Nicholas
Living in America, it feels as if we're constantly told that all of our labor freedoms are kind gifts deigned upon us workers by the rich and powerful. So it's always refreshing to see the long history of labor movements presented without the constant validation of capitalism's righteousness.
I like a lot about this book! It's brilliantly drawn, with very evocative layouts, but occasionally the text can be hard to read in print. It probably works much better via a digital medium, but I had a few instances of needing to squint to read. It's also informative, including anecdotes about labor movements dating back to the 1700s. However that information can be kind of dense. Combined that with some of the layout difficulties I had, doesn't always make for an easy read, but I enjoyed the content well enough to recommend to anyone interested in unionizing, which should be everyone.
I'm never been the biggest Alex Ross fan. I always felt a lot of his work looked stiff. However, he absolutely shines here. The colors are wonderful and there's the right amount of Kirby influence in his lines. FF: Full Circle is probably the best looking book I've ever seen from Ross.
Is it a good story? I dunno. I don't think it'd make a bit sense to anyone who isn't overly familiar with Lee/Kirby's FF run, but I am, so it worked for me. It helps that Ross understands that a good FF story has more in common with Star Trek or the X-Files than summer blockbuster movies.
I remember reading Kate Beaton's ‘Ducks' back in 2014 when it was just a series of sketch comics on her “Hark a Vagrant” website. A lot of those stories made it into this book verbatim, which is good because I loved those comics.
This is not your typical Kate Beaton book. It's still smart and occasionally funny, but it's also very grounded in the mundane. None of her usual whimsy is to be found here. Even so, Beaton has proven herself to be an excellent storyteller with heavy subject matters.
Beaton does an amazing job humanizing her colleagues from the oil sands of northern Alberta, even the ones she doesn't seem to recall that fondly. She's empathetic enough to understand that even the surliest laborer is a distinct individual with their own inner life. It's this same empathy that makes this book a heavy read. Beaton has no shortage of sad or traumatic stories about her time spent working the oil sands. Stories about the long-term effects living an isolated life with little to do has on a person. The oil industry doesn't just remove value from the Earth for profit, it does the same for the humans who work for it.
There's a lot going on in this book, but the one overarching theme that unites everything is the incredible ability humans have to compartmentalize literally anything and keep moving forward. Environmental destruction, exploitative labor practices, harassment, drug addiction, sexual assault, & workplace fatalities are all things that occur within the pages of this book, and the people affected by these events are able to be file them away to be dealt with at some other time. Or not at all. “That's just how things are here!” is a common response for tragedies both large and small. Humanity's superhuman ability to persevere through tragedy can be easily commodified to tolerate abuse.
I don't think this is a book for everyone, it is challenging & sobering, but it is very good. Kate Beaton is a longtime favorite of mine, and I'm glad to finally see those sketch comic PNGs become a full fledged book.
There are a number of autobiographical graphic novels that explore the author's struggles with depression, which is good! The effects of depression are highly individualistic, so the more viewpoints the better, IMO. I think ‘Everything is OK' is one of the better ones out there, and Tung is able to utilize her relatively simplistic art style in evocative ways.
Between this and ‘Fangs', Sarah Andersen has put out some of my favorite humor comics over the last two years. I love the creature designs here, instantly recognizable to any cryptid fan like myself, but simultaneously cute and lovable. I also love the inclusion of both traditional cryptids as well as modern ones from the internet age, and I'm always hungry for more Flatwoods Monster content. Quick and breezy, ‘Cryptid Club' is a perfect read for the holiday season.
I'm far removed from middle school, but I find Svetlana Chmakova's Berrybrook series captivating. They're filled with interesting, relatable characters going through things I went through at that age. The character design in these books is top notch too. I love seeing cameos from other entries show up in the background, it makes it feel like a real school.
Crane does a lot of formally interesting things with comics here. I especially like the unclear manner in which the story is told, which mirrors the doubt/uncertainty the characters are experiencing. Page layouts and panel borders are used to create confusion, but in a way that also clearly tells the story. Unfortunately, I wasn't terribly interested in the characters or the story told within this book.
One aspect I did find interesting was the way Crane frames the way people interpret things. At one point, the two main characters are arguing about whether or not a book ends with the death of the main characters:
A: “It was awful and miserable...They die at the end.”
B: “At the end they're alive...if they drown, that's because you are drowning them.”
As someone who often finds hopeful, humanistic messages in endings that many people would call a ‘downer,' I appreciate the way Crane points out how the same text can be read very differently by different people. People fill in the gaps of their knowledge with their own experiences.
I think this book does a good job using metaphor to show how capital uses violence to coerce the working class to support the status quo under the guise of respectably and order. Unfortunately the narrative aspect isn't as strong. Most of the characters aren't well developed and the plot wraps up incredibly quickly.
Not bad, but would probably be more effective in a longer format.
I believe the multiple diverging narratives here are symbolic of how climate change, and how every action can have long reaching, often unintended consequences. However it didn't work for me as well as I hoped as I wasn't really invested in any particular character or storyline.
Great artwork & visual storytelling though. I really enjoyed the first story that featured very little dialog and was told mainly through imagery.
A good primer on how the Constitution can interfere with modern governance.
Each section starts with a real world example of a problem caused or exasperated by the Constitution, a flashback to what problems our founding fathers intended to address when writing that part, and then ways we have dealt with those problems throughout the history of our country.
I don't think the graphic novel format really helps with the facts presented here, it's still pretty dense and wordy, but worth reading, especially for target audience.
A consistently creepy horror anthology. Each story here has its own vibe, but they all revolve around the theme of loneliness and trying to find solace in the unknown. The artwork here is very evocative, genuinely creepy stuff. I'm sure at least one of the five stories here will speak to you.
I definitely need to check out more Abby Howard books!
A great look at getting old and reflecting on the life you lived. The protagonist here, Kumiko, refuses to give in to old age. She's insistent to live on her own, despite the difficulty & protests of her children, and also engages in a very real fight against the manifestation of death. I really enjoyed how the book only touched on Kumiko's past, referencing events that made her who she is today instead of being bogged down in flashbacks.
I don't think every supernatural element worked for me, but I definitely recommend this book to anyone who thinks it sounds even slightly interesting.
