On the Coffee Table: The Hernandez Brothers

Title: Love and Rockets

- Human Diastrophism

- Perla la Loca

- Beyond Palomar

- Amor y Cohetes

- Penny Century

- Esperanza

- Luba and Her Family

Writers and artists: Gil, Jaime and Mario Hernandez

Since my last post about the series in August, I've gone on a deep dive with Love and Rockets, powering through seven more trades.  For the most part, each volume is devoted entirely either to Jaime Hernandez's Locas world or Gil Hernandez's Palomar, though few of those are actually set in Palomar anymore, much of the family having moved to Los Angeles.  The exception is Amor y Cohotes which includes unrelated material from each of the two main creators, plus a few stories from brother Mario.  

I won't pretend that over several hundred pages, all of the material is great.  But when Love and Rockets is good, it is astonishingly good.  The greatest strength throughout is the seemingly effortless intimacy.  A few thoughts on specific volumes:

Human Diastrophism

via Amazon

Palomar stories.  The residents suffer through a serial killer and an earthquake.  For the reader, it's rough when terrible things happen to a community you care about.  Kids grow up too fast as decades often pass in just a few pages.  The most interesting story follows Pipo - interesting because the tale told in the images is independent of the one told in the text.

Perla la Loca

via Amazon

Maggie and Hopey start out in Hoppers (LA) but ultimately wind up on separate cross-country adventures.  Loads of wrestling in this one.

Beyond Palomar

This one moves way too fast for me.  Quite a lot of time passes from one panel to the next and it's hard to keep track of it all.  This is also the book where, as the title suggest, the characters start to move away from Palomar to the US.  When they finally do make it back, it feels like coming home for me, too.

Amor y Cohetes

via Amazon

This one is a collection of shorter pieces.  My love for the series relies on absorption and I couldn't get into most of the material here.  However, AyC does include a truly excellent biography of artist Frida Kahlo with images based on her work.

Penny Century

Back to Locas.  One of the most important through stories of L&R is the on-and-off-again love affair between Maggie and Hopey.  They're rarely actually dating.  In fact, they're both usually with other people.  But they still hook up with each other seemingly every chance they get and clearly, it's not just about sex.  There is a potent love between them.

However, it's not exactly equal.  Hopey is the more attached (though also the less dependable) of the two.  At one point in this volume, she muses about the nature of the relationship, basically acknowledging that it's all pretty messed up but in the end, she'll take what she can get from Maggie.  

I've heard people say this in the real world, too.  In effect, they'll take all of the dysfunction over being alone.  Honestly, I've never understood that attitude.  But here, I kind of understand it.  Hopey knows they can never have anything normal.  But she's in love with Maggie.  She doesn't really have a choice.  If it's the mess or nothing, she'll take the mess.

It's still unhealthy.  But I kind of get it.

More wrestling.  

Esperanza

via Amazon

Still with Locas.  Esperanza is Hopey's given name.  Esperanza, of course, is the Spanish word for hope.

The truth is, it's nearly impossible not to fall in love with Maggie.  Most of the other characters do at one point or another.  I kinda did, too.  She's not perfect - far from it.  But she's believable, accessible, vulnerable, unassuming.  Her reflections on her divorce - from a marriage that never even seemed to be especially important to her - comprise my favorite story in the entire series.  

We're also reminded that she's still a kickass mechanic.

And still more wrestling.

Luba and Her Family

via Amazon

Much of this collection is told from the viewpoint of the precocious Venus, Luba's niece, as she writes letters to her cousin back in Palomar.  Venus, probably about 10 years old, is hilarious and her insights into her family are keen.  However, her perspective is far from omniscient.  There's quite a lot of sex going on among the adults, including her own mother's extra-marital affairs.

In my previous post, I proclaimed Palomar to be the superior of the two main worlds.  I've since changed my mind.  Those stories are still good but for me, they lose something after the family moves to the States.  Meanwhile, Maggie and Hopey always draw me back.

I've still got two more trades on my shelves and there are two more beyond that in this series.  At this point, I see no reason not to read all of them.

On the Coffee Table: Moomin

Title: Moomin Adventures 1

Writers and Artists: Tove Jansson and Lars Jansson

The Moomins were invented by Tove Jansson, a Finnish writer and artist who found success in a number of media.  She first introduced the Moomins and their world in a 1945 novel, The Moomins and the Great Flood, initially in Swedish, her own first language.  She started the comic strip in 1947.  The charming hippo-like trolls have since found their way into television, film, theatre, video games and even theme parks, including one in Japan.  Moomin Adventures 1 collects seven of the comic strip serials.  While Tove produced all of the stories for many years, eventually her brother Lars took over the comics.

