#the book tour

[nonetoon]

✨ Big Comic Recommendation List! ✨

I’ve been wanting to compile some of my favorite comics into one big list in no particular order for a while. Again, I just want to reiterate that I’m in no way any sort of comic critic and all of these are just books that I personally enjoy, and if they seem up your alley I hope you’ll enjoy them too!

I also want to state that these are definitely more adult oriented books and not for kids. A lot of these stories have pretty graphic violence and tackle more adult topics like sexual or physical assault, so I’ll also be putting content warnings for where it applies.

1. Afternoon at McBurger’s by Ana Galvañ

Afternoon at McBurger’s takes place in a bright, colorful future where a group of young girls finally have the opportunity to participate in the Once Party provided by McBurger’s, a fast food restaurant. The Once Party offers a fantastical opportunity for anyone who turns eleven years old: the chance to visit themselves in the future!

The limited color palette of pink, teal, and yellow make for a very nice aesthetic that lends itself to the strange, futuristic world you get just a glimpse into. For such a short story there is a lot to keep track of that makes rereading fun and I felt like I discovered something new every time I went through it again.

CW: physical abuse

2. No One Else by R. Kikuo Johnson

Another short one but is definitely one of the more impactful. No One Else is about a woman (a nurse and full time caretaker for her elderly father) and her brother (a musician who has a much more strained relationship with their father) trying to process the sudden, accidental death of their father while also looking after her son. A very honest, holds-no-punches look at family, abuse, and neglect as each character struggles to cope with this sudden situation they find themselves in.

The artwork is beautifully done and the use of blues with a splash of orange makes for a great visual impact. I’m a big fan of character driven stories, and this book provides an interesting and messy glimpse into these characters lives. Very down to earth, very honest, and nicely tied together.

CW: physical abuse

3. Birds of Maine by Michael DeForge

A fun and meandering story about a society of birds that migrated to the moon to form their own world, away from human involvement. Birds of Maine follows both a group of young birds trying to find their place in this giant, complex world as well as gives glimpses of the many different facets of bird society and how they function.

This comic gives a very funny, matter-of-fact look into the absurd world of birds! It’s overall a great read if you like world building, and it’s presented with beautiful line work, bright pops of color, and abstract shapes that make up the bustling world and characters. The story overall feels like a stroll: it generally follows along a specific story with certain characters, but isn’t afraid to wander off to other points of interest.

4. Coyote Doggirl by Lisa Hanawalt

Set in the wild west, Coyote Doggirl follows said character as she tries to escape a group of bandits after she kills their leader’s brother. Along the way she meets new allies and has to decide to confront the past she is trying desperately to get away from or keep on running. It’s a funny yet honest book set in the beauty of the desert.

The story and characters in Coyote Doggirl are both hilarious and crude, which makes the more serious and genuine moments even more impactful. The loose style of the watercolors throughout this comic perfectly match the beautiful colors of the desert landscape. This comic also has probably one of my favorite endings (which I’m not going to spoil here).

CW: nudity, sexual assault, graphic violence

5. Eight-Lane Runaways by Henry McCausland

Eight-Lane Runaways follows a group of runners participating in a marathon through a fantastical and lively world. Each have their own motivations and desires for entering the race, and we get to see how each resolves as the race goes on.

The quirky and oddball characters and their ever-changing, winding landscape go perfectly hand-in-hand. It’s always amusing when clearly bizarre fantasy worlds, characters, and events are treated very plainly within the story. The characters are simple but fun to follow along with, from a character who is a frog, to a character who follows the instructions of a magical coat, to a character simply looking for two missing cats. Along with the beautifully done artwork and sprawling pages of landscapes, it feels as though you are only getting the smallest look into this big, wild world you want to learn more about.

6. The Book Tour by Andi Watson

The Book Tour follows a rather unlucky new author as, not only is his debut book not selling well, but a string of murders is following his exact tour route, leaving all signs pointing at him as the culprit.

It’s a very dry but still incredibly entertaining and suspenseful story. It’s hilarious, quaint, and baffling to watch the poor man get hit with bad luck after bad luck, only for him to be very proper, if not completely lost, about the whole ordeal. There are also many moving parts and details going on in the background that make for a great murder mystery story, definitely deserving of a reread to connect all the pieces that might have been missed on the first read through (I know I definitely did).

7. Heaven No Hell by Michael DeForge

A collection of 17 amazing short stories looking at a variety of characters and concepts. Everything from a woman pretending to be a surgeon, a karaoke party, a family killed in a car crash, and the creation of a hypothetical child.

