Dogs on Dates

Dogs on Dates began a few years ago as a series of strips on Luke Healy's Instagram account, and I have been looking forward to this book. It follows the lives of Brad and Bernie, a couple of gay dogs whose "meet cute" involves a broken plate glass window and a shared ambulance ride. 

What follows is a series of dates, some quotidian and others quite outlandish, and the duo gets to know each other. Much of the book is composed of single page strips that depict a single date, though there are some extended sequences where some of their more complicated adventures occur. These sequences are suspenseful and well-plotted, making them real page-turners. Also, the character designs, gestures, expressions, and interactions make these cartoon dogs palpable and relatable.

Overall, I loved getting to know these characters and seeing how their relationship develops and unfolds. There is lots of drama and emotional baggage, from meeting parents to dealing with employment issues to learning about past relationships, but this book presents them in frank, refreshing, and utterly charming ways. It made me laugh and worry and my heart melt. It is a feel-good read, in a wonderful and substantial way, a reaffirming tale that shows the realities and absurdities of love.

The book's author Luke Healy is a cartoonist, comedian, and screenwriter. He has made all sorts of comics from short-form to graphic novels like Self-Esteem and the End of the World and The Con Artists. I feel the need to read more of his work soon.

All of the reviews I have read of it have been positive. Lindsay Pereira wrote, "There is a lot of sensitivity on display here, especially when one considers that these feelings are being filtered through the lives of two anthropomorphic canines." Jeff Provine highlighted "the genuine humanness of two guys just trying to be a couple in a world packed with awkwardness and responsibilities as well as amazing snacks and belly laughs." Killian Fox called it "an endearingly scrappy piece of work whose charms make up for its occasional misfires."

Dogs on Dates was published by Drawn & Quarterly, and they offer an excerpt and more here.

 

Flocks

I have been meaning to read this book for a long while now, because I had bought a mini-comic that was a draft of one of the chapters years ago but never followed up because of life and who-knows-what-else going on. Happily, I found it in a library. Libraries rule!

Flocks is an incredible book, a candid look at a person who was assigned female at birth and raised in a conservative, Christian family in Louisiana. What I think makes this book exceptional is its combination of imagery, plotting, and exploration of religious belief. It is drawn in a mostly realistic style, though the main character is almost always depicted as a button-eyed rag doll. It is almost viscerally painful to read about how isolated that L. felt during childhood, being constantly faced with contradictory feelings to what was being preached at church. Being so completely othered and trying to reconcile thoughts with religion is one tremendous struggle, and I found it very powerful that they did not shy away from sharing just how profound their religious faith was to them.

I do not think it is too much in giving away the plot that L. eventually transitioned to being a man, but what makes this book special is just how much detail and nuance is given to that journey from childhood, through finding solace and kindred spirits through academics, and to adulthood and building a family. He also does not necessarily vilify his family, as they are depicted as supportive in some ways even if they do not always understand or approve of what they see happening. Ultimately, this book is about communities and relationships and how they can damage and/or validate you. Flocks is an insightful and moving account of one person's figuring out who he is and all of the fallout and victories that accompany the process.

L. Nichols wrote and drew this book, and they are artist and illustrator who publishes work with the Grindstone Comics imprint. They have also published a follow-up book I Am Only A Foreigner Because You Do Not Understand that continues looking at their continuing transition to a more nonbinary identity. They speak about their work on Flocks as a mini-comic as well as their other comics work in this interview from 2013 (pre-transition) and also this one from 2018 (post-transition).

I was not able to locate many reviews of this book, which is a shame. Publishers Weekly named it one of their Big Indie Books of 2018. Meepelous wrote, "L.’s irresistibly charming drawings demonstrate what makes Flocks so special: L.’s boundless empathy.”  Blackraven called it "an odd little gem."

Flocks was published by Secret Acres, and they offer more info about it here. Trigger warning: this book features a lot of emotional trauma, some sexual situations, and depictions of self-harm.

A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities

A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities is just what it says in the title, an accessible primer on LGBTQIA+ matters for those who would like to know more. It is divided into pointed chapters that answer specific questions, namely defining the terms queer, gender identity, gender expression, dysphoria, and asexuality. It also explores the concept of coming out as well as provides some elementary information about healthy relationships. 

The book presents serious material in a breezy and whimsical way. Its narrators are a group of snails who are observing a queer educator campout, providing an outsider/insider viewpoint. As you can see from the excerpt below, the artwork is playful and expressive. 

