Young Bill Young’s Summer Reads…
Part 6: The Graphic Edition

I read a couple of graphic works last month. One gets a thumbs up. One gets a sideways thumb at the most.

Fables Vol. 15: Rose Red by Bill Willingham

The Gist: If you’re following Fables–the best darn comic book out there right now–get ready for an epic  battle between Mr. Dark and Frau Totenkinder. Meanwhile, Rose Red must put aside her grieving over the death of Boy Blue and pull herself together in order to organize the Fables for the coming conflict with the dark master. We learn about Snow White and Rose Red’s past, more is implied about Ghost (Snow White and Bigby’s invisible child),  and Beauty finally births Beast’s baby! If you haven’t been following Fables, you don’t know what you’re missing!

Status: Devoured! Volume 15 includes the wonderful 100th issue of the comic book with lots of fun extras.

Summer Escapism: Yeah, baby!

Strength of Writing: A

Stimulation of the Little Grey Cells: B (I get totally immersed in this world when reading a Fables volume.)

Social Relevance: B (Yes, we’re talking about good versus evil, but Willingham’s Fable characters are too complicated and rich to be relegated to simple black and white.)

General Reaction: The best Fables story arc of the last couple of years. Can this comic get any better?!

Empire State: A Love Story (Or Not) by Jason Shiga

The Gist: Hapless geek Jimmy is a mama’s boy and librarian in Oakland who thinks he knows more than he actually does about computers and the Internet. When he loses his best friend Sara to an internship in New York, he realizes that he has romantic feelings for her. So… it’s off to New York!

Status: Read cover to cover

Summer Escapism: Meh…

Strength of Writing: C (Yes, it was satisfactory.)

Social Relevance: B (Jimmy has a job but he’s still a step or two away from being a self-actualized adult. He represents the Emerging Adult, an increasing trend in our country.)

Generation Reaction: Reading this made me feel as empty as Jimmy must feel. Oh yeah, I chuckled in a few of places, but it was generally a solemn read for me. Following Jimmy’s trip to New York and his last interaction with Sara, the reader is left with no idea if the protagonist will begin to gain confidence and take charge of his life.  In reading a book, at the very least, I want to know that something has changed for a character, that some revelation about life has been earned. You won’t get that reading Empire State. (Jimmy is a continuing character for Shiga, so maybe we’ll be rewarded in future books.) I’m a great believer that every read does not have to leave you feeling good, and I suppose this story has something to tell us about the state of twenty-somethings in the world today. Maybe I’m just becoming an old fuddy-duddy!

By the way, Shiga continues to have great promise, despite my lukewarm review of Empire State. After all, he did create this! It features Jimmy, too.

Visit ShigaBooks to find out more about this talented artist and writer.

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