A family death and a missing Picasso send a mother and son on an unexpected spring break that threatens to permanently damage their relationship — if they survive the trip!
When her semi-estranged and penniless hoarder father dies, Erin Messina is tasked with cleaning out his house before the bank forecloses on it. This otherwise thankless task is given a purpose, however, when she remembers the original Picasso drawing her father was gifted in 1964. She enlists her teenage son, Jackson, to spend spring break looking for their possible ticket to long-term financial stability. Jackson, resentful and eager to shirk responsibility, befriends twin skateboarders who live in the hood, and tell him about the violent murder that happened directly across the street from his grandfather’s home — and the murderer who still lives there. Emotional baggage, paranoia, and frayed nerves stretch the Messina’s relationship to the brink, as The Mess careens to a thrilling final act that includes… two-way radio communication with the dead?
Synopsis: Unmarried at 32, temp worker Yuki Sato is determined to find a husband for the sake of her ailing father, who wants nothing more than to see his beloved daughter in a wedding dress before he dies. Enter Yoji, the perfect man she meets on a dating app. Now Yuki is finally ready to settle down—until the beguiling Shun confronts her with the details of his brother’s mysterious death, and she discovers that her fiancé may not be who he seems—!
A world of digital deceit gives way to very real danger in this tense romantic thriller.
Review: As an unmarried woman in her early 30s, Yuki is under constant pressure from those around her, and online culture, to settle down and find a man. There is no space for her to be single or to have agency and independence outside of her relationship to a man. This pressure makes her vulnerable. When she meets a man online he seems perfect for her perceived needs.
Cracks appear right away when he feeds her a story about being on the hook for a former business partner’s debts and he convinces her to stay on the dating apps to try and match with someone who could be a potential new business partner for him.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie & Aya Nikaido from Viz Media
The official manga adaptation of Agatha Christie’s best-selling mystery classic!
Ten people are sent an invitation to a secluded island by someone none of them seem to remember knowing. Isolated from the world, they soon realize that this is no ordinary excursion. They are all trapped. And no one is coming to their rescue!
As the guests arrive at the island enclave, they discover that there is no obvious link between them and that nobody is quite sure who lured them there. They resolve to enjoy themselves regardless of their missing host’s whereabouts. But when past crimes are brought to light, it becomes clear that their host’s intentions are not benevolent.
Plot:To her peers, office worker Bonnie isn’t cut out for a high-powered corporate life. Sweet, bubbly, and a lover of all things feminine and cute, she hardly fits in. Little do her coworkers know, Bonnie had an unusual, isolated upbringing where her father taught her a very uncommon curriculum.
Then a late-night office attack reveals the unexpected: Bonnie is as sharp and capable as she is deadly.
Catching the attention of a secret organization of assassins called Fianna, she is recruited as an apprentice. Inspired by a group of legendary Irish heroes, the Fianna are a covert, highly trained group dedicated to defending the world from chaos. Through any means necessary.
In this dangerous new world, Bonnie thrives—but she still hasn’t won everyone over. Ronan Clarke, the organization’s top operative, sees her as a joke. Forced to work together, Bonnie fights to prove herself to her cold new partner—no matter what it takes.
Review: Tropes are becoming increasingly popular. If you at all venture into romance spaces you will see lots of trope talk. Readers will ask for recommendations by bundling tropes together in their request. Something like “enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine, fated mates, with HEA, and open door, no why choose”. That stack of tropes may be meaningless to readers outside of the genre, for readers in the genre they can sometimes be more important than a plot synopsis. Obviously Romance isn’t the only genre with tropes but it is one of the few genres that talks about them so explicitly. I had a humorous realization awhile back that buddy cop movies were basically enemies to lovers. Crime readers may not talk about tropes in the same way but we all have ones we like. I love a good “getting the band back together” story.
It occurs to me as I’m writing this that music can do something similar. The main music genres have exploded into a constellation of smaller microgenres. So if someone asked me what I was listening to while writing this review, I could say “French Canadian, experimental, microtonal, math rock” and I’d be referring to Angine de Poitrine.
Plot:With the arrival of a mysterious jury summons, a man's life is thrust into a dizzying downward spiral: his fiancee leaves him, he has problems at work, and his best friend is suddenly nowhere to be found. As the jury trial approaches, who can he trust? Why does he suddenly feel that he has to defend his every move? And who exactly is Juror 13? Can he trust what he sees?
Review: Structurally speaking, Juror 13 is a straightforward story, that unfolds in a linearly manner, and culminates in a big twist. I normally dislike reviews that tell you there is a twist. But the flavor of review that does this that I especially dislike is when it presented as a hugely amazing thing. “The twist will blow your mind” type hyperbole. One, it probably won’t be and two, the reading journey is different when you know what to expect. So if I’m expecting to have my mind blown I’m looking for all the ways the narrative is trying to be surprising. When twists are executed well, they won’t affect revisits, and can even be enhanced in a revisit. The most frustrating twists are the ones that seem to come out of nowhere because the story needed an ending. Or maybe the ending was conceived first and the story was built for it. That can be a problem too.
