Brenda's Current Reads
It's been a minute since I've read anything of note, but recently I've been on a reading kick, so here are my current reads.
Skyward Volume 1: My Low G Life by Joe Henderson, Lee Garbett, Antonio Fabela
4/5
I generally have a difficult time getting into a narrative--graphic or not, falling for a new story is not an easy feat for me. That was not the case with Skyward. The story's premise is that the Earth's gravity runs out suddenly and people find themselves drifting up and disappearing into the atmosphere. At the time that the story opens, the heroine, Willa, is only a baby, but we watch as her mother becomes one of the first causalities of what comes to be known as G-day, the day gravity ran out. The story picks up twenty years later with Willa all grown up and working as a courier to support her shut-in father. The world we know no longer exists, and everyone uses buildings and tall infrastructures to push themselves from one location to another. Willa wants to see the world, but from a few casual mentions in the story, we learn that the world outside the city is dangerous--which makes sense in a gravity-less world, what do you hold onto out in open space to prevent you from floating up into space?
We meet Willa's friends and coworkers and learn that there is an entire sector of the city *cough cough* the rich folks, who refuse to acknowledge G-day ever happened, so they pay millions of dollars for gravity boots that allow them to walk on the surface of the Earth. In her curiosity to see a world outside what she knows, Willa ventures down to the surface with the help of her coworker (and crush), Edison. He gives her a pair of magnetized boots that let her walk on the surface (this scene is pretty hilarious btw), and as a result, she meets Richard Borrow, who was once her dad's research partner.
Alright, enough summary. The story's premise is intriguing enough to bring readers back for issue #2, but the true magic of the book lays int he complexity of Willa's relationship with her father. While obnoxious and frustrating at some points, I think the reader can really empathize with Willa's father. He's had to bring up a little girl in a world that he doesn't understand all the while having to cope with the death of his wife and his own cowardice and inability to save her. Willa's naivete throughout the narrative is both annoying and refreshing--I know! I know! But trust me, there's a nice freshness to seeing the world through her eyes. She so badly wants to see it all, and as the reader, you're both on her side but also understanding of her father's desire to protect her at all costs. It's a difficult position to take to be sure, but it makes for a compelling read.
The other thing that I really enjoyed about this book was the art. Lee Garbett, Simon Bowland, and Antonio Fabela compose some nice pages, y'all. I'm thinking of this scene in which Willa confronts her father about his reluctance to venture outside of their home. The page is split up so that you simultaneously feel Willa's disappointment and her father's anxiety.
Notice the balance at the bottom of the page where it almost feels like Willa is looking down on her father--this is a nice touch and such a profound moment for their relationship that it almost hurts to read. The other thing that I really enjoyed was the fun that these illustrators just had with this book. Because of the lack of gravity in this world, the creators were able to re-imagine what a storm looks like, so instead of rain drops we get this:
Heroes in Crisis by Tom King 5/5
What in the actual kyprtonite riddled world!?! Alright, so I'm a few months late to the party, but where in the hell does Tom King get off writing such compelling stories and low key becoming one of my favorite writers currently at DC. How dare you, sir. It takes time for me to like a writer. I may like one or two stories, but for me to consistently like your writing!? That's unheard of, so I ask you: what voodoo priestess did you make a deal with for that to happen?
Okay, I'm done with my rant. So to dispel any ambiguity (just in case my 5 out of 5 rating wasn't enough), this series is great. I'll write a more in depth analysis of this series in May when the series concludes, but so far it's been a compelling look into mental health and some of the stigmas and anxieties that people have in disclosing their own issues.
The story opens with different heroes' confessionals. King employs his 3x3 grid--that damn it all, I like now...it used to bug the hell out of me when I first started reading King's work, but now I really enjoy what he does with this--and each hero has a moment in front of Sanctuary, a robot of kryptonian tech meant to act as a therapist for caped heroes. Sanctuary is attacked, and there are a few fake outs--we think it was Booster Gold, then we think it was Harley (cause that seems likely)--but ultimately, we don't trust either, but they both seem innocent.
The thing that King does well is expose these heroes' vulnerability in such a simple way. It's disarming as a reader, and then there are moments like this one:
Heroes in Crisis #1, Tom King
I'm an emotional reader, so you can imagine how visceral my reaction to these pages was. It was like a gut-punch, and I don't say that lightly. Like I said, I'll do a much more detailed post about it in the future, but for now, I highly recommend this series.
Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales 2/5
Great start, meh reveal (actually I feel very strongly about the reveal, but more on that below). This series kicks off with a brief history of Elongated Man's love story with his wife. It doesn't take long, but like Joss Whedon articulates in the foreword to this book, you do fall for Elongated Man (not in a romantic way just in a awww that's so cute way). Anyway, the series revolves around the murder of Elongated Man's wife, Sue Digbny. Like every detective story out there, nothing makes sense about her murder, but it hits all the capes way too close to home. Heroes split up into different teams and hunt down different suspects.
