Glacially paced and occasionally scattershot, Riad Sattouf‘s memoir is an interesting read but could have massively benefited from tighter editing. It’s supposed to be a four part series, but could have easily fit into two books like a certain peer’s series about a similar subject.
Continue reading “Graphic Novel Review: The Arab of the Future 1 & 2 by Riad Sattouf”
If you’ve ever wanted to learn about garbage, this is the book for you. Backderf’s semi-autobiographical account of being a garbageman effectively shows how graphic novels can be used to tell a huge variety of different stories, although it is lacking a little in the narrative department. Spoilers below.
Continue reading “Graphic Novel Review: Trashed by Derf Backderf”
A haphazardly assembled cash grab, this is less a graphic novel than a (mostly) illustrated collection of facts about the current president of the United States. It serves as a bare bones introduction to the man and his ascent up the political ladder, but it’s far too superficial to be considered anything remotely close to essential reading.
Continue reading “Graphic Novel Review: Trump: A Graphic Biography by Ted Rall”
Fun Home‘s subtitle is “A Family Tragicomic”, and it couldn’t be more apt. Alison Bechdel‘s blunt, hyper-literate voice is a singular one in the world of graphic novels, and makes for an autobiography more self-exploratory than most others. Bechdel approaches her past misfortunes with a wry, sardonic tone that only lapses a few times- and is all the better for it.
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Thompson’s critically acclaimed coming-of-age autobiography is powerful, achingly sad portrait of the author’s early life growing up in an extremely religious household and finding his first romantic partner. The masterfully illustrated book is compelling, but some readers may be left cold finding out only one of the central themes gets an appropriate denouement.
Continue reading “Graphic Novel Review: Blankets by Craig Thompson”