r/graphicnovels • u/AutoModerator • 27d ago
Weekly Reading Thread What have you been reading this week? 20/09/2026
A weekly thread for people to share what comics they've been reading. Share your thoughts on the books you've read, what you liked and perhaps disliked about them.
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u/BaronZhiro 26d ago
I finally got to read the Charles Forsman novellas that have been made into TV shows, The End of the F***ing World and I Am Not Okay With This, after having vastly admired both series on Netflix. (In fact, I bought the recent Fantagraphics Humble Bundle specifically to check these out.)
This might sound like an insult, but I don’t really mean it to be: I found them to be rare cases (along with Tamara Drewe) where the adaptations quite remarkably improved upon the source material.
It’s as if Forsman provided the bare bones upon which more fleshed out and authentic stories could be built, but crucially, his greatest gift is simply the vibe of them, ‘everyday despair relieved by moments of desperate levity’. I think it’s really cool that his works were recognized and lauded for their singularity in that respect.
Artistically, I feel that F***ing World falls short of the ‘marvelous economy’ standard set by Chester Brown in I Never Liked You, but Okay With This is more effective and shows his growth as a comics storyteller who makes the most of his limited means.
I’m left with muddled feelings, in that I won’t be re-reading them often, but they actually make me admire the adaptations even more than before.
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u/NightSpringsRadio 26d ago
I’ve been in the hospital (seizure, I’m okay now) and in desperate need of something light and warm but not without depth, so I dove back into Insomniacs After School and DAMN it’s good to be home
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u/TheDaneOf5683 Cross Game + Duncan The Wonder Dog 26d ago
I had sooo much fun with that series. Just a real nice vibe all the way through with stellar art.
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u/Lynch47 26d ago
Batman: Dark Patterns by Dan Watters (2024-2025): This came out while I was on somewhat of a hiatus from reading comics, so despite being a huge Batman reader that is usually one of the first to review a new bat-book this is one that I'm late to the party on. I tried to go into it with as open of a mind as possible, but it was hard not to have my expectations raised fairly high with all the praise this story has been getting. All that to say- It was pretty good! Definitely a standout Batman story over the last 10 years, in or out of continuity, or in or out of mainline Batman or Detective Comics. I really enjoyed the first arc, but really the whole thing was solid without a down issue. I don't know that I'd place it in my top 10 Batman books just yet, but I wouldn't scoff at someone who does. It's hard for me to rate this one tbh, but for now we'll say an 8 or 8.5/10
The Frank Book by Jim Woodring (2011): I've been trying to track down and get my hands on some Woodring, and in a bigger picture, wordless or low word comics, and the new Fantagraphics HumbleBundle was an exciting one for me to grab. Woodring's art rules and I look forward to see some more soon in the near future. 8.5/10
It's a Bird by Steven T. Seagle (2017): This was an interesting one about a comic writer who is offered Superman, but he doesn't really vibe with the character and isn't sure that he wants to take the job despite it being a far better work prospect than anything else he has going on. The story uses that framework to talk about Huntington's Disease and how it has affected his family, and how he is worried to have it himself or pass it on to children. Overall a fairly heavy subject to balance with a Superhero book, but this isn't really a Superman book at all, but rather just about a man who might write about the character. If that sounds interesting to you I'd give it a recommendation, but if you pick it up expecting a cool Superman book you might be let down. 7.5/10
Local by Brian Wood (2005-2008): I absolutely loved this and it should be one of the books I read this month that will slot into my top 10 for the year. I haven't read any Brian Wood's creator owned stuff before and went into this pretty blind other than seeing it recommended throughout the years and really dug it from the almost anthology type feel from issue to issue, down to the excellent black and white art from Ryan Kelly. If anyone has advice for where I should go next with Wood I would appreciate it. I'm thinking that "Demo" with Becky Cloonan looks somewhat similar in vibes. This won't be for everyone, but for people that like "slice of life" type books and B/W, this 100% gets my rec. 9/10
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u/OtherwiseAddled 20d ago
Brian Wood got himself ejected from the comicsphere by being a creepy jerk. I just saw a bunch of his comics in the dollar bin yesterday alongside a good amount of Sandman single issues.
So if you are into reading more Brian Wood don't pay cover price!
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u/Lynch47 20d ago
I did read about that. Just the brief recaps on his wiki make it seem like he’s not so horrible that I can’t enjoy his work, aside from him.
