Do not be the slowest zebra.

I was looking through my friend’s comic collection, and she showed me Storm by Eric Jerome Dickey. Eric Jerome Dickey! I used to love his books. (Did you know they are considered erotica?  It makes total sense now that I think about it.) My friends and I read his first five novels way back when I was in my early 20s, so I also have fond bonding memories of his books.

So, yes, Eric Jerome Dickey wrote a graphic novel about Storm from the X-Men, appropriately titled Storm.  It tells of her romance with Black Panther, before they are married.

What I Liked

- I loved the artwork.  Really sharp and crisp, great use of color, very expressive.  (The artwork is by David Yardin and Lan Medina.)

- Because the book is about Storm growing up in Africa (I forgot to write the country down in my notes, but I am pretty sure she is in Egypt), it operates as a pre-origin origin story.  What I mean is that it’s not about how she came to join X-Men or how she goes from Ororo to Storm. It’s about what it meant for her to be a young girl (she’s twelve when the story starts) living on the streets who can sometimes make freaky things happen with the weather. I think that’s great because you don’t really need to know anything about the character to get into the story.

- There’s quite a bit about loyalty and family in here that’s handled in an interesting way. Family means different things, and measures of loyalty are not always what you expect.  I really enjoyed seeing that explored.

- T’Challa (Black Panther) and Ororo are fully drawn characters, and though the book explores their epic (and pretty instantaneous) love, a lot of the conflict comes from Ororo’s relationship with her adoptive street family.

- You really get a sense of the inherent badassery that is to come from Storm.

What I Didn’t Like

- Okay, my biggest issue with the book is with the sex. I have nothing against sex in novels, and it’s handled really tastefully in terms of the art (i.e., it isn’t graphically depicted or anything). My real problem with it is that Ororo is twelve, but she is drawn like a woman.

I found an interview with EJD, and this is how he describes Ororo:

I know that she’s a very beautiful woman as an adult, but I wanted the 13-year-old whose body is going through changes and does not think she’s attractive; who hasn’t come into her beauty yet; where every other girl for some reason looks better to her,” he said. “I think Ororo is 5’11” so, make her too tall for her age, make her lanky; make her… not quite comfortable with her own body yet.

Which works!  And there is a lot of emphasis in the book about the changes her body is going through, how she has just started her cycle, etc. And she is drawn as he describes throughout.

(Also, he says in the interview thirteen, but she is twelve in the book.)

Except when it’s time for the sexing. Then, her body is very mature, and she looks older.  And I get it.  I do.  It is kind of weird to think about a twelve-year-old with a twevle-year-old’s body having sex.  BUT THAT IS THE STORY.  I would have preferred that there was some continuity there because, hey, that is the story you are telling! Do not make her look sixteen or seventeen (or even older it can be argued) when she is twelve because, oh, it is time for sex now and we can’t have the lanky teenager doing that.

And, yes, I know there are very developed teenaged girls out there.  I worked at a middle school and several of the girls had more voluptuous and mature bodies than me. And some of them were even having sex.  BUT THEY LOOKED TWELVE/THIRTEEN.

Which leads to another dislike.

- Time.  I have no idea when this story happens and how that affects the age Ororo decides to have sex. There are other pregnant girls in the story, and Ororo seems to know that it’s because they went off with boys, but I don’t know if this is just accepted because it’s a culture thing (meaning the street culture she lives in) or if it’s because of the timing of the story.  Again, I have known pregnant teens (one of my classmates was pregnant in eighth grade and one of my middle school students was pregnant as well), but both of those cases were abnormal, and so it’s something I would like a little context for within the story.

The sex stuff isn’t my only time complaint.  I would also like to know because I needed to be grounded in the story.  Is the technology in the story very now or is it advanced for its time, etc.? At times the story seemed very now, and other times it felt like it was set in the past.

In conclusion: Sex blunder aside, I really enjoyed the story and, again, loved the artwork.

POC Reading Challenge:  15/15

See larger image Astonishing X-Men: Storm (Paperback) By (author) Eric Jerome Dickey List Price: $14.99 USD New From: $7.14 In Stock Used from: $7.49 In Stock

When you can fly, there’s no burden you can’t bear.  When you can fly, gravity can’t touch you.  When you can fly…you can do anything.

I love the cartoon Static Shock, and so I was hoping against hope that my library either had Static in stock or had it available via ILL. Sadly, it did not.  But!  Icon: A Hero’s Welcome was available, and since I love Dwayne McDuffie (creator of Static Shock, one of the writers/producers of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, and now a writer for Ben 10) (also, and not to put too fine a point on it, he started his own comic book company because he wanted to be able to write the stories he wanted to tell), I figured reading Icon was practically the same as reading Static.