Moomintroll (often referred to simply as "Moomin") and his family live a simple life in Moominvalley.  Every once in a while on a whim, they'll set off on an adventure.  This book includes trips to the Riviera and a desert island.  Sometimes, the adventures find them such as when gold prospectors or artists come to the valley.  The atmosphere is light but there is plenty of playful satire along the way - occasional nuggets of wisdom, too.  

Tove Jansson's story is one of many real-life bios featured in Be Gay, Do Comics.  Jansson was with her partner Tuulikki Pietilä for the last 45 years of her life.  Unfortunately, they were not able to be open about their relationship for decades.  Eventually, they became important symbolic figures in Finland as one of the first same-sex couples to attend prominent public events together.

On the Coffee Table: Love and Rockets

Title: Love and Rockets

- Maggie the Mechanic

- Heartbreak Soup

- The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S.

Writers and Artists: Jaime Hernandez (for Maggie the Mechanic and The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S.) and Gilbert Hernandez (for Heartbreak Soup)

via Amazon

In 1981, the Hernandez brothers - Gilbert, Jaime and Mario - self-published the first issue of Love and Rockets (L&R).  Many consider L&R to be not merely an independent comic but the independent comic.  Even 40+ years later, the American comic book industry is still dominated by the superheroes of the Marvel and DC universes.  Stories about "real life" are the rare exception.  Throw in the fact that L&R showcased Latinx characters in a medium that has always been white-dominated and queer characters long before they were fashionable in any medium and you have the seeds for something genuinely different.  

But of course, L&R is more than merely novel.  The quality of the work and the sophistication of the storytelling are astonishing.  This was my introduction.

L&R lives in two separate story threads (sometimes more) created independently by two different brothers.  Locas is Jaime's world.  Maggie and Hopey are friends and occasionally lovers.  They're both late-teenagers (out of high school but can't drink legally yet) in LA's punk scene.  Narrative perspective shifts freely in both worlds though, at least so far, most Locas stories follow Maggie, the saner, more relatable of the two.  There are low-grade sci-fi elements.  Maggie works occasionally as a space rocket mechanic, particularly in the beginning.  A couple of female professional wrestlers play prominent roles in some of the stories.  No, seriously.

via Amazon

Gil's characters live in Palomar, a fictional village in Central America.  While Locas is very good, Palomar is the real treat.  We follow the residents as they grow up together.  They develop deep friendships, they quarrel, they get each other pregnant, they marry and divorce, they even occasionally kill each other.  It's like a soap opera but better because the characters are fully dimensional.  You fall in love with one of them, then learn about their past sins.  You come to loathe one of them, then learn about their pain.  There's always more to the story.

via Amazon

In both threads, characters age, lose and gain weight, change hairstyles, etc.  They have believable insecurities.  In short, they're allowed plenty of room to be human.  Historically, the Hernandezes have earned a lot of praise for exhibiting a wide range of (relatively) realistic body types, especially for their female characters.  I would argue their portrayal of women is not without its shortcomings but it's still far better than what you'd see from their mainstream contemporaries.  

There's loads of nudity, violence, substance abuse, sex and so on.  So, L&R is not for little kids.  Teens and up are probably best, especially if they have a trusted adult to talk to about some of the rougher material.  While there are otherworldly elements, the power comes with the realism.  I can hardly wait for more. 

On the Coffee Table: Saga Five

Title: Saga, Volume Five

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Artist: Fiona Staples

via Amazon

The adventures of Alana, Marko and Hazel continue, though now in separate threads: Alana and Hazel in one, Marko in another.  By the end of Volume Five, Hazel has been kidnapped but Alana and Marko are reunited.  Everyone's on the run and seriously, I think I'm going to need to create a character map to keep track of everybody.

If you wish for more info on the basic premise of Saga, my previous post is here.  This installment covers issues #25-30.  The energy is relentless.  Death is frequent, instantaneous and brutal - don't get too attached to anyone.  The material is often disturbing, including bad drug trips.  It is often disgusting - dragon sperm plays an important role.  Yet, through it all, even with all of the bizarre scifi trappings, the basic tale of the family is one of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.  It's downright masterful.

