Media Roundup: Lots of Short Things
Jul. 3rd, 2026 11:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forestofgloryAnother Media Roundup, less than a week after the last one? More likely than you think! As the title of this post says I have a bunch of short and quick reads to talk about.
The Faraway Forest: Wally’s Route by Debbie Fong—This is an early reader graphic novel about a raccoon mail carrier. It's very sweet and has fun colorful art. It's not very long so there's not much else to say about it.
Batman/Superman: World's Finest issues 1-12 by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, et al. —I was trying to explain to R the other day that comics have their own brand of weirdness, but I couldn't articulate what set it apart just vibes. Anyways this has the comic weirdness vibes. There's parallel worlds, time travel, ancient Chinese villains (and heroes), rooms full doorways, ect. I generally like this kind of weirdness though, so this was fun to read.
It's set “some years ago” when Dick is still Robin. (I briefly tried to figure out how it fits into continuity, then I remembered that continuity does make any sense) I like the way Dick is written here. He's a little goofy and a little snarky – it feels right for him at that age. Kara/Supergirl is also here and a lot of fun!
Supergirl: Being Super by Mariko Tamaki, and Joëlle Jones—I liked This Place Kills Me a lot and wanted to check out the author's other works. I read a few things she wrote a while back but she's written a lot more since then! This was pretty good. I guess teen girls are Tamaki’s thing because teen girls and their friendship was also central to this book.
A True Wonder: The Comic Book Hero Who Changed Everything by Kirsten W. Larson and Katy Wu—This non-fiction comic about the history of Wonder Woman is the size and shape of a picture book and aimed at young readers. As such it's not very detailed or nuanced but it is quite charming. I do find the straightforward “progress” narrative a little bit frustrating though.
How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema—This book from 1978 was referenced in some of the non-fiction about comics I read, and I was curious. It turned out to be a quick read with lots of pictures written in a very breezy style. One of the things I’ve been unsure about in discussion about comics history is references to “superhero comic style” – I had only a vague idea what that meant. This book has given me a much clearer idea. Also wow the sexism built into that style leaps off the page here! Men are angular and muscular, while women are soft and curvy. Still helpful for my quest to better understand comics history.
Perspective! for Comic Book Artists: How to Achieve a Professional Look in your Artwork by David ChelseaI— More non-fiction about comics. How to books aren’t always the best for learning how to be a more nuanced reader unfortunately. This is very technical, and what I really wanted was some discussion out how perspective can be used in comics and how that’s different from other visual arts. Oh well, I shouldn’t really complain that this book was exactly what it said it would be.
The Faraway Forest: Wally’s Route by Debbie Fong—This is an early reader graphic novel about a raccoon mail carrier. It's very sweet and has fun colorful art. It's not very long so there's not much else to say about it.
Batman/Superman: World's Finest issues 1-12 by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, et al. —I was trying to explain to R the other day that comics have their own brand of weirdness, but I couldn't articulate what set it apart just vibes. Anyways this has the comic weirdness vibes. There's parallel worlds, time travel, ancient Chinese villains (and heroes), rooms full doorways, ect. I generally like this kind of weirdness though, so this was fun to read.
It's set “some years ago” when Dick is still Robin. (I briefly tried to figure out how it fits into continuity, then I remembered that continuity does make any sense) I like the way Dick is written here. He's a little goofy and a little snarky – it feels right for him at that age. Kara/Supergirl is also here and a lot of fun!
Supergirl: Being Super by Mariko Tamaki, and Joëlle Jones—I liked This Place Kills Me a lot and wanted to check out the author's other works. I read a few things she wrote a while back but she's written a lot more since then! This was pretty good. I guess teen girls are Tamaki’s thing because teen girls and their friendship was also central to this book.
Content Notes are Spoilers
death of a teen as a major plot pointA True Wonder: The Comic Book Hero Who Changed Everything by Kirsten W. Larson and Katy Wu—This non-fiction comic about the history of Wonder Woman is the size and shape of a picture book and aimed at young readers. As such it's not very detailed or nuanced but it is quite charming. I do find the straightforward “progress” narrative a little bit frustrating though.
How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema—This book from 1978 was referenced in some of the non-fiction about comics I read, and I was curious. It turned out to be a quick read with lots of pictures written in a very breezy style. One of the things I’ve been unsure about in discussion about comics history is references to “superhero comic style” – I had only a vague idea what that meant. This book has given me a much clearer idea. Also wow the sexism built into that style leaps off the page here! Men are angular and muscular, while women are soft and curvy. Still helpful for my quest to better understand comics history.
Perspective! for Comic Book Artists: How to Achieve a Professional Look in your Artwork by David ChelseaI— More non-fiction about comics. How to books aren’t always the best for learning how to be a more nuanced reader unfortunately. This is very technical, and what I really wanted was some discussion out how perspective can be used in comics and how that’s different from other visual arts. Oh well, I shouldn’t really complain that this book was exactly what it said it would be.
