Before the pandemic BF’s Staff Picks feature had run for many years, with members of the team giving a weekly overview of recommended new releases. Now, retooled and re-imagined to fit the site’s current ethos, it has returned as a monthly series designed to spotlight just a few key releases that appeal to us. This is not, then, intended as a comprehensive, exhaustive or extensive round-up but rather to point you in the direction of some top projects that caught the eyes of BF contributors. Please also remember these aren’t intended as reviews and full coverage of the comics/books below may follow in due course!
Comic of the Month
Huda F Wants to Know? (Dial Books)
We are huge fans of the work of cartoonist Huda Fahmy here at Broken Frontier and have given her slice-of-life comics detailing a semi-fictional version of herself lots of coverage over the last few years. Fahmy’s work is based on her own experiences without being a direct on-page replication of them and gives the reader insights into the realities of being a young Muslim woman in the US.
In the last book in this series, Huda F Cares?, we were left with the cliffhanger revelation that Huda’s parents were planning to divorce. In Huda F Wants to Know? that situation is explored in more detail as Huda’s life starts to fall apart around her. Expect a blend of poignancy and the usual Huda F humour from the latest volume in this ever appealing series of books.
– Andy Oliver
Squeak Chatter Bark: An Eco-Mystery (Fantagraphics Books)
It’s always exciting to see a new mystery from Fantagraphics, but I am particularly hyped for one with an eco-focus. Enter Squeak, Chatter, Bark, a charming middle grade novel by Alice Fitzgerald. When 11-year old Hazel’s parents are kidnapped and held hostage in an eco-sphere of their own creation, it’s up to Hazel and her friends to get them out – are they up to the challenge? Lovers of nature and sci-fi will adore the anthropomorphic characters, the idea of transforming environmental hazards into something good and the amazing creativity from the world and bio domes that Fitzgerald has crafted in this stunning graphic novel.
I love a good eco-mystery, and am so glad to see the genre gaining more popularity recently, with shows like Scavengers Reign, and graphic novels like Plant Life and Daughters of Snow and Cinders having much success. Here’s hoping that Squeak, Chatter, Bark will be another wonderful addition to the ever growing list!
– Lydia Turner
True War Stories TPB Volume 1 (Image Comics)
Anything with Alex de Campi’s (Full Tilt Boogie, Dracula, Motherf*cker!) name attached gets my attention. This particular project has her editing, with military veteran Khai Krumbhaar, a selection of fifteen true-life experiences of military personnel in a variety of settings and time periods. Love seeing PJ Holden’s name listed as one of the artists, he’s a natural for anything military-related. Other contributing artists include: Peter Krause, Ryan Howe, Dave Acosta, and Skylar Partridge. A unique part of this anthology is all profits will be donated to military and veteran-related charities.
– Gary Usher
Goes Like This (Fantagraphics Books)
Having read Jordan Crane’s fantastic previous standalone graphic novel Keeping Two, I always keep an eager eye out for anything new from him. Goes Like This is a complete collection of all of Crane’s short stories, including self-published zines and anthologies, in one gorgeous, lux hardcover.
This is the first time all of Crane’s stories have been collected together, and is a real treat for any fans of the Eisner-nominated author. Lucky readers will get to pore over twelve short stories, published over twenty-five years, from grim westerns to sci-fi existentialism. With various paper stocks included, as well as never before seen sketches from the author, this is a must-have for all Crane fans.
– Lydia Turner
Lost Marvels No. 1: Tower of Shadows
While Tower of Shadows is not exactly “lost” in the way we might usually use that adjective to describe missing media in other areas of the arts, it’s very exciting to see this largely forgotten (that would be a more accurate but not quite as attention-grabbing description!) 1969-debuting Marvel series getting its own collection. Tower of Shadows was an early foray into horror from the late Silver Age/early Bronze Age Marvel some time before the horror explosion of colour comics and black and white magazines across its line.
Just look at some of the names Fantagraphics lists as contributors: Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Wally Wood, Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, John Romita, Johnny Craig, Marie Severin, Gerry Conway and Bernie Wrightson. It will be interesting to see what this Fantagraphics/Marvel Lost Comics collaboration brings us in the months to come.
– Andy Oliver
Tanis – Volume 1: The Tombs of Atlantis (Europe Comics)
Europe Comics, purveyor of digital English translations of European titles, has been MIA since last February according to my sources (Amazon). The end of March brings a lone release from the publisher, Tanis Volume 1 is written by Denis Bajram and Valerie Mangin and illustrated by Stephane Perger. Originally released in France by Editions Dupuis, the fantasy story takes place in ancient Egypt.
– Gary Usher
Last Summer at Camp Righteous (Good Comics)
From the co-creator of the Grand Slam Romance series and creator of Sarararara, comes a new raunchy read for those aged 18+: Last Summer at Camp Righteous. Camp Righteous is the yearly festival that all Christian teens want to be at – friends, worship, cheesy chips, it has it all! However, try as they might, in between the purity seminars, the teens are struggling to keep their thoughts, well, pure. What did the organisers expect when they put all these hormonal teens together?!
This saucy graphic novel is hilarious throughout, with bold cartooning and nostalgic colour palettes, making readers wistful for the misspent festivals of their own youth. Quirky, challenging and with a cohort of terrible teens, Camp Righteous is a perfect summer read to chill with.
– Lydia Turner
The Cabbie: Definitive Edition (Fantagraphics Books)
I’ve missed out on all the other English-language editions of this Chester Gould art-inspired, over the top, film noir series, so I’m definitely pouncing on this collection of all three books of this absolute classic from the 80s Spanish underground.
– Gary Usher