The funeral scene is particularly haunting. I know. I know. Deaths in the DC verse are nothing new, but Morales' emphasis on the number of heroes mourning whilst thinking about the implications of Sue's death is sobering.
The Backstagers Volume Three 3/5
I started reading this series last year after a shared impulse buy with Tory (we saw a deal at Boom Comics and both went in head first and never looked back). The series itself is cute and fun and a light read. It follow Jory as he becomes part of the production crew at his school. The backstage is home to a whole wide range of magical shenanigans that the crew works to prevent from spilling onto the stage. There's some lovely gay representation--Jory falls for a fellow crew member and they start dating at the end of volume 2. Like I said, it's a nice and light read.
While I absolutely love the cover, this volume is more of a collection of holiday stories rather than a continuation of the previous narrative. This volume documents the crew through Valentine's Day and Halloween (loved the pairing of these holidays btw). Jory and his new boyfriend are happily basking in the glow of their new relationship while their fellow backstager is wallowing and forbidding the crew from celebrating Valentine's Day behind the stage. He's essentially a romantic grinch, which btw, we need a term for that. Don't worry, there's a happy ending, and the Halloween stories are equally as cute, but they don't feel like they're part of the main continuity. They feel more like side stories, and that's my main gripe with this volume and why I'm not giving it a higher rating.
I did enjoy it, but like I said it's not the best volume of this really cute and worthwhile narrative.
Alrighty lovelies, I'm out for a bit. I'll be back on the podcast soon and with our DH Comics chat where we'll be discussing Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. See you all then!
Skyward Volume 1: My Low G Life by Joe Henderson, Lee Garbett, Antonio Fabela
4/5I generally have a difficult time getting into a narrative--graphic or not, falling for a new story is not an easy feat for me. That was not the case with Skyward. The story's premise is that the Earth's gravity runs out suddenly and people find themselves drifting up and disappearing into the atmosphere. At the time that the story opens, the heroine, Willa, is only a baby, but we watch as her mother becomes one of the first causalities of what comes to be known as G-day, the day gravity ran out. The story picks up twenty years later with Willa all grown up and working as a courier to support her shut-in father. The world we know no longer exists, and everyone uses buildings and tall infrastructures to push themselves from one location to another. Willa wants to see the world, but from a few casual mentions in the story, we learn that the world outside the city is dangerous--which makes sense in a gravity-less world, what do you hold onto out in open space to prevent you from floating up into space?
We meet Willa's friends and coworkers and learn that there is an entire sector of the city *cough cough* the rich folks, who refuse to acknowledge G-day ever happened, so they pay millions of dollars for gravity boots that allow them to walk on the surface of the Earth. In her curiosity to see a world outside what she knows, Willa ventures down to the surface with the help of her coworker (and crush), Edison. He gives her a pair of magnetized boots that let her walk on the surface (this scene is pretty hilarious btw), and as a result, she meets Richard Borrow, who was once her dad's research partner.
Alright, enough summary. The story's premise is intriguing enough to bring readers back for issue #2, but the true magic of the book lays int he complexity of Willa's relationship with her father. While obnoxious and frustrating at some points, I think the reader can really empathize with Willa's father. He's had to bring up a little girl in a world that he doesn't understand all the while having to cope with the death of his wife and his own cowardice and inability to save her. Willa's naivete throughout the narrative is both annoying and refreshing--I know! I know! But trust me, there's a nice freshness to seeing the world through her eyes. She so badly wants to see it all, and as the reader, you're both on her side but also understanding of her father's desire to protect her at all costs. It's a difficult position to take to be sure, but it makes for a compelling read.
The other thing that I really enjoyed about this book was the art. Lee Garbett, Simon Bowland, and Antonio Fabela compose some nice pages, y'all. I'm thinking of this scene in which Willa confronts her father about his reluctance to venture outside of their home. The page is split up so that you simultaneously feel Willa's disappointment and her father's anxiety.
Giant. Water. Drops. With this book, you get a few surreal shots like this that are just a joy to look at. I had fun reading this book. It did lose a star for me for the gratuitous violence against women--particularly against Willa when she first meets her father's old research partner. Perhaps I'm just on the sensitive side, but I was audibly shocked when Willa was punched in the face, so consider this your warning.
What in the actual kyprtonite riddled world!?! Alright, so I'm a few months late to the party, but where in the hell does Tom King get off writing such compelling stories and low key becoming one of my favorite writers currently at DC. How dare you, sir. It takes time for me to like a writer. I may like one or two stories, but for me to consistently like your writing!? That's unheard of, so I ask you: what voodoo priestess did you make a deal with for that to happen?