The basic premise of I:AHW is “What if Superman was black?” Augustus Freeman IV crash lands on earth during slavery, imitates the looks of the person who finds him (a slave woman), and then lives a really long time.  He decides to become a superhero after a teenage girl, Rocket, tells him how helpful it would be for other African-Americans to know they have a hero of their own.

What I Liked

- Rocket is kind of amazing.  I love that Augustus is inspired by her, I like that she sees so much more for herself and the people she knows, I like that she calls Augustus on his inaccessible man on the hill persona (he’s a lawyer).  She becomes his sidekick not because he takes her in, but because she pushes him to do more.  That’s kind of cool.

- There’s a lot of commentary on race, gender, and class in the book.  Rocket, as an African-American teenage girl, has more possible complications for her life [she gets pregnant] than, say, Dick Grayson.  She is not an orphan but lives in the projects, so sees her relationship with Augustus as a way to access so much more.  And it’s not just his wealth that attracts her, but his access to education.

Race-wise, Rocket and her friends try to rob Augustus because they assume it’s a white person’s house, and they initially mistake him for the butler.  When Icon and Rocket show up to help the police, they try to shoot him.  Because, obviously, he must be a bad guy who is part of the plot against the mayor. Superman never has these problems.

I already mentioned some of the class effects re: Rocket, but there’s another subplot that discusses a community forgotten after a major riot in Dakota.  The book addresses turf wars, helplessness, and politics.

The book also operates as a commentary on what’s missing from the traditional superhero story that focuses on white, male characters.

What I Didn’t Like

- Calling it a dislike is strong, but the artwork is kind of dated.  The colors are very purple and yellow and, you know, 1990s’ Cross Colours.  So it’s fitting for the time, but dated for the now.  I still liked it overall.

In conclusion:  Solid characters, fantastic premise, and a solid story make this a very nice introduction to the Icon brand and Milestone Comics.  I really wish I could get my hands on Static now.  Moreso than before, even.

POC Reading Challenge:  14/15; YA Reading Challenge:  21/75

See larger image Icon: A Hero's Welcome (New Edition) (Paperback) By (author) Dwayne McDuffie List Price: $19.99 USD New From: $9.50 In Stock Used from: $6.39 In Stock Release date October 6, 2009.

I think of myself as a criminal mastermind…with an unfortunate amount of bad luck.

Calamity Jack, the sequel to Rapunzel’s Revenge [my review is here], by Shannon & Dean Hale and Nathan Hale starts with a little background information about Jack and his history as a thief as well as how he came to be on the run when he hooked up with Rapunzel.  Once that’s out of the way, the story picks up right where Rapunzel’s Revenge ended.

What I Liked

- Jack is Native American!  Or Native wherever the book is set.  I didn’t realize that in the first book because I just assumed he was, ya know, weathered.  Because of the whole Wild West (or wherever it is) thing.  What’s really interesting about Jack’s ethnicity is that it explicitly situates him as a trickster figure, which is really kind of cool if you consider the Native American storytelling tradition.

- I liked the character development in this book.  It was nice to learn so much more about Jack, his past, and his family.

- The new characters were also a lot of fun, especially Jack’s old road dog, his mom, and the villain.  FEE FIE FOE FUM.  The way the beanstalk story was handled was very inventive.

- Jack and Rapunzel’s relationship is explored a little more here, and it’s good to see how well he knows her, even if he is clueless about how to express how much he likes her.

- The romantic rival is handled nicely and isn’t annoying at all.

- There’s the same level of humor here.  I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times.

What I Didn’t Like

- The plot is kind of hard to explain.  I mean, yes, Jack is trying to save his mom from the evil giants and restore order back to the city, but everything beyond that is kind of like…what?  That doesn’t mean it’s not a fun ride, but it’s not as straightforward as Rapunzel’s story was.

- I just wasn’t as invested in this story as I was with Rapunzel’s.  I think it’s because Jack, great character though he is, is just not as interesting to me as Rapunzel.  I really enjoyed all of the parts with the two of them interacting, but when she was off-page, I wasn’t quite as into the story.  So I think it’s just a case of Rapunzel being a better character.

In conclusion:  Not as sharp as Rapunzel’s Revenge, but still a fun, breezy read.

YA Reading Challenge:  20/75; POC Reading Challenge:  12/15

See larger image Calamity Jack (Paperback) By (author) Shannon Hale, Dean Hale List Price: $14.99 USD New From: $8.77 In Stock Used from: $8.56 In Stock Release date January 5, 2010.

Surrogates are a vain attempt to improve upon God’s already perfect will.  They represent the worst efforts of men to supercede God and become gods themselves.

I picked up The Surrogates by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele from the library because I didn’t have the time or money to see the film version starring my old man crush Bruce Willis.  Of course, I finally finished the book a couple of days before the movie became available at the library.  Ah well.

