Rahul gives unsolicited advice

I read Bea Wolf  yesterday. It is written by Zach Weinersmith, the creator of the  Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereals internet comic  and drawn by Boulet . I've been a fan of their work for over a decade now, since I was in college. From the Bea Wolf book website - A modern middle-grade graphic novel retelling of Beowulf, featuring a gang of troublemaking kids who must defend their tree house from a fun-hating adult who can instantly turn children into grown-ups. I was smiling the entire time I was reading the graphic novel and I was laughing out loud multiple times. I hope the story continues and they come out with a Volume 2 of Bea Wolfs adventures. Listen! Hear a tale of mallow-munchers and warriors who answer candy’s clarion call! Somewhere in a generic suburb stands Treeheart, a kid-forged sanctuary where generations of tireless tykes have spent their youths making merry, spilling soda, and staving off the shadow of adulthood. One day, these brave warriors find their...

If Graphic Novel is a new word for you, let's just say for simplicity that Graphic novel is a fancy word for a comic book. It's a dramatic oversimplification but for the moment, let's go with it. And if non-fiction is a new word for you, it just means the book contains a real-life story. For example, a biography is non-fiction because it describes what happened in real life. Comic books that contain real life stories. The last time I mentioned this to a friend, he was surprised that such things even exist "a comic book that is non-fiction"? He was an avid comic reader of DC and Marvel comic books, all of which are fictitious. So when he first heard "Non fiction graphic novel", he didn't even know what that looked like. I always had an interest in history but most of the history books that I came across or that were recommended to me felt impersonal. That's how I got into non-fiction graphic novels and over the past 5 years, I have immersed myself...

I just finished reading Will Eisner's "The Plot : The secret story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion" . I am a big fan of Eisner's work and this particular stood out in the current political climate around the world. If you don't know, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" is a fabricated text, produced in the 19th century Russia. It is an antisemitic text, used to influence the Czar at the time. It spread like wildfire in Europe in the early 20th century and it was highly influential in antisemitic movements. Sadly, even though it was proven to be fabricated, it is still popular to this day, translated into numerous languages. The use of fabricated material to turn people against one another feels highly relevant in this day and age of fake news and social media. I highly recommend that you find yourselves a copy of the book (among others by Will Eisner).

I read Andre The Giant graphic novel at the Austin Public Library a couple of weeks back and this page made me stop and think. I'm privileged and lucky enough to feel the same way.

This is the last blogpost among a series of 3, which list all the graphic novels that I read in the last 6 weeks, while I was visiting the Austin office of my company. Most of these books were suggested to me by my colleagues, something that really surprised me. I didn't know there were so many work colleagues who were into graphic novels and comic books. Joe The Barbarian - Is one of the best graphic novels I've read these past two months. It's the story of a hypoglycemic kid and it's wonderfully told. It's one that I recommend everyone read. Watchmen - You might've seen the movie. I liked the graphic novel better than the movie, even though the movie was on the back of my mind the whole time. I liked it better because of the full page scenes and how much deeper the story is, when compared to the movie. It's a classic and I'd definitely recommend it if you're interested in graphic novels. 300 - Again, you might've watched the movie. Ag...

In the last post , I talked about some of the graphic novels and books I'd read over the last 6 weeks. Most of the books in that post were multiple volumes of a series that I'd started reading. A few of the books listed here might be part of a series but I haven't (yet) read the other volumes in the series. Volume I of Maus . Maus is the story of a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, being told by his son. It's visually different than anything else I've read, especially because the Jews are represented as Mouse and the Nazis as Cats in the graphic novel. People of other races are represented as other animals, for example the Polish people are represented as Pigs, if i remember correctly. It's a sad but powerful read. Snow Piercer : The Escape is part I of a 3 part series about a fictional future where all life on the planet has been wiped off because of severe cold. Earth is blanketed with snow and humans survive on a train, that chugs along the cont...

I just read 300. Yes. Read, not watched. The movie 300 is based on the graphic novel 300, by Frank Miller. If you are interested in comic books and graphic novels, you would've heard of Frank Miller. You would be familiar with his work if you are fan of Batman. Now, coming to the actual book, it was beautifully drawn and interesting to read. I kept comparing it to the movie, in the back of my head. I no doubt prefer the book to the movie. The book felt more visually appealing than the movie. It was also better at grabbing and holding on to my attention better than the movie. I don't know why but I very much prefer reading the story than watching the story, even if the movie had followed the story exactly. Coming to deviations between the book and the movie, the story arc is probably the most prominent, atleast in the beginning of the book. The book takes a non-linear arc where we see the 300 prepare for war as we learn about how Leonidas became king and how the war started...