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u/OtherwiseAddled 20d ago
It's kind of impressive how long he's continued to be persona non grata. He's not for me but I do remember people being into DMZ.
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u/justtohaveone 27d ago
The Shadow from DC in the 80s, Dark Horse in the 90s, and Dynamite in the late 2010s.
I do not understand anyone saying the 70s DC book is the pinnacle of Shadow comics.
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u/NeapolitanWhitmore Detective Beans! 27d ago
Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume One (By Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, David Messina, Matthew Wilson, and Cory Petit): Reread. This volume really is an incredible start to the series. Hickman and team really capture Peter Parker being Spider-Man and having a family. This volume has the Peter Parker I want to see. I want to see the Peter Parker that is trying to do it all. Have the family, be the superhero, worry about whether or not all of this was the right choice or not. I said it the first time I read this volume, this is the Peter Parker that I relate to the most.
Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume Two (By Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, David Messina, Matthew Wilson, and Cory Petit): Another reread. This volume follows the first one well. The months at the beginning of each issue tell you that another month has passed, but it doesn’t read like it. Maybe that’s a slight commentary on life in general, where you look at the calendar and go “damn it’s already [month], where did this year go?”. I doubt it, but it would be interesting if it was. Either way, I personally feel like this volume keeps the story moving forward. This and the previous volume do feel like one continuous story, the month breaks aren’t really noticeable. I think that Hickman and the team found their stride and are really digging in at this point. It’s a good book and I am enjoying it.
The Rocketfellers, Volume One (By Peter J Tomasi, Francis Manapul, John Kalisz, and Rob Leigh): Anytime I was reading this, I was engaged and entertained. However, I found myself finishing an issue and then putting it down for a day or two. I do think that everyone involved is a talented individual, but something didn’t fully click with me on this one. No hate toward the series. I may read more on hoopla whenever I can.
Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume Three (By Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checcetto, David Messina, Matthews Wilson, Cory Petit, and Erick Arciniega): The first two issues in this volume really are just great. Kraven’s hunt feels like there are stakes. I know that the book has Spider-Man’s name in the title, but it did feel like Peter could die during it. Well not completely, because he points out that he is a superior specimen to Kraven, but if he did die it would have felt earned. However, the new Spider-Man going around New York felt like it was just a snap shot into another arc. Which I think might be the biggest shift in this volume that I don’t really care for. Almost every issue feels like it is the end of a story arc or just pulled from the middle of one. Then again there are supposed to be time jumps in between each month, I don’t know if this series is fully benefiting from that constraint. I guess it did with the last two volumes because it was Peter’s training over a year, but I don’t feel like it worked as well here. I think that has some good ideas for this version of Spider-Man, but this volume didn’t feel as good as the previous two.
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u/ellieamavika 27d ago
- Woman world
- Descender compendium
- ascender compendium
- The raven boys GN
- The dream thieves GN (book 2 of the raven boys)
- Essex county
- This place kills me
- Tall water
- Who owns the clouds
- The 9/11 report
- Rebis
- Hollow magic
- Song of a blackbird
- (In progress) Hirayasumi
In no particular order above but absolutely loved woman world and descender. Rebis was cool and I wish it had a second book, or the authors other work was translated into English too. Song of a blackbird was amazing and very touching.
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u/BluWacky 27d ago edited 27d ago
A Garden of Spheres volume 1 by Linnea Sterte - stunningly beautiful, slightly confusing fantasy following a god journeying through a world of other gods and their myths. Alternating between colour and black and white throughout, Sterte is an artist of extraordinary, sparse vision, and this pretty chunky tome is an absolute delight all the way through. I've only read A Frog In The Fall previously and while both are beautiful this is certainly a weightier book in every sense. Really very good indeed.
Le Pouvoir de M (The Power of M) by Stephen Desberg and JEF (in French) - Marty has a secret that he shares with his mother - the ability to shapeshift. As an adult, he's a detective with the Metropolitan Police in London, who ends up on a mysterious case; an Arthurian "lady of the lake" is found floating down on the docks of the Thames, carrying a strange sword - a sword that is then stolen by a glowing "knight of light" who starts using it to murder people. While in many ways a very standard polar "noir" detective story - heavy on the almost pastiche-esque narration and beautiful femmes fatales - the fantastical Arthurian elements and the heavy chiaroscuro artwork, together with Desberg's command of the form as a writer, make this worthwhile.
