Armed With Madness: The Surreal Leonora Carrington- Graphic Novel Review

I feel like this graphic novel was almost created for me as it mixes my appreciation of Bryan Talbot and Leonora Carrington into one heady brew. I knew of Bryan Talbot from his earlier graphic novels like The Tale of One Bad Rabbit, Alice in Sunderland and Grandville. He's a bit of a legend in the British comic scene and has done quite a few graphic novel signings over the years.

Now, Leonora Carrington is another matter altogether. I came across Ms. Carrington's work by proxy of Dorothea Tanning. I went to the Dorothea Tanning exhibition at the Tate Modern in 2019 and her surrealist art really blew me away. Afterwards, I researched the art scene she was part of and found Leonora Carrington's work. Her art style drew me in and I bought a book celebrating her work and art as well as watching a fascinating documentary about her life.

I came across Leonora Carrington: Armed With Madness by chance when I went through to Gosh Comics in London after visiting my family in East London. I like to go comic shopping in person as there is always a chance that you'll find something you never even knew existed or be recommended a read by the people who work there. Whilst browsing the tables, I saw Armed With Madness: The Surreal Leonora Carrington and knew that I had to buy it.

Carrington as a subject matter is difficult to convey in biographical form as she lived a pretty amazing life and saw things a bit differently than most. Her life and work were tumultuous and she often saw people as totemic animals, herself as either a hyena or a horse and her 26 year senior lover, artist Max Ernst, as an eagle. We see young Leonora struggling against the female oppressive norms of Edwardian society and rebelling against her parents. She joined artists in a bohemian lifestyle and was freed from the social hierarchies and expectation as she embraced the Art Life.

Over 144 pages we get a good overview of her life and this is portrayed with a free-flowing art style that dips into surrealness with anthropomorphic animals showing Leonora's state of mind. The art is beautiful and the narrative well presented but it is always difficult to capture a life lived into such limited pages, especially a life as complex as that of Leonora Carrington.

This graphic novel is well worth a read but consider it a primer before delving deeper into the life of this remarkable and singular woman. She remained a forgot woman of the Surrealist scene but found recognition later in life when in Mexico.

Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons - Graphic Novel Review

On a whim at my local comic shop, and to get over the minimum £5 spend, I splurged £25 to get Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons. I'm not sure why but I went so over my budget but it's good to support the little guy against the Amazon shopping behemoth. Also, it looked so darned impressive in its dust jacket that I couldn't resist. I didn't even open the book before buying it. In the evening, I sat down with a cup of tea and dived in.

Frustrated by the indifference of Zeus and the other Gods to women's suffering, the various Greek Goddesses come together at the Well of Souls and use the spirit of murdered women through the ages to make a new race of warrior women--the Amazons.
These revitalised women bring retribution to women slavers, rapists and murderers but the Gods, dominated by the Greek male pantheon, are none too pleased with this change of affairs. And so begins an epic war between the Goddesses and Amazonian against Zeus and his followers.

Historia is a beautifully illustrated and coloured book. The detailed artwork is gorgeous and shows the true skill of Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha and Nicola Scott. The lush painterly style deserved to be appreciated and the hardback edition I have has excellent paper stock which really makes the art pop.
However, as well as looking good the story is epic too- in the real sense and not the overused hyperbole. It reads like a Homerian epic with wonderful flowing language which fits the sequential art so well as to be almost symbiotic of the sequential art.

If I had to share a graphic novel with someone who had no knowledge of sequential art, alongside Maus, Blankets, Watchmen and Battle Angel Alita I'd pass along this.

Koko Be Good- Graphic Novel Review

I bought this graphic novel upon release in 2010 and remember quite liking it at the time but not thinking it was anything special. So, after about 12 years, it's nice to revisit it.

This is a handsome book with good quality paper stock.

The book is a coming of age/ existential crisis tale that was popular during this period in time. It has a slacker comedy vibe but also some of the elements of mumblecore movies where young adults are trying to figure things out. In this story we follow Jon, a young college graduate who is leaving his American home to travel to work in an orphanage with his Peruvian girlfriend in South America. He had his doubts but as he is directionless, feels its a good thing to do. He collides with Koko, a narcissist who is in it for herself and together their friendship grows and they learn about what it means to be good people and function in a society. There is a b-story about Faron, a young boy looking for a safe home and future, but his story is sidelined for the most part.

The ochre colours are beautiful and bring the art to life.

