Isaac
Bechdel had such a childhood experience, this book's structure works so well constructing the narrative she wants, the leaps forth and back in time slowly releasing new information about periods that she leaped over, showcasing her experiences and struggles one after the other. The way she kneads her relationship with her father as she works through it in this autobiography, coming to terms with it is magical. I loved how she portrays things so elegantly, her explanations of complex topics and the like. This book is amazing! Must read for fans of biographies.
Like a mix of the Big Lez show and a fever dream.
Especially near the end of the book, some insight into how truly miserable these characters are, and how aware of it they are, but at the same time, refuse to change.
He nailed it, but man the Megg and Mogg cast are so utterly draining. I love the books but they require a lot of time in between to recover from them. If you're going to read one start with “One More Year”
The Casca storyline is really good but there is some imagery that did not need to be depicted even for the shock value of it. There are other ways to depict how horrific it was without certain details being drawn in multiple panels
Really good read, takes a while to get good however. The characters are amazing and very easy to sympathise with. I love the idea that everyone's going through their shit and doing their best. The moral the ending, what it says are great. The only reason it loses a five star from me is that sometimes I found dialogue a bit cringe. Very OTT and odd, it really is quite minor and definitely doesn't stop it from being a must read but also it's there, it's present so watch out for that
This book is so good, really interesting view of schizophrenia. Amazing that he wrote this for his son, and that he had his son help him write and share his experience to make this book.
What a journey.. I love this book, possibly one of the best books I've read, can't recommend it enough! It's an amazing book filled with science, on-the-edge-of-your-seat events, and some of the snappiest most real dialogue I've read. You really don't know how it will end, but man it pays off.
I had fun with this one, wee short stories that act as a platform for talented artists to show off their work
Sweet short book, I love the art especially. Simple story, captivating, however I found the choice of ending to be odd as opposed to a more conventional ending which may have fit the narrative better. There were also some aspects that felt tacked on, however I did enjoy my time with this and it's worth a read
It would have been higher if I were still shadowed by Moores gigantic self masturbatory ego, however, this story really encapsulates how often he sexually victimises his female characters for very mediocre plot points. Does it come from a place of misogyny?
An amazing study of the medium. Understanding Comics delves into the roots of comics and their history, where they stemmed from, the importance of expressionism and just how important they have been in human history. Scott McLeod also states many times how “high art” has spent so much time seperating written art from visual art and how the merging of these two forms are often looked down upon because of this snobbery.
This book makes you realise how American comics especially low budget commercial superhero comics have bastardised the medium and given it a childlike and “slop”esque mainstream opinion. To quote the book:
“Traditional thinking has long held that truly great works of art and literature are only possible when the two are kept at arms length.
Words and pictures together are considered, at best, a diversion for the masses, at worst a product of crass commercialism.”
and that's just it. The medium has been bastardised by this crass commercialism of the west but also comes from this deep seated belief in the separation of visual imagery and written language. What is special about comics is that it is a combination of visual translation of sound as well as visual interpretation of, well vision. It's a truly wonderful medium that deserves much more praise than it gets. But maybe I'm just a purist. It really sucks that this book won't be picked up by people who already have this widely spread belief that art must be separated, because it is such a wonderful breakdown of the medium that I love, and I'm sure it could change the opinion of someone who raises their nose to it.
This is one of the best books I've ever read. If you ever feel like changing your mind on comics, or giving them a shot, this is a great place to start, maybe after you've read Fun Home, In or another good entry point to visual and written storytelling. What I've learned from this book will change how I view comics and it has given me a deeper appreciation for art as a whole.
