My Top Reads of 2022

January 24, 2023

According to my book tracker app, I read 128 books last year. There were lots of really interesting reads and comics that got me excited about the medium. But here is a list of my absolute top reads for 2022 (and the reasons why I liked them). I’ve posted them in alphabetical order for lack of something more original.

Apple Crush
by Lucy Knisley

I like this book because: It really captured some of the feelings I had growing up when some of my friends and schoolmates started crushing on each other (and I just didn’t get it). Plus I’m always here for Lucy Knisley’s art.

Read if you like: Slice-of-life stories about being an awkward pre-teen who likes drawing. Also halloween!

2. Button Pusher

by Tyler Page

I like this book because: This memoir about Page’s experiences growing up, getting diagnosed with ADHD & starting medication trials was sensitively told. I particularly enjoyed the information sections of the book (coloured only in shades of blues to distinguish them from the main full coloured story). They were clear and very interesting.

Read if you like: Finding out about people’s personal experiences around ADHD.

3. Cat’s Cradle: The Golden Twine

by Jo Rioux

I like this book because: Of the very beautiful art and exciting fantasy world building. Just a fun, well-told fantasy comic with lots of fun lore to get stuck into. I definitely wanted more at the end of the book though (this book is labelled book 1, so here’s hoping that number 2 comes out soon).

Read if you like: Cheeky and confident street urchin characters with great storytelling skills.

4. Freestyle

by Gale Galligan

I like this book because: It was just a heck of a lot of fun! Galligan is a master of drawing over-dramatic emotions and showing complex interpersonal relationships between friends and families! Freestyle made me laugh a lot reading it and made me want to take up yo-yo-ing!

Read if you like: Yo-yos and fun stories about misunderstandings and friends.

5. the greatest thing

by Sarah Winifred Searle

I like this book because: It’s the book I wish I’d read as teen. This fictional story is based on Searle’s experiences navigating high school, eating disorders, budding friendships and zine publishing. I particularly loved the weaving of the character’s zines throughout the story and I think it was my favourite book I read in 2022.

Read if you like: Books that don’t shy away from the hard subjects but handle them with care. Zines and zine creators.

6. Just Roll with It

by Veronica Agarwal & Lee Durfey-Lavoie

I like this book because: The interpersonal communications in this book, dialogue and depictions of anxiety and OCD were really well written. I found the character of Maggie incredibly relateable and her journey throughout the book heartening. I couldn’t put it down!

Read if you like: Stories about anxiety, OCD and Dungeons & Dragons!

7. Lightfall book 2: Shadow of the Bird

by Tim Probert

I like this book because: Its beautiful art and succinct storytelling easily sucked me into this fantasy world. I particularly enjoyed how easy the action is to follow and how anxiety is visualised.

Read if you like: Main characters with anxiety overcoming their worries and going on fantastical adventures.

8. Ride ON

by Faith Erin Hicks

I like this book because: Hicks really knows how to capture people’s personalities and emotions. Reading her comics I feel like I’m just slipping in alongside her characters and I’m part of the gang. And boy, can she draw horses!

Read if you like: Awkwardly making friends, bonding over your favourite sci-fi show and horses. There are a lot of horses.

9. The Tryout

by Christina Soontornvat & Joanna Cacao

I like this book because: It surprised me. I thought I would enjoy the story but didn’t expect to really love it! Having never really felt like I fitted into (or even wanted to fit into) the “popular girl/cheerleader” image, I was surprised when I was drawn into these stories of growing up, wanting to fit in but also wanting to be yourself, which were brilliantly handled by Soontornvat & Cacao.

Read if you like: Feel-good and relatable personal stories, memoirs about growing up as a person of colour in a predominantly white city, and delightful art.

10. Twin Cities

by Jose Pimienta

I like this book because: It deals with the complex relationships between siblings who are growing apart and school friends that you’re not sure should be your friend and what comes from living on the border of two countries. I enjoyed learning more about what life living on the US/Mexico border is like.

Read if you like: Stories about siblings and growing up.

11. Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure

by Lewis Hancox

I like this book because: Of how unapologetically British the language was (I love comics that use region-specific dialogue - if I’m not sure about something I get to look it up and learn something new!). Also how this memoir tackled changes of views over time (particularly with parents).

Read if you like: Personal memoirs with trans stories.

Looking for great comics to read? Check out my Recommended Reading List. It’s a list of some of my favourite comics, organised loosely into reading ages and fiction & non-fiction.

What have been some of your favourite comics, books or zines to read this year? I’m always looking for reading suggestions - comment below if there is a cool comic you recommend!

Good Reads // May & June

July 12, 2017

Oh my oh my! I can't believe it's been two months since the last Good Reads post. It's been a busy couple of months but I have been trying to make a concerted effort to keep reading through my reading pile, which always manages to get bigger when I'm not looking (or when I go to my local comics store). Anyway, here are my top picks from the past couple of months:

1. The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Sonny Liew

Presented by Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is a biography of a fictional Singaporean comic book artist and is amongst other things a staggeringly impressive read. It's written as though it was a factual collection of art by comic book artist Charlie Chan (in fact, for half the book I thought it was a completely factual biography, which goes to show what I know).

