Illustrated by Luca Panciroli & Ryan Showers, colored by Pamela Poggiali & Heather Breckel, lettered by Joel Rodriguez & Jacob Bascle
Lawrence, a professor of theology, loses his son to a drug overdose. He finds the grief too much to bear, and he has a nagging feeling that his son's soul is lost, that he needs his father on the other side to help guide the way. As Lawrence crosses over, he meets with his departed father who tries to counsel Lawrence away from seeking vengeance on those he feel is responsible for his son’s death. Lawrence's father gives him a staff that he hopes he will use for good, but he instead uses it for revenge. Along the way, he gets a companion - a fierce wolf who follows his lead and seems to want revenge as well.
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Adaptation by P. Craig Russell, illustrated by Gabriel Hernández Walta, Sandy Jarrell, and Mark Buckingham, colors by Lovern Kindzierski, letters by Galen Showman
In this volume, Russell adapts several stories. We see the death of the God of Poetry by the hands of two dwarves, and how the Odin gets revenge on them. In another story, Thor and Loki travel to the land of giants and are put through several tests of their abilities that turn out to be major illusions. Loki mistakenly gives away the goddess who guards the Apples of Immortality and has to get her back before he's tortured by his aging family. We follow Frey and how he found and married his wife, but gave up the sword that might save him during Ragnarok.
Illustrated by Steph C.
Jessica Cruz is a high school junior with lots of difficult decisions to make. She has to decide to renew her DACA status, something that will put a target on her back but might help keep her undocumented parents safe. She has to fill out college applications and hope her own undocumented status won’t jeopardize her goals. She helps her family around the house as much as she can, and she has landed a prestigious museum fellowship. All of this leaves little room for friends and hanging out. When her father is taken away by ICE agents, Jessica finds herself stuck between two warring Aztec gods - one says she should be a bridge for her family and friends and lean on them, the other tells her to take action against ICE and save her father by using her anger to fuel her.
Here is another retelling of the classic Hades and Persephone myth, this time set in a little bit more of a modern world. Hades tries to get his somewhat girlfriend, a nymph named Mynthe, to join him at yet another of Zeus’ parties, but she instead leaves him hanging. Hades shows up stag and gets grief from his two brothers, Poseidon and Zeus. Persephone, who is young and just moved to the shining City of Olympus, is styled by her roommate, Artemis, and dragged to her first God party. While there, Hades spies the beautiful Persephone from across the room and compliments her in front of the jealous Goddess of Beauty. Aphrodite calls in her son, Eros, to help her play a prank on Persephone and Hades. Later, Eros apologizes for his role in “punishing” Persephone, and he reveals how much power his mother has over him.
This volume is a retelling the tale of Persephone and Hades. We start off with Hades, overworked and trying to keep the Underworld in check. Many mortals are coming to him without any idea of how they died, which is a big problem for him in determining where they need to go. He travels to Olympus to figure out why they can't remember and stumbles upon a party, a celebration for Artemis getting her first temple. Zeus convinces Hades into putting the work talk on pause, and goads him into telling who he has a crush on. Hades, who is embarrassed by this line of talk, can't quite tell his brother who she is because he doesn't know her name. Meanwhile, Persephone fights with her mother, Demeter, about going to the party. Demeter is determined to keep working to preserve the perpetual summer the mortals enjoy, but Persephone is tired and wants to blow off some steam -- and potentially see that shy, cute guy. Zeus gets too involved, and Hades and Persephone end up on a stolen carriage in a pretty big pickle, but at least they're getting a chance to talk to each other.
Vol 12, Dionysos, The New God
Dionysos is the child of Zeus and yet another mortal, who was tricked into death by jealous Hera. Hermes delivered Dionysos to the Satyrs to be raised, where he learned to be boisterous and have lots of fun. As an adult, Dionysos discovered the beauty of fermenting grapes and drinking it, and he brought his madness-inducing liquid to several mortal cities. He wasn't always thanked for sharing his drink, though! Tragedy also seems to follow Dionysos and many people around him die unexpectedly, prompting a trip to the Underworld.
Vol 1: Shadows, illustrated by Scott Hampton, P. Craig Russell, Walter Simonson, Coleen Doran, and Glenn Fabry
When we first meet Shadow, he is at the end of a three year prison sentence for armed robbery. He's just about to get out when his wife is killed in a car accident, along with his best friend, who was going to give Shadow a job when he got out. Lifeless, penniless, and jobless, Shadow is reluctantly recruited by Mr. Wednesday, a peculiar man with one eye and a penchant for some supernatural business. Mr. Wednesday and Shadow encounter several larger-than-life beings who claim to be from various pantheons from around the world, brought to America by immigrants for centuries. Shadow is abducted a few times by some other powerful beings working against Mr. Wednesday, but he always manages to escape or be set free with only a few bruises. After one of these occasions, Shadow comes to work at a mortuary in Cairo, Illinois, for Mr. Ibis and Mr. Jacquel. This volume concludes just as Shadow and Mr. Wednesday reconnect, and the real work is about to begin.
Adapted by P. Craig Russell, illustrated by Jerry Ordway, Mike Mignola, Jill Thompson, Piotr Kowalski, and David Rubín
This series is an adaptation of the book, Norse Mythology that Neil Gaiman published in 2017. Presented in this volume are a few of the major myths of Norse mythology: the creation of the world in Odin’s slaying of the giant Ymir; how Odin lost his eye but gained all his wisdom; the treasures of the gods obtained by Loki as he pitted two dwarf craftsmen brothers against each other; the way in which the Aesir gods got their wall around Asgard; Loki’s children and how Odin dealt with all of them; and, the “marriage” of Thor, pretending to be Freya, to a giant who stole his hammer.
The Sailor Scouts have a new enemy who has put a spell over the entire Jûban district of Tokyo, and is setting loose little concentrated spheres of evil - lemures - to turn all the beautiful dreams into nightmares. This new enemy is headed by Queen Nehellenia, the queen of the New Moon, of the dark side of the moon. She has found a way in through all the protections on Earth, and is attacking it from the inside. The Dead Moon Circus is her front to besiege the people of Jûban, and her efforts are affecting Mamoru-san. To complicate things even more, the scouts find they can’t transform in the face of this new enemy, but instead have to gain a new power up.
This is a mega-sized volume with the conclusion of the Death Busters arc, and inclusion of two side stories. Mistress 9 tries to use Chibi Usa's hostia and the stolen Mythical Silver Crystal to provide enough power to Master Pharaoh 90 to merge with Earth and make it their new home planet, However, Mistress 9 wasn't counting on her host's body being so difficult to control. And, after Mistress 9 awakened, no one thought the final Sailor Scout would awaken. The conclusion is sweet and wrapped up pretty tidy, but the final pages, of course, hint that the peace they just achieved is threatened again. There are also two side stories in this volume, contributing to its girth. Chibi Usa's second Picture Diary, "Beware of Tanabata," is a side-adventure where an enemy uses popular Sailor Moon watches to manipulate the emotions of young girls. The second side story is "The Love of Princess Kaguya." This beautiful story focuses almost entirely on Luna, and her falling in love with Kakeru, a human astro-physicist who saves her from being run over by a car. Kakeru and his childhood friend, Himē, both pledged to become astronauts and travel to the moon to see if the Princess Kaguya from legend really lives there. A new enemy manipulates Kakeru and puts his life in danger, while Himē is chosen for a NASA mission to save the Earth from a comet barreling towards it.
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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 siteRatings, Audience, and Subject Tags
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April 2024
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