George Sand: True Genius, True Woman review – a pleasure and an education

Writer Séverine Vidal and illustrator Kim Consigny tell the extraordinary life story of the French author, who cross-dressed and pricked male pomposity, with great care and humour

The Crow review – Brandon Lee’s heavy metal horror is a potent goth fantasy

After Lee’s accidental on-set killing, speculation of a curse elevated this grungy revenge fantasy to cult status. Its violent, cartoonish energy still holds power

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two by Emil Ferris review – fantastic beasts

An eagerly awaited sequel to the author’s debut is a wildly inventive fantasy noir of lush and surprising child-like wonder

Haikyuu!!: The Dumpster Battle review – huge anime hit goes deep into high school volleyball

Obsessively detailed clash between two rival high school teams has done massive box office in Japan, but it won’t make much sense to the uninitiated

Emil Ferris: ‘We can’t enter a future without our humanity’

The My Favorite Thing Is Monsters author returns with Book Two, which warns against the ‘monstrousness’ of social conformity

So Long Sad Love by Mirion Malle review – an irresistible celebration of female courage

A French cartoonist has doubts about her boyfriend in Mirion Malle’s third book in English, a striking hymn to women and solidarity

Trina Robbins obituary

American cartoonist and author whose pioneering work in comics included being the first female artist to draw Wonder Woman

Spy x Family Code: White review – ingenious espionage antics with special-power family

Popular manga characters receive their first film adaptation as they seek out a villainous colonel and an elusive dessert, brought off with great style by director Takashi Katagiri

Self-Esteem and the End of the World by Luke Healy review – male anxiety hilariously meets global crisis

A painfully funny cartoon about a neurotic graphic artist deftly explores the themes of self-obsession and ecological disaster

The Faber/Observer/Comica graphic short story prize 2024 – enter now!

The annual award for aspiring cartoonists offers the chance to be published in the Observer and win £1,000, with past winners landing book and film deals

The Russian Detective by Carol Adlam review – exquisitely illustrated celebration of early crime fiction

This richly evocative tale – part of a project drawing on the work of long-forgotten contemporaries of Dostoevsky – bears repeated readings

‘Not a parable about death’: Raymond Briggs’s notes set record straight for The Snowman

Remarks scribbled in a Finnish copy of the much-loved book, to be featured in an exhibition on the author, reveal how the story was misunderstood

‘The little girl in Persepolis has grown up’: Marjane Satrapi on life after her hit graphic novel – and her radical new work

As a new wave of protests sweep Iran, the author explains why she has returned to drawing. Plus: an extract from her new collection of protest cartoons

Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball manga series, dies aged 68

Japanese artist remembered for his ‘unique world of creation’ including comic series that spawned films, video games and TV series

Polar Vortex by Denise Dorrance review – hazards of a homecoming

The American cartoonist’s story of a trip to tackle her frail mother’s needs is funny, wise and magical