The book is about a world where surrogates (“android substitutes that let people interact with the real world without ever leaving their homes”–jacket flap) are the norm except someone or something is deep frying surrogate circuitry with a command to the owners:  ”Live.”

What I Liked

- I love the deeper meanings the text explores about race, gender, and class.  Each chapter ends with media (academic papers, newspaper articles, advertisements) explaining a little bit about the world, which provides context, and that’s what really creates the conversation about the impact of surrogates.  People choose surrogates based on career aspirations, romantic interests, etc.  So a lot of their choice is dictated by whom people expect to see in those roles.  (For example, women who want to be pilots choose male surrogates.)  And, of course, not everyone can afford surrogates, and those people make up their own community (mostly, it seems, made up of religious zealots) who are, for the purposes of the narrative, anti-surrogate.

- The story is fast-paced and easy to follow.

- Character motivations are clear.

What I Didn’t Like

- I wasn’t really a fan of the artwork.  I think it’s well drawn and the moods are well set throughout (and I really appreciate that the chapter ending media is so distinct and slick), but I wanted a way, visually, to see the surrogates or real people marked.  And, yes, I realize the point is that the surrogates are so lifelike, but at the same time, I really wanted there to be a different feel or look applied to really play up the differences.

In conclusion:  Great story with interesting thematic elements that are really thought-provoking.

See larger image The Surrogates (Surrogates (Graphic Novels)) (Paperback) By (author) Robert Venditti List Price: $19.95 USD New From: $4.50 In Stock Used from: $3.98 In Stock

I guess I might’ve spent my whole life in that villa never learning the truth if not for that darn wall. Deep in my gut, I believed if I could just look over it, just see what was there, my dreams would make sense.  Everything would make sense.

Rapunzel’s Revenge written by Shannon & Dean Hale and illustrated by Nathan Hale (no relation) is a retelling of the Rapunzel story in which Rapunzel saves herself, teams up with a stranger named Jack, and sets out to free her birth mother and fellow countrymen from adoptive mother Gothel.

What I Liked

- Rapunzel is an awesome character.  She’s driven and determined, and she refuses to let her circumstances overwhelm her.

- There’s a lot of humor in the book–from making fun of Rapunzel’s ugly, ugly clothes to the banter between her and Jack.  There are lots of great moments and a couple of laugh out loud funny ones.

- I love that Rapunzel and Jack are more partners than anything.  Sometimes it seems as though he’s her sidekick and sometimes she’s his, but that’s because they both have different strengths and any given situation could favor one or neither.

- There’s some mystery around Jack.  I figured it out right away, but my daughter really enjoyed the twist when it was revealed.

- Mother Gothel’s motivation for locking Rapunzel up really surprised me–in a good way.

- I love the artwork.  Clear and crisp with great facial expressions.  It was as much fun to look at the pictures as read the text–as it should be with a graphic novel.

- Rapunzel uses her hair as a weapon.  I like that instead of it being the tool of her imprisonment, it becomes empowering.

What I Didn’t Like

- I would’ve liked to know just a little more about Gothel besides her being evil.  You know, just a smidge.

In conclusion: The book is a lot of fun and a great read.  It’s also great for the tween set or anybody who really enjoys adventurous stories.  My daughter read it, immediately reread it, and then bought it when she saw it a the book store (I checked it out from the library).  I think she really appreciated that Rapunzel is such a badass female character.

YA Reading Challenge:  17/75

See larger image Rapunzel's Revenge (Paperback) By (author) Shannon Hale, Dean Hale List Price: $15.99 USD New From: $2.87 In Stock Used from: $2.75 In Stock Release date August 5, 2008.

It’s like…sure, we’ve always played the game like we had nothin’ to lose–but it feels like we lost everythin’.  We were soldiers, man.  We were a part of somethin’!  But now…

The Losers:  Ante Up by Andy Diggle and illustrated by Jock is a double cross revenge story.  The first issue of the collection is available as a free download on the website, but I preferred traditional paper so I checked it out via ILL.  I was interested in the book because of the hotness that is the movie, which I sadly haven’t seen yet.

What I Liked

- I am a fan of badassitude and between Clay, Aisha, and Cougar, the characters have that in spades.

- The art reflects the mood of the story.  It’s hard to get a physical read on the characters, although they all have distinctive characteristics.  Even when they’re in sunlight, there are a lot of shadows and dark areas.  It adds to the feeling of mistrust and danger.

- The plot is pretty straightforward.  They’re trying to find Max so they can get their identities and their lives back.

What I Didn’t Like

- I know I just said the plot is straightforward–and it is–but it took me quite a few pages to get my grounding in the story.  That may be because…

- Even though the artwork suits the story, I’m not really a fan of it.  Aside from the three characters mentioned above (and the one blond guy whose name I can’t remember), it was hard for me to really get a read on the characters, which left me feeling disconnected from the story.

