Me on Some Favourite Things (5)

Hi there! It's been a while since I did one of these posts, but I was in need of a filler because of health reasons, so here we go! It'll mostly be a big post on recommending webcomics this time around. ;)

First up, let's just start with all the ones I always recommend. Gunnerkrigg Court, Check, Please!, Monster Pulse, Les Normaux. They're all a little different and most have a fantasy element to them.

First, there's Gourmet Hound by Leehama (who also does the currently on hiatus Flowerpot). It's the story of Lucy, a super friendly and helpful young woman looking to recapture something from when she was a child, visiting a favourite restaurant with her grandmother before she passed away. The staff at Dimanche has changed, that familiar taste and feel is gone, and Lucy's wondering if she can find that "perfect taste" again. Luckily, because of her uncanny sense of smell and bizarre sudden strength, she happens up on a café run by two former Dimance chefs. This comic is a fun slice of life story with complicated characters and bright artwork. Everyone's a little quirky, everyone's got their secrets, and you can't help but cheer Lucy on as she embarks on this seemingly impossible mission.

Next is Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, author of Solitaire and Radio Silence. This is the story of Nick and Charlie, two teen boys at an all-boys British school and their growing friendship and romance. It's sweet and sad, all about love and acceptance and mental illness and figuring out who you are and who you want to be. There's something so wonderfully charming about this comic, both from the story of Nick and Charlie and from Alice's art style. It'll make you laugh and cry and feel loads of warm feelings.

And last is Postcards in Braille by Constanza Yovaniniz. This is all about Sigma and his friends, little moments in their lives and their friendships as they navigate being newly graduated from college and working (Sigma) and being themselves (so much Rho). Along for the journey is Sigma's girlfriend Xi, Sigma's former roommate and best friend Rho, and after a little while Rho's coworker Aleph and Xi's work partner Omicron. What's awesome is Sigma and his being blind, how it's treated with such respect and seen as something so normal and commonplace. And the little bits on what he does to keep track of things in his apartment and the tech that helping his with his programming at work. There's even a comic page all about Sigma's cane and spreading awareness so seeing people can actually be supportive if they ever come across someone with visual impairment. I love how a lot of this comic is about friends who don't necessarily like the same things (looking at you, Dog and Fries) but still get along and are super supportive. Like Coni says on a page's description, friendship works in weird ways. There's something so meaningful in every page, and now that it's complete, it's definitely a comic I find myself going back to every so often.

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed this new list of webcomics to check out. There's something I love so much about webcomics as a way of telling stories, the visual medium plus the compelling story plus the page by page reveal. And the little side stories and Q&A posts that some artists do are always fun, little peeks behind the curtain that readers appreciate. Thanks for stopping by!

Me on Some Favourite Things (4)

Hi! I'm back with another one of these collective fun things posts! Only a few things this time, though.

First, Rock and Riot by Chelsey! I love this webcomic. The best way I can describe it is it's like if Grease had a huge diverse cast and every character was queer. It's about two gangs of teens, the girls of the Jaquettes and the boys of the Rollers, and their high school days. Their hijinks, their fights and squabbles. Their exploration of sexuality and gender. Their realization that they can be who they want, like who they want to like. Identify however they want to. The humourous moments mix so well with the comedic moments. Moments of two characters awkwardly flirting in loud voices and almost missing until someone clueless shows up looking for popcorn. It'll be ending soon, so you might want to start reading it now. Plus you can watch an animated version of the first chapter!

In case you didn't figure it out from last week's reviews, go check out the Horimiya manga! ;)

I've been speeding through a bunch of e-books I picked up through my local library, books I've been interested in but haven't felt like reading in order to review them. Because sometimes I want to be able to tune out when I read. Not to say that these haven't been good books, but they've either been books I don't usually review here or books where far smarter people have already posted their amazing opinions and anything I say would be inadequate. Like with Saints & Misfits by S.K. Ali. An amazing, heart-breaking, honest book. Right now I'm making my way through Cindy Pon's Want. Considering the state of the environment, I could totally buy that something like this book could happen.

See you again in a couple of months with another of these! :) And add in the comments something you've been enjoying lately so I can check it out!

