Persia Blues: Love and War Strikes the Right Chord

Today (December 1, 2015) Persia Blues: Love and War, comes out. It is the second of a three volume series, by Dora Naraghi and Brent Bowman.

The Persia Blues series is the story of a strong-willed young Iranian woman, Minoo Shirazi. Well, actually, it is two stories.

In one, Minoo is a modern, post-Revolution woman whose father has arranged for her to attend graduate school in the US. In the other, she is an adventurer in ancient Persia on a quest to save Persepolis from the Zoroastrian destructive spirit, Ahriman.

Brent Bowman uses a stark black ink line drawing to depict the modern world. He brings his ancient world to life through what looks to be at first glance, detailed pencil shading.

The two worlds also differ in their story telling techniques. The ancient world moves forward chronologically; Minoo has just found her long-lost mother, while the modern world uses flashbacks to reveal her struggle with losing her mother to cancer.

In either world, she is caught between her dreams and the expectations of her family and society as one Minoo copes with feelings of helplessness; the other, with deja vu.

Rapid City: Objects at Rest is Kinetic

I met Rapid City: Objects at Rest writer Josh Dahl at Northeast Comic Con last June where I interviewed him about his current project.

This four-issue compilation is a superhero origin story; not so much about how Kinetic got his powers, but how he chose his name and decided to become a full-time superhero. He is surrounded by fellow superheros, a new friend discovering his own superpower, a personal gadget maker, and a hit man out to kill one of them.

Heavy black ink on white gives the artwork a dark look and feel appropriate to the story. Artist Anand Kaviraj‘s minimal detailing, especially in the faces, still conveys expression without being over exaggerated.

Beyond character introductions, Rapid City: Objects at Rest has a clear message of finding one’s identity and being true to one’s self. It is also about hard choices: deciding what really matters, making that a priority, and then letting go of what isn’t.

Rapid City: Objects at Rest is a well-constructed origin story that leaves plenty of unanswered questions for future story arcs.

Be sure to watch my interview with Josh Dahl in which he discusses his latest project, Rapid City: Below Zero.

Stellar Novo

Novo is a five volume series by Michael S. Bracco that contains the complete 6-part story of Novo, the only one of his species in the entire universe.

Novo is the hybrid of two warring races who ultimately wipe out each other. Each book in the series puts Novo in a new situation where he tries to prevent what happened on his planet from happening on others. He sees greed and pride threaten one civilization after another as he journeys to find meaning for his life.

The illustrations are heavy black ink with line shading that can get muddy at times; however, Michael Bracco’s artwork transport the reader through these marvelous alien worlds.

As for bonus material, at the end of book 4, artist Lauren Monardo takes a few pages to tell what happens to Snurl, a critter Novo befriends in part 1, but leaves behind when he begins his inter-planetary journey.

Exploring an ethical issue (equality) wrapped in a philosophical dilemma — finding one’s destiny when manipulative forces set out to make one fail — Novo has all the elements of good sci-fi.

Watch the Interview with Michael S. Bracco I did at ConnectiCon 2015.

A Winning Combo of Runners

I discovered this series at Connecticon 2015. While these are personal preferences, I really like the story and absolutely love Sean Wang’s crisp illustration style. Bad Goods is in black and white; The Big Snow Job is in color. The color enhances the scenes, but I didn’t feel anything was lost in the black and white.

Be sure to watch my interview with Sean Wang.

Runners recounts the adventures of a crew of intergalactic smugglers. Bad Goods introduces Roka Nostaco and his alien crew. When a mission goes bad, they stumble upon a mystery girl who joins them. In The Big Snow Job, a seemingly trivial job turns out to be more than they bargained for. While each 140+ page book contains a complete story, they both conclude with a clue as to the mystery girl’s origin.

Sean Wang creates crisp visuals that tell the tale with dialogue that rounds it out for a complete story. He has a good balance between action-packed sequences, character interactions, and giving readers a moment to catch their breaths. A good example of this is a peaceful establishing shot series. Turn the page and, BOOM! Characters come crashing through a window. It’s like a TV show in print.

If you like space adventures featuring roguish characters and cavalier humor, Runners: Bad Goods and The Big Snow Job are for you. The only disappointment is that they end.

Another Vision of Clockwork Angels

After several false starts, the long anticipated graphic novel version of Clockwork Angels finally came out over the summer. You may recall my review of the illustrated novel last February.
Like the aforementioned, it is written by Kevin J. Anderson, from the story and lyrics by Neil Peart, but illustrated by Nick Robles.

Young Owen Hardy has grown up in a idyllic world, so long as one accepts one’s place in that world. The problem is, Owen dreams of more, leading him into the hands of the Anarchist and the Watchmaker.

Despite squeezing a 315-page novel into a 132-page graphic novel, I found the latter followed the former fairly well. This may have something to do with the fact that Mr. Anderson has written several comic book scripts. When tasked to do so with his novel, he knew how to keep the story intact as he boiled it down to plot points.

That said, the two things I loved most about the novel, its Candide-esque “all is for the best as misfortune abounds” and steampunk feel, were missing.

Nick Robles’ illustrations tell the story as much as the narration and dialogue do. As someone familiar with the story, I was able to ‘read’ the graphic novel via the pictures alone.

Bonus material includes the original artwork by Hugh Symes, allowing the reader to compare Robles and Symes’ interpretation of Peart’s vision.

The graphic novel version of Clockwork Angels comes complete with Rush lyrics and other references to the band’s works.

Indulge in Oblivion Suite

If you saw the inaugural episode of A. Book’s Review,
you will remember that I reviewed Tony McMillen‘s debut novel Nefarious Twit. Over the summer, his debut graphic novel, illustrated by Catalina Rufin, came out.

