Graphic Novels #1

Graphic Novel Reviews #1

Recently, I decided I wanted to start reading graphic novels. I knew I'd love them, because most of them are gorgeous and are a great way of telling a story. There are things that you can do with Graphic Novels that you can't do with other storytelling media.
Each time I read one in the past few months, I had things I wanted to say about them, but never enough for a full review. So periodically I'm going to do these group review format things, because that way I still get to recommend them, but I don't have to slog my way through a whole review.

Friends with Boys
by: Faith Erin Hicks
This is the first graphic novel I ever read. Rainbow Rowell recommended this via twitter, and said that Faith Erin Hicks is going to be the artist for a graphic novel they're working on together. So I had to check this out. I LOVED this one. The characters were well characterized and there were a lot of them. I loved how many storylines there were moving their way through this graphic novel. The art is beautiful.

5 out of 5 stars 

Anya's Ghost
by: Vera Brosgol
As soon as I finished this one, I went looking for ones like it. The most popular choice, and the one that kept popping up, was Anya's Ghost. I liked this graphic novel, but it didn't feel as developed as Friends with Boys and the plot was sort of cliché. I didn't have much feeling toward any of the characters, and the art was pretty good, but didn't strike me as much as Friends with Boys. I still liked it, it just didn't wow me.

3 out of 5 stars

War at Ellsmere
by: Faith Erin Hicks
Then I decided that I wanted to try more of Faith Erin Hick's stuff. This one had an interesting premise. I liked the setting, and I'm excited to see where it goes. Though this story didn't wow me either, and neither did the characters. It felt sort of cliché as well, but that might just be how I personally approach most boarding school stories.

3 out of 5 stars


The Arrival
by: Shaun Tan
This art. THIS ART. Absolutely, mind-blowingly stunning. Now, this book doesn't have any words, but it still finds the perfect way to tell its story. This art is shades of brown and gray, and it is some of the prettiest things I have ever seen. I loved this story and, like I said, the art is gorgeous, but I felt like some of the buildup was missing for me. But that might just mean that I need to reread it. I would stare at these pages all day long, so I will be rereading this.

4 out of 5 stars

Jane, The Fox, and Me
by: Fanny Brit
Speaking of gorgeous art, this book. I loved this story, too. It is about a young girl who gets picked on, and it has all these Jane Eyre references because as the girl is going through all of these things, she is also reading the book. I loved the message about how a book can become such an integral part of how you think and how you react to things. The artwork is stunning and the story is touching and beautiful.

4 out of 5 stars

Maus 1 & 2
by: Art Spiegelman
Ever since I heard that graphic novels were a thing, I've heard about Maus. It's praised as one of the classic graphic novels, and now I understand why. These are heartbreaking and emotional and realistic. This is the story of Art's relationship with his dad, how his dad was affected by being a Jew in Poland during World War II, and how that plays into his relationship with his son and with the world. This book highlights how the consequences of WWII still play themselves out in our world today. The characters are so human, so flawed and so relatable.
I loved when it went meta. I love that this book is a slanted look at making art, too. Artie takes all of his pain and makes something beautiful, but that doesn't mean the pain gets erased.

5 out of 5 stars

The Encyclopedia of Early Earth
by: Isabel Greenberg
This book is so beautiful, too. It's an almost episodic, as well as epic, story. It capitalizes on what storytelling means to humanity. It's a love story, and an adventure story, and a story of exploration. There are so many pages that I just let myself stare at for minutes on end because they were so, so, so beautiful. I loved this graphic novel, and it's simply wonderful.

5 out of 5 stars