Rowland is a respected historian at the University of Notre Dame who has written a series of books about the art of the Renaissance. This collection of essays focuses on artists who “lied”: that is, who were able to depict reality in a way that went beyond the realistic to reach a sublime level. This was considered a pinnacle of achievement, and Rowland traces the idea through some of the key works of the era. Several of the artists discussed here, such as Raphael, Titian, Bernini, and Michelangelo, are famous, but Rowland finds new things to say about them by delving into their biographical details and working methods. She also does much to rescue the reputations of figures who are almost forgotten, such as Bertoldo di Giovanni, a sculptor of “beguiling little masterpieces,” and Artemisia Gentileschi, an artist of “brutality and brilliance” and one of the few successful female painters of the time. Rowland frames much of her analysis with a book written in the period, Lives of the Artists, by Giorgio Vasari, who was himself a fair artist as well as an author. This gives her own study additional authenticity and provides the opportunity for her to add personal touches and flashes of humor. It all makes for an enjoyable collection, of interest to art aficionados and general readers alike. Rowland does not include pictures of all the works she cites, but her enthusiasm for her subject is contagious and many readers are likely to enjoy tracking them down for themselves.

After Lalo Villalobos, 19, tracks down the vampiro who killed his parents, he ends up being turned into one himself rather than enacting the revenge he wanted. Using his newfound supernatural strength, Lalo escapes and returns home to Los Campos and his younger sister, Fernanda. Together they flee the busy city for the remote pueblo of Del Oro, which reportedly had a 200-year-old case of a vampiro that Lalo hopes holds the key to reversing his condition. Meanwhile in Del Oro, 18-year-old Carolina Fuentes wants to prove she’s just as capable as her father and older brothers of slaying sedientos, or “thirsty ones,” as the vampiros are also known—but only Abuelo believes in her. Four weeks after a tragic sediento attack on her family, Carolina stumbles upon Lalo. He’s feeding on an animal, and she’s determined to kill him, but she’s confused about why he seems so human and not the “abomination” she expected. Instead of slaying Lalo, Carolina eventually agrees to work with him to figure out whether they can unlock the secret to restoring his humanity. Montoya adeptly weaves elements of Mexican history into her sophomore novel, which features delightful supporting characters and lovable protagonists who have fantastic chemistry. The Spanish-speaking cast members are diverse in skin tone.

Hugo and his dino sidekick made their debut in a flurry of messy, creative backyard adventures. In their second outing, their antics take them out of this world, on a fantastic, apparently imaginary voyage to the planet of Space Tigers. Their purpose? To find a present for Hugo’s mother, whose birthday is approaching. When Dino asks what Mami likes, Hugo replies, “weird rocks!” And what better place to find them than in outer space, “where everything is weird!” In short order, the pair blast off to Space Tiger planet, whose feline inhabitants have run out of power because they’ve lost their Magic Power Stone. Hugo gleefully transforms himself into an extraterrestrial feline to uncover a series of clues and solve this mystery. The hunt leads through spikes and sludge, a treacherous tunnel, and finally to a volcano filled to the brim with pie. The duo’s original mission becomes a bit secondary to the quest, but Roselló’s chaotic, comedic stream-of-consciousness voice perfectly captures the zigzagging narrative logic of a young mind at play. Hugo, Dino, and their new Space Tiger buddy are all delightfully wild-eyed and wiggly-limbed, and the illustrations buzz, pop, and wobble their way to their final flourish—a ride home on a speeding asteroid! Hugo and his parents are brown-skinned and cued Latine.

Set in 1947, Tracy is a recent war veteran and the youngest cop ever to make detective in “The City.” He’s still struggling to come to grips with the horrors he experienced while in battle. After a crime reporter and an alderman are among those gunned down during an apparent robbery at a diner, Tracy investigates and discovers that the killings are tied to a complex conspiracy. The detective vows to identify the people behind the horrific crime, which included more than a dozen murders, and he eventually joins forces with the late alderman’s daughter, Tess Trueheart, and old war buddy Pat Patton, who’s looking for answers regarding his brother’s mysterious death. Patton’s also looking into the disappearance of numerous war veterans who worked as laborers on an ambitious waterfront development project. Ignoring directives from his chief, Tracy and company continue to dig, and soon find themselves the targets of numerous underworld thugs; Tommy gun–powered violence ensues. Borges’ masterful ability to convey a gritty, hardboiled atmosphere in action-packed, blood-splattered, and visually stunning illustrations is an obvious strength, as is Segura and Moreci’s talent for intricate, deeply developed, and emotionally intense storytelling, largely through dialogue. Tracy and Patton’s war flashbacks, and their current inability to seamlessly reassimilate into society, are particularly powerful: “One day they give you a gun, they tell you to go kill people. Then they take the gun away. They tell you the war’s over. But for some men, it’s not that easy.”

Sacco uses words and illustrations to document stories: He’s a self-described comics journalist. He has combined both forms to great effect in numerous works of graphic nonfiction, including Palestine and Safe Area Goražde, that tell of overseas conflicts. One monumental wordless work, The Great War, depicts the first day of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Sacco returns to the subject of the Mideast in his latest book, a slim overview of Israel’s recent invasion of Gaza. The urgency of the project is evident in a short introduction in which he writes of beginning it after a friend in Gaza pleaded with him to “plz raise the voice up against these crimes.” Sacco’s answer: “So here, my friend, for whatever it’s worth, I ‘raise the voice up.’” That he does. The book is an impassioned polemic against Israel’s devastating response to the raid of Oct. 7, 2023, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered by Hamas fighters. “The scale of the deaths of Israeli civilians left me horrified,” Sacco writes. So, too, did Israel’s retaliation, which has killed tens of thousands of people. “I was only theoretically prepared for the worst,” he continues. “The reality of the assault on Gaza…was almost beyond my comprehension.” Unlike Sacco’s earlier works that feature on-the-ground reporting—the testimony of ordinary citizens imbuing the pages with power—this book is more of a visual op-ed, his scathing critique of the U.S. and Israel accompanied by caricatures of President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and biblical-style language: “The way was greased for the Righteous Rampage that smote the People of Darkness.” Elsewhere, he writes, “America had just invented Kinder, Gentler Genocide. The patent is pending.”