On the Coffee Table: Saga

Title: Saga, Volumes One - Four

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Artist: Fiona Staples

via Amazon

Saga is an ongoing space opera comic book series, one of the most critically acclaimed titles in the industry, having won multiple Eisner, Harvey and Hugo awards.  The series has been running since March 2012 with 69 issues so far.  Apparently the goal is 120.  These four trade paperbacks cover the first 24.  

via Amazon

The story follows the adventures of Alana, Marko and their child, Hazel.  The parents are from two races who have been waging interstellar war for generations.  The family is being hunted by mercenaries from both sides, neither wanting the interracial romance exposed to the public.  Saga has drawn comparisons to Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and Romeo and Juliet.  I see it as a Tarantino tale set in space with a lot more sex.

via Amazon

And yet, amid all of the violence, gore and lust, Saga has a lighter and relatable side.  Alana and Marko are, at their core, lovers desperately horny for each other, willing to risk it all for the sake of their love.  Once the child is born, they are protective and stressed out parents.  Their in-laws and exes complicate matters.  Set aside the fact that Alana has wings, Marko ram horns, their nanny is a ghost and their ship is a magical tree and it's just like real life.

via Amazon

The series is wonderful.  The art is vivid.  The writing is compelling and the story moves at a satisfying pace.  I have several more volumes on my TBR shelves as my wife has already read them.  So I'm definitely with Saga for the long haul.  Because of the quasi-pornographic sex and the shameless violence, it's not a series for children.  But for adults, it's good stuff.

On the Coffee Table: City of Light

Title: Berlin, Book Three: City of Light

Writer and Artist: Jason Lutes

via Amazon

It's been 11 years since my last post about Lutes's extraordinary comic book series, Berlin.  In the time since, he has finished the series.  City of Light compiles issues #14-24.  We saw him give a talk at a local bookstore and he signed the copy I just finished reading.

Overall, the stories follow a group of characters - many of them only tangentially connected - from 1928-33, an extraordinary time in Berlin's history.  The tensions playing out on the streets will spill over to the battlefields of an entire continent before long.  The central character is Marthe, managing two romances: one with a woman, Anna, one with a man, Severing.  Neither works out, nor does her art career so by book's end, she gets on a train back home to Cologne - her story started on a train arriving, now ends on one departing.

In a secondary narrative, we follow 12-year-old Sylvia, orphaned by the May Day Massacre, taken in by a Jewish family.  She runs the streets with a group of Communist toughs who scuffle with both the police and the Nazis, an increasingly meaningless distinction.  As readers, we know those tensions won't completely resolve until decades later.

As Hitler rises to power, life is getting tougher, especially for the Jews.  Sylvia's foster family boards the same train as Marthe in the end.  Again, as the reader, we know more about what's coming than the characters do.  We're more worried for the Jews than they are for themselves.  We worry, too, for Anna and other homosexuals, knowing the persecution coming for them.

Over 24 issues, the tension gradually builds for the reader and the tension is never fully released, because we know what comes next.  Safer is not the same as safe.  That's life.

Berlin is excellent.  I wouldn't say it's on the same level as Persepolis, Maus or Showa but it's a solid addition to any historically-based graphic novel collection.

Squiddies 2024

The Armchair Squid turns fifteen years old today.  It's time to hand out some hardware.  The Squiddy goes to...

Biggest Surprise: The Cat and the Roomba

via Wikipedia

The premise of the Japanese manga The Way of the House Husband by Kosuke Oono is wild.  Tatsu, a Yakuza boss, leaves his life of organized crime when he marries a career woman.  Obviously, he doesn't have too many job skills beyond thuggery so he learns to cook and clean while his wife makes the money.  Manga, particularly the ones that make it into translation, are dependably high-quality compared to most English-language comic books.  So I wasn't surprised that it's good.  I was definitely surprised that it's so funny.  Humor does not always translate well from one culture to another.

In one issue/chapter, Tatsu attempts to vacuum via Roomba.  The family cat is not pleased.  Madness ensues.  Yes, it is the stuff of TikTok videos.  Somehow, it's way funnier in sequential art form.  I genuinely laughed out loud.

Biggest Disappointment: Queerphobia and Misogyny at Citizen Cider

Last year, our favorite local cidery released its first beer, an offering called Hey Bub.  In itself, it seemed a reasonable choice for expanding the brand.  The trouble came in the marketing campaign, clearly targeting straight, white, blue-collar men.  There were t-shirts of men doing manly things like riding a tractor or fishing with taglines like "Get Plowed" and "Approved for Hooking Up."  The company's own pub staff, specifically the female and LBTQIA+ employees who have to endure unwelcome advances from drunk customers all the time, took offense and refused to wear the shirts as directed by management.  During Pride Month, the staff decorated a chalkboard promoting the new beer and other products with rainbows.  The board was mysteriously erased.  Twice.  A company director was overheard saying "We can't have that shit" associated with Hey Bub.  

Not good.

Loads of people quit and the public backlash has been severe with a local boycott of the brand doing real damage.  The Boardroom, our local game cafe, sold their last keg of Citizen Cider at a reduced price and gave all the proceeds to LGBTQIA+ charities.  Obviously, Citizen Cider has tried to walk it all back but for those injured, it's too little too late.

