I've been following Marian Churchland for some time now, and her art never fails to impress. So when I saw this book in the shop, I had to pick it up! I was thrilled to find out that her writing style and story-telling is just as good as her art! The story is a modern take on Beauty and the Beast (without the hostage and stockholm syndrome aspect for those who don't care for that) that was supposedly inspired by the passing of Churchland's dog. Either way, the story is very subtle in the way it progresses, but I picked it up to check out a few pages, and couldn't put it down till I finished the whole thing! The story follows Colette, a struggling artist who picks up an odd commission from an even stranger client. The story is beautifully told and the art holds up as equally beautiful!
Drinking at the Movies is a painfully hysterical autobiographical look into a tumultuous period in Wertz's life. When I say painful, I mean it! Sometimes I didn't know whether to laugh because some events were so terrible that it was hard to see it as funny, and yet, the way Wertz describes situations, there's a definite levity to all of it where you can't help but laugh! This book is not for the faint of heart; there's a lot of graphic language, adult situations and lack of political correctness that some may find offensive. But if you don't think that would bother you, I definitely would recommend this book for those that love bio comics. Personally, they're a favorite of mine and Julia Wertz has an incredible knack for finding humorous ways to describe even the bleakest situations, and doesn't hold back with embarrassing or personal details to add more context to her story. It was a great read!
French Milk was Lucy Knisley's first published work (I think?) about her trip to Paris with her mother. The book is enjoyable enough, though not my favorite of her body of work. It lacks the same fluid and imaginative style her current work possesses. However, it's not a comic (which is what I'm used to) but a travelogue (basically it's a journal with pictures). It's less detailed and wordy because it is basically just Lucy keeping track of her time in Paris. And while it's entertaining, it wasn't one of those books you can't put down because you need to know what happens next. However it still has markers of her current style (both in aspects of art and storytelling). Lucy is actually one of my favorite cartoonists and she has had a really interesting, almost magical life. It's always a treat to read even a tiny bit about it.
After reading French Milk I was definitely in the mood for more of Lucy's work. I bought this book during my Portland vacation and ended up reading all of it before we even left the book store! Not only does she tell fantastic stories of her childhood, she explores her relationship with food through her parents and how she came appreciate and love good food. Her life is almost magical (at least, very different from what I experienced, like she was born onto a movie set!) and I loved her anecdotes and their relevance to each chapter. A bonus is that she gives recipes after each chapter where you can make the food she talks about in the book! I can't wait to try some out! This book was amazing and I loved every bit of it!
I have been a fan of Hicks' work since she was still updating her webcomic Demonology 101, so I was really excited to dig into Friends with Boys. Her artwork is distinctive and fun and diverse. I have always loved the way she draws faces and the detail she puts into backgrounds. She's an excellent artist. The story was good, but the climax was a bit underwhelming, and there were added tangent plot points that didn't go anywhere. The general plot was okay. It kind of jumped around a bit. I'm not sure if her webcomic had a more solid story, or if I remember it differently because I was younger and my exposure to comics was minimal. Honestly I'd have to reread D101 (which I may do some day) but over all I fell in love with that webcomic and this story wasn't nearly as endearing to me. It was a cute story though.
I've been dying for AGES to get my hands on a Jen Wang comic. Ever since I heard about her ill-fated webcomic Strings of Fate, I've been enchanted with Jen's artwork. Finally I found an affordable copy of Koko Be Good on amazon and jumped at it. Koko Be Good was an amazing comic. The story centers around two young people who are in the midst of finding themselves, and figuring out what they want out of life. Koko is the kind of character I would normally hate, but she's actually pretty endearing. A brat who suddenly decides to be a good person and does everything she can think of to stick to it? And Jon reminds me of some friends I had ages ago who just needed to figure some things out. Plus Faron's subplot is pretty heart-breaking! Definitely pick this up if you're able!
I read this all in one go and sadly wasn't a huge fan. I've always had that problem with comic anthologies. I bought this anthology because some artists I follow/love were going to be in it, and while I DID enjoy their contributions, I didn't enjoy much else. There were stories that had great art, there were a few really creepy stories, but at least half the book was either okay or just plain "meh" to me. I won't name specifics because I can leave that up to you to decide, and I don't want to call anyone out on their contribution. I understand it's difficult to make a comic scary when you can see what's coming from panel to panel on one page, but I felt like some of the stories didn't even make sense as a horror. This would be a book I'd rather borrow from someone than own myself, but it's a little late for that. At least I got a really awesome print by Brittney Sabo with my purchase!
Well that's all my reading content for now. When I read a few more books, maybe I'll do a non-comic update. If I had the time I'd love to do a picture book report for books (drawing pictures for the books I read) though that's just adding more work onto a pile of things I'm already behind on!
Have a great week!
Jessie xxoo
