Himawari House by Harmony Becker (They Called Us Enemy) is slice-of-life diaspora fiction that revolves around the sense of home, belonging, and otherness experienced by three young women living in Japan. Having decided to take a gap year between high school and college, 18-year-old Nao moves into the Himawari share house in Tokyo, where she…
REVIEW: “I Want To Be a Wall” Is a Winner
The premise for I Want to Be a Wall is too great to not garner attention. An asexual, aromantic boys love (BL) fan marries a gay man still in love with his childhood best friend. The first volume of this quirky manga is a sweet slice of life story about a married couple who will…
REVIEW: The Greatest Thing Is a Love Letter to Gay Teens and Queer Zines
The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle (Sincerely, Harriet; Patience and Esther; and a former WWAC contributor!) is a bittersweet story about an aspiring artist who channels her dreams and anxieties into a series of comic zines. With its honest writing and soft pastel art, this graphic novel explores the realities of being a queer…
INTERVIEW: It’s Not What You Thought It Would Be With Lizzy Stewart
London-based illustrator Lizzy Stewart is best known for her children’s books, but with It’s Not What You Thought It Would Be, we see what coming of age means through the eyes of several young women. Exploring their winding paths to adulthood through previously self-published short stories, Stewart’s new graphic novel from Fantagraphics will be available…
Review: The Way of the Househusband Anime Has Lost Its Way
Everything is epic in J.C.Staff Studio and Netflix’s anime adaptation of The Way of the Househusband. From the rocking metal intro that juxtaposes Tatsu’s (Tacchan’s) favorite Shiba Inu apron with his irezumi, to the time Tacchan shows up as Santa Claus for his local community center. It’s fun, but unfortunately, these epic scenes were already…
[Exclusive] Little Josephine: A Memory in Pieces from Humanoids
Humanoid’s Life Drawn imprint introduces Little Josephine: A Memory in Pieces by writer Valérie Villieu and artist Raphaël Sarfati. This is a moving, visually stunning chronicle of the relationship between a caregiver and her patient, Josephine, who is living with Alzheimer’s, a disease that has stolen away too many loved ones before their time.
Shannon Hale’s Best Friends is an Unintentionally Helpful Guidebook for Parents of Preteens
Best Friends Shannon Hale (writer), LeUyen Pham (illustrator), Hilary Sycamore (colourist) First Second August 27, 2019 Shannon Hale’s Best Friends is a graphic memoir of her elementary school experiences. The sequel to 2017’s Real Friends, it covers everything from body image issues to crushes, and all the emotional turmoil in between that is the life of…
Ignatz Alert: How to Be Alive
How to Be Alive Tara Booth 2017 Retrofit Comics/Big Planet Comics How to Be Alive turns a collection of Tara Booth’s gouache vignettes into a complicated, intense look at Booth’s everyday life that swings from hilarious to saddening in the turn of a page. From dragging on the layers required to face a cold day…
Wash Day Teaches Black Women How To Care For Their Natural Hair
Wash Day Jamila Rowser (writer), Robyn Smith (illustrator), J.A. Micheline (script editor) Black Josei Press June 2018 Disclaimer: J.A. Micheline has written for Women Write About Comics. Wash Day is a mini slice-of-life comic that aims to show black women just how beautiful they are. The story, penned and illustrated by Jamila Rowser and Robyn…
Short & Sweet: TCAF 2016 Edition
Angel and I had a blast at this year’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF); a free festival for the public where they can check out cool indie comics, creators and panels. I wrote about my experience of the festival which you can read here. We grabbed a ton of comics but couldn’t review our entire haul due to…
Dear Amanda: Letters of Caution
Cathy G. Johnson’s Dear Amanda plays catch with you for a while. Then it knocks the ball out of your hands. You thought you were reading a simple diary comic? You were reading a rather complex meditation on perspective, in fact. It knocked the ball out of my hands, I should say. Reading experiences may…
When Romance Comics Hated Women
When I was a teenager and first reading poetry, I inherited (basically stole) my mum’s copy of The Penguin Book of Love Poetry. It’s from the 1970s, has her name written in the front in blue pen, and the cover focuses on a detail from Bronzino’s Allegory with Venus and Cupid. Here’s a photo of…