Grew up reading Tintin, Asterix, and Archie’s comics but just sort of stopped along the way until a couple of weeks ago when I was traveling and checking out this bookshop - I came across Joe Sacco’s “Palestine”. Immediately, the cover drew me in.

Expecting a regular book, I landed on a random page and my mind was BLOWN! I had no idea comic journalism was a thing!! I got hooked and decided to read all his work.

Long story short, I’m in love with graphic novels. For some reason, I always associated it with superheros and Mangas only but had zero clue about all this other stuff. (Not dissing superhero’s and mangas, just explaining my thought process).

Also, I had no idea that my wife already had a copy of watchmen in our library already (she’s a big reader) so I very hesitantly gave it a shot - ngl it’s pretty good! Still reading that one.

What should I read next? I’ve been buying them pre owned for cheap. Thanks.

It is a book that's funny , funny as if what we humans can do to other humans

Just finished this. It was a slog to get through, partly because it's a heavy topic, partly because there is a sense of repetition that Sacco intentionally adds to reinforce how Palestinians experience the same hardships.

I did want to highlight images 1-6, where Sacco relays an account of being imprisoned. He maintains the rigidity of the panels comparsd to how he normally opens each story, and adds more panels as the imprisonment stretches on. Really good technique.

Currently reading Kent State by Derf Backderf. Just started yesterday and really enjoying the depth of the characters. I really enjoyed Trashed by him as well. Made me aware about a topic I’m extremely ignorant about, through a story and characters that’s memorable, funny, and makes you root for them.

Before that was probably one of the best graphic novels I’ve read - Ducks by Kate Beaton. I saw it being recommended everywhere and was aware it’s good but wasn’t ready how good. Man, I hate how people can be in environments when they know they can get away with it. The story made me so sad but it’s so so important and again, makes you empathize with the character a lot. Educated you about an issue that you don’t hear about much.

Fun Home by Allison Bechdel was intense, funny, and eye opening as well! This was a book I felt that reminded me a lot of epileptic by David B, probably due to the way the characters were presented I guess. Such colorful characters. I’m excited to read her other books as well!

And finally, Calvin and Hobbes! Balancing all these reads with something light at the end of the day. These two make me smile, wait and think, and just takes me to a place in my mind that was simpler. Some strips are silly while some are profound and the balance with which Bill Watterson does it is genius. Also, reading up about him made me respect the fuck out of him.

Looking for recommendations in similar vein. Thanks for reading

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands is a graphic memoir by Kate Beaton that chronicles the author's experiences working in Alberta's oil sands as a young adult. Through candid storytelling, Beaton explores the realities of life in remote work camps, the economic pressures that draw people to difficult industries, and the personal challenges she faced. The book offers a mix of perspectives on labor, isolation, gender dynamics, and the environmental impact of resource extraction. It all adds up to a compelling personal narrative.

This is my second read of this graphic novel. I was reminded of how wonderful it is by a recent post from another Reddit user. I enjoy this mix of experiences, anecdotes, and no-holds-barred autobiographical storytelling. It captures place and feeling in a way that I rarely experience when reading graphic novels.

Without spoiling the book, the tone shifts from difficult working conditions and a harsh environment to shockingly intense scenes that I was not anticipating, even on a second read. You develop real sympathy for Beaton and the female workers around her. As a man working in a white-collar professional environment, the actions and behavior of many of her male co-workers are incomprehensible. It is a powerful examination of the early 2000s and the harm an unchecked work environment can have on the behavior and outcomes of everyone involved. The themes of being from a place, living somewhere else, and not being where you want to be hit hard.

My only difficulty with the book is that, as an American, I sometimes felt lost among the many Canadian places and cultural references depicted throughout the story. By the end, I felt I had a better understanding of what it means to be a person in this position and place, even if I also felt like I had only scratched the surface.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves autobiographical works and raw storytelling. However, you may want to examine the subject matter more closely before reading, as some of the topics may be disturbing to some readers.

Previous Non-fiction / Reality-Based Reviews:

• It Won’t Always Be Like This
• Much for Love – Sophie Lambda
• Year of the Rabbit – Tian Veasna
• Past Tense – Jason Lutes
• The Willie Nelson Graphic History – T.J. Kirsch
• Bury Me Already, It’s Nice Down Here

If there is any book on my shelf that I will defend until the end of time it is this one

I didn't flair this under recommendations, talk about whatever you wanna talk about. Also, I would love if you talked about at least one of the books you're mentioning instead of just typing a book list.

I have a hard time reading non-fiction, it's hard enough for me to read anything that isn't sci-fi, fantasy, or horror. I've tried a bunch of non-fiction, but the only ones that I ended up finishing in the last 20 or so years are the audibook for Blood, Sweat And Pixels; and the GN My Friend Dahmer, by Backderf. I love how the author asks you not to feel sorry for him in the preface. He says that pity him if you want, but understand that he could have ended his life at any time, and he should have after his victim and realized what he had become.

