Shimizu (Qwan) stitches body horror into the aesthetics of traditional Japanese ghost stories in this gleefully gruesome chiller. In a forgotten Japanese village hidden in the mountains, Lady Kamiya and her beautiful, strangely scarred daughter Kiriko rule over deformed villagers who worship Kiriko for her healing powers. Outsiders who wander into the village soon find themselves absorbed into its weird rituals—and cannibalized for parts: “Will you become one of us?” Lady Kamiya asks. “Or will you become part of us?” The loosely connected early chapters, in which unfortunate victims keep stumbling into the village, give way to a larger story arc when Minato, a neurotic young man, is kidnapped to become Kiriko’s husband, a process no one has survived intact thus far. He sets out to uncover her secrets and discovers that they share scars—literal, in her case—from abusive, controlling parents. Shimizu’s delicate, fine-lined art is somewhat generic to the genre but effectively lends eerie elegance to dismembered bodies, sewn-up monsters, killer cultists, and creepy poppets (the ceremonial dolls displayed during the Japanese holiday of Hinamatsuri provide a running motif). Despite its uneven seams, this patchwork is suitably unsettling for manga horror fans. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/09/2026 | Details & Permalink

The poetic debut from European cartoonists Di Virgilio and Santoni, which tracks the events leading to the creation of Frankenstein, drips in gothic romance, but is light on historical substance. The child of progressive reformers, Mary Shelley is raised by her intellectually demanding father after her mother, feminist activist Mary Wollstonecraft, dies giving birth to her. Though isolated by her father’s strict home education, Shelley connects with her stepsister Claire and lively friend Eleanor Baxter and discovers her love of writing. In her teens, she elopes with Percy Shelley, would-be poet and black sheep of his upper-crust family, who inconveniently happens to already be married. During a house party in Geneva, Percy’s bad-boy buddy Lord Byron suggests the guests each write a horror story, famously inspiring Mary to create Frankenstein. The stormy art is sketched in stark black-and-white with splashes of blood red. Unfortunately, the story only recounts Mary Shelley’s development to age 18, when she began her famed monster tale (she wrote a number of other books and died at 53, long outliving Percy). Though it’s a stylish introduction to the writer, devoted Shelley fans may be left wanting. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/09/2026 | Details & Permalink

Zong puts a sapphic twist on “Little Red Riding Hood” in her vibrant debut. In a desolate world in which most of humanity has died of plague, Red hunts down “vengeful souls” called nawa. Her Grand Mother exorcises these restless spirits caught in animal forms in sacrificial rituals, attempting to cleanse the world. When Red rescues an aloof wolf-human hybrid named Sil from a bear trap, she’s unsure if the creature is a nawa. Nursed back to health in Red’s cabin, Sil calls herself a “chimera” or a shepherd. As the two warm to each other, Red makes several shocking discoveries: Sil abandoned her post as a Guardian Beast, celestial deities roam the world, and her power-hungry Grand Mother is up to something nefarious. Recruiting a cast of deities, Red and Sil set out to defeat Grand Mother. There are a few clunky transitions but overall, the story elements are handily pulled together and elevated by the dynamic art. Red’s delight at discovering the myriad ethereal animal guardians and the tenderness of Red and Sil’s slow-burning love story glow through Zong’s rendering. This spirited tale will appeal to fans of Fables and Through the Woods. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/09/2026 | Details & Permalink

