Last weekend was the last and biggest con of the year that I attend: San Diego Comic Con.
(note: sorry for extremely crappy picture quality. I was usually sitting in the back using maximum zoom)
Graphic Novels
Due to ALA being the week before AX and SDCC coming up in a week, I really restricted my spending this year.
Due to ALA being within easy driving distance this year, the library offered to pay for our ticket to attend. This was my first ALA conference.
I like to keep track of upcoming books coming out so I don’t forget any. This is what I’ve gathered so far:
- Jan. 2: Wandering Son v. 2 (manga)
- Jan. 3: Under the Never Sky (Veronica Rossi; recommended by Beth)
- Jan. 31: GTO: 14 Days in Shonan (manga)
- Feb. 21: A Perfect Blood (Kim Harrison [Hollows])
- Feb. 21: GTO: The Early Years v. 11 (manga, Vertical’s debut)
- Feb. 28: Timeless (Gail Carriger [Parasol Protectorate])
- Mar. 1 (?): Soulless graphic novel (Gail Carriger)
- Mar. 6: Fair Game (Patricia Briggs [Alpha & Omega])
- Mar. 13: Drops of God v. 3 (manga)
- Mar. 27: NonNonBa (manga)
- Mar. 27: A Bride’s Story v. 3 (manga)
- Apr. 3: Grave Mercy (R. L. LaFevers; recommended by Beth)
- May 1: Bitterblue (Kristin Cashore)
- May 15: Gilt (Katherine Longshore; recommended by Beth)
- May 29: Wandering Son v. 3
- June 5: Alice in the Country of Clover (manga)
- June 26: Alice in the Country of Hearts (manga, omnibus)
- July 17: Sakuran (manga)
- Aug. 28: Heart of Thomas (manga, BL)
Fall 2012: Etiquette & Espionage (Gail Carriger [Finishing School])Delayed to Feb. 2013.- Fall 2012: Wrinkle in Time graphic novel (Madeline L’Engle/Hope Larson)
Nothing new listed for: Jim Butcher, Deanna Raybourn, Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series, Carrie Vaughn, Ilona Andrews
(updated with a bunch of manga dates)
A Comic-con purchase, recommended by YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens.
Set in the 1920s, this is a story where the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs roles are reversed, more or less. Yes, BB Wolf does kill the pigs, but what they did to him first makes the killing almost justified. This is set up to mirror the race wars between African Americans and whites, where the pigs are the white, powerful class, and the wolves are the oppressed minority class.
A disturbing story, and very brutal at times, BB Wolf, a struggling farmer and blues musician, tells the tragic story of what happened to his family, and what he did to try and get justice and revenge in an unfair world. Koslowski portrays the wolves as downtrodden and beaten, and the pigs as horribly corrupt, power hungry fatheads (literally).
As to the traditional story of the Three Little Pigs that we all know? Well… everyone knows who writes history, right?
Anya’s Ghost made Glen Weldon’s list of Five Recent Graphic Novels You Really Shouldn’t Miss, posted right before Comic Con. I tried to buy it at SDCC, but the publisher sold out. I finally got my copy yesterday.
At SDCC, my friend drew my attention to a series of graphic novels called Korgi at the Top Shelf booth. She has a corgi/pomeranian mix, who looks pretty much like a slightly fluffy corgi, so naturally she would gravitate towards an adorable graphic novel with a corgi hero.
I also have a fondness for corgis. They’re such happy looking dogs! And they look like foxes. I also have Tasha Tudor’s corgi books, because they make me happy with the cuteness.
So after SDCC, my friend lent me her copies of books 1 & 2, which is all that’s out so far.
Korgi is about a world with creatures called Mollies, which are basically little fairy-like people, who live in the forest with their companions, Korgis. Korgis look like they come in a variety of sizes, and they seem to be of human intelligence and have special powers. This graphic novel is done entirely in pictures with no words at all (except the intro, which is by Wart the Toad, and scrollkeeper of the Mollies). The pictures are extremely detailed ink-work, with loving attention paid towards making the Korgis as adorable as possible.
The stars of the series are Ivy, a young female Mollie (who is a very good female protagonist), and her faithful companion Sprout the Korgi, and their exploration adventures.
This is a truly all-ages “read” with maybe some slight scariness for the very young (there’s some goblin-like baddies, and an ominous alien). But the huggable Korgis should balance that out. And since it’s wordless, you can make it sound like however you want, and make it more or less scary as you see fit.
I bought NINE books at Comic-con. Nine very heavy books. That I had to lug around with me. And that still wasn’t all the books I wanted to buy.
So, what did I get?
plus
