Graphic Obsession with Graphic Novels

I have found a new obsession in life.

comic books and graphic novels!!!

One day, during lunch, I went for a walk and passed Velocity Comics on Broad Street. I peeked in the windows and walked by.

The next time, I was with Chris during lunch, and feeling braver with him there, I decided to go in the store. The door wouldn't open. "Oh, you have to turn the handle up not down." I was in. I never made it passed the first rack of magazines before purchasing the most lovely zine I'd ever seen...a spin off of the comic book Kabuki.

Ay Dios Mio! What a miracle I have found. For 2 bucks this little mag was all mine. I am in mixed media heaven, a scrappy project, quirky quips and an unseeming plot. Bliss.



After devouring this bit of honey, I found myself desperate for more fan books. Today I spent most of my lunch hour feasting on hyper-illustrated covers, and storylines communicated with the briefest dialogue.

I bought two very girly books. The first was a graphic novel called Embroideries. The novel is written by the Iranian author who wrote and illustrated Persepolis.



This book was hysterical. Sort of the Joy Luck Club meets Sex in the City - except in Iran. Oh - and "embroideries" refers to women stitching their vagina to make themselves tighter in that area...perhaps even virginal again.

I also bought a quirky self-portrait comic book by Gabrielle Bell called Lucky. Gabrielle's abbreviated script often references her thoughts which can be somewhat melancholy and sarcastic, pointing out her feelings of self-doubt. But overall the comic book was amusing and bizarre. In Lucky Volume 2 Issue 1 she creates a most unusually random story including a giant, a cussing bird, a dog, a rat trap, some peanut butter, and that old familiar desire for the bad boy.



Before her main story begins she adds a few "diary pages" complete with illustrations. In these she tells about her fear of public speaking at comic book conventions, and her obsession with drawing.

All these fantastic ideas have me wanting to start a comic book of my own. I'm not much for drawing, but I have an eye for art. I think I can come up with something interesting and yet full of artistic merit. I'll keep you updated.