Me on Eliza and Her Monsters

Title: Eliza and Her Monsters
Author: Francesca Zappia
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins imprint)

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, Eliza is LadyConstellation, anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can't imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves her digital community, and has no desire to try. Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea's biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and Eliza begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile. But when Eliza's secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she's built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

Eliza and Her Monsters is smart and serious, a look at creativity and fame and pressure, at art and fandom and community. At how we isolate ourselves and how we connect with other people.

Eliza is shy, creative, and totally okay with being a loner when she's at school. She's fine with it, because her friends are somewhere else. Easily reachable on the internet. She doesn't need the real world with her health-conscious parents pushing at her to do something else with her life or her sports-focused younger brothers. She knows what she's doing, what she'll keep doing after high school and college. She'll continue on with her webcomic Monstrous Sea, continue chatting with the giant mass of fans online who devour each and ever page. Fans who don't know that a high school student is the comic's creator, which is totally fine with Eliza. Anonymity is something she craves. But then she meets Wallace, then she finds out he's one of her comic's most popular fanfiction writers. Then she wonders if talking face-to-face with people isn't so bad. If there's more to life than Monstrous Sea.

A big part of this story is all about creativity and passion. Eliza came up with Monstrous Sea because she was inspired, because she had a story to tell. And she was happy. But then it blew up, then it became popular. Then it gained an audience of fans, superfans, and trolls alike. Then came the pressure and the expectation. It turned less into something Eliza did for fun and something more for other people so they wouldn't rage in the comments if she had a down week and the art wasn't as good or if she got busy and missed an update or two. The webcomic becomes her life, becomes everything, but that isn't healthy. She's more than an artist, than the person who created the universe of Monstrous Sea and its cast of characters. She struggles with finding the balance between work and play, between school and family and the comic. I think this book accurately covers what a lot of creative types and creators go through, the balance between life and working to pay the bills that many search for on a daily basis.

This book is serious and thoughtful, about the struggles of art and the strain it puts on artists. About the ways we isolate ourselves when we don't want to interact with certain parts of the world. About the ways we can connect to people halfway around the world, have meaningful connections and conversations with them over a shared interest. About how so many can love one idea, like a TV show or comic, because they found something moving and meaningful in it. About how online communities and interactions can be both supportive and a hindrance. About the realities of anxiety and panic, how keeping it bottled up inside isn't healthy. I would definitely recommend this to fans of the author's previous book, for those looking for an honest look at the intersection of art and fandom and mental health.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on Some Favourite Things (3)

Hi! These recap of favourite things posts seem to be popping up ever couple of months, so I think I'll keep on doing them. :)

Let's start with another webcomic rec. Flowerpot by leehama! This is the story of Ben, a college student with an unusual disease. He's super kind, super friendly, and super quiet, preferring to stay in the background and avoid attention. When Ben was a kid, he was patient zero for a disease called Fleurine when flowers appear and sprout from people's bodies. It wasn't so bad for Ben, his condition means he sprouts dandelions from his scalp, but it was different for others when flowers burst from their skin, from their ears and eyes. When petals would fill their lungs. This is a world where people fear flowers, where people avoid them and those with Fleurine because they don't want to be infected. Ben's happy living a quiet life, but an encounter with a photographer with a project and a plan starts to change Ben's way of thinking, of what it means to be a 'flowerpot.' This comic is super cute and fun, the artwork is bright and colourful, and it's rather diverse in terms of race and disability and illness, both visible and invisible. Here's a link to the start of the comic. :)

Speaking of comics, VanCAF! I love going to VanCAF, seeing what people are doing in terms of their own art and original characters as well as fan art. As someone who can be super visual, who likes comics and isn't that artistic on their own, I really enjoy it. It's the act of creating art, of telling a story through a medium other than straight prose. And it's a chance to support local artists as well. I've been looking forward to going for months and it's finally happening this weekend.

Because we're heading deeper into spring now (where I live) and summer is approaching, here's a quick shout-out to taking walks. I don't know what it is, but it turns out I like going for walks. Especially on my own when I can stick headphones is and listen to music and go for easy-going walks in the sunshine. This sort of started last year when Pokemon Go came out, but walks on their own are also fun. If there are parks or green spaces near you, check them out when it's nice out.

I'm behind on so much Netflix watching, I promise I'll get to you one day, season 2 of Sense 8. And I think I'm pretty much on board for the new Star Trek: Discovery show after seeing that trailer earlier this week. Oh, sci-fi. Kid me loved you so much.

