Comic Review Wrap-Up - June 2022
Review Wrap-up
Published Reviews
Bloodlust and Bonnets (2019)
Bloodlust and Bonnets is, in theory, a comic I should have liked. Being in the vein of other zany regency comedies like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Instead, I found it a meandering mess with little character development that routinely misgendered one of its leads. And after about four days of trying to like this comic, I quit at 60%. — Read the full review here
Amulet Book 01-06 (2008-2014)
Amulet with its cast of loveable but flawed protagonists weaves a story that is both whimsical and hard hitting to read about the perils of superpowers and leadership. —Read the full review here
Seekers of the Aweto #01: The Hunt is On (2021, English Ed.)
Seekers of the Aweto is a beautiful watercolour illustrated story of two brothers who slowly begin to drift apart as they realise their own goals and morals don’t match. — Read the full review here
Heathen Vol. 01-03 (2015, 2017-2020)
Starting with the intriguing concept of a reimagining of Sigurd and Brynhild following lesbian protagonist Aydis as she and Brynhild fights against the oppressive patriarchal Viking clans. However, our two protagonists are quickly separated and go on separate journeys of self-discovery, weakening later revelations in the plot. And Alterici’s art style often portrays women in a voyeuristic and fan service way which only leans into the themes she is trying to tackle rather than dismantle them. — Read the full review here
The Misfits Club For Girls: 1. Paloma (2021)
The Misfits Club For Girls is the beginning of a great series that focuses on female friendship and its trials and tribulations. — Read the full review here
Reading Wrap-up
Middle-Grade Graphic Novels
I’ve read quite a lot of middle-grade comics since the start of the year and this month continued not to disappoint in regards to what I read in that demographic. Starting the month, I read City of Secrets by Victoria Ying and Newsprints by Ru Xu. Both are steampunk stories that involve secret societies/government agencies up to nefarious deeds that our young female protagonists must investigate, making friends with a mysterious boy of similar age along the way. Despite the similar themes and storyline, Victoria Ying and Ru Xu have unique worlds they use to their full advantage.
Next Up was Coming Back by Jessi Zabarsky, which has similar vibes to their previous comic Witchlight. Following librarian Valissa and her lover Preet as they are separated when Valissa goes on a journey to rescue their village. And Preet has to raise their child alone - a child Valissa isn’t aware of and is forbidden by their village. This is an excellent comic that examines the stagnation of a village under old ideas as well as insecurities and distance in a queer-friendly world.
Amulet Books 7 & 8 by Kazu Kibuishi and A Visit to Moscow by Anna Olswanger with contributions by Rabbi Rafael Grossman ended the month for me regarding middle-grade comics. Though I don’t feel as strongly about books 7 and 8 as I did the previous volumes, Amulet continues to be a solid middle-grade fantasy with complex characters and world-building, and I can’t wait for the final book. A Visit to Moscow is a short autobiographical comic about Rabbi Rafael Grossman’s trip to the Soviet Union in 1965 to investigate the conditions of Jews under the Soviet Regime with a group of other Rabbis. It recounts his experiences meeting with the family of Zev, a young Jewish boy who has never left his small apartment because his parents want to protect him from assimilation and discrimination in Soviet Russia. It is a moving account of Jewish discrimination under Soviet rule and the lengths people will go to preserve their culture to ensure it survives in the next generation. Author Anna Olswanger also wrote a moving piece about the final pages of the comic on the Jewish Book Council that I suggest you read afterwards.
Older Teen Comics & Graphic Novels
For comics in the older teen demographic, I started the month with Dark knights of Steel (2021-) #7. I continue to enjoy this series, but I would have to say this issue was a bit of a letdown for me. I think I went into it expecting one thing - an exploration of the Superman origin story with Batman - but got something completely different. With only four issues left this was probably an unrealistic expectation on my part, and the issue itself is fine on its own, neatly escalating the drama as we ramp up into the climax. Though with the constant introduction of new characters, it often feels unfocused. I still thoroughly enjoy the series though and can’t wait for the next issue.
Verse Vol. 01: The Broken Half has an intriguing premise, a girl, Neitya, mysteriously appears from an amulet with horns like the demonic and dangerous Vel. A group of rebels fighting against an evil magic system, and a young boy, Fife, are thrust into the middle of this conflict. But often, there were just long stretches of dead space in the comic where not much was happening. Especially once we get to the rebel camp and the plot slows down as we follow Fife’s training and the investigation into Neitya’s origin. So far, I like the world enough that I will probably read volume 2 when I can get my hands on it, but I hope the plot picks up.