I really like the pastel color scheme, as well as the blue/green/yellow strips that follow each chapter that feature Sproutlings, a bunch of fantastic woodland creatures that enact the ideas contained in each chapter. All in all, I appreciated just how much information this book communicates in a fast and friendly way. It also contains a few activity pages in the back, as well as a list of great online resources. It's a great introduction for anyone wanting to learn more about the basics of LGBTQIA+ identities.

Cartoonists and illustrators Mady G and Jules Zuckerberg collaborated on this book. Mady G has made lots of shorter comics and has worked for a number of high-profile illustration clients. Zuckerberg has also illustrated the Printz Honor book Queer Ducks (And Other Animals). They both speak about their work on this quick & easy guide in this interview.

Most of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Alec Chunn wrote, "Though the book is slim, it effectively covers a broad swath of identities and topics." Becca called it "witty, engaging, and down-to-earth." Johanna Draper Carlson was less taken with it and opined, "the book often reads as a decorated lecture."

A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities was published by Limerence/Oni Press, and they offer a preview and more information about it here.

The Well

I recently got to know about Jon Allen's Ohio Is For Sale series and read the first collection of those strips. They feature a cast of 20-something characters, depicted as animals but who have real human problems and relationships interspersed with some fantastical elements.  The Well is the latest book set in that universe, and it was available from my local library. Libraries RULE!

The star of The Well is Veronika, a reserved 24-year old who lives with her parents, has a jerk boyfriend in a band, and who has not had a job in about a year.

This situation changes when the band goes on tour, she gets to crash at her boyfriend's gross apartment, and she gets a job coding for a local energy drink/wellness company. She settles in smoothly at first, makes a couple of work friends, Persephone and Dave, and gets into a new pattern. Dave is a go-getter who obviously has a crush on her while Persephone is an open lesbian who has learned not to get involved with straight women (maybe), but they all get along and occasionally go out for drinks. Their dynamics are fun to see, but something is not right with the company's owners.

Her bosses Susan and Jake are distant and weird, and eventually it's revealed that they are running illegal experiments involving the toxic morass that lies below the building as well as the huge creature that lives there. Veronika figures out that something hinky is going on, but she and her co-workers still get roped into the situation. What follows opens her eyes to how she views the world and her role in it.

The artwork in this book is very clean and simple, with bold characters rendered in black, white, and grayscale. This style belies a complexity of character and plotting, and this book is incredibly compelling. I read the whole thing, more than 700 pages (!), in one sitting. It is a master class in graphic storytelling, and I cannot recommend it enough. There are two other books, Julian in Purgatory and The Lonesome Era, available from this series, and I need to get my hands on them ASAP.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. François Vigneault wrote, "Over the many pages of this book Veronika clearly emerges as Allen’s most well-rounded and engaging protagonist yet." Phantastic Reads opined, "I love Allen’s deceptively simple art, and he’s got some really fun backgrounds in this one. The creeping suspense is a great counterpoint to Veronika’s very real personal problems, and it all comes to a head and wraps up beautifully."

The Well was published by Top Shelf Productions, and they offer a preview and more here. For those interested, Allen speaks about his work on this book in this interview. And if it is not clear by now, this book is not for kids.

This Place Kills Me

I recently borrowed this book from my local library. Libraries RULE!

This Place Kills Me is a murder mystery set at an all-girl private school in the 1980s. The main character is Abby, the new girl there who does not really fit it. She carries the baggage of being expelled from her last school for shady, possibly drug-related reasons. Also, she is a lesbian and catches a lot of flak from other students, which also affects her roommate Claire.

When a student commits suicide after a production of Romeo and Juliet, the two roommates begrudgingly join forces to investigate a few irregularities and find out a strange pattern that may explain what actually happened. The mystery is truly gripping, and part of the fun is figuring out whodunit.

This book has multiple strengths, chief among them the splendid and atmospheric artwork as well as strong characterizations. Abby's feelings of isolation really come through in the visuals, as well as the ornate decor of the school and many of its fancy students. I loved how the characters interact and how they did not end up making nice over the course of the narrative even as they collaborated. In many ways, this book seems like the "beginning of a beautiful friendship," with a pair of unlikely partners solving crime. And I would love to see more adventures featuring these characters.

This Place Kills Me was written by Mariko Tamaki and drawn by Nicole Goux. Tamaki is a prolific writer who has won a ton of awards, including multiple Eisners, being a finalist for the Printz Award (twice!), and a Caldecott Honor. She is known for the graphic novels This One Summer, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, and a few prior entries in DC Comics' YA graphic novel line, including I Am Not Starfire. Goux has several graphic novels to her credit, including Punk'n Heads, Pet Peeves, and Forest Hills Bootleg Society. Tamaki speaks about This Place Kills Me in this interview.

