Posted May 23, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
A Boy Named Rose
Genres: Graphic Novels,
Historical Fiction Pages: 212
Rating: 
Synopsis: Paris. The 1920s. Rose is a boy and, like all the girls he's spent time with since he was born, he wants to dance at "Le Jardin", the cabaret managed by his mother.
As Rose blossoms into a young man, he discovers love and tries to find his place in a society that's not ready to welcome true love between two men.
GaĂ«lle Geniller’s A Boy Named Rose is really, really cute. I like the art and colours, and I like how protective and warm the found family at Le Jardin feels. Rose’s character is nuanced, never perfect, but overall positive and sweet, and thoughtful about his identity (which comes out when he’s interviewed). It’s not that he doesn’t get any pushback for being male and wearing dresses or dancing on stage like the women, or even quite that he dismisses it, but he takes his own perspective on it.
I also liked that his relationship with AimĂ© wasn’t explicitly romantic all the time, that it seemed to be companionship above all for the two of them, with potential for something more — and perhaps a hint of AimĂ© being interested in how free Rose feels to be who is, and maybe even longing for it himself (even if he doesn’t express it in the same way).
There’s a line from the summary that made me think it was going to be significantly angstier than it actually is: “As Rose blossoms into a young man, he discovers love and tries to find his place in a society that’s not ready to welcome true love between two men.”
But… nope. Mostly it’s gentle and happy. It’s not perfect, and sometimes Rose gets upset or afraid, but… his family and AimĂ© are there to help him.
Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)
Tags: book reviews, books, Gaëlle Geniller, graphic novels, historical, queer fiction
Posted May 16, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
My Heart in Braille
Genres: Graphic Novels,
Young Adult Pages: 74
Rating: 
Synopsis: Victor loves vintage cars and belting out songs in his garage band, but school is harder for him and he seems to always say the wrong thing. When he meets the cello-playing, straight-A student Marie-Jo, the two strike up an unlikely friendship, and before long both his grades and his attitude improve. But when Marie-Jo confesses a terrible secret to him, Victor will have to return the favor and do a little rescuing of his own.
There’s some pretty art in Joris Chamberlain’s My Heart in Braille, but I didn’t really think much of the story. I gather it’s actually based on a novel, which might make more sense of it; it didn’t really feel like it’d been written/structured to be a graphic novel to begin with.
Overall, it feels like there’s some lacking context for the characters and like certain aspects of the story just get totally dropped, or elided. There isn’t strong character development or relationship development, and Victor’s personal development (and coping with his ?ADHD) is essentially ditched in favour of Marie’s feel-good story about getting to go to music school.
Overall, not strong at all.
Rating: 1/5 (“didn’t like it”)
Tags: Anne-Lise Nalin, book reviews, books, comics, graphic novels, Joris Chamblain, Pascal Ruter, YA
Posted May 9, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Home Sick Pilots: Three Chords and the End of the World
Genres: Graphic Novels,
Horror Pages: 144
Series: Home Sick Pilots #3 Rating: Synopsis: At long last, it’s the Home Sick Pilots—in a walking haunted house—versus the Nuclear Bastards—in a mech fueled by the sins of the nation. A battle of the bands to end all battles…and probably the world as we know it.
DAN WATTERS (Arkham City: The Order of the World, COFFIN BOUND) and CASPAR WIJNGAARD (Star Wars, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt) return for the thrilling final volume of bloody action, busted guitar pedals, and ghosts.
Collects HOME SICK PILOTS #11-15
The third volume of Dan Watters’Â Home Sick Pilots goes into action quickly, and the concept is pretty neat: a walking haunted house vs a mech powered by the tortured regrets of America. Ami pilots the house, desperately trying to hold out while Buzz and Rip try to find the final ghost that belongs to the house and bring it back to help give her enough power.
It works its way to an explosive finale, which isn’t everything it seems because it leaves Ami, Buzz, Rip and Meg still trapped in the house, sealed tight against any way out. But they have a plan…
The ending kinda surprised me — I guess I’d expected things to turn out a bit better, or maybe I’d just been hoping for that — but it seemed fitting in the end.
