(This is an Adult / YA comic review due to the nature of the content within this amazing graphic novel - Not suitable for kids!)

Lately I've made it my business to read a lot more comics. Not just the new stuff, but tracking down and sourcing reasonably priced versions of stuff I really feel I ought to have read by now.

I have actually read "Lone Wolf and Cub" by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima before, but only single issues. Never the whole blisteringly brilliant 712 page long first volume so when ComiXology had these for a ludicrously low price recently, I had to hoover 'em up.

Co creator Kazuo Koike recently passed away, but without a doubt he and Goseki Kojima created one of the most amazingly cinematic comics ever. Not just drawing on filmic influences like Kurosawa, but delving deep into original Manga sources from ancient Japanese folklore, turning stories of revenge and intrigue into chaotic but amazingly solid comic strips, the like of which you'll never see again.

"Lone Wolf and Cub" have to be the ultimate dad-and-kid team. A bouncing 3 year old and a gritty kick-ass sword-for-hire Ronin with a weapon-filled baby carriage and a quite frightening array of different mastered sword and spear techniques, making him the ultimate warrior.

Each of the epic tales within the first volume of the omnibus edition really takes comic storytelling to another level, and even if you're not really a fan of samurai stuff, you can't fail to be impressed with the sheer scope of what Koike and Kojima crammed into their comic spreads.

Heroically bad parenting, but are you gonna tell him because we're certainly not!

Wrought in glorious ink work which I'd absolutely LOVE to have the skills to be able to render, each tale unfolds with the seemingly unstoppable and indescructible Lone Wolf being vastly underestimated by one foe after another, as they fall for his rather scary bad-parenting of sticking his 3 year old out as bait, to lull agressors into a false sense of security, before largely lopping their heads / legs / their horse's legs off. Oh yes, it doesn't pull any punches, and is definitely not for a younger audience!

Er, if I was you, gents, I'd pack up and go home. Stuff all that honour biznizz, just go home.

The action scenes are brutal, visceral. but dazzling. Even in quieter moments these awesome creators manage to conjure up so much rich detail that each volume needs reading and re-reading several times.

Oh and...ahem...there's nudity at times. Worth stating that up front. Bit saucy in places but then if you have ever seen any original Japanese Manga from the 15th / 16th century, it's not exactly backwards at coming forwards either.

This is the sort of stuff that you don't need to tell people you've read, you need to get out there and source a copy and get right into it. It's damned fantastic.

"Lone Wolf and Cub Omnibus Volume 1" by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima is out now, published by Dark Horse Comics (Self purchased - not supplied for review).

Our YA Comic / Graphic Novel of the Week this week is very much a topic-du-jour mostly thanks to a new Netflix series based on Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's stunning comic series.

"The Umbrella Academy Volume 1: Apocalypse Suite" is the jumping in point for the series, collecting together the initial origin story for a wildly dysfunctional, diverse and truly lethal family collected together by a harsh and unloving father figure.

All born on the same day, the incumbents of The Umbrella Academy are actually seven orphans, six of which show signs of incredible and strange superpowers under the watchful and controlling eye of one Sir Reginald Hargreaves.

Sir Reginald begins to train the children to become a super-force to be reckoned with, and in the comics we're given more of a backstory to their super-heroics than you will eventually see in the TV show - mostly thanks to an excellent and stunning set piece where the six main heroes fight an animated and bestial version of The Eiffel Tower in a scene you dearly, dearly wish they had the budget for in the TV show (but is sadly lacking).

Klaus, Allison, Vanya, Diego, Luther, Ben, and Number Five are trained to work together as an elite team of superheroes and assassins, but each child has their own flaws - which come to light as the graphic novel digs its treads into the snow and starts to gain traction.
The seventh child, Vanya, is told throughout her early life that though she was born on the same day as the other kids, she has no special powers at all. Something that later on in the graphic novel leads to her discovering quite the opposite (trying not to spoil things too much but Sir Reginald turns out to be a terrible, terrible liar and an absolutely appalling father figure).

Gerard Way, the talented ex lead-dude of "My Chemical Romance" who is now possibly more famous for his exquisite comic writing has created a distinctly different set of heroes, often deeply flawed, seemingly lied to and misled throughout their entire lives, but drawn together again by the death of Sir Reginald - and a doom-laden message from Number 5 / The Boy, a diminutive member of the family cursed with being a 58 year old trapped in a child's body, who witnessed the end of the world in the rapidly approaching future, and has mere days to convince the others to assist him in preventing the apocalypse.

As two bounty hunters are dispatched by a sinister organisation known as "The Commission" - the previous 'employers' of Number 5, to kill their errant agent, the whole story barely takes a breath as it whips from one excellent scene to another, culminating in a final confrontation that could bring about the end of the world.

I absolutely loved this when I first encountered it some years ago, and wanted to re-read the first few volumes before dipping into the show. The graphic novels are inventive, crazy, original and weird - and it's at least worth reading this first volume even if you don't want to get into the nitty gritty of the later volumes.

