Reviews - The Graphic Library

Dune House Atreides vol 3 by Brian herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

12/13/2022

Cover of Dune: House Atreides Volume 3. It's a portrait of Leto's bust - one half of his face is illuminated and he's looking at us. The other half of his face is a starship battle that reflects the turmoil the galaxy is goig through. He's wearing a blue shirt and his curly black hair frames his face.

Illustrated by Dev Pramanik, colored by Alex Guimarães

With the death of his father Paulus, Leto ascends to the throne of his dukedom, and his first order of business is getting to the bottom of the accident that killed his father. Duncan Idaho proves to be instrumental in exposing the culprit who drugged the bull that killed Paulus. After that, Duncan becomes a trusted person in Leto's court. The Harkonnens continue to stoke the flames against the Atredies, and they waste no time making all manner of suggestions to the new Emperor, Shaddam IV. One of Leto's many enemies frame him for violating the peace that must be maintained inside the Heighliner, and Leto spends his first visit to the Emperial Palace trying to clear his name. Back on Arrakis, Pardot Kynes continues his work with the Fremen to try to make Dune into a lush paradise. He has been accepted into the Fremen society as a prophet, and has fathered a child, Liet, with is Fremen wife.

Nubia and the Amazons

11/23/2022

Cover of Nubia and the Amazons. Nubia is in her full golden armor with fur cape flowing behind her. She's jumping as if to strike with her sword from above. She is grimacing at her target. Her long, black hair is flowing around her. Behind her is the city of Themyscira.

Written by Vita Ayala, Michael Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Stephanie Williams, illustrated by Alitha Martinez, Dominike Stanton, and Darryl Banks, inked by Mark Morales, colored by Emilio López, Allen Passalaqua, and Romulo Fajardo Jr., lettered by Becca Carey

At the end of the events of Infinite Frontier, Wonder Woman is gone, Queen Hippolyta has been killed, and Themyscera needs a new leader. Nubia leaves her post guarding the Doom's Doorway to become the leader, but her first task must be to replace the guardian of the Door. Strangely, four women come through the Well of Souls, which hasn’t happened in several decades since Nubia came through. An evil force uses these new people and some of the other inhabitants to threaten Nubia and the sanctity of life on the island. All of the Themyscerians must work together, and their new leader must prove her worth in handling this threat and keeping the island safe.

A sign of affection vol 3 by suu morishita

11/14/2022

Cover of A Sign of Affection volume 3. Istuomi is sitting in the foreground with a white shirt and orange cardigan. Behind him is Yuki with her pink hair and white button-down blouse.

Itsuomi tells Yuki he’s leaving the country for a little over a month, but before he leaves, he asks her to be his girlfriend. Yuki is shocked and still a little doubtful that Itsuomi could really fall for a girl like her, but she accepts. While he’s gone, Itsuomi sends Yuki photos of his adventures and asks her to send sign language videos so he can practice. When he returns, Yuki misreads his lips, and she ends up acquiescing to her first kiss accidentally!

SwEetness and lightning vol 1 by gido amagakure

11/4/2022

Cover of Sweetness and Lightning volume 1. Tsugumi is wrapped around Inuzuke's neck as if she's jumped on his back. He's shocked and holding something that he's working on with his hands. Inuzuke has a blue apron on over his white button-up shirt. Tsugumi has a red dress with yellow shapes, and a yellow shirt underneath. Her fuzzy brown hair is flying everywhere.

Widower Inuzuka is very busy teaching and raising his young daughter, and he relies often on food from the Konbini (convenience store). While at a park celebrating the bloom of the Sakura trees, Inuzuka runs into a young woman who has a delicious picnic lunch from her professional chef mother. She invites the two of them to the restaurant to try the food for themselves. One night, Tsumugi, Inuzuka’s daughter, asks for something delicious, and he rushes to the restaurant only to find it closed. Kotori, the girl from the park, is there and laments that her mother is often too busy now to keep the restaurant open. The two come to find out that neither one knows how to cook very well, and after some goading from Inuzuka, they decide to get together once a week to practice cooking. Inuzuka is also embarrassed to find out Kotori is in his homeroom class, and he didn't recognize her!

