borrow:
live! (academic) Teenage JJ Bulan just wanted to fit in at school and be popular, but he always felt like an outsider, a fact he partly attributes to his family and Filipino roots. It probably didn’t help that his parents fully embraced the tradition of their business, the food truck “Beautiful Pig,” that JJ and his sister Althea were forced to work at the restaurant; she gave away free samples and he wore a pig mascot costume , dancing with signs.
Although JJ is uncomfortable with all the things that make him different from his peers, the siblings are about to learn that their family is much stranger than they imagined: It turns out their mom was raised by a Filipino witch and has Able to use quite powerful magic… They seem to have inherited this magic.
In addition to their usual, everyday teenage problems—which, it should be said, are compelling enough that the presence of a witch plot is almost superfluous to the drama of a graphic novel—the kids are now being treated by ogres and the threat of witches at school, they find themselves allied with characters from Filipino folklore stories that their mother had previously introduced them to in didactic tales.
Can they learn to embrace their heritage and all that makes them unique, in time to save their families and the world from the evils of ancient folklore? Here’s the key to cartoonist Zachary Sterling’s victory live!a Filipino expression used to greet or express good wishes, which translates to “Long live!”
This is one of many terms that appear in footnotes throughout the book, followed by a glossary explaining the pronunciation and definitions of many Filipino terms and expressions scattered throughout Sterling’s book. There’s even an illustrated recipe in the form of a two-page comic for one of Bran’s signature Filipino dishes, chicken adobo.
In an author’s note after the story was completed, Sterling explained that while it wasn’t entirely an autobiography, it was very much his story and, like JJ, he was in the process of devouring various media grew up in, but rarely found himself or his family represented in any of them, “When you grow up and notice patterns that you or your family have with anything you see on a screen or page When there’s such a mismatch, you can’t help but feel left out.
and live!he corrects the lack of representation of Filipino children and families in comics and media…well, he certainly doesn’t solve the problem forever or anything, but he does take a big step in the right direction, providing a new perspective on things like People like his family helped and his people are a great piece of work that reflects who they are.
That’s not to say this is just a comic specifically for Filipinos. This story should resonate with anyone growing up in the world as an immigrant, our outsider status, or even just having doubts about ourselves and our families and how or whether they fit in with the rest of the world. Don’t miss it.
superhero journey (Abrams Comic Art) That’s more of what Super Comics can do: do something completely unexpected. This 112-page, storybook-sized hardcover is mutt Cartoonist Patrick McDonnell conducted an in-depth interview with Marvel Universe Architects Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and others. An unusual “collaboration,” sampling and repurposing many panels from their original comics to tell a new story that is essentially a love letter to the original, first-generation Marvel Universe.
When it came to drawing Marvel superheroes, as he did throughout the books, Macdonald was one of the most accomplished cartoonists, and you may still see his work in newspaper comics with his style Very different from the style people may be familiar with from his work mutt and several of his children’s picture books. It looks like the work of a fairly accomplished children’s artist, someone who doesn’t live and breathe post-Kirby action-adventure narratives trying to capture the style (in fact, Macdonald shared his own 1966 or So , the extent to which his new Marvel art echoes the art of his childhood is noteworthy.
His book begins as a biography, with a prologue set in 1966 Edison, New Jersey. Miracle comic book author Stan Lee, jack kirbyand Steve Ditko changed my life…I am Transform—and transport. I watched and marveled.These narrations are accompanied by images drawn by Kirby and Ditko, with Macdonald drawn by Macdonald walking through a portal and seemingly blending into the world of classic Marvel comics, seemingly replaced by a stand-in for the universe’s readers, the Watcher.
From there, a mini-Marvel saga begins, with panels from classic Marvel comics repurposed and Macdonald drawing the occasional bridge, introducing the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the Hulk, each of whom Characteristics of wrestling with negative thoughts, self-doubt and melodrama distinguished the highly emotional Marvel heroes from their stoic, steady DC counterparts of the early and mid-sixties.
Retextured and retconned, it’s clear that the heroes and their world are facing some sort of threat, one perpetuated by one of comics’ most iconic villains: Doctor Doom. In panels created by Macdonald, inserting images of Kirby and narration written by Lee, Doom proudly says, “I’ve harnessed Kirby’s power. negative zone and began to spread negativity in this land, crush The human spirit.
