Archive for the Western Comic/Comix Category


Western Comic: Chronin, Volume 1 (English)

May 19th, 2019

I’m really excited to be able to talk about a terrific comic today, Chronin, Volume 1 by Alison Wilgus. I’m obsessively promoting this work and, after having spoken to Alison at both TCAF and again this weekend at Queers & Comics I have convinced a few people to pick up a copy of this book. Now I hope I can convince all of you to do so.

Chronin, Volume 1 begins in Japan of the late 1800s, when a young woman approaches a ronin for help. He rejects her request, but nonetheless find himself accompanying Natsu on a trip whose purpose she will not tell him.

The story follows a team of young time-travelers from our near future, graduate students on trips to study history as it unfolds. Among them is Yoshida Mirai, a woman studying Japan’s Bakumatsu period, the years immediately after Japan was forced open to western trade by the arrival of Admiral Perry and his black ships, before the Meiji Restoration. Mirai visits Kyoto to study city life at that time. Of course, the team of young time-travelers are warned to not get involved, but as tensions between the Choushuu clan and and the Shinsengumi increase, Mirai finds herself trapped in time. I’m not going to spoil a single thing about the story, because I really hope you’ll all read it.

The background is well researched, which gives Wilgus’s story a chance to soar as the characters are introduced, developed and embedded within this complicated tale of social and political upheaval and personal conflict. Even more appealing, Wilgus’ art is incredibly good, with both backgrounds and people drawn more in the style of late 19th century Japanese drawings than in any current western style. Backgrounds are carefully drafted, but people are lightly drawn, which really gives the reader a way to sense Mirai’s feeling of being inserted in a world not her own. In this feeling, Chronin reminded me so strongly of another time-traveling Japanese history comic that was I was totally into almost 20 years ago, Amakusa 1637.

I apparently never reviewed it on Okazu, but if I was reading it now, I might. By longtime Flowers magazine creator Akaishi Michiyo, Amakusa 1637 followed a Japanese Catholic high school student council who were transported into the past….just before the 37,00 Japanese Christian civilians and rebelling soldiers were beheaded by the Tokugawa Shogunate, (which was partly the catalyst for the Shogunate to close Japan to the west and outlaw Christianity and Western influence in Japan, the very laws that Perry’s arrival overturned.) To make the story work, Akaishi ended up changing Japanese history completely, allowing Natsuki and her friends to create a whole new future. There are a lot of parallels between Amakusa 1637 and Chronin, none of which I will mention because they’d spoil the fuck out of the story and I really want you to read it! I know Alison is not familiar with this story, but it’s absolutely fascinating to me that she’s so neatly tying up the end of that story in a story that so closely parallels it!

I will tell you this, while Volume 1 is gay only by proxy, I was told by Alison this weekend that Volume 2 is exponentially more queer. Since Volume 2 is slated for a September release we won’t have too long to wait – get that preorder in. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9 Well thought out and executed, without being heavy-handed
Story – 9 Checked a lot of my boxes for historical fiction
Characters – 8 Kuji’s a dipshit, but I like everyone else
Service – 3 Very restrained, but necessary
Yuri – 0 so far, but I’ve got my eyes on the prize

Overall – 9

Even aside from any future gayness, this story includes cross-dressing and fucking around with history, as well as solid artistic chops. Chronin is an excellent read.

 





LGBTQ Comic: Summit Volume 1, The Long Way Home (English)

March 24th, 2019

Lion Forge Comics came out of the gate in 2011 at full speed. With leadership that loved comics and embraced and supported diverse creators, stories and audience, and very talented folks working for them at every level, they have it all going on in the right direction.

I had been told to keep my eye out for this particular book, and now that it has been collected in a graphic novel, I thought it time to buckle down and give it a good look.

Summit, Vol.1: The Long Way Home follows the story of Valerie “Val” Resnick-Baker, the only surviving member of a space mission to deflect an asteroid hurtling towards Earth, a mission which failed horribly. Also killed in the subsequent impact was Val’s girlfriend Kay. A year after the event, Val is not okay, even if Earth is slowly recovering, thanks to Lorena Payan, visionary CEO of Foresight Industries.

The story is told in non-linear segments, tracking back and forth from before the “event” to the present in which Val learns the whole truth about what happened and explores the powers the event left her with. She rediscovers old allies, makes new friends and finds out who not trust.

Val is a woman who was pair-bonded with another woman. There’s no reason to expect that her next lover, should she take one, will not be a woman. Val is a lesbian lead character and then the story happens. This is a refreshing take on the whole issue. Her sexuality is not a “thing. It’s not a plot complication or a climactic reveal, it’s mere a fact of her existence.