Tried reading a couple other books by Backderf, and while they had a good first impressions, the novelty of trying a non-fiction gn was gone, and I wanted to move on.

...and there's no mention of this on the graphic novels subreddit. Weird!

Anyway, per Comics Beat:

In one of the most stunning recent award wins for a graphic novel, Tessa Hulls’ Feeding Ghosts (MBD) has won the Pulitzer Prize in the Memoir or Autobiography category. 

It is only the second graphic novel to won a Pulitzer….but the first to win in a regular category. In 1992 Art Spiegelman’s Maus won a special Pulitzer award to recognize its powerful message. 

The prize committee wrote of Feeding Ghosts: “An affecting work of literary art and discovery whose illustrations bring to life three generations of Chinese women – the author, her mother and grandmother, and the experience of trauma handed down with family histories.”

My coworker overheard me talking about it a few months ago and got me an absolutely great gift. Happy Holidays to you all!

Account of a young girl working in Male dominated mining industry to pay of college debt.

Funny , shocking , saddening , poignant , excellent , touching , reflective.

Really liked it

I will definitely re-read this novel again..

I’ve just finished reading They Called Us Enemy where George Takei talks about his family’s experience growing up Japanese in the days of World War 2 and being in the horrific internment camps along with many other Japanese-Americans and how it shaped his life.

It’s a harrowing, heartbreaking read that highlights a part of American history that’s rarely discussed significantly. But it made me realize, especially recently, why stories like this are so important and need to be told. For those of you who have read this, what did you think?

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Title: A Chinese Life

Writer: Philippe Ôtié and Li Kunwu

Artist: Li Kunwu

English Publisher: SelfMadeHero

Pages: 720 pages

Country (About): China

Plot (Spoiler Free)

A Chinese Life is a graphic memoir that covers six decades of modern Chinese history through the eyes of artist Li Kunwu. The story follows Li's childhood, his service in military, and his career as a state illustrator during the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 through the Maoist era and into the modern era. The book presents an insider's view of how individual lives and mindsets were shaped by sweeping socio-political shifts, party propaganda, and evolving national ideals.

Plot (Spoiler Included)

The narrative is divided into three distinct sections called books (Original released a 3 books but translated into English as a single book):

Book I: The Time of the Father: This book covers Li's childhood under Chairman Mao. Raised by a Communist Party official, Li witnesses the Great Leap Forward and the Great Famine. During the Cultural Revolution, his father is branded a "revisionist" and sent to a labor camp. Despite this, young Li remains a zealous Red Guard, was caught up in the revolutionary fervour that sought to destroy the old.

Book II: The Time of the Party: This book covers Li’s young adulthood after Mao's death in 1976. It follows Li's time in the People’s Liberation Army working on military farms, his eventual acceptance into the Communist Party. During g this period, he works as a state media artist. His father was eventually released after years of rehabilitation.

Book III: The Time of the Money: This books looks at rapid urbanization, capitalism, reform and changing attitudes. The narrative shifts across multiple characters and perspectives as China transforms into the current era. Conspicuously, the book bypasses the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

Review

A Chinese Life is a socio-political chronicle that records modern Chinese history from the perspective of an insider.

The first two sections / books are by far the strongest. It is fascinating to see how deeply everyday life, personal choices, and mindsets were molded by government propaganda and nationalistic fervour. How the young minds were hijacked to an extent where they could have lasting affects into the adulthood.

The story exposes the impact of the propaganda on the destruction of old order including antiques, and archaeological items.

The third section, which shifts to modern China, feels a bit jumbled by comparison. It jumps rapidly from character to character, making the overarching narrative harder to follow.

Notably, the book completely skips the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Given that Li still resides in China, this omission is largely understandable, but it remains a noticeable gap in a book about modern history.

While the nationalistic fervour is front and center, the book provides insight into why so many Chinese citizens harbor those feelings towards thier country. Ultimately, there is as much left for the reader to interpret in what is left unsaid as in what is explicitly stated.

The books shines a glimpse into the human conditioning, the impact of propaganda, the national fervour carried by citizens of different countries (how their experiences shape their views on different countries) (though the book is about China - it gives an opportunity to reflect on the experiences of citizens of other countries and how they could have formed opinions in favour of or against china).

The omission of the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre is quite an interesting one. Either it is due to Li's decision to avoid repercussions as he still lives in China, or due to his desire to limit the negative perspective on his country due to his nationalistic views. Its upto the reader to read the unspoken/unwritten.

