7 posts tagged “comics”
Obtained: New York Comic-Con
Finished: 8-February 2009
Story Synopsis:
This anthology of comics inspired by real-life missed connection ads posted on Craigslist and in local papers around the country will tug at your heartstrings and make you think. Lonely hearts, romantics, and even cynics pore over missed connection ads in search of love, to gawk and giggle, or out of curiosity. These posted stranger sightings and chance encounters lay bare the truths and oddities of real-life loneliness and attractions and bring out the voyeur in the best of us. I Saw You takes this phenomenon and makes it even better.
Commentary:
Found out about this comic through Shaenon Garrity, who drew one of the comics for this collection. When it comes to (indie) comics, I generally enjoy these anthology-type of works. I'm still not fully familiar with all of the big 'names' so by reading anthologies, I get a sampling of the artists whose works I like and who I may eventually look up and follow when I get the time.
The book's premise is actually cute. I know I've browsed through the missed connections section of Craigslist, and made up stories in my head about what the encounter was all about. This book takes that idea and lets the various artists run with it -- some of them funny, some creepy and plain out weird, and some even melancholy.
A quick read, and will be totally appealing to the people who just enjoy reading short little stories.
Finished: 8-February 2009
Story Synopsis:
This anthology of comics inspired by real-life missed connection ads posted on Craigslist and in local papers around the country will tug at your heartstrings and make you think. Lonely hearts, romantics, and even cynics pore over missed connection ads in search of love, to gawk and giggle, or out of curiosity. These posted stranger sightings and chance encounters lay bare the truths and oddities of real-life loneliness and attractions and bring out the voyeur in the best of us. I Saw You takes this phenomenon and makes it even better.
Commentary:
Found out about this comic through Shaenon Garrity, who drew one of the comics for this collection. When it comes to (indie) comics, I generally enjoy these anthology-type of works. I'm still not fully familiar with all of the big 'names' so by reading anthologies, I get a sampling of the artists whose works I like and who I may eventually look up and follow when I get the time.
The book's premise is actually cute. I know I've browsed through the missed connections section of Craigslist, and made up stories in my head about what the encounter was all about. This book takes that idea and lets the various artists run with it -- some of them funny, some creepy and plain out weird, and some even melancholy.
A quick read, and will be totally appealing to the people who just enjoy reading short little stories.
Obtained: Simon & Schuster booth at NY Comic-Con
Finished: 09-February 2009
Story Synopsis:
Through delightful drawings, photographs, and musings, twenty-three-year-old Lucy Knisley documents a six-week trip she and her mother took to Paris when each was facing a milestone birthday. With a quirky flat in the fifth arrondissement as their home base, they set out to explore all the city has to offer, watching fireworks over the Eiffel Tower on New Year's Eve, visiting Oscar Wilde's grave, loafing at cafés, and, of course, drinking delicious French milk. What results is not only a sweet and savory journey through the City of Light but a moving, personal look at a mother-daughter relationship.
Commentary:
I first discovered Lucy Knisley at her table at the MoCCA fest in 2008. Her art looked extremely cute, and being the wannabe foodie that I am, I was amused that she was selling a "cheese" shirt. So, I looked her up and found out that this book was coming out later in the year, which made me excited since it was about two of my favorite things: food and Paris.
Lucy's experience in Paris is something that I would want to try someday. And she does a great job of detailing exactly what makes Paris enjoyable -- the museums, the art, and of course, all the wonderful food. I truly enjoy reading these travelogue comics (such as Carnet de Voyage and A Year in Japan), so finally owning French Milk is a great addition to my library.
I will admit though, that sometimes, Lucy's feelings towards things make her sound like an ungrateful whiny brat. I mean, she has a wonderful experience of being able to spend SIX WEEKS in Paris, and she wastes precious time whining. Well, I guess we're all allowed our share of existential angst...
