rickjones's Reviews (1.66k)

The first volume of this manga series is very promising. It's invigorating to read a story about a transgender boy that focuses not only on his gender dysphoria but his strengths and passions. Over the course of these first few chapters Ryo is already growing more confident, thanks to the support from his new friend Jin and their budding dream of starting a fashion brand. I know practically nothing about fashion or what goes into designing it, so I'm sure following the development of Boys Run the Riot will remain interesting for me.

I enjoy that these characters are written with the flaws and insecurities that an average student may have, making them feel realistically human. Ryo especially seems to be slowly learning that being true to yourself is worth the possible risks, as euphoria often follows and offsets the fear. His friendship with Jin is obviously a turning point in his life and disrupts some of his assumptions that he's too strange to be understood or respected. So far I found their relationship rewarding to read about. I like that Jin fully accepted Ryo while still pointing out to him that others won't understand what he refuses to tell them, but that doesn't mean they won't want to try.

The art for this manga is also done well, it's easy to make sense of what's occuring on the page and what the characters must be feeling. They're each drawn with detailed expressions in scenes paced with an almost cinematic quality, so my full attention was absorbed in no time. I look forward to reading more of Boys Run the Riot, and hopefully seeing Ryo and Jin's dreams realized. The boys are endearing characters with talent and drive, and it's impossible not to root for them.

This is a sweet story about two highschool boys who meet by happenstance on a hillside. Fynn, who's just been dumped, isn't really interested in anything, but quickly feels drawn to Niko and his dedication towards stargazing. The relationship development is fairly standard for a boys love manga, but I liked how Niko's knowledge of astronomy sets a celestial tone for the story. Most scenes were drawn well, especially those of starry nights and the chemistry between the boys, but there were a couple of panels where the visual language just wasn't clear to me. 

I guess I would recommend this manga to others. People closer in age to Fynn and Niko might feel more passionate about their romance than I do, as I'm only minimally interested in following relationship developments between highschoolers now that I'm well past that stage in my life. I think I assumed from the synopsis that both characters were older before I bought this book. 

Weird, engaging and written with ironic seriousness, The Metamorphosis is an entertaining story on its own, but even more so when analyzed as an allegory for the ridiculousness and cruelty of human social and economic structure. When Gregor first awakens, not as a man, but an insect, paragraph after paragraph of his immediate thoughts concern the economic peril of his situation over his obviously more pressing biological one. His transformation is left unexplained, and the novel primarily focuses on his guilt over the financial and emotional strain his new form causes to his family, and his increasing alienation as they grow to regard him as inhuman. 

In many ways I felt this story serves as an allegory for the disabled experience of being neglected, as terrible as that may sound. Gregor's metamorphosis does not disrupt his devotion to his family, or his want to provide for them, though his new body has made holding down a job impossible. His mind is still intact but since he is unable to communicate through speech, his parents disregard him entirely and his sister makes little effort to understand him, instead treating him more like an infantile pet. The directionless Grete seems to take a sort of selfish pride in being the sole person helping to maintain her brother's life, and refuses any help from her mother. Yet once she starts working outside her home and realizing other wants Gregor's mutation stands in the way of, she resentfully puts lesser effort into providing for him until quitting altogether and proposing that the family discard of him entirely. This betrayal is made even more harrowing by knowing that Gregor still deeply loves his sister and fantasizes about being able to express to her that before his transformation he was saving up to send her to the conservatory she dreamed of attending. The humanity of Gregor's thoughts and feelings is rarely in question, and he remains selfless and understanding towards his family despite their severe neglect and disgust of his new body. Tragically, there are some people with physical and speech disabilities who are treated in a similar manner to Gregor by their family members, who first revel in their virtue for assisting this disabled relative they have little true respect for, and then spiral into vengeful neglect they justify by dehumanizing their victim and asserting that they are an economic strain on the family. 

Whether or not my view of this story is what Kafka intended to write a metaphor about is a question we don't have the opportunity to answer over hundred years later, but that doesn't really matter. This book is a classic because it speaks to anxieties and experiences that have plagued humans for generations. It's also not a difficult read, at least with the translation I had access to, so I would highly recommend it to other readers. You will likely identify your own symbols and meanings in the text of this odd tale. 

I may have enjoyed this more if I was reading it around the time it was published, but hundreds year later it's not very thrilling and the most exciting portion of the novel was spoiled for me ages ago. None of the characters endeared themselves to me and the narrative structure is just odd, though not in a positive way. The book begins through the perspective of Dr. Jekyll's lawyer, with the climax and end of the story told through two letters, the final one written by Dr. Jekyll himself. The narration never switches back to the lawyer who was trying to uncover the true nature of who Hyde was, resulting in an ending that feels unsatisfying and abrupt. 