Sea of Stars Vol. 01-02 by Jason Aaron, Dennis Hallum, Stephen Green, & Rico Renzi, I have mixed feelings on this one. The first volume is a brilliant father-son story where the two are separated and must find their way back to each other. But the second volume repeats the same arc we experienced in volume one, father and son reunited only to be immediately separated. Also, this comic incorporates elements of Mezo-American Indigenous culture into the story, and I have mixed feelings about it, especially as two white guys wrote it. The Indigenous coded characters are also a cannibalistic moon-god cult which, instead of a full exploration of these cultures in a sci-fi setting, feels like a stereotypical portrayal of Meso-American indigenous culture.
The final comic I read this month is Across A Field of Starlight by Blue Delliquanti. This is an excellent deconstruction of the whole empire vs. rebel trope that examines things like colonisation, the lengths people go for their cause and whether it is always worth it, and first love. And while the world is mainly queer-friendly, it also weaves queer issues into its wartime narrative. I’m definitely going to pick up a copy of this to reread in the near future.
Manga
In regards to manga I read this month, I managed to get a library copy of Way of the House Husband Vol. 07 by Kousuke Oono (Older Teen) - I dislike how the current print run has all the covers about 5mm, too short, so they don’t wrap around the text block (bound pages) properly; I’ve been avoiding buying it because of this. And with this kind of episodic manga, there isn’t much to say. If you like the previous volume, you’re bound to like this one. There is a depiction of s*mbo lips in this volume - I can’t remember if this character appeared in previous volumes. So that is something that detracts from what is otherwise one of my favourite comedy series.
After that, I tried reading Ragna Crimson by Daiki Kobayashi (Older Teen) but didn’t get too far through it before giving up. While I didn’t mind the premise, the overpowered loli was too distracting for me to continue. And as I was trying to reduce my overdrive loans, it ended up on the chopping block. I’m not sure if I’d try it again.
I also picked up To Strip the Flesh by Oto Toda (Older Teen), a short story anthology. The title story is about a trans-man coming out to his dying father. The pair share a love of hunting but have a complicated and strained relationship. The anthology also includes the stories
I Just Love My Fav (About idol fans’ devotion in life and death),
David in Love (A figurine of David comes to life each night, falling in love with the little girl he was gifted to),
Hot Watermelon (A son is finally able to understand his mother’s feeling after performing a strange spell)
and a collection of two-page mangas that Ogawa did as a student.
Ogawa often uses horror elements in his work, which he masterfully uses in the stories To Strip the Flesh - to illustrate the experience of dysphoria - in Hot Watermelon to illustrate the mother’s suffering through her son’s eyes, and in the two-page manga God as an ominous warning of death. Ogawa is certainly a creator to look out for their future releases. The back of the volume has an extensive interview between Ogawa and LGBTQIA+ activist and writer Motigi, which proves further incites into the title story.
I ended the month with two yuri manga, How Do We Relationship Vol. 01 by Tamifull (Older Teen) and A Tropical Fish Yearns For Snow Vol. 01 & 02 by Makoto Hagino (Teen). How Do We Relationship is a college romance full of miscommunication and budding young romance that has our pair in a relationship quite quickly. And the series explores the pair's various relationship problems, from miscommunication to jealousy.
A Tropical Fish Yearns For Snow, however, is a slow burn - emphasis on slow - about two lonely teenage girls developing a relationship as they participate in their school’s aquarium club. Much of the tension revolves around the miscommunication trope, specifically neither girls being able to tell the other their true feelings and misinterpreting the other's actions. But, it is a charming series of young budding love.
I also read the first volume of The Girl From the Otherside: Siúil by Nagabe, but I’m going to hold over my thoughts until next month as I have the first six volumes out from the library. This is also a partial reread of the series for me.
Conclusion
Currently, my goal is to get through my expansive TBR of checked-out comics. This includes City of Illusions by Victoria Ying, the sequel to City of Secrets, the rest of The Girl From the Otherside, A Tropical Fish Yearns For Snow Vol. 03-06, The Witch and The Beast Vol. 01-04, and Monsterss Vol. 06. I also have arcs for The Misfits Club For Girls: 2. Celeste, In the Shadow of the Throne, and Talli: Daughter of the Moon, which I hope to get around to soon. But, I’ll probably spend the majority of the time in July whittling down my library checkouts so I don’t have to keep renewing them.