Nominated for an Eisner Award, this book has received much praise. In their starred entry, Kirkus Reviews concluded it was "truly exceptional; a standout." Sean Dillon called it "a thrilling story highly worth recommending." In an another starred review in the School Library Journal, Angie Jameson wrote, "Stunning illustrations coupled with a thrilling plot make this a standout title that belongs in all YA graphic novel sections."

This Place Kills Me was published by Abrams Fanfare, and they offer more information about it here. 

Hello Sunshine

Hello Sunshine has been sitting in my to-read pile for much too long. When I finally began reading it, I had a difficult time putting it down. This book is about Alex, a teen boy who has had a mental break and disappeared after a violent episode. Searching for him are Noah, a football player who is secretly his boyfriend, his angry brother Jamie, their dog Cass, their friend and neighbor Sky, and Alex's best friend and Jamie's girlfriend Izzy. Each chapter is told from each of their viewpoints, contributing to the suspenseful series of revelations about their family and what Alex is going through. It is also a gateway into each character's thoughts and feelings. 

Aside from learning about this ersatz Scooby gang, which takes a tremendous amount of character work, we also gain insight into Alex's plight, which involves a frightening combination of the mental health issues and the supernatural. The plot navigates a delicate balance between educating about his mental state as well as delving into a Stygian horror, replete with demons and false faces. Along the way, the characters all reveal something about themselves and their mettle.

The artwork in this book also manages a difficult balance, with affecting emotional moments and interactions as well as depictions of truly horrific creatures and realms. Alex's mental space is not for the meek, and it is a testament to his friends and family that they even attempt to approach it. I feel that this book is a success on pretty much every level, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Author Keezy Young has made the award-winning supernatural romance graphic novel Taproot as well as several impressive mini-comics, including the autobiographical Sunflowers and horror stories like It's Bitter, Baby, and It's Very Sweet. She speaks extensively about her work on Hello Sunshine in this interview.

Nominated for the Best Publication for Teens Eisner Award, this book has received many positive reviews. Cassy Lee called it "an artfully compelling and haunting read." Kirkus Reviews described it as being "beautiful, spooky, and emotional." Andy Oliver wrote, "It’s an astonishing piece of comics, one of the finest examples of graphic fiction of this decade, and a book that is deserving of all the acclaim it has received."

Hello Sunshine was published by Hachette Books, and they offer a video preview and more here. This book is meant for YA readers, and it contains profanity as well as references to self-harm and suicide.

Crazy for You

I recently took advantage of Fantagraphics' annual Fantabucks sale, and Crazy for You is the first book I've received and read from them. It contains two short stories written by novelist Paul Theroux and adapted by Steve Lafler, who has been making comics for decades. His most notable creation is Dog Boy and I have also really enjoyed a number of his smaller works as well. Theroux and Lafler speak of their collaboration here in this interview.

The first tale in this book is "Minor Watt," about a wealthy man who decides that he is going to deal with a divorce and economic recession by destroying precious artworks that he owns and buys. It was a roller-coaster ride of events that left me guessing how things would resolve. It lampoons contemporary art dealers and culture while also following a man's descent into madness.

The second story in the book is "Siamese Nights," about an aging businessman named Boyd who is sent by his company to Bangkok. He is an amateur artist who tours the town, sketching buildings and sites to bring home to his wife in Maine. He's also near retirement, and at first, he avoids socializing and going to bars with his younger colleagues. Eventually he joins them and meets a katoey named Song. He begins an affair with her and becomes obsessed, which complicates his marriage as well as his work situation. 

I found both stories compelling, even if the second trucks in exoticism. The artwork brings a strong sense of character, action, and passion to the events of each tale. These stories are also weirdly almost anthropological looks at later-life crises and male mania, including how emotional and social constraints can become warped, troubling, and destructive. These stories might be pitched at a specific mature audience, but I feel that they are well-rendered and thought-provoking.

The reviews I have read about this book have been conflicted. Steve Baxi called it a "mixed bag" and concluded, "I think 'Minor Watt' is worth the price of admission, but after that there’s plenty of other comics by Lafler and short stories by Theroux worth reading." William Schwartz pondered who the audience for graphic versions of these stories is and wrote that "the combination comes out like a well-aged Roy Lichtenstein, petty drama blown up to such an extent it’s hard to tell who’s laughing at who."

Crazy for You was published by Fantagraphics, and they offer a preview and more information here. This book contains profanity, nudity, and sexual situations and is recommended for readers mature enough to deal with them.