Not just the title of the latest album by progressive rock group Figgy Pudding, Oblivion Suite is the realm from which ideas come. As founding member Vic Bixby slips into a drug overdose induced coma, the three remaining band members have to face the meaning of their lyrics in order to navigate through that ‘world of ideas’ to save Vic. A swift kick in the pants to remind these bickering musicians with diverging creative directions that their success depends on them working together.

The first thing that strikes the reader is the similarity between the fictitious Vic Bixby and the real-life Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd. It therefore becomes no surprise that Pink Floyd lyrics are sprinkled throughout this graphic novel.

Although word dense–in some places the dialogue gets so packed in the print gets rather small–Ms. Rufin’s black and white with gray wash illustrations provide a space for that dialogue to play. There is little variation in letter-weight or size to suggest tone, which I didn’t really notice, since the characters’ expressions conveyed their emotions well.

Delving into just where creativity comes from, Oblivion Suite substitutes one consciousness for another with a clever twist.

Fires Above Hyperion Burn Brightly

Described as “Imagine if Sex in the City were written by a gay Charlie Brown…” Fires Above Hyperion by Patrick Atangan is a droll, first-person narrative comprised of a series of short tales based on the author’s past relationships.

The title refers to an L.A. brush fire north of Hyperion Boulevard, a sort of retrospective on 20 years of dating: one disaster after another.

It all starts in high school (when he is still closeted) escorting a female friend to the junior prom, with all the drama and expense. Over the years he: falls for the perfect guy, only to have said guy’s boyfriend walk in on them; wants to remain friends with an ex; tries to impress a guy who turns out to be straight; gets dumped and cheated on, all the while he contemplates why none of these relationships ever work out.

The stylized artwork and tertiary colors have a mid-century feel, which I found quite refreshing. One of my favorite techniques is Patrick’s use of shading to indicate a character is speaking, yet no mouth is depicted.

Although Fires Above Hyperion is a commentary on the intricacies of the gay dating scene, readers of any orientation will commiserate with and chuckle at its “why does this always happen to me?” take on relationships.

Alone with a Really Good Story

Continuing with Indie Month, I have another little gem I picked up at RIPExpo. It’s hard to believe this talented storyteller is still a student.

A self-published collection of an on-going web comic, Alone, by Olivia Stephens, started as a class project, but has since taken on a life of its own.

While her influences include manga and anime, Olivia has a style of her own. Furthermore, her diverse world is a refreshing change from the typical love story.

Jack, a Latino widower, and Sarah, a single woman of color, seek to build a relationship together, but things from their past have a way of interfering.

Each “chapter” examines a point in their lives — some before, most after they meet — with more chapters available on-line.

My favorite chapter is “Listen” in which Sarah shares her music with Jack for the first time. There are so many things right with how this moment of trust is depicted and how the music is shown.

As this project is still a work in progress, there is a bit of jumping around the timeline, although I trust (when she has created more) Ms. Stephens will compile a volume that intersperses the back-story chapters just about the time the reader wonders what happened.

Still only a student, Olivia Stephens looks to have a promising career ahead. Alone is worth checking out.

Read Alone or check out Olivia Stephens’ portfolio.

In Praise of Being a Tomboy

I discovered Tomboy at RIPE 2015. Actually, to be more precise, my con/expo travelling companion, Julia, discovered it, remarking it was really good.

Tomboy, an autobiographical comic written and illustrated by Liz Prince, recounts what it was like growing up a Tomboy.

The graphic format gives the story a life that would be lost in prose. Liz’s cartoony illustrations are appropriate for the humorous narrative style, but there is nothing childish about either.

The message is an important one: what is the trade off between fitting in and being true to one’s self. Fortunately for Liz, she has a supportive mother, unlike many outcast kids whose parents tell them to “try and fit in.”

Growing up at a time when gender was determined by the delivery room doctor, Liz refuses to act like a girl. She hates dresses, likes playing Ghostbusters and being a Jedi.

While her gender is in question, her sexuality is not: she likes boys. Watching her former tomboy friends get “girly” and get the boys, she worries no boy would ever want her.

Still, Liz feels she wasn’t supposed to be a girl — until a mentor asks her why. She then realizes being gender non-conforming does not make her any less of a woman.

An amusing memoir, Tomboy will ring true not only for anyone who has endured similar torment, but for everyone who has ever questioned what it means to be “me.”

Tomboy is available at Liz Prince’s website: http://lizprincepower.com/store.

Big Lessons from Small Town Americus

I met and interviewed MK Reed at RIPE 2015. As I recall, she said it only took her a few months to write, but it took Jonathan Hill 2-3 years to illustrate it.

Americus could be any small town and Neil Barton could be any eighth-grader who avidly reads a popular fantasy series. But the anguish of being a teenager starting high school is made worse when his best friend is shipped off to military school and a group of parents wants that popular fantasy series, The Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde, banned from the public library. MK Reed shows a little escapism can be a big help when it comes to finding the strength to do the right thing.

On the surface, Americus is a criticism of censorship and self-righteous ignorance: those leading the charge haven’t even read the books. Yet, on a deeper level, it is about broadening ones horizons and by doing so, standing up to bullies, who can come in all shapes, sizes, and ages.

Interspersed throughout the Americus are excerpts from The Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde. While the protagonists are complete opposites, Apathea’s struggle is not so different from Neil’s. Her story offers him words of encouragement as he battles his own ‘dragons.’

Jonathan Hill uses different drawing techniques for the two stories: Neil’s life is line drawing, while Apathea’s is grayscale. Both styles clearly convey their respective stories.

Not just for teens, Americus has a message for everyone.

Published by First Second Press.