I love comics and graphic novels, so what do I do with that love? Well, I turn it into a new feature!
From Panel to Panel is a new feature where I talk about the awesome (and perhaps not-so awesome) comic books and graphic novels I’ve read. Basically, this will be me pushing them onto your laps. You’re welcome.
What a wonderful month of awesome comics. In August, you get graphic novels about a troll, Lucifer Morningstar, coding, vengeful Victorian vixens, Black Panther, and much more!
Get your shopping carts loaded with all these comics!
| BERA THE ONE-HEADED TROLL |
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Bera doesn’t ask for much in life. She’s a solitary, humble troll, tending her island pumpkin patch in cheerful isolation. She isn’t looking for any trouble.
But when trouble comes to find her, it comes in spades. A human baby has arrived in the realm of the trolls, and nobody knows where it came from, but Bera seems to be the only person who doesn’t want it dead. There’s nothing to it but to return the adorable little thing to its parents.
Like it or not, Bera’s gone and found herself a quest.
From noted picture book illustrator and graphic novelist (Maddy Kettle) Eric Orchard comes Bera the One-Headed Troll, a delightful new fantasy adventure with all the sweetness, spookiness, and satisfaction of your favorite childhood bedtime story. — First Second
Publication date: August 2, 2016 by First Second
Buy: LCBS · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indigo
Why I’m excited: A troll and a human baby? What kind of cuteness will happen with these two creatures? I love that Bera decides to bring the baby home. I’m so excited to see what and who she encounters on the way. It seems really heartwarming.
| LUCIFER • VOL. 1: COLD HEAVEN |
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SPEAK OF THE DEVIL
Once he was the Morningstar, first and most beautiful of the heavenly host. Then he ruled over Hell, until he gave up his kingdom to pursue his absent Father. Finally, after tracking down and confronting the Alpha and Omega, he left our universe behind—apparently forever.
But now Lucifer is back—wounded and weakened, but suave and savvy as ever. And he’s about to be handed the biggest mystery in the history of Creation: God has been found dead, and the Lightbringer is the prime suspect in His murder.
To clear his name and reclaim his throne, Lucifer must solve the Deicide himself. But even with help from the disgraced archangel Gabriel, the task is daunting. To maintain the status quo in both Heaven and Hell, angels and demons alike are determined to pin the crime upon the First of the Fallen—but it will be a cold day in either realm before the Devil fails to get his due.
Written by Holly Black and art by Lee Garbett, Lucifer • Vol. 1: Cold Heaven collects Collects issues #1-6. — DC Comics
Publication date: August 17, 2016 by DC Comics
Buy: LCBS · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indigo · Comixology
Why I’m excited: LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR! HE’S BACK.
| BATGIRL • VOL. 3: MINDFIELDS |
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THE BATTLE FOR BURNSIDE IS ON!
She rides a cool motorcycle, swings a mean right hook, and has backup from the best crime-fighters in the biz, but Batgirl’s greatest weapon has always been her mind. As the brilliant Barbara Gordon, she’s on the verge of a tech breakthrough that could transform her beloved Burnside neighborhood, and all of Gotham City to boot—though if it falls into the wrong hands, it could just as easily devastate them.
But how can Batgirl stop a hacker who can break into her brain itself?
A sinister figure has been haunting Batgirl’s nightmares and stealing all her secrets, from her high-tech innovations to her hidden identity. And he’ll use that knowledge to destroy her forever.
Now Batgirl must assemble a band of her best friends and closest allies—including Spoiler, Black Canary, Batwing and more—to stop the most dangerous enemy she’s ever known, or Burnside and the entire Bat-family will burn…
It all comes down to this! The revolutionary creative team of Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, and Babs Tarr bring the saga of the Batgirl of Burnside to a close in BATGIRL VOL. 3: MINDFIELDS. Be there for the shocking climax to one of the greatest Batgirl stories ever told!
Collects BATGIRL #46-52.— DC Comics
Publication date: August 24, 2016 by DC Comics
Buy: LCBS · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indigo · Comixology
Why I’m excited: Na na na na na na na na Batgirl! Batgirl! This volume brings this Batgirl arc to an end! Babs and her closest friends and allies band together to defeat the most dangerous enemy ever! AND I AM VERY EXCITED. BABS IS MY GIRL. (It may be ending, but never fear, there will be more Batgirl from a different creative team.)
