Reviews - The Graphic Library

Dinosaur sanctuary vol 1 by Itaru kinoshita

9/30/2024

Cover of Dinosaur Sanctuary vol 1. Suzume is standing in front of a carnivorous dinosaur holding a broom and smiling. She's patting the face of the dinosaur, who is stooping down behind her.

After a shocking discover on a remote island, dinosaurs that were once thought to be extinct re-emerge into the public zeitgeist. Several rounds of genetic experiments help bring back other species, and the overall popularity lead to dinosaur zoos sprouting up across Japan. But a tragic incident fifteen years prior to the opening of our story soured the public on dino parks, and now they're in decline. Suzume Suma starts her first day as a Dino zookeeper at a small, underfunded and slowly dying dinosaur park where she hopes to build a bridge between the animals and their human visitors by bringing out their stories and showing the personalities of each animal at the park.

The fox and little tanuki vol 3 by mi tagawa

3/23/2024

Cover of The Fox and Little Tanuki volume 3. Senzou has Manpachi sitting on his head and his teeth are barred at Chiaki, a white wolf who is scared but has his teeth tentatively barred. Mii, the white cat, is sitting on his head.

There’s been a murder in the human world, and the animal who did it used an illegal substance that hid its scent. The wolves start their investigation, but making things more difficult is the wolf Chiaki and his partner Hagiri. Chiaki may have had some of the substance from a badger they apprehended in volume two, and Hagiri is a weird wolf who likes cats a bit too much. Mixed up into all of this is a little kitten Hagiri is trying to save from the wolves and the Bakeneko cat clan.

Alpi the soul sender vol 1 by Rona

11/9/2023

Cover of Alpi the Soul Sender volume 1. Alpi is standing in front of a large magical creature that looks like a deer with wings. She has her long dress on with billowing sleeves and her pointy hat. Behind them is a forest and the sun's rays are peaking through onto them.

In this magical tale, Alpi is a young girl who has a very important task. Great spirits bestow blessings on the regions where they live, but when they die, their bodies infect the land with terrible energy and plague the very people they once blessed. Soul Senders travel far and wide and help to send these spirits on to the afterlife and cleanse the land, but they do so at a great physical cost. Alpi and her companion, Pelenai, travel to several places and help them restore their lands, but one village has disrupted the natural order and twisted how their spirit should work with their land. Alpi is placed in a terrible position, and to uphold her duty as a Soul Sender, she might have to make a terrible choice.

The darwin incident vol 1 by Shun Umezawa

10/25/2023

Cover of The Darwin Incident volume 1. Charlie is hanging off the torch of the Statue of Liberty. He's in khakis and a t-shirt. In one hand he has a cell phone and it looks like he's casually scrolling on his phone. Behind him is the skyscraper skyline of New York City and the Hudson River.

Charlie just wants to attend a normal high school and get a normal education, but Charlie's main problem is - he's not normal! Charlie is the world's first ever Humanzee! Born in a California lab 15 years ago then freed by the ALA -- The Animal Liberation Allliance -- Charlie has been trying to live a quiet life with his mom and dad in a small town in the Midwest, but all that changes when the ALA sets its sights on Charlie once again. When the ALA begins executing violent attacks in cities across the nation, folks start to wonder if it's safe for Charlie -- and for their own children -- for him to try to be a normal teenager.

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

Rooster fighter vol 2 by Shu Sakuratani

4/13/2023

Cover of Rooster Fighter volume 2. Keiji's comb and feathers flow majestically around his face. He's scowling at us. Attached to his head is Chicken Little with her back tattoo showing. She's smiling with her little blushing chick cheeks.

Keiji's back with more Kaiju to kill. This time, one of his lady conquests is also on his tail, claiming he broke her heart and ruined her life with his playboy ways. While the two try to destroy each other, new and more ferocious kaiju start popping up over the city, this time with the ability to transform or change their weaknesses so they are not easily exploitable. Keiji and Elizabeth, his old flame, agree to an uneasy truce, which doesn't make the little chick, who Keiji names Chicken Little, very happy. Keiji is still laser focused on finding the kaiju who killed his sister, so Elizabeth has to resort to some trickery to get Keiji to save an entire village being enslaved by a greedy kaiju.

Wonder cat KYUU-CHAN vol 1 by sasami nitori

1/23/2023

Cover of Wonder Cat Kyuu-Chan volume 1. The top half of Hinata's face is seen, and his eyes look like he's not very amused. He has brown hair that's a little messy. Sitting on top of his head is Kyuu-chan, who is white with tan paws and ears. Kyuu-chan is wearing a pink bow tie.

One day, as Hinata walks by a free kitty in a box, he decides to adopt it and names it Kyuu-chan. Kyuu-chan turns out to be adorable and makes Hinata's life more interesting! Kyuu-chan loves playing with toys, but more than that, Kyuu-chan loves spending time with Hinata, including curling up inside his scarf. Like most cats owners can attest, Kyuu-chan also loves the box more than the toys that come in it. Kyuu-chan also loves snacks and getting his fur on the bottom of Hinata's pant legs. The two are always doing things for each other, including Kyuu-chan traversing half the city and the subway to bring Hinata his forgotten lunch!

The evil secret society of cats vol 1 by pandania

12/21/2022

The Evil Secret Society of Cats volume 1. The Feline Commander stands in front of a large group of cats. He's standing on his hind legs and has a purple cape draped around him. Behind him, regular looking cats are staring at us.

The evil secret societ of cats has one mission: to make humans fear the feline race! To that end, a motley cast of cats is here to take over the lives of unsuspecting folk and all media they consume. Under the leadership of the Feline Commander is Dr. Meow, with his fiercer creations, including Robocat, Queen, and Destroyer. Fighting to save humanity is Doggoman and his little sister who have trained under the wise Master Yorkshire. To round it all out is Hariyama, the owner of a cafe and one of the only neutral sights between the Society and Doggoman. Presented in yonkoma form (four-panel comic strips).

Twig vol 1 by skottie young

10/26/2022

Cover of Twig volume 1. Twig is a blue fuzzy creature, and he's standing in the middle of a path. Behind him is a mountain with a face, and a monster with goo dripping from his large fangs. Splat, a yellow creature with tentacle-type feet, is on a rock behind Twig.

Illustrated by Kyle Strahm

Twig is late for his very first day of his new job as a Placeling, and he just might destroy the planet because of his error! Twig is tasked with placing a jewel but nothing goes right, and the light in the jewel is gone. Now, he has to journey across the world to find the way to light it up again, and he has a very short amount of time to do it in. With his trusty friend, Splat, Twig gathers components and meets new creatures, some more helpful than others, in a journey that is as much about Twig's self-discovery as it is saving the world.

Penguin and house vol 1 by Akiho Ieda

10/18/2022

Cover of Penguin and House volume 1. Hayakawa is sitting lazily with his hands behind his head. He's wearing a white sweatshirt and blue pants with white socks. All around him, and on his lap, are depictions of Pen-chan doing various chores. Pen-chan is a small, circular grey penguin with yellow feet.

Hayakawa and his pet Penguin, Pen-chan, live in a normal apartment while Hayakawa attends university classes. Pen is an amazing pet - he helps around the house, does the shopping, cooks delicious and elaborate meals, cleans the apartment and does Hayakawa's laundry, and tries to do everything he can to make Hayakawa happy. But, most days, Hayakawa doesn't notice what Pen-chan has done for him! Hayakawa's friends realize what a great penguin he has, but Pen's owner remains oblivious.