Okay, I'm done with my rant. So to dispel any ambiguity (just in case my 5 out of 5 rating wasn't enough), this series is great. I'll write a more in depth analysis of this series in May when the series concludes, but so far it's been a compelling look into mental health and some of the stigmas and anxieties that people have in disclosing their own issues.
The story opens with different heroes' confessionals. King employs his 3x3 grid--that damn it all, I like now...it used to bug the hell out of me when I first started reading King's work, but now I really enjoy what he does with this--and each hero has a moment in front of Sanctuary, a robot of kryptonian tech meant to act as a therapist for caped heroes. Sanctuary is attacked, and there are a few fake outs--we think it was Booster Gold, then we think it was Harley (cause that seems likely)--but ultimately, we don't trust either, but they both seem innocent.
The thing that King does well is expose these heroes' vulnerability in such a simple way. It's disarming as a reader, and then there are moments like this one:
Heroes in Crisis #1, Tom King
I'm an emotional reader, so you can imagine how visceral my reaction to these pages was. It was like a gut-punch, and I don't say that lightly. Like I said, I'll do a much more detailed post about it in the future, but for now, I highly recommend this series.
Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales 2/5
Great start, meh reveal (actually I feel very strongly about the reveal, but more on that below). This series kicks off with a brief history of Elongated Man's love story with his wife. It doesn't take long, but like Joss Whedon articulates in the foreword to this book, you do fall for Elongated Man (not in a romantic way just in a awww that's so cute way). Anyway, the series revolves around the murder of Elongated Man's wife, Sue Digbny. Like every detective story out there, nothing makes sense about her murder, but it hits all the capes way too close to home. Heroes split up into different teams and hunt down different suspects.The funeral scene is particularly haunting. I know. I know. Deaths in the DC verse are nothing new, but Morales' emphasis on the number of heroes mourning whilst thinking about the implications of Sue's death is sobering.
Morales’ art style is a nice blend, and I think others have
said this, of the old and the new. Notice the intricate details on the
background and complete use of space in the scene above. While we have some of
Green Arrow’s commentary splashed throughout the page, I don’t think it’s
necessary. I think Morales’ image speaks for itself and captures the loss of
the scene in that moment, so that Arrow’s commentary feels a little forced and
unnecessary.
While the story is well paced, the thing that bothers me
most about the narrative is its shamelessness in exploiting violence against
women. There are a few instances throughout the narrative in which the writers
rely on exploiting trauma, and it bothers me. The scene in which Dr. Light
rapes Sue, while implied and not explicit (thank goodness for that), is jarring
enough but then to add a scene in which Jean Loring is violently lynched seems
to opt for the shock factor a little too much. Rather than imply this violence,
like the rape scene, the audience is treated to a number of panels that
emphasize these tortuous moments for no other reason than to shock the reader.
While *spoiler alert* Jean turns out to be the bad guy, and the argument could
be made that this scene is meant to highlight the extent of her psychosis, the
reader does not know this as they’re reading and any reflection on this scene
is marred by the graphic violence so that the payout is ultimately minimal.
Now while we are on the subject of the bad guy. What in the
actual seven hells? DC has an exhaustive and thorough rogue’s gallery, and the
bad guy ends up being a lovesick woman? Really? That’s the cheap narrative trick
we want to rely on Meltzer and Rags? Really? While I think the premise is an
intriguing and engaging start, I think that the end result: one of their own
being the bad guy, seems a little lazy and easy. I understand why this is
significant and why this would rattle readers, but for me, it feels like some
sick male fantasy about a psycho stalker ex-lover wanting her man back so badly
that she kills her own friends, and frankly, I’m neither impressed nor willing
to give these stories a pass. The three stars are earned because of the
premise, but it lost big points with me on that contrived narrative plot point.
Ultimately, I don’t recommend this book.
The Backstagers Volume Three 3/5
While I absolutely love the cover, this volume is more of a collection of holiday stories rather than a continuation of the previous narrative. This volume documents the crew through Valentine's Day and Halloween (loved the pairing of these holidays btw). Jory and his new boyfriend are happily basking in the glow of their new relationship while their fellow backstager is wallowing and forbidding the crew from celebrating Valentine's Day behind the stage. He's essentially a romantic grinch, which btw, we need a term for that. Don't worry, there's a happy ending, and the Halloween stories are equally as cute, but they don't feel like they're part of the main continuity. They feel more like side stories, and that's my main gripe with this volume and why I'm not giving it a higher rating.
I did enjoy it, but like I said it's not the best volume of this really cute and worthwhile narrative.
Alrighty lovelies, I'm out for a bit. I'll be back on the podcast soon and with our DH Comics chat where we'll be discussing Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. See you all then!
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