Graphic Novels: Five Mini-ish Reviews

Title:  The Alcoholic
Author: Jonathan Ames
Art by: Dead Hasdiel

When I sat down to write this review, I was entirely unsure of what I wanted to say.  I wasn't even positive how I could summarize this unique graphic novel.  To help me organize my thoughts, I started reading other reviews online.  I found one review I think you guys should read at The Examiner.  The very first line succinctly tells you what I wanted to but for some reason couldn't find the words: "The Alcoholic, a graphic novel, is a tale of sexual confusion, romantic obsession and addiction counterpointed by a deep and loving familial bond."

It reads like a self-reflective memoir with the protagonist, Jonathan A., a stand in for the author Jonathan Ames, half-fact, half-fiction. Ames freely admits that bits and pieces from his own life - including his image - grace the pages, but he contends that overall it is a work of fiction.  One thing I would like to say is that this graphic novel touches on some very serious issues; it does so lightly, with care, and yet it never dismisses or trivializes those issues.

Buy  |  Borrow  |  Accept  |  Avoid

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Reading Resolutions, GLBT Challenge, Graphic Novels Challenge, Hogwarts Reading Challenge,

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Title:  The Surrogates
Author: Robert Venditti
Art by: Brett Weldele

I adore the premise of this graphic novel.  The year is 2054 and the world population is primarily living life through androids they mentally link with and control.  These "surrogates" are used for more than just entertainment; people use them for all aspects of life including jobs - police forces are now 100% surrogates with the human users for the most part not even physically capable of performing the job. But someone out there isn't thrilled with this virtual way of living, and he is determined to find a way to bring down the surrogates.  Detective Greer has been charged with stopping this pseudo-killer, but does he really want to?

The temptation of living in an alternate body, looking however you'd like to look, doing whatever you'd like to do with no real repercussions, is almost unbelievably seductive. I have absolutely no difficulty picturing us latching onto the possibility in a giddy, self-hating, beauty-worshipping glee.  I don't think I could resist the temptation of a surrogate.  In other words, thematically, this graphic novel relates quite well to contemporary society and it intrigues me.  I enjoyed the quick pace of the plot as well; although my enjoyment did flounder a bit at the quick ending.

The artwork was fascinating with different color schemes used depending on the situation or the scene.  And the juxtaposition of the gritty artwork detailing the plot and the clean and smooth futuristic ads for a Virtual Self really impressed me. As is the case with other graphic novels I've enjoyed, this one included other elements such as pages depicting news papers, news reports, white papers, etc. - inclusions of artifacts in graphic novels is a real plus for me.

Buy  |  Borrow  |  Accept  |  Avoid

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Reading Resolutions, GLBT Challenge, Graphic Novels Challenge, Hogwarts Reading Challenge,

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Title:  The Eternal Smile
Author: Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim

The Eternal Smile is a collection of three graphic novels focusing on the nature of reality and fantasy, imagining the blurring of the boundaries between them, and remarking upon the significance of the separation.

The first story, "Duncan's Kingdom", features a classic story of a brave knight determined to win the hand of the queen by slaying the metaphorical dragon...frog, whatever.  The second story, "The Eternal Smile", tells the story of Gran'Pa Greenbax, a money-hungry businessman who attempts to cash in on a religious scheme centered on a mysterious smile in the sky. The third story, "Urgent Request", brings readers into a romance which begins when Janet receives an urgent email from Prince Henry of Nigeria.  He needs her help in securing his family fortune, and if she provides him with her banking information he will reward her with 350,000,000 dollars.

What I found most fascinating about each of these stories is the way the classic is mixed with the original.  The first two stories share basic similarities with traditional tales:  stories of men slaying beasts for the sake of a princess are not exactly unique; miserly businessmen undergoing internal transformations have been told and told again.  But Yang and Kim really stretch the boundaries of these common motifs, leaving the reader thinking not only about the story but about how it relates to all the stories that came before.  Even the third story, while not exactly based on a classic, takes something familiar - we've all received those emails - and defies our expectations even as it meets them.

I wish I could do more justice to these three stories by really delving in to the beautiful and intriguing theme present in each, but to do so would reveal too much of the story.  Each one artfully blends fantasy and reality in the search for a deeper understanding of the role imagination plays in our lives.  The topic is one near and dear to my heart, and probably to all readers, as we, more than most, find ourselves so entranced by the lives we live in our minds.  Yang and Kim deliver stories that entertain and educate, and I find it simple to both enjoy the stories for their entertainment value and to use the stories as a jumping block for further intellectual pursuit.

