Djeliya is a strange and beautiful combination of magic and technology, of traditional folklore and post-apocalyptic cyberpunk. Moreover, it is a perfect embodiment of why Stories Matter.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve suddenly been hearing people talk about Ted Lasso over the last few months. Probably not a lot of specifics, just mentions of how good it is, and a few references that you didn’t quite understand. And, if you’re anything like me, you’ve thought to yourself that it sounds like it might be fun, but haven’t watched it, because it’s only available on Apple TV+. (Seriously, who needs—or even can afford—yet another paid streaming service right now?) Well, I’m here to tell you: You need Ted Lasso in your life. And you won’t even realize just how much you needed it, until you’ve seen it for yourself.

The Lunar Ladies is a modern-day tribute to the old sci-fi/adventure comics of the '40s and '50s. If you’ve read my reviews in the past, you may know that I am a big fan of this style and genre. I’m happy to report that Lunar Ladies does well by it. It’s a fun and entertaining story that really does feel like you’re reading something from comics’ Golden Age—only without the problematic elements like casual sexism that frequently came with the comics of that era.

I’ve always been fascinated by the Justice Society of America. The precursor to the Justice League, it featured a number of heroes who have since fallen by the wayside—or taken wildly different forms. Not to mention superheroes against the background of World War II. This film gives us a glimpse into that world, from a modern perspective. It also includes time travel, so, of course, I was excited to review it.

Cosmic Force is a comic series by Allen Carter about a group of superheroes who got caught in a meteor shower in Hawaii and now have superpowers. The Before Times is a series of Cosmic Force prequel comics which tell the origin stories of each of the characters. If you haven’t read the series, this might not be the best place to start - which is not to say it’s not still an entertaining story.

This graphic novel plays just like a Peanuts television special. It doesn’t just have the Peanuts style, though that’s certainly part of it. It also has the familiar rhythm of a Peanuts special—a rhythm I can’t really explain, but if you’ve seen a Peanuts special or two and read this graphic novel, you’ll see what I mean.

In 1901, Jules Verne wrote a novel called The Lighthouse at the End of the World about a secluded lighthouse and its keepers in the middle of nowhere, and the pirates who attack it. Now, David Hine and Brian Haberlin have adapted that novel into a sci-fi comic that includes spaceships, wormholes, androids… and, of course, pirates. I haven’t read the novel, so I don’t know how faithful the comic is to the source material, but it does manage to be interesting enough in its own right.

The first issue of Radiant Black was split about evenly between superhero action and conversations about main character Nathan’s life, as he struggles with a failed writing career and crippling credit card debt. In this issue, the focus is much more on using powers and chasing bad guys, but there is still a fair amount of “real life” that creeps in.