Finished: 09-February 2009
Story Synopsis:
Through delightful drawings, photographs, and musings, twenty-three-year-old Lucy Knisley documents a six-week trip she and her mother took to Paris when each was facing a milestone birthday. With a quirky flat in the fifth arrondissement as their home base, they set out to explore all the city has to offer, watching fireworks over the Eiffel Tower on New Year's Eve, visiting Oscar Wilde's grave, loafing at cafés, and, of course, drinking delicious French milk. What results is not only a sweet and savory journey through the City of Light but a moving, personal look at a mother-daughter relationship.
Commentary:
I first discovered Lucy Knisley at her table at the MoCCA fest in 2008. Her art looked extremely cute, and being the wannabe foodie that I am, I was amused that she was selling a "cheese" shirt. So, I looked her up and found out that this book was coming out later in the year, which made me excited since it was about two of my favorite things: food and Paris.
Lucy's experience in Paris is something that I would want to try someday. And she does a great job of detailing exactly what makes Paris enjoyable -- the museums, the art, and of course, all the wonderful food. I truly enjoy reading these travelogue comics (such as Carnet de Voyage and A Year in Japan), so finally owning French Milk is a great addition to my library.
I will admit though, that sometimes, Lucy's feelings towards things make her sound like an ungrateful whiny brat. I mean, she has a wonderful experience of being able to spend SIX WEEKS in Paris, and she wastes precious time whining. Well, I guess we're all allowed our share of existential angst...
Obtained: Brooklyn Public Library
Finished: 28-September 2008
Story Synopsis:
Joel hates Korea. Why he agreed to teach there defies his comprehension. He can't wait to return to normal life. His year of teaching is almost over and then he'll finally be free. But Joel's life is about to go from dark dreams to cotton candy kisses and it's all because of Hana. The very sight of this girl sends him flying straight to cloud nine, but won't another year in Korea send him crashing back down?
Commentary:
Young Canadian boy Joel decides that he's had enough of Korea. His job teaching at a Korean english language school is no longer satisfying, and things about the country that formerly amused him are now incredibly annoying. He's decided that he's going to quit his job and go back to Canada -- that is, till he develops an infatuation with the beautiful Hana, who just happens to be the English school's new secretary.
This romance-comedy comic, despite offering to show a portrait of current Korean culture, managed to find every single way to annoy me. I'm not a particularly militant or angry Asian-American, but this book takes all the known stereotypes about Koreans (and Asians) together and lumps it all in what may seem at first glance to be a sensitive book about the difficulties of a cute White boy dealing with this 'quirky' culture. Maybe it's not the Koreans who have a problem, maybe it's you.
I also don't care so much for the romance aspect of it. It's so incredibly shallow. I'm supposed to believe that even though he hates the culture and most everything about it that he's willing to overlook that because of this hot girl? Who doesn't even do or say anything particularly entrancing to convince me, the reader, why she's worthy of his attention in the first place. Is he suddenly hit with an incurable bout of yellow fever?
I had pretty high expectations for this comic since I saw it at MoCCA Fest earlier this year. I thought it was supposed to be something new, something different, something really worthy of all the praise that Oni Press lists on the page. But personally, this is the same old story wrapped up in a gaudy package.
Finished: 28-September 2008
Story Synopsis:
Joel hates Korea. Why he agreed to teach there defies his comprehension. He can't wait to return to normal life. His year of teaching is almost over and then he'll finally be free. But Joel's life is about to go from dark dreams to cotton candy kisses and it's all because of Hana. The very sight of this girl sends him flying straight to cloud nine, but won't another year in Korea send him crashing back down?
Commentary:
Young Canadian boy Joel decides that he's had enough of Korea. His job teaching at a Korean english language school is no longer satisfying, and things about the country that formerly amused him are now incredibly annoying. He's decided that he's going to quit his job and go back to Canada -- that is, till he develops an infatuation with the beautiful Hana, who just happens to be the English school's new secretary.
