bryan talbot – Comicsgirl https://www.comicsgirl.com Sat, 30 Jun 2018 15:07:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://www.comicsgirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/cropped-EdenMiller2017-1-32x32.jpg bryan talbot – Comicsgirl https://www.comicsgirl.com 32 32 59683043 Happy 20th birthday, Comicsgirl! https://www.comicsgirl.com/2018/07/01/happy-20th-birthday-comicsgirl/ Sun, 01 Jul 2018 13:00:02 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=4767

On July 1, 1998, the first incarnation of Comicsgirl officially launched. The internet was a very different place then and no, I didn’t think I’d still be trying to hang onto this 20 years later. I mean, 2018 was completely the future! I have no idea if that teenager who thought it would be cool to make a website would be happy or sad I’m still doing this. I may have been overly ambitious, but it was 1998 and there was a need!

I admit to being naive in some of the language I used but I do admire how generous I attempted to be, even if I was — admittedly — really imperfect at it.

The early days of Comicsgirl are long since gone from the internet, for the most part. There’s still the Wayback Machine, so let’s revisit some of the things I wrote (not all are from the earliest version of the site — the oldest version I could find was from October 1999, but close enough!) Also, I just tossed these images in — they weren’t ones from the original site (and the introductions to these posts did have creator/publisher information and such).

About The Sandman:

The Sandman was an ambitious project about the Lord of Dreams and his family, The Endless (Destiny, Death, Delirium, Destruction, Desire, Despair), and the mortal (and often not so mortal) dreamers they encountered. The Sandman delved deeply into mythology, history, and literature. It has been said that The Sandman is a story about stories, and I will easily agree with that.

The Sandman, mainly because it was a nontraditional comic book (meaning that it generally lacked men in tights and capes fighting crime), appealed to many women. Neil Gaiman’s personal estimate of its readership is about 50/50 split between males and females. Three and a half of the seven Endless are female (Death, Despair, Delirium, and sometimes Desire), and many strong female characters play prominent roles in the storylines. Even though some of the female characters may be strippers, or murdered, they are never presented as being mere sex objects or victims. From the coldly independent Thessaly, to the sweet, lonely Nuala, to the quick intelligence Johanna Constantine, every woman in The Sandman has self-worth and is presented as being nothing less than whole. One character remarks in The Sandman that “All women are remarkable.” Everything about the women in this title would agree with that. Highest recommendation possible.

About Elfquest:

ElfquestElfquest is a fantasy comic book concerning a group of elves named the Wolfriders. These elves evolved after a race of being accidentally landed at the wrong time on a fantasy world. They struggle against humans who believed them to be demons, cruel trolls, and even other treacherous elves in a struggle for survival in a world where they do not belong.

Elfquest, which was written and illustrated for many years by a woman, has an abundance of female characters, each multidimensional with her own strengths and weaknesses. The female elves are treated on the same terms as the male elves, and neither gender is made to look superior or inferior. The writing and artwork deals with them both equally. While the women are sometimes scantily clad and well-figured, the men are drawn exactly in the same manner, and neither is offensive. The stories are excellent, the art is great, and Elfquest is just downright fun. Highly Recommended.

About Batman: The Dark Knight Returns:

In this dark and historic miniseries, Frank Miller explores what effect superheroes have on society. Ten years after Bruce Wayne retired from being Batman, a new crime wave has hit Gotham City. Although he is older, Bruce Wayne feels the drive and desire to become Batman once again, and does so not realizing how the world has changed since the last time Batman appeared.

I almost did not want to review this, because the question came up…is The Dark Knight Returns “female-friendly”? Well, it’s not “friendly” in any way, although it is a monumental work–as relevant today as it was ten years ago, and it probes deeply into the psyche of one of the world’s most beloved superheroes, but is it something female comic book readers would enjoy? I can only speak from experience that I am a female comic book reader, and I liked it a lot.

I would like you to be warned–this is no simple superhero tale. It is violent, unnerving, unrelenting. Those aspects of the book can’t be ignored. But The Dark Knight Returns is also about the sweet, fatherly relationship Batman has with the new Robin, a thirteen-year old girl, and Batman’s continuous attempt to save himself from the torture of the memory of the violent killing of his parents he witnessed as a child. These aspects humanize the book. It’s not just mindlessly violent, nor a thoughtless tale of fighting crime. It’s about one man’s misguided mission to save his city from crime–to stop what happened to him from happening to anyone else. In that regard, the book is worthy of being read and something will be gained from doing so. So reservations about “female-friendliness” aside: Highly Recommended.

Yeah, and that’s enough of that. Did I mention I was a teenager and this was more or less 20 years ago?

