At age 6, Özge Samanci was desperate to be "on the other side of the binoculars" – that is, to be at school, being watched by her mother from across the street, just as she and her mother occasionally spotted and waved at her older sister Pelin,...
For those of us of a certain (old) age, we might remember an animated rabbit used to sell artificially colored, chemically flavored powder that altered milk into some sort of sweet goop: Quiky the Quik Bunny would quip "You can't drink it slow, if it's Quik."...
Volume 1 promised "This is the beginning of a new age" on its intriguing cover page. And yep, did it ever deliver – for oldster-fans delirious with gleeful nostalgia and a brand new generation of young 'uns lucky to discover this hero-version-2.0! Yes, indeedy, Ultraman is...
Avatar Aang takes a temporary narrative back seat to his Fire Lord buddy Zuko in Part One of the newest Last Airbender three-part installment. Now that Zuko has been reunited with his long-lost mother Ursa [you'll need to read The Search for the full backstory], he's bringing...
Given all the anti-immigrant hubbub in the news, Hilo is an absolutely surprising standout, least of all because the blonde, sometimes blue-eyed (not on the cover, but check pages 8 and 33, for example) hero here turns out to be the alien. Yup, Hilo (as in 'high-low')...
The single-page "author's note" which introduces this stupendous, otherwise-wordless wonder is a full story unto itself: Guojing reveals her lonely childhood growing up in 1980s China under the one-child policy. Her parents worked, and she was often cared for by her grandmother. But sometimes when...
"I believe that art is an essential element of revolution," Leila Abdelrazaq begins her "Artist Statement" on her website. She's half Palestinian and half American activist based in Chicago with a 2015 DePaul University degree who has generations of stories to share. Her Baddawi began as a webcomic "...
Just look at that cover! Clearly, the emergency room beckons! Even as you already know what not to do as a parent, these things ...
By 2, he knew he was "perfect." The toddler Riad with his "[l]ong, thick, silky, platinum-blonde hair," might have been "awake for only a few hours a day, but it was enough: when it came to living, [he] was a natural." And so begins the first...
So it wasn't even dusk yet and already the spine was tingling as soon as I opened the book. I kept looking around to make sure what was on the page hadn't somehow escaped and was about to pounce on me. With Halloween just over...
Well, I've done it now – binge-read two volumes of my latest favorite manga obsession. I really was trying to space out the fabulous adventures of Taichi Hiraga Keaton, our British/Japanese hapa professor/insurance investigator (ha! of course, he's so much more than that!), but once begun...
Wonderstruck. I know, I know – that's the title of Brian Selznick’s previous jaw-dropping accomplishment on the page ...
When’s the last time you encountered a bored superhero – bored because he hasn’t encountered a single worthy opponent? Meet Saitama – albeit you'll need old-people glasses to see the tiny type in the small box in the Table of Contents which seems to be the one and...
Who can resist a lost little kitten? Furry-friendlies unite: this adorable black-grey-and-white fluff-bundle will set your heart all aflutter. Wandering out with Mommy Cat and two siblings, this little one gets lost. She's woofed at by a dog (thankfully leashed), and narrowly misses getting run over...
"Listen. I'm going to tell you a story -- " Well, of course, if two-time National Book Award finalist (third time will be the charm!) Gene Luen Yang is involved with the explicating, you're going to listen, and listen well. This former high school computer science...
At 17, Maggie Thrash and her mother are visiting her brother in New Mexico where he's attending college. "I don't approve of your running off with this person you haven't seen in two years," her mother admonishes her, while her brother deadpans a "I'm bitterly...
One unintentionally wrong word uttered in a children's cartoon lost Mana Neyestani his job, his freedom, and nearly his life. As editor of the children's pages for Iran's Iran-Jomeh, Neyestani drew his recurring 10-year-old character confronting a cockroach that replies with a single Azeri word: "Namana." As Neyestani...
Oh, holy moly ...
Adolescence is difficult enough to navigate, but throw in a few gender-bender issues and you've got multiple challenges earlier generations probably didn't (wouldn't? couldn't?) openly face. With all manner of identity awareness growing worldwide, Shimura Takako’s award-winning, internationally lauded manga series gently and insightfully reflects the gender spectrum on...
Allow me to dispel any notions that the dragons within are why I'm insisting this is one of my Absolute Favorites ever. Plenty of other reasons make Nimona an irresistible delight: allow me to count at least the top-10 ways ...
