Notes for a War Story by Gipi

Back in high school I used to be your typical shelled up nerd, I really had no interest concerning what goes on outside my borders. Parties? Fuck off. Drugs? Go to hell. Working on my popular Pokémon website? ALRIGHT! … All that had changed when my high school self died on September 11th, 2001 (partly because of what happened then, but was also right around when I started college and started actually working at work); this in turn gave rise to my current college self. My college self strove to do everything my high school self wouldn’t; party, do drugs, mess around with the opposite sex, etc. The real big thing that started to form was my political self. Since September 11th, I really started to pay attention to the news and world affairs. Since then though I’ve come to appreciate different points of views from all kinds of sources, and not just the bullshit I see from CNN and Fox News.

My interest in Notes for a War Story is rooted in my desire to see things from “the other side.” The book, from what I gather so far, seems to take place in an unnamed war-torn European country, say Bosnia or Kosovo. Despite being penned by an Italian, so far the vibe I’ve gotten is that it’s written more from their perspective versus what an average American would see it as. I like this kind of information.

Aya by Marguerite Abouet & Clément Oubrerie

This is another one of my “the other side” books. Aya in particular is largely about a few girls living in Côte d’Ivoire in around 1978. So like, I’ve got the “African”, “female”, “non-white/asian/American” and “the 1970’s” thing going for me here. So far the story is largely a typical “what goes on” kinda story… the girls date, one get pregnant, they deal with their family issues… it’s a similar story yet not at the same time.

I’m almost finished with this, it’s an easy read.

Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan

I haven’t opened this one yet. All I know is that it takes place in Israel and, thus, is another “the other side” story for me to read through. Having flipped through it though, I really like the minimalist artwork. I’ll tell you what I think about it later.

An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge Compiled with Instructive Annotation and Arranged in Useful Order by Me, John Hodgman, a Professional Writer, in the Areas of My Expertise, which Include: Matters Historical; Matters Literary; Matters Cryptozoological; Hobo Matters; Food, Drink, & Cheese (a Kind of Food); Squirrels & Lobsters & Eels; Haircuts; Utopia; What Will Happen in the Future; and Most Other Subjects; Illustrated with a Reasonable Number of Tables and Figures, and Featuring the Best of “Were You Aware of It?”, John Hodgman’s Long-Running Newspaper Novelty Column of Strange Facts and Oddities of the Bizarre (aka The Areas of my Expertise) by John Hodgman

I’ve actually had this book since like… January. I’ve been reading a little bit here and there, and I’m almost finished with it. I kinda lost my copy though… it’s around here somewhere. This guy is hilarious, a living defintion of the term “humorist.” I particularly enjoy his style of writing: he tells absurd tales and anecdotes with a complete sense of seriousness behind them. Seriously, this is one book to get.

Incidentally, this is the first non-graphic novel I’ve read since high school. I think the reason why I’ve avoided word books is due to all the ones I was basically forced to read in high school. My dad did tell me though that eventually I’ll find books that I’ll like… this is the first of a few actually. More below.

Dear Diary by Lesley Arfin

It’s another “the other side” book (notice a pattern in my book buying habits). But this one in particular is special because it was released by Vice Magazine, of which I’m deeply in love with their style and content. My brother owns the Vice Guide To Travel, a DVD of segments of reporters who goes around the world to show how really fucked up everything is. Lately I’ve been entranced by Vice’s online “television” service, VBS.tv, which really only continues what the Vice Guide To Travel started. Boing Boing recently linked to their report about Locombia’s (er… Colombia’s) Devil’s Breath. It’s very good.

I haven’t opened this one yet, but a friend of mine says it’s really good. What I gather is that Lesley had kept a diary for like seventeen years but then decided to share all the juicy bits along with some commentary from her 2007 self. Excerpt:

DEAR DIARY, … I tried to kill myself.
UPDATE • “Trying to kill myself” consisted of scraping at me wrists with a pair of safety scissors that were so dull all they did was rouge up my skin a bit.

Bwahaha!

Gunsmith Cats (book 1) by Kenichi Sonoda

Both Manga/Anime and Superhero comics are something of a guilty pleasure for me, largely because I dislike a majority of them. In fact, the only Manga/Superhero titles I own are Battle Angel Alita (plus anything else creator Yukito Kishiro penned), Ghost in the Shell, Superman: Red Son, and Batman: Dark Knight Returns. I do have my eyes on Batman Year 100 and Deathnote, however. And then like, I also have the complete series of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, The Big O as well as all of the Batman and Superman cartoon serieses (fuck Justice League though). But that’s it. I mean, I just listed my entire Manga/Superhero collection.