Eventually, the world turns on the heroes, and the heroes turn on each other, starting a massive brawl involving everyone (including the late Black Panther). The Amazing Mr. Reed Richards and the Watchers must try to figure out what’s going on and fight back, even as the stakes are raised with the impending arrival of Galactus. After a brief detour into the “romance zone,” Reed discovered that Doom was gradually appearing in places such as teenage romance and my own romance and realizes that his archenemy is behind the chaos.
What can be done to combat this negativity? Is there anything but love, a superpower that Kirby proposes in the introduction, and when the introduction and koan-tongued Observer and Reed manage to harness it and activate it, everything falls into place, But did it cost Reed his life?
He found himself lying in the dark, asking “What happened?” like a dying soldier once asked Kirby in one of his war stories.
With the story complete, the epilogue is set in the present, paying homage to Kirby, Lee, and Ditko… juxtaposed on a page with MacDonald’s own parents and bringing us up to date with the prologue. It’s a fitting enough climax, “Mush,” in Macdonald’s words, or what was originally Lee’s word, but, like every other page of the book, was created by the man who created Marvel Yes, they’re the real superheroes in the books, who are much more idolized and glorified than the tall, muscular men (and a few women) in the show’s roster of tight-fitting superheroes.
The book includes Reed’s posters, a letter column (in which the letter hack asks readers questions about the work they may own, making the exercise somewhat like a mini-interview with Macdonald about the work), exhaustive sources used in the book All images of Kirby, Ditko, Don Heck, Vince Colletta, Joe Sinnott and others, plus a long list of all quotes used in the book, some from Kirby and Lee , others from Kirby and Lee Eckhart Tolle, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Jung, Marianne Williamson, and others.
A love letter to the Marvel Foundation and the escapist power of comic books, it’s an amazing piece of work.
Reviewed:
unexpected warrior This self-published fantasy adventure from writer Karl Fields and artist David Velasquez follows two children who take a detour on their way to martial arts class. Circle – trying to save the teacher’s daughter from a difficult situation through a portal to another world. There, the two are soon separated and we follow Jalen as he attempts to find his missing friend Ram, rescue their teacher’s daughter and find a way home. Along the way, he meets a variety of characters, including a riddle-speaking anthropomorphic rabbit, a version of the Norse god Loki, and the leader of a tribe of young magic-users who must face challenges such as Hell, modeled after a school. They are in charge of everything. Jaron and Ram are fun characters in a typical isekai children’s narrative, and Velázquez’s art, lovingly colored by Gio Wolf, is engaging.
Godzilla: Monster and Protector—Long Live the King! (IDW Publishing) Erik Burnham and Dan Schoening’s kid-friendly sequel to the Godzilla franchise follows three conflicting kings: King Ghidorah, King Caesar, and, of course, the King of Monsters. King Godzilla. While this isn’t the publisher’s best work featuring Toho’s characters and concepts – I can’t get over how unlikable our protagonist really is – it’s still Godzilla, at least to me. Meaning it’s still fun. More here.
The Monkey King Vol. 2: Me and the Monkey King (DC Comics) I’ve talked a little too much about the nature of superhero comic crossovers in this review of the second half of Gene Lien Young and Bernard Chang’s overall stellar performance Monkey King a finite series whose ending is more or less due to Batman Vs. Robin/planet lazarus Business.
Star Wars: Stories from the Death Star (Dark Horse Books) All ages Star Wars After many years at IDW, the comic has settled at Dark Horse, where the annual tradition of weird, “horror” stories set in the world has been nicely transformed, with writer Cavan Scott and a handful of artist collaborators presenting this change. Scott’s formula is so perfected at this point that the comic runs like clockwork. More here.
Superman Vs. Mish (DC) While it seems like just yesterday that I was introduced to my new favorite superhero comic, it was actually exactly two months ago, in September, that I first learned about Superman’s recent obsession with Japanese restaurant chains , and his habit of going there every day. Now we have another volume of Man of Steel’s culinary adventures, which focuses on sharing food with his diverse peers. I can’t stress enough how funny these comics are (I mean, just dig that cover!). More here.
turtle bread (dark horse) When I first picked up the book and read it, I had no idea who Kim Joy was, but she is apparently a celebrity baker who will be familiar to many who read the comic. Knowing that she’s a baker, a reality TV show host, and a cookbook author actually makes her comic debut all the more impressive; it doesn’t read at all like the work of an amateur, or like an amateur putting their own spin on it. Fame translates to work in “hot” publishing genres. Instead, it’s a highly finished work that tells the compelling story of a young woman with severe social anxiety who makes new friends at a baking club and begins to break free of her own constraints. Considering that long and important passages of the book are told silently, much of the credit must go to the artist Alti Firmansyah. More here.
