Comic Corner Roundup: May

“Comic Corner Roundup” is a bi-monthly segment that compiles mini-reviews of comics, graphic novels, and manga that I’ve read recently. Here are my reviews for the month of May which include a dream walker, an avid fan who meets her favorite athlete, and a fantasy adventure within the world of the fae.

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Estranged (Estranged #1) by Ethan M. Aldridge (2018)

Synopsis: Edmund and the Childe were swapped at birth. Now Edmund lives in secret as a changeling in the World Above, with fae powers that make him different from everyone else—even his unwitting parents and older sister, Alexis. The Childe lives among the fae in the World Below, where being human makes him an oddity at the royal palace, and where his only friend is a wax golem named Whick.

But when the cruel sorceress Hawthorne takes the throne, the Childe and Edmund realize that the fate of both worlds may be in their hands—even if they’re not sure which world they belong to.

The cover really caught my eye when I was shopping in a bargain section of a bookstore and found this book. Plus with its synopsis of a fantasy adventure I was really intrigued by the story The style and the artwork mirrored a more light-hearted version of the Tithe series by Holly Black that I read in my teen years. It’s a fast-paced and thrilling middle-grade story and I liked how the readers get glimpses of our world and the secretive fae world. Having a story that follows a human and its identical changeling as its main protagonists also made for an interesting narrative.

This is a story for readers who love adventure tales with lots of action and strong development. Even though the narrative moves at a faster pace, I felt that the author was able to set up solid world-building with lots of little details in the artwork that you can discover with each read. I also liked the character development that occurs as Edmund and the Childe have their lives uprooted and have to face that their lives have been shaken up and what the definition of family means to them both. I have the sequel graphic novel in this so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next. This was a fun read!

Final Verdict:

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Afar by Leila del Duca, Kit Seaton (Illustrator) (2017)

Synopsis: Boetema suddenly develops the ability to astrally project to other worlds, unintentionally possessing the bodies of people light years away.

Inotu, her inquisitive brother with a penchant for trouble, finds himself on the run after he’s caught eavesdropping on an illegal business deal between small town business tycoons and their cyborg bodyguard. When Boetema accidentally gets someone hurt while in another girl’s body, the siblings are forced to work together to solve the problems they’ve created on their planet and others.

The cover art alone was enough to make me purchase this graphic novel! I had seen it pop up on my Instagram feed time and time again and I wanted to read it. Unfortunately, while this graphic novel has a great concept and a cast full of entertaining characters it fell a bit flat for me. I thought the theme around astral projection and dream walking made for an interesting narrative, but the readers only get bits of information about how Boetema obtains the power and where it derives from. I had a lot of unanswered questions which I felt that a sequel could help to expound upon.

I did enjoy Boetema as the heroine and how she grows to accept her special gift and gains more confidence to use her skills for the better. I loved that the astral projection takes readers to new worlds all over time and space. The mixture of technology and worlds featured made it feel like a sci-fi dystopian fantasy which I enjoyed thoroughly. I wish the story wasn’t cut so short, but I loved the artwork to pieces. It was so beautiful! I’ll still keep my copy of this graphic novel though since I love the artwork so much.

Final Verdict:

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Cutie and the Beast Vol. 1 by Yuhi Azumi (2020)

Synopsis: Most of her friends like pretty boys, but Momoka only has eyes for Kuga: a huge pro wrestler who plays a villainous heel on TV. But in real life, this tough guy has a softer side. Momoka’s fan mail touches him in ways neither of them expected! In this lighthearted romantic comedy, a fangirl crush just might grow into something more.

I love reading shojo manga and I wanted to give this one a try due to its storyline and rom-com feel. This is a very light-hearted manga about Momoka, a fan who loves pro wrestling and has a crush on Kuga. Kuga is a wrestler who people often avoid for his very tough exterior, but actually is a softie at heart. Going into this first volume I wasn’t aware that it’s an age-gap romance, but I just wanted to notate it since the synopsis doesn’t really allude to it much. But it’s on the tame side of things so I feel okay about the story so far.

Not too much happens within the first volume of the story so far. Mainly our character’s backgrounds are set up and we get to see a crush bloom between Momoka and Kuga and explore the relationship between a fan and a pro-athlete. I’m interested enough that I think I’ll continue with this series and I think the artwork is so cute. It has that distinct shojo style in the artwork that mirrors the lighthearted feeling of the story.

Final Verdict:

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What comics, graphic novels, or manga have you read lately? Share your thoughts in the comment section below. If you have any recommendations feel free to share those as well.