Visually, the ink-based art style is distinctly different from traditional Western comic art I am used to. It features an expressive stroke lines that takes a little time to get accustomed to, but ultimately suits the raw, personal nature of the story.

It is an insightful, highly recommended read for anyone wanting a nuanced look at China beyond standard Western headlines.

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

Very much recommended. An insightful view into a world I knew nothing about. Intelligently written, sad, hopeful and at times funny, I hope Kate Beaton continues to write/draw as this was just excellent 👌

This was a really cool journey through the human brain. The story, the art changes, the way the blocking and the bubbles tell the story, the characters... Very highly recommend.

These books feel like more than just a history lesson on the Iranian Revolution. While it does capture a specific era, its deeper meaning lies in the universal struggle to maintain individual identity against the crushing weight of political and religious extremism. I think it is an important read because Iran is experiencing some of its most significant internal upheaval since the 1979 Revolution depicted in the book. I believe there is always something to be learned from history. At the bare minimum I think reading these books(or at least the first one) can help people understand a culture that is different than ours here in the United States.

I Pre-ordered this book weeks ago. I had no idea about its subject matter beyond the title. In the order form it asked for "special instructions" I wrote, a sketch of Emma Goldman would be cool. Emma Goldman is a personal hero of mine and the lady we named our daughter after. I was blown away to actually see Backderf had indeed done a sketch of her on the title page. Turns out this book puts alot of focus on her life too. This is an amazing read and makes my short list for book of the year.

This week's entry in my Best in Class series focuses on what I believe is the best historical fiction in all of comics; Berlin by Jason Lutes.

An aspiring artist boards a train to Berlin during the final years of the Weimar Republic. She quickly finds camaraderie with a thriving community of creatives, each inspired by the raucous energy of the city's diverse cultural offerings. Considered the progressive center of Europe at the time, Berlin is awash with artistic expression, sexual liberation, and political thought. This bright burning promise finds itself regularly butting heads with forces of fascist ideology and economic instability which puts the city and its residents on a path for tumultuous upheaval.

This book is absolutely marvelous. Berlin has perhaps the most engaging, thematically rich, and emotional prose I have read in comics yet it still feels visually forward with engaging compositions that transport the reader into a particular place and time. The subject matter is timeless yet devastatingly relevant, capturing the volatile energy of a culture in transition; both in the progressive re-evaluation of tired standards and in the brutal rebuttal of forces that seek to preserve their sense of national identity. The characterization is also deeply engaging, with a wide cast of distinct characters that each confront this instability from different perspectives yet often find themselves shifting in different directions as circumstances change.

Lutes' draftsmanship is both technically impressive and full of personality, with page after page of clearly depicted and cinematic compositions. While the layouts are rather traditional and the pages dialogue heavy at times, the visual appeal never suffers and Lutes doesn't let the comic get too dense for too long before opening up the storytelling with decompressed and immersive wides.

(I posted this in r/comicbooks earlier and thought folks who post here but not there may have a view on the question too.)

Back in the 1980s, there was a notorious fanzine letterhack and columnist whose work often appeared in Amazing Heroes. His name was Sidney Mellon and all of his opinions seemed like they'd been designed to be as infuriating as possible to the stereotypical Comics Journal-reading, indie-loving, Gary Groth-agreeing-with, X-Men-disliking "elitist" comic book fan of the day.

Sidney's gimmick was a kind of upside-down snobbery: a lowbrow version of elitism which extolled the inherent superiority of Big Two superhero comics (but especially Marvel, because he was a massive fan of X-Men and Frank Miller) and dismissed anything indie and any comics that didn't have superheroes in them.

Among Sidney's notorious takes (warning: Imgur link):

• People who don't want to read superhero comics are "conceited"
• Carl Barks was a bad artist because he didn't draw "realistic" ducks
• New Mutants had more to say about oppression and genocide than Maus
• Teenage Mutants Ninja Turtles was "the comic Maus should have been"
• Lone Wolf & Cub was just an "imitation" of Frank Miller, who "pretended" it influenced him just to be polite
• Love & Rockets would be better if Tom DeFalco started writing it and it had more fight scenes
• All characters should be owned by big corporations, not writers and artists
• "Truly great graphic literature (read: "Marvel epics") teaches us that the real battle is between Good and Evil, and politics just confuses things"

In short, like I said, calculated to be extremely annoying.

But the truth was that Sidney Mellon wasn't real. He was a persona created by two regular fanzine contributors, comic writer Will Jacobs and disgraced comic writer / convicted sex offender Gerard Jones, a character created by people within the zine audience to exasperate the zine audience as much as possible (as some of the letters shown in the link above indicate, it worked too).

However, let me go back to the question in the title:

Have you, in your life as a comic book fan, ever come across a fan who is like this? A "real" Sidney Mellon? What was their infuriating take on comics?