I'm upset that it happened but I cheer for the whistleblowers who stood up for themselves.  And I'm proud of the Vermont public that backed them up.  It's the sort of thing that makes me glad we live here.

You can read the original Seven Days article here.

Best Read, First Time Category: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

via Amazon

I guess I'm a sucker for books about aging and death.  I still recommend Atul Gawande's Being Mortal to any and all.  In her graphic memoir Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast shares her experiences in dealing with her parents.  The story is neither pretty nor sweet.  There is pain, frustration and struggle at every stage.  As my own parents grow older, these are the sort of things I think about all the time.  Chast's book was a meaningful find.

  

Best Re-Read: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

via Amazon

I have a love-hate relationship with R&J.  On the one hand, I feel the double suicide is one of the great narrative copouts in all of literature.  On the other, it is the play that made me fall in love with Shakespeare and it didn't happen until I was in my late 30s.  This past fall, I read it for pure pleasure, neither scholastic nor professional responsibilities involved.  Without a doubt, it is a masterpiece.

Best Comics Find: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

See above.

Athlete of the Year: Bernie Casey (1939-2017)

via Amazon

Bernie Casey played the role of Calvin Hudson in the DS9 two-parter The Maquis (see parts 1 and 2).  Long before that, he was a professional football player and a successful one at that.  He had a seven-year career in the NFL, playing as a halfback, flanker and tight end, first for the San Francisco 49ers, later for the Los Angeles Rams.  He made the Pro Bowl in 1967.  In addition, he was a champion hurdler in college.  

Best Family Adventure: Hot Water

Last year's adventure at Scandinave (see same category last year) turned us on to the pleasures of hot water bathing.  This year, we had three trips where spas and jacuzzis figured in the planning: two visits to Porches Inn in North Adams, Massachusetts and one to the extraordinary Balnea Spa in Bromont, Quebec.  I expect our new hobby will be a prominent theme in our future travels.  

On the Coffee Table: Talk to My Back

Title: Talk to My Back

Writer and Artist: Yamada Murasaki

via Amazon

In 1981, Yamada Murasaki created a manga series for Garo magazine, an influential platform for alternative and avant-garde comics.  Talk to My Back depicts a woman navigating her difficult, though hardly unusual, relationships with her husband and their young children.  Murasaki accomplishes quite a lot with a little.  The artwork is sparse in the extreme.  Facial features are notably absent in many panels, enhancing the loneliness of the protagonist's world.

Feminism has a much quieter voice in Japan than it does in the West.  Women wanting to be more than wives and mothers has been a central message of American feminism at least since the publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique in 1963.  Even by the time I was in Japan in the mid-to-late '90s, typical views were archaic.  

Quiet, however, does not mean subtle.  Talk to My Back is a powerful work.  There's no mistaking the resentment and isolation revealed.   And I'm confident there are women throughout the world who often find themselves in similar emotional circumstances.  Unreasonable expectations are placed on women, period - in the home, in the workplace, in society at large. 

Don't think so?  What was one of the first criticisms leveled at Kamala Harris when she became the presumptive Democratic nominee for President?  She has no children.  No politician would ever dare hold that against a man.  Harris is a woman so evidently it's okay.  It's disgusting.  Thankfully, the Republican ticket seems to be suffering a political price for their idiotic and hateful rhetoric.

Yeah, I know I've promised to keep the Squid apolitical but seriously, if you're not yet convinced that Donald Trump shouldn't be President, I don't even know where to start with you.  Hate mongering is not politics.  It's just gross.

I'm getting off topic (sort of).  Talk to My Back gives you a lot to think about regardless of your sex, gender or political affiliation.  Or at least, it should.  It's the sort of work that should make you uncomfortable.  I won't ever claim to be a perfect husband.  I know my wife feels unappreciated at times and she's right to, not because I don't try but because too often, I don't think.  Reading a book like this is an important kick in the pants.

If this sort of book "offends" you, well, I'm not sure where to start.  It's a book I feel everyone should read.  It gets to the heart of why families - all families - are difficult, and likely more so for the women involved.

On the Coffee Table: Dungeon

Title: Dungeon, Twilight, Vol.1: Dragon Cemetery

Creators: Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim

via Amazon

It's been nearly ten years since I'd last read a Joann Sfar comic.  He was our family favorite for a while as we explored The Rabbi's Cat, Little Vampire, Sardine and Klezmer.  Dungeon is a sweeping epic with Twilight only one of several sub-series.  Originally written in French, most though not all issues have been translated into English.  The first issue was published in 1998 and the series is still ongoing.

