A selection of November graphic novels

Briar Vol. 1: Sleep No More by Christopher Cantwell with art by German Garcia (2023) 128 pages

Reading for #hooplachallenge "Beyond the Storybook" theme this month. Clearly leads right into volume 2, but I didn't love it enough to continue. Maybe later. Chapter one "Nothing Sharp in Sight" has the lovely transition from soft storybook telling of Sleeping Beauty leading to dystopian fantasy future. We even get a rodent of unusual size! The beginning of Briar Rose's journey is handled well. Bloody and scatological, Cantwell's use of language is stilted. Chapter two "The Witch Which Witches Not" reveals the evil that pursues Briar Rose and her growing band of misfits. Chapter three "Of Villainous, Cruel Gnomes" starts with a flashback for a new character and continues with the same sort of dark adventure. Chapter four "Adra Adrata Adracta" brings the threads together pretty well and reveals a surprise that makes sense going back to the beginning. I like the band of misfits and visually I like the series. I do want to find out what happens next, so I probably will pick up volume 2 at some point.

Ruins by Peter Kuper (2015) 328 pages

"Samantha and George are a couple heading towards a sabbatical year in the quaint Mexican town of Oaxaca. For Samantha, it is the opportunity to revisit her past. For George, it is an unsettling step into the unknown." I loved seeing the butterfly's journey. I loved getting to know the city of Oaxaca (wah-ha-ka) and surrounding areas of Mexico. Many layers to the relationship story, but a troubled one.

Lackadaisy: Volume 1 by Tracy J. Butler (2009) 96 pages

Tracy J. Butler is a local St. Louis artist. This is set in St. Louis in 1927. Prohibition has sparked the engine of organized crime. The story is full of 1920s slang and references. Good sense of humor. Good character development of anthropomorphized cats in spiffy outfits.

Once Upon a Time Machine edited by Andrew Carl, written and illustrated by many artists (2012) 431 pages

Anthology of many international comic artists adapting fairy tales from around the world into futuristic tales. There seems to be a large number of artists from Philadelphia invited to contribute. It is a mix of more or less successful adaptations. Some artists have provided just a single page illustration, but it is the other short adaptations that make it worth your while. I'll highlight a few that I thought were clever and unique, but you may be more strongly drawn to others. I thought "Pinocchio or The Stars Are Not Wanted Now" had a nice twist on the lesson of telling the truth or telling lies. "The Puppet-Show Man or No Strings" is based on a story I'm not familiar with, but it drew me in with its grungy art and 'be careful what you wish' lesson. "The Shepherd and the Weaver Girl" feels epic and mythical. This adaptation of the Chinese myth has a clever way of drawing on the old and imagining it in the future. I also liked the nanotechnology dreamed up in the adaptation of "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." The adaptation of "The Ugly Duckling or The Ugly Part" changes the ingredients of the story quite a bit, but achieves a better moral in the end. I really enjoyed "Vasilissa the Beautiful" based on a Slavic Baba Yaga tale. And "The Gold Piece or A Destiny Earned" was sweet and meaningful.

Washington's Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben by Josh Trujillo with art by Levi Hastings (2023) 192 pages

"A graphic novel biography of Baron von Steuben, the soldier, immigrant, and flamboyant homosexual who influenced the course of US history during the Revolutionary War despite being omitted from our textbooks." I love learning about history and a person's life in this way. Well illustrated and moves along fairly quickly. Some memoir scenes and other brief introductions of queer people in history are sprinkled in too. 

Ash's Cabin by Jen Wang (2024) 320 pages

I grew up enjoying Illustrated Classics versions of Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe. I also loved imagining the survival stories in Island of the Blue Dolphins and Incident at Hawk's Hill. I loved this story of nonbinary Ash challenging themselves to find their grandpa's hidden cabin in a National Forest in California. It feels very real as Ash studies and prepares. This is not a spur of the moment decision. Learning to survive with their dog, Chase, is an experience in which they learn from their mistakes and find what is most important in their life. Great art and structured like a journal.

The Stoneshore Register by G. Willow Wilson with art by M.K. Perker (2025) 128 pages

I like the lead character, Fadumo, a refugee and stranger to this Pacific Northwest town. The townspeople are fairly well drawn too, but we don't get to know them very deeply. I like the exploration of the uncanny and weird. I didn't enjoy chapter 4 as much. Chapter 5 nails the real message of the graphic novel when the immigration agents come looking for Fadumo. G. Willow Wilson's writing continues to be enjoyable.

Aristotle: A Graphic Biography by Tassos Apostolidis with art by Alecos Papadatos (2024) 216 pages

Nice framing device with a colleague of Aristotle teaching his students about Aristotle's life and thoughts. I like the basic color scheme. Some lengthy text for historical exposition is mixed with occasional humor and fairly detailed summaries of Aristotle's major philosophical concepts. I like the peek into daily life around Greece of the time and how Aristotle's relationships with family and friends is portrayed. The book does a good job of making him more than just the figure behind these abstract ethical/scientific concepts. He was real and enjoyed life.