| PRETTY DEADLY • VOL. 2: THE BEAR |
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KELLY DeCONNICK (Captain Marvel, BITCH PLANET) and EMMA RÍOS (ISLAND, MIRROR) present the follow up to the Eisner-nominated, New York Times bestselling PRETTY DEADLY, VOL. 1: THE SHRIKE. Sarah Fields is dying and her children strike a bargain with the Immortals: give them one month, until the moon is full again, to find her son. The boy is far away, in the trenches of France, stalked by the Reapers of Vengeance and Cruelty. Collects PRETTY DEADLY #6-10. – Image Comics
Publication date: August 24, 2016 by Image Comics
Buy: LCBS · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indigo · Comixology
Why I’m excited: It may have been a long wait, but the gorgeous second volume of Pretty Deadly is finally here. I don’t know what to expect, but I know it will be nothing less than awesome, especially with Kelly DeConnick writing and Emma Rios illustrating.
| OMEGA MEN • THE END IS HERE TP |
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THE GALAXY’S MOST WANTED
Kyle Rayner, the White Lantern, is dead. And the Omega Men killed him. On live TV. They’re a criminal gang, a terrorist organization, a fanatical cult.
And they’re the only hope for freedom this godforsaken sector of the universe has.
No matter what the citizens of the Vega System think they saw, the White Lantern lives…as the Omega Men’s prisoner. What they really want him to be is their latest recruit in their relentless war against the all-powerful Citadel and its tyrannical Viceroy.
As Kyle gets to know this motley crew of outlaws, he’ll question everything he knows about being a hero. In this strange system where the Green Lanterns are forbidden, will he break his oath and join their revolution? Or will he discover that the Omega Men are monsters in the end?
Collects the OMEGA MEN #1-12.— DC Comics
Publication date: August 24, 2016 by DC Comics
Buy: LCBS · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indigo · Comixology
Why I’m excited: All I know is that people have been praising this comic. I gotta know what the fuss is all about.
| INSEXTS • VOL. 1 |
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At the dusk of a century, a pair of vengeful Victorian vixens discover a horrifying power that transforms them into rich and strange new creatures. Armed with their dark, evolving forms, they descend into a world of the cultured and occult, with new senses and new sensuality, to forge a life for themselves and the child of their love.
Written by Marguerite Bennett and art by Ariela Kristantina, this volume collects issues #1-7. — Aftershock Comics
Publication date: August 31, 2016 by Aftershock Comics
Buy: LCBS · Amazon · Comixology
Why I’m excited: VICTORIAN LADIES + SHAPESHIFTING SUPERNATURAL WEIRDNESS + LOVE + SEX.
| SECRET CODERS • VOL. 2: PATHS AND PORTALS |
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There’s something lurking beneath the surface of Stately Academy―literally. In a secret underground classroom Hopper, Eni, and Josh discover that the campus was once home to the Bee School, an institute where teachers, students, and robots worked together to unravel the mysteries of coding. Hopper and her friends are eager to follow in this tradition and become top-rate coders. But why are Principal Dean and the rugby team suddenly so interested in their extracurricular activities?
From graphic novel superstar (and high school computer programming teacher) Gene Luen Yang comes the second volume of Secret Coders, Paths & Portals, a wildly entertaining new series that combines logic puzzles and basic programming instruction with a page-turning mystery plot!– First Second
Publication date: August 31, 2016 by First Second
Buy: LCBS · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indigo
Why I’m excited: You get to learn about coding!
| BLACK PANTHER • VOL. 1: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET |
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A new era begins for the Black Panther! MacArthur Genius and National Book Award-winning writer T-Nehisi Coates (BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME) takes the helm, confronting T’Challa with a dramatic upheaval in Wakanda that will make leading the African nation tougher than ever before. When a superhuman terrorist group that calls itself The People sparks a violent uprising, the land famed for its incredible technology and proud warrior traditions will be thrown into turmoil. If Wakanda is to survive, it must adapt–but can its monarch, one in a long line of Black Panthers, survive the necessary change? Heavy lies the head that wears the cowl!
Written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and art by Brian Stelfreeze, this volume collects issues Black Panther #1-4 and Fantastic Four (1961) #52.— Marvel Comics
Publication date: August 31, 2016 by Marvel Comics
Buy: LCBS · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indigo · Comixology
Why I’m excited: TWO WORDS: BLACK PANTHER.
SPECIAL MENTIONS: Slash & Burn TP, Y: The Last Man Vol. 5, Star Wars Darth Vader • Vol. 3: Shu Torun War, Cry Havoc • Vol. 1: Mything In Action, Spider-Man/Deadpool • Vol. 1: Isn’t It Bromantic
LUCIFER SOUNDS AMAZING. Even without the whole Supernatural vibe, it’s still about Lucifer! I would definitely read that one!
I need to catch up on Batgirl! I do love her loads. She’s definitely my favorite gal in the Bat Universe ;)