juushika

Title: Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins Series I & II Collection
Author: Matthew Mercer Jody Houser, Matthew Colville Illustrator: Olivia Samson, Chris Northrop
Published: Dark Horse Books, 2020 (2019-20)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 320
Total Page Count: 532,670
Text Number: 1950-1
Read Because: fan of Critical Role, hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: Rolling this far back means everyone is less likeable, less capable, less interconnected, which... There are stories to be told, but they lack almost everything I might like about/want from Vox Machina. The exceptions are usually preexisting-to-present-narrative connections (Vex & Vax, Pike & Grog, and honestly I just like seeing Percy because he has such a chunky backstory); but everyone meeting doesn't do a ton for me. And I love C1! I'll pick up the next volume eventually; art is fine, the bind-up itself is gorgeous.

Title: Cloud Hotel
Author: Julian Hanshaw
Published: Top Shelf Productions, 2018
Rating: 1.5 of 5
Page Count: 175
Total Page Count: 528,340
Text Number: 1934
Read Because: browsing graphic novels shelf at..., hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: When he disappears in the woods, a boy ends up at a strange hotel that he can reenter at will—as long as he refuses to answer the lobby's ringing phone. Weird premise, right? And the tone sometimes sells it: the protagonist escaping into the surreal, refusing to step fully into either realm, has a particular melancholy-but-intriguing vibe.

Unfortunately, that's the best of it. The mundane plot he endeavors to escape is conventional, the speculative half is set-piecey without real depth, and the art is bad, with incoherent movement between panels and awful stylization: children look like middle-aged men, adults look like bobbleheads, and blocky shadows around the eye render every character interchangeable. I love a weird graphic novel, but this manages to be weird in a tedious way.

Title: Crema
Author: Johnnie Christmas
Illustrator: Dante Luiz
Published: Dark Horse Books, 2020
Rating: 1.5 of 5
Page Count: 120
Total Page Count: 526,935
Text Number: 1929
Read Because: browsing graphic novels shelf at..., paperback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: When caffeinated, our protagonist can see ghosts; then she meets the owner of the coffee shop where she works. The all coffee all the time aesthetic is gimmicky, but I like the complementary warm wash over the art. This takes inspiration from telenovelas to justify its big, tropey plot beats; an admirable effort. Nonetheless: unrefined, predictable, with an undifferentiated whirlwind romance and hasty, oversized ghost story. Give this a miss.

Title: From Hell: Master Edition
Author: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Eddie Campbell, Pete Mullins
Published: Top Shelf Productions, 2020 (1999)
Rating: 1 of 5
Page Count: 50 of 665 (percentage finished based on comic length, excluding paratext)
Total Page Count: 526,600
Text Number: 1927
Read Because: personal enjoyment (?), hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library (October chewed on the binding a little, which would be less noticeable if it hadn't been visibly pristine and unread before I tried to have a crack at it; oh, forgive me, library)
Review: DNF at 10%, and that 10% took me weeks to get through. There are moments in the tone—painfully forthright in the way that tips into dark humor—that could work. If not for the endless asides into conspiracy theorizing; if not for the unappealing art and dense, rambling text. Each page, a headache; I concede to the inevitable and acknowledge I'm not going to get through this.

Title: Totem
Author: Laura Pérez
Translator: Andrea Rosenberg
Published: Fantagraphics Books, 2023 (2021)
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Page Count: 145
Total Page Count: 526,255
Text Number: 1924
Read Because: browsing graphic novels shelf at..., hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: In interlocking narratives and flashbacks, a recent murder case frames the protagonist's memories of her girlfriend's disappearance. The art is exceptionally clean, airy, with a minor (if intentional) case of same face syndrome which makes the abstruse plot a little too hard to follow, especially in the middle sections. But that floaty style, the cultivated inaccessibility, also invites interpretation, without which the vague spiritual/interconnectedness plot might be a little too hand-wavey. I read this twice, seeking more depth and coherency on reread; and it reads fast, its atmosphere is captivating, but I didn't find that payoff.

Title: Last Days of an Immortal
Author: Fabien Vehlmann
Illustrator: Gwénaël de Bonneval
Translator: Edward Gauvin
Published: Boom Entertainment, 2012 (2010)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 150
Total Page Count: 525,420
Text Number: 1921
Read Because: personal enjoyment, hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: In a distant, intergalactic culture, a member of the police-equivalent solves interpersonal and intercultural disputes across space while juggling his relationship with his instanced self and the degradation it causes in his immortal memory. Very cerebral, and made moreso by the understated art, which creates an emotional distance from what's often an emotional text. I'm not a big fan of that approach, and Scott-Clary's Post-Self series does such a good job, and a much more thorny and emotional and nuanced job, with highly speculative instanced identities meeting casefic that I can't help but making the (admittedly niche) comparison to find that this falls short. I still like what it's trying to do, and it's an interesting, quick read, surprisingly dense narrative in a deceptively sparse style.

