Tag: Graphic Novel

Ink in Water: An Illustrated Memoir (Or, How I Kicked Anorexia’s Ass and Embraced Body Positivity) – Lacy J. Davis

Illustrations – Jim Kettner

Lacy J. Davis has nailed it in this graphic novel memoir of her battle with an eating disorder in Ink in Water. She bravely takes the reader on a journey with her from its inception with thoughts of not being good enough to the beginnings of food restriction and anorexia, to compulsively exercising and finally bulimia. We watch on as her world shrinks along with her body, as she shuts out friends while her obsession with her body takes hold. We’re taken inside her mind as she battles the thoughts telling her she’s too fat and we silently cheer her on from the sidelines as we watch her courageously fight to become healthy again and triumph over her demons.

While everyone fighting an eating disorder is on their own journey, Lacy takes us on an unflinching ride through hers. Not sugarcoating (yeah, I know, weird word to use in a review for a book about eating disorders) her struggles, yet ultimately giving us hope, this book will speak to everyone who has had, has or knows anyone with an eating disorder. People who can’t understand why they just don’t eat more or why they don’t just stop exercising so much will gain much needed insight into what life with an eating disorder looks and feels like.

There are as many stories behind why eating disorders begin as there are people struggling with them and what works for one person may not work for another as they work towards recovery. I applaud Lacy for showing us that recovery from eating disorders isn’t a success only path but that ultimately there is hope.

Jim Kettner’s illustrations are gritty and take us deeper into Lacy’s journey than we could have gone with words alone. We become a part of Lacy’s struggles and her grief, we’re inside her head listening to the voices telling her she’s not enough and we feel the hope that shines through despite her struggle.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and New Harbinger Publications, Inc. for the opportunity to read this graphic novel. If you have an eating disorder I encourage you to keep fighting, don’t stop searching until you find treatment that works for you and hold onto hope. Recovery is possible. Yes, even for you!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

At once punk rock and poignant, Ink in Water is the visceral and groundbreaking graphic memoir of a young woman’s devastating struggle with negative body image and eating disorders, and how she rose above her own destructive behaviours and feelings of inadequacy to live a life of strength and empowerment.

As a young artist living in Portland, Lacy Davis’ eating disorder began with the germ of an idea: a seed of a thought that told her she just wasn’t good enough. And like ink in water, that idea spread until it reached every corner of her being. This is the true story of Lacy’s journey into the self-destructive world of multiple eating disorders. It starts with a young and positive Lacy, trying to grapple with our culture’s body-image obsession and stay true to her riot grrrl roots. And while she initially succeeds in overcoming a nagging rumination about her body, a break up with a recovering addict starts her on a collision course with anorexia, health food obsession, and compulsive exercise addiction. At the request of her last real friend, she starts going to a twelve-step Overeaters Anonymous course, only to find that it conflicts with her punk feminist ideology.

Blending bold humor, a healthy dose of self-deprecation, vulnerability, literary storytelling, and dynamic and provocative artwork by illustrator Jim Kettner, Ink in Water is an unflinching, brutally honest look into the author’s mind: how she learned to take control of her damaging thoughts, redirect her perfectionism from self-destructive behaviours into writing and art, and how she committed herself to a life of health, strength, and nourishment.

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Fowl Language: The Struggle is Real – Brian Gordon

While I’m not a parent I still really enjoyed this book. The comics were funny and entirely relatable. Plus, the drawings are of ducks. What’s not to love about ducks?!

I’ve observed so many of these moments with friends’ kids, along with the sticky kids who always end up next to you in the checkout line and the ones playing the games with annoying music at the highest possible volume on their parent’s phone at the doctor’s surgery. Whenever I come across a Fowl Language moment I have such admiration for the way parents manage the seemingly impossible and usually think, ‘You poor things’ and feel myself wanting to give the frazzled parents a hug. Yet at the same time I’m probably also thinking, ‘This is reason number 638 why I don’t have kids’.

There’s always something cathartic about finding a “Me, too!” moment when you feel like you’re the only one going through something and parents are definitely going to find plenty of those in this book. This is a book that can used to reminisce – “Look what we survived!”, to encourage – “I think I can, I think I can” or possibly even as an effective form of birth control.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

The Internet sensation, Fowl Language Comics, is back with its second book, Fowl Language: The Struggle Is Real, the perfect parenting humor book for anyone who liked Toddlers Are A**holes!

He’s back, and he’s totally got parenting figured out this time. KIDDING.

It’s another collection of Fowl Language comics, ripped from the headlines of this author’s actual friggin’ life.

You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll swear. It’s almost exactly like a day of parenting, except without the annoying little people.

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The Creeps – Fran Krause

I loved this book! With quirky illustrations, these comics tapped into urban legends, campfire stories and other irrational (or so we’re made to believe) fears we already have, along with some new ones spawned during reading The Creeps.

While reading I vacillated between “Me, too!!” and “Oh, I never thought about that before”, the whole time with a potentially creepy grin plastered on my face. I was compelled to read this book from cover to cover as soon as I received it, which unfortunately was in the morning.

My second reading will definitely take place at night in the dark, with only the light of my iPad protecting me from the ghosts surrounding me and the creature under the bed ready to hold my hand during the night if I dare fall asleep with my arm hanging over the side of the bed.

