The news coming out of smaller mainstays isn’t much better, and I’m still several hives of rage bees in a trench coat about the all white-dude indie press panel with which SDCC cursed us. That isn’t to say that none of these companies are doing good books. What I am saying is that I, personally, am very tired in general and while I’m willing to dig to find potentially great titles, I’m not willing to put the time and effort into sorting through the detritus left by publishers who have let me down repeatedly to find an occasional gem. So, instead of forcing myself to stare at stuff that lands me on the emotional spectrum somewhere between “don’t care” and “actively furious,” I’m walking around my house and collecting all of the graphic novels and comics I have which I haven’t read and putting them in an actual TBR pile. I’m also keeping an eye on the socials for anime and animation announcements and asking friends, like fellow Rioter Vernieda Vergara, which source books merit eyeball absorption. Then, instead of filing them away for later, I am adding them to that actual TBR pile. As all readers know, there’s nothing like a self-imposed, publicly-announced deadline to get one’s ass in gear. Alright, here we go!
TBR November 1–Nov 7, 2020
Well. I’m going to go make dinner and get reading. Will report back!
Why a graphic biography rather than a prose one? The art historian and romantic in me loves the idea of learning more about an artist from a book that utilizes both words and images to tell that person’s story. Every form of art is different, it’s true, but to make any of them, you have to have a certain kind of passion and I feel as though the more types of art you use to tell such a story, the more of that passion infuses the work.
Part cookbook, part culinary history tour, and part ode to the variety and range of Japanese cooking and food, Oishinbo‘s frame narrative follows cynical journalist Yamaoka Shirō and his colleagues as they carry out their assignment to compile the “Ultimate Menu” embodying the “pinnacle of Japanese cuisine” for Tōzai News magazine’s 100th anniversary.
I’ve been lucky enough to have a few truly incredible meals in my life, so the overarching story grabbed my attention immediately. I also love the idea of learning more about a cuisine I enjoy through the eyes of an avowed curmudgeon whose “refined palate” and “encyclopedic knowledge” of food make it impossible for him not to enjoy well prepared food. I anticipate giggles. And also probably drooling. And since the fam is away this week, likely the ordering of real ramen better than anything I can recreate.
I am told that I am in for a ride as I make my way through this first chunk of one of CLAMP’s more well-known series. In it, Kimihiro Watanuki, cursed with the ability to see ghosts and spirits seeks help from the mysterious Yuko. She agrees and offers Watanuki payment in trade: she will assist him if he works in her shop.
Of course, nothing is as easy as it seems.
What fun would easy be?
Y’all know I love my comics with some folklore and a big old dash of drama.
This one is a fundamental classic I missed out on. Probably because I was trying to hide my geek and fit in with the rest of my family. Ugh. Glad those days are behind me. Life is so much better now.