Thankfully the show only seems to touch content from the first volume anyway, so again do yourself a favour and track down a copy of this before watching the Netflix show (which, actually, is also very good all things considered, with a cracking cast particularly Number 5 who is a total badass!)

Sum this comic up in a sentence: Utterly unmissable, wildly original, and totally cool.

"The Umbrella Academy Volume 1: Apocalypse Suite" by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba is out now, published by Dark Horse Comics (self purchased, not supplied for review).

Our Comic of the Week this week practically jumped off the library stacks and into C's hands. It could almost have been made for her and her alone.

Thankfully "Zodiac Starforce Volume 2: Cries of the Fire Prince" by Kevin Panetta, Paulina Ganucheau and Sarah Stern has been made for ALL girls (and boys) like C who are enjoying this new wave of amazing kid and middle grade comics (though I think it's probably fair to describe this as 'upper middle grade') where superheroes don't have to be grumpy, gritty misery-guts clad in shades of beige and grey.

For anyone who has loved the recent runs of Netflix animations like She-Ra and Carmen Sandiego, you could almost imagine the streaming service optioning Zodiac Starforce as an animation at some point in the not-too-distant future (given their committment to optioning a lot of comic IP - to great effect in most cases).

This though, well OK let's not get ahead of ourselves as this is volume 2 after all - and we're coming in a bit late.

The Zodiac Starforce team are a bunch of kick-ass superhero girls, each with their own unique set of powers.

Working effectively together, but just as devastating in their own individual rights too, meet Taurus, Libra, Gemini, Aries and Pisces, the US based Zodiac Starforce team.

When an innocent teenage prank goes hideously wrong, and a group of wicca-loving perps unwittingly unleash the Fire Prince on an unsuspecting world, the US Zodiac Starforce team must join with their (slightly grumpy and standoffish) UK counterparts to combat the demon menace before his disgusting denizens take over the entire world and turn it to ash.

Y'know, standard 'saving the world' stuff.

What marks this comic out is the way that the characters instantly gel, and just plain work together as a collective without feeling like some insidious marketing exercise in ticking all the diversity / inclusivity boxes.

You have characters of colour, kick-ass gals who don't conform to the usual 'superhero body shape', LGBT characters who express their love for each other in such a flipping fantastic and MG friendly way, wonderfully naturally within the threads of the story as volume 2 unfolds. Everyone will find their own faves (Naturally C loves Pisces as that's her star sign, and the character is as full of sass, fashion nous and individuality as C herself. I of course loved Taurus!)

I really wish we'd discovered this fantastic comic series sooner. I'd always assumed (wrongly) that Dark Horse were all about gritty, dark and dystopian stuff but this is a cut above just about every other superhero team comic we've read in the last couple of years.

Utterly fantastic. Now can we have that series, Netflix?

Sum this comic up in a sentence: Kick-ass, joyful, serious, funny, colourful and downright essential for mighty girls and boys everywhere.

"Zodiac Starforce Volume 2: Cries of the Fire Prince" is out now, published by Dark Horse Comics (Library loan). 

Our Comic / Graphic Novel of the Week this week is a darkly delicious and potent mix of mystery, magic and suspense that centres around a creepy old house...

We are always on the hunt for kid-friendly comics with plenty of sass and originality. In fact here's a thing, and it's probably a thing that needs discussing and debating by more fervent comic fans than myself or my lovely daughter. Why is it that we constantly hear grown-up comics being described as "the realm of the male" when in child-friendly comics it's the female characters that are kicking ass, chewing bubblegum and delivering the most delicious one-liners? Think on that for a while.

So Dark Horse - who we have come to know and love, and respect as being the antithesis of DC Comics - have come up trumps with a female master thief called Bandette who breezes through Volume 1 of her adventures like a crimson-hued breath of fresh air.

An expert in stealth, with no fear of heights, and plenty of ardent admirers on both sides of the law, Bandette discovers that a rival criminal organisation has grown tired of her winsome ways and wants Bandette's head on a plate. Eep!

(Don't worry, gross and ugly gangland violence is definitely NOT what you're going to get here, remember this is a child-friendly blog!)

Thankfully the rival gang are so inept that Bandette is able to run rings around them (literally at times!)

Colleen Coover's fabulous kitschy 60s artwork gives you a goodly dose of "Get Smart" with the fabulous groovy vibe of 60s Batman, but at all times Paul Tobin's sass-filled dialogue and classic cheekiness underpins the pacy strips and artwork to perfection.

We are also treated to some trade secrets on how Colleen uses one of my favourite packages - The awesome Manga Studio - to rough out strips and produce final comic art that zings and zips.

You'll have to wait until November the 19th to get your hands on Bandette Volume 1: Presto! but it'll be worth the wait. It's a breath of fresh air, and older kids will love the setting and characters. Younger kids (like Charlotte) will just want to be Bandette and heck, why shouldn't they!

Charlotte's best bit: Bandette's cheeky library antics. Sshhhh!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A brilliant child-friendly strip that shows female characters really can be found in their droves in brilliant graphic novels and comics - if you look beyond the usual tired Marvel and DC dreck.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Dark Horse via NetGalley)