We’ve got a bit of everything for this month’s WWACommendations: queer fantasy, historical fiction about a prison hunger strike, multimedia noir, and mysterious, manga melodrama. I love when we stumble on a theme, but I also love when WWACommendations is a true smorgasboard. There’s something here for you, no matter what you’re in the mood to read.
Alenka Figa: When Les Normaux opens, Sebastien has recently moved to Supernatural Paris where he can study magic and finally embrace his magical heritage. Reeling from the emotional impact of his parents’ distaste for his decision, Sebastien pops into a gay bar to drink and drown his feelings — but when he makes out with a super hot vampire, he panics and runs. As fate would have it, that super-hot vampire turns out to be Sebastien’s new neighbor!
Les Normaux follows both Sebastien and Elia, whose own familial relationships are complicated by a mismatch in how he and his (albeit loving) parents have plotted his life. Creators Al and JJ have created something really beautiful and heartfelt with this Webtoon. Magic and vampirism aside, Sebastien and Elia are relatable young adults still figuring out who they want to be. The burdens they carry are not supernatural — on top of his family issues, Sebastien is mostly alone in a new place, and he seems to be learning that he’s demisexual. Elia lives in the spotlight as a model and fashion designer from a famous family, and he’s facing the frightening but thrilling possibility of carving his own path in the world. Part of what carries this comic is the colors, which are as soft, warm, and as emotional as the story itself. Al and JJ also create a lot of very cool, fashionable looks for their characters — essential in a comic that contains famous fashion families! Les Normaux is currently on break before a new chapter starts, so it’s a perfect time to binge-read and get caught up.
Carrie McClain: I wanted to read Flying Kites: A Story of the 2013 California Prison Hunger Strike because in recent years I have been increasingly interested in a number of topics not limited to restorative justice, community care beyond policing, and what it means to consider oneself an abolitionist. It is also in recent years that there have been more accessible and affordable books from publishers like Haymarket Books that serve that need for others like myself. The book is here thanks to the efforts of the The Stanford Graphic Novel Project. Apparently, this is a twenty-week course at Stanford, “designed to teach nonfiction research, visual storytelling, and long-form narrative structure to undergraduates through the collaborative creation of a graphic novel.”
The Stanford Graphic Novel Project cohort of 2018-2019 wrote, researched and illustrated Flying Kites includes: Candice Kim, Katherine Liu, Lily Nilipour, Sarah Shourd, Lucy Zhu, Peter DiCampo, Danial Shadmany, Nik Wesson, Elena Kamas, Serena Zhang, Sharon Tran, Luke Soon-Shiong and (Michelle) Bae. What I love the most about Flying Kites is that the focus of the book is the inmates, the injustices done against them, and the great accomplishment of the 2013 strike that made change. The incarcerated people who, in fiction and in real life, are largely forgotten, ignored and dehumanized get to be centered here. Their families and those working to bring attention to their struggles on the outside are important, and are included, yet the inmates and the creative ways they communicated with each other and the ways they suffered but banded together are centered.
One of my favorite pages of the book that stays with me depicts the adult daughter of an inmate who had been subjected to solitary confinement again and again, speaking with the media. She thinks back on speaking to her father and hearing him say that he has no voice, as the prison system, the wardens, the guards have taken his voice, the voices of all within the walls of the prison. She calmly speaks to the reporter with a microphone: “As family, we are their voice. We have to be, when their voices are taken away.” I kept coming back to this page in Flying Kites: A Story of the 2013 California Prison Hunger Strike as it is a fine page of text, illustrations, and meaning to those like me who desire a world with way fewer prisons, and a better quality of life to those often forgotten by society.
Emily Lauer: Evil Eyes Sea by Ozge Samanci is a total thrill ride! I was excited to hear about it because I enjoyed her graphic memoir, Dare to Disappoint. While Evil Eyes Sea has the same innovative art style, incorporating photographed objects as well as drawings, the story is really different. In Evil Eyes Sea, underfunded women college students in Turkey deal with all kinds of misogyny and inconveniences, while also solving a murder and getting sucked into some corrupt politics. There’s a big range of interesting characters, and the way the disparate elements of society come together reminds me of the best qualities of noir. As one might expect from Samanci, it is still really fun and funny, while treating its serious subjects with dignity. It came out March 26th from Uncivilized Books and I’m already recommending it widely.
Alenka Figa: I’m sneaking in another recommendation because I was so certain I’d already written about the manga Kowloon Generic Romance by Jun Mayuzuki! My library has been slow to get all the volumes, so I’ve only just gotten through volume 4. This manga takes place in the walled city of Kowloon, although the unspecified era and intriguing setting hold a lot of mysteries. This series is perhaps best described as an office romance, but calling it just an office romance would be deeply reductive. It’s about Reiko Kujirai, an employee at a small real estate office. Reiko has a crush on her coworker Kudou, who’s caring but very stuck in his ways. Kowloon itself doesn’t seem very technologically advanced, but there is a lot of remarkable technology in the world that seems to be finally trickling into Kowloon, for better or worse. In fact, Reiko herself might be a bit of a marvel; even a mystery. Or maybe she’s just a woman in love.
This series is hard to talk about because every aspect of it feels like a spoiler! It’s a real joy to read and experience. The mystery aspect of the story is very slow burn; it feels more slice of life. Reiko and Kudou are integrated into their community in unique ways, and there are lots of fun, silly side stories and minor characters. The aesthetic of Kowloon is really something! Mayuzki’s illustrations beautifully capture the cramped, sweaty and strange atmosphere of Kowloon, so that the reader feels as if they are both within Reiko’s insular story and amidst a dense place full of individuals living quirky lives. Kowloon Generic Romance is a melodrama, but it’s often funny, and Mayuzuki careens expertly between comedic facial expressions and emotional, dramatic ones. I’m absolutely going to have to go back and reread volumes as secrets are revealed, just to see what I’ve missed. You’ve gotta pick this one up or request it at your library!