What I did find interesting about the book was the focus on the duality of human nature, and additionally, how much the duality between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde seems to be misunderstood in popular culture today. Jekyll openly admitted in his final letter that he is not all good, and alternatively, has many temptations he deemed too inappropriate or terrible to detail. His regular use of the potion that turned him into Hyde, a man he knows is pure evil, evidences that he is not altogether a moral man, which is only reinforced by his admittance that clubbing a man to death was a pleasurable experience to him, though he did the deed in Hyde's form. Instead of serving as a symbol of good versus evil, I felt this story more accurately portrayed the struggle of responsibility versus release. In using Hyde to relish in the temptations he once felt shame in, Jekyll is released from his guilt, glowing with liberty, and still allowed to maintain his prestigious position in society. Yet prolonged use to his transforming potion and Hyde's identity eventually undoes him, as the thinly restrained evil increasing within Dr. Jekyll empowers Hyde and soon leads to demise of their whole person. 

I'm not certain I would recommend this book to others. It was somewhat tedious to read, though its thankfully not very long. I feel the most merit in reading the story in this day and age lies in how afterwards you will likely see more threads of it reflected within popular culture, and can then dissect them more thoughtfully. 

I really love this comic and its characters. The writing and art flow together seamlessly to present a story that's dynamic, funny and full of heart. The book is bursting with illustrations that are both adorable and action packed, often at the same time. They successfully provide energy and personality to each page, especially through the characters' movements and expressions.

Each girl in the main cast is given their moments to shine and further develop their relationships in this volume, even as they're working to uncover a conspiracy. There's a lot going on in their lives between romance, their record store, their rock band and their fight club training, but all these elements blend together well and don't make the book feel uncomfortably overcomplicated. Instead, they serve to make every issue fresh and engaging. Y2K-O only endeared me to these characters more, so I hope several more stories will follow!

Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga is not only a graphic novel, but the result of an exhaustive and collaborative research project undertaken to highlight the perspective and humanity of the Conestoga people with the help of an impressive number of archives, libraries, historians and Indigenous storytellers and community members. The narrative of the Conestoga massacre is told through the eyes of the Conestoga themselves, through the remembrance of their ancestors who remain with us today, and through the experiences of the book's creators as they researched and assessed how this story needed to be told. 

Portraying the creators of this graphic novel like characters within it was a wise decision that provides readers with a greater understanding their efforts, both in terms of accuracy and artistry. The full book also includes a variety of supplemental materials, such as introductions and script notes, for this purpose. Francis IV mentions in his script annotations how the time-skips throughout the book are purposefully done to contrast with Western linear narrative structure, as Native stories are often instead "cyclical and contextual". This alternate structure not only frames this historical retelling through a Native understanding, but heightens the emotion of Francis IV and Alvitre's work. Similarly, Alvitre mentions in her introduction how her choice of artistic tools was done to deliberately mimic the style of the political cartoons stemming from the massacre, while instead "reclaim[ing] that period with fresh representational art of the Native Americans who lived and died during this period of history". Her choice of earth tone pigments intends to tie her artwork to the land the Conestoga would have felt intrinsically connected to, and creates a deep and resounding tone for the book, at least in my opinion.

This work is a shining example of how graphic novels can be utilized as a medium for accurate and empathetic historical retellings, while also transcending the medium itself. Half the book is actually made up of notes from the creators and researchers, alongside scans of primary sources they worked from and lesson plans educators can use through a series of classes. If you would like to learn even more, recommendations for further reading are also included alongside links to digital archives of the materials used for research. I feel very privileged to exist in a time in history where I was able to read and absorb this book and appreciate the resilience of the Conestoga hundreds of years after their story was wrongfully believed to have ended. Seeing the amount of work, and the methods, of researching accurate and fair records for the book was also very rewarding for me, since the value of libraries and archives are something I'm working towards being a part of myself. I highly recommend this graphic novel to other readers, but please mind the content warnings below.

This maxi-series is both hilarious and mysterious, with hilarity easily taking the upper hand. The plot gets increasingly convoluted as it continues, yet it remains welcoming to readers new to these characters and their long-running story. All I knew about Jimmy Olsen before I started reading was that he's Superman's friend, and seemed to have had a comic back in dinosaur times when my father still read them, but thankfully my lack of knowledge didn't cause trouble for me just this once. I enjoyed getting to know Jimmy through the series and witnessing the hijinks he's all too familiar with stumbling into.

I also have to commend the art for the series. It quickly endeared me to the characters and worked to enhance the humorous writing through skilled illustration of facial expressions and physical comedy, all contained within well-paced panels. The only negative thing I really have to say about this comic is that some of the gags felt stale over the course of twelve issues, but not so much that they made reading intolerable. I would recommend this book to others who enjoy comedy in comics, you only need a minimal understanding of the DC Universe before reading, so don't let its placement in a larger continuity deter you. 

Skate Farm is a little goofy, in both plot and execution, but the protagonists have real heart to them. The action and skating scenes are drawn well, as they're both exciting and easy to follow. I'll admit that I didn't have high hopes for this comic. I bought it used on a whim because it seemed unique and weird, so the effort the creators put into giving the characters endearing personalities and dynamics was a welcome surprise. I probably will read further volumes if I can find them, I'm a sucker for guardian characters who had a difficult youth and dedicate their adulthood to looking out for other kids, so I enjoyed being introduced to Tommy.