My favorite stories of the bunch are “One Of My Students Is A Murderer… But Which?”, “Surprise Party”, “Album”, “Road Trip”, and “Soap Opera.” All of the stories in this comic are perfectly bite-sized looks into a variety of interesting visuals and concepts that keep you engaged from segment to segment.

CW: mild nudity

8. Flavor Girls by Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky and Angel De Santiago

In Flavor Girls, a mysterious alien ship appears in Earth’s orbit, and its passengers cause death and destruction for life on earth. Luckily, a group of women dubbed “Flavor Girls” by their fans are gifted magical, fruit themed powers that aid them in fighting off the alien army. The newest, unexpected member of the group, however, is having trouble catching up.

By far one of the most visually stunning comics I have ever read. Very, very reminiscent of Sailor Moon in its characters, aesthetic, and story. This comic has some of my favorite character designs, the alien designs in particular are extremely fun to look at. Unlike the other comics on this list, it is not a complete story but at least it gives you something to look forward to!

CW: mild graphic violence

9. Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoët

Last but absolutely not least, Beautiful Darkness is a surprisingly horrifying and violent story about cute and fun looking fairy-like characters trying to survive out in the woods. The less you know going in to this comic, the better.

The incredible beauty and meticulous detail of the environment in this comic lends itself well as a stark contrast to the horrific deaths littered throughout this story. It is bizarre watching how unfeeling and unbothered these cutesy fairytale creatures are with their friends dropping around them like flies, but it’s impossible to look away. Seeing how all of it shapes and warps the genuinely kind main character, Aurora, and the darker implications going on in the background make this a must read. By far one of the best openings to any comic I have ever read.

CW: gore, body horror

(That’s all I have for now! Hope to recommend more in the future ✌️)

#text #long post #excuse any typos I have been staring at this for too long #comic recommendations #book recommendations #beautiful darkness #flavor girls #Heaven no hell #birds of Maine #the book tour #eight lane runaways #coyote doggirl #afternoon at mcburgers #no one else

[haveyoureadthiscomic-poll]

#the book tour #andi watson #top shelf productions #graphic novel #graphic novels #poll

[vampireboy2003]

Weekly comic reviews N°1

The book tour, by Andi Watson

Published First in 2019

This book came in to my possession almost by chance. I had some money to spare this month and wanted to spend it on a graphic novel (living lavish, i know) this one, out of all the other ones in the book store that day, looked most appealing to me after a quick sift through the pages. Its fitting then, that the book is all about a guy that gets majorly screwed over by circumstance.

The book tour tells the story of G.H Fratwell, a relatively unknown english author who, upon the publication of his latest novel has to now go on a book tour to promote It. The book tour is a colossal disaster from day one, and on top of that he becomes the main suspect of some murders he didnt commit.

The story is almost simple in its structure, with Fratwell going from bookstore to bookstore, and hotel to hotel, and misfortune to misfortune, all without cracking that very British "politely inconvenienced" face.

Its a very kafkaesque tale, not only in its themes and presentation, but with a lot of references peppered in. For example, the title of Fratwells novel -- "No K" is one of many references to The trial, a short story that this book is clearly inspired by. You can see a very heavy kafka influence not only in the plot itself but the tone of the story, finding humour in the absurdities that Fratwell goes through, and in Fratwell himself almost perpetuating some of the things that happen to him by wanting to not inconvenience whoever It was that was making him miserable at the moment. It is a book ultimately about Fratwell and his downward spiral, as he realizes no one around him really cares about him, his book, or wether or not he killed a woman. I wont spoil the ending here, but make sure to be prepared If you like things neatly tied up. The ending DID work for me, and it kind of gets me reflecting upon the work and making me want to read again, which is good!

The art also wraps around the story pretty perfectly, with very simplified designs for every character (especially our main character) and more detailed backgrounds and buildings. It is pretty to look at and delicately drafted, and gave me the feeling that the street itself was swallowing up Fratwell, while providing a lot of character to all of the generic european towns and bookshops he visited. One of my favourite sequences in the novel is the opening one, where we see a character arriving in town through a lot of big wide pannels of cityscape. It reminded me almost of a movie, and in fact the timing displayed throught the whole story is really tight, this being not only pacing, but the pannel-to-pannel and page-to-page timing that really makes you feel those akward situations Fratwell puts himself in, and even the timing of the "jokes" the book has.

