Comics Catch Up: 9/3/21

There comes a time in every book and comics reviewer’s life when they have to take a leap of faith and start yelling about the things they love on their own website. Today is apparently my day. I wasn’t expecting it to come quite so soon but it did and as the arm of my Red Riot hoodie is reminding me, I’m unbreakable so… here’s hoping at least some of the PR folx I’ve gotten to know will still want to work with me because my love of words and pictures hasn’t diminished in the least and I’ll keep reading as long as boxes and envelopes keep showing up at my house.

To wit:

The Dancing Plague by Gareth Brookes (Self Made Hero)

This work of graphic historical fiction is just plain neat in every possible way. First, the subject: the dancing plague of 1518, a thing that actually happened in Strasbourg, Germany, is an as yet unexplained phenomenon that started one woman dancing and spread to the majority of the townsfolk. Some of them died, not from the dancing per se, but from exhaustion, dehydration, malnutrition, and lactic acidosis. Those who survived claimed God or the saints cured them and there’s even less explanation for their recovery than there is for the malady which various modern physicians have attempted to explain as a virus, bacteria, parasite, neurological condition, or mass psychotic episode.

I know, right? Fascinating. In this book, Brookes uses the explanation from the time in which the incident occurred: demons. Which… who are we to say? And that explanation certainly lends itself to the most interesting art work which, in The Dancing Plague is a stunning multimedia display of simple line art and elaborate embroidery that casts the humans as ephemeral and delicate and their torturers as dimensional, solid, and full of color and life and purpose. It gives the story that much more immediacy and that much more weight, creates an atmosphere of helplessness around those who have lost their loved ones to the unexplained illness and keeps them well behind Satan.

Is it a fictionalized account of history? Absolutely. But it’s engaging and interesting and gorgeous. And got me wondering about the event in question. I, in fact, now have three books on the topic waiting for my attention about it.

Highly recommend for history lovers, those fascinated by medical mysteries, and art fiends alike.

Escape Journey Volumes 1-3 by Tanaka Ogeretsu (SubLime)

Naoto thought he was free of his high school ex and first love, Taichi, the boy who broke his heart. Imagine his surprise when one of his new college friends “introduces” him to another foreign language student and it’s the man himself, who was supposed to be on the engineering track anywhere else. Naoto convinces himself that he and Taichi have grown up and moved on, that they can start a new relationship as friends, that everything will most definitely be fine.

Things, as I am sure you have assumed, are definitely not fine.

Naoto and Taichi just can’t stop themselves from falling in lust with one another. Which leads to them falling, once again, it love with each other. But as the years go by and college graduation approaches, they start to wonder what that love means in a society that doesn’t accept their relationship as permanent and how they’re going to explain it to their families.

This is… an honest book. It’s an explicit book too so keep both of those things in mind if you decide to pick it up. There is also an episode of domestic violence after which the abused party returns to the relationship which made me really uncomfortable - though it seems to be a prevalent feature in yaoi manga. That doesn’t make it okay and I’m going to keep talking about it as not okay. Overall, though, I think this is a really excellent deep dive into relationships and how hard they are and how much work it takes and how terrifying it is to show another person so much of yourself. That, however, is the only way it works so it’s a call that, at some point, you have to make. Watching these two make it might make it a little easier for you.

Days on Fes Volume 2 by Oka Kanato (Yen Press)

Days on Fes continues to be an absolutely delightful book about two young women finding their “thing,” a guy who’s already pretty sure about what he wants out of life, and his grumpy employee who would know he’s already found his bliss if he would pull his head out of his ass long enough to look around.

In this second volume, the gang heads to the Rock on Japan festival, the first at which Kanade and Otoha will be camping with Gaku and Ritsuru. They discover the joys of festival food, the freedom of setting your own schedule and jamming to your favorites, the overwhelming nature of the fangirl moment, and the reason to always pack a mat to go under your sleeping bag.

This isn’t my usual in the manga milieu but we all need some wholesome, lovely stories right now and Days on Fes hits that perfect “awww,” spot. I’m also living vicariously through the music festivals because 1) pandemic and 2) old.

Bungo Stray Dogs Volumes 3-5 by Asagiri Kafka and Harukawa Sango (Yen Press)

I last screamed about this book in a Summer Horror Marathon post I wrote over at The Roarbots earlier this summer. I don’t have much to add other than that The Agency now have a murder girl and I love her with all my mom heart, I stan the Boss Man, and I love that the Americans are assholes because… I mean… (gestures around generally) and I continue to love this book.

Well, there you have it. My first solo post. Hope it’s all you’ve come to expect from my weirdo brain. I’m going to shoot for at least 2 posts a week but life, the universe, everything… At least the kids went back to school today. And then have a 4 day weekend…