That her lover is dead is such an overplayed plot point that I almost feel a little bad for writer Amy Chu. I guessed she was straight, or she might have not chosen this really threadbare backstory to begin with. But I’ll give her and the rest of the team the benefit of the doubt that the story will involve some character development. Even Kate Delafield eventually moved on and found herself in love with someone new. Took ten years and a couple of novels, but it did happen.

The characters here are strong, the world of Summit is set loosely based around Foresight Industries’ Mexico City Headquarters. Summit is a solid work. The art by Jan Duursema and lettering and coloring are all exactly what one wants from a western-style comic book. The plot is not complicated (if anything it’s a tad predictable,), which makes Volume 1 a good place to begin from, and sets up what I hope will be a solid superhero narrative going forward.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7, except for Fiona, who deserves an extra point or two
Service – 0
LGBTQ – 4 There’s no squeamishness, it remains to be seen if it’s relevant to Val’s future as it is to her past

Overall – 7

The cast of and staff working on the series look like the world we live in, which gives me hope that there is someone at Lion Forge who is queer as well and can keep this series from falling into all the plotholes of lesbian literature. If Val starts drinking, I’m going to write a cautionary letter, that’s all I’m sayin’.





Jook Joint Comic, #1 (English)

October 17th, 2018

The one thing I still love best about cons is the chance to walk through the artist alley and discover original works, speak with artists, and get to see the stuff you might not find in the Dealer’s Room. At NYCC this year, I was pleased as punch to get my hands on Jook Joint, #1, the new venture by Bingo Love‘s Tee Franklin with Alitha Martinez, Shari Chankhamma, Taylor Esposito and Mike Hawthorne.

The title comes from an American black southeastern colloquialism, Jook, (aka Juke) Joint, a honkytonk that served the black population. Think “Jukebox.” A Jook Joint is a place for people to escape their lives, grab a drink, some companionship and relax. THIS Jook Joint is also a place where women can get revenge on those who assault them., among other things.

The book comes with a trigger warning for sexual and domestic abuse, and violence, it also comes with a raft of hotline numbers. (See the bottom of this post for those numbers, if you need, there are people who can help you. Call them.) Because I felt this book’s violence to be entirely therapeutic, it didn’t strike me as violent at all. Nonetheless, it is violent.

In Jook Joint #1, we meet a lineup of women who need shelter from men and the witches who protect them, all centered around Mahalia, who uses her magic to offer the sick and frightened protection and, if they desire, vengeance for the abuse.

There is a touch of lesbian sex and my gut tells me Mahalia loves both the women and the men who treat her with respect. Hopefully we’ll see some of that in upcoming issues.

This was such a great comic, honestly. It felt like a throwback to the horror comics of my youth in which the grotesque was eclipsed by the everyday horrors of real life, for which revenge would be no more than a bandaid. Slasher horror and psychological horror wrapped up in some beautiful art. So good.

#1 ends with the story of Heloise, the victim of domestic violence, but now that her husband is turning his wrath on their daughter, she’s had enough. Will she go through with Mahalia’s spell? Tune into Jook Joint #2 to find out! You know I will. These are all available in print and on Comixology on Kindle.

Ratings:
Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 9 Nakedness, but for me the service is the vengeance
Lesbian – 5 Only a few panels in the beginning, but pretty blunt

Overall – 9

Some excellent American horror comics right here. It felt good.

Call, if you need help:

National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-27-8255





Ghost in the Shell: Global Neural Network Anthology (English)

October 11th, 2018

This past weekend at NYCC I had the very sincere pleasure of sitting in on the Ghost in the Shell: Global Neural Network Anthology panel featuring Alex de Campi, David Lopez, Genevieve Valentine, Brendan Fletcher and editor Alejandro Arbona, Moderated by Kodansha USA’s Ben Applegate, it was an hour-long celebration of the joy of being able to contribute to the iconic Ghost in the Shell canon.

Immediately after the panel, I went and bought the book at the Kodansha booth – it sounded that good. And, having read it, I can say with all honestly that it is that good. 

Ghost in the Shell: Global Neural Network is not an attempt to copy the original Ghost in the Shell manga. Only one entry has art that is reminiscent of Shirow’s work, while the other stories consciously reach for a out-of Japan look. Giannis Milonogiannis offers a consciously manga-like effort, with many notable nods to the original, including chibi characters  (as de Campi pointed out in the panel.) Lopez focuses on China for a more realistic look;  Brent Schoonover went full-on American comics for Valentine’s moving look at the remnants of The United States in the GitS universe (a story in which Section 9 never appears, but is nonetheless brilliant.) And LRNZ’s art is recognizably European for the final story that, in many ways, is one of the most profoundly Shirow-esque stories of the post-original-manga variations, right up there with Ghost in the Shell: Innocence.