So why do I like these titles? They’re kinda different from the rest of the pack. Superman: Red Son is a unique story set way apart from the traditional (and largely boring) Superman series, as is Dark Knight Returns. Concerning Mangas, I have a soft spot for the ones that concern America in some way. Battle Angel Alita is supposed to take place in Kansas City, with some more recent stories taking place in New York City and St. Louis. Ghost in the Shell involves a lot of international stories and shit. Evangelion has a couple Evas that were built in America (Unit 3 and Unit 4), as well as a Magi supercomputer at MIT and NERV-2 station in the Nevada desert. And The Big O is just Japanese version of Batman.

Gunsmith Cats takes place in Chicago, which is, as noted, a big selling point for me. It’s also done by Kenichi Sonoda, who also worked on Bubblegum Crisis back in the day, of which I have a real nostalgic softspot for. Plus is also has all sorts of guns, cars and naughty bits. 🙂 This book however is super thick (some 460 pages); I’m like half-way through it and I’m not sure I’ll be able to finish it any time soon.

Samurai Champloo (book 1) by Masaru Gotsubo

Like I previously mentioned, I own the entire Samurai Champloo series on DVD. I love the show, simply because it’s a cut above the rest. Plus the series was directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, who also did Cowboy Bebop and some shorts for the Animatrix. He doesn’t have a very “anime” style, which really makes for some unique stories.

I really only got into the manga because of the original anime series. I can’t get enough of it, so I’ve done what I could to get my hands on anything with the words “Samurai Champloo” on it. I got through the first chapter (I think), but I still have a ways to go.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Back in high school, there was one book that I was forced to read I actually did enjoy. Fortunately for this reading assignment we were given out choice, so I chose China Boy by Gus Lee. Although entertaining, I connected yet didn’t really connect with the story. Gus was Chinese, I’m Korean (and half that to boot). He was born in a more racially seperated environment, where as in my childhood I was surrounded by a large population of nonwhites (to the point where honkeys were in the minority), so I never really felt “left out”. For me being “Asian” wasn’t that big of a deal, neither good nor bad.

My interest in American Born Chinese was fueled largely because it seemed to be more of a comic book version of China Boy, at least in essence. I mean the two stories are different, but it almost seems as if both books were written to put the population of White-Americans in the shoes of their Asian brethren. Having had my fair taste of Asian culture, none of this seems new to me. Furthermore, the difference between Chinese and Korean cultures is the difference between Spanish and French cultures, so I don’t even really connect with the “Asian” bits of the story. It’s still an entertaining story, but it lacks that “the other side” quality for me.

Hopefully the second half of the story will make for better reading?

Cartoon Korean History by Geon-cheon Park

This one my Mom got me some time ago. I really ought to get around to reading. The drawings in it are really adorable; they’re not super detailed, more like super-minimalist doodles, but they’re rather funny. The storytelling method is almost like a parent giving their kid a really silly bedtime story. Although Korea’s history is not silly… it’s serious business.

At some point in the future, I’m gonna do a graphic novel based on some point in Korean history that I find to be most appealing. Obviously this book will help out with my choice.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

We didn’t have to read this back in high school, we only had to watch the movie. The movie most certainly ranks as one of my top ten movies ever, partially due to John Hurt’s acting and the very non-traditional ending.

Now after having gotten through most of The Areas Of My Expertise, as well as discovering that there are far less graphic novels out there than there are regular novels, I decided to start working my way into the world of regular novels. Nineteen Eighty-Four was the first one that really cried out to me, especailly given my love of the movie.

Which reminds me, I really ought to watch it again.

Junky by William S. Burroughs

My new found curiosity of regular novels as well as my regular curiosity in drugs brought me to this one. I found out about it through in the opium section of a drug information book. I just bought Junky today. Apparently it’s a semi-autobiographical story about Burroughs’ experience with “junk” (aka heroin/morphine/etc). I’ve really only got through the first twelve pages of it, plus his intro, so I really haven’t gotten much out of it. I might simply just put it aside until I finished the rest of these books.