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u/Sairven 27d ago
Here by Richard McGuire. Neat concept showing the goings on in a singular location from one angle over the course of the years from 100,000,000 BCE to ~22,000 CE. Mostly centers inside a singular room from the early 1900s to the early 2000s. Enjoyable read that I breezed through in a sitting.
Shiver by Junji Ito. Another anthology series from the master, this makes the 9th book of my ongoing obsession. Easily my favorite of the anthology books. Very entertaining and I loved the concept of The Long Dream where a patient gradually experiences lengthier and lengthier dreams in an instant. Crazy good art as always, I love that you can get onboard with the characters in just 20-50 pages of story.
The Superior Foes of Spider-Man by Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber. Amusing throughout and frequently hilarious. A book almost purely about humanized villains?! Great stuff. And a bunch of outright assholes haha. Brilliant art throughout, story got a little shaky toward the end but it came together.
Witchfinder vol 2 by Mignola, various. Took a break after BPRD vol 10, now it's back to the Mignola-verse! This was entertaining, but the writing kinda felt a little weak at times. And the art was a bit all over the place. I prefer the first volume, but would still appreciate some more adventures of Sir Edward Grey especially with his American counterpart Sarah Jewell.
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u/OtherwiseAddled 22d ago
Here is one of my top comics of all time. It's something that's a great use of the comics medium.
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u/Tight-Boat-8605 27d ago
Booster gold (2007)
Book 1-2,incredible it really brings a lot of depth to booster and shows that he is not perfect but he’s a really good guy trying his best I love him and skeets together⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 3, feels like we’re going backwards has a very different tone then what the previous books were, the only part I liked was the rip hunter flashbacks it gets back on track just to smash into flashpoint and end⭐️⭐️
Justice League generation lost vol 1-2, captain Adam is particularly good in this but I like all of the characters and it has an interesting story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The fall and the rise of captain atom, has some interesting stuff like him being in the 1990s but it’s just too short so not a lot is explored ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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u/Medium_Theory_8185 27d ago
I reread a ton of comics this week. Only two were new to me, Zac Thompson's Into the Unbeing and Junji Ito's version of Frankenstein.
Into the Unbeing by Zac Thompson & Hayden Sherman.
I've liked more, maybe all the things I've read by Thompson before this. I think he's an underrated creator who has nailed the portrayal of alienation and loneliness in the technological society. And Hayden Sherman is one of the best artists in the mainstream right now. I was looking forward to this comic. I'd be interested to hear a defense of it but it was a huge disappointment for me.
My biggest complaint though is that it's really, really derivative of the film (not the novel) Annihilation without even the virtues of that film (to say nothing of the greater virtues of the novel). It's so derivative, I kept suffering secondhand embarrassment for Thompson. Beyond that, I just didn't think it was very good. What Thompson does best is not epic but intimate stories. Thompson's allegory and Sherman's monumental art are at loggerheads over their priorities. Thompson's characters are flat on one side and abrasive on the other, just there to rub against each other and their situation for friction. And then there's the dog.
Frankenstein by Junji Ito.
An early work by this creator and it does show. It's very competent though, most of the omissions and compressions being very reasonable. It adheres more closely to the novel than I ever would have expected. There's one significant change nearer the end (at least, my 1818 edition of Shelley's novel sure didn't feature this bit) that feels like the most distinctly Ito-esque thing in the book, and is arguably the best scene. I loved the creature's unromanticized design.
I read this just after I reread Steve Niles and Berni Wrightson's (and Kelley Jones', filling in near the end) Frankenstein: Alive, Alive! Wrightson's art is, well, Wrightson's art. He's one of the only comic artists in existence who could ever outshine Ito as a horror artist in my eyes. But I have never cared for Niles' hamfisted humanist messaging and found myself preferring Ito's pretty faithful adaptation. I had also reread Bruce Jones and Berni Wrightson's Freak Show earlier the same day. That one's an old favorite of mine (which Jones denies was inspired by Tod Browning's Freaks, which it does resemble) and a better showcase for Wrightson's great abilities as cartoonist. Niles' story treats Wrightson's art in the Frankenstein comic more like illustrations for the prose which just wasn't up to the same standard.