For those who love: to be intrigued, confused and amazed.

2. Agatha: The Real Life of Agatha Christie by Anne Martinetti, Guillaume Lebeau, and Alexandre Franc.

If you know anything about me, you know I'm a sucker for a biography and Agatha was no exception. This beautifully drawn bande dessinée-style comic enlightens the reader about the life of Agatha Christie, the writer. All of Christie's well-known characters, including both Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, appear and talk to Christie about what's going on in her life and her work, and act as a sort of narration to the story. I really enjoyed the way it was written and drawn and now want to learn more about Christie's life (I've started by reading a book about the poisons she used in her stories called A is for Arsenic). If you like Christie's books, I think you would really like this comic.

For those who love: The Queen of Crime, Biographies and European-style comics.

3. Water by Mandy Ord

Mandy Ord is one of my favourite Australian autobio comics creators. Whenever I read her comics, she always manages to make me want to use more brush and ink in my comics. This mini-comic, Water, is no exception. I loved the personal stories about hiking in Australian bush and felt like I was there with Mandy, desperate for water. I also found myself, due to her luscious inking style, stroking the pages as the ink gave the illusion of being more 3-D than it was.

For those who love: Autobiography, hiking and good ol' H2O.

4. Hostage by Guy Delisle

In 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe Andre was kidnapped and kept in solitary confinement for three months. In his first graphic novel biography, Guy Delisle tells Andre's story, which for most of the book is spent in a small room with one person, not knowing when he is going to get out or when he will eat and when or if he will ever see his family again. It's not an easy topic to read about but Andre's high spirits and personality remain strong throughout his ordeal, making it an interesting if tough read.

For those who love: Biographies, suspense and Guy Lelisle

5. How to Survive in the North by Luke Healy

Luke Healy masterfully weaves fiction and true story together to create How To Survive in the North (HTSITN). Like every Nobrow book, HTSITN is beautifully printed with very well chosen colours (eye popping pinks, green, and yellows). It has great pacing and tense relationships and I love Healy's simple style and clean lines. I just really enjoyed reading this book and I think you might too.

For those who love: Adventure, interesting characters and beautiful printing.

And that's what I've been reading for these past few months. But the bedside pile never ends, so I must away to start on the next couple of months of reading!

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Good Reads // March & April

April 29, 2017

Oh boy! I've been reading lots of rad comics this past couple of months. While I was on residency I was able to tick off a lot of books that have been on my reading pile for aaaaaages. So let's not bother with chit-chat, let's go straight to the important stuff: comics!

1. Blankets by Craig Thompson

Blankets has been on my To Read list for ages. But it just looked to so big and daunting to read that I've always kept telling myself that I didn't have enough time to read it properly and give it the time it needed, so it just sort of sat in the back of my mind. But during the residency I finally had a big block of time that I could dedicate to sitting and reading.

And I'm glad I waited. It was a lot heavier (emotionally) than I expected and having the time to sit and absorb the story was not only useful but necessary. Thompson writes about hard-to-discuss events of his childhood and adolescent years and a coming-out of sorts from his Christian upbringing. It's a tough, but well written, read.

For those who love: Autobiography, coming of age stories and beautiful ink work.

2. California Dreamin' by Penelope Bagieu.

I'm a sucker for biographies of pretty much any type (in particular, biographies of musicians I grew up listening to with my parents), so when I saw this comic about Mama Cass arrive at my local I picked it up straight away.

I was really attracted to the scribbly, scratchy style of illustration and I dug that each chapter was from the point of view of a different character (none of which were Mama Cass herself). Like a lot of biographies that I love, I learnt about things I didn't expect to learn about and it made me want to investigate more about the main person (and everyone surrounding their life).

For those who love: Mama Cass, musician biographies and pencilled art.

3. Super Mutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki

Super Mutant Magic Academy is another book that I've been meaning to read for a while. I would occasionally pick it up off the shelf at the comic store and flick through the pages, not knowing if I wanted to read it but not wanting to read too much in case I did buy it and wanted to immerse myself in it later. So when I visited a public library that I'd never been to before and saw a copy of the book on the shelves, just sitting there, as if waiting for me, I had no choice but to borrow it (South Australia has a great One Card system, so you join up to one library and can borrow from any in the state!).

When I got the book home, I made a cuppa and got stuck in. Instantly I knew that this was the kind of book I would've loved as a teen. Grumpy, sarcastic teens with teen problems, unrequited love, unexplained magic abilities. Lots of short stories, most no longer than 1 page, that link together slowly over the year, deepening the characters' character with every panel.

For those who love: Angsty teens, magic and secret love.

4. Baggy Wrinkles by Lucy Bellwood

I had a ball reading Baggy Wrinkles. I bought it for Owen for his birthday and once he had read it I quickly got my mitts on it. Bellwood hooks you into her love of everything oceanic with a mix of personal stories and information comics. The way she writes is just delightful and I loved every minute I was reading this book. My only complaint was that I wanted more! More I tell you!

For those who love: Adventure, the sea and silliness.

