Mark Pennington (1) (1959–)

This series is off to a very promising start! Having seen Carey work within the realms of Christian mythology (to great success) and the Western literary tradition (to a slightly less successful degree) I am very interested to see how well he handles Japanese folklore and mythology. He's already brought kami and youkai/yokai into the fray, so it'll be interesting to see whether he chooses to rework the traditional stories of Japanese mythology and work with the range of established gods and show more goddesses, or if he goes the more general route of fox spirits and nature gods - or a blend of the two. I just hope the he manages to keep his plot line a little more tight than in the Unwritten, since it didn't really work out so well in the long run. show less

The first installment in the Crossing Midnight series which sadly didn't sell too well and only consists of three collections. Set in Nagasaki, Japan, twins Toshi and Kai Hara are born one each side of midnight. This time difference leads to major differences in their lives. Toshi (the sister) manages to survive impaling herself on iron railings causing her to discover she cannot be harmed by blades. Toshi has no power and spends much of his time looking after his sister despite her show more invulnerability.

One evening a strange man appears who can control blades called Aratsu claiming to be Kai's master. Each time she refuses to go with him he kills someone close to her until she eventually gives in. To aid Kai get his sister back Nidoru who has power over needles comes to his aid, but there will be a cost in the future that Kai cannot know about.

A great mixture of Japanese mythology and folklore with lots of blood and death along the way. There is a really interesting section at the back explaining some of the Japanese ideas behind the story and hinting at how the plot will unfold in later collections. I adored this opening volume and it will definitely appeal to fans of Fables and Sandman for it's darkness and mixture of myths. Drawn interestingly, again it's a shame it only lasts 3 volumes. show less

Mike Carey crafts an immediately engaging story of Japanese gods and spirits. Toshi and Kaikou are twins born on either side of midnight, and their family becomes caught up in the machinations of spirits beyond their understanding. Smooth artwork and inventive storytelling throughout. I know this series only survived for three trade paperback volumes, so I am hopeful but not expecting that there will be a satisfactory ending to this story.

This is by no means a bad Star Wars comic, but it's also rather forgettable. The story centers around a padawan who chooses to defy the Jedi Council and hunt down General Grievous. The characters are rather one-dimensional and I never really developed an attachment to them. The action sequences are decent enough, but the story never gets beyond cliche. This feels like a hastily produced companion piece to Episode Three, but I'm not sure.