Some Graphic Awesome-ness

In my ongoing quest to catch up on reviews, today I have a double feature: one graphic memoir (Fun Home by Alison Bechdel) and one graphic novel (Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham and Lan Medina).

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
I read this one as part of the Dewey’s Books Challenge: Dewey was always intent on promoting graphic novels/memoirs, and she urged me to read this one for quite awhile. I was very hesitant, because of the subject matter: I knew Bechdel had a messed-up father who abused some of his high school pupils and was emotionally abusive at home. Doesn’t really sound like a charming story, does it? However, Bechdel treats the sadder parts of her childhood with a bitter-free matter-of-factness that just works. And along with the bad, there’s a lot of good: Bechdel and her father are book-lovers, so books are a large part of the story. Her mother is really cool, and their house is great to see. Speaking of seeing, Bechdel’s drawing style is just wonderful: I’m a little picky about that in graphic novels/memoirs too. Her drawings capture everyone’s expressions perfectly, especially her younger self. So, what I’m trying to say, is not to be scared off by the subject matter. I devoured this in one sitting, and I laughed a lot and teared up a bit right along with Bechdel. Even though my childhood was very different, this book captured that magic of being a kid and creating your own secret world. And, of course, I loved seeing how important a role various books played in Bechdel’s life, since I could completely sympathise with that. I highly recommend this one-and I think it’d be a great first book for those who haven’t tried out the graphic genre before!

Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham and Lan Medina
I’ve been wanting to try out the Fables series for quite awhile, so I put the first volume on my Graphics Novel Challenge list. Then, I had to wait forever to get at the top of my library’s hold list. And when I finally brought it home, I pulled it out to flip through and ended up reading the thing straight-through! Everyone who told me I’d love the series was right, and I’ve already put myself in the queue for the third volume (my library has every volume but number two-isn’t that weird?!). The premise is that various fairy tale characters had to take refuge in our world a few centuries ago, and now they live inconspicuously in New York City. The first book is a mystery; Snow White’s sister Rose Red is missing, her apartment splattered with blood. So the wolf, who is now sheriff of the community, has to investigate: who would want to kill or kidnap Rose Red? Could it be Jack, who’s all out of bean stalks? Or Bluebeard? Meanwhile, Snow White is trying to keep the community running smoothly, despite her inability to leverage taxes. I’m not sure I’ve conveyed the full charm of the book, but it’s just so much fun! I love the genre crossing, the clever references to all sorts of fairy tales, and the beginning of character development is awesome. I don’t particularly like the drawing style of the actual story (I never read comics when I was young, so they always seem kind of garish to my eye), but there are some beautiful illustrations serving as frontispieces for the various chapters. And while it’s not my kind of art, the story is so awesome, I can easily over look it! I think anyone who loves fairy tales and hasn’t tried out this series is depriving themselves. ;)