Dungeon is intended as a parody of Dungeons & Dragons.  For Twilight, we have a team of adventurers: Marvin the dragon, old and blind but clearly powerful; Marvin the Red, rabbit warrior, scrappy, caddish and impulsive and an unnamed, yet invaluable bat who serves as the dragon's faithful guide.  Dragon Marvin's quest is the titular dragon cemetery.  Herbert the Duck, also known as The Great Khan, wants to find it, too.  So while Marvin the dragon is technically his prisoner, Herbert pretends to let him escape so his minions can follow.

It's all more complicated that and a little too busy to follow at times.  But the world-building is rich and the characters charmingly colorful.  It's bawdier than I remember D&D being, too, though admittedly I stopped playing when I was about 13 - imagination limited by inexperience.

I'm inclined to continue with the series - could be a while, though.  The TBR shelves are pretty well stuffed these days.

On the Coffee Table: The Way of the House Husband

Title: The Way of the House Husband, Vol. 1

Writer and Artist: Kosuke Oono

via Amazon

Tatsu was a notorious Yakuza boss, nicknamed The Immortal Dragon.  But he fell in love a career woman, Miku, and got married.  He's left the gangster life behind in order to run the household while his wife pursues her graphic designer ambitions.  Tatsu still occasionally runs into the old thugs, leading to street fights and the like.  But the deep humor comes from his trying to make humdrum, everyday chores seem more badass.  One chapter about the cat and the Roomba had me laughing out loud.

The comic series began in 2018 and is ongoing.  Volume 1 is one of twelve collections so far, the first ten of which have been published in English.  As is so often the case with popular manga, there are multiple screen adaptations: both live-action and animated television series as well as one live-action film.  Volume 2 awaits me on my shelves.

On the Coffee Table: 100 Bullets

Title: 100 Bullets, Vol. 1: First Shot, Last Call

Writer: Brian Azzarello

Artist: Eduardo Risso

via Amazon

You meet a strange man, Agent Graves, who clearly knows a lot more about you than you do about him.  He tells you the exact person who ruined your life.  Then he hands you a briefcase with a gun and 100 untraceable bullets and tells you to do whatever you want with them.

That's the premise of 100 Bullets.  Volume 1 collects the first five issues of a comic book series that ultimately ran for - you guessed it - 100 issues.  The first story, covered in the first three issues, follows Dizzy, recently released from prison.  To her, Graves reveals the crooked cops who killed her family.  The second features Lee, a down on his luck bartender who lost his family because pranking teenagers planted child porn on his hard drive.  As the second story progresses, we get a broader sense of Graves's own motivations and they're not exactly selfless.

Morality gets complicated for the reader.  To a point, one is inclined to root for Graves's chosen ones and against their targets.  But of course, there's more to both stories than one originally assumes.

The series is certainly strong.  Both writing and art are excellent.  However, I have a gripe.  Dizzy is Latina and her story is set in the inner city.  Azzarello, a White man, attempts to incorporate the street vernacular of both Latinx and Black characters.  It doesn't sit well with me when White people do that.  Indeed, representation matters and so does realism.  It just doesn't feel right.

So what's the answer, you ask?  More people of color creating their own stories within the medium.  Yes, there are people of color in the business - probably not enough of them and certainly not enough of them in positions of power to promote more representative stories.  It's a worthy goal and the results are likely to be a lot less cringey.  

That said, I'm up for more.

On the Coffee Table: Seth

Title: George Sprott: (1894-1975)

Writer and Artist: Seth

via Amazon

George Sprott was a fictional local television personality from the fictional Ontario city of Dominion.  Seth (the pen name of Gregory Gallant) presents his biography in graphic novel form.  In Sprott's show, he shares films and stories of his adventures exploring Arctic Canada.  Much of his life story is told from the perspective of others after his death.  Not all of it is flattering.

I enjoyed the book but I'm also grateful to get it off my shelves.  It's enormous, over 16 inches tall and over 12 inches wide!  Finding space for it has been challenging ever since I first bought it several years ago.  The story was first serialized in The New York Times Magazine, explaining the unusual size.  Most of the panels are too small to have survived scaling down.  In his review, Glen Weldon offers "8 Practical Uses" for the book after you have finished reading it.

Nostalgia for old local television and the Canadian romanticization of the Arctic are both lovingly rendered.  The loneliness of a "star" past his prime is the main theme, interesting timing for me in that we also recently watched Sunset Blvd.  Panel usage is clever, almost like a storyboard much of the time.

Squiddies 2023

The Armchair Squid turns fourteen years old today.  It's time to hand out some hardware.  The Squiddy goes to...

