Author Archives: Justin McGuire

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fushigi yugi genbu kaiden v6 feature Reviews
“Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden” – Volume 6

By | Jul 23, 2019 | Reviews

Takiko has found five celestials, and spends this volume battling, separately, the fifth and sixth. That’s par for the course. What I’m interested in today is the translation. I can’t speak or read Japanese, so I have to rely on fan translations to compare and contrast, to understand what choices are made. Written and carefully […]

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Reviews
“Bad Gateway”

By | Jul 23, 2019 | Reviews

In “Bad Gateway,” the friend group of Megg, Mogg and Owl are in freefall. Their psyches are bare, and their friendships are all fracturing. Written and Illustrated by Simon Hanselmann Owl is gone, Werewolf Jones has moved in, and everything as Megg and Mogg know it begins to fall apart. Hanselmann’s comic premise of his […]

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fushigi yugi genbu kaiden vol 3 Reviews
“Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden” – Volume 3

By | Jul 2, 2019 | Reviews

I’m starting to understand where Yuu Watase’s comic book artistry shines. Some artists excel at tight panel composition, but that’s not her strength; Watase’s considerable talents lie at the opposite end, when she abandons traditional panels and positions her characters freely on the page to let them flow into each other. It’s a gift. Written […]

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fushigi yugi genbu kaiden volume 2 feature Reviews
“Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden” – Volume 2

By | Jun 25, 2019 | Reviews

Fushigi Yûgi: Genbo Kaiden Volume Two continues with Takiko’s journey to find the seven celestial warriors, each one with a different power. This straightforward quest format isn’t something I see in American comics often. I don’t know if it’s common in manga, but I do remember (and loved) it in Ninja Scroll. This volume’s goal […]

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Reviews
“Alienation”

By | Jun 18, 2019 | Reviews

“Alienation” begins in a dystopian 2054 with a young couple watching an eclipse in Starbucks-sponsored virtual reality feed, since the smog is too thick to watch it in real life. It ends with a singularity escaping into the world. Along the way is a host of dystopian tropes, the future of always-on internet and virtual […]

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the chair - banner Reviews
“The Chair”

By | May 28, 2019 | Reviews

“The Chair” is a dark and choppy comic about a man on death row. It’s exciting to read, and after reading its fiendishly tight ending, you’re practically invited you to flip back to page one and start again, looking for all the hints and subtext. Unfortunately depth isn’t this comic’s strong point, and the more […]

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Reviews
“Waves”

By | May 21, 2019 | Reviews

Ingrid Chabbert and her wife were briefly elated to learn that she was finally pregnant, but it slowly turns into a private horror as her pregnancy ends in a stillbirth. This comic is about the loss and mourning of a child that never drew breath, and Chabbert coming to terms with this awful experience by […]

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