Category: Graphic Novels

Monstress Vol 9: The Possessed by Marjorie M Liu & Sana Takeda

Would I read this comic if it weren’t for the fact that it’s nominated for a Hugo almost every year? Absolutely not. Tho apparently it was not nominated last year (I’ve heard that Vol 8 was Not Great) and I skipped the Hugos the year before, so missed reading the last two books. Not that …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/05/monstress-vol-9-the-possessed-by-marjorie-m-liu-sana-takeda/

The Hunger And The Dusk, Vol 1 by G Willow Wilson, Chris Wildgoose & MsassyK

Oh hurray, a new high fantasy property in comics! It does feel a little Dungeons & Dragons meets World Of Warcraft but that is honestly a-okay given that that’s basically what most fantasy is nowadays. Orcs and humans have been at war for years, as they struggle over land. The orcs require fields on which …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/31/the-hunger-and-the-dusk-vol-1-by-g-willow-wilson-chris-wildgoose-msassyk/

Star Trek: Lower Decks ― Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North & Chris Fenoglio

As a bad Trekker with little time for TV, I have yet to watch a single episode of Lower Decks, tho it was certainly top of list for me even before I read this astonishing book. I figured that this graphic novel would be a great introduction to the series but was thoroughly unprepared for …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/28/star-trek-lower-decks-%e2%80%95-warp-your-own-way-by-ryan-north-chris-fenoglio/

We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans & Clayton Cowles

Ooh, look, a standalone graphic novel from one of my favorite creative teams! And, interestingly, an object lesson in how to write a book that doesn’t explain everything yet still manages to feel both satisfying and complete, which I’ll delve into more later on in this review. This is also my first review of the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/24/we-called-them-giants-by-kieron-gillen-stephanie-hans-clayton-cowles/

Hourglass by Barbara Mazzi

So it’s weird sometimes, when I’m trying to review the first book in a series where a large part of the plot revolves around a mystery. There’s a very delicate balance that authors have to hit in order to make the book feel both satisfying for the reader and like we really need to read …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/15/hourglass-by-barbara-mazzi/

Student Government by Dave Justus, Lilah Sturges & Joe Eisma

with colors by Michael E Wiggam, and letters by Simon Bowland and Charles Pritchett. When was the last time I sat down and enjoyed a teen comedy that wasn’t primarily another genre, be it mystery or romance or fantasy? Student Government has a bit of all of those, but is primarily just a warm-hearted coming-of-age …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/09/student-government-by-dave-justus-lilah-sturges-joe-eisma/

Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s Hell Screen by Mihiro

This manga adaptation of a classic Japanese horror story is shockingly nuanced, as writer and illustrator Mihiro reworks the tale for a modern audience, translated then into English by Itoh Makiko. A bit about the original author himself before we continue. Akutagawa Ryunosuke is widely considered the father of the Japanese short story, with Japan’s …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/01/ryunosuke-akutagawas-hell-screen-by-mihiro/

You Are A Sacred Place by Madeleine Jubilee Saito

subtitled Visual Poems For Living In Climate Crisis. It’s always a refreshing surprise to me whenever someone professes belief in both Christianity and climate change. Of all the major faiths, mainstream (and especially Evangelical) Christianity has always struck me as the one least interested in responsible custodianship of the planet, as it focuses more on …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/06/26/you-are-a-sacred-place-by-madeleine-jubilee-saito/

The Confessional by Paige Hender

I’m becoming a curmudgeon as I age, but I really do wish this book had explicitly stated at the outset that it’s set in New Orleans. I no longer have time to read blurbs or back matter, so when I realized partway through that this was set in historical America and not fantasy Europe, all …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/06/24/the-confessional-by-paige-hender/

Raymond Chandler’s Trouble Is My Business by Arvind Ethan David, Ilias Kyriazis & Cris Peter

Quick aside before we get to the meat of the book itself: being one of the few Malaysian American book critics in the industry sometimes makes it extra hilarious when I read claims like Arvind Ethan David’s in his opening dedication, where he says that elc International School is Malaysia’s “preeminent private school”. Insert me …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/06/12/raymond-chandlers-trouble-is-my-business-by-arvind-ethan-david-ilias-kyriazis-cris-peter/