Biggest Surprise: Punt e Mes

It's been a great year for interesting new additions to the liquor cabinet.  Armagnac and Empress 1908 Gin have both brought intriguing possibilities to my creations.  The best find of all has been Punt e Mes, a vermouth from the Piedmont region of Italy which blends sweet and dry in a 2:1 ratio.  The result in a Manhattan is a raisin-y flavor, especially combined with George Dickel Rye, I have found.  Punt e Mes has become the go-to in my Negroni and Leap-Year recipes, too.  I must credit Restaurant Poco in Burlington with introducing us to this exciting spirit.

Biggest Disappointment: Greenpoint

I didn't mind the Greenpoint so much but boy, did my wife hate it!  The cocktail combines rye, yellow Chartreuse, sweet vermouth, Angostura and orange bitters with a lemon twist.  Each of those is usually a winning ingredient for us (though truthfully, yellow Chartreuse never seems to dazzle the way green Chartreuse does) but this particular combination failed.  She reported it tasted like cough syrup and couldn't even finish hers.

You can't win 'em all.

Best Read, First Time Category: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

via Amazon

Pachinko is the multi-generational saga of a Korean family through the twentieth century, first in Korea, ultimately in Japan.  Shame is the narrative theme throughout.  Shame is a famously powerful force in Asian cultures, though I believe it is more potent in the West than many of us would like to believe.  Apart from being a beautifully written story in its own right, Pachinko tugged hard at my nostalgic heart strings.  The family lived in Yokohama, the same city where I lived myself 25 years ago.  

Soon after I finished the book, we watched the TV series.  As is often the case, many of the details were altered but overall, it's highly enjoyable.  A second season has been promised.  They did a pretty good job of covering the entire novel in eight episodes so I don't know what they'll do for material.  Still, I can hardly wait.

Speaking of Japan nostalgia...

Best Comics Find: Old Boy

via Amazon

Oddly, the best comic book series I discovered this year is one I can't say I fully understood.  Old Boy was a Japanese manga published in the '90s.  It's had unusual cultural reach, inspiring first a South Korean movie by Park Chan-wook, then a Spike Lee remake of Park's film.  I only have Volume 7 of the trades so I came into the middle of what is already a confusing story.  Goto, a gangster, has just been released from a private prison after ten years.  He knows neither why he was imprisoned nor why he was set free.  The series follows his efforts to piece everything together.

The story is expertly told and once again, images of 1990s Tokyo worked their sweet magic with me.  As baffled as I (along with Goto) am by what's going on, I can't help wanting to know more.  The books are out of print but they are available digitally on Comixology.  Reading the rest might be a fine way to spend a rainy day at some point.

Athlete of the Year: James Worthy

via Memory Alpha

Hall of Famer James Worthy retired as a basketball player in 1994.  The year before, he made one of the most surprising cameos in the history of Star Trek when he played Koral, a Klingon smuggler, in "Gambit, Part II."  Worthy had met Robert O'Reilly (Gowron) on an airplane and expressed an interest in being on the show.  The rest is history.

Over 13 professional seasons, all with the Los Angeles Lakers, Worthy had 16,320 points, 4,708 rebounds and 2,791 assists.  His teams won three NBA titles and he was the MVP of the finals in 1988.  He was a seven-time All-Star and a member of the NBA anniversary teams for both the 50th and 75th league anniversaries.  His number 42 was retired by the storied Lakers.  I was definitely a Lakers over Celtics guy in the '80s so I appreciated Worthy.  

via Wikipedia

However, I bear a grudge.  His NCAA title with North Carolina in 1982 came at the expense of my team, the Georgetown Hoyas, in a heartbreaking loss.  In the final seconds of what is considered one of the greatest college basketball games ever, Georgetown point guard Fred Brown threw an errant pass to an out-of-position UNC player, believing he was a Hoya teammate.  That UNC player?  James Worthy.

So, wherever you are, sir, this is no small gesture on my part.

Best Family Adventure: Scandinave Spa

It's been a stressful year.  Being a teacher is tougher than ever  these days and I had added responsibilities this year which, while gratifying in many ways, didn't exactly help.  Parenting a first-year college student proved more challenging that expected as well.  There have been some big hits to my social world here in Vermont, too.

That said, the year has also brought some amazing moments.  Two, in particular, gave me exactly what I needed: a (somewhat) spontaneous trip to Camden Yards for a baseball game in Baltimore and a visit to Scandinave Spa in Montreal.

I had never been to a thermal spa before, unless you count Japanese onsens.  My wife and I had certainly never been to one together before.  Scandinave's thermal spa area offers a sauna, a steam room and a hydrojet bath with thermal waterfall.  The latter was my preference.  Actually, the best part of all was the dark, quiet relaxation room.  Spas aren't exactly a cheap hobby but definitely a worthwhile occasional indulgence.

