Category Archives: comics

Manga

Manga Review: Record of Lodoss War: Crown of the Covenant

I was excited to see a new Record of Lodoss War… anything really come out, both in terms of the Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth game (which I’ve just finished Let’s Playing – I’ll have a review of that in November) and when I learned that a new manga was coming out set after the events of Chronicles of the Heroic Knight. I had wondered if it was going to be an adaptation of Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth – but Crown of the Covenant being its own story (albeit one that Wonder Labyrinth led directly into) was something of a pleasant surprise.

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comics

Breaking Down The Knightfall Saga: Knightquest – The Search Part 3

Video

It’s time for the conclusion of The Search, as Bruce catches up with Benedict Asp & Dr. Shondra Kinsolving once and for all.

‘Solecism’ by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. http://www.scottbuckley.com.au

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Manga

Manga Review: Devilman

I’ve been endeavoring to fill some of the broad gaps in my manga back catalog – I’ve watched far more anime than I have manga – and one of the particularly significant gaps is in the career of one Go Nagai. While I’m familiar with him as being frequently referred to as “Anime’s Horny Uncle”, or “Perpetually Horny On Main” – not all of his works necessarily seemed to fit with that tonally, Devilman more than any other. So, considering the reputation of that work (and its, shall we say, end of The Elric Saga-esque ending), once the Devilman manga became available in print, I decided that eventually, I would take the time to seek it out and give it a read. Having finally finished reading it, I do indeed have some thoughts. There will be spoilers.

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Manga

Manga Review: Hayate the Combat Butler (Complete)

So, the manga of Hayate the Combat Butler concluded a few years ago – and while the official US English release has not yet reached its conclusion (Viz is moving at a somewhat glacial pace with their releases), the rest of the work has been translated through (*ahem*) other avenues. Consequently, I can provide a reasonable analysis as to whether it’s worth the wait for Viz to reach the ultimate conclusion of the series.

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comics

Rivers of London: Deadly Ever After – Graphic Novel Review

Deadly Ever After is the first Rivers of London story to be published after Amongst Our Weapons, and the first to move the timeline forward after that point, and a little past that point as well. It’s also one that moves the focus of the story clearly beyond The Folly, with the focus being more on the River Goddesses themselves.

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Manga

Manga Review: Master Keaton

Naoki Urasawa’s Master Keaton is fascinating to read alongside his later series Monster. If Monster is an HBO prestige television series, Master Keaton feels much more like a syndicated TV series. Both are mysteries, but Monster pushes forward on a tightly plotted course toward its conclusion. At the same time, Master Keaton is willing to tell a collection of more episodic stories, often moving back to a particular status quo at the end of each episode. That’s not bad, it’s just a different approach.

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Manga

Manga Review: Naoki Urasawa’s Monster

Naoki Urasawa’s Monster was the series that got him on my radar when I learned (10 years ago) that Guillermo Del Toro was trying to get a live-action adaptation of the series made for HBO (which ultimately fell through). That was enough to get me to hunt down the manga and slowly, over time, read it through my local library system (impacted by books falling out of and then back into print). Well, at long last, I’ve finished reading it.

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Manga

Manga Review: The Rose of Versailles

Shojo manga has, historically, been underserved by American manga publishers – and when we have gotten shojo series, they have tended to be more conventional romance series – and not necessarily works in other genres (whether fantasy, science fiction, or historical fiction). However, some of the more influential works of the genre have fallen overlapped with other genres, and probably few more influential and more high profile than Riyoko Ikeda’s The Rose of Versailles. It’s also a manga that until fairly recently, hasn’t been available (legally) in its entirety in English.

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comics

The History of Science Fiction: Graphic Novel Review

I have, in the past, gotten into my appreciation of works discussing and examining works that examine the history of technology, art, and fandom, and the intersection thereof – and there is no place where those three intersect more than in Science Fiction as a genre. So, when I learned in a passing mention on the Sword & Laser Podcast about the graphic novel The History of Science Fiction by Xavier Dollo and Djibril Morissette-Phan, I knew that I needed to check it out. It is lacking in some significant ways, but they’re also ways that can be rectified in a second volume, if the creators are up for it.

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