A Graphic Year Weeks 19 & 20

Week 19

New York Four was an enjoyable read and had great art. It’s a coming of age story of a young woman with sheltered parents, a rebel sister, and a new start at NYU. How does she deal with having friends, going to concerts, having a sister for the first time in a decade?

It was a compelling narrative that did a great job of using NYC as a character. I liked the various tidbits and intros about where the story was taking place in the city. The intro boxes with name, status, etc. were great. Informative and cheeky.

The friendship between the four girls seemed to develop instantaneously. I wanted to see more of where that came from and what went into it. Wood did something similar with sneakerfreak. I wanted to see a bit more of what went into that relationship.

I know there’s a sequel so I’m looking forward to seeing if it addresses the motivations and consequences of the sneakerfreak reveal. There’s also other drama the girls set up for themselves that I’d like to see played out. You leave the story know it’s not over yet.

Week 20

For this week, I but the bullet and started to catch up on Fables. The last 2 trades have had storylines that rip my heart out and made me grieve for the characters. I was afraid to see what Bill Willingham would do this time.

After the loss of the last two trades, this one wasn’t nearly as depressing. Rose Red has become a true paladin of hope and has started a new Camelot to find her agents of second chances. Lady Lake comes to answer questions about the fate of a beloved character and we get a peak into what I suspect will become the next battle of Fables.

This story did a good job of showing how many of the character before have grown into their roles such as Winter and Therese. We have new villains with Brandish and Duglas whose evils I’m sure we’ll feel in the coming issues. We got some answers about the fates of Boy Blue and Bigby and a few more questions.

The trade did an excellent job of developing new storylines, answering lingering questions, and introducing recent characters without losing focus. It also presented the beginning of the end. What ended Fabletown was not violence, blood, or magic. It was the freedom to finally return home. That is an ending I'm looking forward to reading.

As ever I was impressed with the art and even took a moment to appreciate how the borders changed with each character and location. Always a fine attention to detail with this series.