On the Coffee Table: Yakitate!! Japan, Volume 4

Title: Yakitate!! Japan, Volume 4

Writer and Artist: Takashi Hashiguchi

via Amazon

Young bakers Kazuma and Kawachi work their way through the Pantasia chain's Rookie Tournament, repeatedly pulling victory out of the jaws of defeat.  Each round's challenge is a specialty (oddity?) of Japanese bread: melon bread, fried noodle bread, animal bread.  Kazuma wins with creative vision, Kawachi with grit.

There isn't much in the way of sexual reference in Yakitate!! but what there is tends towards the dirty old man vibe: objectifying talk regarding a woman's breasts, a competition judge so excited he nearly exposes himself and such.  The manga series is classified as shōnen, comic books targeting teenage boys.  So while somewhat offensive, the sexualized material is not entirely surprising.

Even so, Yakitate!! Japan continues to amuse.  The superhero action comic take on cooking competitions is a lot of fun.

On the Coffee Table: Takashi Hashiguchi

Title: Yakitate!! Japan, Volumes 2 & 3

Writer and Artist: Takashi Hashiguchi

via Amazon

via Amazon

The adventures of young baker Kazuma Azuma continue as he works to establish himself in the highly competitive world of Tokyo bakeries.  The storylines revolve around Iron Chef-esque showdowns.  

There's some fun character development in the two collections I've just read:

• Kazuma is impulsive, ready to run off (literally run) to distant provinces for unusual bread ingredients: fresh wasabi, for instance.
• Tsukino (fellow baker/love interest?) has more than a casual interest in the success of the bakery where they work.  It impacts her inheritance.
• Kawachi (fellow baker/inferior rival) emerges as a more sympathetic character than early chapters suggested.
• Kenoshita (fellow baker) does all the work in the shop though he's only ever tangentially connected to the main narrative.  He's good comic relief.

The books remind me of Japan's more unusual bread concepts: bread with bean paste, for instance.  Let's just say I'm not a fan.  Cream-filled bread comes up, too.  I don't remember that.  Too bad - I think I would have preferred that to the beans.

There is an anime series and I am curious.  I'm interested to know how the almost superhero-ish flash of the panels translates to the screen.

I have four more volumes on my shelves.  I'm looking forward to them.

On the Coffee Table: The Sandman

Title: The Sandman, Volume 1: Preludes & Nocturnes

Writer: Neil Gaiman

Artists: Sam Keith, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Dave McKean

via Amazon

Title: The Sandman, Volume 2: The Doll's House

Writer: Neil Gaiman

Artists: Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli. Steve Parkhouse, Dave McKean

via Amazon

The Sandman is widely considered one of the masterpieces of the comic book genre.  Neil Gaiman teamed up with a small staff of master artists to tell the tale of Morpheus, King of the Dreamworld.  Morpheus had been held captive for several decades.  Now that he's free, he must clean up the mess created by those who have sought to fill the void in his absence.  The story shifts not exactly seamlessly between demon-world, dream-world and real world.  

As I have written before, though not for several years, Gaiman's work is hit-or-miss for me.  I can't deny his command of language or narrative skill.  The Graveyard Book is one of my favorites.  But Gaiman often tends too far in the horror direction for my tastes.  I first tried Preludes & Nocturnes several years ago and was deeply turned off.  Maggots in people's eyes?  A diner full of people being manipulated into killing each other?  No thanks.

The new Netflix series sparked my wife's interest.  She'd never read the comics before but is now eagerly seeking them out.  She suggested I read the second book, The Doll's House, as a book swap.  I needed to re-read the first volume to get oriented.

After being freed, Morpheus sets out to gather his dream-manipulating objects: a gas mask, a bag of sand and an amulet.  All have fallen into the possession of unsuitable owners.  I can't say I liked the story any better with the second reading.  Still hauntingly beautiful at times?  Yes.  Still frequently gross and off-putting?  Most certainly.

The Doll's House is better.  The broad arc follows a mortal, Rose Walker, a young woman whose family has been torn apart.  As she works to gather them all back together, she learns of the role she plays, unwittingly, within the dream world.  Once again, some of the stories are lovely.  The prologue is set in the African desert, a man relating a rite of passage tale to his grandson after the latter's ritual circumcision.  In Part Four, Morpheus makes a friend in 14th century England.  After granting him immortality, Morpheus visits his pal every hundred years to see how he's doing.

But there are also truly sickening moments over the course of the story.  Maybe this is the trade off I have to accept with the Sandman series if I'm to continue with it.  And I think I will.  Eventually.  Gaiman is a genius.  If I can endure his horror stories, I will be rewarded with occasional elegance.  Even Rose's story, while frequently disgusting, is beautiful in the end.

The artwork is undeniably brilliant.  With several different artists come a variety of styles.  Sometimes, panel sequence gets confusing, which annoys me.  But overall, the visual presentation is top-notch.  Even the gross stuff.

