Spent

Alison Bechdel's Spent graphic novel was published earlier this week. The novel's main character is Alison herself but this Alison has a different life history. Book Alison runs a pygmy goat sanctuary in Vermont. She is upset over climate change and the possibility of civil war in the U. S.  Book Alison’s first graphic novel was about her father’s taxidermy business and was made into a successful, Emmy award winning TV show. Alison is trying to sell her second graphic novel, which is about late capitalism and her guilt over being white. She wants to free people from consumer capitalism and live a more ethical life. However, she wonders whether her love of her middle class lifestyle is a betrayal of her lifelong values.

The book is quite funny. The plot is structured around the contents of a Marxist explanation of money. While this sounds serious, it is written with funny lines by all of the characters who are not afraid to poke fun at themselves and the politicians they follow. Alison has a conservative sister Sheila who is a nationally renowned seed artist. Sheila and Alison just barely tolerate each other. The story became slow in the middle. There was too much dialogue on politics and special interest groups and not much action. We read about Alison’s daily life here.

Alison’s partner is Holly. She is a sculptor by trade. Holly's character resembles the author’s own wife, Holly Rae Taylor, an artist who did the coloring on Spent. The couple meets daily with their friends, which includes Stuart who is a Bernie Sanders look-alike, Stuart's wife Sparrow and their college dropout kid, J.R., and Lois, who acts as a sort of tour guide to other people’s sexual hangups and fetishes.

I would not recommend the book for children. While there is no profanity, the book has several drawings of characters having sex. In addition, there are discussions among them about being lesbians. I don't think kids would be interested in it anyway because the storyline is about middle aged characters. All of the characters are extremely liberal in their politics. They constantly talk about their activities volunteering for many political groups.

I enjoyed this comic but there was too much politics for my taste. I am rating it 4 out if 5 stars.

Delver Season 1

Delver Season 1 is a Comixology Original comic. It collects releases 1 through 5 and there are 5 seasons of this 2019 comic. It is kid friendly; no foul language, violence or sex. 

The publisher's summary:

When the door to a living dungeon surfaces in the tiny hamlet of Oddgoat, village girl Temerity Aster has two choices: abandon the only home she's ever known to carpet baggers and sellswords, or carve out a place for herself and her family in the new and dangerous world of delving. 

The story opens with a boy being sent to the family's root cellar for ingredients needed for dinner. He finds an entrance to the Dungeon and tells the family when he returns. Soon neighbors are talking about it and the gossip spreads. People begin coming from all over the world to try and gain their fortunes in this dangerous place. The story focuses on Merit, a fifteen year old girl who decides to try her fortune as a Delver as the Dungeon irrevocably changes the life of those in the community. 

The first thing I noticed was that the main family of the series is dark skinned while the people who come out of the dungeon are crazy looking white people. This theme is carried out throughout the 141 pages of the comic. I thought it was hilarious. So what is delving? It is searching for treasure in the dungeon. In order to enter and exit the dungeon you have to find the door. To make matters difficult, the doors move and close frequently. Most of the time you are rich beyond belief when you exit the dungeon so everyone wants to enter. 

I cannot wait to read all 5 seasons! Delver is a cute comic for all ages. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Black Ghost: Hard Revolution

This graphic novel is a short, 135 page super-hero story. I selected it for the Color Coded Reading Challenge. I have been struggling to finish my reading challenges this year and am thrilled to find a short read that meets the requirements of the challenge. This Season One edition collects releases 1 through 5 in a print for the first time. It was published in 2020.

In the story Lara Dominguez is a troubled City of Creighton police reporter who is obsessed with the city's debonair vigilante, the Black Ghost. With the help of a mysterious cyber-informant named Lone, she is getting closer to uncovering the Ghost's identity. But as she searches for the breakthrough story that she desperately needs, Lara will have to navigate the corruption of her city, the uncertainties of virtue, and her own personal demons. The question is whether she will have the strength to be part of the solution or will she become the problem?

There was plenty of suspense in this mystery. Each release ended with a bang and that kept me interested enough in the plot to continue reading. The book is a blend of the crime noir and vigilante superhero genres. Lara is an alcoholic, lesbian vigilante who takes on the Black Ghost identity after the previous Black Ghost was killed in action. Our heroine is always drunk or has a hangover. She abandoned all her other journalist assignments to pursue the vigilante in the night and loses her job as a result. Also, Lara has a lot of family history to process concerning the death of her brother and all of this impedes her judgement. In addition, Lara also finds time to teach night GED classes and this where she meets Ernesto, who becomes her unlikely partner. 

Lara is a great character. She is tough physically and is a fabulous investigative rreporter. I also liked Ernesto. He played a small role on these releases but I can see he is going to be a good sidekick for Lara. He met Lara in a GED class that she was teaching. This is an odd dimension to her character but I assume it will be drawn upon in later editions. Other characters were either co-workers or the villains the Black Ghost is fighting.

The story had a light feel and was a fun, relaxing read. Season 2 of the story is out and I am definitely going to read it.  5 out of 5 stars.