Love is Love

Writer: Various
Art: Various
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Curated by Marc Andreyko

What's it about
This is an anthology published to raise money for the survivors of the Orlando Pulse shooting.  On June 12 2016 a gunman opened fire in the gay club Pulse and killed 49 people.  Information about the attack on can be found on the BBC website here.

This anthology celebrates love and is full of one page stories on this theme.  There are stories about the survivors and the victims, about reactions to the attack, coming out stories and takes on it from fictional superheroes.

Interview with Helen Bate, author of Peter in Peril

My last review here was Peter in Peril, a story about a Jewish boy living in Budapest during World War Two.  I was sent a copy of the book by the publishers and asked if I wanted to interview the author, well I enjoyed the book so of course I said yes.

You can read the review of the book here but as a brief reminder, it's told from the point of view of Peter and is suitable for ages 8 up.  Here go the questions:

Q1.  I understand that Peter in Peril is your first book and that you used to be an architect.  How did you get into comics and did being an architect have any influence on how you approached constructing the comic pages?

I gave up my architectural career after 10 years to do a degree in illustration and I initially illustrated some children’s books for Frances Lincoln and Harper Collins. The Peter story was done as a student project initially but in a very different form. I was thrilled when I got the opportunity to work with Janetta Otter-Barry to produce it in a way that would suit 8-10 year old children and the graphic story form seemed to be the one that best suited the complexity of the subject and the age range. I used more text than other graphic stories, as I wanted to allow the book to be read to a child. I also felt it was important with the subject matter to adequately explain to children what was happening in more detail.

I think my architectural background has quite an influence on my drawing style - drawing with a black line is a very big part of architectural drawing and I always tend to gravitate to that way of drawing… even though I’d quite like to have a looser style … but drawing is pretty much like your handwriting - it’s very personal to the individual. 

Comixology submit - biography

More comics found in the Comixology's submit section.  Here are a couple of autobiographical treats.

Boobage - this is a sweet and heartfelt short autobiographical tale about puberty and growing up with small breasts.  Done in a rather nice red, white and black colour palette.
Writing and art: Monica Gallagher
Publisher: Lipstick Kiss Press

Kinds of Blue - this is an anthology comic describing what depression looks like.  It's 84 pages and each story has a different style to it.  If you want to know more about depression, or people's experiences with it, this book is a good start.
Writers and artists: Various
Publisher: Hive Mindedness Media

Best of 2013: self published

I wanted to say a few words about some self published comics that struck a chord with me in 2013.

Dragon Slippers: This is what an abusive relationship looks like

Writer and artist: Rosalind B. Penfold
Publisher: Harper Collins

All images taken from the Dragon Slippers website.

What's it about?
Dragon Slippers chronicles the life of Rosalind B Penfold as she moves from a happy, successful career into an abusive relationship, and eventually out again.

Warning - the images used within this post may prove triggering for some readers.  None are graphic or violent but they do show conversations and events used to humiliate and control.

Freddie and Me (LGBT History Month)

A coming of age (bohemian) rhapsody

Writer and artist: Mike Dawson
Publisher: Jonathan Cape

What's it about?
This is Mike's life story, as soundtracked by Queen.

When I say soundtracked by Queen, I mean everything is told through a Queen filtered lens.  Dawson is something of a superfan, and so all major moments in his life are linked to the band and their music.  He's born in England, where he first discovers Queen on Top of the Pops (an old BBC music programme that ran weekly for about 30 years, it was an institution) by watching the video for I Want to Break Free.

 

This starts a lifelong obsession which follows him through primary school, his family move to America aged 11, his teenage years, his first girlfriends, his first jobs and meeting and marrying his wife. He's also pretty passionate about art, which explains why this is a comic and not a prose book.

What's good about it?
Oh gods, it's embarrassingly accurate to being an obsessed teenage fan.   I don't know how many of you were also into music as a teen, but I was.  I'd read the music papers from cover to cover.  I had my favourite bands I'd listen to over and over.  I knew all the trivia.  I'd learn the words.  I'd spout off about the amazingness of said bands, their music and the members.  I'd connect everything with certain bands.  I'd take it personally when someone insulted my favourite band.  I lived and breathed music.

Reading this comic flung me straight back into that feeling - I recognise all the nerdy, fannish things Dawson does.  He captures the intensity and the awkwardness perfectly.  His sister is massively into Wham and George Michael in particular, which gives us some great sibling/band rivalry scenes.

If you identify with where he's coming from, you'll probably laugh and cry and cringe, just like I did.  Then perhaps you'll feel a little bit of pride at the fellow superfan who's grown up and still nurtures that love for Queen.

What's bad about it?
If you aren't a Queen fan, or aren't a big music fan, you may not find much to interest you.  Dawson's life story, judged on it's own merits, isn't particularly interesting.  It's the tidbits about his fannish love of Queen that bring life to it, that provide the sometimes funny, sometimes moving, sometimes sad, moments.

