BIRTH OF A HIPPIE: A Graphic Memoir, a charming visit to a bygone future

BIRTH OF A HIPPIE: A Graphic Memoir (The Chronicles of a Back-to-the-Lander #1)
JoDEE SAMUELSON
Pownal Street Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$21.95 paperback, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Birth of a Hippie is a heartfelt graphic memoir that begins in the Prairies, as JoDee Samuelson, the youngest daughter of a Baptist minister―begins to search for her place in the world. Through her enchanting illustrations and witty storytelling, JoDee chronicles life on the Canadian prairies. Ultimately JoDee’s journey takes her from Alberta to Prince Edward Island.

In telling her story, JoDee blends humor, heart, and introspection. Birth of a Hippie recounts JoDee’s coming of age story from Prairie girl to be an independent spirit, back-to-the-lander, and health-food pioneer in a small Island on the East Coast. This graphic novel explores themes of family, identity, and self-discovery―offering an intimate glimpse into the life of a woman finding her place in an ever-changing world.

Perfect for fans of LGBTQ2+ narratives and those interested in the history of the back-to-the-land movement, Birth of a Hippie is both a personal story and a universal exploration of roots, resilience, and belonging.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Giving new life to the old nostrum "there ain't nobody here but us chickens" is the best, quietest moment of humor in Author JoDee's graphic memoir...her life is a journey from mainstream religiosity to self-acceptance of her sexuality, to the world of those who believe in living with instead of off Nature's gifts.

What made this a more-than-usually good sequential-art read for me is that I'm of the author's generation. The story is one I'm much in sympathy with as a result. The aesthetics are familiar to me, being those of the old underground comix scene. I'm in sympathy with Author JoDee's journey out of an environment of prescribed roles and thought into one that is exciting. is dynamic, tries new things and invents stuff for itself.

A young dyke, a back-to-the-lander, a questing, questioning ecowarrior, are all good giftees for the book. Also, old folks feeling like the past is the place to be, or just nostalgic for a vanished kind of optimism could use an inoculation against feeling forgotten.

You get the idea. I'm charmed, and suspect I'd be charmed by Author JoDee as well. I felt a bit off the five-star rating because there were moments I did not understand why we were cutting to or away from a scene; it could easily be me, since I'm not native to the sequential-art audience.

Getting one for old Aunt Lynne might prove to be the best gift this Yule.

Scales & Scoundrels Definitive Edition: WHERE DRAGONS WANDER, & THE FESTIVAL OF LIFE

WHERE DRAGONS WANDER (Book 1)
SEBASTIAN GIRNER (Illus. Galaad; Letterer Jeff Powell)
TKO Studios
$12.99 trade paper, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: This gorgeous, multicultural fantasy adventure follows treasure hunter, Luvander, as she searches for gold and glory. As she dives into an epic journey along with a young prince, his stern bodyguard, and a plucky young dwarf, our heroes will discover a secret that will bring light to a world encroached upon by an ancient darkness.

This is the story of a girl who liked to wander...

It's hard to make an honest living in a land brimming with magic and mystery, and treasure hunter Luvander is tired of being a penniless adventurer. Ever in search of gold and glory, she sets off for a fabled dungeon "the Dragon's Maw", an ancient labyrinth, at the bottom of which slumber endless wealth...or certain doom!

A loner by trade, Luvander is forced to team up with a team of scraggly adventurers, each hoping to find a treasure of their own in the forbidden tomb. There is Prince Aki, of the Scarlet Sands Empire, anxious for first taste of adventure yet blind to the consequences. His royal Shadow and bodyguard, Koro, whose very honor hangs in the balance of her prince's success. And Dorma Iron, a stocky young dwarf whose journey will take her deeper into the darkness than she ever wished to tread.

For these scruffy heroes, what starts out as a road to riches becomes the first step on an epic journey to destiny, for Luvander holds a secret in her heart that will shatter the chains of fate, and bring light to a world encroached upon by an ancient darkness.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Classic, high-fantasy story gender-flipped. It's still heteronormative, but a female who rescues a prince, and has a deep, dark Secret Identity...that's a mild breeze of fresh air in a genre I'm not wild about.

It has all the necessary Dungeons & Dragons elements for your gamer giftee, it's got artwork I sat and looked at even after I was done reading the simple story, and it sends a message I think we need a lot more of: males can be weak, and can need help and protection, without being worthless; females can be powerful protectors with hidden depths and leadership qualities. All of this wrapped in a pretty decently nuanced plot, with actual above-average character building that unfolds as the story progresses, made this a four-star read. It is, you'll note, the first of two books. Start here, and if gifting, definitely give both at the same time.

the dramatis personae

the action begins

drama!

specialness revealed

tension mounts

what's next?

