Read in June

Reaper's Gale stole nearly half this month -- thank Ghu for comics, which will keep this list from being really short. It also looks like nearly everything this month ended up at ComicMix rather than here.

• Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo, Hellboy, Vol. 8: Darkness Calls (6/1)
  
• Anonymous, editor, Out of Picture 2 (6/1)
  
• Diana Schutz, Tim Sale, & Teddy Kristiansen, Grendel: Devil Child (6/2)
  
• Matt Wagner, Grendel: Devil Quest (6/3)
  
• KwangHyun Seo & Jin HoKo, Croquis Pop, Vol. 1 (6/4)
  
• Kim MiHyung, 11th Cat Special (6/5)
• Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto, Vol. 12 (6/6)
  I'm going to pretend that I'll just catch up with the plot in the volumes I read later in the month, but the truth is that this one (and Vol. 13) went back to the library before I remembered to scribble down any notes about what happened in them. I think this volume had the beginning of the finals of the ninja advancement trials, but all hell hadn't quite broken loose yet.
  
• Andi Watson, Princess at Midnight (6/8)
  A cute little book by Watson about a homeschooled British girl who, on special nights, wakes up as the Princess of Waxing Castle and does battle with the evil forces of the neighboring Horde. It's small, and clearly appropriate for younger readers if not completely meant for them. It's not one of Watson's best works, but it's fine for what it is, and his art is always appealing.
  
• Will Eisner, The Best of The Spirit (6/8)
  
• Yi DongEun & Yu Chung, Freak: Legend of the Nonblonds, Vol. 3 (6/9)
  
• Park KangHo & Lee HaNa, Heavenly Executioner Chiwoo, Vol. 4 (6/10)
  
• Osamu Tezuka, Dororo, Vol. 2 (6/11)
  

Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto, Vol. 13 (6/12)
And this volume is where the shit really hits the fan, if I remember right. If you read this series -- and you probably didn't -- you'll recall that this comes at the end of a long sequence of stories about the ninja advancement exams, in which a whole lot of characters were seen sparring with each other and the reader learned a lot about their abilities, and some about their schemes and plans. Well, here all that becomes important, as a major villain attacks and everyone else scatters -- some chasing each other, some chasing the people chasing, and so on. It's pretty impressive; Kishimoto has a way with action scenes, and he's really punching forward on all cylinders here. (I think I've given up any pretense of reading this for any reason other than that I'm really enjoying it.)

• Steven Erikson, Reaper's Gale (6/13)
  
• E.C. Segar's Popeye, Vol. 1: "I Yam What I Yam!" (6/14)
  
• Queenie Chan and Dean Koontz, In Odd We Trust (6/15)
  
• Frank Warren, editor, A Lifetime of Secrets (6/15)
  This was the fourth book collecting postcards from the PostSecret project, loosely organized in the order of a life (from young to old). As always, some of these are very touching, and some are just bland -- I guess some people just have more interesting personal lives than others. I like this for the sense of connection, and, also, as a grumpy, depressive bastard, because it reminds me that lots and lots of people have it much worse than I do.
  
• Michael Chabon, Maps and Legends (6/17)
• Igura Sugimoto, Variante, Vol. 4 (6/18)
• Sanae Kana, Classical Medley, Vol. 1 (6/19)
  
• Yasutaka Tsutsui and Gaku Tsugano, The Girl Who Runs Through Time (6/19)
  
• Tom Corwin & Craig Frazier, Mr. Fooster: Traveling on a Whim (6/20)
  
• FSc (Foo Swee Chin), MuZz, Vol. 1 (6/22)
  
• Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto, Vol. 14 (6/22)
  This volume is wall-to-wall action; there are about three major battles/chases going on at the same time, and Kishimoto cuts back and forth between them. It's all middle, but it's all good, exciting middle.
  
• Hana Aoi, Love for Dessert (6/23)
  
• David J. Schwartz, Superpowers (6/23)
• Mitsuki Oda, Real Love (6/24)
  
• Shiuko Kano, Kiss All the Boys, Vol. 1 (6/25)
  
• Jordan Mechner, A.B. Sina, LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland, Prince of Persia: The Graphic Novel (6/25)
  
• Rob Walker, Buying In (6/26)
• Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto, Vol. 15 (6/28)
  And this volume is mostly taken up with a big fight between Naruto and Gaara, a creepy young ninja from the village of the Sand. (There are some parallels between Naruto and Gaara, which Naruto thinks about a bit too much.) The fight begins in this volume, but it's not quite done as it ends...though the next volume says it has the aftermath of all of these big fights, so I think this massive plotline finally finishes there.
  
• Bobbye S. Goldstein, editor, Mother Goose on the Loose (6/28)
• Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Avon Oeming, Powers, Vol. 9: Psychotic (6/29)
• Chica Umino, Honey and Clover, Vol. 1 (6/30)

And that was June.