All about the books we love

Rare Flavours by Ram V.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


CW - cannibalism (sort of, as Rubin points out he's not exactly human)


Rubin Baksh is motivated by the death of Anthony Bourdain to set his own culinary journey down on film and to that end, he hand picks a filmmaker who is down on his luck, Mo. He has hunted down some old movie of Mo's that infuriates the young man but in the end makes him agree to work with Rubin and they set off across India in search of the titular rare flavors.

What Mo doesn't know is that Rubin is a demonic Rakshasa from folklore, a monster of such appetites he cannot be sated. He was stopped once upon a time by a mythic hero who snapped his spine and left him to die in a cave. He did not but he's been lying low until now.

Mo does learn of Rubin's habit of eating people (and doesn't run) and that there are two demon hunters on their trail. The contrast of Rubin's love of food history, of preserving food culture that is disappearing, is a stark one when you consider he's eating some of the people along the way. For much of the graphic novel you also don't know who this Masi is he's talking to in the narration but we learn of her later.

It's also told nonlinearly as we have segments of Mo nervously debuting his documentary. I very much enjoyed the story. I was less of a fan of the art style, especially how oddly with little regard to human form that Rubin was drawn in. I loved the attention to details and the recipes as we went. It's worth reading even with its dark theme.



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Whisper of the Woods by Ennun Ana Iurov

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This horror graphic novel started out well but faltered at the end. I always wonder when I see a rushed sequential art story was were they only allowed so many panels by the publisher (because that is a thing that happens). The Hoia Baciu is an infamous forest in Romania known for the paranormal activities within it, many of which are very much not good.

Adam goes to Romania to try and find his friend who disappeared in those woods, ignoring literally everyone's warnings to do not go i n there. One local young lady takes him in, showing him someone who had been driven mad by the forest, in hopes of deterring them.

As one might suspect Adam is hard headed and this story going on like a train, never once leaving the predictable rails. It's not a bad story but the ending is too rushed especially once the Iele, the supernatural beings of the forest, show up. It ends as you imagine it might.

The rushed story line is part of the problem (maybe it would have worked if less time was spent on Adam ignoring every warning possible and more on the Iele getting their hooks into him) but for me the problem was the art. It's not bad art but the faces have no noses and large solidly colored eyes giving everyone an almost cutesy look. A more realistic or gritty look would probably have served this story better.



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Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead by Kieron Gillen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I missed the original run of this since it came out smack dab in the middle of the covid lockdown which is a shame as I would have loved it. That said there is something about the ease of collected editions fitting on a bookshelf.

First up, the art. THIS is what sequential art should look like. How many times have I suffered through art that barely has a notion of what human bodies should look like just because I like the story too much to quit it. Not a problem here. This art is gorgeous. I would buy panels and hang them on my wall. Bridgette especially is wonderful. She's old and they don't try to hide her age. Duncan is an appealing (and appropriate) combination of naive of expression and hot.

The story leans hard into Arthurian legend and at one point when asked if stuff like this happens elsewhere Bridgette's only answer is to say she can barely keep up with the British stuff, she has no idea. The stories and folklore of Britain is coming to life...again.

A group of Nationalists are bringing back Arthur, not quite grasping that his legends in Wales/North England have Brythonic -speaking Celtic roots. He is not a friend of the Anglo-Saxons which make up much of the UK now. He's a big believer in ethnic cleansing and if he gets the Holy Grail he'll do just that.

Bridgette lives a currently quiet life in senior housing and answers the question what would Buffy be like if she were 80. Duncan, her grandson whom she raised as a complete innocent of this lifestyle (and in the sexual sense too) is a museum curator. She forced this lifestyle on him for reasons which you might guess at if you're familiar with the Knights of the Round Table.

In spite of his fear, Duncan is drawn into Bridgette's crazy world and as a result Britain might just stand a chance. I can't go into much more without spoiling some of the twists and they are worth it. Bridgette is hard core and if I had a quibble with this is we're not sure if she is super powered like Buffy because she's doing stuff that might be pushing it given her age. Still, that is minor. This first volume was a blast and I immediate got the next two from the library.



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Once & Future, Vol. 2: Old English by Kieron Gillen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This picks up from volume one and goes balls to the walls with the action. Duncan has committed to his familial role but not without being angry with his grandmother's deception his whole life (not to mention Mommy dearest and his half sibling Galahad). We have Rose a little more integrated into the story going from someone Duncan is trying to date to their Rupert Giles (and that might be the weakest part of the story, we don't really see Rose's point of view on all of this and why she decides to step up)

Duncan's mom has now teamed up with a very creepy version of Merlin becoming his Nimue and together they pull Beowulf forth from The Story sending him after Duncan and Bridgette. However, if they defeat him then who is to take on Grendel and his mother...oh right, Duncan.