I think this is a fair sampling of the illustration style. It takes you through the register changes in its use of overarching color pallette. It's got enough detail in the character design to make the faces legible to younger (11 and older, not my idea of suitable for the early chapter-book set) readers. It does not stint on action, nor ignore dialogue.

It's a solid series that I'm glad found a new home for ongoing adventures.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


THE FESTIVAL OF LIFE (Book 2)
SEBASTIAN GIRNER (Illus. Galaad; Letterer Jeff Powell)
TKO Studios
$12.99 trade paper, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Treasure hunter turned cursed Dragon princess, Luvander, has sworn to uncover a way to break the chains that bind her true form, even as she is hunted by the relentless Houndmaster. As the search for her true self takes ever more dangerous twists and turns, Luvander must reckon that no one, not even eternal dragons, can remain untouched by the ravages of power.

This is the story of a girl who liked to wander...

Following a tense standoff with her elders, Luvander sets off to find a way to break the chains of her cursed fate.

Undeterred by danger, she travels to the frozen northern wastes of the Spine of Winter, to a reclusive monastery whose monks guard a secret entrance to the Dragon Dream, the shared plane of consciousness of all Urden, living or long passed. What she finds there will set her on a journey beyond where any mortals, and few dragons have tread, to uncover an ancient secret from the darkest corners of history. Continuing the epic journey of the cursed dragon princess and her fellow scoundrels in a world bent on undoing itself.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A change of publishers from the original was made so the same team could round off the main action of the story. It does exactly that.

It's a notable feature of the continuation that several side characters get deepened backstory. This really reads like a very well-run D&D campaign; the action genuinely makes a difference to story.

Any of your young woman giftees would probably resonate to this.

I WILL JUDGE YOU BY YOUR BOOKSHELF, delightful fun silliness about books & reading

I WILL JUDGE YOU BY YOUR BOOKSHELF
GRANT SNIDER
Abrams Comic Arts
$16.99 hardcover, available now

KINDLE EDITION $1.99 NOW!

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: A look at the culture and fanaticism of book lovers, from beloved New York Times illustrator Grant Snider

It’s no secret, but we are judged by our bookshelves. We learn to read at an early age, and as we grow older we shed our beloved books for new ones. But some of us surround ourselves with books. We collect them, decorate with them, are inspired by them, and treat our books as sacred objects. In this lighthearted collection of one- and two-page comics, writer-artist Grant Snider explores bookishness in all its forms, and the love of writing and reading, building on the beloved literary comics featured on his website, Incidental Comics. With a striking package including a die-cut cover, I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf is the perfect gift for bookworms of all ages.

BIRTHDAY GIFT! WELCOME SIXTY-ONE!

My Review: My old friend Stephanie sent me this! W00t!

I loved this. I love the collection!


This resonates....


Too, too right, Grant Snider.

I love his cartoons just as much as I love Tom Gauld's cartoons. I don't want either of them to stop cartooning for a very, very long time.

Thanks, Stephanie! *smooch*

And POWER TO THE PANGOLIN!!

BAKING WITH KAFKA, cartoons for the intelligent and the bookish

BAKING WITH KAFKA
TOM GAULD
Drawn & Quarterly
$19.95 hardcover, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: A best-of collection of literary humour cartoons from the critically-acclaimed Guardian cartoonist

In his inimitable style, British cartoonist Tom Gauld has opened comics to a crossover audience and challenged perceptions of what the medium can be. Noted as a "book-lover's cartoonist," Gauld's weekly strips in The Guardian, Britain's most well-regarded newspaper, stitch together the worlds of literary criticism and pop culture to create brilliantly executed, concise comics. Simultaneously silly and serious, Gauld adds an undeniable lightness to traditionally highbrow themes. From sarcastic panels about the health hazards of being a best-selling writer to a list of magical items for fantasy writers (such as the Amulet of Attraction, which summons mainstream acceptance, Hollywood money, and fresh coffee), Gauld's cartoons are timely and droll—his trademark British humour, impeccable timing, and distinctive visual style sets him apart from the rest.

Lauded both for his frequent contributions to New Scientist, The Guardian and The New York Times, and his Eisner-nominated graphic novels, Tom Gauld is one of the most celebrated cartoonists working today. In Baking with Kafka, he proves this with one witty, sly, ridiculous comic after another.

My Review: You already know who Tom Gauld is, since I reviewed his earlier works this past Booksgiving. I expect you knew beforehand, since you're reading my blog. I love Tom Gauld's work largely because it's so witty and so sly. I am his fanboy for life because he's got no truck with dumbing down his humor. That's so rare in this life, and it always was. Why do you think Hollywood versions of novels were always excoriated for grafting happy endings onto stories? Mass entertainment is always bland. So let's revel in the counterculture's High Priest of Snark!







