautifully drawn. Makes me wonder why I never got to reading Tomine's stuff before now. Probably because they're not fantasy and I used to have a bigtime fantasy-only thing. Yes, I am a geek.
- Faeries' Landing, vol. 1 by You Hyun. Yes, more manga. Yes, it's got fairies in. How could I pass it up. It's kind of a silly urban fantasy, but the art is nice and it's lots of fun. I'll be looking for vol. 2 next time I'm in the comic store. (Collector's Choice in Duncan turns out to have a not too bad selection of manga--for what is essentially a small-town shop. Their selection of independent and small press book stinks, though, but that's not unusual for even a big-city store.)
- InuYasha vol. 1 by Rumiko Takahashi. So pretty much as soon as I start watching the anime version of this on YTV, they stop showing it. How annoying. Lucky for me, I found vol. 1 in the comic store so now I am happy. It's got beautiful demons, time travel, magic and of course a school girl in a short skirt. I am going to turn into a manga junkie at this rate.
Looks like it might take me a little longer to reach 50 graphic novels.
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