Danger and Other Unknown Risks

Here's another book I borrowed from my local library through Libby. Libraries rule!

Danger and Other Unknown Risks is by Ryan North and Erica Henderson, who had also collaborated on one of my favorite superhero comics, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl as well as one of my favorite comics characters Jughead. They play well to each other's strengths and have won multiple Eisner Awards for their efforts. This book is a wild ride that bends the conventions of a mystical quest to make for a compelling and satisfying story. 

The main character here is Marguerite de Pruitt, who is living in a post-apocalyptic world where magic has destroyed all vestiges of technology. In this universe, when the year 1999 ended magic came back into existence and transformed the world. Instead of any technology working, Earth has been divided into separate areas where the rules of magic operate differently. Marguerite's uncle has tried to teach her magic, but she only knows one spell, which works differently in each realm. Still, he tells her that she is the "chosen one" and sends her on a quest with her talking chow chow Daisy to gather three magical items that will be used to return things to normal.

Along their quest, they encounter Jacin, a security guard from 1999 who decides to join them in the future. This trio then have all sorts of adventures as they encounter many strange, sometimes wonderful, characters, diverse realms, and unlikely situations. There is plenty of clever dialogue and funny situations along the way, as well as a self-aware sense of humor about genre stories. As the quest goes on, they slowly start to realize that perhaps not everything is as it seems, and that maybe they have reasons to be paranoid about their mission. There is much to love about this wry and engrossing page-turner of a graphic novel.

The winner of the 2024 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens, this book has been very well reviewed. Kirkus Reviews called it "a fine romp setting up for further worldbuilding in future entries." Greg Burgas wrote, "It’s a great adventure, it’s quite funny, it’s heartfelt, and it’s beautiful to look at." Kaileigh Oldham opined that "is a great read for fans of dystopian adventures or D&D stories."

Danger and Other Unknown Risks was published by Penguin Workshop, and they offer a preview and more here. North and Henderson have much to share about their collaboration on this book in this interview.

Clementine, Book One

Tillie Walden is one of my favorite comics artists, a multiple Eisner Award winning talent and current cartoonist laureate of Vermont. I loved her books Spinning and On a Sunbeam, and I also had the pleasure of interviewing her a few years back as part of The Comics Alternative podcast. I was very surprised to see that she was going to be working on a book based in The Walking Dead franchise, and I bought it a few years ago but only got to actually reading it now. Clementine is based on a character from the franchise's video game series. She is a young woman/teenager who is living in a world over-run by zombies. When this book begins, she is a loner, and she wears a prosthetic leg in place of the limb she lost.  And, as you can see in the except below, she is used to taking care of herself.

Her isolated demeanor gets seriously challenged when she happens up some Amish folk on a trail, and she ends up partnering up with a young man named Amos who is on his way to Vermont as part of his  rumspringa. It turns out it is easier to ride in a wagon than walk all that way, but when they get there, things are not what they expected. I don't want to spoil much, but they end up trying to make the best of things in the cold, harsh winter conditions, and there are many complications and obstacles.

What I think this book does best is use the backdrop of the zombie apocalypse to explore human beings, how they act, and what they are capable of. This is a book with lots of moral and ethical dilemmas that also explores people's relationships to each other and why they may or may not trust them. Clementine and the others are all complex, compelling characters, and watching how they relate, strive to survive, and potentially look out for each other is very engaging. All of this is further enhanced by the expert storytelling and character depictions. This book is a definite page-turner that is tough to put down. Good thing this is the first book of  a trilogy, so I will need to track down the rest of her story.

It can be tough to please the audience of an existing character, especially one that belongs to as large and passionate a fanbase as The Walking Dead. I have no experience with the video game version, and I very much enjoyed this book. Furthermore, all of the full reviews I have read about this book have been positive. In a starred review for Library Journal, Tom Batten summed up, "Walden’s knack for character development and unique perspective result in a tale perfect for diehard fans of The Walking Dead, as well as newcomers." David Harper wrote that the book "finds a singular talent threading a needle, making this graphic novel feel like a Walden original and a natural continuation of this character’s journey."

Clementine, Book One was published by Image Comics, and they offer a preview and more here.

Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy

Hockey/romance books seem to be all the rage right now, and I just borrowed this one, published a couple of years ago, from my local library. Have I mentioned before that libraries rule!? I have not read a book by Faith Erin Hicks in a while, and with Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy she is hitting on all cylinders. This books has strong, fully realized characters, interesting personal dynamics and relationships, and a plot that left me wanting more. 