Title: A Guest in the House
Author: Emily (E.M.) Carroll
Published: First Second, 2023
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Page Count: 255
Total Page Count: 522,490
Text Number: 1901
Read Because: fan of the author, hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: Our protagonist finds her new marriage haunted by memories of her husband's first wife. I've been mildly dissatisfied a number of "speculative metaphors for issues of female/queer identity" narratives lately, specifically graphic novels. I'm thinking of The Low, Low Woods, Squad, The Deep Dark: all phenomenal concepts sincerely explored; but all too simple or too solved in a way that, instead of the conceit extending the issue of identity, it somehow pulls it neat and tight and resolved, which doesn't resonate with me.

And then A Guest in the House, which is distinctly not that. If anything, the resolution is too many twists not quite resolved, but I'll take that over the alternative. I still have a grip on the story, and the fact that there is no clear, solvable line from haunting to identity to plot reveals to resolution is what I've been missing in other similar stories. It keeps things weird, keeps things thorny and complicated, which does resonate. When I Arrived at the Castle does it better, is more consistent in tone & better plotted, but I like the contrast here of the protagonist's pedestrian daily life and the strangeness of her inner world.

As threatened, I read more Silver Sprocket graphic novels; hit and miss, unavoidable when reading anything en masse, and not as horror-y as I expected from first brush, but that doesn't alter how fundamentally I love the style of works this publishing house is curating. Weird as hell, but quality, and most certainly queer. I'll trawl through more of their catalog in the future.


Title: Viscera Objectica
Author: Yugo Limbo
Published: Silver Sprocket, 2024
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Page Count: 70
Total Page Count: 513,830
Text Number: 1859
Read Because: reading the publisher, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library c/o Hoopla
Review: Our protagonist falls in love with a puppet. And that's it: this is more heartfelt and uncomplicated depiction of objectum than a narrative, which is fine; representation justifies itself, especially for an under-discussed type of attraction. Limbo's art is highly stylized, trippy and animated and joyously queer, all of which I can appreciate without enjoying it aesthetically.


Title: Adversary
Author: Blue Delliquanti
Published: Silver Sprocket, 2024 (2022)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 80
Total Page Count: 514,000
Text Number: 1861
Read Because: reading the publisher, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library c/o Hoopla
Review: A self-defense trainer meets a former student under different circumstances, beginning an evolving, complicated relationship. This is a dense graphic novella, incredibly nuanced in its depiction of queer people and relationships and power dynamics and the internalized narrative of gendered violence, set in the early days of COVID lockdown & its social fallout. The ending tends perhaps too far in that direction (dense; sociopolitical), but I won't shun a graphic novel that immediately demands a second reading, and repays the effort.


Title: Putty Pygmalion
Author: Lonnie Garcia
Published: Silver Sprocket, 2024
Rating: 2.5 of 5
Page Count: 70
Total Page Count: 515,070
Text Number: 1864
Read Because: reading the publisher, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library c/o Hoopla
Review: A lonely radish creates a companion using a banned children's sculpting toy. So this should be weird, right? Aesthetically, it is: fun character design and a phenomenal use of multimedia and image editing which gives this a crunchy, retro vibe. But even with the violent climax, this still feels like the most straightforward take on "reasons to maybe not try crafting a best buddy from clay": the uncomfortable power dynamics are forefront yet somehow still so tame.

(I'm not even giving this my unusually intimate relationship tag! Given the premise, that just feels wrong. Adversary gets it, though.)

Okay, that you can sort by trope/user tags does not mean that the results will be of quality, as these attest, but! I'm such a trope-driven reader that I'll probably keep trying, even if Appetite did almost burn out my enthusiasm, as a long-but-mediocre work is wont to do.


Title: Baker Baker Paradox
Author: Makine Kureta
Published: 2018-9
Rating: 2.5 of 5
Page Count: 245
Total Page Count: 415,890
Text Number: 1569
Read Because: did you know that Anime Planet lets you search by tags? feels good man
Review: The title is a fun way to learn about a psychological phenomenon! The manga itself.... I like the inversions of character ages and power differentials, and I always have a soft spot for memory issues. But it's rarely elevated from its tropiness, so the few unsettling scenes are drowned out by I've-already-forgotten-what-happened-in-this.