This romance-comedy comic, despite offering to show a portrait of current Korean culture, managed to find every single way to annoy me. I'm not a particularly militant or angry Asian-American, but this book takes all the known stereotypes about Koreans (and Asians) together and lumps it all in what may seem at first glance to be a sensitive book about the difficulties of a cute White boy dealing with this 'quirky' culture. Maybe it's not the Koreans who have a problem, maybe it's you.
I also don't care so much for the romance aspect of it. It's so incredibly shallow. I'm supposed to believe that even though he hates the culture and most everything about it that he's willing to overlook that because of this hot girl? Who doesn't even do or say anything particularly entrancing to convince me, the reader, why she's worthy of his attention in the first place. Is he suddenly hit with an incurable bout of yellow fever?
I had pretty high expectations for this comic since I saw it at MoCCA Fest earlier this year. I thought it was supposed to be something new, something different, something really worthy of all the praise that Oni Press lists on the page. But personally, this is the same old story wrapped up in a gaudy package.
China A-Z by May-lee Chai and Winberg Chai
Obtained: NYPL
Finished: 28-July 2008
Quickie review: Found this while browsing through the shelves at the NYPL. Seemed appropriate, considering that the Olympics are just around the corner, and also because I know that my cultural knowledge of China is actually pretty insubstantial. This book does a good job of surveying various aspects of Chinese history and (pop) culture, as well as inserting various tidbits that correct people's presumptions of this nation. Some of the entries do become repetitive after a while, but overall, it's a good starting point for someone with even a passing interest in China.
The Good Prince (Fables, vol. 10) by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham
Obtained: Forbidden Planet
Finished: 25-July 2008
Quickie review: I've been reading a lot more American comics this year than I ever have in my life. This is the series that first took hold and hasn't let go. This volume, which focuses on Flycatcher (aka the Frog Prince), is probably the first story arc in Fables that's more or less closed. I enjoyed this arc immensely, even though I could've done without the short chapter about the wolf cubs... I also wasn't crazy about the art change for that particular portion.
Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love by Lara Vapnyar
Obtained: NYPL
Finished: 31-July 2008
Quickie review: A collection of short stories about Russians living in Brooklyn and their life situations involving food. Mikhail (the boyfriend) first found out about this, and you know that since I've now moved into Brooklyn, I had to read this book out of anthropological (or sociological) curiosity. The author was able to catch nuances of the Russian personality that I've seen for myself -- but not necessarily making excuses for them, which is cool.
Obtained: NYPL
Finished: 28-July 2008
Quickie review: Found this while browsing through the shelves at the NYPL. Seemed appropriate, considering that the Olympics are just around the corner, and also because I know that my cultural knowledge of China is actually pretty insubstantial. This book does a good job of surveying various aspects of Chinese history and (pop) culture, as well as inserting various tidbits that correct people's presumptions of this nation. Some of the entries do become repetitive after a while, but overall, it's a good starting point for someone with even a passing interest in China.
Obtained: Forbidden Planet
Finished: 25-July 2008
Quickie review: I've been reading a lot more American comics this year than I ever have in my life. This is the series that first took hold and hasn't let go. This volume, which focuses on Flycatcher (aka the Frog Prince), is probably the first story arc in Fables that's more or less closed. I enjoyed this arc immensely, even though I could've done without the short chapter about the wolf cubs... I also wasn't crazy about the art change for that particular portion.
Obtained: NYPL
Finished: 31-July 2008
Quickie review: A collection of short stories about Russians living in Brooklyn and their life situations involving food. Mikhail (the boyfriend) first found out about this, and you know that since I've now moved into Brooklyn, I had to read this book out of anthropological (or sociological) curiosity. The author was able to catch nuances of the Russian personality that I've seen for myself -- but not necessarily making excuses for them, which is cool.
