The Graphic Library - Reviews

The witches of silverlake vol 1 by simon curtis

6/8/2023

Cover of The Witches of Silverlake volume 1. The cast of witches are arranged in action poses across the middle of the cover. In one top corner is a red devil with sharp teeth. In the other corner is the skeleton-looking demon who is hunting Elliot. On the bottom of the cover is the skyline of Los Angeles as it looks from certain spots in the Silverlake neighborhood.

illustrated by Stephanie Son

Elliot is starting his first day at a new high school in a new state, having moved from Ohio to California. His mom got a new job as a vice principal at a prestigious private school in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Aside from the culture shock, Elliot has been having weird visions and dreams of a creepy skeleton-looking figure hunting him. Within hours of arriving at school, he becomes adopted by the self-proclaimed weirdos of the school: five witches looking to complete their coven with him as the sixth. He’s arrived just in time for the most powerful moon in centuries. But all of them get more than they signed up for when a vengeful demon starts coming after Elliot and hurting other classmates and teachers in the process. Elliot must juggle his need for acceptance, his past trauma, his new magical powers, and his romantic feelings, all while fighting off an evil cult and their savage demons.

Briar vol 1 by Christopher cantwell

6/7/2023

Cover of Briar volume 1. Briar is in a forest with lots of white behind the ghostly trees. She's draped in an animal fur, covered in blood and scratches, and holding a sword. Her blonde hair peeks out from behind the fur. We can see one eye, and she's glaring at us.

Illustrated by Germán García, colored by Matheus Lopes

Briar Rose slumbers, but it’s not Prince Charming who wakes her, nor is the world as it should be. Rose has been sleeping for nearly 100 years. Her betrothed is long gone, and the world is darker and crueler than when she went to sleep. She discovers a terrible prophecy that foretold how she would destroy the world, and surmises that this was the reason for her deep sleep. Now, along with the violent woman from the North who woke her, Briar is determined to exact revenge on the being who is responsible for her slumber, caring little for the prophecy that hangs about her neck.

Blue box vol 1 by kouji miura

6/6/2023

Cover of Blue Box volume 1. Chinatsu is in a blue jersey and holding a basketball. her short brown hair comes down to her shoulders. She's smiling. Back to back with her is Taiki, who is in a white jersey with an orange towel around his neck.

Taiki is entering his first year of high school and has aspirations to join the badminton team and go to Nationals. He gets to the school gym early every day to practice. But someone else also has similar goals; Chinatsu Senpai, a second-year on the girl’s basketball team. Taiki knows she’s way out of his league, but he still manages to strike up some conversation and establish some mutual sports admiration. He’s content to crush on her from afar, but when her parents move overseas for work, she ends up staying with Taiki’s family to finish high school and hopefully take her team to Nationals!

Know your station by Sarah Gailey

5/29/2023

Cover of Know your Station. A skeleton stands atop a pile of gold coins. It's holding a martini glass in one hand, the other hand is perched on its hip bone. There is a space helmet around its skull.

Elise is, for all intents and purposes, the "law" on the most elite space station full of Earth's 1% who have escaped a dying planet below. There's hardly any crime aboard, so she feels ill-equipped when there are multiple murders to investigate! Someone is going after the station's Board of Directors, and they're not just dying quietly. Each body is made into a spectacle that would disgust even the most heartless of the working-class citizens. While she's trying to solve the murders, Elise is also trying to kick her habit of taking the highly addicting, hallucinogenic substance known as "Blue". Her paranoia is heightened when it seems like she might have had a hand in one of the murders in an intoxicated stupor, but she's determined to figure out what is really happening on her station.

Fly me to the moon vol 10 by Kenjiro Hata

5/26/2023

Cover of Fly Me to the Moon volume 10. Nasa is in a suit, holding Tsukasa up, who is in a wedding dress.

Nasa realizes he is gaining a bit of weight from being happily fed and eating with Tsukasa, but she hasn’t gained an ounce he’s determined to shed the pounds and thinks he can jump back into his high school workout routines easily, but he realizes very quickly, he’s out of shape. Later, Kaname convinced a boy at her school to pose nude for her upcoming art project, but in true Kaname fashion, it’s mostly a ruse. Nasa convinces Tsukasa to go camping to stargaze, and the entire crew invites themselves or gets invited. They start off with an invigorating hike, setting up the glamping site, and Nasa even gets lost! Lucky for him, Tsukasa can always find him at night.

Dune: tales from arrakeen by Brian Herbert & Kevin j anderson

5/25/2023

Cover of Dune: Tales from Arrakeen. A man stands in front of a pile of sticks that seems to be on fire. Inside its smoke, we can see a sliver of Caladan.

This volume collects two short stories: Blood of the Sardaukar and Whispers of a Caladan Sea.