Countess and The Last Count of Monte Cristo

Countess by Suzan Palumbo (2024) 168 pages 

I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla narrated by Chante McCormick. The opening of the synopsis, "A queer, Caribbean, anti-colonial sci-fi novella, inspired by the Count of Monte Cristo" grabbed my attention right away. It keeps the basic ingredients of Dumas' story, but moves right along at a fast pace without so much flowery language or so many subplots and minor characters. The Haitian Revolution led by Toussaint Louverture is a major inspiration to Palumbo and Louverture is mentioned many times. In outer space, in the future, colonial powers remain problematic with people of color subjugated to labor for commodities that prop up the colonizers. Virika Sameroo follows a similar path to Dumas' character Dantes, but takes on a bigger fight against an Empire rather than simply seeking revenge against the individuals responsible for imprisoning her. I enjoyed this a bit more than the following graphic novel.

The Last Count of Monte Cristo by Ayize Jama-Everett with art by Tristan Roach (2023) 154 pages 

I'm fairly familiar with Dumas' story. I've listened to the novel and Tom Reiss' nonfiction The Black Count. This graphic novel holds very closely to Dumas' story. If memory serves, some of Dumas' phrases are incorporated in the script here. There is a large cast of characters including many characters who appear in disguise under aliases. Having the familiarity that I do with the story was very helpful for understanding the complicated plot. I imagine readers would be confused going into this with a blank slate. Focusing on African characters works well. The solar punk future with major climate change is only a veneer that does little to affect the core of the story. The future tech, really only the way characters are able to disguise themselves, is cool. The colors of the art are bold, but action and dialogue and foreground to background details are sometimes too much to take in. A little more focus could have helped.

Iron Widow

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (2021) 394 pages

This is the beginning of a relatively new series. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Rong Fu on Libby. Part Mighty Morphin Power Rangers kaiju adventure and part feminist revenge tale. The story is set in the future, but cultural values and some characters were pulled from Chinese history, according to the author. This leans more toward fantasy than science fiction with Chi energy powering soldiers' armor and the mecha Chrysalises like the vermilion bird pictured on the cover. Zetian is a powerful teen pilot who gains the nickname the Iron Widow. She is unstoppable in fighting the misogyny in her culture in addition to the alien insectoid "invaders" that the government sends the soldiers to eliminate.
 

Nightwood

Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (1936) 182 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla narrated by Gemma Dawson. The Atlantic published a list of The Great American Novels earlier this year. There was a lot more diversity amongst the authors on this list compared to others I've seen, so I added several books to my reading list. I had also recently seen a review of a graphic biography about Djuna Barnes that will be published later this year. I jumped into this novel, which is Modernist, without knowing much about the Modernist movement. T.S. Eliot wrote an introduction praising the novel as an example of this artistic movement. He suggested that people who like poetry would appreciate her use of language. It certainly is florid in its literary stream-of-consciousness. Eliot also prepared me not to expect much plot, but I really like a strong plot. Audiobooks are "real" reading, but it is more passive. By the end, I had forgotten how the two characters, who converse about a woman's love for another woman, connect to the characters introduced at the beginning. I struggled to fully understand this book. It was not for me.
 

Boyfriend Material

 Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (2020, 432 pages)

The estranged son of a washed up rock star is setup with a successful attorney in a fake-dating scenario to benefit both of their professional lives. They both have important work functions coming up, and figure they would look better with an attractive man on their arm.

Of course, they end up actually falling for each other. But also of course, they don't communicate it very well. Lots of back and forth and (in my opinion, excessive) drama.

The whole thing was pretty silly, mostly in a funny way. The one liners were cute, friends were quirky, etc. Bonus points for queer representation, but I am not personally a fan of miscommunication plot lines.

★★★☆☆

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes

 The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian (2022, 350 pages)

A continuation of The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, this book focuses on two new characters. Kit's friend Rob started out as Marian's captive (or was she his captive?), but decides to help her hide from the public view after the heist in the first book.

Loved the casual queer representation, I also like the unique characters (loved reading about a aggressive woman who knows what wants in a romance!). Their banter is entertaining and it's a sweet story, more relaxed than the first book. It's cute watching this little family form!

★★★★☆

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb

 The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian (2021, 352 pages)

Queer romance, 18th century England, and a criminal element led me to pick up this book and it delivered.

Kit Webb mostly gave up his life of Robin Hood-esque crime after an injury and opened up a coffee shop in London. He's a little grumpy, but is happy with his new life.

Percy suspects his days as a lord are coming to an end, if a certain secret about his lord father are to be publicized. All Percy wants from him now is a book and enough money to care for himself and his childhood bestie (who is also his father's new young bride), Marian.

Neither Percy nor Marian are prepared to take this on,  so they reach out of Kit for help. Kit is reluctant to help the royal family that he despises, but finds this heist might be just what he needs.

Great queer romance with both comedy and drama bits. Wasn't too predictable and has funny characters that I genuinely want to read more about.

The ending of this book continues almost flawlessly into the sequel, The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes which is another queer romance but with a different couple (whom you meet in this book, but this is a continuation/beginning of their story!).

★★★★☆
 

The Island Between Us

 The Island Between Us by Wendy Hudson (2021, 320 pages)

Love and adventure on a remote Scottish island. Survival skills and drama. Storm surges, lack of food, and finding shelter. New year's day 20 years before.

Georgia hosts excursions on a Scottish island for people looking for outdoor skills, bonding time, and just a space to get away. She teaches her group how to build shelter; find, hunt, and prep food; and take care of themselves and others. Kelsey is a successful actor in LA looking for some privacy and a connection to a familiar name. While their romance blossoms, a cast of characters causing trouble and creating comedy end up stranded on the island. Trying to keep the group calm, Georgia tries to lead the group she's responsible for to safety.
Highly recommend the audiobook purely for the narrator's adorable Scottish accent.