Archive for the Western Comic/Comix Category


Marvel Voices #1: Pride

June 28th, 2021

The week after DC announced their Pride anthology this year, Marvel jumped in to say that they would be launching their new “Voices” series with a pride issue as well! My feelings about this were ambivalent. I will remind you that for my first two decades of life I was a hard-core Marvel fan. I have recently sold all the comics that no longer sparked joy, but I retain two long boxes with my whole Defenders run and my Thor and key issues that I have loved for years. I wanted so much to love this issue, and I knew I would not. Why? Because Marvel feels and sounds and produces and creates like a company that is putting out stories that aren’t theirs and so, they kind of don’t get how this works, really.

Marvel definitely got top notch talent to write and draw this issue, so much love to the creators – they really put their heart into the work. Voices #1: Pride had some really terrific art, especially. But….

I know what it is…but who is it for?

Honestly, I was hoping to read a bunch of cool stories about queer characters  – whether I knew them or not  and by doing so, get to meet them. Instead I found myself neck deep in “explaining how it feels to be not-straight/cis 101” and “performative teen trauma 102” and “woops, this is all the intro this character’s gonna get.”

You shouldn’t need wikipedia open to enjoy a 8 page comic.

The layout is all wrong. The book begins with factoids about every one of Marvel’s breathrough first “whatever” and later, mid-book, actual issues are cited, without them being referenced in the initial discussion….in fact, there’s no continuity from the one to the other, which would have been a nice touch. “XYZ happened! Whoooo us!!!!” and no hint of “For where it happened, look on on page 18.”

My favorite story is heavily laced with irony for me, as I historically absolutely do not like the X-Men franchise on account of working at a comic shop in the mid 80s and having to tell the same guys every single week on Thursday, “No, I don’t read X-Men” as they stood there for hourssssssss trying to convince me to read X-Me on the busiest day of the week.  X-Men fans in the 1980s came in 2 types – one of them was cute little fae, looking for something gayishishish to hang on to and the other kind asked me every single Thursday if I read X-Men.

Anyway, I really liked the X-Men/famous detective fanfic crossover “Grey Ladies”by Tini Howard & Samantha Dodge with Brittany Peers on colors. ^_^

And, in the end, that was why the book did not uplift me. It was all short scene-fanfic. Not a fully developed story in the lot. I know it was a lot to ask, but I would have paid twice as much for one whole story.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Outstanding in places
Story – Okay for what they were, and you kind of have to know the characters and their circumstances for it to work.
Queer – Yes, but yeah, as a comic nerd I’m not comfortable with all my heroes being cool club scene – kiss randos in the post-HIV, post-pandemic, post-Pulse, post I’m a fucking old grumpy nerd wolrd.
Service – A wholly reasonable amount of cheese and beefcake and I have no complaints, honestly.

Overall – 6 It could have been so much more. But attaboy Marvel, this is exactly the kind of self-congratulatory thing I expected. Adequately done.

If you feel that this deserves a deeper, much more abrasive dive, check out this fabulous Twitter thread in which Zoe does it better than I could ever.

…and I want to be very clear about this…Bobby Drake never “came out.” He was outed and I am still extremely pissed off about the choice by Marvel. It was not admirable.

Lastly, I bought the America Chavez cover….she’s not in the fucking book. SMDHaM





Alter Ego by Ana C. Sánchez

March 17th, 2021

Noel is in love with her best friend, Elena. Or is she? She’s jealous when Elena spends time withe her boyfriend and now she’s going to have a new rival for Elena’s attention, June. Frustrated and feeling alone, Noel blurts out her feelings to a complete stranger. When Elena finally introduces her to June…you guessed it, she was the complete stranger.

Noel tries to keep her feelings about Elena front and center, and put distance between herself and this older woman, but “circumstances” keep bringing them together. The more about June she learns, the harder it is to keep distance between them. Noel struggles with conflicting feelings, until she’s forced to admit the truth.

There are a lot of things to like about Alter Ego, Ana C. Sánchez‘s manga-inspired comic from Tokyopop’s LOVE x LOVE imprint. I especially liked Elena, as we quickly realize she is neither clueless…nor without agency. June is an interesting character, as well. We’re told she’s older and indeed, her perspective does seem more mature than Noel’s in some ways, but not in others.