You're welcome. Now go buy one.

YOU'RE ALL JUST JEALOUS OF MY JETPACK, perfect lightener for the po-faced

YOU'RE ALL JUST JEALOUS OF MY JETPACK: Cartoons
TOM GAULD
Drawn & Quarterly
$19.95 hardcover, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says The New York Times Magazine cartoonist Tom Gauld follows up his widely praised graphic novel Goliath with You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack, a collection of cartoons made for The Guardian. Over the past eight years, Gauld has produced a weekly cartoon for the Saturday Review section of Britain’s best-regarded newspaper. Only a handful of comics from this huge and hilarious body of work have ever been printed in North America—and these have been available exclusively within the pages of the prestigious Believer magazine.

You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack distills perfectly Gauld’s dark humor, impeccable timing, and distinctive style. Arrests by the fiction police and imaginary towns designed by Tom Waits intermingle hilariously with piercing observations about human behavior and whimsical imaginings of the future. Again and again, Gauld reaffirms his position as a first-rank cartoonist, creating work infused with a deep understanding of both literary and cartoon history.

My Review: Tom Gauld brought out this collection in 2013. He is a Serious Intellectual with an Impish Streak, as his 2015 photo attests:


Easy on the eyes, funny to the bone, smart and wry and a lot of fun and game-changingly talented. Gauld has made a solid name for himself by being truthful, unsparing, and wryly willing to play the game he ever-so-Englishly lampoons. Anyone on your gift-giving radar who is a book person, a comics person, or a smart person is very likely to enjoy this book. Most people don't buy themselves books like this, so clearly frivolous and unserious, which means it's perfect as a Yuletide surprise for your favorite po-faced intellectual, your unsmilingly Goth niece, or your own sweet self as a means of escaping the seasonal silliness and brummagem jollification with a fellow eyebrow-raising up-the-sleeve laughing smartypants.







Before Gauld, very little humor and even less comic ink was spilled in such a way about books as cultural objects and not items of celebrity or nonce-memes. If these images did not make you laugh out loud in real time, you should not bother with this book.

Also? Might be a good idea to unfriend me. Tom Gauld makes me guffaw so hard my abdomen cramps.

FANDEMONIUM, a satire with serious bite

FANDEMONIUM
RICK SCHINDLER
Wattle Publishing
$9.99 Kindle edition, available now

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Fandemonium by Rick Schindler uses the colorful world of comics and fantasy as a microcosm and metaphor for media consolidation and the excesses of global mass culture. It is at once a hilarious satire of business and society, a portrait of an artist no longer young, and a sometimes poignant look at a universal challenge: to grow up, face the world, and put away childish things.

Ray Sirico used to have it all. Once, he was the brilliant and outrageous Clown Prince of Comics, who reinvented the venerable superhero Skylord, and ranted and rollicked everywhere from TV talk shows to Hollywood premieres.

But that was in the ’70s and ’80s. Now it’s 1993, and Sirico is a drunken has-been. His wife has left him, his movie flopped, and his comics’ publisher is doing so poorly that its new corporate parent has come up with a radical marketing stunt: the Death of Skylord.

Still, Sirico has one last chance to recapture the limelight: Fandemonium, the nation’s biggest fantasy convention. But others are coming to the con too: Harmony Storm, the sex-crazed actress who broke up Ray’s marriage; his former collaborator Tad Carlyle, who now has his own company, and a troubled relationship; Fred D’Auria, a fanboy fleeing adolescent traumas, and corporate conspirators who are plotting to sacrifice Sirico’s greatest creation for motives deeper than even his fevered imagination could conceive.

The publisher offered this book to me hoping for a kind, but asking for an honest, review

My Review: The author's bio says he has 11,000 comic books and a wife. I thought that having one of those things precluded the other. *rimshot*

I'm not a comic book person, and I'm not always sure that satire is a good choice for a whole novel. I'm cynical about fandoms in general. And first novelists are well advised to don protective gear when presenting me with their darlings, as my spleen needs regular venting.

And here I am giving this book over three stars. Will wonders never cease.

I like the novel, hate the characters, and want to shake the writer. The novel is presented in chapters that read like panels in a comic book, interspersed with screenplay bits, transcripts, etc etc. It makes the tedious trudge through the heads and lives of Harm (short for Harmony, and a good nickname for her it is) the horrid harridan, hefty humpster Ray the nebbishy loser, Taffy Poppenberg (how I **ADORE** minor non-character Taffy!) the news lady, so much less onerous. I don't get bogged down in any one PoV for long enough to lose steam. And besides I'm an old Moby-Dick fan, and this technique was superbly used in that book. Set up happy memory resonances for me. (We will NOT be discussing Tristram Shandy thenkewveddymahch.)

