Isaac
I'm writing my review on the box set seeing as I read it in one day (partially to get it over with) this series was recommended to be as one of the best psychological horror manga. The idea of homunculi was an interesting idea that could have been expanded on in many ways. As the reader you become increasingly aware that you are seeing the story through the eyes of the antagonist, however I find the storytelling itself rather than the characters view point misogynistic and shallow.
1. Every male character spits misogynistic rhetoric whenever they are given the chance, in volumes 3-4 there is a horrific scene where the storytelling somehow makes it out like r*pe was healing. It was disgusting, dismissed and ignored later on in the story.
2. Shallow because the main character is supposed to be shallow but all other characters are given no depth, just stepping stones to the story. The end is also rushed however I did enjoy the end.
2/5 - for your sake, if you're going to read this, skip volume 3-4 you're not missing out. I guess it's similar to American psycho? But that may be a bit of a stretch
A must read memoir, Kate Beaton's time on the oil sands is gripping, tragic, informative and powerful. Being the only woman in a hypermasculine environment just before the age of phones and social media. It's portrayed in such a truthful way about how sexism and sexual assault is managed in an environment where it is unfortunately commonplace. Under this narrative is the realisation that is reached by Kate that the oil sands operate on stolen lands. This book, like many books is supported and further added to in the afterword. Afterwords are incredibly underrated. Here is a long but valuable excerpt from it:
“I have seen many people quick to become defensive against the suggestion that gendered violence exists in places like the oil sands. They may either work there and are proud of the work they do and the livelihoods they support with it or they know and love men there, and are insulted by the insinuation of being lumped in either anything to do with something as abhorrent as sexual assault.” .. ”Gendered violence does happen when men outnumber women by as much as 50 to 1, as they can in the camps or the work sites. Of course it does. Of course this happens when the men are in isolation for long stretches of time, away from their families and relationships and communities, and completely resocialized in a camp and work environment like that of the oil sands. It does not matter how many decent people are there. I knew plenty of those.”
Mignola's colourists always pull through and yet again we have that beautiful merging of his style and colour to pull this book through, colour is used to convey feelings so well in these books. And the plot was great, not my favourite Hellboy plot as it's very destiny heavy, however the unexpected turns that Hellboy takes makes it so interesting. Overall I loved this book, but it isn't getting 5 stars as I don't think it's on the same tier as the best books I've read.
An amazing study of the medium. Understanding Comics delves into the roots of comics and their history, where they stemmed from, the importance of expressionism and just how important they have been in human history. Scott McLeod also states many times how “high art” has spent so much time seperating written art from visual art and how the merging of these two forms are often looked down upon because of this snobbery.
This book makes you realise how American comics especially low budget commercial superhero comics have bastardised the medium and given it a childlike and “slop”esque mainstream opinion. To quote the book:
“Traditional thinking has long held that truly great works of art and literature are only possible when the two are kept at arms length.
Words and pictures together are considered, at best, a diversion for the masses, at worst a product of crass commercialism.”
and that's just it. The medium has been bastardised by this crass commercialism of the west but also comes from this deep seated belief in the separation of visual imagery and written language. What is special about comics is that it is a combination of visual translation of sound as well as visual interpretation of, well vision. It's a truly wonderful medium that deserves much more praise than it gets. But maybe I'm just a purist. It really sucks that this book won't be picked up by people who already have this widely spread belief that art must be separated, because it is such a wonderful breakdown of the medium that I love, and I'm sure it could change the opinion of someone who raises their nose to it.
This is one of the best books I've ever read. If you ever feel like changing your mind on comics, or giving them a shot, this is a great place to start, maybe after you've read Fun Home, In or another good entry point to visual and written storytelling. What I've learned from this book will change how I view comics and it has given me a deeper appreciation for art as a whole.
Bechdel had such a childhood experience, this book's structure works so well constructing the narrative she wants, the leaps forth and back in time slowly releasing new information about periods that she leaped over, showcasing her experiences and struggles one after the other. The way she kneads her relationship with her father as she works through it in this autobiography, coming to terms with it is magical. I loved how she portrays things so elegantly, her explanations of complex topics and the like. This book is amazing! Must read for fans of biographies.
Really good read, takes a while to get good however. The characters are amazing and very easy to sympathise with. I love the idea that everyone's going through their shit and doing their best. The moral the ending, what it says are great. The only reason it loses a five star from me is that sometimes I found dialogue a bit cringe. Very OTT and odd, it really is quite minor and definitely doesn't stop it from being a must read but also it's there, it's present so watch out for that
Some very introspective stories, a truly fascinating and sad story of the cycles of drug and emotional abuse and the effects it has on people, you can't stop laughing at the ridiculous situations they're put in, but you also can't stop feeling extremely sad that they're in such awful living and mental states that this is what their lives come to. Simon Hanselmann is a genius, his works are so expressive and make you feel like an awful person and awful for what people go through and awful about what types of people there are while making you laugh at the same time
I mean I really don't know what to say maybe it's just too dark for me, I think it tells a story about how awful humanity is, but it makes it harder to pass this awfulness when the characters don't have to worry about law enforcement and when they're portrayed compassionately at times, this makes it quite difficult to establish just how evil they are, despite their upbringing.
Overall I don't think I liked it too much. I did think that her depiction of incels and incel culture as well as fringe areas of the internet were well done, and I appreciate the authors notes in the TPB. I did learn something, and while it might not have been as enjoyable as it was for me as more of a slog - there were some points I did like. But I don't know if it's worth your time, unless you want to see a pretty true to form depiction of these internet communities in terms of the people they contain. The abuse the protagonist feels might be able to be justified in later issues, but as of judging this single volume by itself, I think it needs some fleshing out.
