Tag: Graphic Novel

TokyoPOP’s Disney Manga Calender is Hot This Spring

Disney manga fans have a few collected editions to consider, which are mostly reprints, but for those who haven’t read them yet, these new editions are hardcover editions.

Disney Stitch! The Manga Collection
Available to order on Amazon USA

New hardcover and translated editions of TokyoPOP‘s Disney Manga are coming to bookstores, featuring some of this studio’s beloved characters in manga-style format. Whether it’s a certain Jack Sparrow or a certain blue fuzzy wuzzy, these editions are worth considering if those softcover copies are looking worn from repeated reading. Two of the three are available now, with the third coming soon.

While my money is on the upgrade path for Stitch! The Manga Collection, that’s because the two volumes that make up this set are now in one package. Even though Best Friends Forever! is not part of the collection, maybe it’ll be added in due time. Stitch and the Samurai has its own compiled collection (Amazon link), so that’s what fans need to know when comparing this upcoming release to past editions.

As for the other titles, they include:

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Nerds, Assemble! The Unbeatable Sonya Ballantyne More Than Just Another Energetic Coming-of-Age Story

If you love comics, pop culture, and stories with real punk spirit, The Unbeatable Sonya Ballantyne features a bit of everything to get your heavy metal spirit on!

The Unbeatable Sonya Ballantyne
Available to order on Amazon USA

Highwater Press
Spoiler Alert

Sonya Ballantyne is just like many other nerds, and just because she’s from a First Nation should not make a difference at all. When she helped pen and direct The Death Tour, a movie I reviewed two years ago, I knew there’d be some work of hers I’d eventually follow up on, and to read The Unbeatable Sonya Ballantyne is an eye-opening revelation about what she loved when growing up. Not only does she love her Star Wars, but she’s a DC Comics enthusiast too!

And she must watch wrestling, hence that movie! To call her unbeatable is an understatement, and reading her life story in this self-titled graphic novel really highlights where she came from, what obstacles she had to face while growing up, and how she managed to carve a niche that’s truly punk. It’s less about fighting against the establishment and more about knowing where the curve balls come from. Whether that’s dealing with bullies at school who can’t see past her skin colour or navigating grandma’s overprotectiveness, what’s reflected upon here doesn’t dwell on the negativity.

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Wanda John-Kehewin’s Powerful Visions From The Fire Looks Toward Healing

In Visions From The Fire, Damon Quinn’s search for identity deepens through dreams, spirits, and painful truths. Wanda John-Kehewin and Nicole Marie Burton shape a thoughtful second chapter that blends coming-of-age drama with Indigenous spirituality and quiet emotional power.

Visions From The Fire Graphic Novel Cover_544x838
Volume Two is available on Amazon USA

HighWater Press

Wanda John-Kehewin and Nicole Marie Burton’s graphic novel The Dream series is beginning to take shape. With the release of the second volume, Visions From The Fire, the next stage of Damon Quinn’s journey is becoming clear. What’s presented here is more than a traditional coming-of-age story. To appreciate where it is heading, though, it helps to begin with the first book, Visions of the Crow.

Here, Damon feels like a ne’er-do-well, struggling simply to survive as high school graduation draws near. It is easy to sympathize with him. At school, he is bullied because of his mixed heritage. As a Cree-Métis teen, he is left wrestling with questions of identity and belonging. He does not know who his father is, and he desperately wants answers. At home, his relationship with his mother is strained by her alcoholism, often leaving him to spend as little time there as possible.

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With Tales of Dark Romance in Comics, Love Hurts More Than It Heals

Love isn’t always soft, and comics know it. These dark romance comics lean into obsession, grief, and corrupted devotion, spotlighting new releases and older cult favourites that treat heartbreak as a weapon and a revelation.

Broken Heart Through Sun - Dark Romance in ComicsIn the name of dark romance in comics, some creators enjoy exploring its edges through works released for the season of hearts. When there’s no anti-Valentine’s icon the way Christmas has Krampus, these tales lean on the human condition instead. Rather than crafting a saccharine Harlequin fantasy, what’s presented here cuts deeper.

In the real world, love comes with sacrifice, compromise, and the understanding that some connections aren’t meant to last. That emotional friction becomes fertile ground for storytelling. The result is a slate of works that challenge the idea that love must be soft, safe, or everlasting. What’s offered here are current and upcoming titles that dare to be different, stories where affection and obsession blur, where devotion turns corrosive, and where heartbreak is as transformative as it is devastating.

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7 Generations A Plains Cree Saga’s 15th Anniversary Release. On Why This Story Still Resonantes.

This may be the season to be jolly, but for others it can also be a time for reflection. 7 Generations A Plains Cree Saga invites that quieter pause, asking us to look back in order to understand what we carry forward. While it isn’t a holiday tale like Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, it shares a similar impulse, using reflection as a means of understanding responsibility, memory, and the path ahead.

7 Generations A Plains Cree Saga
This anniversary release includes mini-essays and a prologue to explain why this story matters, and to explain a bit of Cree culture. Available to purchase on Amazon USA.

David A. Robertson and Scott B. Henderson’s 7 Generations A Plains Cree Saga marks its 15th anniversary this year, and the newly released collected edition offers a powerful reminder of just how emotionally devastating, and quietly resonant, this story remains. It’s been recoloured and relettered, which makes its message all the more powerful. At its centre is Edwin, a young man who cannot find a reason to live. When his mother discovers him at death’s door during an unplanned visit, even a desperate rush to the hospital seems insufficient. The book opens not with hope, but with exhaustion.

It’s a moment many people encounter at some point, particularly during the holidays, when expectations, memory, and pressure collide. In that sense, Edwin’s despair feels painfully recognisable. I couldn’t help but feel for him, namesake coincidence aside. What changes everything, though, is the way life reasserts itself, not as a lecture or a solution, but through story.

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Under the Tree: IDW and Top Shelf’s Best of 2025

From gentle Halloween spirits to ghost-hunting kids, kaiju art showcases, and enduring literary classics, this curated guide highlights IDW and Top Shelf’s best comics for 2025—handpicked titles that belong under the tree.

IDW Publishing SantaFor fans who prefer the indie side of comic books, plenty of publishers still carry the torch for original, creator-driven work. Whether it’s through carefully curated imprints like IDW Publishing’s Top Shelf division or singular passion projects, this gift guide spotlighting IDW and Top Shelf’s best leans into stories that blend the supernatural with a healthy dash of pop-culture charm. The focus here in this latest look are the books I’d be delighted to find under the Christmas tree. The reason is that I didn’t pick them up when they first hit shelves.

Spoops: The Little Spirits of Halloween

Spoops- The Little Spirits of HalloweenWho changes the leaves? Who summons the autumn winds, wakes ghosts, and chills the air just enough to make October feel right? Why, Spoops, of course. These tiny spirits hatch from the smallest gourds in pumpkin patches at the start of every fall, then dutifully tend to their towns to make sure Halloween goes off without a hitch.

This whimsical take on the season’s hidden caretakers is beautifully illustrated. The cover alone is cute and begs to be embraced. As for the title characters, there’s no shortage of moments that inspire a heartfelt “aww” when I first saw it.

The story centres on young Holly Hollowell, who loves Halloween more than anything, much to the dismay of her parents, who disapprove of anything involving tooth-rotting sweets. While other kids trick-or-treat, Holly watches sadly from her window… until the Spoops arrive to turn things around. With a little magical help, Holly shows her parents the genuine spirit of All Saints’ Eve, not candy, but creativity, imagination, and the freedom to let your spooky side soar.

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