I felt the same about the writing of pixels of you , sadly. I really liked the artists style but yeah the writing wasnt as in depth as I'd have liked 😔 Thank you for sharing Ashley!
My worst comic read of the year is without a doubt Fables Volume 8 by Bill Willingham. I loved the first volume, but then by volume 7 there were alarm bells going off in my head and in volume 8, my jaw dropped when I understood what the author's intentions were with the allegory of the story and who he cast the Fables as in the allegory and who he imagined the Adversary to be. That realisation recontextualized a lot of the orientalism and Islamophobia that I had previously thought to just be on par for something that was published in the time that it was, and I was disgusted to see that the author has only continued to double down on those sentiments. I know you're reading or planning to read this soon, but I would seriously recommend looking up the allegory that Willingham had intended for the series and how it's a distortion of real life atrocities that are ongoing right now in Gaza
Yeah, I had enjoyed Fables when I first started reading it years ago, but the farther I got in the series, the more the author's real world politics started coming through in uncomfortable ways. If I'm remembering correctly, there was also a part where abortion is equated to murder and someone fuels their evil magic powers by supporting Planned Parenthood? I might be mis-remembering the exact details but it's along those lines.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't vibe with Honey Lemon Soda. It's weird because I've read stories similar and liked them, but I think it just came down to I didn't really like the characters enough to continue to watch them grow. I donated my 3 volumes, so hopefully someone else can appreciate it. I'm going to try to DNF more this year. There were a few times I powered through a book just to finish even though I didn't like the characters.
With you not liking the How do We Relationship Series, I'm a little worried. I bought and enjoyed the first volume and was planning on continuing in the series. I think I still will continue, but I'll probably put off buying the rest of the volumes until I've read them and see how I feel about it.
I also enjoy the majority of GN/Manga I read. Which is why it's most of what i read. I only disliked 3 series which were We Only FInd Them When They're Dead, Stillwater, and Tell Me It's Real (TJ Klune Manhwa). At least with Graphic Novels they can be over quickly.
My least favorite comic of 2023 has to be Chip Zdarsky's Batman. I've only read the first two volumes and that was more than enough, especially considering how bad Gotham War apparently is. I love Batman and that has gotten me through a lot of mediocre comics, but I just can't with this run anymore. It just doesn't seem like there's an interest in actually exploring characters or themes. It's all just half baked plot and pointless attempts at fan service. There are a couple ideas that could have worked, but we ended up with the least interesting version of those ideas possible.
My worst manga was The Great Cleric series. I actually really enjoyed the first few volumes and was super disappointed when the author decided to do a storyline about slavery written in the worst possible way.
SLAM! by Takehiko Inoue - this manga was racist af, and I mean racist af, that’s a lot of racist for how popular this manga was. I will never forget the experience of reading volume one, and then rushing to Shae’s Discord to ask the 30-in-30ers if I was losing my mind. I was not.
Basil and Oregano - I was disappointed at the lack of detail into how magic cooking worked. I also felt like it was written with a diversity checklist. It was clunky and awkward rather than feeling natural.
I felt the same about the writing of pixels of you , sadly. I really liked the artists style but yeah the writing wasnt as in depth as I'd have liked 😔
Thank you for sharing Ashley!
My worst comic read of the year is without a doubt Fables Volume 8 by Bill Willingham. I loved the first volume, but then by volume 7 there were alarm bells going off in my head and in volume 8, my jaw dropped when I understood what the author's intentions were with the allegory of the story and who he cast the Fables as in the allegory and who he imagined the Adversary to be. That realisation recontextualized a lot of the orientalism and Islamophobia that I had previously thought to just be on par for something that was published in the time that it was, and I was disgusted to see that the author has only continued to double down on those sentiments. I know you're reading or planning to read this soon, but I would seriously recommend looking up the allegory that Willingham had intended for the series and how it's a distortion of real life atrocities that are ongoing right now in Gaza
Yeah, I had enjoyed Fables when I first started reading it years ago, but the farther I got in the series, the more the author's real world politics started coming through in uncomfortable ways. If I'm remembering correctly, there was also a part where abortion is equated to murder and someone fuels their evil magic powers by supporting Planned Parenthood? I might be mis-remembering the exact details but it's along those lines.
How dare Willingham support Israel? The sheer cheek.of somebody having their own opinion
I’ll definitely keep this in mind as I read it. I don’t think I read far enough in the series to pick up on it.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't vibe with Honey Lemon Soda. It's weird because I've read stories similar and liked them, but I think it just came down to I didn't really like the characters enough to continue to watch them grow. I donated my 3 volumes, so hopefully someone else can appreciate it. I'm going to try to DNF more this year. There were a few times I powered through a book just to finish even though I didn't like the characters.
I’m going to DNF more this year as well!
It's a good thing! I feel you completely!
❤️❤️❤️
With you not liking the How do We Relationship Series, I'm a little worried. I bought and enjoyed the first volume and was planning on continuing in the series. I think I still will continue, but I'll probably put off buying the rest of the volumes until I've read them and see how I feel about it.
Continue it! I know some people who really enjoy it, but it wasn’t for me.
I also enjoy the majority of GN/Manga I read. Which is why it's most of what i read. I only disliked 3 series which were We Only FInd Them When They're Dead, Stillwater, and Tell Me It's Real (TJ Klune Manhwa). At least with Graphic Novels they can be over quickly.
Good point lol
My least favorite comic of 2023 has to be Chip Zdarsky's Batman. I've only read the first two volumes and that was more than enough, especially considering how bad Gotham War apparently is. I love Batman and that has gotten me through a lot of mediocre comics, but I just can't with this run anymore. It just doesn't seem like there's an interest in actually exploring characters or themes. It's all just half baked plot and pointless attempts at fan service. There are a couple ideas that could have worked, but we ended up with the least interesting version of those ideas possible.
Nooooo that’s so disappointing to hear!
My worst manga was The Great Cleric series. I actually really enjoyed the first few volumes and was super disappointed when the author decided to do a storyline about slavery written in the worst possible way.
😩😩😩 what in the world?!?
SLAM! by Takehiko Inoue - this manga was racist af, and I mean racist af, that’s a lot of racist for how popular this manga was. I will never forget the experience of reading volume one, and then rushing to Shae’s Discord to ask the 30-in-30ers if I was losing my mind. I was not.
Oh yea I’ve heard some rough things about that one 🙃
Basil and Oregano - I was disappointed at the lack of detail into how magic cooking worked. I also felt like it was written with a diversity checklist. It was clunky and awkward rather than feeling natural.
Definitely!!!!