A new book & some retro "hits" to explore

-

 So, I am going to talk about one of the comics I read this month that is new; but thought it would be fun to also go back and talk about 2 comic series that are on Netflix right now.



In Welcome to St Hell, Lewis Hancox explores and shares his journey as a trans-man.  He focuses on his high school years with a bit of college thrown in and by having his current self inserted into the story, the reader gets some extra nuance and context on the situations.  It really adds to the story to see "well, I know this now, but back then I was so confused" because maturing and living definitely gives perspective but also because being transgender can be really confusing and isolating.  Hancox's approach helps answer some of the questions cisgendered people often have without having to interrupt the flow of the narrative.  

Everyone's journey is different, but this book was interesting and I encourage you to try it.



Now for the "retro"



I am sure I'm not the only one obsessed with the Sandman series on Netflix; but it made me really happy to see it.  It also made me want to go back and read the original stories so I could see the changes and appreciate all the work Gaiman did on both the original story and the new script.   If you don't know, Sandman is a series, featuring Dream, or Morpheus, first as he struggles to recover from being captured and then as he handles all the changes in himself.  Some stories are really random, but so many strings are subtly wound together that you really don't see them until you see them....

There are so many moments of "wow, that random story has a call-back here" and "that character who seemed so silly is now crucial to this new section of story".....Gaiman is a master and whether you have watched the show or read the books, I encourage you to go back and enjoy them again.  Be aware that Gaiman mixes fantasy with realism and horror so some stories are .....uncomfortable.



Another series (this one I didn't finish yet on Netflix but I will); however I did enjoy the books.  The fantastical and the mundane mix into a horrific and yet touching story which just reiterates why Joe Hill is a master of horror and not in his father's shadow at all. (His father is Stephen King).  

If you aren't familiar, the story follows the Locke family after the death of their father and their move back to his family home.  The family home and the town are very odd, and creepy....and magical keys show up and allow for insights and crimes and mysteries to happen (sometimes silmultaneously).  

It is essentially a scary story so be aware but definitely worth reading.  Also the books are much more intense than the show, so again, just an FYI.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nonfiction Graphic Novels

-
Image
 Many people don't realize how many things you can learn from these nonfiction books done in a graphic style.  Here are some that I finished recently. This is an overview of important figures from Philadelphia.  A collection of biographies written and illustrated by a variety of local artists and writers and focused on African Americans from the Philadelphia area.  There are a lot of names I didn't know before and it is always good to learn more about people who made a difference. I highly recommend this book, it was informative and interesting. More history, this one focused on women's issues for both people of color specifically as well as women's rights in general.  Again, I love finding out about people I didn't know and this collection of biographies gives a good taste of a lot of people who fought to make a difference. Another highly recommended book, especially as a quick introduction to people you may want to look for deeper dives into their lives later. O&#
Read more

Exploring diversity in comics

-
Image
 This month I made a conscious effort to read stories told from outside my own frame of reference, from authors of various ethnic cultures.  I love exploring and learning and with comics, you get the added benefit of art as well.  Here are my 3 titles, and spoiler alert...they are all awesome! The story begins when the avatar of Death is fired and sent to Earth because a human has found the secret to immortality; so Death is irrelevant.  Death finds the body of Laila Starr and takes it over so that she can find and kill the human who has made her job unnecessary.....but when she finds him as a baby she finds that she cannot kill him.  So, the story continues with her continuing to look for the man, and each time being unable to kill him....but also each time learning more about what it means to be human.  She is slowly learning about life and death and feelings and isn't sure what to do with all of it.   This book is a remarkable look at life and death through the eyes of someone o
Read more

New & Fun Fiction Stories

-
Image
  This book just called to me with it's colorful art and an interesting premise.....I mean who else besides a custodian cleans up messes of the multiverse?  I love that this important job sounds so......simple.  I adore that the main character had no idea what he was in for and so we got to discover it all alongside him.  Waiters built a story and solid, realistic characters but kept a sense of humor and a bit of common sense for his main character of Vern.  I would definitely recommend this book, it was really a delightful read. I am always a sucker for twisted fairy tales, so seeing this, there was no question of reading it.  I really was surprised at the combination of simplicity and depth to the stories and the art.  On the surface it seems just some simple stories with an LGBT twist, but it goes deeper if you look.... I am constantly learning about how what you expect a story to be is part of what we expect the world to be....and what speculative fiction gets to do is to exami
Read more