Nicholas

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.

A super cute conclusion to a super cute series.

I really enjoyed my time traveling with Nicola. There's some good world building here that doesn't get too bogged down in minutiae. This series doesn't do anything particularly new, but it does everything with heart. Short and sweet, a good read for the Halloween season.

I remember years ago trying to get into Pratchett after finishing Good Omens so I picked up the first book in the Discworld series, The Colour of Magic. I wasn't really feeling it so I gave up, then every Terry Pratchett fan told me nobody should start with the first book of the Discworld series because it's probably the worst book in the series and isn't really indicative of why it resonates with so many people. After reading Guards, Guards, I'm inclined to agree.

There are some creators that just speak you personally and Tatsuki Fujimoto is that creator for me.

You can tell Fujimoto has spent a lot of time thinking about why people create and why other people engage with those creations. Both here and in Look Back, he asks the question why do we even bother with art when there are so many more important things constantly happening all around us. And the answer he comes to is that ‘well, it's personal.'

Everyone gets something different out of every piece of art. Sometimes that's something similar to our own, or very different, or even contradictory, but all are valid. Even time can change what one person takes from the same piece of art. Life is chaotic and impermanent and our creations are like a memorial to a specific viewpoint in time. Also Fujimoto is a master at juxtaposing heartfelt emotion with really dumb funny stuff to surprisingly meaningful effect.

I can't wait to read any and everything Tatsuki Fujimoto puts out over his career.

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.

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.

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.

The process of artistic creation is a scary, daunting, and isolating act. We put a part of ourselves into even the smallest of our creations, and putting any part of ourselves out into the real world is just opening us up to the judgement of others.

‘Look Back' is about two manga artists who form a bond over the joy of artistic creation. Together they inspire each other to improve and become not just better artists, but better people. They both have their own reasons to stop drawing, but they realize they're better because of one another. The scene where Kyomoto thanks Fujino for getting her out of her room spoke to me on a personal level.

Fujimoto is quickly becoming one of my favorite comic book artists. I love how he explains things via the medium. For example, Fujino is repeatedly drawn from the back, head-down, by herself, ignoring the world around her while drawing. After she befriends Kyomoto, Fujino is still drawn in the same pose, but with Kyomoto hanging around and drawing too. However, the last few pages features a couple of beautiful, dynamic two page spreads of the two of them together, enjoying each others company, working together as one. Extremely moving imagery given what's happens throughout the book. The actual act of creation may be solitary, but it's ability to connect with others is unparalleled.

I went into this book blind, and it went in a direction I did not expect, and while certainly not for everybody, I found it to be a very poignant book that will really resonate with those on the same wavelength.

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.