Obtained: Queens Library
Finished: 23-June 2008
Story Synopsis:
Famously referred to as one of the "Axis of Evil" countries, North Korea remains one of the most secretive and mysterious nations in the world today. In early 2001 cartoonist Guy Delisle became one of the few Westerners to be allowed access to the fortresslike country. While living in the nation's capital for two months on a work visa for a French film animation company, Delisle observed what he was allowed to see of the culture and lives of the few North Koreans he encountered; his findings form the basis of this remarkable graphic novel. Pyongyang is an informative, personal, and accessible look at a dangerous and enigmatic country.
Commentary:
Lately, I've been having mixed feelings about travelogues. Sure, it's nice to read about somebody else's adventures in a foreign land and to vicariously experience their travels with them, but there have been a few times when I would read a travelogue and become disgusted with the narrator's ignorance and negative biases instead.
I'm still working through what I feel about Delisle's observations of his time in North Korea.
In this era of political correctness and popular democracy, North Korea definitely sticks out like a sore thumb. Even China, once the shining paragon of communism and its ideals, has realized that it needs to loosen up a bit to the West if it wants to play. North Korea, at least from Delisle's comic, doesn't want to leave its sandbox. It's perfectly happy with the status quo, even though the status quo has been irrelevant for many, many years.
Delisle describes the monotony and sheer ridiculousness of the culture (whatever left is there to call culture) -- vast monuments built to honor the Eternal President Kim Il-Sung, and additional buildings built for the son Kim Jong-il. Speaking from a Westernized viewpoint, North Korea is a slowly stagnating wasteland, where the people are so afraid of thinking counter to what the government tells them that they're willing to put up with poverty and starvation merely to avoid the "re-education" camps.
I'm hesitant to recommend this comic as mere entertainment fodder. While I don't feel that the work is super politically charged, I think that this work should just be a start to other books that you may want to read about the state of affairs in North Korea. A comic should not be one's mere source of perspective for something as important as that.
Finished: 23-June 2008
Story Synopsis:
Famously referred to as one of the "Axis of Evil" countries, North Korea remains one of the most secretive and mysterious nations in the world today. In early 2001 cartoonist Guy Delisle became one of the few Westerners to be allowed access to the fortresslike country. While living in the nation's capital for two months on a work visa for a French film animation company, Delisle observed what he was allowed to see of the culture and lives of the few North Koreans he encountered; his findings form the basis of this remarkable graphic novel. Pyongyang is an informative, personal, and accessible look at a dangerous and enigmatic country.
Commentary:
Lately, I've been having mixed feelings about travelogues. Sure, it's nice to read about somebody else's adventures in a foreign land and to vicariously experience their travels with them, but there have been a few times when I would read a travelogue and become disgusted with the narrator's ignorance and negative biases instead.
I'm still working through what I feel about Delisle's observations of his time in North Korea.
In this era of political correctness and popular democracy, North Korea definitely sticks out like a sore thumb. Even China, once the shining paragon of communism and its ideals, has realized that it needs to loosen up a bit to the West if it wants to play. North Korea, at least from Delisle's comic, doesn't want to leave its sandbox. It's perfectly happy with the status quo, even though the status quo has been irrelevant for many, many years.
Delisle describes the monotony and sheer ridiculousness of the culture (whatever left is there to call culture) -- vast monuments built to honor the Eternal President Kim Il-Sung, and additional buildings built for the son Kim Jong-il. Speaking from a Westernized viewpoint, North Korea is a slowly stagnating wasteland, where the people are so afraid of thinking counter to what the government tells them that they're willing to put up with poverty and starvation merely to avoid the "re-education" camps.
I'm hesitant to recommend this comic as mere entertainment fodder. While I don't feel that the work is super politically charged, I think that this work should just be a start to other books that you may want to read about the state of affairs in North Korea. A comic should not be one's mere source of perspective for something as important as that.