None of the stories have the hyper densely crammed word balloons of the original and I frankly do not believe we in the west will ever truly be able to capture that until GitS is transformed into a neural network-shared media stream. Then we will understand Shirow’s point, I think.

Aside from that, I felt that every story in the anthology really grabbed onto one or more aspects of the original and ran with it. Issues of access to information, healthcare, safety; the meaning of identity in a world were you can be  – and are – multiple people; the meaning of borders, of ageing, of family all were highlighted in extremely smart ways. Every story took these concepts and delved into them for the rest of the world, people outside Section 9 and outside the borders of Japan.

There were no stories I didn’t like, although, of course, your mileage may vary. But the thing I found the most refreshing was that the members of Section 9 sounded like the people I remembered from the manga. Snarky-funny, loyal to each other, but always joking, picking on one another, poking at each other like siblings. That was the thing I loved best about Section 9 and it was fully represented here. 

The final story, “Star Gardens” by Brendan Fletcher and LRNZ focuses deeply on identity – the idea that Kusanagi is all the personas she has shown us over the decades, not one or another but all of them at once – and this really rang true for me especially in the light of Innocence, when Kusanagi no longer exists as a physical entity. This story also has a magnificent panel where we see the many fragments of Kusanagi from the movie, the manga, the TV series, the OVA, even the recent live-action movie, simultaneously. It was a fantastic image, which spoke volumes about the range of the canon and how we each have our own idea of the “real” Kusanagi. This story also contains an homage to the lesbian sex scene of the original manga, but with more meaning and emotion contained in those few panels that the original, where it was meant to be gratuitous.

Every story had strengths and weaknesses and, for any fan of the larger body of Ghost in the Shell I think this must be considered a meaningful addition to the canon, as Shirow has overseen and approved all of it. 

Ratings:

Art – 9 Variable, but I say damned good.
Stories – 9 Also damned good.
Characters – 10  Listening to everyone bust Batou’s chops made me so happy.
Service – 4 Some, but not half of Shiro’s ass fetish.
Yuri – 3 There’s a thing, yes.

Overall – 9

If you only like one version or another of Major Motoko Kusanagi, it might miss you, but if what draws you to Ghost in the Shell is the larger questions of identity and access, memory and reality and perception, it’s a must-read. 





LGBTQ Comic: Legend of Korra: Turf Wars, Part 3

September 16th, 2018

The final volume of Legend of Korra: Turf Wars has dropped! 

In Part 1 and Part 2, Korra and Asami were rudely interrupted on their vacation in the spirit world by the intrusion of a greedy real estate developer on the spirits’ domain, a humanitarian aid crisis being mishandled  by the Republic City government and a violent gang turf war. All of which had it been written in 2014, might have seemed absurd happening all at once but, in 2018, feels a bit on the nose.

Because this is a 3-part American YA comic that was meant to be a sequel to a popular cartoon, the plots and any and all emotional complications were wrapped up relatively quickly and neatly. Any discomfort family and friends had with the idea of Korra and Asami as partners is wiped away in a panel or two per complication, long traditions of homophobia are declared “need to be changed.” The greedy real estate developer – after having been saved more than once by Korra – comes around to the only actual sensible idea. Asami asserts her corporate power, Zhu Li takes over the Republic City government (and I weep with joy at the idea of a world in which police, military, corporate and political power are all held by women with a sense of responsibility, wrested from the grasping hands of selfish and greedy men.)

Art is once again handled beautifully by Irene Koh, who has reported on her Tumblr that a sequel series is in the works, although she won’t be working on it.

It would all be perfect, except for one nagging thing. Several times this volume Korra and Asami agree that they “should talk.” I understand that thin page count means that neither plot nor development get the time they deserve in this comic, but the thing that annoys me most is that they never have that talk. A panel or two where they agree that they work better as a team isn’t really the talk they need, and while I deeply appreciate that the final pages are focused on their love for one another, I really wish we had seen them have that talk. ^_^; On the one hand, I think it’s that I’m just more used to manga, where longer page counts means that talk takes two chapters, and on the other, I’m old and that talk is really an important tool in terms of healthy relationships. ^_^

On a lot of levels, though, I’m not unhappy that we get the end we wanted from the cartoon here in the comic, with Sato Asami and Avatar Korra saying “I love you” to one another, as they celebrate the victory of peace and progress in the city they love. There’s a bunch of young readers out there, for whom this will be a life-changing comic.

Ratings: 

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 0
Yuri – 10

Overall – A very solid 9

Thank you very, very much to Okazu Superhero Eric P. for his sponsorship of this series! 

If we do indeed get a sequel, I’ll be really interested to read it. (And I look forward to whatever Koh has planned, as well. She’s definitely someone to follow.)

What did you think? Let me know in the comments!