Buy  |  Borrow  |  Accept  |  Avoid

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Reading Resolutions, Graphic Novels Challenge, Once Upon a Time, Hogwarts Reading Challenge,

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Title:  Deogratias, A Tale of Rwanda
Author: J.P. Stassen


Deogratias, the protagonist of this graphic novel, is a young boy, living in a country torn by ethnic strife as the Hutu prepare and eventually attempt to eliminate the Tutsi.  The story swings back and forth between the time before and after the genocide, and readers watch as a young boy concerned only about girls transforms into a young man tortured by his memories.

Hearing the word Rwanda evokes one of the most horrible feelings in me.  The feeling of horror that permeates my soul when I hear Rwanda is entirely due to the film Hotel Rwanda, starring Don Cheadle, which brought the tragedy to life for me.  Saying it like that, it seems trite, but it's honest.  The film introduced me to the events that occurred and sparked in me my natural desire to research.  I read the news articles, tracked down YouTube videos of broadcasts, and was heartwrenched to find the appalling lack of coverage by American news people.  The blindness of the world during this atrocity fills me with shame for humanity and the willful resistance to helping makes me illogically angry.

All of this is just to say that going in to the graphic novel, I already had images, preconceived notions and biases, swimming in my head.  This may be what caused the graphic novel to be rather underwhelming for me.  I was struck, emotionally, by the plight of Deogratias as he suffers mentally in the brutal aftermath of the genocide.  His madness sinks my soul in anguish.

And yet, overall, I was a bit disappointed.  The juxtaposition of past and present seemed less than ideal, and the lack of depth to the plot and the characters left me feeling as if I had just scratched the surface of the story.  Honestly, I enjoyed the text-based introduction to the graphic novel more as it informatively and evocatively covered the historical situation.

I realize that I am very much in the minority here.  Most seem to adore this graphic novel; inasmuch as one can adore something exceedingly dark, full of despair, and painful to the heart.  I don't know why I didn't feel this level of emotion while reading; perhaps it was the quickness of the read, the lateness of the hour, or the heart-wrenching images already present in my brain from other tellings of the genocide.  I do not know.

Buy  |  Borrow  |  Accept  |  Avoid

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Reading Resolutions, Graphic Novels Challenge, Hogwarts Reading Challenge,

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Title:  American Born Chinese
Author: Gene Luen Yang


Three stories flit through this graphic novel: Jin Wang, the only Chinese-American at school, just wants to fit in...and to maybe date a classmate.  The Monkey King, adored by his subjects, wants nothing more than to be a god.  Danny, a popular kid at school, just wants his cousin Chin-Kee to stop embarrassing him with his uber-stereotyped Chinese ways.  "These three apparently unrelated tales come together with an unexpected twist, in a modern fable that is hilarious, poignant, and action packed."

Be still my geeking heart.  I adored it.  Each of the three stories told in this memorable graphic novel are complex and entertaining, and when all three come together, the result is mind expanding.

The stories are told chronologically, but the book alternates the three stories, artfully weaving them together while allowing each to retain its independence from the others.  This book could have been preachy, it could have been contrived, but it remained original and creative. For example, the character of Chin-kee is an overblown stereotype of the Chinese.  He comes on the scene with a great big bellowing Harro Amellica, starts talking about the "pletty Amellican girl with bountiful Amellican bosom...[who] must bind feet and bear Chin-kee's children".  He knows the answer to every question in school, eats cat, and even has fighting style blending Kung-Fu and Kung-Pow (like the chicken, yes).

A tactic like this could come off as being remarkably racist, extraordinarily cliched, or overtly campy.  Instead, Yang manages to utilize this character to challenge reader prejudice and deliver a powerful message.  Honestly, I couldn't really explain how he pulls it off.  Chin-kee should be funny or pitiable, but he isn't.  A credit to Yang's talent.

Buy  |  Borrow  |  Accept  |  Avoid

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Reading Resolutions, Graphic Novels Challenge, Once Upon a Time, Hogwarts Reading Challenge,
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FTC Disclosure:  All of these were freebies from a publishing house for the possibility of course adoption.