And that is this volume's over arching arc. And it's worth it just to see Bridgette defending the other senior citizens in her home with a chainsaw.

This continues the same high level of story telling and artwork. Galahad's fate is particularly gruesome (though it's not his end and it couldn't have happened to a better prick of a dude). Can't wait for the next volume.



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Once & Future, Vol. 3: The Parliament of Magpies by Kieron Gillen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Without spoiling anything, we can see in this volume why Mary so disliked her mother. We don't know if Bridgette really wanted to hurt her daughter (I am sure she could have if it was necessary but this is 100% Mary's point of view and she has disordered thinking and a skewed (potentially) view of her mother).

Enter into the story an X-Filesque Smoking Man governmental connection who step in after one too many big fights happen. Mary and Merlin continue their scheming. Rose steps even deeper into the story, taking on an active role. Bridgette and Duncan continue to be a delight. The art remains fantastic. I'm loving this series to bits.



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Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter by Atelier Sentô

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This graphic novel had some very weird artistic choices. It centers on two young visitors from France (the blurb says they're Cecile and Olivier but I don't think they're named in the book and those are the names of the creators) Artistic choice one: what age they? they look 12 but I suspect older. Artistic weird choice two: they have no noses. Seriously every other character has a nose but these two are forever noseless.

The young girl gets scammed into a plastic child's toy of a camera that uses expensive film but in theory can photograph yokai, spirits in Japanese lore. So their whole trip becomes about taking yokai photographs which they never seem to see in real time but each story ends with a diary entry and a photoshopped photo with yokai in them. That was the cleverest part of all of this.

The stories weren't bad just not memorable. THey are shallow. It would have been nicer perhaps if they had done less stories and gave everyone more depth.



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The Mythology Class: A Graphic Novel by Arnold Arre

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this one. It was so close to a five star read (I'll say why it wasn't later in the review). The scope of this story is broad and 340 pages or so, making this a weighty graphic novel. It is steeped in in Filipino folklore as suggested by the title. The main point of view character is Nicole, a failed thesis student who has been enamored of the old Filipino mythos her whole life thanks to her grandfather. Her thesis panel all but crushed her spirit until she and a surprisingly large band of young people were gathered up to a house atop a hill by Mrs. Enkanta. They are told they were selected to help heroes of old like Kubin and Sulayman to help gather up encantos, spirits who do not belong in this world.

Oddly enough they mostly agree to this fairly easily. The stand outs in my head is Lane the psychic, the three delinquents (Rey, Gio and one I can't remember, sigh), and Lane's friend Misha. Unfortunately Misha and Rey stand out for the wrong reasons because all they do is fight, they're not quite a couple but argue like one that needs a divorce (and this is one of the reasons I wouldn't go to five stars).

The first half of the story is their various adventures with a variety of creatures of lore and it was a lot of fun. The second half is the rise of the aswangs (a monster I had heard of before) that nearly destroy them all. In the background there are growth arcs for most of the characters and a romantic subplot for Nicole and Kubin.

I did very much enjoy the story. I wasn't a hundred percent sold on the art but it is highly detailed and this was a one-man show in that department so you have to give it respect. I will be looking for more of his work.

So what was my big problem with it? Not going to put it under a spoiler tag because it doesn't really spoil anything. Rey is constantly insulting Misha for her weight (as is Lane her best friend!) straight out calling her fat, eats like a pig etc and I don't know what's worse about this fat shaming is it because she's not drawn as fat (more like slightly heavier than the others but barely) or would it be worse if she was drawn as overweight? Neither scenario would make it better mind you but it seemed somehow worse because she's not really overweight. She's also in the fat people are lazy and dumb stereotype. It added nothing to the story but it really was a distraction from it. I think she was meant as comic relief but she was more whiny than funny.



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The Night Marchers and Other Oceanian Stories by Kel McDonald

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I was really excited to see this one because you don't often see Oceanian tales in America unfortunately. Sadly this is one of the weak points as the stories are written as if the reader will be familiar with the folk lore and don't quite carry through if you're not. That said I did enjoy it.

As with all anthologies there is a hit and miss to the stories. For me the two stand outs (both from the Philippines) are The Ibalon Epic: a Retelling of the Baltog and Let's Learn Baybayin. The former has outstanding art and a sympathetic epic hero who wants to retire from the killing and be a farmer. The latter has a war theme too looking at it from an animal's pov (a turtles and lizards) but what makes it interesting is that it is written in Baybayin an old Tagalog script, trying to rescue it which I think is neat.

Hawaiian folklore is the next prevalent one depicted with one or two from Fugi and Maori but over all most are from Hawai'i and the Philippines. I'm glad I read this but also glad it's a library book because it's not one I see myself going back to time and again.



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