1st Graphic Fiction imho reviews part 2

ok. i may have bitten off more than i could rightly swallow when i started these reviews, but as the awards are coming up, must soldier on. call it a public service. as banzai cat put it, let me "read 'em so you won't have to."

keep in mind i'm nobody, i didn't get on this list, and i've never been published... but i read, i write, i think; ergo, i have opinions. so, if you're on the list, keep your ego tucked someplace safe, coz here i go.


yesterday i got down 2 prose entries and 6 comics.

Prose:

Monstrous Cycle - i found this story very entertaining. simple, charming, sometimes downright funny. a nod to Filipino culture that follows the dictum "funny coz it's true"... up to a point, of course. this is, after all, an sf/f award these writers are after. the writing, as is appropriate to the satire, is also simple, sometimes witty, occassionally a bit unwieldy. but even with the clunky bits, it's not a hard story to get through. however, it feels like an early draft, and could do with one or two more re-writes, or, at the very least, a fine editor's hand.

Stella for Star - i agree with chris back at the other post: the material was well-handled. however, the story itself is nothing special. think "anak ni janice" with a homosexual "twist." and while the ending offers a beautifully dark, bittersweet penultimate scene, it doesn't quite deliver the sympathetic oomph required to make it work, for all its melodramatic posturing. this story could have gone in several different directions and would have been better for it... but it went the way it did, and we must respect it for what it is. still, that doesn't mean any of us have to like it. again, mostly well-handled material from a writer's perspective, but the story just doesn't do it for me.

Comics: i must say upfront, all the artwork are stellar material. absolutely brilliant. each work offered on the shortlist has a distinct style, ranging from the equivalent of social realism in comic book art that i remember from serious "funny books" from my youth to manga madness to quirky McKeanisms to the utterly bizarre. i'll try to detail the art here, but you may have to go see them for yourself to literally see what i mean. i haven't been able to really peruse the art, however, so i'll be "judging" these works purely from a narrative, rather than a technical, standpoint.

Infatua - manga-ish fantasy comic art. starts with what looks to me like a nod to Empire Strikes Back, which delighted me for all its kitchiness. the story is a witty take on faerie tales and Lovecraftian horrors that tries to be surprising in the end, but doesn't quite get away with it. to be honest, i get the distinct feeling i've read this somewhere before...

Dusk - the art looks heavily influenced by Mr McKean's work, particularly from his Cages and his work on Mr Gaiman's Violent Cases and Mr Punch. works well with the simple story of a child learning things about life and the dark corners of their house. the tale of an awakening that ends in darkness. to steal a phrase (well, word) from Mr Gaiman: cool.

Some Things are Better Left to Themselves - the art reminds me of cutesy Gorillaz with nods to Charles Vess and The Iron Giant. dark and sweet, this short comic on the relationship between a little girl who grows up and the Man of the Tree delivers all that it was meant to, subtly re-inventing an old Filipino Folk thingy with beautifully lyrical writing. soppy without being soggy, it may nonetheless turn-off some readers with anti-mush issues.

The Sad, Mad, Incredible but True Adventures of Hika Girl - think Emily Strange, if she morphed into an annoyingly whiny kid instead of being cool, and you get an idea of what you're in for with this story. this story had some truly laugh out loud moments, accompanied by truly twisted Bosch-as-juvenilia art... there is, however, something i can't pin down about the ending that makes it feel like it's missing something...

Defiant: The Battle of Mactan - standard action comic fare glorifying (as the title suggests) the exploit(s) of Lapu-lapu. fine art, good if two-dimensional writing, lots of testosterone pumping through the whole thing. reminds me of a pinoy-manga-ish version of Slaine, but without any truly fantastical elements. beautifully done, but though it was a fun read, not quite my thing.


so, at the moment, my score for the prose entries stands: Atha looks to be leaving the rest of the pack in the dust, nothing else coming anywhere near. although i would consider Monstrous Cycle simply for its blatant satirism. for the comics, i'm a bit conflicted. at the moment, i'm tied-up between Dusk, Something... and Hika Girl, each one for a totally different reason.

i think i'll decide on the comics when i've read all the shortlisted entries. i'll make my final decision on who i will vote for at the Unmasking before Saturday.

bribes and petitions with worthy offerings gleefuly accepted.