I continue to love Caspar Wijngaard’s work on the art and designs, and appreciated the bit included at the end showing some of the design process.
Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)
Tags: Aditya Bidikar, book reviews, books, Casper Wijngaard, comics, Dan Watters, graphic novels, horror, Tom Muller
Posted April 23, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Home Sick Pilots: I Wanna Be A Walking Weapon
Genres: Graphic Novels,
Horror Pages: 120
Series: Home Sick Pilots #2 Rating: 
Synopsis: There is a haunted house that has learned to walk. As it chases them across the country, Ami, lead singer of the Home Sick Pilots, regrets teaching it how. But when the military attempt to develop their own ghost-powered weapon, the Old James House might be the only defense the world has from what they unleash.
The second volume of Dan Watters’Â Home Sick Pilots feels a bit middle-bookish, it must be said: it all feels like setup for the grand finale, without much of a satisfying arc of its own — a couple of things come together at the end of the volume, and there’s a bit of character development for the main three and Meg, but it’s all about getting the pieces in place for the end.
With a bit along the way about Nazis infiltrating punk, which is in one sense welcome in these times, but also felt a bit preachy and shoe-horned in.
I still love the art and character designs, though. Meg’s transformation is a hell of a thing.
Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)
Tags: Aditya Bidikar, book reviews, books, Caspar Wijngaard, comics, Dan Watters, graphic novels, horror, Tom Muller
Posted March 29, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Home Sick Pilots: Teenage Haunts
Genres: Graphic Novels,
Horror Pages: 144
Series: Home Sick Pilots #1 Rating: Synopsis: In the summer of 1994, a haunted house walks across California. Inside is Ami, lead singer of a high school punk band—who’s been missing for weeks. How did she get there? What do these ghosts want? And does this mean the band has to break up?Expect three-chord songs and big bloody action as Power Rangers meets The Shining (yes really), and as writer DAN WATTERS (Lucifer, COFFIN BOUND) and artist CASPAR WIJNGAARD (LIMBO, Star Wars, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt) delve into the horrors of misspent youth.
I’d never heard of Dan Watters’Â Home Sick Pilots before, but I decided to give volume 1 a try because it was on Comics Plus (and it filled a reading bingo square, ahaha). I ended up really enjoying it: it’s a bit gory, but I liked the character designs and action scenes quite a bit, and the way the story opened up from being a simple story about a girl getting caught up in a haunting to something bigger.
Certain aspects didn’t turn out the way I was expecting, either — I don’t want to say too much, because it’s probably worth finding out what happens to all the characters yourself, but at the end of the first volume they weren’t all where I expected them to be, let’s say.
I’d definitely like to read more, if it gets added to Comics Plus; I might even grab the next volume on Kobo or something, if they have it… and yep, it’s on Kobo Plus! So I’ll try to get to that soon and finish up the story. It’s not one of my comfy genres, but I’m really curious about where it’ll go.
Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)
Tags: Aditya Bidikar, book reviews, books, Casper Wijngaard, Dan Watters, graphic novels, horror, Tom Muller
Posted March 26, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Carmilla: The First Vampire
Genres: Fantasy,
Graphic Novels,
Horror Pages: 109
Rating: 
Synopsis: Before Dracula, before Nosferatu, there was…CARMILLA.
Inspired by the gothic novel that started the vampire genre and layered with dark Chinese folklore, this queer, feminist murder mystery graphic novel is a tale of identity, obsession and fateful family secrets.
At the height of the Lunar New Year in 1990s New York City, an idealistic social worker turns detective when she discovers young, homeless LGBTQ+ women are being murdered and no one, especially the police, seems to care.
A series of clues points her to Carmilla’s, a mysterious nightclub in the heart of her neighborhood, Chinatown. There she falls for the next likely target, landing her at the center of a real-life horror story—and face-to-face with illusions about herself, her life, and her hidden past.
The first volume of Amy Chu and Soo Lee’s Carmilla: The First Vampire is an interesting attempt to mingle a retelling (or rather, continuation of) Carmilla with Chinese folklore and the idea of hunting dangerous creatures, which… it’s hard to say how well that works, because the main character (Athena) doesn’t know about and has been protected from it.
