May 2018 – Commons Comics

“The Prince and the Dressmaker,” by Jen Wang. 288 pages, First Second, February 2018. Hardcover, $24.99, 12+ for adult themes

Thanks to Better World Books, 215 S. Main St. in Goshen, for providing me with books to review. You can find or order all of the books I review at the store.

Jen Wang’s “The Prince and the Dressmaker” has been making headlines in “The Comics Journal,” “Publisher’s Weekly,” and other publications expected for a young adult (YA) graphic novel. More surprising is that it also hit the headlines of magazines like “Forbes.” Most of the press about this book highlights the gender identity of the main character, which is both fabulous and important, especially amidst the buzz about a certain royal romance. I’ll get to all that in a minute. Continue reading ““The Prince and the Dressmaker,” by Jen Wang”

A version of this post was originally published in the “Elkhart Truth” in August or September of 2014. Volume Six of “Sunny” was released in November 2016 to complete the series.

Thanks to Better World Books, 215 S. Main St. in Goshen, for providing me with books to review. You can find all of these books at the store.

Not much is sunny at Star Kids Home, the Japanese foster home where Taiyo Matsumoto’s “Sunny” is set. This series is much closer to “Little Orphan Annie” than to “Sesame Street,” but without either the wealthy benefactor or the clear-cut villains. Most of the young residents of Star Kids Home have living parents unable to care for them, but for unexplained reasons. Continue reading “Cloudy with a Chance of Manga: “Sunny” by Taiyo Matsumoto”