Legally Blonde screenwriter Kiwi Smith teams up with cowriters Lustgarten (Misfit City) and Amy Roy and artist Leisha Riddel for a retro heist comedy as bubbly as Crystal Pepsi. In 1990s San Francisco, Brenda, a community college student and undercover computer hacker, accidentally frees Mia Corsair, a glamorous cat burglar, from cryonic stasis. The last thing Mia remembers is being frozen in the 1960s by the villainous Ice Man, just as she was about to make her biggest score. “A woman without a plan is no woman at all,” Mia advises Brenda, and the two quickly recycle Mia’s plot to steal the Net of Indra, a diamond artifact coincidentally about to go on display at a local museum. But Mia’s reemergence catches the attention of her wealthy former arch-rival Hatch Leonard, along with two federal agents (who resemble Mulder and Scully of X-Files fame), and her mother, who’s currently in federal prison. Meanwhile, Mia and Brenda bond and banter while building a makeshift training course in Brenda’s room and rallying her courage to meet her online crush. The double-nostalgia vibe is fun: Mia, the image of the Swinging Sixties in her catsuit and free-love sensibilities, struggles to master ’90s slang and keep up with Brenda’s references to Friends and Quentin Tarantino movies. The lively art shines with pop art color. It’s light fare, but it goes down smooth. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/09/2026 | Details & Permalink

In her forthright debut, Cooklin, the nom de plume of zinester Caitlin Cook, documents her asexuality and its impact on romantic relationships throughout her life. At age seven in 2004, Caitlin moves to small-town Appalachian Ohio. “Incredibly bored,” she picks up the socially expected habit of developing crushes. But her first real attraction in sixth grade is less of a romantic spark and more of a desire to “shrink to a microscopic size, climb into his brain, and just see what was inside.” Raised in a nonpracticing Catholic family, she joins an evangelical youth group, where the fellowship pulls her out of a depressive episode. She then latches onto purity culture—sex she’s uninterested in seems easy to resist. Her first boyfriend repeatedly violates her stated boundaries, however, and she later realizes he sexually abused her. As a result, she “stop[s] asking God to step in... he clearly felt I wasn’t worth saving.” In college, she has what she describes as a “hoe phase,” or “exposure therapy.” All the while, she returns to internet searches about bisexuality, asexuality, etc., as she spirals around other labels—“broken; failure; prude; unworthy of love.” Ultimately, she comes to believe love really means “to know” another person, which first requires she know herself. The simplistic art focuses on character close-ups and sitcom-style montages, all in the color palette of the asexual pride flag. In the same vein as My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, this is an unabashedly vulnerable and informative account. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

British cartoonist Chapman follows up Breakwater with another affecting, low-key drama, in this case about a trio of restaurant workers balancing work, personal, and familial conflicts. Claudia Grace, chef-owner of Alley, runs the buzzy London restaurant with her sous chef and best friend Lisa, plus bartender and potential hook-up Ben. Despite her growing success, Claudia perpetually feels like she’s in the shadow of her famed chef father. At the encouragement of a food journalist, she enters a “Pro Chef of the Year” contest, even though the stressful competition complicates her day-to-day. Reflecting on her fatigue to Ben, she says, “My life’s been studying and working, that’s about it.” Meanwhile, Lisa struggles to balance her long shifts at Alley and her home life with her husband and young son, while Ben does his best to get his parents, who bemoan his preference for gardening and artisanal mixers over football (or a higher paying job), to acknowledge his accomplishments. Chapman’s graceful art, muted color scheme, and focus on character development serve her storytelling. The details of restaurant operations lend the proceedings an insider’s view, while the many parent-child relationship stresses and strains touch upon universal emotions. It adds up to a kinder, gentler—but no less probing—graphic novel riff on The Bear. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

The delirious debut by animation artist Darrow, daughter of cartoonist Geoff Darrow, revels in the excess of classic exploitation films with confidence and style. After the apocalypse, Earth has become “a glorified landfill ruled by testosterone and off-brand E.D. medication,” but Baby, Babette, and Belladonna, three tough ladies straight out of a Russ Meyer movie, have escaped patriarchal control and roam the wastelands in a VW Beetle, robbing unsuspecting dudes. Cecil, the nebbishy survivor of their latest raid, promises to lead them to a mysterious, sought-after artifact before the warlord Master Quest can get his hands on it. Thus begins a self-aware action extravaganza of guns, grenades, martial arts, and vehicular homicide, as Master Quest’s loyal minions sacrifice their lives to stop the “voluptuous nuisances.” Darrow’s blocky, kinetic art is perfect for the pulpy fodder. The story dances on the line between parody and pastiche, both mocking and delighting in its source material with dialogue like “You got a lot of attitude for a third wheeler in a tacky outfit!” Readers will have a blast. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