Whilst the story is perfunctory and the dialogue a little too earnest and Dawson's Creek-ish in its navel gazing, the art is a real standout and the ochre water colours are lush and expressive. The silent moments, the moments when the tale is told purely through images, is often stronger than the narrative unfolding through dialogue. It reminds me of Reality Bites, the early 90s film about finding your true self. It sounds great but some of the dialogue was clunky and didn’t aged well and it doesn't here either. However, the comic is an interesting read and, whilst not essential, worth the hour or so required of your time.

Lucky Penny- Graphic Novel Review

I got Lucky Penny in 2016, which means I was 5 years into my marriage, had moved to Kent and had recently become a father to my first daughter. I'm not sure what attracted me to this graphic novel comic but I'm guessing it was during one of my nostalgic 'ahhh, my 20s were great' phases as I'd officially hit the mid-30s so was in the higher 35-49 years old insurance bracket. Maybe I was going through a premature midlife/ existential crisis and this was a comfort purchase. Whatever the case, I remember liking the book as it had a sweet goof all character but I couldn't remember much else so it seemed like now was a great time to dive in once again into the work of Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota.

This is a beautifully presented book.

Lucky Penny is the tale of young Penny Brighton, an unlucky girl who leaves disaster in her wake but has a heart of gold. The graphic novel follows Penny as she tries to figure out where to go, what to do and how to cope in the real world. The story is similar to Scott Pilgrim and Giant Days and also mumblecore movies like Frances Ha and similar works by Greta Gerwig, where charmingly clueless, young, main characters try to deal with all that life throws at them. In this case, Penny is wonderfully optimistic and chirpy whilst living in a storage unit (garage) and trying to get a job and maintain her relationship with a prospective boyfriend.

Lucky Penny is a quick read with relatable characters; Ota’s art is bold and solid throughout the whole book and Hirsh's storytelling gentle yet interesting enough to keep you reading. The ending of the book is very bombastic and out of pace with the rest of the book but I liked it as it goes big.

Overall, Lucky Penny is well worth your time as it has a quirky central character and an interesting coming-of-age slacker vibe.

Low Riders In Space- Graphic Novel Review

Whilst browsing through my school’s library I saw the spine for Low Riders In Space and the first thing that drew me in was the unique hand drawn font and art style. Picking the book from the shelf the cover impressed me, it was an assault on the eyes but in the best possible way. It reminded me of the drawings I used to do in ball pen in my books whilst being bored in lessons back at school but this is about a million times better.

The story is very simple, Lupe Impala (a dog, I think, El Chavo Flapjack (an octopus), and Elirio Malaria (a mosquito) enjoy working with cars and dream of having their own garage. However, they cannot afford to realise this but when a competition to build the best car is announced with a huge cash prize, the team come together to create a mean hip and hop, dip and drop, go low and slow machine. Will they realise their dreams and create a winning machine that could be their way to a better life? You need to read it to find out!

I read this with my 5 year old daughter and we both loved it. The fantastic artwork and colours by Raul the Third, and the humour by Cathy Camper drew us both in. The theme of teamwork, friendship and dreaming big is a universal one and this story shows that by aiming for the stars, you can often achieve it with a little help from your friends. It is a celebration of Latino culture and the love of the culture and language emanates through the pages.

This is an excellent graphic novel and I look forward to reading the next two in the series.

LINK- Hilda Comic Series Review

LINK- Lumberjanes Ongoing Series Review

LINK- Comics in the Classroom

LINK- What Comics Have Taught Me

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- Ulysses 31 Retro Soundtrack Review

LINK- The Mysterious Cities of Gold Retro Soundtrack Review

LINK- Akira Soundtrack Vinyl Review

Adventure Time: Masked Mayhem Comic Review

The world of Ooo is multi-coloured and weird, but the characters are what brings this place to life and so with this, the 6th graphic novel of Adventure Time we get a chance to travel with Jake and BMO as they party-hop during Masquerade Day, a sort of Halloween-type event. Unfortunately there's a problem, a prankster who is crashing every party and making it not cool!

Cue Detective BMO and Jake as they try to figure out who the prankster is and stop the different parties from being ruined. Kate Leth is the writer for this graphic novel and she gets the characterisation just right. BMO has never been cuter and seeing him in a deerstalker hat and an Inverness Cape just make me feel mushy inside... so cute!

Overall the Graphic Novel is great for young readers and I know that since taking it into my class a few days ago it has been widely read and liked by both boys and girls. This is a fun and colourful book and deserves a place in your book corner!