Considering these posts keep happening, see you again with other list of fun things in July! :)

Me on Some Favourite Things (2)

And we're back with a random list of fun things post because I've been reading in weird spurts and I've also been a bit choosy with what I'm reading lately. So here are a few more things I've been enjoying lately, be they TV or movies or games or Kickstarter or anything else!

Travelogue. Every couple of months I read through this short comic of Aatmaja Pandya's and fall in love all over again. In love with the colour palette and the art style, slightly rough and pencil crayon-esque. In love with the characters, with Nana and Emerene and Adi. And Princess the goat. In love with the bursts of magic that appear as these three make their way across their world. There are so many questions I have about this comic, about its world and the magic system, about who or what Nana is, but for once I'm perfectly happy to have my questions go unanswered. As much as I want to know more, I'm perfectly happy not knowing. This comic is gorgeous and sweet and oh so magical. And I always want to snuggle Nana so hard. So fluffy!

Speaking of webcomics, one I found a little while ago that I quickly fell in love with is Lizzie's Thunderbird. It's set in a hard desert fantasy world, where every year farmers and ranchers wait for the mythical Thunderbird to come and bring the rain. But this year, she's late and is shot down. In comes Molly Donelly, rough and tumble and good with a gun, who finds a baby thunderbird under attack by a pack of werewolves headed up by the white werewolf that killed her father. And so starts her journey with the baby bird, off to find its mother and find out who wants to take down a god. All the characters have sass and spirit, the setting is dusty but full of splashes of colour. I can't wait to see where the story will go next.

So with streams and podcasts of Dungeons & Dragons becoming more and more popular, here's my rec for them in a certain way. Watching or listening to D&D streams is a great resource when it comes to world-building and character creation and motivation. These are epic worlds that are constantly created, edited, ruined, re-built. There are shifts in power, mysterious groups operating in back alleys, huge dragons coming down and destroying whole empires. It's interesting to see how massive world-building can get. For character creation and motivation, it's fun to watch. The players all have a background set up, anything from a few notes to tens of pages of info, but then comes the playing of the game and the interaction and they have to think quickly on how their character would react. It's part pre-planned and part improv. If you're looking for story crafting resources, then check out some streams like Critical Role or High Rollers.

And that's what I've been interested in lately! What about you? What've you been watching or reading lately that you think other people should check out?

Me on Some Favourite Things (1)

Hi there. :)

Today, instead of the standard Friday review, here's a quick list of some things I've enjoyed recently. Basically, the pop culture and other things I consume on a regular basis when I'm not reading.

First, some webcomics. Check Please! is a wonderful webcomic created by Ngozi Ukazu. It follows the college life of Eric 'Bitty' Bittle, a sweet Southern boy who loves to cook and has headed up to the northeast to play some college hockey. Things don't go quite to plan, mostly because Bitty's a bit (read: VERY) scared of being hit, but it's okay. His teammates, while looking like idiots, are actually the best. This comic does so much, talks about anxiety and expectations, fears and hopes. Friendship. I won't say too much about what happens plot-wise, some big things have happened during Bitty's first few years at Samwell, but when you read it you might know why I'm being a little hush-hush.

Gunnerkrigg Court is epic. Done by Tom Siddell, it follows the adventures and events that happen to Antimony Carver when she's sent to school at a place called Gunnerkrigg Court. What follows is an enchanting and sometimes heartbreaking story, rich with fantasy and science. The characters are deeply flawed and human, the settings are lush and dark and extremely dangerous. The current chapter is making me very very nervous.

Now to anime. I could recommend Yuri!!! on Ice, which has wonderful charm and deals with performance and aging and anxiety so well, but I won't. Instead, I'll recommend Haikyu!!, which is smart and so much fun. It follows the antics and matches of the boys volleyball club of Karasuno High School, particularly first year members Hinata and Kageyama. I like this series because there's no magic here, not really. Maybe some players' skill levels are a little impossible, but this is all about hard work and practice, about confidence, about victory and defeat and how you can never let one define you. Just play your game. It's free to watch over at Crunchyroll, region permitting (first person click here for a quick trial). The manga is also currently being published in English, for those looking to get into sports manga.