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u/ConstantVarious2082 27d ago
Elfes #1 Le Crystal des Elfes bleus by Jean-Luc Istin and Kyko Duarte – epic fantasy in French. This is a pretty by-the-book story – we’ve got two separate stories, one of a sea elf investigating an attack on a remote city (with a suspiciously obvious dagger pointing toward their mortal enemies, the viking-inspired human tribe nearby) while another young elf learns she’s the fated chosen one who will recover the titular lost crystal that will allow her to control the sea and protect their islands. These stories intertwine and there’s a combination of very expected twists and some more novel ones. The transition between stories is a little clunky, sometimes happening mid-page and not necessarily at an apparent great stopping point for the other story, and some twists come a little too fast. Overall it’s fun enough basic fantasy stuff. The art is enjoyable, some very nice big underwater scenes and a good bit of dynamic action and suitably dramatic magic. Again, nothing special but plenty of fun for what it is. I’ll finish the first cycle of this series and decide whether I’m invested enough to see how things develop.
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u/TheDaneOf5683 Cross Game + Duncan The Wonder Dog 27d ago
Cross Game, vols 1-3 by Mitsuru Adachi. I gave myself permission to have a wonderful weekend, so I read the first three vols of Cross Game, one of the two best comics ever made. My wife asked if this was my twentieth read of the series but I think it might only be the seventeenth. Volume 3 is a nice spot because at its halfway point, the series finally stretches out of the prologue and becomes what it intends to be.
Solver: Circus Windows by John Allison. More post-highschool Lottie mystery shenanigans, this time featuring Mildred with a short bit of Shauna bonus content. I was unclear on the chronology, so I looked it up. This is 3 stories before Solver, vol 1, which I read a couple weeks ago. I don't think the other two stories have been printed so I will have to look them up in their hypertext protocol neighborhood. That would probably unveil the mystery of Lottie's dismissiveness toward mystery at the open of Solver, vol 1. Anyway, great humors in this one, obv.
Actually, I saw this and maybe I won't find things out in those other two stories.
Charlotte Grote used to be a famous teen detective. Then she was accused of murder. Cleared, but disgraced, she lost her university place, her reputation, and most of her ambition. Hitting her twenties and back in her hometown, Charlotte is drawn into new mysteries with old friends and unexpected allies. From the creator of SCARY GO ROUND, BAD MACHINERY, and GIANT DAYS.
Maybe it's in the Tackleford Expanded Universe Of Stories not drawn by Allison and so not probably something I'm going to read. The TEUOS is one of those series that just cannot be satisfyingly drawn by people not their creator -- like Usagi Yojimbo or Hellboy.
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u/americantabloid3 TOL Winner 27d ago
Just picked up Cross Game from the library after seeing it in your TOL list. Hope I enjoy it half as much as you do!
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u/MakeWayForTomorrow This guy lists. 27d ago
I wish I enjoyed anything half as much he enjoys “Cross Game”.
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u/Itagvoid82 27d ago
FORMING by Jesse Moynihan
Finally finished and collected after 17 years of work! The elevator pitch for this would be mythical/spiritual theory by way of Jodorowsky with the visual style of cute-Alt comix/Adventure Time/Smiling Friends. Despite the more heady and psychedelic content, the dialogue is funny and casual (and profane). I never felt like I was being lectured. The hand painted coloring of the art is gorgeous.
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u/OtherwiseAddled 22d ago
I'm quite excited for this. I had volume one and always kicked myself for not getting volume 2 but now I can finally stop the kicking!
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u/Dense-Virus-1692 27d ago
Gay Mormon Dad by Chad Anderson and Remy Burke – An autobio comic about growing up gay and Mormon. Anderson is the gay dad. I thought it’d be his dad. But ya, he knew he was gay and got married anyway, hoping it would turn him straight. They had a couple kids and then split up. He’s a lot happier now but his family hates him. It’s split into the past, when he was closeted and depressed and the present when he’s out and happy. The past is coloured in all cool tones and the present is in warm. It’s nice to have the happy sections mixed with the sad ones.
Seven Years in Darkness: Year One by Joseph Schmalke – A kind of mash up of Harry Potter and Hunger Games. There’s a school of black magic where 72 kids go to but only 7 can graduate from. The rest are killed. Not the best odds! There’s some bad kids that try to kill everyone early and a chosen one who’s super powerful without knowing it. It’s not bad. The art style is pretty cool. It really leans into chiaroscuro with lots of dark patches and neon coloured light ones. It looks like it might be pastels? Everyone wears these black robes and blank white masks which 1) saves his from drawing a lot of faces and bodies and 2) looks pretty cool.
