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Meepelous: Hello and welcome, my name is Meepelous (they/she/he) and this is Literally Graphic!

And today we are rounding out 2022 with a December TBR video! Only slightly behind the times. ECO has been consuming my life of late, but it’s only temporary and obviously doesn’t eat into my reading commute time at all. So we shall see.

Starting out with the Mainstream picks; I’ve already started writing my review for the first two volumes of Saga of the Swamp Thing so I’m not sure which will come out first. I’ve marked volume one as read three times on Goodreads now, so it might just win out as my most re-read title. That said, I had never actually ended up reviewing it so here goes. I certainly didn’t plan to be talking about Alan Moore quiet this much, but the cookies have just crumbled this way. I promise to take a break soon.

TLDR, originally published in the 80’s as single issues, both volumes cumulatively add up to about 380 pages.

The summary is “With modern-day issues explored against a backdrop of horror, SWAMP THING’s stories became commentaries on environmental, political and social issues, unflinching in their relevance…
Book One begins with the story “The Anatomy Lesson,” a haunting origin story that reshapes SWAMP THING mythology with terrifying revelations that begin a journey of discovery and adventure that will take him across the stars and beyond.”

Swinging to the opposite end up mainstream, in my opinion, is the Witch Boy trilogy; a queer middle grade graphic novel series published by Scholastic between 2017 and ’19, the trilogy comes to a total of 651 pages.

Summary of volume one”In thirteen-year-old Aster’s family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn’t shifted . . . and he’s still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be. When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help — as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family . . . and be truly himself.”

Moving right along to my two manga picks for the month, first we have My Wandering Warrior Existence from Kabi Nagata. The creator behind the memoirs My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and My Solo Exchange diary.

This English translation was published by Seven Seas in 2022 and is a mere 128 pages long.

The summary on goodreads was no use at all, but I did track down the following “After attending a friend’s wedding, Nagata Kabi decides she wants one of her own. That’s not the only thing she wants—she longs to love and be loved. But she has three major problems: she has no partner, no dating experience, and her only sexual encounters are limited to a lesbian escort service. With the help of a photoshoot, a dating app, and more, the author embarks on a journey to seek the love and happiness she so desperately desires.”

Manga pick number two is Barefoot Gen Volume two by Keiji Nakazawa. I reviewed volume one back in April, so check that out if that tickles your fancy. I’m not sure what edition my library will send me, but it was originally published in 1973, has been translated a few times and closes in on about 240 pages.

the summary over on comic vine is “Cartoonist Keiji Nakazawa was seven years old and living in Hiroshima in the early days of August 1945 when the city was destroyed by an atomic bomb dropped by the U.S.A. Starting a few months before that event, the ten-volume saga shows life in Japan after years of war and privations. Volume Two, The Day After, tells the story of the day after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, as seen through the eyes of seven-year-old Gen Nakaoka. Gen, his mother, and his newborn sister face the horrors of the day after the bomb. This long story can be compared in scope and intensity to Maus.”

Then we have my Black comic read of the month, which is After the Rain by Nnedi Okorafor, John Jennings and David Brame. Published by Abrams Comic Arts in 2021, I’m really excited to pick up another Okorafor title.

Summary “After the Rain is a graphic novel adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor’s short story “On the Road.” The drama takes place in a small Nigerian town during a violent and unexpected storm. A Nigerian-American woman named Chioma answers a knock at her door and is horrified to see a boy with a severe head wound standing at her doorstep. He reaches for her, and his touch burns like fire. Something is very wrong. Haunted and hunted, Chioma must embrace her heritage in order to survive. John Jennings and David Brame’s graphic novel collaboration uses bold art and colors to powerfully tell this tale of identity and destiny.”

We have Graphic Reproduction: A Comics Anthology from Graphic Medicine and edited by Jenell Johnson. 232 pages published by Penn State University Press in 2018.

I picked this up for my ongoing look into comics that talk about abortion and reproductive justice. I did fear this might be the end of this particular reading meander, but recently discovered via Chatty AF that there is a manga sex ed series that also touches on abortion in Japan; so that should be pretty exciting, it is entitled Sex Ed 120%.

But back to Graphic Reproduction, the summary “This comics anthology delves deeply into the messy and often taboo subject of human reproduction. Featuring work by luminaries such as Carol Tyler, Alison Bechdel, and Joyce Farmer, Graphic Reproduction is an illustrated challenge to dominant cultural narratives about conception, pregnancy, and childbirth.
The comics here expose the contradictions, complexities, and confluences around diverse individual experiences of the entire reproductive process, from trying to conceive to child loss and childbirth. Jenell Johnson’s introduction situates comics about reproduction within the growing field of graphic medicine and reveals how they provide a discursive forum in which concepts can be explored and presented as uncertainties rather than as part of a prescribed or expected narrative. Through comics such as Lyn Chevley’s groundbreaking “Abortion Eve,” Bethany Doane’s “Pushing Back: A Home Birth Story,” Leah Hayes’s “Not Funny Ha-Ha,” and “Losing Thomas & Ella: A Father’s Story,” by Marcus B. Weaver-Hightower, the collection explores a myriad of reproductive experiences and perspectives. The result is a provocative, multifaceted portrait of one of the most basic and complicated of all human experiences, one that can be hilarious and heartbreaking.
Featuring work by well-known comics artists as well as exciting new voices, this incisive collection is an important and timely resource for understanding how reproduction intersects with sociocultural issues. The afterword and a section of discussion exercises and questions make it a perfect teaching tool.”

And last but not least, my Indigenous pick for the month is The Rez Detectives by Steven Paul Judd, Tvli Jacob and M.K. Perker. A middle grade mystery published by literati press in 2021; the pages are not numbered, but it is my shortest pick of the month.

The summery from the publisher is “This summer, Tasembo just wants to chill. But that’s not an option when it’s a scorching day on the Reservation and the Ice Cream Man is a no-show. In an attempt to impress his crush by solving the mystery, Tasembo joins forces with his neighbor, Nuseka, and his dog, Billy Jack, to take on their first case as the Rez Dog Detectives. With twists around every corner, this case won’t crack itself, but when you combine Nuseka’s brains, Billy Jack’s loyalty, and Tasembo’s… persistence, justice will be served. Cold, that is.” And it sounds like a very fun read.

And… that’s all they wrote. I am very interested to hear what kind of reading plans all y’all have this month, as we end the year. So pelase feel free to let loose in the comments.

Bye y’all, keep reading and organize to end capitalist oppression.

And Literally Graphic is created on land that should be given back to the traditional land holders, which in this case is to my knowledge the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, an Anishinaabe people, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Huron-Wendat nation.