83.5 - Graphic Novels
As the title suggests, today we bring to you a few graphic novel recommendations. Becca recommends Monstress, Kaptara, and The Old Guard. Corinne recommends Dancing After TEN, Cosmoknights, and Pretending is Lying. We also mention a few other graphic novels and comics that got us into the genre, and talk about why we like graphic novels. As always, find all the books mentioned in the episode on our website.
Recommended titles:
Monstress by Marjorie Liu
Kaptara by Chip Zdarsky
The Old Guard by Greg Rucka
Dancing After TEN by Vivian Chong and Georgia Webber
Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer (can be read online here)
Pretending is Lying by Dominique Goblet
Our recommendations can be purchased here.
Next week we'll be discussing The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones.
More Recommendations That Corinne Promised:
I Know You Rider by Leslie Stein
Opening with a scene of the author at an abortion clinic, this is a quiet and thoughtful look into the decision behind choosing to terminate a pregnancy and grappling with the tensions of figuring out if reproduction has a place in your life at all.
Apsara Engine by Bishakh Kumar Sohm
An interesting collection of graphic short stories that often focus on intimate relationships and the weirdness that often interrupts them. I found a couple especially interesting as the text on the page did not describe what the illustrations were showing creating a third meaning when you read them, text and image, together. Ultimately an interesting collection of very gentle explorations of sex, gender, and human connection with strange fantastical twists.
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
This may be coded for YA and have been given honors by some awards for books for young people (like the Caldecott), but Mariko Tamaki’s writing and emotional work really transcends age groups. I think that while this is the story about a young girl, it’s wholly appropriate for both young readers and adults - and not even in that “It’s ok! to read The Hunger Games in your forties” kind of way. As an adult, it felt nostalgic in a sort of heartbreaking way to read about one girl’s summer in that liminal space between childhood and playing-at-grown adolescence. I imagine as a young person the same book would read as very relatable. Like with their other graphic novel, Skim (also highly recommended by me), Tamaki touches something so raw that I am completely transported back to those feelings. I really don’t think you can go wrong with her work. The story is paired here with incredible, sometimes photographic, almost cinematic illustrations by Jillian Tamaki. It’s really beautiful.
Umma’s Table by Yeon-Sik Hong
For a memoir in which all the characters are drawn to as human-like cats, this graphic novel about family, food, end of life care, and grief was so much more than I had anticipated. The artwork is sometimes spare, but also often incredibly detailed. It mixes a cartoonish style at times and moments of intense emotion in this way that actually feels very real to lived experiences. Following the artist moving with his young family to the country outside of Seoul, the story balances caring for an infant son and a summer garden while also managing the deteriorating health of his aging parents in the city. The memories presented are so evocative, I cried throughout nearly the entire second half of the book.