In all honesty, though, doing this has brought so many good things into my life. People were generous with their comics and I got to read a lot of things I wouldn’t have otherwise. I was once vaguely considered an “expert” and people even interviewed me about my site! It lead to getting involved with Small Press Expo and that’s been amazing. I’ve made countless friends — including people I absolutely consider to be my family. It indirectly (and directly) lead to job opportunities. It has been frustrating at times, sure, but I think there’s a good reason that even after 20 years, I haven’t wanted to let go of this.

Mostly, it’s been such a huge part of my life and I’ve loved it so much.

I’ve watched the internet change from websites (remember when I used to run a webring? Do you even know what a webring is?) to blogs to … whatever space we’re in now. I like change but I hope I can keep up.

I had fun going through my site and rereading things. I’ve collected a few of them.

Favorite posts (that aren’t reviews):

My favorite reviews:

Three reviews by special guests:

Despite the fact I haven’t updated this site in nearly a year, I don’t consider it “dead” — I’m just … taking a break. I have some plans for the next era of this site. I’m getting there! I may even bring the podcast back! But really, thank you to everyone who has ever indulged me with this. You’re all a delight.

]]> 4767 2014 Comics Superlatives https://www.comicsgirl.com/2014/12/17/2014-comics-superlatives/ Thu, 18 Dec 2014 02:09:48 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=4217

As I started rounding up the comics I liked this year, I saw a pattern, so I made a joke:

And then I just decided to go with it.
This is not a definitive list but these are all comics, creators, events and projects from 2014 I want to recognize. I think we can all agree that 2014 was a pretty remarkable year for comics.
]]> 4217 33 for 2013 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2014/01/06/33-for-2013/ Mon, 06 Jan 2014 23:17:21 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=4042 This is my list of the 33 things that happened in the comics world in 2013 that made me happy. They’re in alphabetical order.

Blue is the Warmest Color

 

]]> 4042 Review: Dotter of her Father’s Eyes https://www.comicsgirl.com/2012/02/22/review-dotter-of-her-fathers-eyes/ https://www.comicsgirl.com/2012/02/22/review-dotter-of-her-fathers-eyes/#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:21:59 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=2919 dotter

To me, more than any other medium, there’s an immediacy and an intimacy to comics. At their best, comics feel less like something I consume and more like something I experience. It’s not just words and pictures on a page — it feels like a conversation between me and the creators.

And because of that, I think Dotter of her Father’s Eyes (Dark Horse Comics, 2012) is either a conversation you want to be having or one you’re just overhearing. If it’s the latter for you, you’re still going to get something out of it, but for me, it was absolutely the former. This is a book where I find it impossible to pull my own personal experiences out of how I reacted to it. And to me, that’s why this book is so powerful.

One part memoir, one part biography, the stories that Mary M. Talbot and Bryan Talbot are telling aren’t unique on their own, but there’s a grace and thoughtfulness to the way in which they tell them. There’s light and humor to balance the darker moments.

But let’s be clear — while this book is credited to both Mary and Bryan, this is Mary’s story. Even when the book recounts Lucia Joyce’s life, it still feels like it’s absolutely Mary’s voice telling it. Bryan just seems to be along for the ride — he’s less the driver and more the vehicle. That’s not at all to discount his art. This is Bryan Talbot we’re talking about, after all, but he does have the good sense to use his art to compliment Mary’s story. It’s a charming and loving collaboration (of course, lest you forget that it is Mary’s tale, she points out in a footnotes some of the things Bryan got wrong in his artwork. That’s pretty adorable).

Bryan’s art does give the stories told here some structure. Colors help place the action — full color for the brief modern-day scenes, sepia tones for Mary’s childhood (and neatly, as Mary gets older, more and more color is added into the scenes) and cold blues for Lucia’s life. Except for the scenes in the present that frame the book, panel borders are usually soft or nonexistent as images flowing into each other much like memories.

The stories are both told in a mostly lineal fashion. Mary starts off with her childhood and Lucia’s childhood and progress forward from there, but the shifts between Mary’s life and Lucia’s life feel natural and give the book a strong pace and a sense of drama.

While there are obvious parallels between their lives — they were both daughters of troubled fathers who were looking for their place in the world — Mary doesn’t necessarily push the connection. She clearly relates to Lucia, but she also understand Lucia’s story isn’t hers. It was just one Mary wanted to tell so she could better understand her own life.

I wasn’t left with the impression that Mary necessarily forgave her father, but I don’t know if she needs to. More, I think she just accepted that he was a part of her life.

And that’s where it did get personal for me. Mary’s story isn’t mine, but it’s still one I relate to all too well. I admire her strength and honesty in telling it. When I finished the book, I knew someone else in this world understood what all of this feels like. I know don’t spend all my time thinking about these things, but I also know I still carry it with me.

I’m glad that Mary (and Bryan, let’s not forget!) shared these stories with me. Through this book, I feel like I have a new friend.

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