5. Rolling Blackouts by Sarah Glidden

Rolling Blackouts is our very own comics tour guide into how American journalists report on foreign wars. This is a comic that tries to answer the question "What is journalism?"; it's a comic that reports on the reporters. It was an interesting book that felt part journalistic think-piece and part introspective travel journal. As someone who is woefully uneducated in what conflicts are happening around the world and has no idea about the first thing to do with journalism or reporting, Rolling Blackouts was a good place to start for me. I wanted to find out more about everything Glidden wrote about, which for me is a sign of a good book.

On a more personal note, at the end of the book Glidden talks about having to process everything she experienced on her trip before being able to tackle writing the book, which was not only something that I could relate to but also something that made me feel a lot better. I've been feeling pretty down about the speed at which I've been making my book, and feeling bad about taking breaks from writing it. It's always nice to read that other people have the same feels.

For those who love: Thought-provoking writing and learning about the world of journalism.

6. Bandette by Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover

This comic was so much fun. A lighthearted romp in the genre of the gentleman (or more specifically gentle-lady) thief. Bandette is cunning, clever and loves chocolate. With her band of 'urchins' she both outwits and helps friendly rivals Monsieur (another art thief) and Inspector Belgique (of the police), while also clashing with more serious foes in a secret society called FINIS. Adventure, romance, chocolate, information about famous art and historically important pieces; what more could you want?

For those who love: Acrobatics, puns and Paris.

That's it for this post. I've still got a giant pile of reads next to my bed. Every time I get through a big chunk of my reading list I "accidentally" buy more comics from my local. Whoops!

What's been your favourite read lately?

My blog is brought to you by the help of my Patreon Pals. If you want to become a George Rex Patreon Pal, then just jump to my Patreon page here.

Good Reads for January & February

March 9, 2017

Hello hello!

I really like making comics but I also really like reading them. And I'd noticed that I'd stopped reading as much and was only working on making my own comics, which sounds pretty great and is! But I'd been feeling pretty down and uninspired by my work and I realised it was because I'd been putting out but hadn't been taking in. So for the last couple of months I've been trying to read more again and I've been feeling much better. As an encouragement to continue this dedicating-time-to-read, I'm going to start a regular bi-monthly post about the comics I've read.

First up (in no particular order):

1. Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes

This is probably one of my favourite new YA series (there are currently 2 books out in the series, with a third released this month). I've always been interested in math and programming patterns but never really had a head for it at school and quickly would get frustrated with anyone trying to teach it to me. But reading this book made me realise what was going on: I was a visual learner and my teachers weren't always using the visual cues that helped me understand the problems.

What I really like about Secret Coders is that they explain a programming puzzle two ways: once in just dialogue and then visually (two different characters who think differently explain it to the reader in the different ways). It's written in a way that doesn't talk down to the reader and you are encouraged to try to figure out the puzzle first before turning the page to find out the answer at the end of each chapter. I really really enjoyed this book and recommend it to everyone!

For those who love: binary, sassy teens & robots.

2. Hotel Strange: Wake Up, Spring by Katherine & Florian Ferrier

This Bande Desinee style comic was a really fun read. Cute characters going on rad adventures through a semi-magical world meeting fantastical creatures. It's the kind of book I would have gotten obsessed over as a kid and I can't wait to locate and and read the whole series of books.

Also how good is the name Florian?!

For those who love: exciting adventures, fanatical creatures & pipes.

3. The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins

I wasn't sure at all which way this book was going to go before I started reading it. In fact, I wasn't sure which was it was going to go while I was reading it either. But the loose rhyming couplets style of narration and soft pencil markings lured me into this intriguing meditation on conformity or society or something like that. I enjoyed it even though I probably didn't understand the finer points of it.

For those who love: beards, poetry & untidiness.

4. The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg

The second book by Isabel Greenberg, The One Hundred Nights of Hero, is another love letter to storytelling and folklore. Greenberg just has this knack for creating new folkloresque tales in her own made-up universe that feel both new and old at the same time. One Hundred Nights interviews stories of the past and present and takes you on a rambling adventure that ties it all back together neatly at the end.

For those who love: stories, brave women & deliciously inky drawings.

5. Plumdog by Emma Chichester Clark

Originally an online blog written from the point of view of Plum (an adorable dog), Plumdog is cute and easy to read. It was a very pleasant read but I have to admit it was hard for me personally to get through because ever since our family dog passed away last year my urges for wanting a puppy pal to hang out with have been growing. Unfortunately my partner Owen is super duper allergic to pretty much everything and getting a dog while living in a small city apartment without a backyard is really not feasible.

For those who love: dogs, watercolours and more dogs.

6. Oishinbo by Tetsu Kariya & Akira Hanasaki

I've tried to get into manga before but, like superhero comics, I've just not been exposed to the right one for me and don't really know what to look for in the shops. I'd kinda given up on finding that perfect manga for me until I was recommended Oishinbo by my studio-mate Greg. It cut from fairly dialogue-heavy scenes explaining the intricacies of Japanese-style food preparation and culture to intensive family drama sequences.

For those who love: fine food, dramatic manga & bad father-son relationships.