The characters are all well known to any follower of pop culture, business culture, or geekdom. As San Diego Comic Con has attained mainstream visibility, geekdom is less and less what it once was, a ghetto for off-kilter fen to celebrate their abnormality safely. I, an oldster without an anime-worshipping bone in my body, know what a furry is, and follow Sailor Moon refs. This is proof that there are no more hiding places for geekdom. The novel doesn't break any new ground limning the characters. It also doesn't miss a single trick damning them. I'm simultaneously aware that I'm being herded into a set of responses and reactions by the character choice and situational comedy, and amused by all the above. I'm outside the story and experiencing my responses as reactions, but then again that's the way satire works in my experience.

I do very deeply want to shake Rick Schindler. What are you doing here?! Why the hell is this book set in 1993?! To avoid the Internet? Yes yes, I was around for the comic-book publishing debacles of the era...I met the guy who started Broadway Comics...and you know what? 1993 wasn't integral to the stories you've chosen to tell and your points are still valid today, which is a damned good thing because nothing on this earth is duller than obsolete satire. Also, dig deeper! Many situations, most notably Sirico the Stout's disintegration, could have been more keenly pointedly stabbed into the reader's heart. It's possible to do this and maintain humor, see Candide for Cunégonde's marriage to Candide. (I refuse to spoiler-tag a 250-year-old book's plot points.) And not least: Really? C'mon. Really?

All that said, all my grumbles aside, there is much to take pleasure in presented here. The quiet and unobtrusive view of fans as owners versus fans as consumers of stories and characters is very relevant to today's world. The vicious and back-stabby corporate culture that exists is never a bad choice of target for skewering. The book is, in the end, about the experience of reading it, and that was a net positive use of my time. Considering the number of ways and times that could have turned out worse, this book deserves any and all praise it earns and gets my recommendation to read. Readers not comics geeks are especially encouraged to give it a whirl.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

NO STRAIGHT LINES, compendium of Queer graphic artistry

NO STRAIGHT LINES: Four Decades Of Queer Comics
JUSTIN HALL
Fantagraphics
$35.00 trade paper OR $12.49 via Kindle!

WINNER OF THE 25th Lambda Literary Award—BEST LGBT ANTHOLOGY!

Rating: 3* of five

The Publisher Says: No Straight Lines showcases major names such as Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, and Ralf Koenig (one of Europe's most popular cartoonists), as well as high-profile, crossover creators who have dabbled in LGBT cartooning, like legendary NYC artist David Wojnarowicz and media darling and advice columnist Dan Savage.

No Straight Lines also spotlights many talented creators who never made it out of the queer comics ghetto, but produced amazing work that deserves wider attention. Queer cartooning encompasses some of the best and most interesting comics of the last four decades, with creators tackling complex issues of identity and a changing society with intelligence, humor, and imagination.

This book celebrates this vibrant artistic underground by gathering together a collection of excellent stories that can be enjoyed by all. Until recently, queer cartooning existed in a parallel universe to the rest of comics, appearing only in gay newspapers and gay bookstores and not in comic book stores, mainstream bookstores or newspapers. The insular nature of the world of queer cartooning, however, created a fascinating artistic scene. LGBT comics have been an uncensored, internal conversation within the queer community, and thus provide a unique window into the hopes, fears, and fantasies of queer people for the last four decades.

These comics have forged their aesthetics from the influences of underground comix, gay erotic art, punk zines, and the biting commentaries of drag queens, bull dykes, and other marginalized queers. They have analyzed their own communities, and their relationship with the broader society. They are smart, funny, and profound. No Straight Lines has been heralded by people interested in comics history, and people invested in LGBT culture will embrace it as a unique and invaluable collection.

My Review: I don't like comics, comix, graphic novels, or whatever the hell you call them. It's too much work for too little story to my text-adapted eyes. But, in a quest not to ossify into one of Those People, I continue to expose myself to stuff I hate to see if I hate it, or merely don't understand it.

Nope. Hate it.

At least there were no superheroes. Those just grate on my last nerve with a fine-toothed wood rasp.

So why three stars in the ratings, since I hate the damn stuff? Because this is My People talking! I would give an identical collection featuring straight people doing straight people stuff *pause for bad memories to pass* negative stars.

As an aside to the squeamishly homophobic (read: boringly average heterosexual male), the amount of gay-male sex in here will make you *intensely* uncomfortable, but there's a goodly dose of lesbian sex to make it better.

As this is a history of LGBTQ subjects treated graphically, it is very very interesting when considered in that light, and shows the increasing sophistication of the audience as material becomes available in greater quantity. The subject matter is, well, pretty much what you'd expect it to be, and pretty much what all fiction is about: Ourselves.

At $35, it's a big investment that I don't see making if you're not GLBTQ or very interested in the history of social-issue artistry.