It is about Alix, a star hockey player on a team where her teammate and captain Lindsay constantly berates her in the locker room and on the ice. 

One day she snaps and attacks Lindsay, which shocks everyone and herself. In order to help herself and also convince her coach to approve her invitation to the Canada National Women’s U18 Team’s summer camp, she decides to ask Ezra for help managing her anger. Ezra is a drama kid who presents as gay and deals with a lot of antagonism from a couple of bullies because of that. Alix admires how Ezra can diffuse the hostility directed against him and redirect it through cleverness and humor. The two strike up a friendship and get to know each other. It turns out that Ezra is more gender fluid than gay, and they end up in a relationship.

The artwork and how it conveys emotional scenes and facial expressions is one big reason this book works so well. The characters come to life in their reactions and in actions, but the hockey and drama scenes work just as well as the interpersonal ones. Hicks is magical with her line-work, an alchemist who makes the flat images breathe and emote. 

I also loved how this book contained so many nuanced, complex, and realistic relations. Alix and Ezra's relationship is a focal point of the book, but there are also a few forays into their family lives, including how they deal with their parents and their own relationship issues. None of the love stories here are idealistic or perfect, but they all feel real. In addition, Alix and Ezra have to navigate how some of their friends take these new developments, and they find out about some other unresolved feelings related to bullying from the past. Ironically, it does not look so much in depth at the hockey team dynamics, other than to point out that no on in that locker room ever had Alix's back. The way the book ends is very open-ended, and I hope that it gets a sequel because I would love to spend more time with these characters. They were very easy to fall in love with.

As I mentioned above, this book was written and drawn by Eisner Award winning artist Faith Erin Hicks. She has created some of my favorite books over the past decades, including The Nameless City trilogy, The Adventures of Superhero Girl, Pumpkinheads, and Friends with Boys. She talks about her work on this book as well as her own hockey skills in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Kirkus Reviews wrote that "the ending feels a bit abrupt, but readers will forgive that thanks to the overall incredible storytelling and character building." Ian Keogh concluded, "The general path is predictable, but handled with such delicacy and sympathy that Alix and Ezra carry readers through with the smoothness of skates on ice." Amanda Melilli called it "a feel good romance that doesn’t shy away from the painful side of life."

Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more here.

Life Drawing

It had been a minute since I read any Love and Rockets, but I recently read Life Drawing to check in with what Jaime Hernandez has been creating these past several years. This book follows the exploits of Jaime's two main focal characters of late, Tonta and Maggie. Most of the book looks at how Tonta is dealing with life after high school, with her bouncing around her aunts' houses, taking drawing lessons at the local community college, maybe finding gainful employment, and fumbling toward possible relationships. Maggie keeps popping up in and around her life in surprising ways, and together they begin to work on Maggie's fear of the ocean. 

None of this plot summary really gets at what makes this book special, which includes the dialogue, interactions between the characters, and gorgeous artwork. In many ways, it reads like a grown-up Archie comic, with multiple short, separate episodes that coalesce into a narrative whole. The characters are vivid and how they interact with each feels real, funny, and moving. The issues they deal with are mundane and relatable, but the artwork is exquisite and expressive. In lieu of a preview, I am just going to post a series of random panels as rendered by Hernandez. 

I think readers new to the Love and Rockets world might need to allow themselves some time to get into this book, as it is a bit scattered on the front end, but fans will be able to visit again with a cast of old friends. I loved seeing the familiar stomping grounds being populated with newer characters, and there are a few surprises, too, including a forest spirit and a couple of weddings. It's another outstanding comic by one of this generation's best artists.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. In their starred review Publishers Weekly gushed, "Hernandez's jaw-droppingly clean line and mastery of the subtly caricatured human form make the most mundane moments vibrate with life." John Paul Bullock wrote that it "is a perfect entry point for anyone who’s recently discovered this groundbreaking series." Tom Shapira pondered the task of tackling this series for the first time and wrote, "The reviews are still good, they’ve always been good, but there’s just so much of it."

Life Drawing was published by Fantagraphics, and they offer a preview and more information about it here. This book features adult situations, profanity, sex, and nudity, so it is recommended for readers mature enough to handle those things.

Out of Alcatraz

Originally published as a 5-issue series, Out of Alcatraz is a fictional account of what happened to the three men, Frank Morris and brothers Clarence and John Anglin, who engineered an audacious plan to escape from the penitentiary in 1962. It has largely been believed that all three perished in the treacherous waters of San Francisco Bay, but technically all three are still listed as wanted fugitives by the FBI. This graphic novel could have also been titled Out of the Frying Pan, because every chapter ends with a surprising escalation of their situation. Their quest for freedom is marked by people who try to profit from these outlaws, by getting them to perform forced labor or assassination. It is a wonderfully crafted narrative that ramps up suspense until the very last pages.

