comics in February...

Loving this month's graphic novels theme. Loving. And I've finished my first few. Now, I'm delusional...I've set myself this sort of loose goal of reading 49 comics this month. And seeing how I find it a struggle to write reviews ever, the idea of writing 49 (you know, in my dreams) in a month is just horrifying. So, in typical Debi fashion, I'm wimping out...instead, you shall get a few sentences on my reaction to the book and a few links to posts by people who are far more talented than I.

*Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol. Okay, truthfully, I did not fall in love with this book. Which is not the same as saying that I didn't like it, of course. I did like it, in fact, I enjoyed it very much! And I'm sort of at a loss as to why I didn't love it. The art is seriously awesome. I found Anya to be an incredibly believable character. And I found the story intriguing. Honestly, I can't really think of a single thing I didn't like. And yet. *shrug*

Carl's review and Ana's review and Darren's review

*Chiggers by Hope Larson. *sigh* I really didn't love this one either. I didn't actively dislike it, in fact, like with Anya's Ghost, I don't think I could think of a single that that bothered me. And I did most definitely adore the art. But overall, I just wasn't blown away. Honestly, I'm sort of wondering if it was simply my mood, with both this book and Anya's Ghost. Maybe I've just put unrealistic expectations on my reading experiences because I'm so giddily excited about graphic novels month. Who knows.

Ana's review and Jeane's review and Stacy's review

*French Milk by Lucy Knisley. Irony-->this one I loved, and I really didn't think I was going to. Despite the fact that I don't think I've ever heard a bad word said about this book, I just had this nagging feeling that it wasn't going to do much for me. But well, the author pretty much managed to charm the pants of me. There was one moment when I thought, "Well, aren't we the little snob?" and more than one moment when her talk of food literally made my stomach queasy. And yet still I really did enjoy the heck out of this one.

Andi's review and Jill's review and Eva's review

*Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim. Woohoo...I think I'm on a roll now--I absolutely LOVED this one!!! I have a feeling that I should be embarrassed to admit this, but I'd never heard of this book before I saw it on the library shelves. The cover alone made me snatch it right up. It was the right decision, because this book is a definite delight! The art is fantastic. Really fantastic. And the story--*happy sigh*--quirky, charming, loud out loud funny at times, and ultimately just plain awesome.

Darren's review and well, I couldn't find any more reviews (I'm not very accomplished at searches)...but Vasilly read it and said that of the 31 books she'd read that month, this was one of the three that really stuck out

*Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks. And another one to love! So glad Lu recommended this one. :) Again, I loved the art! So many talented comics artists out there, aren't there? And I really enjoyed the story as well. In a way, it was sort of a quiet story. About high school life. With the twist that Maggie is just starting high school after having been homeschooled her whole life. (The only reservation I have about the book stems from that part of the story--the "but what about socialization?" crap that is so often pulled out at the mere mention of homeschooling--is sort of alluded to here. I won't go into it now, because frankly, the subject has been played out in too many conversations I've had to have over the years. But if you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about, I do discuss it a bit in this post.) Anyway, while that irked me a bit, it in no way ruined the book for me--especially because Maggie and her brothers are such awesome kids. I really did love the characters--Maggie, her brothers, her new friends Lucy and Alistair. I loved the variety of relationships between the siblings. Oh, and there's a ghost. :)

Lu's review and Darren's review

And that ends round one of comics in February. I'd really hoped to have had more read at this point, but what are you going to do, right? Winter break is coming in just a week and a half--and I'm really hoping to loose myself in these lovely stacks then. :)