Illustrated by Flaviano, colored by Rico Renzi
Jessica Harrow is a Reaper, responsible for helping the recently dead realize their death and then take them to the afterlife. On one of her many routine missions, Jessica suddenly crosses into the world of the living and interacts with people who are alive! This leads Jessica and her two friends, Marcel and Eddie, to start investigating what could be different and why she has this power that only one other reaper has ever had: the big guy himself, Death.
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Belle is once again tricked by Giselle, who she finally discovers is the sister of the Breast, Prince Cyril. This time, she walks in on a private moment between Cyril and his fiancée, (old) Belle. The former Belle is slowly turning into crystal. Her heart was fragmented and used to make servitors for the terrible Madam La Medium, who cursed Cyril and the people who live in the castle. Belle realizes La Medium may also have her mother, but Cyril doesn't want to take her along in any confrontations because she's useless in a fight. (New) Belle also learns more about the castle's magic - one of Cyril's butlers is using his magic to slow time in the castle, and they are traveling between worlds to keep it ticking even slower in order to hopefully save (Old) Belle. (New) Belle also realizes that despite her better judgment, she is falling in love with Cyril.
Manpachi and Momoji the Badger travel to the mountain where Manpachi was born, but Momoji also knowingly takes Manpachi away from Senzou and endangers him. When the two get to the mountain, all the creatures are sleeping and covered in snow. The two are almost immediately attacked by a dormouse in human form, who accused the two of them of disturbing the mountain’s restorative sleep. Before the dormice can fully attack Manpachi and Momoji, the goddess of the mountain reveals herself and explains why she has put everyone in a sleeping state. Manpachi give the goddess a kind of pep talk, and she has restored faith in her abilities. Later, the wolf pack investigates a murder of a cat, and suspects an illegal substance was used to cover rhe murderer’s tracks. They question Momoji and find out a stash of the substance was stolen from him when the wolves first apprehended him.
Belle is a young girl with purple hair who is convinced a red rose from deep in the forest will help her strange purple locks be more appealing. Her mother follows and begs her not to go into the forest because of the terrible beast who lives there. As if she summons him, Belle's mother is abducted, and the Beast steals her beautiful face. The town burns the body in the hopes it will stop the Beast from coming back. Belle’s father can’t take the loss of his wife, so he shuts Belle up in their house and refuses to let anyone see her, while he spends the day drinking away the pennies she makes with her seamstress work. One day, Belle escapes and is determined to find her mother, who she believes is still alive in the Beast's castle. She finds the Beast, but he isn’t exactly how she remembers him. He’s rude, uncaring, but not murderous, and doesn’t steal her face. His magical floating castle brings her back to her village, but evil forces have been at work while Belle was away.
Illustrated by Berenice Nelle
Izzy and her family move from San Francisco to Sleepy Hollow after her mom lands a job as the head chef of the town’s Michelin-star restaurant. While Izzy might prefer books to interacting with people, the school assigns her outgoing Water Polo star, “Croc” Byun to be her guide. Then, Izzy sees Victoria Van Tassel, as in the Van Tassels from the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. Vicky doesn’t really have time to give Izzy any attention since she’s over-committed to all the town’s celebrations and traditions involving The Horseman, especially given that it’s October and the town’s busiest time for celebrations. But, Izzy works her way into Vicky’s life by becoming her math tutor. On the way home from one of their sessions, Izzy is actually chased by the Headless Horseman! As she’s running away, she decides to stand up for herself and stops, which is actually a relief to the Horseman, who has been trying to get someone’s attention for almost 200 years! The Horseman has to fulfill his duty and oath to protect the Van Tassels, but there is an evil entity who might be walking around in the daytime and after Vicky. Izzy brings Croc and Vicky into the fold, and the four have to work together to thwart the threat on Vicky’s life. 
Senzou the black fox was a terribly powerful bakemono - a magical beast - but he was finally brought down by the sun goddess and a legion of wolves. He was imprisoned for 300 years while the goddess siphoned his power away. Now, he’s been released, and he must serve out his penance: raise a little tanuki to be a good servant of the gods, or be constantly tormented by a magical pearl necklace that delivers pain kind of like a shock collar. In addition to raising the tanuki, whom he calls Manpachi, the pair must help 8 million gods with whatever problems they have.
This collection brings together three Japanese folktales where there is something very tempting that must not be opened. The first tale is of a young boy who saves a turtle and is invited to come under the sea to a magical kingdom. He stays for what he feels is a short amount of time, but when he goes back to the surface, it has been 30 years, and his family is gone. The queen of the ocean gave him a box before he left, and if he opens it, he’ll be taken back to the Ocean Kingdom. In the second story, a master tells his apprentices not to open a jar that supposedly contains a deadly poison, but they suspect has something delicious that their master wants to horde for himself. In the third tale, the main character saves a crane in the forest one day, and is visited by a beautiful young maiden the next. She is caught in a snow storm and he offers her shelter, and it turns into a much longer stay and an eventual marriage. In need of money, so goes into another room to spin some cloth and begs her young husband not to open the door despite what he might hear.
Vol 1: Fear & Fire, illustrated by V. V. Glass, colored by Natalia Neserenko
Saoirse and friend challenge each other to get to the Witch Tower first on this, the most dangerous day for being outside - it's the day the Cailleach hunts children to eat. Saoirse's father catchers her and saddles her with babysitting her sick brother, Brahm. When they sneak out later and make it to the Witch Tower, she doesn't find a deserted relic at all - they finds a fearsome witch ready to make up her dinner out of Brahm. Saoirse overpowers the witch with a hidden strength and saves her brother. Her Nan later reveals that she is witch-marked, a special descendant of magical beings. Saoirse is possibly strong enough to finally take down the four handmaidens and the Cailleach and rid the world of the threat of the Fae King being released from Tir Na Nog.  Booklist review
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-8 Publisher: Kokila (Penguin) Publication Date: Jun 15, 2021 ISBN: 9780525554882 (Hardcover) Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: Elementary School, Suitability: Middle School, Graphic Fiction, History, Folklore, Family, Penguin 
Mei and her father work in the kitchen for a logging camp in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the late 1800s, where they expertly make delicious meals for the loggers after a long day of hard work. Mei makes wonderful pies that everyone craves, and at night, she entertains the camp's children by telling fanciful stories. One such stories is the legend of Po Pan Yin, an elderly Chinese woman logger who watches over the camp and works in the forest with her giant blue ox. The children accuse Mei of stealing the American legend of Paul Bunyan, but Mei makes Auntie Po into her own myth and a guardian spirit for the camp and herself. With the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act limiting the opportunities and safety for Chinese immigrants, Mei and her father must navigate an increasingly hostile community where violence against Chinese workers is not uncommon. On top of all of this, Mei must work out her feelings for her best friend Bee, which are becoming increasingly romantic, as well as plan for her future away from the logging camp.
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About MeI've been reading manga and comicbooks for years. Now, I write reviews and other helpful things for School Librarians, teachers, parents, and students. Search this site
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