Ultimately, while i could write a lot more about the themes and overall message of the story (its pretty dense and would take me at least another re-read), its a light read that one could do in a rainy afternoon. It IS quite derivative of Kafka, but in a way that didnt bother me as someone who didnt really know all the references going in (but might bother someone who does for all i know) id definately reccomend this if you want a real dream-like experience, where in the end you can really chew on the story for a while.

I give It

7 kafkas out of 10.

Thanks for reading and make sure to tune in next week where i will read uhhh another comic.

#comic books #graphic novel #the book tour #andi watson #book review #book recs 2023 #book reccomendation #weekly comic reviews

[calvinreadscomics]

The Book Tour is a very well-made comic, but I found myself too distressed by the main character's tragi-comic downward spiral to really enjoy it. Perhaps it deserves a second go in a better mind frame, but as someone who occasionally sells works at markets, our main character's experiences with signings for which no one shows up were too close to real fears of mine and put me on edge for the whole book. It's hard to give a rating to this book for me. I think it's technically quite good, but I did not enjoy reading it very much and not in the way that one wants to do that some times.

3/5

#just for me #comic review #the book tour #Andi Watson

[joytri]

to live for the hope of it all

#aesthetic #dark academia #coffee #art #books #academia #college #light academia #studyblr #literature #taylorswift #the eras tour #taylornation

[dangdfeng]

I don't remember if I made a post about this before but I had scanned the entirety of The Art of Dreamworks Trolls World Tour and put it on my archive.org collection last year. The Trolls franchise has kind of blown up since then so I want to alert new fans since this particular book is quite a hard find

#The Art of Dreamworks Trolls World Tour #trolls #trolls art book #trolls world tour #dreamworks trolls #broppy #dreamworks #troll world tour art book #queen barb #queen poppy #original #photoset #scans #im hoping to donate my copy to the SVA library if they get back to me about that

[noloveline]

RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR Beyoncé - Seattle

#Beyoncé #beyonce #beyonceedit #renaissance world tour #rwt #dailymusicqueens #popularcultures #userpcultures #dailymusicians #blogmusicdaily #usermusic #femaledaily #dailywomen #wonderfulwoc #usersource #userbbelcher #gifs #im gonna need a look book of this tour

[nervouskingdomwolf-blog-blog]

(Stories from J. Arlene Culiner/ Jill Culiner)

#SoundCloud #music #Stories from J. Arlene Culiner/ Jill Culiner #The Book Tour

[starblushh]

“are you free on April 19th–”

NO.

#ttpd #ts ttpd #ttpd era #ttpd tracklist #taylor swift #taylornation #taylors version #swifties #the tortured poets department #the dead poets society #taylor swift moodboard #ttpd aesthetic #moodboard #dark academia #light academia #the eras tour #chaotic academia #coquette #lana del rey #lana del ray aka lizzy grant #girlblog aesthetic #girlblog #midnights #dead poets society #taylor swift edit #taylor swift eras #cinnamon girl #girlcore #books and literature #dark acadamia aesthetic

[emilysworldoffandoms]

The Book Tour (Review)

A very interesting graphic novel. Everything that can go wrong on a book tour, goes wrong! Take a journey with unknown writer Mr. Fretwell. No one wants to buy his books, someone stole his suitcase, and the police are trying to frame him for murder!

#blogger #fandoms #fangirl #the book tour #graphic novels #book reviews

[playerkingsley]

I think it makes way more sense for sam to roll up with a whole new character (and a more exciting prospect, tbh), but considering the circles he travels in it wouldn’t be a stretch for tary to show up with adventurer checklist: take two that starts with (1) get to the moon

#critical role #cr spoilers #including but not limited to items such as: #befriend an alien #defeat an alien #sample extraterrestrial cuisine #scope out prospects for an extended book tour

[trollsbroppy]

From the collection of books and novelization that I bought. These are my favorite moments and art.

Trolls Novelization:

World Tour Novelization:

From a short novelization called Poppy and the Mane Mania:

#broppy #trolls #trolls poppy #trolls branch #comic books #graphic novels #books #junior novelization #novelization #world tour

[drchucktingle]

ILLINOIS BRINGING THE BUCKAROO NOISE thank you andersons bookshop buds and stacey kade for trotting with me and proving LOVE IS REAL

#love is real #chuck tingle #tingleverse #camp damascus #worlds greatest book tour

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 173

Danny might have made a mistake. On one hand, thankfully, his class hasn’t realized he’s Phantom, which is good. On the other hand, he’s somehow become their arms dealer after maybe, just maybe er, being done with Skulker’s shit when he was just trying to do his test and er… maybe beating him to a pulp. As Danny Fenton. 

