Reviewing the Mail: Week of 12/12

Remember: I do this every week, listing the books that came in my mail over the past seven days and trying to present them as attractively as I can. (Sometimes that "as I can" is a massive loophole, though.)

This week I have one book to writer about, so I'll get right to it.

First Second has been bringing the Last Man series -- from France, though with what I think is a subtle manga influence -- to the US this year, with three previous volumes since March. And the next one is in my hands now: The Last Man, Vol. 4: The Show will hit stores in February, as always from the single-named team of Balak, Sanlaville, and Vives. I've been piling these up, hoping to read a bunch of them together and write one review, so I don't know much about them. But they are set in a medieval land, where an annual gladiatorial Games is the most important thing and magic lurks around the edges of things. And the story centers on a mysterious fighter who appeared just before one set of Games and a kid who dreams of fame as a gladiator. They each need a partner, of course. That was the beginning of the first volume, so things have certainly gotten more complicated since then.