The Creeps is delightfully creepy but it’s also funny, imaginative and sometimes all too real (in a fun way). I’ll be revisiting this book many times and will be recommending it to my fellow eccentrics and everyone I know with a sense of humour.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Illustrator, animator, teacher, and comic artist Fran Krause has touched a collective nerve with his wildly popular web comic series – and subsequent New York Times best-selling book – Deep Dark Fears. Here he brings readers more of the creepy, funny, and idiosyncratic fears they love illustrated in comic form -– such as the fear that your pets will tell other animals all your embarrassing secrets, or that someone uses your house while you’re not home -– as well as two longer comic short-stories about ghosts. 

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Lady Stuff: Secrets to Being a Woman – Loryn Brantz

The comics in this book are broken up into sections: grooming and habitat maintenance, life ambitions, mating habits, self-care and social conduct. I started out relating to a lot of the comics early in the book but then realised that I’d already seen all of the good ones on the internet and didn’t really enjoy or relate to the rest.

It’s possible I’m too old for some of the humour and it would work better for women in their late teens or early 20’s. It’s a cute gift book but I wouldn’t personally read it more than once. 

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A collection of Loryn Brantz’s vibrant and relatable Jellybean Comics about her everyday experiences as a lady.

Home manicure tips, awkward seduction techniques, scoping out the snack table, and — most important — prioritising naps: Lady Stuff reveals these womanly secrets and more. In sections like “Grooming and Habitat Maintenance,” “Mating Habits,” and others, these brightly coloured, adorable comics find the humour in the awkwardness of simply existing.

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Superfail – Max Brunner

Illustrations – Dustin Mackay

This book is perfect for anyone who’s ever dreamed of being a superhero and for anyone who’s ever felt, or been made to feel, not good enough. So, basically everyone.

I really enjoyed the storyline and the positive messages that shine through between the non-stop action and laughs. There was something to love about every character, even the villain. Max Brunner (author) and Dustin Mackay (illustrator) complemented each other so well to bring the story and graphics together it would be easy to believe that one person was responsible for both the words and pictures. Their collaboration on this book was seamless and I hope they team up again for future projects. The choice of fonts was in keeping with the style of book and the illustrations were brilliant. I loved the mix of black and white with selected areas of colour to make details pop.

This would be a fantastic gateway book for kids who aren’t usually a fan of reading as they’ll experience firsthand how much fun reading can be. If you buy this book for your child make sure you steal it from them to read it yourself as well. The laughs aren’t just for kids. As I was reading I could easily imagine this book being made into a movie.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Running Press Kids for the opportunity to read this graphic novel. I’d recommend this book both to the young and the young on the inside, and I’ll be rereading it again very soon. I really hope there’ll be a sequel. There’s no way the Defectives only have one story to tell!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Laser vision isn’t so hot when you’re cross-eyed, and supersonic flight’s a real downer when motion sickness keeps you grounded.

Twelve-year-old Marshall Preston is a Defective – a person with superhuman abilities that are restricted by some very human setbacks. While other kids are recruited to superhero teams, Marshall’s stuck in seventh grade with a kid who can run at super speed but can’t turn a corner, another with a radioactive peanut allergy that turns him into a swollen Hulk, and a telepath who reads everyone’s thoughts out loud.

Defectives like Marshall aren’t exactly superhero material, but when he uncovers a plot to destroy one of the greatest superhero teams of all time, Marshall and his less-than-super friends set out to prove that just because you’re defective doesn’t mean you can’t save the day. 

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What Does Consent Really Mean? – Pete Wallis & Thalia Wallis

Illustrations – Joseph Wilkins

This graphic novel is a great introduction to a vitally important topic. I wish something similar had been available when I was growing up. I’d love to see it provided to students during sex ed classes in schools. The graphic novel format is much more inviting than the photocopied notes that were painfully plentiful last century when I was at school.

The discussion questions and resources at the end would be useful as a jumping off point to aid teachers in facilitating classroom discussions. I could see this book being used by parents to help them bring up this topic with their children and also to inform parents about the issues that affect kids today that they may not have had to deal with when they were growing up due to changes in technology. Even school leavers may find this book useful as issues surrounding consent don’t magically disappear once you reach adulthood.

This book dispels many myths surrounding what is and isn’t consent in a clear, conversational way. There are some parts that read more like adults talking than teenagers but I’m not sure this can be completely avoided. By touching on various scenarios relevant to consent, including perspectives of males and females, and making the point that the need for consent is the same regardless of a person’s sexuality, this book gives the reader enough of an overview to be able to apply what they’ve read to scenarios they may face in their own lives (or bring clarity to what they may have already experienced).

One of the resources listed at the end of the book is a YouTube video that explains consent so well that I think it complements this book perfectly.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

“Consent is not the absence of ‘NO’, it is an enthusiastic YES!!”

While seemingly straightforward, Tia and Bryony hadn’t considered this subject too seriously until it comes up in conversation with their friends and they realise just how important it is.

Following the sexual assault of a classmate, a group of teenage girls find themselves discussing the term consent, what it actually means for them in their current relationships, and how they act and make decisions with peer influence. Joined by their male friends who offer another perspective, this rich graphic novel uncovers the need for more informed conversations with young people around consent and healthy relationships.

Accompanying the graphics are sexual health resources for students and teachers, which make this a perfect tool for broaching the subject with teens.

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