Junji Ito is, in the United States, the best-known creator of horror manga (Japanese comics). So far, seventeen volumes have been translated into English (some are as long as 750 pages). Most of what has been published are collections of short stories like Shiver and Fragments of Horror. However, there are graphic novels by Ito that tell one long story, like Gyo, Tomie, and his masterpiece, Uzumaki.
February 11th, 2023. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Shiver by Junji Ito
Seventeen books by Junji Ito have now been translated into English, and while a few of them are graphic novels telling a single story, most are short story collections. Perhaps the best of them is Shiver. Shiver contains ten excellent tales and includes commentary by the author on every story as well as a final afterword. Each story also includes at the end samples of Ito’s notes (with translations). These notes, along with the commentary, give interesting insights into the stories.
January 28th, 2023. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Junji Ito’s masterpiece is without a doubt Uzumaki. Junji Ito is a manga creator (writer and artist), and he is known for his horror graphic novels and story collections. The bulk of his work is made up of story collections such as the brilliant Shiver. Uzumaki, however, is a long six hundred-plus page single-story book. Yet, at the same time, it is still made up of discreet, individual stories. Each chapter, while featuring the same main characters, focuses on another aspect of this strange town,
January 14th, 2023. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Tomie: No Use Escaping by Junji Ito
Tomie: No Use Escaping by Junji Ito is a delightful set of horror stories, and if you are a horror fan and have not read any Junji Ito, you are definitely missing out! In the United States, Ito is the best-known horror manga artist. So far, seventeen volumes of his work have been translated into English. The Tomie stories are important, because the first manga story Ito ever wrote in Japan was a Tomie story. Twenty stories about Tomie are included in this massive near-750 page volume.
December 24th, 2022. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth (Vol. 15): Cometh the Hour by Mike Mignola (story), John Arcudi (story), Laurence Campbell (art), Dave Stewart (colors), and Clem Robins (letters)
Volume fifteen, Cometh the Hour, is a fantastic wrap-up to the B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth series. The separate storylines come together as we watch the world burn and suffer from the giant monsters roaming the earth, birthing new creatures by the minute. It’s a wonderfully horrific vision of the ending of our planet with only a few brave souls standing in the way to total annihilation.
December 10th, 2022. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Mike Mignola | Comics, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Joe Golem: Occult Detective (volume 1) by Mike Mignola (writer), Christopher Golden (writer), Patric Reynolds (artist), Clem Robins (letterer), and Dave Stewart (colorist)
In the first volume of Joe Golem: Occult Detective, we get two stories: a three-part tale called “The Rat Catcher” and a two-part one called “The Sunken Dead.” Taking place in an alternative 1965, these comics are situated in the “Drowned City,” a post-flood New York city, in which canals and make-shift bridges out of boards crisscross the city’s landscape.
November 19th, 2022. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Mike Mignola | Comics, Horror | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The October Faction: Volume 2 by Steve Niles (writer) and Damien Worm (artist)
The October Faction volume two picks up right where volume one ended, and though there is a third volume in the initial run, there is good closure at the end of volume two compared to volume one, which left us wondering what happened to Merl Cope, who was killed by Frederick Allan, was buried in their expansive back yard, and rose from the dead to join his sister and mother in their plotting against the Allan family.
The Allan family includes in addition to Frederick,
October 29th, 2022. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The October Faction (Volume one) by by Steve Niles (writer) and Damien Worm (art)
The October Faction is a family affair. Meet the Allans: goth girl and daughter Vivian who has just graduated from high school; Geoff, the son who is college-age but not in college; Frederick, the professor-husband and father and former monster hunter; and Deloris, the absentee and seemingly unfaithful wife and mother who used to assist her husband. Frederick ends his lecture on monsters and meets with an old friend, Lucas, with whom he used to fight monsters,
October 15th, 2022. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Abe Sapien (volume 4): The Shape of Things to Come by Mike Mignola (writer), Scott Allie (writer), Sebastian Fiumara (art), and Max Fiumara (art), Dave Stewart (colors), and Clem Robins (letters)
This volume consists of two stories: “The Shape of Things to Come” and “To the Last Man.” In the first story, we find ourselves in Arizona, outside of a militia-run Phoenix. Abe meets another group of people and is surprised to find himself welcomed and fed by them. They discuss old stories and myths and contemplate what role Abe may play in the continuing apocalyptic events.
October 1st, 2022. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Mike Mignola | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Fantastic Four: Full Circle by Alex Ross (writing, art, and coloring), Josh Johnson (coloring), and Ariana Maher (lettering)
I just finished reading the recently released Fantastic Four: Full Circle, and though the story itself is not riveting, it is a perfect vehicle for the true point of the graphic novel — the art. And the story is an interesting sequel to the previous Stan Lee-Jack Kirby production, “This Man . . . This Monster,” Issue #51 of the original run on the Fantastic Four (which is available via Amazon’s Comixology services).
September 17th, 2022. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
If the state of the arts puzzles you, and you wonder why so many novels are "retellings" and formulaic rework,…
I picked my copy up last week and I can't wait to finish my current book and get started! I…
Gentlemen, I concur! (Forgive me for jumping into your convo)
The cover is amazing. I love how the graphic novel (and the review!) hewed close to the theme of "good…
I've thought about picking that one up. The artwork looks perfect.