Graphic Novel Review - 'Disney Princess Comic Strips Collection, Vol. 1' by Amy Mebberson, Various, Joe Books

A reread.

I don't know why I didn't think much of 'Disney Princess Comic Strips Collection, Vol. 1' when I first read it years ago, because it is fairly funny, charming and cute. Maybe recently reading 'Disney Princess Comic Strips: The Enchanted Collection' broadened my horizons, and refreshed my sense of childlike whimsy, and my sense of humour. Most of the first 'Disney Princess Comic Strips Collection' is in 'The Enchanted Collection', with a couple of strips/stories not included in the big collection, for spatial and limited page count reasons. I suppose.

Giving the Disney Princesses (pre-2013) their own little slice-of-life comic strip adventures is a brilliant idea, with most of the potential not wasted. The comics expand on their characters, and on aspects of their respective movies, and give them a chance to be very funny and dynamic in their own right. The female leads are fresh-faced, diverse, and well characterised and developed.

My favourites princesses in this volume have to be Belle (of course, my fave Disney Princess), Tiana, Mulan, Jasmine, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Snow White. Though the rest present - Merida, Ariel, Pocahontas and Aurora - are good, as well.

Hilarious, fun and cute for all ages; this is not a sanitized, cheap, lazy, kiddie rubbish product, conveyor-belted by the Disney corporation. There is heart, soul, creativity and effort put into these 'Disney Princess Comic Strips' (aka 'Pocket Princesses' online by Amy Mebberson). Go ahead and check them out.

Also check out my review of 'Disney Princess Comic Strips: The Enchanted Collection'.

Final Score: 3.5/5

September Moon - 'The Magical Girl's Guide to Life'

WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER MOON! 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

Today I shall officially end September Moon, on a particular book that 'Sailor Moon' - and in turn the wide-reaching and diverse magical girl genre as a whole - helped inspire.

'The Magical Girl's Guide to Life: Find Your Inner Power, Fight Everyday Evil, and Save the Day with Self-Care' by Jacque Aye, is a cute, fun, and genuinely useful little self-help and guidance counselling book, for magical girls and women of this generation and beyond.

You will find Black and POC voices, adventures and experiences therein. Admittedly there is not much consideration for queerness, but it emphasises that anyone of any gender can be a magical girl or magical being, if they believe they are inside. Not every magical girl needs a hetero life partner, either, to be happy, and feel loved and cared for. Female friendships and bonds are just as important as romance, if not more so. It avoids heteronormality (though doesn't acknowledge asexuality, or aroace people existing; another oversight).

'The Magical Girl's Guide to Life' isn't limited to 'Sailor Moon' for its sources of inspiration, of course: it also namedrops 'Cardcaptor Sakura', the 'Pretty Cure' anime series', 'Creamy Mami', 'Magic Knight Rayearth', 'Sugar Sugar Rune', and 'Kiki's Delivery Service' (as I say in my review, it totally counts for the purposes of the book!). Western magical girl cartoons talked about are 'Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir', 'Winx Club', 'Steven Universe', and 'Bee and Puppycat'. One surprising webcomic inclusion is 'Sleepless Domain', and a novel one is  'MagnifiqueNoir' (aka 'magnifiqueNOIR'). Awesome!

'The Magical Girl's Guide to Life: Find Your Inner Power, Fight Everyday Evil, and Save the Day with Self-Care' - it's good, and fun, warmhearted, uplifting, and, well, magical. Just like 'Sailor Moon'.

So I end this 'Sailor Moon' month with a half-nonfiction, half-fiction pocket-sized book recommendation, influenced by 'Sailor Moon' and its kind. It's a must for fans of magical girls. For people who are magical girls at heart, like me.

For my further thoughts, read my 'The Magical Girl's Guide to Life' review here.

Oh, what the star-seed-studded heck.

Luna, I request another magical item. Or list.

Summon it, Luna-P:

After rereading the manga series this month, here is my ranking of the five 'Sailor Moon' arcs, starting from my top fave:

1. Dead Moon Circus

2. Black Moon

3. Death Busters

4. Dark Kingdom

5. Sailor Stars

Finally, Luna and Luna-P, one more list:

My ranking of the Solar System Planetary Sailor Guardians, starting from my absolute favourite:

1. Sailor Moon/Sailor Chibi Chibi Moon (they're the same person, so they both get the top spot; and don't forget they are Super and Eternal, plus the Messiah, and Neo Queen Serenity, too!)

2. Sailor Jupiter

3. Sailor Saturn

4. Sailor Uranus

5. Sailor Neptune

6. Sailor Mars

7. Sailor Pluto

8. Sailor Mercury

9. Sailor Venus

10. Sailor Chibi Moon

Welcome to September Moon, and have a happy, joyful month full of magical girl bliss.

This has been Artemis Crescent, and in the name of the Moon, I say farewell, for now.

You lucky, lovely stars, and Moonies.

Love you all.

Take care.

September Moon - 'Warriors of Legend'

WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER MOON! 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

I admit this was a last minute addition, to cap off the month of 'Sailor Moon'.