It feels strange to rec something called Assassination Classroom, but I will. It's about the class of rejects, Class 3-E at Kunugigaoka Junior High, and their mission to kill their teacher, the super dangerous and super powerful super-creature Koro-Sensei that just blasted the moon into a crescent. This show is like a weird punch to the heart. It's a murder fantasy comedy, yes, but the things it says about teaching, about learning and developing skill, about sharpening those skills and making sure you can make good use of all that you're good at, can get you hard and fast. The manga, again, is currently being published in English.

As for TV, I don't watch much anymore! Because it's been Christmas and New Year's, I've watched a lot of hockey recently, and a bunch of Food Network shows, but then I just end up hungry when I'm about to go to bed. I've been meaning to watch some things on Netflix, things like Stranger Things and The OA and the Sense 8 Christmas episode, but I just haven't yet. Soon.

Hopefully you enjoyed this, were interested in a couple of things. I'm not sure when I'll do another of these, maybe once a month when I'm struggling to get through a book or I have a sudden gap. And add in the comments something you've been enjoying recently, a new TV show or some new music that's come out. What are you interested in right now?

Me on Nimona

Title: Nimona
Author/Artist: Noelle Stevenson
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins imprint)

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

Nimona is about good and evil, friends and enemies, heroes and villains. This wonderful comic takes them all, mixes them up, and makes you wonder which side is the 'good' side. Who is really the 'villain' here?

Nimona is bold, unpredictable. She flies off and takes action without waiting for Ballister's instructions. Their relationship is like student and teacher. As the older villain, he guides her in the fine art of eviltry. Teaches her about plots and plans, drawing maps, biding their time, and striking when they're ready. As the plucky shapeshifter, Nimona teaches Ballister to care about people again. There are some dark days in his past, most of them involving hero of the people Ambrosius Goldenloin, and because of that time in his life he's given up on people.

The setting brings so much to the comic. Everything takes place in a medieval-style village full of peasants and knights, castles and swords, magic and dragons. Combined with this is a lot of modern science. Television, video calling, chemical warfare. Laser guns. There's a sense of whimsy here, that anything is possible. It's also interesting, that anything is possible in this world and people can still be at each other's throats. There's still complicated friendships and complicated politics in fantasy settings.

This comic is sweet, funny, tense, and emotional. It plays with long-running perceptions of good and evil, heroes and villains. The shades of grey that separate us, that we never see until we stop to explore what motivates people. A must-read for comic fans, for kids and adults. For everyone, basically.

(I purchased a copy of this book. Before publication, I read this when it was posted online as a webcomic.)

Me on My LGBTQ Webcomic Reading List Part 2

And we're back with part 2 of my list of webcomics to check out if you're looking for more LGBTQ in YA.

First is As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman. This is all about Charlie, a 13 year old black queer girl who finds herself in the worst place possible: an all-white Christian youth backpacking camp. Complete with gorgeous hand-drawn in coloured pencil artwork (because how often do you see that in a webcomic??), this is a rather honest and powerful story. It's all about Charlie coming up against some rather serious topics, topics like feminism, religion, race, sexuality, and gender. A definite definite must-read for the YA crowd.

O Human Star by Blue Delliquanti is a sci-fi family drama, according to Blue's FAQ. At the start we meet Alistair Sterling, who suddenly dies. But then wakes up 16 years in the future in a new and advanced robotic body. Confused beyond anything, he seeks out his old research partner Brendan Pinsky to see if he was involved in his 'resurrection' and discovers a few more surprising things. Like the robot that lives with Brendan. Like why she looks familiar. Secrets abound in this webcomic, as do the queer characters and the diversity. I love Blue's way of drawing people, they look so realistic, and the colour scheme, shades of blue for the present and shades of red for the past, is great. While Brendan and Al are adults in their 40's, there's another main character who isn't. It is aimed at mature readers, so maybe don't give this a read unless you're over 16 or 17.

Star Trip by Gisele is about Jas, a girl fed up with life on Earth, and Khut, a shapeshifting alien travelling the universe after making a deal with Jas to take her on an adventure. This is a bright, at times fun and at times serious story about life, reality, compassion, and companionship. The real mystery in this is Khut, what they are and where they're really from. But who knows if we'll ever find that out?

SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki is a huge mix of snarky characters, existential crises, performance art, and the daily inescapable grind that is high school. While this is coming out in print at the end of the month, you can read it online. Each comic page is like a snippit into the lives of the students, you never know what you're going to get.

