You can't control the sands of time, but you can control what you do with the time you have. Spend it wisely with our picks for this week's Fresh Friday Features! Some characters have harsh lessons to learn, and some go out of their way to teach others. They are inspiring tales about taking control of your life and fighting for peace, worthy causes, or just to find your role in this world.
- Comic - Season of the Bruja (Volume): Althalia, along with her two companions, Dana, a were-coyote, and Chuey, a chupacabra, uses her abuela’s training to help and assist others from all manner of spirits.
- Graphic Novel - The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott: Billie Scott is an artist. Her debut gallery exhibition opens in a few months. Within a fortnight she'll be completely blind.
- Manga - The Fox & Little Tanuki: Senzou the black fox is finally set him free. There is only one condition — he can't have any of his supernatural abilities back until he successfully helps a tanuki pup to become a god's magical assistant!
- Webcomic - Garden of Tales: A young dragon, Fan Qing, descends to the lower realm in search of a worthy rival.
Season of the Bruja (Volume), 138 pages - Published by Oni Press, (cc/ @GCpartnerships)
From the time she was little, Althalia’s abuela taught her about their culture; there was music, there was food, there was history, and then there was magic. The magic of the brujas. Althalia, along with her two companions, Dana, a were-coyote, and Chuey, a chupacabra, uses her abuela’s training to help and assist others from all manner of spirits, demons, hell beasts, and even priests who seek the brujas destruction.
Story and Art by Aarón Durán, Jaime Martinez, Sara Soler
Althalia just wants to learn magic and learn it fast. Everything about this is amazing. As someone who is not familiar with brujas, their culture, and lore, it's been a fascinating read so far. I'm about halfway through this first volume, and what a rollercoaster it's been. As someone who also isn't very educated on the history surrounding Cortez, I've been curious to learn about those events from another perspective. Humor, heartbreaking, wholesome adorable-ness, it's got absolutely everything so far, and I'm only about 80 pages in.
The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott, 164 pages - Published by Avery Hill Publishing, (cc/ @AveryHillPublishing)
Billie Scott is an artist. Her debut gallery exhibition opens in a few months. Within a fortnight she'll be completely blind. As Billie struggles to deal with her impending blindness, she sets off on a journey from Middlesbrough to London; into a world of post-austerity Britain and the problems facing those left behind. Her quest is to find ten people to paint for her exhibition, as well as the inspiration to continue with her art, and the strength to move on with her life.
Story and Art by Zoe Thorogood
Going blind is something that, as an artist, I fear. It's literally my worst nightmare. I do have a strong likelihood of development macular-degeneration at a young age, my sight already worsening. I think that is what drew me to this book, and made it a read that felt a little too personal. As with other books by Thorogood that I've read, I love the candid nature. It shows it all and makes you uncomfortable, but never leaves you without hope. I think other artists could get a fresh perspective on how lucky we are to do what we do.
The Fox & Little Tanuki, 1221 pages - Published by TOKYOPOP, (cc/ @GCpartnerships)
After 300 years, the gods that imprisoned Senzou the black fox for his arrogance finally set him free. There is only one condition — he can't have any of his supernatural abilities back until he successfully helps a tanuki pup named Manpachi become one of their magical assistants. Unfortunately for Senzou, there's no cheating when it comes to completing his task!
Story and Art by Tagawa Mi
Senzou has not been a good boi... Does that saying apply to foxes, anyway? Japanese lore and spirits are topics that I absolutely adore and there was NO WAY that I was going to pass this up. The book is episodic in nature, with a longer plot that strings all of the smaller demon-a-day scenes together. I could relate this book to InuYasha, xXxHolic, or Kekkaishi in it's feel. Senzou is pretty mean to our little Tanuki, Manpachi, but I'm optimistic he'll come around. Most of the cast is non-human, which I appreciate! Stellar art wraps it up nicely!
Garden of Tales, 54 pages - Published by lorphis, (cc/ @lorphis)
A collection of short stories. Current tale - Fleeting Joy A young dragon, Fan Qing, descends to the lower realm in search of a worthy rival. He encounters a martial arts master named Shen Yun, who teaches him about life.
Story and Art by lorphis
First of all, can we talk about this artwork?! It looks like that beautiful blend of digital with traditional watercolor. The paper texture really adds to this so much, very clever! I don't want to spoil too much, but the arrogance of this little dragon aka "snake demon" will be his undoing. It's already coming back to haunt him. I look forward to seeing his character growth. Combine that with a well-flowing vertical format, it's amazing!
That's all for now, but we'll have another set of Fresh Friday reading recommendations next week. You can also browse through our Featured Comics news section and add them to your Library for future reading!
Check out more amazing stuff from @ArtCrumbs below.
Did you get a chance to check out any of these fresh picks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!