Title: Happy End
Author: sukekoro
Published: 2012
Rating: 2.5 of 5
Page Count: 200
Total Page Count: 416,505
Text Number: 1572
Read Because: more sorting manga by tag
Review: DNF on account of an incomplete translation. I'm curious what I would have made of the apparently-controversial downer ending, because I like the mundane, compromise-laden elements of this; they're compelling and nuanced, and well-complemented by the round, unpretty art. But the tropey elements are even more unwelcome for the comparison, especially the pseudo-love-interest/agitator, who is not the least necessary. So maybe the ending is also bad, and certainly I'm not broken-hearted that I won't find out.


Title: Appetite
Author: Lero
Published: 2015-17
Rating: 2.5 of 5
Page Count: (I did just the roughest approximation but let's call this...) 4000
Total Page Count: 450,825
Text Number: 1574
Read Because: more sorting manga etc by tag
Review: A bullied teen finds protection from a strange classmate, on one condition: in two years, she'll eat him. It's a great setup and there are scenes that lead hard into the "no one can kill you except me" and "sacrificing myself for/to my beloved is the ideal outlet for my suicidality." But the worldbuilding and action both escalate rapidly, and I just don't care about them or the extended cast. Like most manga-esque works, this would be so much better if it were more restrained. Is it still worth reading for the central dynamic? ehhh, not really; but if someone wanted to bind the best bits into a chapbook, I would be here for it.

Title: The Echo Wife
Author: Sarah Gailey
Published: Tor Books, 20201
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 255
Total Page Count: 372,775
Text Number: 1371
Read Because: reading the series, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: A scientist developing cloning technology discovers that her husband has replaced her with a clone of herself, born of her stolen research. You know that thing where a speculative concept is so on the money that it ought to be reductionist and/or satirical and/or campy, like a bad Star Trek episode ("Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," let's say)? This is exactly that—except that it takes its ridiculously on-the-money premise, pushes it into every corner of the thriller plot, and uses it to build a nuanced, unhappy, thoughtful exploration of abuse and grooming, sexism (internalized and otherwise), and what it means to carve out a sense of self when fully cognizant of how others have intentionally, selfishly, molded you. It's engaging and well-balanced (I particularly appreciate the value added by the unreliable and deeply unlikeable protagonist, balanced against the pacing of a speculative thriller), and it's way more fun than it has any right to be given the subject matter.


Title: Wanted
Author: Mark Millar
Illustrator: J.G. Jones
Published: Image Comics, 2007 (2003-4)
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 190
Total Page Count: 372,965
Text Number: 1372
Read Because: reread, paperback from my personal library
Review: When a supervillain is assassinated, his son is plucked from obscurity and molded into his heir. This is 100% that "fight club is good but if a guy (and you KNOW the type of guy I mean) says it is his Favorite Movie then u need to run" post; like, if Mark Millar said he loved Wanted then I would still book it. It's a power fantasy that grows progressively specific and flawed re: who is entitled to what liberties of their id, and where those desires originate; and it goes intentionally unquestioned. It can be read into something meaningful—but whether readers do that & whether the effort pays off is debatable.

I struggle with most Western comics, so I appreciate one with direction, a concise scale, and stable art, although Eminem as design inspiration is comically (no pun intended) obtrusive. I have emotional attachment to this because I like the movie (both for personal reasons and because dumb action movies are fun) & appreciate the tonal and thematic contrast of the comic, which was one of the first gritty/"deep" comics that I read as a young adult. This is neither here nor there, but the "shoot the wings off flies" scene bothers a disproportionate amount because his superpower is murder, not marksmanship??? Anyway, the comic is fine.


Title: Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
Author: Merlin Sheldrake
Narrator: Merlin Sheldrake
Published: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, 2020
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Page Count: 360
Total Page Count: 373,325
Text Number: 1373
Read Because: this video of the author eating mushrooms grown on his book was just delightful, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: It's as pleasant as I could've hoped for to listen (literally, as the audiobook is narrated by the author) to a mycologist named Merlin Sheldrake speak passionately about the vast and weird world of fungi. The tone is quirky, distinctive, personable, enthusiastic, diverse, gentle, loving, hopeful. I particularly benefitted from the holistic examination of how fungi challenge biological frameworks—taxonomy; symbiosis—and how science, language, and culture interact. Ecological nonfiction is by necessity also a conversation about climate change and the Anthropocene; this isn't exempt, nor should it be, but it takes a concrete and reparative approach that I really appreciate. The more woo bits about fungi as drugs and alcohol & their subsequent impact on human cognition feel more repetitive, but that's largely due to my personal disinterest and they enrich the whole; the mechanics of psilocybin therapy in particular were a massive eye-opener.