Honourable mentions include the folklore and mythology heavy Skin Deep by Kory Bing, the super fun Lumberjanes (in the not a webcomic but still awesome category), and the gorgeously drawn Avialae by Lucid (note that while this comic seems to be in the early stages and nothing too graphic has happened yet, it is marked at mature/18+).

Remember that this is not a definitive list. These are just the webcomics I currently read. The internet is partially your friend in the search for more, as because it's the internet you might come across some rather explicit comics/art when that's not what you're looking for. A lot of the artists/creators I've suggested have their own webcomic rec lists on their websites. Also, maybe look into who's going to comic conventions like ECCC, MoCCA, TCAF, VanCAF, SPX, or your own local conventions.

At the moment, this is the end, but check back in the future because I might be posting a general webcomics to check out reading list. Happy reading! :)

Me on My LGBTQ Webcomic Reading List Part 1

So I was watching the latest Epic Reads Tea Time video about diverse reads and LGBTQ YA and thought, why limit it to prose or verse novels? What about graphic novels? Or webcomics? So I thought about the webcomics I currently read. Some of which are explicitly about LGBTQ characters.

Which is how I came up with this list. A lot of these have teen-aged characters, some are a bit more adult, but hopefully you'll all find something new to read. :)

First up is Eth's Skin by Sfé Monster. Set in a futuristic but decayed version of the coast off BC where raft cities are were the majority of people live (I once saw Sfé call it "barnacle-punk"), it's about a genderqueer fisher named Eth and the time they mistook a selkie skin for their own. Full of mermaids and monsters, masked land-dwellers called Beachwalkers, non-binary characters, and a pygmy seal named Goblin, this comic is sure to please those looking for something magical and different. Sfé is also the editor of the Beyond Anthology, if you're looking for a sci-fi/fantasy LGBTQ comic anthology to support.

Always Raining Here by Hazel and Bell is cute and fun but also has moments of seriousness. There's Carter, who's gay and is looking for a relationship (basically, he's looking to have sex), and there's Adrian, who's also gay but is also shy and more than a little heartsick. They're total opposites and full to the brim with teen angst. They're witty and snarky and at times complete jerks to each other, but their awkwardness makes them endearing. Well, to me, at least. Some might find it a little sappy or cheesy, but hopefully you'll see its good points, too.

Monster Pop! by Maya Kern is lots of cute fun and friendship. It's about two friends, George the cyclops and Franny the witch, and their shoujo manga-inspired slice of life adventures in an alternate Earth where monsters and magical creatures exist along with humans. There's also some serious talk, as some of the human characters are rather prejudiced towards the monster characters. There's a bit of a prequel before the main story of George and Franny heading off to university and the hijinks they get involved in. Straight characters, queer characters, non-binary characters. Everyone's there. There's currently a Kickstarter going on to publish the first volume, but there's only a few days left!

Princess Princess by Strangely Katie is all about princesses and heroes and flipping gender roles and awesome hair. Princess Amira is travelling one day, setting out to be a brave warrior, and comes across Princess Sadie stuck up a tower. Their following adventure contains grappling hooks, a horse that eats cookies, a chubby dragon, and smashing gender roles in order to be who they want to be, not who people expect them to be. So what if a princess wants to serve her country in a way that doesn't mean marrying some guy? So what if a princess isn't stick thin and is a coward? For any Toronto readers, Katie will be at TCAF with finished copies that have a new epilogue!

Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell gets an honourary mention because while it's not an LGBTQ webcomic, I still think it's a great read. It's one of those epic stories that feels like it'll never end but things are always changing. It's all about a girl named Antimony who's sent to school at Gunnerkrigg Court. The Court is a rather mysterious, secretive, complicated, and dangerous place, and Annie has no idea what she's walking into when she arrives. Or who is around her who knows the secrets of her past. Like those about her dead mother and her distant father. She has an awesome best friend in Kat, the smartest girl around. I will admit that it takes a while for the LGBTQ characters to finally make themselves known, for their stories to be told and their relationships to come out in the open, but I think it's worth the wait. If you don't, There's also a lot said about the wars between magic and science, about pride and greed, and about what it is to be the awesome trickster god Coyote.

So there's part 1. Hopefully you all enjoyed this. Check back on Monday for part 2!