As those of you who are following my every word and wait with bated breath for my next post know (that would be you Frank), I support voting No Award in all illegitimate categories this year, as well as for those with too few legitimate nominations to make the vote meaningful. That leaves 4 categories and Graphic Story is one of them. So for a change, I get to play reviewer. Looking at each nominee, in reverse order of how I will vote for them:
6. The Zombie Nation Book #2: Reduce Reuse Reanimate
As this was a Pup slate nominee, it was getting last anyway, but it also earned it. There’s nothing wrong with it. It isn’t unprofessional or offensive or any other negative term I could come up with; it is just completely outclassed. This is a minor league cartoon book getting stuck in the majors. It is like many, many other cartoons I run into on the Internet. If I happen upon something like this, I might read one or two jokes, and then done. I wouldn’t bother to search it out again, but it was fine to have run into it.
I feel a little sorry for it. It shouldn’t be reviewed with the big boys. It is what it is and that’s fine. Award-worthy? No.
5. Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal
I bet you thought “No Award” was going here. Nope, it is the over-hyped, over-praised Ms. Marvel. Just because it doesnāt have Puppy Smell doesn’t make it worthy.
Much of the talk has been about the main character being a Muslim, and that’s a good thing as that’s the only thing to talk about, and it isn’t much. It’s nice to have a bit of diversity, but that’s all we’ve got here. The story is old After School Special/Disney: A girl feels she just doesn’t fit in, and her parents don’t understand her, but with a bit of gumpshun and a glob of self confidence, by golly she’ll make it. Gee wiz, this is swell. If that’s all you’ve got to say, put a few nice songs to it. Then at least we’ll have the songs.
OK, so maybe I’m not the target audience. I’m assuming they were looking to pull in 10 to 12 year old girls and maybe for those girls this might work, assuming we’re talking about some pretty boring 10 to 12 year old girls. But the Hugos don’t have a special “Young Girl Award.”
I get it. It’s nice that she’s Muslim. It would be a lot nicer if that had anything to do with anything (such as make her powers related to Muslim mythology, although that would kill the “Muslims are regular folks too” vibe they are going for). They just added “partly because Muslim” to the end of a few concepts and were done. She doesn’t fit inā¦ partly because Muslim. (excuse the grammar) Her parents don’t understand herā¦ partly because Muslim. She gets groundedā¦ partly because Muslim. Take away her being Muslim, and nothing changes.
If your bar is so low that adding diversity only via a word is all you need, then read Ms. Marvel. If you want anything that hasn’t been done over and over and over again, skip it.
4. No Award
3. Saga, Volume Three
I’m cutting this one a good deal of slack to put it above No Award. There isn’t much too it, and it doesn’t make much sense, at least if the award is supposed to go to Volume 3. It helps a lot to have read Volumes 1 & 2. Vol 3 does not stand on its own.
As luck would have it, I’d read those, and this one earlier, and I’ve no idea why. I’m not a big comics reader and don’t know what lead me to Saga. I also didn’t recognize the name when the Hugos were announced. That’s not just my old age. Saga isn’t that memorable.
It is a space opera with a good deal of soap opera. The main characters aren’t compelling and are not given much depth. The universe seems like it might be interesting and complicated, but it is hard to tell since little is fully explained. Instead we get star-crossed lovers (she’s a winged fairy, he’s a horned devilā¦because that hasn’t been done before) running about and having stuff happen around them. If you like random stuff happening, you might like this.
2. Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery
Now we’re getting somewhere. Rat Queens is the story of four violent, drunken mercenaries, caught up in problems, many of their own making. They generally deal with these problems by hitting them with sharp implements.
It’s witty and fun, if a little low on theme. Basically, this is a really good D&D game, written down with pictures. There’s a human cleric, an elven mage, a dwarven fighter, and a hobbit…I mean Smidgen (the Tolkien estate sues) thief. So, it is not exactly focusing on originality.
Normally, someone reciting the events of a game is not doing the world a favor, but remember, this is a really good game. Some Pups have complained it is a feminist work (and that’s a bad thing by the way) because the Queens are female. As they are kicks-ass and independent of men, I suppose it can be taken as feminist, though this book is far more concerned with being a D&D adventure than it is with saying anything.
There’s going to be a television show based on Rat Queens. I have not decided if this is a good idea.
1. Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick
If you took the text away from the pictures and published that, you’d have a first rate story/novelette. That’s where Sex Criminals outshines the competition. Now add back the pictures, and it’s even better.
Sex Criminals is the story of two lonely people who stop time when they orgasm. The “Criminals” in the title gives a good indication of where this can lead, but it is really a story about people finding themselves, and each other. It is insightful, clever, and most importantly, well written.
Sex Criminals has been attacked by silly people who label it as pornography (I’ve seen this a lot over on Puppy blogs). Folks, you are on the Internet. Use Google, and type in the word “porn.” What you found, that is porn. Look at it. See how it is not likeĀ Sex Criminals? If anything with sex in it is porn for you, then I suppose this does fit. You also lead a very sad and troubled life. For the rest of us, this is not porn. Many good stories have sex in them. This is one of them.
It helps that the nomination is for Volume 1 since it falls apart in the following issues. But as they aren’t part of the nomination, I can vote for Sex Criminals without taking those into account.