Tag Archives: ghost stories

Review: Ghost Stories

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Everybody deals with loss differently. When most people think of loss they usually associate that with death of a loved one, which is probably one of the most significant experiences a person will ever feel in their lives. I remember when my uncle, died, I was still in the Navy, and deployed into he Arabian Gulf. One of my supervisors woke me up and wanted me to show up to or office where my division officer held the letter from the Red Cross. I knew, but did not want to know, as he had been sick for months. Euphoria set in. Between being dead asleep form a long day of work and to hear the shocking news, my eyes just filled up with tears both at the thought and realization. He was the first person me or any of my cousins were close to who died. That feeling was one of the hardest thins for anyone to get used to in life. This was a feeling that would revisit with the loss of colleagues, friends, and family, the most recent being my own mother. Life is about changes, and loss is just a part of it.

In Ghost Stories, Whit Taylor explores loss in its many shades, including death, and much more.

In “Ghost,” Taylor goes on a journey much like Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. In it, she gets to visit the three people whom she consider her idols where she spends a day with each asking the questions she always wanted to ask them. In the end she finds out more about herself and what it really mean to “follow your bliss.” In “Wallpaper,” a child narrates the changes to a house and how each change coincides with a specific memory in her mind. In “Makers,” we follow two friends from adolescence to adulthood as they grow together. Despite their differences, their relationship evolves through rocky ups and downs. By book’s end, Taylor weaves together these three different stories, which at their core, exemplify the power of loss.

Overall, an outstanding collection by Taylor which showcases her talents as a storyteller. The stories by Taylo, are funny, melancholy, and moving. The art by Taylor is gorgeous. Altogether, a graphic novel which gets readers entrenched in the experiences and gets the reader to fall in love with the characters.

Story: Whit Taylor Art: Whit Taylor
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Around the Tubes

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It’s new comic book day! What’s everyone getting? What are you excited for? Sound off in the comments below! While you are waiting for shops to open, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web.

The Hollywood Reporter – Stan Lee Needs a Hero: Elder Abuse Claims and a Battle Over the Aging Marvel Creator – This is heartbreaking.

Kotaku – It’s Amazing That Marvel and DC’s Classic X-Men and Teen Titans Crossover Ever Happened – Who remembers this awesomeness?

CBR – Russo Bros. Interested in Secret Wars Once Disney/Fox Deal Goes Through – Which version?

Newsarama – Two Years After DC’s Rebirth, What’s Been Answered? And What Mysteries & Questions Remain? – For those keeping track.

 

Reviews

The Beat – Ghost Stories

“Ghost Stories” semi-autobio graphic novel from Whit Taylor coming Fall 2017!

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Ghost Stories are coming Fall 2017 from Rosarium Publishing! Ghost Stories is a graphic novel collection offering three hauntings in different forms. Ghosts exist as past selves and remnants of past relationships that are met with inquiry, resolution, and personal rebirth.

Whit Taylor is a cartoonist, writer, and editor from New Jersey. She won a 2012 Glyph Award (Rising Star) for her comic, Watermelon, and received two subsequent nominations in 2013 for her comic, Boxes. Her series,Madtown High, was nominated for an Ignatz Award in 2013 for Outstanding series, and her webcomic, The Fabric of Appropriation, was nominated for Slate’s Cartoonist Studio Prize for best webcomic of the year in 2016.

In addition to self-publishing, her comics have been published by Sparkplug Books (2015 Best American Comics Notable Comic, The Anthropologists), Ninth Art Press, The Nib, Fusion, and others. She has also written for The Comics Journal, Panel Patter, Nat Brut, and Comics Workbook.

Review: Gotham Academy Endgame #1

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gaeg001So far in its short but excellent run, Gotham Academy has managed to capture interest due to its close connection to Gotham, but also that it skirts the connection to create its own unique narrative.  The stories have thus been focused in a particular direction and they have thus maintained similarities in tone and content.  This issue is the first break in that trend, focusing instead on activities which would be something much more closely linked to the activities of young people.  At the same time, while this is essentially a loose collection of horror stories, it does the same as always with this series as it balances some connection to Gotham with its own stories, even if it is more of an aside than anything.

There is a bit of a forced setup as the girl’s are forced to camp out in the school gym because of a virus spread by the Joker.  It is a bit of a disconnect that something so dangerous is treated in such a cavalier manner, but it does work to get the characters into tents to tell spooky stories.  What is particularly interesting in this story is the combination actual urban legends with that of the Joker.  There are only three stories told, but each connects in way, either to the Joker or to the Red Hood, and adds a bit of background to the character who has none.  Although the background is usually considered to be much more mundane (falling in a vat of acid) as the Joker represents true chaos and anarchy, there is no reason to think that in some way that he is not tied to these stories in some way.

There is perhaps a bit of a disconnect between this standalone issue and the rest of the series, but it doesn’t really matter.  While this does not advance the main plot of Gotham Academy in any way, it is also nice as it helps to develop the characters in a more complex way, even if they did not need much more development as opposed to a lot of other comic characters.  This issue also ties the characters together with Gotham once again, though also really doesn’t at the same time.  It is this balance where the series finds its success and it finds it here too, even if it is relatively unimportant to the overall narrative of the series.

Story: Becky Cloonan and Brendan Fletcher  Art: Jeff Stokely
Story: 8.3 Art: 8.3 Overall: 8.3 Recommendation: Buy