Costa (Belle of the Ball) serves up a raunchy romantasy with a devilish sense of humor. Helianthes “Hell” Beausoleil is a cambion, a half-demon born to a human family. In his Victorian-esque fantasy world, such beings are usually killed at birth, but Helianthes has grown into a sly, sarcastic, and horny (in both senses of the word) rake with a reputation for seducing men. (Or, as patrons at the local tavern gossip, “That bastard puts this nasty spell... that makes ’em fall for him!”) Cast out of his noble family for bedding his sister’s fiancé, he finds work as a freelance exorcist, dispatching demons with the help of his burly, perpetually exasperated bodyguard, Elias. Costa draws a cast of colorful characters with hilariously animated faces and lithe figures, then sets them loose in a vividly imagined sepia-toned period setting. Helianthes and Elias battle demons in a brothel, a basilica, and a country house; receive an invitation to the apocalypse; and face off against Helianthes’s most dreaded ex. Beneath the fighting and flirting is a warmhearted romance, in which the leads learn to lower their emotional defenses as they hone their fighting skills. Along the way, Helianthes’s half-demon status and society’s reaction to it serve as a saucy commentary on queer identity. It’s a wicked treat. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

STARember’s stylish manhua debut, an adaptation of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s Chinese webnovel, is more satisfying to look at than read. In a lush fantasy historical version of China reminiscent of wuxia movies, Prince Xie Lian achieves divinity as a reward for his heroic deeds. For as-yet-undisclosed reasons, however, he loses the favor of the gods. He’s banished back to the mortal world, where his repeated efforts to regain his heavenly status by humble deeds (busking on the streets, collecting trash) make him “the laughingstock of the three realms.” Subsequent serialized plots feature Xie Lian and other earthbound immortals recruited by the gods to deal with supernatural troubles plaguing humanity. In this opening volume, they investigate the mystery of a “ghost groom” who abducts brides from their wedding processions. The lavish painted art is rife with lithe figures in flowing silks surrounded by butterflies, blossoms, eerie lights, and dramatic shadows. The script, unfortunately, is mired in confusing info dumps and wonky asides on heavenly bureaucracy. Additionally, the action can be hard to follow visually, in part because the many attractive, elegant characters look so much alike. (At least the young man with disfiguring “human face disease” stands out.) This eye-catching confection lacks flavor. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 12/12/2025 | Details & Permalink

Folk horror meets small-town noir in this chilling outing from Jordan (The Strange Talent of Luther Strode), Shehan (House of Slaughter), and House (Morning Star). Fresh out of prison, tough guy Harley Creed returns to his Appalachian hometown of Briar Falls to check on his estranged daughter, Maybelle, despite being warned, “Ain’t nothing here but death.” Briar Falls is a stronghold of dark folk magic, and the most powerful witching family in town, the Weavers, nurses an old grudge against Creed. When he’s hexed with the Black Bone Curse, which will kill him if he can’t kill the person who cast it first, he’s forced to unleash his own deadly mystical skills. If the story is sometimes too elliptical for its own good—the narrative almost reaches its end before sketching a clear picture of the feud’s stakes—the streaky, shadowy, and boldly colored art, reminiscent of classic Vertigo artists like Duncan Fegredo, sets the perfect eerie backwoods mood. In the book’s most effective recurring image, spectral faces hover behind Creed as a reminder of the secrets he carries. Horror fans will fall under this graphic novel’s spell. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 12/12/2025 | Details & Permalink