The artwork and pacing in this book are exceptional. I liked the use of watercolors to add ambience and tone, and it does a great job of portraying character's emotions as well as emphasizing explosive action sequences. The way that the plot unfolds leads the reader through multiple reveals while providing a good sense of mystery, the hallmark of a great thriller tale. 

I also very much appreciated the drama involving the two investigators, one FBI agent and the other an ex-federal marshal, who are trailing these fugitives. Their love story adds a different dimension to the fugitive narrative, exploring what it meant to try to exist as a homosexual during this time period, with many prohibitions against coming out and being able to live their lives in a free way. This book is not just a great piece of suspense, but also a moving story that will sit with you for a bit.

Out of Alcatraz was a collaboration between writer/producer Christopher Cantwell and artist Tyler Crook. Cantwell has written a number of series for Marvel Comics and also created and produced the TV series Halt and Catch Fire. Crook has drawn many comics series, notably the Eisner Award-nominated Harrow County and The Lonesome Hunters, which he also wrote. Cantwell and Crook speak about their work on Out of Alcatraz in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been glowing. In a starred review from Library Journal Thomas Batten summed up, "Atmospheric, beautifully rendered, and psychologically rich, this is a standout thriller." Justin Munday called it "a phenomenal fictionalized take on a true event." The reviewer at Turn & Work wrote, "The story is taut and compelling, tackling the social prejudices of its time with more nuance and depth than I expected from a five-issue series."

Out of Alcatraz was published by Oni Press, and they offer a preview and more information here. You can also read the entire first chapter of the story here. This book features profanity, violence, and some sexual situations so it is suggested for readers mature enough to handle those things.

Witch Hazel: Variety Hour

Continuing my look at spooky-themed books, Witch Hazel: Variety Hour is a fun-time activity book for older teens and above. It features puzzles, stickers, and a few comic stories. The comics focus upon the titular Witch Hazel. She is a a youngish spell-caster, and she is trying to get her act together. In the first tale she is trying to get by via the gig economy, performing an exorcism ordered up on the Witchcraft app. Things do not go exactly to plan but play out in a clever and playful manner. 

In the second story, there is a misadventure with a size changing spell and her familiar, an axolotl named Noot.  In the final and longest story, she gets a job in the gift shop at a medieval theme park that used to be an apple orchard and ends up having to contend with the guardian spirit who lives there. Hazel also has to deal with her ex-girlfriend, Alice, as well as her friends who are visiting the park, which complicates matters.

I very much liked this book, which is a lot like a classic comic book but with a much sturdier cover. The artwork is colorful and energetic. The stories are fun and entertaining, and the whole enterprise feels so full of joy and whimsy. If you are looking for some contemporary Halloween comics amusement, this book should be right up your alley.

This book was written by Colton Fox and drawn by Beige Blum. Fox is an instructor and also featured his artwork in the film Erin’s Guide to Kissing Girls. Blum is the founder of the Dirty Laundry Collective, a Toronto-based crew of women of colour and LGBTQ+ artists. Fox and Blum have collaborated on a couple other Witch Hazel comics, which they link to on their websites. You can find more info about these comics in a few interviews with Fox here.

I was not able to find many substantive reviews, but Brad at Graphic Policy called it "cute" and "fun." Witch Hazel: Variety Hour was published by Silver Sprocket, and they offer a preview and more here. There is another sizable excerpt available here from Solrad.

Golem Pit 224

It's October and to celebrate this spooky month, I am going to review a bunch of different graphic novels that fit the season. First up is Golem Pit 224, a book I got from a Kickstarter campaign last year. The plot revolves around a couple, Thea and Kelsey, who decide to go on a camping trip to explore an unusual land form, the not-at-all-creepy- sounding Exclusion Zone Golem Pit 224. Kelsey is a research professor who is treating the trip more like an opportunity to collect work samples, and Thea would like to actually have fun and spend time with her partner. Without spoiling too much, they end up having to deal with some psychoactive material and find themselves literally and figuratively on shaky ground.