That’s a lot of harumphing to say that the big reveal at the end of Juror 13 doesn’t fully work in a satisfying way. The main character is kind of a dud so he doesn’t fully work as the anchor of the story. His life woes are kind of ordinary. The characters are on the two dimensional side so they are compelling in their own right. They are there to serve the plot, and more specifically the big reveal.
A fast-paced action comedy series debut about rookie assassin Bonnie, perfect for fans of The Mafia Nanny, Spy x Family, and the romantic thrills of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Set in present day Ireland and featuring manga-inspired artwork, this graphic novel based on the hit WEBTOON comic Accidental Assassin features fast-paced action, a slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance, and fun hijinks.
"Readers who enjoy the comedy and action of Spy x Family and Romantic Killer will enjoy this enemies-to-lovers action story." —Booklist
To her peers, office worker Bonnie isn’t cut out for a high-powered corporate life. Sweet, bubbly, and a lover of all things feminine and cute, she hardly fits in. Little do her coworkers know, Bonnie had an unusual, isolated upbringing where her father taught her a very uncommon curriculum.
Then a late-night office attack reveals the unexpected: Bonnie is as sharp and capable as she is deadly.
Catching the attention of a secret organization of assassins called Fianna, she is recruited as an apprentice. Inspired by a group of legendary Irish heroes, the Fianna are a covert, highly trained group dedicated to defending the world from chaos. Through any means necessary.
In this dangerous new world, Bonnie thrives—but she still hasn’t won everyone over. Ronan Clarke, the organization’s top operative, sees her as a joke. Forced to work together, Bonnie fights to prove herself to her cold new partner—no matter what it takes.
This first volume collects episodes 1 to 14 of the hit WEBTOON Accidental Assassin.
Synopsis: Set against the quiet and unassuming city of Huntsville, Texas, Jack "Meadowlark" Johnson, and his teenage son, Cooper embark on a journey of epic proportions. Told over the course a single day, this electrifying graphic novel recounts Cooper's struggle to survive the consequences of his father's mistakes and the dangers they have brought home to his estranged family. As Cooper and his father desperately navigate cascading threats of violence, they must also grapple with their own combative, dysfunctional, but loving relationship.
Review: We finally got around to watching The Lowdown on Hulu starring Ethan Hawke. The shaggy detective cousin to Terriers, The Lowdown is very much my shit. It reminded me that Ethan Hawke, the star of The Lowdown, co-wrote a crime graphic novel a couple years ago called Meadowlark.
The synopsis as quoted above is about as broad strokes as you can get. I think it would be helpful to talk about the story in more detail. So I’ll cover the first act or so which sets the stage for the rest of the book nicely.
A no-holds-barred heist caper packed with body slams and backstabs for fans of over-the-top action!
After being crippled by a shady wrestling promoter, a former pro wrestler gathers a team of others wronged in the ring to rob the promoter blind during the biggest wrestling event of the year!
Synopsis: The story begins in 1949 Los Angeles. Kevin Yamagata, a Japanese American cartoonist, has built his career on Billy Bat, a sharp, wisecracking detective beloved by readers. But everything shifts when Kevin realizes he may have unknowingly copied the character from an image he once saw in Japan.
Determined to find the truth, Kevin returns to a devastated, postwar Japan. What he uncovers goes far beyond questions of inspiration or theft. The image of the bat is ancient, surfacing again and again across history, tied to moments of upheaval, power, and violence.
Wrestle Heist by Kyle Starks, Colorist Vlad Popov (Image Comics)
A no-holds-barred heist caper packed with body slams and backstabs for fans of over-the-top action!
After being crippled by a shady wrestling promoter, a former pro wrestler gathers a team of others wronged in the ring to rob the promoter blind during the biggest wrestling event of the year! From the outrageous, action-packed mind of multi-time Eisner nominee KYLE STARKS (Peacemaker Tries Hard, Sexcastle, I Hate This Place), with eye-popping colors by VLADIMIR POPOV (Where Monsters Lie, Fearscape).
Collects WRESTLE HEIST #1-5 + a brand new, never-before-seen six page comic story!
Synopsis: A young woman, who doesn’t speak a word of English, shows up in Father Arthur’s church seeking refuge. Father Arthur takes her under his wing, but things soon take a turn for the worse when her pursuers show up on his doorstep. It’s not long before the padre, concerned for his kidnapped protegée’s well-being, calls on his friend Jerome Bloche. Together, they seek out the mysterious Aina and her captors, but they soon realize that not only are they up against a rather intimidating security guard, but some difficult moral questions.
Review: We have to get the rare bit of serious business out of the way up top with this one. Jerome K. Jerome Bloche is a long running series of French detective comics by Alain Dodier. The first volume came out in 1985 and there are over two dozen volumes. Europe Comics published three volumes in English but they were the then most current volumes and labeled as volumes 1-3. So, volume 1 in English, Aina, is really volume 25 in the series. There is no indication of this within the book itself or on the publisher’s website. A review of Aina over at Pipeline comics brought this to my attention. While it doesn’t affect the story too much it’s such a big numbering discrepancy that it seems worth mentioning.