I don't know if I'm interested in the TV series or not.  I suppose I am curious to see how it all translates to screen.  If I do watch, I may occasionally need to remove to another room from time to time.

On the Coffee Table: Cycles

Title: Y: The Last Man, Volume 2: Cycles

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Penciller: Pia Guerra

Inker: Jose Marzan, Jr.

via Amazon

Y: The Last Man continues with Cycles, collecting issues #6-10 of the comic book series.  The basic premise: Yorick and his monkey are the last two male mammals on Earth, or so it appears.  At the moment, they're trying to make their way to California along with geneticist Dr. Mann, who is hoping to understand how Yorick survived, and federal agent 355, who is trying to keep them all alive.  Story lines converge in Marrisville, Ohio where a community of women is untroubled by the lack of men, a significant contrast with practically everyone else in the story.  The women of Marrisville also have a secret.

I've been reading other dystopian comics recently - Transmetropolitan and Trees - and Y: The Last Man works better for me.  For starters, the narrative is much simpler in structure.  Yes, there are multiple strands but they converge regularly and their relationship with one another is easily understood.  Also, there's a surprising lightness to Y, not easily accomplished with such a dark tale.  Yorick is likeable and goofy enough to provide comic relief.

There's a lot to unpack with the sexual politics.  Would human society truly fall apart if men suddenly vanished?  The implication is not that men are more capable.  Rather, it's that our entire civilization is built around the patriarchy and losing men would leave a dangerous power void - governments would be thrown into confusion, for instance.  Nearly all airplanes would fall out of the sky because the vast majority of pilots are male.  I think it's fair to say that men would find out in a hurry how dependent they are on women if the reverse were to happen.

But I suppose that's a different dystopian narrative.

On the Coffee Table: Copper

Title: Copper

Writer and Artist: Kazu Kibuishi

via Goodreads

Copper is a web comic by Kazu Kibuishi, the creator of the Amulet series and other projects.  Each story is a Sunday newspaper-style comic strip.  Homages to the classics are clearly evident.  Copper's relationship with his dog Fred is highly reminiscent of that between Calvin and Hobbes, though Copper's older and mellower than Calvin and Fred's more pessimistic than Hobbes.  The jagged black strip against yellow of Charlie Brown's traditional garb is a frequent visual motif.  Fred is sort of the anti-Snoopy.  

Some of the strips are set in the "real world" but many inhabit trippy dreamscapes: a first-person shooter game (where Copper gets too caught up in admiring the scenery), a world of mushrooms, surreal abstraction.  In a couple of stories, they go surfing.  My two favorite strips are "Waterfall" and "Good Life," both CalvinHobbesesque tramps through the woods.  Kizuishi shares a love of funky flying contraptions with Hayao Miyazaki and I sense some artistic influence as well.

I would describe the driving philosophy as happy fatalism which I learned of years ago from John Irving's Hotel New Hampshire.  According to Irving: "The way the world worked was not cause for some sort of blanket cynicism or sophomoric despair... the way the world worked – which was badly – was just a strong incentive to live purposefully, and to be determined about living well."

Kibuishi closes with an artistic process section, material I always enjoy.  

Overall, Copper is a fun, quick, rewarding read.

On the Coffee Table: Y: The Last Man

Title: Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Penciller: Pia Guerra

Inker: José Marzán, Jr.

via Amazon

In a flash, every male mammal on the planet dies, except for one - well, two really.  Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand have both been spared, though no one is sure why.  Can Yorick survive long enough to help perpetuate the species?  Will the extremist Amazons - of which his sister Hero is one - kill him first?  Will he ever be reunited with his girlfriend, Beth, currently stranded in Australia?  Will his mother, one of the few surviving members of the US Congress, succeed in helping to re-establish law and order?

Unmanned is the first trade for the Y: The Last Man series, collecting issues #1-5.  First published in 2002, the series has since inspired a television show of the same name, released in 2021.  Unfortunately, it was canceled after one season.  Poor timing, I'm guessing.  Perhaps the world had an understandably limited appetite for post-apocalyptic narratives last year.  No, I haven't watched it.

The storytelling is effective and the premise intriguing.  Yorick is a tolerable idiot - clever enough to stay alive, foolish enough to keep things interesting and goofy enough to provide occasional comic relief in a necessarily heavy narrative.  The story raises ethical questions as well as concerns about the limitations of lines of succession within government.  My one gripe: the treatment of time is unnecessarily awkward.

As we leave matters at the end of Unmanned, Yorick, his bodyguard Agent 355 and geneticist Dr. Mann are trying to decided on their next best step.  I'm definitely up for finding out which they choose.