This book was wonderfully weird and compelling. What I liked about it was that it worked as a horror tale as well as a relationship story. Kelsey and Thea have some unresolved tensions that they need to deal with, and the way those manifest both emotionally and physically throughout the story makes for suspense and high drama. There were also several scares, including one pretty gross one that involved possibly swallowing an alien life form. The plot was pretty unique, and at some points I honestly did not know how or if things would resolve. The artwork does not employ the typical panel borders of most comics, and the floating, amorphous way the figures and events are depicted makes for some interesting developments later in the book in terms of how transformations and mysteries play out. Also, the color palette dealt mostly in earthy, brown tones that create a murkiness that well suited the setting and events of the story.

Golem Pit 224 was written and drawn by Julia Gootzeit. She has mostly published her work in mini-comic form, and her more recent comics can be found on her Instagram feed.

Golem Pit 224 was published by Fieldmouse Press, and they offer a preview and more info about it here.

Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey

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Two of my favorite things are comics and hockey, and this book combines both! I cannot think of many books that do both, save for Robert Ullman's Old-Timey Hockey Tales mini-comics, which are great by the way. Check, Please! began as a webcomic, and the first two of the four seasons are collected here. The premise is that we are following the life of Eric "Bitty" Bittle, an incoming freshman to the fictional Samwell University that is located in the real-life state of Massachusetts and plays in the real-life ECAC conference. Bitty is a former figure skater turned hockey player who comes from Georgia, loves to bake and vlogs about his life. He is also gay, and wonders when and how he should come out to his teammates. Over the course of the book, he shares about his struggles to adapt to college life, his quirky teammates, his culinary creations, and his adapting to the rules and rigors of college hockey.

For instance, dealing with contact is new to Bitty...

Over the two seasons in this book, we get glimpses into Bitty's freshman and sophomore years. He transitions from being a newbie to moving into the team house. There is some light hazing, intense feedback from the team captain, heavy partying, and typical college shenanigans. A slight spoiler: It is refreshing to see a bunch of macho athletes appreciate Bitty's baking and sexual orientation with not just tolerance but acceptance and joy. This book is fun to read for its sports intrigue, personal drama, charm, clever banter, and humor. I am very much looking forward to reading the next book that runs to Eric's junior and senior years.

Check, Please! was created by Ngozi Ukazu. She began making webcomics but has transitioned into making graphic novels, including Bunt!, which is about a college baseball player, Barda, which is a YA graphic novel from DC Comics featuring Jack Kirby's Fourth World characters, and the forthcoming Flip. Ukazu speaks more about Check, Please! in this interview.

This series has won a Reuben Award, a Harvey Award, and an Ignatz Award, and it's been very well reviewed. The starred entry from Kirkus Reviews concluded, "A fun and deeply satisfying read for teens." Thoroughly Modern Reviewer called it " a well-written, immensely enjoyable rom-com," and added that "it’s also a delightful exploration of male friendship, a really funny coming of age story, and an exciting look into the softer side of hockey culture." Nick Goodsell summed up, "It’s funny, its heartfelt, its deep, and it’s another great coming of age story for anyone to enjoy!"

Check, Please! Book 1 was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more information about it here. This book features profanity and some adult situations, so it is recommended for readers mature enough to handle those things, probably more mature teens.

Boys Weekend

The best kinds of satire usually skirt the lines between funny and horrible, and Boys Weekend certainly falls into this category. It's about Sammie, a newly out trans person who has been asked by her old friend Adam to be his "best man." 

As you might glean from this excerpt, Adam does not know about this change. Moreover, he certainly does not know how to deal with Sammie's new reality, nor do the even more clueless members of his groom's party. Still, all of them embark on a weekend trip to El Campo, an island resort where you can get away with way more than you can in Las Vegas, especially in the even more libertarian near-future when this book is set. For instance, they have an attraction where you can clone yourself and then go all "Most Dangerous Game," hunt it down and kill it.

Complicating matters even further from the incredibly cringe-worthy bachelor party is the rash of bloody murders happening in El Campo, and everything devolves into a disastrous survival situation more reminiscent of a horror movie than a weekend getaway. What makes this book work is that the horror stakes are real, the humor is sharp and topical, and the contemporary concerns about gender politics and discrimination are prominent. Boys Weekend is brutal, biting, and hilarious, a satiric parable for our times.

Mattie Lubchansky is a self-called "Award-Winning Transsexual Comics Idiot." She has a long history with making funny, political comics, from being an editor of the Eisner Award winning website The Nib to creating scores of comics for that venue to her own graphic novels, such as The Antifa Super-Soldier Cookbook. She speaks about her work on Boys Weekend in this interview.