It all feels a bit rushed, to be honest; Athena taking in Violet feels apt enough, but her breakup with her partner Morgan feels completely skipped over, along with her grandfather’s revelations, and even the deaths of certain characters. It focuses mostly on Violet and Athena, and the obsession Athena develops with Violet, which… didn’t quite manage to evoke the weird longing/repulsion that’s such a feature of the original Carmilla.
Given it’s a first volume, there’s probably more to see, and this is mostly setup — though that feels weird, given the title and the fact that Carmilla is apparently vanquished in this book already? In any case, I’m not super inspired to read more.
The art was okay, not my favourite style, but some fun character designs.
Rating: 2/5 (“it was okay”)
Tags: Amy Chu, book reviews, books, graphic novels, horror, SF/F, Soo Lee
Posted March 17, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
DPS Only!
Genres: Graphic Novels Pages: 426
Rating: Synopsis: Vicky Tan is a meek school girl with social anxiety who always introduces herself as an attachment to her confident, genius brother, Virgil, who has made a name for himself as one of the most popular competitors and streamers for the world famous "Xenith Orion" game.
Despite having aspirations of her own to compete and stream, Vic fears that she will open herself to the hate, doubt, harassment significant women gamers receive every day. She instead opts to stay in the background, acting as her brother’s assistant and manager. However, when opportunity arises in the form of a local competition, Vicky knows she can't stay away. Donning a disguise, she enters the esports scene under the moniker, "Aegis."
I grabbed DPS Only! on Comics Plus when I realised that it was written/drawn by Velinxi (Xiao Tong Kong), the artist who illustrated the English-language version of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System. No surprises then that I liked the art and character designs a lot. The colours were great, too.
The story’s a bit of a coming-of-age thing, essentially: Vicky’s brother Virgil is a pro-gamer, competing in esports leagues, and he’s used the money to formally adopt her and get her away from their parents. She loves him, but he’s overprotective and sometimes infantalising, and he doesn’t really seem to see her. He has no idea, for instance, that she plays too…
It’s inevitable that the story ends with the two of them going toe-to-toe, but it takes a while to get there, exploring Vicky’s growing confidence, her growing interest in revealing herself after an initial reluctance to compete. I enjoyed that her team includes an older guy — games can bring such different age groups together, and some very disparate people, and I love how supportive Eric is with his slightly different perspective.
There was an obvious ending to this story, and I’m glad it didn’t fully go there, on reflection. Vicky’s still got a long way to go. But she’s on her way, and now Virgil has her back, properly. It’s lovely.
Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, graphic novels, Velinxi
Posted March 2, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Iyanu: Child of Wonder
Genres: Fantasy,
Graphic Novels Pages: 120
Series: Iyanu: Child of Wonder #1 Rating: Synopsis: Iyanu, a teenage orphan with no recollection of her past, suddenly discovers that she has abilities that rival the ancient deities told in the folklore of her people.
It is these abilities that are the key to bringing back an age of wonders, as Iyanu begins her journey to save a world on the brink of destruction! The Corrupt--cursed wildlife and strange, divine beasts--are determined to destroy humanity, unless Iyanu can stop them.
I really liked the colours in volume one of Roye Okupe’s Iyanu: Child of Wonder, and I like the character designs too, but something about the art doesn’t work for me — kind of an uncanny valley sort of thing, I think? There are some pages where it really threw me somehow.
The story itself is fairly familiar/unsurprising, with a chosen one and an in-group protecting themselves by high walls, oppression, etc. What I got fascinated by was the backstory, partly based on Yoruba customs, which is given in snippets between the chapters and then discussed in quite a bit of detail at the end of the book. It’s an interesting set-up.
I don’t think I’ll be continuing with this series, but I’m glad I gave it a shot. It’s probably for a younger audience, mostly; I can imagine an eleven year old eating it up and loving Iyanu.