The weakest element of the book is Noel herself. Her behavior is not just immature, it’s often selfish, manipulative and, IMHO, quite toxic. I frequently sent mental waves to both Elena and June to tell her to shape the fuck up or get out of their lives. I will give Sánchez credit – she makes passive-aggressive behavior exactly as unpleasant as it actually is and doesn’t pretend it’s “cute.” I was also a little surprised that there is no mention of queer identity in this comic, but it wasn’t a point against, as clearly this is meant to be read as a “Yuri manga.”

The art is solid – it suffered, I think, when the artist was attempting to draw “a manga” rather than just draw her story, but this improves as the story continues. Overall, this is a fine one-volume story, that has a lot of the strengths and weaknesses of one-volume stories. If you’re looking for a one-shot Yuri romance that won’t ask too much of you but also won’t break any new ground, Alter Ego by Ana C. Sánchez is available from Tokyopop in Print and Digital in English and Planeta Cómic in Spanish right now.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – Noel was a 5, everyone else a 7
Service – 2ish?
Yuri – 7

Overall – a solid 7

Thank you very kindly to Tokyopop for the  review copy!

 





Before You Go, by Denise Schroeder from Chromatic Press

December 21st, 2020

In 2012, Sparkler Monthly had a bold vision – it was going to be the jousei manga and comic magazine we needed. For years, it was. In print and online, Sparkler Monthly incubated new creators whose work would be focused towards female readers. They paid creators and put out a wide variety of interesting work. Among the stories in their pages was Denise Schroeder’s Before You Go, a girl-meets-girl Yuri story. You can still read this comic for free online, just click the link.

As part of a wrap-up Kickstarter campaign, Chromatic Press put out a collected edition of Before You Go. I wanted to to take a moment to look at this collected volume, to memorialize Sparkler Monthly and thank everyone on the team at Chromatic Press for being ahead of their time.

Sadie and Robin meet one rainy day, waiting for the train. They see each other from time to time, get to know one another and end up going out. They move in together, have communication problems and resolve them. They live happily ever after,

In the final chapter, in which Robin introduces Sadie to her parents, we can see the kernel of less happy, more fraught story that was set aside for the much more light-hearted and happy one we end with…I thank editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl for suggesting the baggage be shed, before we were burdened with it. The little black hole of Robin’s near hysteria at Sadie meeting her parents becomes an ignorable personality trait, rather than a dismal plot complication. So may years have passed since Yuri came to our shores and a story about self-loathing and parental disapproval might be real…but it’s a drag and what place does it really even have other than self-flagellation in our entertainment? Yes, of course, some people may want to see their experiences and their trauma represented, but I could also argue that there is a place for that and a light-hearted Yuri romance might not be that place. Surely not every queer romance needs to wallow in the old toxicity or stereotypes? (I say this, knowing full well that I’ll be writing a review shortly about this very topic. ^_^)

Schroeder’s art visibly improves as the story goes on, which is really quite charming. Sadie and Robin at the end truly are not the same people they were at the beginning of the story. ^_^ The creator has some nice insight to her artistic choices in the back of this volume.

When I spoke with Denise Schroeder many years ago, she said at the time that she wrote this because she hadn’t seen anyone else do it. Of course, here at Okazu, we had already at that point, reviewed many stories like it, but there were fewer in English. Now of course, I can barely keep up with all the Yuri coming out of Japan, much less English…and we’ve got sub-genres(!). Even so, there’s something admirable in Schroeder’s efforts in bringing together a female couple in an English-language magazine that had a large audience of BL fans, and her shifting the story away from a predictable dramatic pathway to a much appreciated one of acceptance and love.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – 9

Overall – 8

Thank you to all the folks at Chromatic Press for making this volume reality. Your work was always something I looked forward to. ^+^





Always Human by Ari North

June 29th, 2020

Some years back, I received an email about a comic on Webtoons that I might find interesting. And indeed, when I had a chance to check out Always Human, by Ari North, I did indeed find it interesting. I originally reviewed the webcomic in 2017.

Always Human is about Sunati and Austen, two young women who meet, fall in love and have to make the kinds of decisions all young people developing their careers and lives have to make. In a future where people’s appearance can be changed with “mods,” Austen is unable to use mods, and is unwilling to be seen as special or have her condition seen as the sum of who she is. This is a story that folks with many kinds of conditions can relate to.