What's the art like?
Ahh, this is another high point!  Dawson's cartooning is fabulous.  It's all black and white and it's so expressive.  He draws familial resemblances while making each person distinct.  His depictions of other rock stars are eerily accurate even though they are a bit caricatured.  I've rarely seen real people captured so well on paper.

When he draws Freddie Mercury singing, or himself singing, as in for example the cover of the book, you can feel the energy streaming off the page.  Dawson is a natural at drawing epic, intense, charged scenes.  When he shows us how he reacted when he found out Freddie died, well, my heart broke for him.


In short, the art is great and is one of the standout aspects to this book.

More information
Apparently only available in hardcover, Amazon prices this at £9.89.  The ISBN is 0224081934.
Mike Dawson has a website here.

French Toast Comix

A webcomic, by Becky Hawkins

(Images posted with author's consent)

What's it about?
French Toast Comix is an autobiographical webcomic by a lady who works as a cruise ship musician.  She's Jewish, gay and draws pretty much anything that happens in her life.  Strips might appear about a coffee shop, her mum, cruise ship culture, new places that she's visited, her art class, anything (also - stealing giant porcelain cows)!

It's not as linear as a lot of web comics, in that it mostly reads more like stand alone events.  However, you can buy more structured print mini comics if you like (see the more information section at the end of the review). Many of the entries have a text blog accompanying them, giving more information about the events being depicted.

Blankets

Writer/Illustrator: Craig Thompson
Publisher: Top Shelf

What's it about?
In an autobiographical tale, Craig Thompson tells the story of his childhood and adolescence, focused through the lens of first teenage love. In many ways, it is a very typical and relatable story of growing up.

Growing up in a fundamentalist Christian family in Wisconsin, Craig struggles with his relationship with his brother, with God, and the other people in his life. Plagued by feelings of inadequacy heaped on him by his parents and other adults, and rejected by his peers at school, Craig is a loner who isn't quite sure where he fits in this unpleasant, trying world.

Valentine's review - Blue Monday: The Kids Are Alright

written and drawn by
Chynna Clugston-Major
gray tone colouring by
Guy Major and Staissi Brandt
Publisher: Oni Press

What's It About?
Blue Monday is an American high school comedy without the rose-tinted glasses. Its the early 1990s and Blue L. Finnegan lives in a world of teacher crushes, pig-headed boys, annoying girlfriends and nothing to do of an evening, the typical teenage experience. Suddenly, excitement enters her life when her idol Adam Ant announces a gig in her area. The gig sells out instantly but with single-minded determination Blue decides she is attending and that she'll get tickets somehow. Antics ensue.

The Kids Are Alright collects the first Blue Monday series as well as an extensive collection of additional short comics.

Palestine

Art and Writing by Joe Sacco
Publisher: jonathan Cape

What's it about?
Joe Sacco is a Jewish American journalist who in the early 1990s spent two months in Israel and Palestine, meeting and interviewing people the people living there.  The results of these conversations and experiences have been turned into this book.

Gonzo. A Graphic Biography Of Hunter S. Thompson

written by Will Bingley
illustrated by Anthony Hope-Smith
foreword by Alan Rinzler
Publisher: SelfMadeHero

What's It About​?
“Over the course of Hunter S. Thompson's extraordinary life he was publicly branded a bum, a vandal, a liar, an addict, a freak and a psychopath. Only some of which are true,” so states the blurb of this book, a graphic retelling of the life of the infamous “gonzo” journalist from his earliest brush with the law at the age of nine to the time of his death in 2005. On the way he covers the 1972 American Presidential election, Watergate, the Fall of Saigon and the 1970 Kentucky Derby.

LGBT History month closes

As February ends so does our second themed week.  We hope you've enjoyed the series and that you've found some interesting books to follow up.  We think we've pointed out a few special gems over this last week and previously, so as a recap here is a list of comics featuring LGBT characters:

Fun Home - LGBT History month continues

 

Writer and Artist:  Alison Bechdel

What's it about?

Subtitled 'A Family Tragicomic' this is the story of Bechdel's family life, her emergent sexuality and her father's sexuality.

Bruce Bechdel is an English teacher and Funeral Director.  He is obsessed with restoring the family's Victorian home, constantly rearranaging, redecorating, fixing, buffing, shining, wallpapering and hanging things within the house.  He is an avid reader and a lot of his and Alison's relationship is conducted through literary discussion.  When Alison is in college her Mother tells her that her Father has had many affairs throughout the years, all with men.

Against the chaotic background of Bechdel's home life she chronicles her experiences about life in the Fun Home (funeral parlour), her mother's amateur acting career, her developing anxiety, her gender expression and her discovery of lesbianism.