So,
it has been two months since my first comic review, and honestly, while I have
talked a few people into checking out Memorial, that seems to be more from my
conversation with them than anyone actually reading the review.
The
lack of influence didn’t stop me, or I’d have given up blogging a long time
ago. There were two other areas of hesitation. One is that I always feel a
little iffy reviewing anything, like who am I to comment on it? The other is
that these were the two works that it made the most sense to review next, and I
still wasn’t sure that I’d understood them.
Two
things helped me move past that, though I didn’t realize it until today.
Yesterday The Gaslight Anthem tweeted a link to a Tumblr review which was
passionately favorable about their music, but kind of not about their
musicianship, as in “Sometimes Brian Fallon’s voice is up to snuff, sometimes
it isn’t.” I’m here like, What are you talking about? They’re amazing!
Seriously, I keep liking all of these little touches and thinking how good they
are when they are playing, and she has listened to them more, but okay, you can
criticize and the band can handle it.
That
clicked in today when I read a post on Becky Cloonan. Again, it was very
positive, but what resonated with me is that while reading it hit me that the
writer, Nathanial Perkins, came away with a different understanding of Wolves
than I did. He didn’t come right out and say his interpretation, but that is
what I felt, and somehow this makes it okay for me to have doubts about the
resolution. I’m not saying logical, but suddenly this was the thing to write.
I
am going to treat the two together. They aren’t exactly sequential, but they
are connected, and will be connected to a third mini-comic, Demeter, as part of
a thematic trilogy.
Perhaps
once I have gone through Demeter a few times, I will see them all in a
new light.
First
of all, let me say that the art is absolutely gorgeous. I love the expression
and the detail in Cloonan’s work anyway. Actually, the first comic review
included more of her work, and again, beautiful. First I am drawn to the
people, and the eyes in their expressive faces, but the scenery too is rich and
detailed, and important for the mood.
Let
me see if I can explain that mood. Well, it’s easier to talk about The Mire. As
Aiden works his way through the title setting, there are his thoughts, and the
words of a letter from Owain, and there are parallels where it is hard to
immediately know whose words they are. It is fitting, once the path Aiden is
taking is understood. And yet, it is easy to get mired in the past, which has
created the present.
In
the case of The Mire, a few years past is catching up to the present, with a
protagonist who is just as uninformed as the reader as he starts out. Perhaps
that is why I felt like I was on more comfortable footing there. In Wolves,
everyone is complicit. They may all have things that they don’t know right
away, but their moments of understanding come, and make perfect sense, based on
what has gone before.
If
I was not sure of everything that the resolution to Wolves meant, well, that
may not be the point. There is a plot, but it is more about what you feel as
you are reading, and what you think afterwards and the lingering mood. They are
books, but it seems fair to say that both pieces function more like snatches of
poetry, or music.
Again,
I’m not ruling out revisiting this after Demeter.
For
now, I have not decided on a set schedule for reviewing comics. I just worked
out how I’m doing music a few weeks ago. Even knowing that, I suspect at some
point when I build up a head of steam on some socio-political topic that will
take more than three days to cover, it will feel weird to break off for
Thursday and Friday to review bands. At the same time, it may still be good for
me, because those heads of steam often frustrate and depress me.
I
can say that regarding my plan to buy some new comic and music every month, I
took two months off for Christmas and my birthday, receiving three CDs and one
comic between the two. I am set to buy again in February, but I am saving that
for vacation. I have heard there is a pretty cool comic book store in Downtown
Disney, and maybe I’ll see if Alturas has a new CD, as they always seem to be
playing there, and I really like the one I do have, Caminos.
Also,
I have been reviewing all comics on Goodreads when they are listed. It may make
sense to save the blog reviews for single issues and just use Goodreads for
bound works or compendiums, but I’m still feeling my way along on this one, as
I do.
Thank
you Rachel and Nathanial.
http://racheldbarber.tumblr.com/http://multiversitycomics.com/columns/off-the-cape-wolves-the-mire/
http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2012/11/first-comics-review.html
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