'Warriors of Legend: Reflections of Japan in Sailor Moon' is reading material that isn't manga, and it's an unauthorised indie book. But I reckoned it deserves a spot in September Moon - a short nonfiction book that can be read in one afternoon, containing interesting facts and details (as of the time of its publication in 2005) about not just 'Sailor Moon', but Naoko Takeuchi, and the country both she and her creation were born. It explores the various influences, mythologies, cultures and histories that helped make the most popular magical girl manga and the anime in the world what they are, during the '90s zeitgeist of Japan, and Tokyo.

'Warriors of Legend: Reflections of Japan in Sailor Moon', by Jay Navok and Sushil K. Rudranath - it's... rough, and not always accurate, but it's a nice little jumping-on point of research for fans of 'Sailor Moon', and Japan and its culture and history.

Read my rereview here for more.

And it is here where September Moon comes to an end... kind of.

I have one more book inclusion for tomorrow, but it's a surprise treat, and not technically, directly related to 'Sailor Moon'. It won't be a reread and rereview - I already reviewed it the year before.

It'll only be on my blogpost, with the review link, as a simple reminder of the magical girl series' impact on the world of pop culture.

But until that reveal, I leave you with this message:

On September Moon drawing to a close, on a self-published nonfiction, indie, info and reflection book, instead of a manga:

I had fun this month. I hope other people also enjoyed reading about me reexperiencing one of my most beloved, cherished, childhood classic franchises, in 2026. Perhaps they've learned some useful and heartfelt things along the way.

Let 'Sailor Moon' live on in our hearts and minds, forever.

Happy September Moon - for every moon, of every month, every year. Every millennium.

In the name of the Moon, let's not be sad to say goodbye, but smile (and go ahead and cry) that we got to meet at all. As warm, personal, light-and-hope-filled heavenly bodies - star seeds, with our own Sailor Crystals inside our chests, everchanging and shifting in the vast expanse of the universe, but always attracted to, and gravitating towards one another, as communities of stars. Unique, individual, and lovely stars, that are never alone.

Thank you, Naoko Takeuchi, for your beautiful, wonderful, astronomical, celestial, otherworldly, varied, inspirational, influential, timeless creation.

And thank you, everyone.

Love you all.

September Moon - 'Sailor V Volume 2'

WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER MOON! 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

'When and where will we finally meet? The only people who could ever really know me. Those people who share the same feelings as me.'

We have now approached the end--no, the beginning of an era, in the case of 'Codename: Sailor V, Vol. 2', as it leads directly to its sequel/sister series, 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon'. Or its last couple of chapters do, anyway.

Read the link to my rereview here, to find out how it ends... and is rebirthed into the mot famous and influential magical girl franchise of all time.

A star is born... as are many other stars, before and after her. Always, and forever.

I've read a grand total of eighteen manga volumes for September Moon. It's been my fangirl dream. I enjoyed myself immensely, and the excitement, and the uplifting, life-affirming and empowering mood I got from reading this classic magical girl franchise all over again, has me inspired and hyped to branch out and read more magical girl manga.

Stay tuned to see what other magical girl goodness I'll gush about in the future...

'Sailor Moon' manga verdict: What fun, joy and heart! And female power and enlightenment!

However, September Moon isn't quite over yet.

I have a couple more inclusions planned for the month of 'Sailor Moon'; more material to reread and rereview. What are they?

Wait until tomorrow to find out!

In the meantime, as always:

Happy September Moon!

And stay safe, supportive, kind, caring, benevolent, and loving.

September Moon - 'Sailor V Volume 1'

WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER MOON! 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

We have now arrived, way back at the beginning, of 'Sailor Moon' before Sailor Moon - 'Codename: Sailor V' (I know for certain now there's a colon in that title).

There is a heck and hex and Hades' worth of content and context to unpack with this one.

And for a silly sentai comedy manga with a female protagonist in a sailor suit, that, like its heroine, is more than meets the eye.

Long rereview link here.

September Moon - 'Volume 1' (Chix Comix/MixxZine/Tokyopop Edition)

WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER MOON! 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

It's the turn of the earliest English/American/western translation of the manga from the year 2000, simply titled 'Sailor Moon, Vol. 1', by Chix Comix/MixxZine/Tokyopop.

So much cringe and cheese, I love it! It has an old school '90s charm.

Nostalgia is a powerful influence. Perhaps more powerful than the Silver Sailor Crystal.

Find out more on my rereview(s), linked here.

September Moon - 'Eternal Edition Volume 1'

WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER MOON! 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

What a stunning, enchanting, passionately created edition.

We have come to the reread of 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Eternal Edition, Vol. 1', with the newest English translation from 2018. Collecting the first seven Acts/chapters of the classic manga, it is, literally, bigger, and longer, and just as gorgeous as it has ever been. I can confidently say this retranslation is better than the 'Renewal Editions' that preceded it, and is put together by passionate 'Sailor Moon' fans.

Is there anything new I could add to it?

Well...