The reviews I have read about this book have been mainly positive. Michael Kurt wrote, "It’s funny, deeply insightful, and even more wild than you’d expect for a story about a hedonistic future-tech-Vegas." Sylvie Rosokoff opined, "Lubchansky’s razor-sharp satire, eerie sci-fi sensibility, and distinctive illustration style make Boys Weekend the perfect mix of darkness and light." Kirkus Reviews found it a bit clunky in parts and summed up, "An uneven but undeniably original adventure."

Boys Weekend was published by Pantheon Graphic Library, and they offer a preview and more here. Because of adult humor and gore, I recommend this book for more mature readers.

History Comics: The Stonewall Riots: Making a Stand for LGBTQ Rights

 

History is a tough thing to conceive of for some learners, as it's difficult to remove oneself from one place in time and try to imagine themselves in another. This volume of History Comics, The Stonewall Riots: Making a Stand for LGBTQ Rights, tackles this issue by literally having its protagonists, a trio of adolescents named Natalia, Jax, and Rashad, who are diverse in terms of gender and sexuality, go back in time (without their cell phones, the horror!). Then and there, they are witness to the actual events leading up to the Stonewall Uprising, and they get to know some of its major players. 

This graphic novel is more about getting to know a tone and people than it is about presenting specific facts and dates to memorize, and I think where it excels is in contextualizing what led to this series of protests that gave momentum to a significant push for LGBTQ rights. The artwork is full of personality and depicts characters in stark, energetic fashion, pairing well with the plot to make this book have a very human focus. The characters and readers both get well acquainted with the people who made history.

Significantly, this book also does not sugar-coat the people or events, nor does it conclude that the struggle is over in the present day. In fact, it points out how much work still needs to be done and also provides a slew of resources for how young people can also get involved in various organizations today. It is a fantastic resource for learning about history as well as for encouraging contemporary activism, and I think it is a much-needed book for classroom and school libraries.

The Stonewall Riots was co-created by writer Archie Bongiovanni and artist A. Andrews. Bongiovanni has co-created comics in all sorts of formats, from graphic novels like A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns to webcomics like Grease Bats and other shorter ones published at The Nib. Andrews also has created a number of different sorts of comics including A Quick & Easy Guide to Sex and Disability.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Brett at Graphic Policy stated that it is a great primer that "captures the moment," "the feel," and "the build-up of it all." Krystal Moore and Felix Whetsel called it "a timely introduction to the history of the LGBTQ community, and the people who fought to get us where we are now." Kirkus Reviews summed up, "Engaging account that invites young people to continue to advocate for equality now."

The Stonewall Riots: Making a Stand for LGBTQ Rights was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and much more here.

Caravaggio: A Light Before The Darkness

To say that the pandemic has affected my life, work, and productivity is an understatement. This graphic novel I have been meaning to read and review for about a year, and I am happily and thankfully (and finally!) glad to post it today.

Caravaggio: A Light Before The Darkness is set in the late 16th/early 17th century, and this book took me back (not to the 17th century, I am not THAT old) to my undergraduate days when I took an art history class and attended a lecture about the art of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. He was an important figure of the Baroque style, and he lived a tumultuous and eventful life, all of which are conveyed effectively in this book. He is known for his sense of drama and lighting in his work, with a masterful use of chiaroscuro that influenced many painters afterward. In apt fashion, the artwork in this book employs his painterly style in its depictions.

Just as dramatic as his artwork was his personal life, which was characterized by sex scandals (with men and women), duels, and multiple brawls. Ultimately the fallout from this violence caused him to live in exile, and he died under controversial circumstances. This book delineates all these events in spirited and cinematic fashion, which is fitting as the script for this book came from an unproduced screenplay. I think it works well as a graphic novel, capturing the flare and intrigue of Caravaggio's life as well as the spirit of his artistic achievements.

This book is a collaboration between author and screenwriter Ken Mora and artist Cyrus Mesarcia. Mora is best known for a number of animation projects from his company Bella Fe Media. Mesarcia has drawn the comic book series Carson of Venus and a number of horror comics. Mora speaks about his work on this book in this interview.

All of the reviews I was able to locate of this book have been positive. Publishers Weekly called it "a spirited introduction to Caravaggio’s life and times that should appeal to readers of classic graphic illustrated style comics." Jean M. Roberts wrote, "I enjoyed this graphic novel and highly recommend it to readers of historical fiction who enjoy adult graphic novels and a unique reading experience." As of this review, it has a 4.43 (out of 5) star rating on Goodreads.

Caravaggio: A Light Before The Darkness was published by Markosia Enterprises Ltd. It was originally published as a six individual issues, partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign.  It is also available as webcomic on WEBTOON.