This series is designed as a way to call attention to things, practices, places, activities, or anything else you might not be aware of that I think are worth checking out. I try to cover as wide a variety of topics as I can.
This week, it’s a return to graphic novels and comics.
Brian K. Vaughn’s masterpiece, this is a truly amazing piece of fiction. It envisions a world where all mammals with a Y chromosome, all the males, are suddenly wiped out by a plague, save for one young man and his monkey. Although that description sounds like the setup for either a comedy or a sexploitation fantasy, this book is neither. It’s a realistic look at what would happen to the world if all men were suddenly removed. Since still vastly outnumber women in most technical, skill, and political fields, the series quickly becomes a fascinating socio-political commentary as it explores the fallout, and the series ends in an extremely moving fashion. This is a great place to start for anyone who doesn’t think they’ll enjoy comics.
Mike Mignola’s art may be the main attraction here, but it tells a mythological tale on an epic scale. Combining elements from fables and myths the world over, along with a healthy dose of horror, the series continues to surprise and enchant. Having just completed it’s second of three chapters, now is a great time to catch up.
Much smaller in scope than the other two entries from this week, Scott Pilgrim is about a normal twenty-one year-old slacker living in Toronto and navigating early adulthood. What sets the book apart is its offbeat humour, often rooted in geek culture, and its inclusion of various videogame tropes in the characters lives without any real explanation. Characters upgrade skills in school, collect coins and extra lives, and accept that they must occasionally do battle with a foe, all without blinking an eye. These elements combine to make one of the most unique, addictive graphic novels in recent memory.
Sleep well,
DTE
No comments:
Post a Comment