Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal
Drawn & Quarterly
Publication Date: September 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1770463356
After a birth defect wipes out the entire male population and the world is set into a post-apocalyptic environment, women are left to rebuild society. Woman World shows what this possibility could look like and does so with wit, dark humor and honesty in a collection of short comics. The reader follows one village in its rebuilding phase, with only one woman having lived through the dying off of men, and weaves current pop culture throughout the narrative. Woman World asks important questions such as: Will a population of just women be peaceful? Will they have the same romantic problems? Were all men like Paul Blart, Mall Cop? Should their new flag depict Beyonce’s thighs?
Woman World originally was released as short comic strips posted to Dhaliwal’s Instagram, and teens are already familiar with them. The comics touch on hard truths like society’s pressures of what makes a woman a woman and what makes a man a man, and twists it into something the reader can laugh at while also igniting some deep-thinking.The art is simple but shows complexity by bringing in elements from earlier comic strips into later ones and continuing the joke, and each character is represented in their own unique way.
Readers of stories set in post-apocalyptic worlds such as Y: the Last Man and Tank Girl, or witty, short comics will enjoy Dhaliwal’s collection.
—Amanda Cain
Spirit Circle, vols. 1-5 by Satoshi Mizukami
Seven Seas
Publication Dates & ISBNs:
Vol. 1 – October 10, 2017 – 978-1626926011
Vol. 2 – January 9, 2018 – 978-1626926806
Vol. 3 – April 17, 2018 – 978-1626927292
Vol. 4 – July 10, 2018 – 978-1626928329
Vol. 5 – October 9, 2018 – 978-1626929241
Fuuta Okeya is living a normal 8th grade life when a girl named Kouko Ishigami transfers to his school. He finds himself immediately drawn to her, but she quickly declares that he is her mortal enemy and must be destroyed. When Ishigami attacks him in the park one day with a spirit circle, he wakes up as another person in another time. In order to fully understand why Ishigami hates him so much and why she is so determined to kill him, Fuuta must relive his previous lives, all of which are intertwined with Ishigami.
Spirit Circle is a manga that will appeal to a wide audience. The complexity of Fuuta and Ishigami’s past relationships will keep readers committed to discovering exactly Fuuta’s past self did to cause Ishigami to not just want to kill him in this life but to also stop his reincarnation from ever happening again. Each re-lived life is compelling and emotionally engaging, and Mizukami exerptly uses these stories to further develop both the main and supporting characters in the present time. A deceptively complex story with exceptional artwork, this series offers an impressive exploration of guilt, justice, responsibility and forgiveness.
—Amanda Melilli
Skyward vol. 1: My Low-G Life by Joe Henderson, Illustrated by Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela
Image Comics
Publication Date: September 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-1534308336
When Willa was a baby, gravity on Earth changed drastically. Unfortunately, no one was prepared, and many died, including Willa’s mother. Twenty years later, Willa and everyone else on Earth has adapted to their low-gravity world. Willa works as a messenger, but her father hasn’t left their apartment since the event, out of fear. Willa loves the ability to fly and is a bit of a daredevil, but she wants to experience the world. Her father doesn’t want her to; it’s too dangerous, plus he thinks that he knows how to get gravity back. When Willa discovers that her father once worked with and knows Roger Barrow, an extremely wealthy entrepreneur, she thinks he might be able to help her Dad. Little does she know that Roger thought her father was dead and will stop at nothing to kill him now, especially if her father might have the ability to bring back gravity and destroy the fortune he’s made off of the low-gravity tragedy.
Skyward has eye-catching artwork and a truly original and well explored plotline. The characters are diverse—Willa and her father are African-American and her crush has a disability. Henderson has also considered everything when dealing with a world with low gravity, from what a storm would look like and how it would basically change the way we do everything, to farming and even using the bathroom. This, in turn, gives the reader a lot to think about while waiting for the next volume!
Great for fans of science fiction and mysteries, including the Paper Girls series and Decelerate Blue.
—Loren Spector
