In times of darkness, books provide me comfort. I picked this up after it was recommended in NPR’s book concierge as a best book of 2017 and finally got around to reading it. I took a lot of history courses in college that studied Asian and Middle Eastern cultures because so much of what we are taught is centered on US and European History. I have always been interested in Japanese history and culture. My Brother’s Husband tells the story of Yaichi, a stay-at-home dad […]
She Just Hasn’t Met You Yet
Picture Death. What do you see? If it’s a pale, thin girl with big hair, dark clothing, and a silver ankh, Neil Gaiman’s to blame. In a moment of inspiration that will long outlive him, he chose to make his personification of death not terrifying or beautiful but cute. Over the course of Absolute Death (which collects two miniseries, three one-off stories, and various ephemera), she quotes Mary Poppins, jokes about pigeons, and ushers the newly dead into the afterlife. Her first appearance was in “The Sound of Her […]
Yuri and Victor are Lady Werewolves
Moonstruck (Vol 1: Magic to Brew) has the potential to be something like Yuri on Ice, in that the story revolves around a really adorable same sex couple trying to navigate a new and promising relationship. It also features one character with confidence to spare, and another who has a habit of getting overwhelmed by self-doubt. While the core relationship reminds me of the beloved skating anime, there are some significant differences. First, Moonstruck’s main couple, Julie and Selena, who are female, live in a […]
Children and War in Afghanistan
This graphic novel was adapted from a film version of Deborah Ellis’ novel The Breadwinner. The novel is actually part of a series much acclaimed in Canada, and based on this graphic novel version of the first volume, I can understand why. It is visually gorgeous, and the story, which is based on things Ellis learned while touring an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan in 1997, is gripping. The Breadwinner is the story of an 11-year-old girl named Parvana who has to disguise herself as […]