October 2023 archive

Heart Attack by Shawn Kittelsen, Eric Zawadzki & Mike Spicer

In comparison to most of the graphic novels for grown-ups I’ve read recently, this felt quite long, but I think there’s a good reason for that. The original, published in 2020, only collected the first six issues of the series. This follow-up contains those and six more chapters that round out, at least for now, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/18/heart-attack-by-shawn-kittelsen-eric-zawadzki-mike-spicer/

Monster Support Group: The Mummy’s Curse by Laura Suárez

What an utterly charming book about learning how to listen to others! The Mummy’s Curse is ostensibly the story of a stubborn young pharaoh doomed to remain trapped in her mummy form, possibly for all eternity. Anatiti, the mummy in question, is “celebrating” her 3000th Death Day with the other monsters of Deadbury’s Monster Support …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/17/monster-support-group-the-mummys-curse-by-laura-suarez/

Parasocial by Alex de Campi & Erica Henderson

It should give you some idea of how expertly inhabited this male-protagonist-driven graphic novel is that I was genuinely surprised that the author and artist are both women. The story itself takes place just as pandemic lockdowns are easing in the USA. People are going to fan conventions again, tho with greater precautions than before, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/16/parasocial-by-alex-de-campi-erica-henderson/

Mitsou by Colette

Mitsou by Colette

A funny thing happens when you hide a lieutenant, or indeed two, in your wardrobe. Mitsou is a performer in a Paris revue during the Great War, and the novella that bears her name opens backstage between acts, with the old stage manager trying to keep the young performers out of too much mischief and …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/14/mitsou-by-colette/

Fry Guys by Eric Geron & Jannie Ho

This cute graphic novel for children also found an avid reader in myself, lover of all things potato and puns. Good friends Curly, Waffle and Sweet are musing over how life could be more exciting in their small town of Spudsville, Idaho, when the worst happens and they get exactly what Waffle wished for: adventure! …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/13/fry-guys-by-eric-geron-jannie-ho/

Freaking Romance: Volume One by Snailords

One of the problems with putting a long-running webtoon into graphic novel form is that it can be hard sometimes to figure out what makes a good stopping point. And that’s pretty much my only criticism of this (now complete) paranormal romance story, as two haunted people discover that they’re sharing an apartment with something …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/12/freaking-romance-volume-one-by-snailords/

The Unofficial Minecraft Cookbook by Juliette Lalbaltry & Charly Deslandes

Containing 30 Recipes Inspired By Your Favorite Video Game. And oh, what a perfect selection. Look, I’ve never gotten into Minecraft. I’ll play video games until my face falls into a keyboard or vice versa, but Minecraft never really appealed to me. My three kids, on the other hand, are huge fans (and fortunately my …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/11/the-unofficial-minecraft-cookbook-by-juliette-lalbaltry-charly-deslandes/

Enlightened by Sachi Ediriweera

Haha, oh wow, reading the story of a dude who’s so self-involved that he takes off on his unsuspecting wife and kid without any warning is so not what I need right now. And that’s a shame because the story of Siddhartha — the prince who would become Gautama Buddha — is certainly fascinating, and …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/10/enlightened-by-sachi-ediriweera/

Cosmic Detective by Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt & David Rubín

Look, you hand me something with Matt Kindt’s name on it, I’m gonna read it, that’s just the rules. For his latest graphic novel, Mr Kindt has teamed up with a dream team of fellow writer Jeff Lemire (who’s famous for a lot of acclaimed stuff I haven’t yet read. I’m SORRY, I don’t have …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/05/cosmic-detective-by-jeff-lemire-matt-kindt-david-rubin/

Spooky Stories Of The World by Wendy Shearer & Teo Georgiev

I love world mythology and folklore, so books like this are right up my alley. I super appreciate how Wendy Shearer and Teo Georgiev cover all the inhabited continents and draw out lesser-known scary stories from each corner of the planet, with a little extra bit about more famous tales to round out the experience …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/04/spooky-stories-of-the-world-by-wendy-shearer-teo-georgiev/