Neo Faust by Osamu Tezuka – Tezuka’s unfinished retelling of the Faust story. An old professor makes a deal with the devil to become young again and go back twenty years. The devil (or daughter of the devil?) is a woman and gets naked a lot. She also turns into a dog and zaps people. The young professor is a hot headed jerk but he falls in love with a shy girl at the university. This is all set against the student protest movement of the 60s. I wonder if Tezuka was a fan of the activists? They’re not painted in a great light. The professor is also a bio-engineer and his young version wants to create a new race of people. It feels like some of the same themes as Apollo’s Song. The best part is how it wraps around by having the young professor meet the old professor thanks to the time travel. I wonder if those panels were redrawn or just cut and pasted. It’s hard not to see this Faust thing as a little autobiographical. Tezuka was dying from stomach cancer while he’s writing about an old guy wishing to become young again. It’s crazy he did all this (well, he had assistants) in the year before his death. It’s super sad seeing the unfinished rough outlines in the back.
At least the bio-engineering subplot gave us this amazing panel. Read right to left!
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u/Siccar_Point No capes! 27d ago
Unnatural (Mirka Andolfo). What if Zootopia, but with more sex? A slightly on-the-nose socio-political allegory, with a fun and straightforward action story bolted on. I like Andolfo’s stuff, and this is par for the course. As in must of her other stuff there’s a refreshingly, uh, European attitude to sex and nudity. Unfortunately when you have hot anthropomorphised animals there’s more than a whiff of Furry propaganda about this though. Which is a little off putting. You don’t normally think of MA as a top notch artist, but I do love her way of drawing people.
The Janissary and The Envoy and the Warrior. A pair of very recent shorts from Linnea Sterte and Simon Roy. I’ve not read Prophet, but pretty sure these sit within the wider Roy universe (à la last week’s A Star Called The Sun). I didn’t find the former worked that well as a standalone without that knowledge, but the latter was great. As always, some stunning visuals, and a character focused story that benefits greatly from not telling us much. I gotta read Prophet!
Night Fisher (R. Kikuo Johnson). An ennui-filled teen is tempted by meth. Felt a bit mixed about this. As a bit of comics, really good. Stylish, well drawn with inky blacks swallowing pages. Metaphor for days: We almost ever see the MC’s eyes behind his glasses; in key places his Dad’s face is almost totally blacked out. We start with treading on a spiky plant hidden amongst an innocent-looking suburban garden gone to seed. Great characters. The “real” Hawaii is almost a character here. But god I found this bleak. Can’t say I enjoyed this much, despite it clearly being excellent.
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u/Timely_Tonight_8620 Shop Local! 27d ago
Cornelius: The Merry Life of a Wretched Dog by Marc Torices: Cornelius is a janitor at the local pool in a world where everyone is talking animals, his life having gone nowhere with him lacking respect at work and trying to reach his dreams of becoming a writer. The story itself is written like the first volume of a very long running comic with it adding in mock issues throughout, Cornelius being a coward of a character that you either grow to love or find detestable. In my eyes he’s on the detestable spectrum given the incident where his genuine friend and niece of his boss, Alspacka with her getting kidnapped at the park and him doing nothing to help fend them off. Cornelius is a coward so he spends his time debating about what he should’ve done while also having a Faustian drive for success with writing. It’s a gorgeous book with a different art style each page making the comic really feeling like part of a collection for a long-running series and the mix of dark humor and just how pathetic Cornelius is really helps to balance out the darker aspects.
Gramercy Park by Timothee de Fombelle and Christian Cailleaux: In 1954’s New York City Madeleine is a woman who left a career of being a dancer in Paris for love in America, but while she’s taking care of her bees up on the roof she’s looking across the street longing for something. Across the street is a man who’s a mob boss on a brutal streak running his own organization as he also tries to make it up to his daughter whose mother was no longer with them, both neighbors being lonely and longing for someone. Both characters have their lives built up with just passing looks from across the street till they finally connect near the ending third. It’s a shorter story at under 100 pages with the story being just decent, but the wonderful artstyle is what really sells this book for me.
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u/ExplodingPoptarts 25d ago
The Witcher: The Bear and The Butterfly (2025) #1-4 by Simon Spurrier and Stephen Green (Great Dark Fantasy Comic GN about a Magic wielder Sworder Going After A Vampire, Dark Horse)
And I guess that's 2 GNs of The Witcher that I like and respect.
I didn't like the art at first with the seemingly blurry faces, but it got better as it went along.
Really different take on vampires that I've never seen before. Very easy to recommend!