In the first sorry, we follow along with a commander of the Sardaukar forces the night they were deployed against House Atreides. We discover that he originally had a deep hatred for Duke Paulus, who spoke up and eventually went to battle agains the commander’s father, who was the noble of the planet of Borhees. The House Atreides seized the planet, while the children of the noble family were conscripted into becoming deadly Sardaukar.

In the second story, we come upon a group of Atreides soldiers who were ordered into the caves to protect the stores of supplies hidden inside. They become trapped during the battle of Arrakeen and know there is no survival. The men ask Vitt to tell them a tale and distract them from their impending doom. Vitt is of an ancient line of Jungleurs, storytellers with powers like the Bene Gesserit, power to make their words come alive and entrance their listeners. Vitt bids the group to remember the sea on Caladan, and all the treasures it held, as their oxygen slowly runs out.

monotone blue by nagabe

5/24/2023

Cover of Monotone Blue. Hachi, who is a cat boy, and Aoi, who is a lizard boy, stand in their school uniforms at the front of the class. Their tails are entwined behind them.

Hachi hates school and would rather nap all day, especially if there's a nice bit of sun to bathe in. Nothing really interests him until the transfer student shows up. Aoi is a lizard boy with his tail hidden in a sleeve, and Hachi, who is a cat boy, finds his coloring and mannerisms to be interesting and soothing. The two start hanging out after school or sneaking away to an abandoned stairwell for lunch. One day, Aoi takes the sleeve off his tail, and Hachi is transfixed. It's a beautiful, bright shade of blue! Hachi lets Aoi pet his tail too as a trade off, and both promise not to share their secret with any other students. But Hachi doesn't really know how to have a friend, and he easily gets jealous when others start to become interested in Aoi. For his part, Aoi doesn't trust predators after a terrible incident at his last school that caused him to lose part of his tail. The two learn to be vulnerable with each other and navigate their (at times) uneasy friendship

Moon knight vols 1-2 by Max bemis

5/23/2023

Vol 1: Crazy Runs in the Family and Vol 2: Phases, illustrated by Jacen Burrows, Paul Davidson, Ty Templeton, Jeff Lemire, Bill Sienkiewicz, inked by Guillermo Ortego colored by Matt Milla, Mat Lopes, Keiren Smith, lettered by Cory Petit

We open yet again in a mental institution, this time in the company of a different patient than our familiar hero with dissociative identity disorder. Dr. Emmet tries to work out the key to her next patient, hoping that her previous patient might be used as a road map, but instead unleashes the villain, Sun King, champion of Ra and enemy of Khonshu. Sun King discovers something Marc has even hidden from himself - that he has a daughter and the potential for a normal life - but never count out Marc, Jake, and Steven when they’re backed into a corner! Marc also relives some of his childhood trauma and the reason he created Jake in the first place. A figure close with his family turns out to be a sadistic serial killer, and he's back in Marc's adult life hoping to recruit Moon Knight into his ranks of sadomasochistic supervillains. The cult goes after Moon Knight and his friends hoping to break his spirit, but Marc is already fractured enough!

Cover of Moon Knight Vol 1 by Max Bemis. Moon Knight is scaling a water tank while looking at the side of a building. It's burning in the shape of Ra's eye.

Cover of Moon Knight vol 2 by Ma Bemis. Moon knight's glowing white eyes are slits underneath his white cowl. He's holding one of his moon boomerangs. Behind him is what looks to be a maze.

Solo leveling vol 6 by chugong

5/19/2023

Cover of Solo Leveling volume 6. In a beast form, a hunter is roaring rearing his head back. His eyes glow yellow.

Jinwoo is making his way through the demon castle inside a very difficult dungeon. He comes across a demon who can speak, and it turns out she’s a daughter of a powerful demon family that has been placed in the dungeon to protect it. She barters for her life by promising to help Jinwoo get magic items that will allow him to advance to the next floors. Jinwoo wipes out every powerful family on floors above hers, effectively leaving her clan in charge until the dungeon resets. But most importantly, Jinwoo can finally craft the Elixir of Life and see if it cures his mother. In another part of the world, giant evolving ant beasts have wiped out an entire Japanese island and are threatening the mainland of Korea and other islands of Japan. Several S-Rank hunters from Japan concoct a plan to launch an attack on the island, with the help of S-Rank Korean hunters.

The adventure Zone vol 5 by the mcelroys

5/17/2023

Cover of The Adventure Zone volume 5. The three adventurers are surrounded by a glowing blue clock face. Outside of the clock face is glowing orange flames.

Vol 5: The Eleventh Hour

Magnus, Taako, and Merle are dispatched yet again for another Grand Relic. This next one is inside a small Western-style town in the desert that is currently protected by a bubble that keeps it separated from the rest of time. The relic they seek is a chalice that allows the wielded to control time itself. The three manage to pieces their way through the bubble and are immediately apprehended by a deputy, who is a suit of armor and a small talking bird. They are just becoming acquainted with the town when they are sent back to the beginning again, and they realize they’re stuck in a time loop!