Seattle comic book fans from diverse backgrounds and with even more diverse tastes gathered for the third monthly gathering at Zanadu Comics Downtown to share and talk comic books, news and creators.

 “Rachel Rising” by Terry Moore was our book of the month. (It’s like Oprah’s book club for geeks!) A girl crawls out of a ravine after being buried alive, tried to uncover what happened in that lost time. Dark, gritty art mixed with an eerie mystery reminds me of “Twin Peaks” and “The Killing.” The possible theme of a doppelgänger and that the heroine could be in the wrong body came from the group.

“I like the way he writes women,” and “he does not overexplain,” are among the comments sparked an exploration of Terry Moore’s other work, “Strangers in Paradise”, “Echo” and “Love and Rockets.”

  The 6 issues of “Rachel Rising” are being collected into a trade collection coming out later this month and a preview will be in this month’s issue of “The Walking Dead.”

   “Moebius is a God,” said Casey as our panel leader took a moment to recognize the death of the influential French artist. This continued our exploration of European comics which are called albums not issues and are treated like fine art. Comic book artists in Europe are celebrated as national heroes and commissioned to create public art. 

More of this week’s picks from our panel:

   “Whispers in the Walls” is a beautiful and creepy graphic novel in the style of Guillermo Del Toro’s work mirroring a slow descent  into madness. 

  “Corto Maltese” a trade collection of rare European pulp adventure strips by Hugo Pratt.

  “Archie Meets KISS” was “weird, hard to get through but a fun different take on Archie but you have to commend the publisher for pushing boundaries with stories about gay characters, interracial romance and breast cancer.

  “Avengers Children’s Crusade” reached a finale about 3 years and was just beautiful art and storytelling and “incredible to feature two gay couples so prominently in the storyline.”

  “Emitown” is an anime style collection from a Portland, Oregon based creator that’s semi autobiographical comics about Emi’s daily life. One panelist called it “a comic book about the cool girlfriend you wish you had.”

  “Week in Hell” is an experimental comic book by a woman who locked herself in a New York City hotel room and “turned off her mind and drew.”

  “Womanthology” is a mammoth book of stories featuring more than 140 female creators. It became a sensation before it was published. Women artists and writers have been underrepresented in the industry for a long time. One female editor took editor and raised the money on Kickstarter to secure the printing of these tales by published and brand new female creators.

  “The Last of the Greats” is next month’s book of the month to read. Once there were seven heroes with the powers of Gods now there is only one to save an Earth on the brink of destruction.

 Every month with this group I discover so many comic books beyond the traditional superhero type. While the latest with X-Men, Avengers and Batman is always in the discussion, it’s the sharing of never before experienced (new and old) creators, comics and themes that make this a great experience with fellow fans. Come join us next month!