Rating: 2/5 (“it was okay”)
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, Godwin Akpan, graphic novels, Roye Okupe, SF/F
Posted February 19, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Quince
Genres: Fantasy,
Graphic Novels Pages: 164
Rating: Synopsis: Lupe is just your average, insecure, well-meaning, occasionally cranky teenage girl whose life is completely turned upside down when she discovers she has superpowers at her quinceañera. Her quince powers only last as long as she’s fifteen, so over the course of this rollercoaster year, we follow the adventures of Lupe as she figures out what it really means to be a hero.
Quince is a fun project which I read in the English translation. Sebastian Kadlecik, Kit Steinkellner and Emma Steinkellner worked together, bringing it out in 15 issues, one issue at a time, on the 15th of each month… Lupe is celebrating her quinceañera when she gets superheroes, and her abuela is there to guide her, recognising her powers as being given to her because she’s going to need them for some reason.
It doesn’t dig an enormous amount into the whys and hows, but I thought the idea of a temporary superhero — with powers only for the year she’s aged 15 — was kinda neat. We don’t hear a whole lot about what her abuela did with her own powers, but the bond between the two of them drives the story… and drives Lupe to fight crime.
I’d say I wasn’t 100% happy with the fact that the story never explains how she gets the powers, why they only last a year, why a teenage girl is the most appropriate, why her abuela is so certain there’s a purpose behind it, but I mostly kinda rolled with it. I found the ending a bit trite, and the lead-in to the social responsibility, volunteering, etc, kinda… cringe? It’d have felt more natural if there was some kind of explanation, like Lupe’s quince powers are intended to instill that in her.
I wasn’t an enormous fan of the art at first, but it really grew on me, and I love Lupe’s character design. She’s a Mexican plus-size superhero with super teenage expressions, ahaha, and the art and colours ended up feeling perfect for it.
Overall, I feel like it’s probably better for younger readers, and I’m hardly the target audience, but I had fun. It was a random pick from Comics Plus to fill a bingo card I was using to prompt me to explore the Comics Plus collection (this prompt being “superheroes, but not published by Marvel or DC”), and I’m glad I gave it a shot.
Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, Emma Steinkellner, graphic novels, Kit Steinkellner, Sebastian Kadlecik, SF/F
Posted February 18, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
Bipolar Bear and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Health Insurance: A Fable for Grown-Ups
Genres: Graphic Novels Pages: 200
Rating: Synopsis: Theodore is a bear with wild mood swings. When he is up, he carves epic poetry into tree trunks. When he is down, he paints sad faces on rocks and turtle shells. In search of prescription medications that will bring stability to his life, Theodore finds a job with health insurance benefits. He gets the meds, but when he can't pay the psychiatrist's bill, he becomes lost in the Labyrinth of Health Insurance Claims.
This witty and colorful tale follows the comical exploits of Theodore, a lovable and relatable bear, as he copes with bipolar disorder, navigates the inequities of capitalist society, founds a commune, and becomes an activist, all the while accompanied by a memorable cast of characters--fat-cat insurance CEOs, a wrongfully convicted snake, raccoons with tommy guns, and an unemployed old dog who cannot learn new tricks.
Entertaining, whimsical, and bitingly satirical, Bipolar Bear is a fable for grownups that manages the delicate balance of addressing society's ills while simultaneously presenting a hopeful vision for the world.
Bipolar Bear and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Health Insurance is an awesome concept, and it’s worth paying attention to the subtitle too (“A Fable for Grownups”), because it very much is a fable, and aimed at adults (definitely not kids). Kathleen Founds is writing with experience, very clearly, addressing some of the experiences of bipolar disorder, but also of navigating an insurance-based health system (and how bipolar disorder can add its own pitfalls to that).
Obviously it does feel very, very American; some of these problems don’t apply here in the UK, though (as I understand it from my mother, who is a psychiatrist) the problem of e.g. someone deciding they feel well and going off their medication (which is, of course, the reason they felt well) certainly does cause problems here too.
It felt maybe a little long for me, because I could see where it was going; being a fable, it could probably have simplified even more and made its point very well. Still, it’s a fun idea, and I suspect for some it would also be a way of seeing that they’re not alone.
Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)
Tags: book reviews, books, comics, graphic novels, Kathleen Founds