Does this numbering discrepancy matter? Obviously I can’t say with certainty but I think over all it does not but, there may be smaller moments stripped of context. For example, my understanding is that early in the series (which I haven’t read as they are in French) Jerome is taking a correspondence course to become a PI then he eventually completes the course and becomes a licensed detective. This history lends greater weight to a moment in Aina where he shows his PI license and it gets an entire panel. It’s a small moment to be sure that doesn’t affect the story but I can’t help but wonder if some history or contextual or connective tissue is being stripped away.
Plot Summary:Meet Lou Rossi, a Generation X slacker who’s out of step with the rave culture of Miami, 1990. He’s a freelance newspaper artist, an aspiring author, a 21-year-old virgin... and suddenly an amateur detective. His humdrum life takes a turn when he meets—and quickly falls in love with—the young and beautiful Janet Laughton. But when she suddenly vanishes, leaving only a cryptic note behind, Lou will have to pull out all the stops to track her down.
Review: Lou Rossi is not a PI. Like at all. Dry County takes place in 1990 and Lou draws a weekly comic strip for the local alt-weekly. He also writes that occasional film review. However, this is a PI story. It explicitly takes the form and shape and intonations of a PI story and does so earnestly.
Lou goes to do laundry in his buildings laundry room and meets a woman he’s never seen there before. They chat and hit it off. Whatever this is it isn’t fully love. There’s definitely a connection but it’s probably closer to lust. Lou was probably just hoping to get laid. But there’s something nascent there. You take those early stage feelings and put them into someone who is maybe a little bored and has an active imagination and you get a guy like Lou and a story like Dry County.
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring by Patrick Horvath from IDW Dark (sequel to one of the best crime comics of 2024)
The Eisner-nominated cozy-horror comic series returns in this sequel to the critically acclaimed first volume!
It’s been eight long years since a bloodlusting brown bear drove into the city, kidnapped a kind young duck, dissected his body, and buried the pieces in the woods. The duck’s family painstakingly sought justice…but this brown bear was smart…she covered her tracks…and in the ’80s, there simply wasn’t a way for the duck’s family to find answers.
But it’s not the ’80s anymore. Almost a decade after cuddly brown bear Samantha Strong solidified herself as the sole serial killer in Woodbrook, the world is entering a new era. As Samantha will soon find out, there are no secrets in the age of the internet. And those who lost loved ones to her massacre haven’t given up the flame of justice.
A reckoning is coming to Woodbrook. Join visionary writer and artist Patrick Horvath as he returns to the hit series that has taken the comic world by storm!
Plot Summary: Tate Debs specializes in rescuing and deprogramming people from abusive groups with extreme beliefs — like the one Tate herself escaped, that believed in inter-dimensional travel and taboo ritual sex. When a femme named Vera, who may just be fatale, hires Tate to infiltrate a group of mystical hippies out in the desert, she must decide if Vera’ s charms are worth being re-traumatized. Soon, Tate must face her past out of devotion to the femme she may be falling for… and a single minded drive to avenge her family.
Review: In his essay, “The Simple Art of Murder” Raymond Chandler famously wrote:
Synopsis: Atom Vercorian is trying to make it as a private detective in post-war Paris, and he just needs that one big case to make a name for himself. His father, a police detective, isn't making any headway in the case of a jewelry theft in the south of France. Atom, however, gets a lead that takes him and his partners, Mimi and Jojo, south to Marseille, where they meet ex-resistance fighters, gangsters, and henchmen. With audacity and enthusiasm, Atom and his cohorts dance their way through the worlds of organized crime, pro wrestling, and the ultra-rich in the pursuit of Miss France 1930's stolen jewels. This could be Atom's big break—if he survives the experience!
Review: Atom Agency is a bande dessinée comic by Yann and Oliver Schwartz from Europe Comics
The first thing that caught my attention with Atom Agency was the cover, a dynamic in media res image. It's not until later in the book that the cover image is given context. There is an action sequence that builds up to, and shows the aftermath of, the cover image but doesn't include that image in the text. So you have to recall the cover image as a kind of call back to complete the sequence. It's a neat little trick.
Synopsis: Karmela Krimm was the most promising young detective on the Marseille police force until she volunteered to take the fall for an operation that went sideways. When Karmela lost her job and became a private investigator, her ideals went up in smoke along with her badge. Perhaps for the better: in the troubled waters she now navigates, ideals are a dangerous luxury.
Review: We meet Karmela sitting in a car, on a stakeout, camera in hand. Her God daughter Manon is in the car with her. She’s asking Karmela questions about her job for a supposed school project. Not only do we get to see some of their dynamic play out but it also provides an easy vehicle for a quick bit of back story. Her backstory is related in a single page, with four panels using a different stylized approach for the flashback. It’s a little pulpy, it gets right to some action, and hooks the reader into wanting more.
