Draconia is on the brink of war with Nadasha, all in the name of the Priestess Princess, which is annoying little Asahi. Ruri decides she has to go talk to Asahi, regrettably, to maybe stave off a war that will get people killed. The talk doesn’t go well - Asahi does some pretty impressive mental gymnastics to get out of seeing Ruri’s points, so Ruri leaves, dejected. Meanwhile, her abrupt trip has sent the Dragon King into an absolute frenzy. He wants to go after Ruri, send search parties, appeal to the fairies - anything but run the kingdom. Ruri’s return stops the kingdom-wide panic, and the Dragon King finally gets back to some of the paperwork that’s been piling up. But soon, the news of war reaches them, and the Dragon Army must start preparing for what’s to come.

Illustrated by Stephen Green, colored by Rico Renzi
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After the Shaman tried to rip the War Club out of Kadyn's body in the last bit of volume one, the boy and his father, Gil, are once again separated by light years. Gil and the Shaman end up on the menacing Space Leviathan who attacked the temple on the Sacred Moon in volume one. With them is Monkey and Dolphin, who spent most of volume one tagging along with Kadyn. Meanwhile, Kadyn is stranded in wild space with Dalla, and he’s not sure he can trust her after what she pulled with the evil shaman. The dark spirit inhabiting the Shaman leaves him and infests Gil, which gives him the ability to commune with the Leviathan and see a path to Kadyn. Swirling around all of this is still the magic War Club and what its power means for these space people and creatures. Kadyn must do some soul searching in addition to searching for his dad.

Vol 1: Japanese Cuisine, illustrated by Akira Hanasaki

Tōzai News has decided to commission a special news story - The Ultimate Menu. Yamaoka and Yūko are seeking some of the best of Japanese cuisine. Yamaoka is estranged from his father, who runs a Gourmet Club and especially loves Japanese cuisine, and the two often bump into each other to disastrous effect. In their pursuits, Yamaoka and Yūko delve into many parts of Japanese cuisine: how to use Dashi correctly and subtlety, knife skills and how it changes the flavor of food, how chefs cannot smoke because the tobacco transfers onto the flesh of fish, Japanese tea ceremonies, the artistry of sashimi, and so much more.

In continuing the theme that every powerful person who meets Freya’s falls in love with her, we somehow run into the Sigurdian prince on a ship where Freya is bound for the kingdom of Nacht to secure the first of many alliances against Sigurd. Prince Dimitri decides to entertain himself by trying to get Freya to go to bed with him, but she skillfully avoids his advances. Once they land in Nacht, Freya and her hand-picked band of retainers learn that the Queen, who was a Sigurdian princess, sends her servants to the town to select young, beautiful men to be her evening’s entertainment. Of course, Julius stands out among the rest, and they all get an invitation to the castle. They discover that there’s more to her request than companionship and a dinner guest. The queen has actually been seeking a brave soul to save her kingdom from a vengeful person, and she begs Julius to be that soul.

Illustrated by Álvaro Martínez Bueno, colored by Jordie Bellaire

​A group loose associates find themselves in a large, extravagant house on a beautiful lake, seemingly without other people or houses around them. They all discover they know Walter - some grew up with him, some crossed paths with him only a few months ago - but he was always heavily invested in them, someone who was right there at the right time and maybe faded away since. Then, Walter appears in the house and explains his intentions. He reveals he is part of an alien race, and his people intend to destroy the Earth, but he was tasked with picking the best of humanity to be saved. They will all be safe from the coming apocalypse in this lake house, where they will also have all their needs provided for, but everyone else they know and love will be horrifically killed. And they’re supposed to be thankful. But not all of them can sit idly by and enjoy the bounty of their sanctuary. Some of them start exploring their idilic prison and discover what was probably meant to be hidden from them forever.

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.

Askelaad and his forces, including Thorfinn, have become entwined with the Danish forces laying siege to England in the early 1000s. They first try to invade London, but a turncoat Viking is helping fortify London’s channel. Askelaad sends Thorfinn to bring back the head of this traitor, Thorkell, but Thorfinn only succeeds in cutting off a few fingers. Askelaad’s forces then save the Danish prince from being captured by Thorkell, and all they can think about is the reward from the king for saving his son. Askelaad leads his men into Wales where he has some allies, and we learn more about his lineage, which is impressive and surprising. Thorfinn is assigned to guard the prince, but Thorfinn can’t get over how weak and feminine this prince is.

Based on Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka
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A beloved robot and a man are murdered and have their bodies staged in similar manners, but what do they have to do with each other? Enter Geischt, one of Europol’s best detectives, who happens to also be a sentient robot. He discovers that someone or something is out to destroy the world’s seven best robots, and he’s one of them. The first target was a wilderness loving gentle giant. Another target is a fierce killing machine who has a second life as a Butler fit an eccentric movie score composer who wants nothing to do with a destructive menace. Geischt suspects another target is a robot skilled at hand-to-hand combat and adoptive father to many children. Geischt must fighter out who the remaining targets are and how to stop the killer before all of them, including himself, are destroyed.

Illustrated by Takeshi Obata

Light, a high-achieving student with lots of future prospects, finds a strange notebook on his way home from school one day. Upon touching it, he can see Ryuk, a Shinigami, or god of death. Ryuk explains the basics of this notebook, which is a Death Note: if the person in possession of the Death Note writes a person’s name while picturing them in their head, they will die of a heart attack within minutes. Light decides to try the Note out on a couple of “deserving” criminals - ones who have committed some pretty violent offenses. After discovering what he can do with the Note, Light puts himself on a path to rid the world of evil. It doesn’t take long before people begin to notice; the news media and citizens gossiping about all the deaths believe it’s Kira, a god of death wreaking vengeance on the world. It also doesn’t take long until the police get involved. A crack detective-by-hobby, similar to Sherlock Holmes, takes on the case and helps the Japanese Police continue their investigation. With this young ace on his tail, Light has to be extra careful about how he conducts his Death Note business.

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.