Dai dark vol 2 by q hayashida

10/25/2022

Cover of Dai Dark volume 2. Sanko and Avekian ride the sentient shopping cart that has six legs and walks like a centipede.

Sanko and Avekian have a new ship, the Moja, but it has no furnishings. Their helpful doggo interface has found them what is basically a floating interstellar IKEA, and the three set off shopping. While picking out all manner of comfort, Shimada Death catches up with them and explains the nature of the Fleshbots who help run the store. Sanko theorizes that there has to be a place on board where the robots go to “die”, which is probably full of bones. Sanko and Shimada go check it out and find enough for their mutual benefit. Sanko narrowly escapes being blown up with the shopping ship but makes it back in time to make his favorite Meapswich - meatball spaghetti sandwich. In another part of the Galaxy, Hajime Damemaru, another powerful being, is pursued by Photosfere, the dastardly corporation running most of the galaxy.

Boys run the riot vol 3 by keito gaku

10/21/2022

Cover of Boys Run the Riot volume 3. Ryō and Tsubasa are both on the cover staring straight at us. They both have on 2 halves of an outfit - one half is the school uniform for boys, the other half is a track suit.

Ryō has to deal with the fallout of having a popular YouTuber out him as transgender. At first, many people at school are supportive, but that quickly diminishes as classmates start asking inappropriate questions about Ryō’s body and sexual attraction. Ryō skips school for a couple of days to do some soul searching while Jin and Itsuka plead with Tsubasa to take down the video. Ryō returns to school and announces to his whole class who he is and apologizes for his silence. No one is more hurt than Chika, Ryō’s crush, who admits she thought they were closer friends. Meanwhile, Tsubasa has an intimate night with a woman, and she posts a photo online that goes viral. This causes Tsubasa's fans to question Tsubasa and criticize them for potentially lying to garner views and profits. The "Boys" create a new shirt supporting Tsubasa and their right to some privacy.

X-gender vol 1 by asuka miyazaki

10/20/2022

Cover of X-Gender volume 1. Asuka is standing in front of a giant white X with their arms crossed in an x. They're wearing a white shirt and blue jeans with large construction boots. Behind the title and the giant x, the cover is solid yellow.

This autobiographical manga presents Asuka's journey of self-discovery with their gender. In Japan, X-Gender is a term for nonbinary, but even these umbrella terms are not helpful enough to help Asuka navigate the LGBTQ+ community or to find a girlfriend. Asuka also provides some introspection and analysis as to why having a period is so emotionally disturbing to them as it reminds them of their female anatomy. Throughout the manga, Asuka tries to go on dates, participate in speed-dating events specifically for LGTBQ+ folks, and navigate friendships and attractions.

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.

A school frozen in time vol 3 by mizuki tsujimura

10/17/2022

Cover of A School Frozen in Time volume 3. One of the students is surrounded by candies and other food products. Her pink hair is in pigtails. Her school uniform is a little disheveled.

Akihito relives the day of the festival when their classmate commits suicide, and particular focus is on one student who Akihito could have done more for. Akihito witnesses him constantly being bullied, and often stands up for him, but lets a couple of encounters slide without helping. Akihito wonders if this is the person who committed suicide and trapped them here, and whether it was entirely his fault. After this, Akihito disappears and doesn't get a chance to discuss with the others what he has discovered. Rika also gets separated from the group and has a flashback of her own and also disappears.

Island in a puddle vol 2 by Kei Sanbe

10/14/2022

Cover of Island in a Puddle volume 2. Kuromatsu stands in front of a city scape with lit up windows. It's dark, and night time, and raining. Behind him is a discarded but open umbrella. He's standing in a puddle wearing all black.

It’s Nagisa’s birthday, but the killer Kuromatsu, in Minato’s body, doesn’t know that. Despite being a wanted man, Minato (trapped in the killer, Kuromatsu’s, body) leaves a cake for his sister and a hopeful note. Minato tries to figure out how he can keep his sister the safest, and he determines he has to stay away from her while trying to figure out what Kuromatsu may have done to warrant the police and monsters to be after him. Meanwhile, Kuromatsu struggles at school and navigating who is Minato’s friends. He also recognizes someone the kids know as “Detective,” someone who has worked criminal jobs with Kuromatsu.