glecharles's reviews
70 reviews

Ripple Effects by Jordan Hart

adventurous hopeful fast-paced

4.0

Solid superhero story with a unique twist, supported by five insightful essays that give it added weight.

Your Black Friend and Other Strangers by Ben Passmore

challenging funny fast-paced

3.5

Indie comics and punk aren't typically my thing, and Passmore misses as often as he hits, but there are enough good,  thoughtful vignettes here for an entertaining read.

Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 8 by Osamu Tezuka, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An amazing reimagining of Tezuka's original short story that fully unpacks themes he only hinted at, while adding more nuanced emotional depth and political subtext, for a story that remains timely and even more relevant 20 years later.

Not just my favorite manga so far, but officially one of my favorite overall series ever!

Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 7 by Osamu Tezuka, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 6 by Osamu Tezuka, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 5 by Osamu Tezuka, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 4 by Osamu Tezuka, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 3 by Osamu Tezuka, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa

adventurous challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang

adventurous hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've never been a Superman fan, but the premise and acclaim was intriguing, and Yang's ABC was a favorite. More Teen than YA, it deals head-on with racism while keeping everything accessible for all readers. It also makes Superman himself an interesting protagonist, which is arguably the more impressive feat.

You've Been Played: How Corporations, Governments and Schools Use Games to Control Us All by Adrian Hon

informative medium-paced

4.0

Insightful overview of gamification in various forms — some familiar, some new (to me) — that's ultimately quite depressing. I don't generally believe in the inevitability of anything related to technology other than the likelihood that we'll find and prioritize the worst use cases first, and consider them innovative, required, and infinite y scalable.