september 2022 reading wrap-up
As with the last couple of months, I didn’t read much in September, and most of what I did read were comics.
BOOKS READ IN SEPTEMBER 2022
Fiction
- The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia
- All the Feels by Olivia Dade
Non-Fiction
- The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Comics
- Pantheon: The True Story of the Egyptian Deities by Hamish Steele
- Sailor Moon Vol. 1 by Takeuchi Naoko
- Trials of X Vol. 1 by Leah Williams, et al.
Picture Books
- The Twelve Cats of Christmas by Feather Flores
Of these books, I guess it’s obvious that The Anthropocene Reviewed was my favourite. I still have a copy on my desk in hopes I can afford it sometime this month. I enjoyed The Bruising of Qilwa, which is a novella set in a Persian-inspired fantasy world during a pandemic. I like the concept behind the story and am interested in knowing more about the magical structures and the persecution that the main character is running away from, but unfortunately a lot of the details are just hand-waved away and never really focused on. It probably would’ve been a 3-star book if it wasn’t for the fact that I enjoyed the ending, bumping it to a 3.5 (hence 4 stars on my GR.)
And then there’s Olivia Dade’s All the Feels, which I think I enjoyed more than Spoiler Alert, which is to say, I enjoyed it a LOT. I miss reading romances that are just fun, and this one definitely is.
Of the comics, Hamish Steele’s Pantheon is my favourite, of course. I had read reviews saying that it’s pretty brutal, but compared to my expectations, it felt positively cute. I’ve read Egyptian myth webcomics that are way more brutal than this. It’s fine though because this is a really good read and I want more from Hamish Steele. Hopefully, more mythology, Egyptian or otherwise.
I read Sailor Moon as part of my monthly comic buddy read with Patricia. I feel so nostalgic, reading Sailor Moon again! It also feels weired because I’ve only read it in Malay before, and this translation is not only in English which I’m more comfortable with/understand better, but also this is a better translation in general.
Trials of X is a collection of all the X comics - not surprisingly, it’s a mixed bag. I don’t even remember which comics were in this particular book right now - I’ve actually read at least 3-4 volumes ahead by now but they’re not published in volumes yet - but of the current X stuff, I think I’m enjoying New Mutants, Immortal X-Men and X-Men: Red the most, and Marauders and Legion of X the least. The latter is surprising because I liked Si Spurrier’s Way of X, and Legion of X follows up on it.
Speaking of current comics, though, I was just telling Patricia that if I count every single X title as one (since they’re all basically mutant-centric), then I am technically reading more DC books than Marvel right now:
DC | Poison Ivy (single issues/physical), Nightwing (I wait for trade), Superman: Son of Kal-el (I wait for trade), Robin (digital single issues), and Tim Drake: Robin (new addition; digital single issues)
Marvel | X books, Captain Marvel (single issues/physical), and She-Hulk (Marvel Unlimited and the occasional physical copy)
Although of course I am also following the A.X.E. event in single issues right now, and had just decided to pick up Damage Control. Plus, “X books” include: Immortal X-Men, X-Men, X-Force, Wolverine, New Mutants, Legion of X, Knights of X, AND the dreaded Marauders, so that’s kind of a lot really. And come to think of it if I count the X books as one shouldn’t I do the same for the Bat books?
his week I thought of rereading Wolverine and the X-Men (2011), but accidentally clicked through to the 2014 run which I had never read before, and now wonder why. I did read the 2014-2015 Uncanny X-Men and All-New X-Men runs by Bendis, and had I picked this title up it would’ve filled me in on so much stuff! I mean I know the reason I didn’t pick it up was because of Wolverine’s name on the title, and how was I to know that the main character in this series is in fact NOT Wolverine, but Quentin Quire, a character so dear to me? Oh well. At least I’m reading it now.
The thing I like about this volume (I read issues 1-6, which are collected in volume 1 of the trade) is its take on the whole chosen one trope. I like a good chosen one story, even the more traditional types. But in Wolverine & the X-Men (volume 1), we get Quentin Quire, who at 13 was already one of the most dangerouns mutants alive, and then he was like the worst incel dudebro you could think of and became a mutant extremist terrorist, and even when the adults gave him a second chance and stuck him in the Jean Grey School he remained the Worst Ever, making everyone’s life miserable, especially Wolverine.
And then some X-Men from a future timeline came, and we find out that he becomes not only an X-Man, but a PHOENIX, in the future.
On the other hand, we have Evan Sabah Nur. He is my other sort of favourite character, the Cat Chant to Quentin’s Christopher. The sort of character I want to protect with my life. Evan is quiet and gentle and kind and all he wants is to be happy and have friends and be in love and, you know, not be evil. But, the thing is, he is the clone of En Sabah Nur, a.k.a. Apocalypse, and there are time travelers from the future that say he is destined to be even worse than his predecessor.
A terrible kid, fated to be the Phoenix and saviour of mutantkind.
A good kid, fated to bring about the end of the world.
This is some real School for Good and Evil shit, lol. But yeah… Evan was resigned to his fate at first, but was given hope at some point and wants to try to be the best person he could be. And Quentin kept trying to run away from everything, because he refused to be told who he was, even by a future version of himself.
And then there’s the Phoenix cult from the future that came to hunt and kill Evan so that he would never pose a threat to Quentin, pitting these two kids against one another against their will. And the other adults and fellow students choosing sides, having to decide which of these two kids deserve to have a future.
When I think of how in the current comics, Quentin has been resurrected so many times (until his last sacrifice to save Krakoa, where they lost his back-up and can no longer resurrect him), and no one have even mentioned bringing Evan back since the introduction of the resurrection protocol in 2019… I get so mad (and sad) sometimes.
BRING EVAN BACK 2023!!
Anyway yeah I read this yesterday and today so it’s an October read really, but if I waited for the end of the month I’ll probably have forgotten what I wanted to rant about.
Stay safe!