If you read this blog and\/or follow me on Twitter,<\/a> you know I’m a big fan of the recent series Providence<\/em> by this same team. Providence<\/em> is the last of three works by them that focus on things H.P. Lovecraft-related, with Neonomicon<\/em> being the second and The Courtyard<\/em> (also included in this collection, but inexplicably not really noted as such anywhere in the trade dress) the first. Given how much I enjoyed Providence<\/em>, I was really looking forward to Neonomicon<\/em>. Unfortunately, though, Neonomicon<\/em> (and The Courtyard<\/em> for that matter) are far lesser works than Providence<\/em>. They’re both slight works that function mostly as gross-out cop stories layered over some Lovecraft pastiche. If anything, reading these has further cemented my belief that one major flaw of Providence<\/em> is that it’s not a stand-alone work–the characters from these early stories appear toward the end of Providence<\/em> and are a bit baffling if you’ve not read the earlier stuff. Also: Neonomicon<\/em> is hard to get through because of Moore’s (by now expected) inclusion of rape. While I’d argue that the one instance of sexual violence in Providence <\/em>ties in with the narrative and character in a way that serves some overall purpose, the rape element here is portrayed gratuitously and is just kinda gross. <\/p>\n I’d been looking forward to reading this book for a lot of reasons: a) Scholastic was seriously hyping it at the most recent school book fair, b) LeUyen Pham is one of the absolute best cartoonist\/illustrators working in kids lit today, c) ditto Shannon Hale but for writing, and d) my daughter read it and said it was good. Well, it is<\/em> good–really good. What I wasn’t expecting, though, was for it to be so gut-wrenchingly, trenchantly brutal in its depiction of how cruel children can be to one another. If I had to compare it to another book, it reminds me a bit of the prose novel Cat’s Eye<\/em> by Margaret Atwood. Well, it’s for sure not that<\/em> bleak, but it pulls surprisingly few punches–and it’s apparently autobiographical. Pham’s cartooning, as usual, is spectacular, particularly her ability to draw children–their expressions, gestures, even clothes. <\/p>\n This is isn’t a comic–although Am\u00e9lie Fl\u00e9chais does comics as well–but, rather, a picture book. I noticed this book last year when I saw a review of it on an Italian-language comics review site and had intended to eventually buy a French edition. I never did and luckily there’s now an English translation. When I initially started reading, though, and realized that the story was a riff on Little Red Riding Hood<\/em> but with a wolf as the main character I immediately became dubious. I truly loathe most of those swapped protagonist-type premises. (“It’s Moby Dick, but from the whale’s point of view!” Ugh.) Thankfully, that’s not what’s going on here at all. Without giving any plot away, I’ll just say that–somewhat like True Friends–<\/em>this (children’s) book addresses some pretty heavy emotional topics in a surprisingly engaging way that doesn’t shy away from the darker\/scarier side of things. I’m not sure what to make of the fact that of the three books on this list so far, the two that are ostensibly for children are the ones exploring difficult emotions and scary situations in a way that’s not shallow or gratuitous. <\/p>\n Oh, I should also probably mention that the artwork here is just gobsmackingly gorgeous<\/a>. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This book–which won an Ignatz award last year–packs a ton of thematic punch for its size–meaning both its relatively small trim size and its modest page count. Diana’s Electric Tongue <\/em>employs SF for what it’s best at: taking a futuristic concept (in this case, companion and\/or lover androids as high-end consumer goods) and using it to explore a down-to-earth topic (loss, separation, failed relationships). This makes the story sound heavier than it is, though. In other hands this could have been a depressing slog, but Nowak’s often hilariously true-to-life dialog and her beautiful cartooning (check out the colors as well as several great isometric cut-away panels of house interiors) keep things chipper enough that when there is<\/em> an emotional punch (that ending!) it hits hard, as it needs to. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.benzilla.com\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Neonomicon_Cover.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n <\/h3>\n
Real Friends<\/em> by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n <\/h3>\n
The Little Red Wolf<\/em> by Am\u00e9lie Fl\u00e9chais<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nDiana’s Electric Tongue<\/em> by Carolyn Nowak<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nGus Tome 4: Happy Clem<\/em> by Christophe Blain<\/span><\/h3>\n