Adolf by Osamu Tezuka is one of the most intriguing graphic novel series I have read in a long time.  It is a five volume series which begins with Adolf, Vol 1” a tale of the twentieth century.  These books take place during the years leading up too and during WW2.  The setting switches between Germany and Japan.  It involves two stories that at the beginning seem quite different, but as the volumes play out become intricately intertwined.  The first is the story of a Japanese reporter who is in Germany to cover the Olympics in Berlin.  During his time there, his brother who was also in Berlin is murdered because of his connections with the communist party.  Toge, the reporter, attempts to track down his brother’s murderer and the secret behind his murder.  The other story involves two boys named Adolf as well as the Adolf Hitler.  The boys both grew up in Japan; one comes from a Jewish family from Germany who has been living in Japan ever since he was born.  The other Adolf has a Japanese mother and a German father who happens to be a fairly important man in the Nazi party.  The story follows as this unlikely pair becomes best friends, and continues as one rises to prominence in the Nazi party and the other roots himself firmly in his Jewish and Japanese heritage.  These stories quickly become one as all of these winds together into one of the most intricate and different stories about the war that has been put to pen.  Tezuka’s position of having lived during the war, in Japan puts him in the unique position to write about the alliance between Japan and Germany without an American bias.  This book is well written and the art is quite good.  Any body that has interest in the war or simply an interest in an exciting and griping story would benefit greatly from reading Tezuka’s Adolf series.

Runaways Vol. 4: True Believers was I must say my favorite of the runaway series yet, which is saying a lot as anything Brian K. Vaughan does is A ok in my book. Any way, for those of you who might be unfamiliar with the Runaways story, it is about a bunch of kids who discover they have super powers. Unfortunately this discovery came on the heels of another discovery which was simply, that all of their parents were part of a syndicate of super villains called the pride and that they were all evil murderers. If you haven’t read any of these books yet I suggest you go out and pick up the first three volumes and read them. However I also suggest you stop reading now as this will contain a brief recap of earlier volumes, which means spoilers.

At the end of Runaways Vol. 3 we saw the group of runaways defeat their parents, and of course the traitor Alex, and escape from the underwater lair where apparently the Parents died. Now, in Runaways Vol. 4 we see the group, as they have rejoined each other after escaping from the various foster homes they had been put in. They are now trying to use their powers for good to battle all of the evil elements which have surfaced in the wake of The Pride. Unfortunately this task becomes much harder when someone from the future tells them about a horrible villain from her time that they need to stop while he is still a kid. To make matters even harder for the group they are being tracked by a group of former b-list super heroes who have formed a support group for kids with super powers. This group is trying to capture all of the runaways so they can help them avoid the mistakes they made at their age. In this volume Vaughan mixes a very interesting story with some of the very witty writing he has become known for. Anyone who has been a fan of Marvel comics will enjoy the references from past members of the Marvelverse including Darkhawk, Chamber, Wonder Man, and a variety of others. This installment is also rife with funny reference to pop culture and does a great job making its characters appeal to teens. This is perhaps the best volume yet in the series and it shows us that this could be a popular series to come.

For more info check out Brian k Vaughans website BKV.TV or Amazon

Mark Waid, like many before him, has developed a new vision of the origins and beginning of superman.  In this world, Clark Kent is a young, traveling reporter who has been trying his best to hide his powers from the world.  After some startling events in Africa Clark decides it is time to use his powers for good.  He and his mother design his suit and alter identity so he can become the popular superman we all know and love.  This story takes many cues from the popular TV show Smallville.  One example of that is that in this story Lex Luthor also grew up in Smallville and was a good friend of Clarks.  The basic thrust of the story is the idea that Clark needs to find a way to come to grips with who he is, and once he does that, becoming superman, find a way to make the public accept him.  The story is fun and it moves at a nice fast pace.  There are some holes which make the story less plausible.  One is that it brings up the ever present hole in all superman comics of the glasses.   How does a simple set of glasses disguise who Clark Kent really is.  While this is always a problem with Superman, writers and readers alike are content to just ignore it usually, but in this story Mark Waid tried to explain it without much success. This explanation forces the reader to consider how ridiculous the concept of using only glasses as a disguise really is.   All in all Superman: Birthright is an enjoyable read which is appropriate for all ages, but it does not add anything particularly important to the superman story.   It does however come jam-packed with fantastic images which will keep you reading despite your feelings about the book.

Bone: the complete adventures is a collection of all 9 Bone graphic novels by Jeff Smith. They tell the story of three Bones (Fone Bone, Smiley Bone, and Phoney Bone) who are little white creatures that resemble bones. They get kicked out of boneville because of something Phoney Bone did. While wandering the desert a mysterious cloud of locusts drives them into a hidden valley. The bones are about to be central characters in a story that has been developing in the valley for many years. This mythical and exciting adventure contains dragons, a princess, rat creatures, an evil mage, dark lord, and much more. The bones are forced to pick sides in this escalating battle. This book is full of beautiful illustrations, and is a gripping story. Its innocence and its scope are among its greatest strengths. I would recommend this graphic novel for just about any body old enough to read. Definitely great for reluctant readers or anybody over the age of about 8.
Personally I loved this book, or if you are reading them separately these books. The world that Jeff Smith has created is very original, but it is still familiar. All the characters seem very well thought out and the story just grabs you and pulls you in. These are great graphic novels to recommend to some one who is either a reluctant reader or to some one who does not have much experience with graphic novels. If you happen to be someone who is involved with teen and tween literature, be it as a teacher, or as a librarian, you need to check Bone out. You won’t be disappointed. Originally they were published in black and white; however scholastic has started publishing them now and has added color to the illustrations. While the black and white version is great, the color is nice too so you really can’t go wrong.