Well, the good news is apparently everyone now thinks that he doesn’t fight back lest he accidentally snap someone’s spine. Which is honestly kind of nice to not have to deal with the harassment anymore. 

How has he become the fenton technology arms dealer though?! Legitimately, he has no idea how it happened except for sleep deprivation and someone mentioning how one of the places that they might be going to for the field trip was Gotham. 

At least everyone has their weapons and knows how to use them when some sort of clown-masked people decide to break into the mall and attempt to take them hostage. So. He guess he can’t complain, and at least he got food that doesn’t come alive in exchange. 

#dcxdp #dpxdc #prompts #”Remember to ignore the fact that Fenton is definitely ecto contaminated we don’t want the GiW to find out” #Paulina quite likes her ecto-claw gauntlets that look like gloves #Mikey with a creep stick: Dash I need you to throw me like a football #No one wants to ask who gave Sam a bazooka even when they know Fenton definitely didn’t #Which he didn’t she brought her own actually #Definitely wasn’t going to use it to bribe Harley to meet Poison Ivy #Lancer has given up on controlling his class #As long as there’s little to no property damage he’s fine #The tour guide is gobsmacked while he's standing there reading a book & the kids go feral #”Where did you say you’re from again ...?” #No one is going to be able to get near Danny if the class has any say #This is THEIR ecto-contaminated weapons dealer thank you very much

[essayisms]

This is one part of The Duke Humfrey's Library which was added by Sir Thomas Bodley (who the Bodleian is now named after) who offered to restore it in 1598. When he was attending Oxford University, the library did not even have a ceiling as it had been stripped and abandoned during the Reformation.

#journal #yes I went on the tour #information courtesy of Lucinda shout out to Lucinda #the duke humfreys library #bodleian library #litblr #booklr #bookblr #literature #library #old library #study #studyblr #english literature #books #university #old books #dark academia #dark academia aesthetic #oxford university #university of oxford

[rapha-reads]

No but I gotta talk about Medusa for a minute actually.

It's been. A very long time since I read the PJO books so I don't exactly remember how Uncle Rick presents Medusa in the book. But the way the show introduces her myth? Fascinating. For me as a Greek mythology enthusiast, that is.

The show makes Medusa a victim of Athena. Of course, the show is mainly for kids, so they can't exactly say that, hey, kids, Medusa was Athena's priestess and she was raped by Poseidon, YEP, or protagonist's father, IN Athena's temple, nah, that's neither kid-friendly nor does it endears us to Poseidon. Not that Poseidon is very dear to us viewers/readers at this point, our narrator/protagonist can't stand his own dad.

But still what fascinates me is that even though they twisted the myth to ft the narrative they still managed to evoke Athena's curse as being actually a gift, and Medusa not feeling wretched over her condition but blessed.

Which is not a modern reading of the myth, actually. Saying that Athena couldn't punish Poseidon for his transgression and could only punish Medusa, but did so in a way that would give Medusa weapons to defend herself against whoever and whatever would try to harm her again, is a narrative that exists since Antiquity.

My point is that the re-framing of Medusa's myth, departing from the traditional, non-kid-friendly version while still incorporating both classic and modern elements, is a good frame of reference for the series (book and show)' entire approach to mythology. And I guess I'm saying that mostly for the non-book readers who are discovering this world, many of whom might be Greek mythology fans and might have gone "wait, why is Hades AGAIN presented as the bad guy when he's the chillest, most normal, most stable god in this entire pantheon", because that's a conversation the book fandom has been having (over and over again) for more than a decade.

Anyway, yeah. As a long time book fan and a show appreciative, here's my advice to anyone who knows WAY too much about Greek myths and still want to enjoy the ride without going every five minutes "wait, that's not correct": reframe. Contemporary rewritings, modern audiences and Fantasy genre.

#pjo series #pjo series spoilers #pjo #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #rick riordan #medusa #greek myths #greek mythology #rapha talks #the funny thing is that one of the art exhibition i've been giving tours of these past couple of months is about goddesses #and it has some statues and objects about both athena and medusa so i've been talking a lot about these two for weeks now #so even though i still remember some from the books and i know damn well uncle rick's priority wasn't myth accuracy #i still got a bit floored by the planet-size holes in medusa's myth in the show #not enough to dislike the episode (au contraire i quite enjoyed it) but enough to feel compelled to say a word about it #(can you tell my special interest as a weird little girl was greek mythology and how it still is to this day...)