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REVIEW // 6 Graphic Novels I’ve Read Lately

In continuation of my last graphic novel round-up, I’ve got a few new favorites! I think I may have discovered one of my new favorite artists of all time as well – Skottie Young!

I Hate Fairyland Volume 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young

This series is about a little girl named Gert who gets sucked into Fairyland one day and has to complete a quick little quest in order to get back home, but she gets stuck there. We catch up with her about 30 years into her journey once she’s developed into the toughest, angriest, most brutal character while still remaining in her 6-year-old body. She also has a little sidekick fly buddy with her at all times named Larry who’s just totally over it, and it’s hilarious. I love it.

The artwork is what really drew me to this graphic novel. I mean, it’s totally my style. Vibrant. High contrast colors. Kind of a strange and unusual drawing style. As soon as Matt saw this one he said, “This looks like something you’d draw”.  I wish. Maybe one day. If I was half as good of an artist as Skottie Young I’d be happy. I’m definitely going to be continuing on with this series.

I Hate Fairyland Volume 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young, [$8.47, Amazon.com]

Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe

I’m not super into Medieval anything, but I read good reviews about this so I wanted to see if I’d like it. Honestly, it was better than I expected, but not really my vibe. It’s kind of like a badass girl version Lord of the Rings. Kind of? There’s a group of magical women who fight monsters and people for hire together and are on a quest to solve some murders as punishment for making a mess of things. Basically everyone hates them because they’re always fighting everyone and messing things up. The dialogue is funny and modern. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either.

The artwork isn’t really my style. The colors are pretty muted and mostly neutral, which sometimes I like, but I dunno, it just seemed dull to me. The drawing style itself isn’t too far off from what I like, but there’s just something about it that doesn’t really capture my attention too much. I think it just has a lot to do with the fact that I’m not a huge fan of this kind of world. But if you’re really into Lord of the Rings and all that kind of Medieval fantasy stuff you’d probably be into this. I won’t be continuing on with this one.

Rat Queens Volume 1: Sorcery & Sass by Kurtis J. Wiebe, [$8.49, Amazon.com]

The Wicked + The Divine Volume 1: The Faust Pack by Kieron Gillen

I also read a lot of good reviews about this so I wanted to read it because of them alone. The premise sounded pretty enticing – every 90 years 12 Gods return as young people. They’re worshiped and treated like huge celebrities. But the thing is they die within 2 years of being reborn, and stay dead for another 90 years. So they jump through centuries. The narrator of the story is just a regular girl who’s obsessed with the Gods and wants to become one. There’s also something sketchy going down that they’re all trying to figure out. Sounds interesting right? I dunno what it was, but I wasn’t super into it while I was reading it. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it.

The artwork is a lot like Y the Last Man’s. It’s okay, but it’s not my favorite. I do like the colors, but I don’t really love how the world and people look. It’s a little to plain for me. It’s just not weird enough looking for me. I don’t think I’ll be continuing on with this one either. Maybe if I run out of things to read I would.

The Wicked + The Divine Volume 1: The Faust Pack by Kieron Gillen, [$8.43, Amazon.com]

The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way

My buddy Trason was the Key Makeup Artist on The Umbrella Academy Netflix show, so I had to check it out to see what he did. Surprise, surprise – I loved it. Well done, Trason! But I had never read the graphic novel, so I wanted to read it and compare the two. The show and the movie are basically the same when it comes to the overall premise, but with slight differences. Both stories revolve around an event where 43 kids are born to random women all over the world who weren’t even pregnant to begin with, and they all have superhuman powers. A rich inventor named Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopts 7 of them and makes them into a superhero team. The difference between the Netflix show and the graphic novel is basically how things go down, but the overall story is the same. When comparing the Netflix show to the graphic novel, I actually prefer the Netflix show. For me, this was one of those rare situations where the show/movie is better than the book. But kudos to Gerard Way for creating this! How talented can one person be? I mean, really. It’s kind of ridiculous.

The artwork is pretty basic. It’s definitely got more of a cartoony Teen Titans vibe to it. It’s not my favorite style. But it definitely has a vibe. I might continue on with this one.

The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way, [$11.68, Amazon.com]

Ghostworld by Daniel Clowes

Growing up Ghostworld was one of my favorite movies. I related heavily to Scarlett Johannson’s character, Becky. Somehow I had never read the graphic novel, though I always intended to. The story is pretty much the same between the two mediums. Basically it’s about two teenage best friends Becky and Enid growing up and growing apart. As well as the odd relationship between Enid and the weird older guy she befriends, Seymour. It’s dripping with sarcasm and pure teen angst. It’s great. The dialogue is honestly some of the best dialogue I’ve ever read. It’s SO good.

But the artwork? I truly hated it. Lol. For real tho… it’s hideous. I really don’t like anything about it. I think it’s just really ugly. And I’d prefer it was just black and white vs the black white and mint green? Mint green tho. WHY. Why?! The writing is what makes this so great, definitely not the artwork. That in itself makes it worth reading. It’s a great reference for writing dialogue, so I’ll probably be reading this again.

Ghostworld by Daniel Clowes, [$11.66, Amazon.com]

Farmhand Volume 1: Reap What Was Sown by Rob Guillory

Last, but certainly not least – Farmhand! I figured I’d end this with one of my new favorites. It’s about a guy who’s Dad is a farmer, but he’s not your regular farmer. He’s a geneticist-scientist-farmer who’s somehow figured out how to grow limbs through plants that can attach to the new host immediately and heal extremely fast. But of course, there are some bad consequences to it, and some seedy things going on behind the scenes.

If you can’t tell already, the artist that did the artwork for Farmhand is the same artist that did the artwork for Chew! I love the artwork. It’s got super vibrant colors, which is always my jam. In comparison to Chew I definitely prefer how he composed the panels in this. It’s less busy. I also really dig how unique his artwork is. He definitely has a unique style, so you can always tell he did it because no one else draws like this. I love that! I’m definitely going to be continuing on with this series.

Farmhand Volume 1: Reap What Was Sown by Rob Guillory, [$8.75]

Out of all of these, I’m definitely going to continue on with “I Hate Fairyland” and “Farmhand”. Let me know if you have any suggestions of what I should read next in the comments below!

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

 

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