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1 by Diana Wynne Jones
Obtained: New York Public Library
Finished: sometime in May
Quickie review: Diana Wynne Jones is possibly one of the more well-known fantasy writers of her generation, and this reputation is well-deserved from reading the two books that comprise this first volume of The Chronicles of Chrestomanci. Her characters are deftly written, and are quite lovable despite many wacky quirks (see: Christopher Chant). I'm personally not fond of her usual retreat into a deux en machina ending, but after reading a few of her books, I'm thinking that this is probably a common occurrence and I should start getting used to it by now.
Ballad of a Shinigami, Volume 1 by K-Ske Hasegawa
Obtained: New York Comic-Con
Finished: sometime in May
Quickie review: For such a small and short title, this book took me forever to finish. I think pulling out my wisdom teeth was a shorter and more pleasant experience. Momo is a shinigami, aka the Japanese version of the Grim Reaper. Except she's not very grim at all. She shows up, the bell on her scythe tinkling, to let people know that it's time. The book is composed of several stories of people who are going to die, or who have somebody close to them dying, all of their tales linked by Momo's appearance in their lives. The idea could have been so incredible and poignant, but my enjoyment of this book was marred by the not-so great writing. I hate the book's omniscient narrator. I hate omniscient narrators, period. This is a rare case where the translation is probably perfect, but the problem really lies in the original source material, which isn't that awesome to begin with.
Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi
Obtained: Queens Public Library
Finished: sometime in May
Quickie review: I think Marjane Satrapi is one of those people who are blessed with many moments of genius. I enjoyed Persepolis, but there were some parts of the books that dragged. So that's why I approached Embroideries with a bit of caution, not really wanting a repeat of my previous experience with her work.
For the record, I don't think I've laughed harder at any comic that I've read in these so many months. Satrapi is great when she's naughty and chatty, like the same ladies that she depicts in this book. When she gets too serious and political, it feels to me that she's doing that merely for the sake of being serious and political. I think she gets the point across either way, so if humor is the way to get it done, then she should stick to that. I wish she would have a follow-up for this book too.
Obtained: New York Public Library
Finished: sometime in May
Quickie review: Diana Wynne Jones is possibly one of the more well-known fantasy writers of her generation, and this reputation is well-deserved from reading the two books that comprise this first volume of The Chronicles of Chrestomanci. Her characters are deftly written, and are quite lovable despite many wacky quirks (see: Christopher Chant). I'm personally not fond of her usual retreat into a deux en machina ending, but after reading a few of her books, I'm thinking that this is probably a common occurrence and I should start getting used to it by now.
Obtained: New York Comic-Con
Finished: sometime in May
Quickie review: For such a small and short title, this book took me forever to finish. I think pulling out my wisdom teeth was a shorter and more pleasant experience. Momo is a shinigami, aka the Japanese version of the Grim Reaper. Except she's not very grim at all. She shows up, the bell on her scythe tinkling, to let people know that it's time. The book is composed of several stories of people who are going to die, or who have somebody close to them dying, all of their tales linked by Momo's appearance in their lives. The idea could have been so incredible and poignant, but my enjoyment of this book was marred by the not-so great writing. I hate the book's omniscient narrator. I hate omniscient narrators, period. This is a rare case where the translation is probably perfect, but the problem really lies in the original source material, which isn't that awesome to begin with.
Obtained: Queens Public Library
Finished: sometime in May
Quickie review: I think Marjane Satrapi is one of those people who are blessed with many moments of genius. I enjoyed Persepolis, but there were some parts of the books that dragged. So that's why I approached Embroideries with a bit of caution, not really wanting a repeat of my previous experience with her work.
For the record, I don't think I've laughed harder at any comic that I've read in these so many months. Satrapi is great when she's naughty and chatty, like the same ladies that she depicts in this book. When she gets too serious and political, it feels to me that she's doing that merely for the sake of being serious and political. I think she gets the point across either way, so if humor is the way to get it done, then she should stick to that. I wish she would have a follow-up for this book too.
When you are lost or looking for someone suspected lost, the CROWDS of people form a threatening undertow, undermining your every effort.