Both Austen and Sunati have obstacles to overcome in their own lives, and in their relationship, but we’re rooting for them all the way. Set in a future when society does not appear to be one of those obstacles, the story lets us settle in and just enjoy the human aspect.

What really captures the reader instantly is the vibrant color palette North uses, and how the color is more than just background or tone. Tied into Sunati’s look, the color scheme adds as much depth of meaning to scenes as the words and shapes used do….something we’re used to seeing in fine art, not comic art.

When I heard it was to be made into a book, I wondered how it was going to look, since Webtoons is so specifically designed for phone consumption, with vertical format. I’m ecstatic to tell you that here in 2020, Always Human has been made into an absolutely magnificent book. North has reworked the layout completely, so the reader can be transported wholly into the story without having to adjust for the vertical layout on the print page. I love the extra touch of the hardcover book being the cover design for the webcomic underneath the dust jacket. Every detail is so well thought out.

I can only imagine how arduous a process reworking the layout must have been, so my kudos to artist North, editor Rachel Gluckstern, Rob Wall on layout  and all the folks at Little Bee, who made this a beautiful, book, a seamless reading experience and a charming story.

I picked up the hardcover and will be very glad to have this visually rich book on my shelves.

Ratings:

Art – 10
Characters – 10
Story – 10
LGBTQ – 10
Service -1 on principle only

Overall – 10

Always Human is a radiant story of love, of life and of a hopeful future.





The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire, Part Three

March 6th, 2020

Imagine my surprise this morning when I settled in to work and found that Nickelodeon was running a Legend of Korra marathon. So as I worked, I watched the story of Avatar Korra and her friends and allies work to stop Kuvira and the Earth Empire from invading Republic City. Imagine my annoyance when the Nick marathon cut off four episodes from the end of the arc. Who does that?! So I pulled up LoK on Prime, because duh.

All of this is to say, I felt that this was a sign, that the time was perfect to review The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire, Part Three.  You may recall, from Part One and Part Two that the Earth Empire is once again at the center of chaos, as General Guan has brainwashed pretty much everyone to vote for him in what was to have been the first open democratic election after King Wu stepped down.  To stop Guan, Korra enlists the help of Kuvira herself.

In Part Three, Kuvira is on our side. She has a short, bitter reunion with Baatar who, ultimately, also offers his assistance. Together they figure out how to break Asami free from Guan’s brainwashing. But Kuvira escapes and head off to face down Guan herself. When the Avatar catches up, Kuvira surrenders and she and Guan are put on trial. Kuvira pleads guilty and is miraculously remanded to the custody of her family. (I wish this arc had been animated, because Kuvira looks throughout as if she would sound…younger, I guess, less burdened, maybe…and I’d like the opportunity to hear Zelda Williams voice her again.)

My only complaint with this book is the same as all the others in this series – everything feels very rushed, with any given “episode” handled in about 4 pages. It makes for a fast read, but a thin one. Someone please write this as a Sayaka-style 3-part novel series, so we get all of Asami’s, Korra’s and Kuvira’s perspectives and internal dialogue. ^_^ On the other hand, the pace means we’re not dragging through expository scenes.

Michelle Wong’s art in this final volume was very good. There’s a moment at the very end where Asami takes the opportunity to address Kuvira about her father’s death (a half chapter in my internal novel…2 panels here) that were worth the price of admission for me, as Asami lets her residual anger and resentment go.

As for Korra and Asami, they only get to be together for half to book, as Asami spends the first half brainwashed. But when they are reunited, they get a prelude to a romantic interlude, when they are interrupted. Nonetheless, the story is neither awkward nor coy about their relationship in that moment or any other.

This series and Turf Wars were very solid sequels to the animated series. I’m happy to have had them and certainly would be pleased if any more were announced.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 0 Well, they almost get a bed scene…
Yuri – 10 Same

Overall – 9

I am once again reminded that had I had this comic at 9 years old, my life might have been very different indeed. ^_^ Here’s to is making a difference for the 9 year olds out there who need it!

Thank you so very, very much to Okazu Superhero Eric P. for his sponsorship of today’s review and his ongoing support. If you’d like to help support Okazu, please consider subscribing on Patreon! $5/month will get you access to sneak peeks at content from the Big Book o’Yuri!

Now I’m going to go rewatch the final two episodes of the cartoon!