World Comic Book Review

3rd December 2023

Suite Française: Storm in June (Review)

Suite Française: Storm in June Arsenal Pulp Press, 2915 Writers: Irène Némirovsky (novel), Emmanuel Moynot (comic), David Homel (translator) The story behind the story has been told many times, and it is nonetheless well-worth repeating. Two daughters, Denise and Elisabeth Epstein, improbably escaped the Holocaust in World War 2, assisted by a German officer who … Read more

Teddy Rides Again: Rough Riders Volume 1 (Review)

Teddy Rides Again: “Rough Riders” Volume 1 Aftershock Comics, 2016 Writer: Adam Glass Theodore Roosevelt, the twenty-sixth president of the United States of America, was an eccentric but brilliant man. A naturalist, a rancher, a Governor of New York, an Amazon explorer, an Assistant Secretary to the Navy, a war hero, a humanist, and the … Read more

Becoming Andy Warhol (Review)

Becoming Andy Warhol
Abrams Comicsart, 2016
Writer: Nick Bertozzi

To the best of our knowledge, the last time a comic book addressed the art and artistry of American pop art icon Andy Warhol was in a Vertigo Comics’ 2004 experimental project entitled “Vertical”. That stand-alone comic was unconventionally formatted to resemble a series of photographic frames. Writer and artist Mike Allred within “Vertical” told the story of a romance within the subculture of Mr Warhol’s base of operations, called the Factory, and artistically conveyed this using the plainly recognisable frames of reference of Mr Warhol’s brand of pop art.

“Becoming Andy Warhol” is slightly different from “Vertical” in that the plot, rather than the illustration of the story, is a manifestation of pop art. The comic consists of a sequence of chapters which capture Mr Warhol’s life both before he was famous, and as he became successful.

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Honor and Curse #1 (review)

Honor and Curse #1 (review)
Mad Cave Studios, 2016
Writer: Mark London

Writing historical fiction can be difficult, and particularly when dealing with a place which has a different language and culture from that of the writer. This title is set in sixteenth century Kyoto. As far as historical accuracy goes, this comic does not capture it, with its improbably green-eyed heroes sporting long Dragonball-esque pony-tails instead of chonmage (the traditional topknot worn by Japanese fighters in the Edo period). If this issue has any significant flaw, it is that the writer, Mark London (who we assume like the publisher, Mad Cave Studios, is based in Florida), did not take more care to ground the story in medieval Kyoto by reference to landmarks which exist to this day, like Kamigamo-jinja Shrine.

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