Recent Faves
To get the first discussion going in this new format, we want to hear about a comic that you have recently read or re-read and love. Even better if it's in a format that libraries can easily include in their collections, but not necessary.
What's the comic about (but try to avoid spoilers if possible please) and why do you love it?
Remember that this first month we're also testing out this new format and system for the book club so if anything isn't working properly please let us know by emailing aliagraphicinfo@gmail.com
I'll get things started with a recent favourite of mine, Banned Book Club (Iron Circus Comics) by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyung-Ju, and Ryan Estrada. I've read it before but it was mentioned in the end of year roundup podcast and made me want to go back and re-read it.
Although the setting is the South Korea of the early 1980s, the themes of what the costs and benefits of standing up to censorship are, both for the individual and for a society, are distressingly relevant for Australian in the 2020s, but I love the hope that suffuses this real and personal story - even in the much bleaker situation than ours in which it's set. I like, too, that the message and the narrative are always in service of each other, the story never stops to give exposition about the situation the characters are in, and all the elements of the story work towards the reader's understanding of what life in South Korea was like under President Chun Doo-hwan's regime in the 1980s.
As you might expect, given the subject of this graphic novel, there are some difficult topics covered, but the creative team does well to imply rather than name or show if appropriate, and to balance how 'graphic' the images and descriptions are. While this is not a book I'd recommend to younger readers, it is because of the complexities of the themes far more than their presentation.
I've read a few different things that could be of interest to libraries. The first one to mention is Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura. I read the first seven volumes about two years ago and totally fell in love with this manga, quickly becoming one of my all time favourites. I recently picked up the series again and read Volume 8. I would characterise it as a slow but totally engrossing manga that focuses on character and story telling. This being a viking story, there are fights and action, but that's not the focus and increasingly less so as the series progresses. This is highly recommended for anyone who loves vikings, historical fiction and a strong focus on character and story. I'd say it's mostly for upper teen and up readers. There is an anime adaptation on Amazon Prime Video, which is quite excellent and the Yukimura is very close to finishing the manga with only a few chapters of the series left. The books are published in a beautiful and sturdy hardback edition that collects two tankobon (or traditional manga volumes) in one.
Honourable mentions:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin. Excellent mini series collected in a really good hardback edition. This is TMNT for older readers. Plenty of action and an excellent story. Highly recommended.
Monica by Daniel Clowes. Daniel Clowes won't change at this stage in his career. This is 100% Clowes and I loved it. Beautiful, haunting, weird, surreal short stories that eventually grow connected. Maybe only for fans. I would definitely recommend some of his other titles before this one but definitely a title that a graphic novel collection for adults should have.
My recent favourites:
- Cannibal series Voll 1-4 by Brian Buccelato - a good zombie pandemic set in a Southern American state. It's Gothic horror and it's funny and well drawn. For adult readers.
- Mall Goth by Kate Leh - just acquired by my library; it's quirky and sweet coming of age story, but it also touches on some sensitive yet relevant issues, such as gender identity, sexual assault/grooming, and bullying. For Young Adult readers.
They both look interesting. I'll have to check them out. Thanks for sharing Marzia.
