Current Read: The Reader by Traci Chee
Current Listen: Morning Star by
Pierce Brown
2017 Reading Challenge Count:
98 out of 110 books
Hey internet! I have a bookish
thing on my mind that I wanted to mull over. And that thing is graphic novels.
I feel that, on the whole, the
book world tends snubs its nose at the graphic novel. Until quite recently
(probably fall of 2016), I was guilty of this as well.
No longer, I say. My eyes have
been OPENED.
I'm not sure if the graphic
novel is experiencing a renaissance or if it has always been this good, but
MAN! Some of the graphic novels being released are just...top-notch. I've even
added a few to my all time favorites list. So I thought I'd give you a
breakdown of some of my recent favorites. I feel it's my duty to expose more
people to this magical world of great art.
Spill Zone
Written by Scott Westerfeld
Illustrated by Alex
Puvilland
Colored by Hilary Sycamore
This book inspired me to write
this post. I have never actually read a Scott Westerfeld novel (they're on the
list, but so are a lot of things), but I heard a booktuber mention this and
picked it up at the library. It takes place in the aftermath of some sort of
nuclear event in Poughkeepsie, NY. It follows Addison, a teen who lives near
the remains of the "zone" and illegally enters it to take pictures.
Quite the intriguing concept by itself, but the artwork that accompanies it makes
the story endlessly more compelling. The book uses two main color schemes, one
for inside the zone and one for outside. Outside the zone uses mostly dark,
muted colors and a lot of shadows, but when Addy enters the zone the color
palate changes to sickly greens, oranges, yellows, and pinks. IT'S SO COOL.
My only complaint is that there
is only one volume out so far.
The March Trilogy
Written by John Lewis and
Andrew Aydin
Illustrated by Nate Powell
This is John Lewis' three
volume graphic memoir of his involvement in the civil rights movement. That
description alone was enough for me to SCRAMBLE to read them all, especially
since the third came out fairly recently and I could marathon them. As a
teacher, it is universally acknowledged that graphic novels are very helpful
with reluctant readers. Part of the crazy acclaim for these books, then, has
been that they take the civil rights movement and represent it with POWERFUL
visuals that will help future generations understand the importance of these
events. Additionally, they don't dumb anything down. The first book actually
begins with John Lewis in early 2009 while attending Barack Obama's
inauguration, which I thought was a cool way to begin the story. The first book
then takes the reader through the founding of the Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee, of which Lewis was a leading member. Books two and
three then take us through the freedom rides, the drama between the SNCC and
the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the march on Washington, and the
fight for the Voting Rights Act. I appreciated that Lewis did not shy away from
telling of the ideological divisions that existed within the major players of
the movement, and it seemed to me to be a fairly unbiased telling of the facts.
To me, a memoir gives itself way more credibility if it does not sugarcoat
things. And also, just look at these COVERS.
Lumberjanes
Created by Grace Ellis and
Shannon Watters
Illustrated and written by
like...20 different awesome women
Lumberjanes is a graphic novel
series that takes place at Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqui Thistle
Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. It began from a desire to created a
girl-focused comic book series and has more or less turned into a sensation. It
has featured eight different illustrators and five different authors in its six
volumes, all women. This maybe should have been confusing, but did not bother
me at all. The storytelling for the books seems very consistent and I barely
noticed that some volumes had very different artistic styles. The series
centers around one cabin of girls at camp and their adventures while trying to
earn different badges (the descriptions of which are VERY funny). Magic is
incorporated into the plot of the books in a very smooth and almost casual way.
The books are not about the magic, but rather about the relationships between
the girls. Each character has grown and become more complex which each book,
and I'm VERY MUCH invested in all of them (particularly in the great romance
developing ever so slowly). A favorite feature of the books is how the
exclamations of the characters will almost ALWAYS include the names of famous
women, many of whom I have never heard of. The below blog compiled a list of
every woman featured so far and did a great job:
Saga
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Illustrated by Fiona Staples
One cannot, in my opinion,
recommend graphic novels without talking about Brian K. Vaughan. I could, and
probably will, write an entire post about him someday. Saga was repeatedly
recommended to me by a friend, and I was soooooooo skeptical. Glad I finally
caved, though, because it is one of the best stories I have ever consumed in
any form. Written and conceived by Vaughan and illustrated BEAUTIFULLY by Fiona
Staples, it is everything a space opera can and should be. It follows Alana and
Marko, lovers from opposing sides of an opposing war, and every volume has
enhanced the story's beauty like...10 times over. I have never for a moment
considered owning a graphic novel series until this one. I have DEVOURED every
volume and then often just turned back to the beginning and read them again. It
has been praised for its representations of diversity in gender, sexuality,
race, and socio-economic status, and it is one of the best stories about war and
its impact that I've ever read. Also, there's a cat called Lying Cat who can
tell when you are lying and will tell you so. I CANNOT PRAISE THIS SERIES
ENOUGH. Someone please buy me all the volumes for Christmas.
The beautiful Alana and
Marko:
And a scene with Lying Cat and
a child rescued from sex trafficking that made me WEEP:
Brian K. Vaughan has also begun
another series, Paper Girls, which has a much more Strangers Things vibe with
fierce newspaper delivery girls and aliens and time-travelling and I LOVE IT
JUST AS MUCH. Only three volumes are out so far, but I would accept those as
Christmas gifts as well.
Alright. Well I wrote WAY MORE
than I planned to, but these books deserved to be loved. Some honorable
mentions that I did not have time to talk about, but that are also great:
Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
Maus I/II by Art Spiegelman
(all modern graphic novels owe their existence to these books)
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
American Born Chinese by Gene
Luen Yang
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Thanks for sticking with me!
Let me know if you have a favorite graphic novel that I need to check out! And
with that, that's all she read!
