PopSugar Reading Challenge Book 31 or The Horror, The Horror

I completed another book on my challenge list. I read something that scared me, In the Dark: A Horror Anthology edit by Rachel Deering. 

I discovered this anthology at Baltimore Comic Con. It was one of the first things I saw and I hesitated to buy it since it was $50 but I knew pretty quickly that I had to come back to it. It's gorgeous with a ribbon to mark your place and a lovely smooth texture. People greatly under appreciate the sensory experience of physical books.

My favorite stories were The Unseen, Famine's Shadow, All Things through Me, When the Rain Comes, In Plain Sight, Not All There, Shadows, Doc Johnson, Lost Valley of the Dead, Gestation and Inside You. While we all have favorites, there was nothing in here I didn't like. Even the history of horror comics at the end was incredibly interesting.

I think my favorite thing was that it was numbered. I'm hoping to see more of these in the future. A big thanks for putting this one together.

A Graphic Year Week 23

I knew this was the direction they were taking the movies but I have a hard time seeing how one will have anything to do with the other. One of the biggest players in the comics was Reed from Fantastic Four and I think the movies are trying to keep those universes separate, as evidenced by the half-ass film to maintain rights to the franchise.

This story is very powerful. Doctor Strange said it best when he said that there was no right or wrong side, just the one with the least amount of collateral damage. After hundreds of innocent people die, mostly children, people turn on superheros. They are tired of masked vigilantes and people they can't hope to control. Tony Stark becomes the new front man for a movement to make all superheros paid government employees (SHIELD specifically). It will make them easier to regulate and control. Civilians will feel safer.

Captain America is the first to oppose this decision and many others soon follow. They have no interest in sacrificing their freedom for what people fear will become a fascist system. Will they still be able to determine the villains or become criminals when they no longer agree with who the government thinks are the bad guys?

Rather than fighting to protect the people, the heroes begin fighting each other.

One of the things I wonder is if the movies will be able to add enough heroes to make this fight seem screen worthy. There's a few extras from the most recent films but if they want enough for Civil War, they need Joss Whedon to stop killing off characters.

It's a very powerful story and one many people will relate to. It makes me think of the quote, "Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither." But superheroes often work above or beyond the law. Are they losing freedom when we ask them to live by similar laws as our own police or military force? I hope they do a good job of showing the fine balance they must strike here.

One character dies in this story to show a point of no return. There's no going back and people start to change sides after it happens. Will there be enough heroes to join the fight? Who will lose their life to give this story meaning?

A Graphic Year Week 22

For this week's graphic novel, I read the Curls trade that I picked up at Awesome Con. I had a postcard from the webcomic on display at my last cubicle. All of the strips were funny so I thought I'd give it a shot.

This was definitely the early stuff because nothing from the postcard was included. It was a combination of the college stuff and everything she'd done up until 2009. It had a similar sort of wacky humor as Devil's Panties but you could definitely tell Belefski was still finding her footing. We did get to meet several of the reoccurring characters such as the penguin, turtle-necked turtle, and toast. 

I was a bit silly but in a fun way. I look forward to reading her newer stuff in the next volume she releases.

A Graphic Year Week 21 or Not Little Endowed Red Riding Hood

This week’s graphic novel got pretty graphic. I read Grimm Fairy Tale: Myths and Legends from Zenescope comics. They’ve made their bread and butter by turning fairy tales and folklore into horror stories.

One of the characters in this story made her first appearance in the first Grimm Fairy Tale series. I’d read enough to know what they were talking about but dropped off early enough that I felt like I was missing some of the major plot that went into this. I stopped reading that series right before the storyline to a big twist.

It does well as a self-contained horror trade with a very stereotypical plot set up. Folks are stranded in a remote location by a storm, issues with the power arise, and something is picking them off. Despite the stock set-up, the villain is somewhat unique. The story ends in a way that makes it clear the story is only beginning.

One of my biggest complaints is that most of the Zenescope art is basically soft-core porn. There are lots of Jessica Rabbit type figures that are scantily clad but still manage to rip their clothes.  I’m curious about the stories they have to tell but everything is a perfect example of the hyper-sexualization of the female form in comics. My inner feminist killjoy has trouble reconciling that.

A curious read but I think I’ll do more delving from my library.

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.

A Graphic Year Week 18

For this week’s graphic novel, I read Jesus Hates Zombies: It’s a Jurassic Kind of Life, Vol. 1 and 2. I picked this up at a very small con a while back. Do I really need to explain why?

I came into this story in the middle without totally realizing it. There were several previous stories involving the adventures of Jesus and Abraham Lincoln. It was very intriguing but because they’re so short, I’m only getting a piece of a larger story.

I did some poking around the web but I can’t seem to find what happens after Vol. 2, which is disappointing. I can find some of the earlier parts of the series but nothing after what I’ve got. I even checked the website of the comic publisher but didn’t anything new.

It was fun and just a bit silly given how farfetched it became. I really wanted to see what was tying it all together.

A Graphic Year Week 17

For my graphic novel this week, I read Hazed by Mark Sable and Robbi Rodriguez. The back says, “Hazed is to comics what Heathers are to film.” I could not think of a better description.

Both Hazed and Heathers are black comedies that make light of serious subjects like bulimia, alcohol poisoning, surgery, suicide, hazing, and consequences of unsafe sex. I left both thinking, “That was mildly entertaining but what was the point of it?”

It came close to touching on real issues like date rape and women taking control of their sexuality but quickly flipped them to satire rather than make a real point. If you don’t know what’s being joked about going in, you’ll miss it entirely. I like black humor but this was not my style.

I really wish I had more to say but it all boils down to if you liked Heathers, you’ll love this. Otherwise, it was OK.

A Graphic Year Week 16 or Finding My Way

This week I read Wayward written by Jim Zub. I got the first floppy at a signing by the writer and artist. It gave me a taste of this world and I liked it. I picked up the first trade at a recent trip to the comic book shop and I’m completely hooked.

Rory Lane is of Irish and Japanese descent and comes to live with her mother in Japan. Rory quickly figures out she’s part of a bigger, magical, mythical picture.

In the opening essay by Zack Davisson, he talks about how so many people use Japan as decoration. Wayward gets it exactly right. The city you see is Tokyo as it actually is and all of the creatures come from Japanese mythology. As an American who loves European fairytales, this was right up my alley.

I love seeing what artists and writers can do with existing tropes and mythos. Zub and co. struck an excellent balance between letting us see the mystery unfolding and different elements of the magic while leaving several questions unanswered.  I look forward to seeing what mysteries unravel.

I greatly appreciated the explanations of the culture and history behind the creatures. It added a lot of dimension to the world they built.  Japanese culture and American culture are very different on a lot of fundamental levels so the history and context was greatly helpful.

An added bonus is that Zub stopped by my comic shop but I couldn’t make the signing. Turns out he signed several of the trades at the comic shop including the one I picked up at random.  That definitely made my day.