Elements: Fire Graphic Novel Review

Erica gives this comic five starsElements: Fire by Taneka Stotts (Editor), Shing Yin Khor, Kou Chen, Maddi Gonzalez, Sara DuVall, Myisha Haynes, Rashad Doucet, James F. Wright, Aatmaja Pandya, Der-Shing Helmer, Jaide Mandas, Marisa Han, Ash G., Chloe Chan, Nina Matsumoto, Mildred Louis, Melanie Ujimori, Tee Franklin, M. Victoria Robado, Deshan Tennekoon, Isuri Merenchi Hewage, Jemma Salume, Chan Chau, Genue Revuelta, Orunmilla Williams, Christina “Steenz” Stewart, Shivana Sookdeo, Tristan J. Tarwater, Michelle Nguyen, Veronica Agarwal, Jy Yang, Yasmin Liang, and Kiku Hughes

Elements: FireDisclaimer: I was a Kickstarter backer. But like all my reviews, my excitement about a book that I preordered via Kickstarter (instead of preordering at my local comic book shop) doesn’t mean I’m an easier reviewer.

Elements: Fire is a gorgeous book. The stories, both the writing and the art, are top-notch. They are themed around fire and illustrated in black and white with red as a pop color. This art choice nicely coalesced the book as each story has unique tones, topics, and illustrations.

Elements: Fire also notably features all creators of color. Which is awesome. This also means that most all the tales feature characters of color, which is doubly awesome.

Unlike when I’ve reviewed shorter collections, I won’t be rating every single story. I walked away with a smile on my face and feeling the warmth of these stories. Almost all of them ranged from a 4 to a 5 stars out of five. Continue reading “Elements: Fire Graphic Novel Review”

Bingo Love Graphic Novel Review

Erica gives this comic five starsBingo Love by Tee Franklin
Art: Jenn St-Onge

Bingo LoveDisclaimer: I did back this book on Kickstarter. Which is really just a way of saying, I backed a book that I thought would be enjoyable, but I still paid for it, so why is this disclaimer here?

To the actual book, I loved Bingo Love. I loved its characters. I loved its love theme. I loved the art. I cried while reading it. Yes, cried. (Listen, I’ve watched Grey’s Anatomy for 14 seasons, and I don’t cry at it. Stone cold.) This warmed my cold, cold heart.

Bing Love is about true love. But it’s also about how to care about the person you love. How to really take care of them in this world. Both the writing and the art are extremely conscientious about this.

This is also an important graphic novel when it comes to queer black women and their representation. Hazel and Mari’s love story felt new and previously untold in ways that it shouldn’t have. We should have a ton of stories of the love between queer black women. I’m glad Franklin and St-Onge have put Bingo Love into the world to add one more.

In 1963 as middle schoolers, Hazel and Mari meet each other when their grandmothers play bingo together. Continue reading “Bingo Love Graphic Novel Review”