The Whisper War #1

The first installment of The Whisper War was published a few days ago on February 10, 2026. It's a Comixology Original comic that's both a sci-fi thriller and a murder mystery all in one. The story takes place in the planet Imprimata's capital city Apperax. Axel Jindari is a retired detective but was chosen by the Carabinieri's algorithm to return and lead the investigation. The Carabinieri have a saying that "even when you're out, you're never really out," and can be recalled at any time. From the start there's no body as the victim fell 18,000 tremin from a cloudbreaker. He or she is paste. It looks like a suicide but law enforcement believes the victim was pushed.

The first installment does a good job of introducing the story as well as the characters. Axel is a well-built man who left law enforcement for an orbital job. He doesn't work on the planet any more but rather in its orbit. While Axel tries to get out of taking the job, once he realizes the futility of it all he immediately gets to work. Inspector Seeva Dessin is an attractive lady who was sent by her bosses to bring Axel to the Carabinieri offices in Apperax. I see a possible romance between the two but we will have to wait for the release of Part 2 on March 10, 2026.

5 out of 5 stars.

Outer Lands

With the Winter Olympics on TV 24/7 I am behind in my reading plan for February. It's hard to turn the TV off. However, I thought I would review a few comics to at least post something on the blog. Outer Lands is my first comic review of the month. It was published in August 2025 by Darkling Entertainment. It's a Comixology Original comic with 125 pages of gorgeous graphics from Davide Gianfelice and a riveting story by Matthew Arnold. Colorist Luca Salce and Letterer Ed Dukeshire complete the artistic components.

The publisher's summary was rather simplistic for this complex plot: "When a young prince living in an Ancient Grecian world is exiled to a prison isle to keep him from assuming the throne, he unintentionally discovers a massive global conspiracy in this science-fiction fantasy mash-up."

There is much more to the story though. It begins as a historical fiction story set in ancient Greece and quickly moves into a post-apocalyptic thriller. The main character is Prince Heron who has just inherited the throne. Men working with his sister kidnap him and sell him into slavery. Sister Isadora then seizes his throne for herself. While Heron is in prison, he uncovers a global conspiracy concerning the lost city Atlantis. The world has been taught that the Atlanteans were a cruel warmongering people who enjoyed killing. However, this was not true. Heron and a few others read in forbidden books that they were peace-loving people. Heron is later lucky to escape his prison and sets out to find Atlantis. The narrative later explores themes of AI and the fear of nuclear war.

The plot was thrilling and the characters memorable. Heron is quite sympathetic because he lost his throne and quickly accepts his fate. Isadora is an intense villainess intent on keeping her brother far away from Greece. It's the only way she can maintain a hold on her crown. The Greek people are not happy with her though and there are frequent protests.

Parents, the story has no foul language nor are there sexy drawings. It's acceptable for children. I thoroughly enjoyed Outer Lands and highly recommend it.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Red Mother

The Red Mother Volume 1 is a fantastic comic psychological horror story by Jeremy Haun. In Volume 1 Daisy McDonough loses one eye and the man she loves in a brutal mugging. As she tries to put the pieces of her life back together, Daisy gets a glass eye to match the other.  Just when she begins to think she can move on, she begins to see strange things through her new prosthetic eye. Daisy sees everything in red in the prosthetic eye. Her doctor says she has Charles Bonnet Syndrome. Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) is a condition that causes vivid, complex visual hallucinations in people who have lost significant vision, where the brain creates images to fill the visual void, similar to phantom limb pain. These hallucinations are purely visual (no sounds/smells), the person knows they aren't real, and they typically involve patterns, people, or landscapes, lessening over time as the brain adapts, though no specific cure exists.

Daisy is a puzzle designer but she hasn't worked in months because of the accident. She receives a puzzle in the shape of a heart by delivery and easily solves the puzzle. The name and phone number in the puzzle refers her to Leland Black. After meeting him Daisy has another red hallucination. Something strange then happened. She was asked by a passerby if she had seen the red mother. This is where the story ended. I wish I had picked up the next Volume because this cliff hanger was intense. 