- The book is really violent.  Lots of blood spurts, brains on the pavement, etc.  Not so much a fan of that, which was all shown in pretty clear detail.

In conclusion:  I still want to see the movie, even though I know who the bad guy is–mostly for the pretty, pretty cast.  The book doesn’t make me want to see it more or less than I did before, though.  And I am not at all interested in reading any more of the books in the series.

To speak behind others’ backs is the ventilator of the heart.

I was in a graphic novel kind of mood, and I enjoyed Persepolis, so I picked up Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi.  It’s a brief glimpse into afternoon samovar between the women in Marjane’s life.  (Previews of the book are available on the linked page.)

To be honest, there’s not a whole lot to say about this book.  It’s extremely short, which I found disappointing because I felt that to truly understand the women, the book should have spanned a couple of afternoons instead of just one.  That said, candid conversations between women = win.  I just really wish it had been longer and delved deeper.  Especially because Satrapi briefly touches on the attitudes of younger women towards sex in Persepolis, I thought it would’ve been nice to see some of the less sexually liberal young women confront the more cynical–and in some ways less sexually conservative–older women and their views on sex.  This was great as a slice of life, not so much as any kind of deeper or more challenging conversation.  I don’t know how else to describe it.

Best thing about the book?  Return of Marjane’s grandmother.  LOVE.  HER.  (She is also the source of the breakout quote.)

Women Unbound: 5/8; POC Challenge: 9/15

In three very different stories, master storytellers Gene Yang and Derek Kirk Kim pit fantasy against reality, for good or for ill.  Subtle, surprising, and entirely entertaining.  The Eternal Smile delves into our dreams, and the unexpected places they lead.

That’s from the inside flap of The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim.  It’s a short story collection in graphic novel format, and, as the description says, all three are about how fantasy affects reality and vice versa.  The three stories are “Duncan’s Kingdom,” “The Eternal Smile,” and “Urgent Request.”

What I Liked

- If I had to pick a favorite story, it would probably be “Urgent Request.”  The artwork is amazing, and the storyline is quietly affecting from beginning to end.  Janet is empowered by her online experience, even though we know from the beginning that she’s responding to a scam (it’s the Nigerian prince dealio).  It just went in an interesting and unexpected direction.

- The twists of all three stories are pretty ace.  That moment when it’s clear what they’re doing and what the message is just really hit it.  All three got me right in the gut, they were so heartbreaking.

- I like that all three have different things to say about how reality and fantasy go together.  Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not.  But it’s not all good or all bad or any extreme really.

What I Didn’t Like

- The drawings in “Duncan’s Kingdom” and “The Eternal Smile” are kind of garish, but they make sense in the story.  For both, though, it wasn’t until the end that it became clear why they were drawn the way they were.

- I didn’t really connect with the narratives (except for “Urgent Request”).  I appreciate them as art, and I liked the endings, but I was just reading to see what would happen without really caring about the characters.

In conclusion:  It’s a fast read, and the endings pack a wallop, but I’d probably only really call one out of the three stories a good story that I would want other people to read.

POC Challenge:  4/15; YA Reading Challenge 8/75

Since then, this old and great civilization has been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism.  As an Iranian who has lived more than half of my life in Iran, I know that this image is far from the truth.  This is why writing Persepolis was so important to me.  I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists.  I also don’t want those Iranians who lost their lives in prisons defending freedom, who died in the war against Iraq, who suffered under various repressive regimes, or who were forced to leave their families and flee their homeland to be forgotten.

That’s from the introduction of The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, a graphic novel that chronicles her coming of age as a young woman in Iran, Europe, and Iran again.

- I have to say, the graphic novel format really suits this work.  It’s in black and white, and the graphics are relatively simple (or maybe deceptively simple), which makes the people and their attitudes the real stars of the story.

- I love, love adolescent Marji.  She’s just such a kid, trying to understand the world the best way she knows how.  She wants to be a prophet, she plays martyr and torture, and she isn’t afraid to stand up for herself.  She is just adorable.

- I also love young adult Marji, but in a different way.  She, too, is trying to find her place in the world, but that story is more heartbreaking because she has to leave home to be safe and then she’s a stranger in a strange land once she gets to Austria, and then she’s a stranger in her homeland when she goes back to Iran after being in Austria.

- I also love her parents and her grandma (love her grandma!) and just…all of the characters/people are very fully drawn, and their motivations are clear.  It’s just wonderful characterization all around.

I just really enjoys books like this and Anne Frank because, honestly, it just shows how similar all of our experiences are, even when they’re vastly different.  War torn countries aside, both stories are about girls becoming young women and so much of that experience is universal.

Sometimes it is hard to really like a book because there is nothing to say except “I like it!  It’s awesome!  Read it!”  But, you know, I like it.  It’s awesome.  Read it!

Women Unbound:  4/8; POC Challenge 3/15