I liked all of the characters. Daisy is very sympathetic. The drawings of her show how much pain she had to endure. They also show her going to endless doctor appointments. Her life was on hiatus as she recovered from her injuries. I liked that her career was as a puzzle maker. It's an interesting field and I am looking forward to reading more about it in future installments of the series. Daisy's best friend Pari is supportive, always trying to get Daisy to go out for dinner or even business meetings. They work together in a puzzle business. Pari is very likable. Daisy's boyfriend Luke was not featured much. Daisy was told that he was lost after the mugging.

Volume 1 is a fun start to the Red Mother series. It is a clean story, no sex or foul language. 5 out of 5 stars.

The High Desert

I selected this graphic novel because it has won several awards.The book won the 2022 ALA Alex Award and the 2023 Cartoonist Studio Prize for Print Comics. In addition, it was one of The Washington Post's 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2022, one of New York Public Library's Best Books of 2022 and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2022.  I had high expectations for it. However, I did not like it much. 

High Desert is a coming-of-age graphic memoir by the creator of Afro-punk, James Spooner.
We read about him as a teenaged African American boy who has to deal with identity, racism, 
teen love and belonging in the isolated California desert that he lived in with his white single 
mother. James searches for community by being punk. James thinks going to a new high school will bring him new friends but he finds that he is just one out of 15 African American students at the school. The African 
Americans are gangbangers while the white students are racist. Some are skinheads. James 
doesn't know where he fits until he meets Ty, a young black punk who introduces him to the 
school outsiders, skaters and unhappy young rebels caught up in the punk groundswell 
sweeping the country. His life changes with a new punk haircut and becoming a bass player 
in a band. 

I did not understand the slang. After looking up several pages worth of slang I gave up. The 
story was actually judge dialogue between James and his fellow students at various moments 
in school. There was no plot. I felt sorry for James, though. He had a rough adjustment to his 
new community and didn't feel his mother understood him. I read several reviews of this book
and all were positive. These reviewers had the same life experiences as James. While I didn't
like the book I would definitely recommend it for my friends' kids who might be feeling just 
like James.

Wrap-Up of the Graphic Novel and Manga Reading Challenge

The Graphic Novel/ Manga Challenge is a favorite reading challenge of mine. When I signed up I could not pick a level of participation, wavering between reading 24 or 52 books.  In the end I read 30 novels. There isn't an annual sign up for the challenge anymore. Participants  just continue to post our reviews every year in the Facebook group site. 

The following are links to my reviews for 2025. 

Two Tribes by Emily Bowen Cohen

Sliced by Rafael Scavone

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

White Widow by Sarah Gailey

War on Gaza by Joe Sacco

Sacred Heart by Liz Suburbia

Budding Crisis #1 by MK Reed 

Dumb by Georgia Webber

Sugar Shack by Lucy Kindly

Black is the Color by Julia Gfrorer

Delver, Season One by Spike Trotman

40 Seconds by Jeremy Haun

Adora and the Distance by Marc Bernardin

Bad Mother by Christa Faust

Ms. Tree #1 by Max Allan Collins

Ms. Tree #2 by Max Allan Collins

Ms. Tree #3 by Max Allan Collins

The Dark by Mark Sable

Endless by Curt Pires

Alienated #1 by Taki Soma

Shang Chi by Gene Luen Yang

Spent by Alison Bechdel

Feral Volume 1 by Fleecs

Brownstone by Samual Teer

Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls

Muybridge by Guy DeLisle

We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen

The Holy Roller by Andy Samburg

Ginseng Roots by Craig Thompson

Profane by Peter Mulligan

The Strange Tale of Oscar Zahn by Tai Vuong

Zodiac by Ai Weiwei

Favorite Book:  Ginseng Roots: A Memoir

Second Favorite Book:  Dumb

Least Favorite Book: Zodiac

Blog Update

If you haven't figured it out yet, my blog is on hiatus until January 1st.  I had eye surgery a week ago and am still recovering. I will return to blogging in January 2026.  Hopefully, I will be reading and reviewing more comics and graphic novels next year.