BooktubeSFF Awards discussion

Hey everyone! I'll be hosting the readalong for My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1 by Emil Ferris in March! I just got my copy in the mail yesterday, and it is a chunky graphic novel which is the best kind.

For anyone curious about Emil and this graphic novel, she did an interview last year that I watched recently. I recommend watching it on 2x speed, but it's was super interesting. I couldn't imagine being an artist and losing the ability to create art from a mosquito bite. Here is a link to the interview!

We'll be reading this in March, but if you want to jump in a little early, that's totally cool. And any late-comers are also more than welcome to add their thoughts and feelings as well.

Let's discuss! Be sure to tag your spoilers like this (view spoiler)[Hide spoilers with so they don't ruin anyone else's reading experience! Click on the "some html is ok" link to see how to do it. (hide spoiler)].

I didn't realize the author was a woman! (Emil is an exclusively masculine name in my country.)

If anyone wants to participate in this readalong and doesn’t have a copy or can’t afford one AND doesn’t mind reading digital comics, the book is available with a ComiXology Unlimited subscription, which you can get a 30-day free trial for as long as you’ve got an Amazon account. Just a tip!

Amelia wrote: "If anyone wants to participate in this readalong and doesn’t have a copy or can’t afford one AND doesn’t mind reading digital comics, the book is available with a ComiXology Unlimited subscription,..."

Nice! This will probably help a lot of people. I know to get it from my library would have taken a long time with how many holds are on it right now.

I guess I'm fortunate. I got a copy from my library system almost immediately.

I read loads of “mainstream” comics with very traditional artwork so I’m really looking forward to diving into something a little different.🙂

Thanks for the tip Amelia. I downloaded it now.

Hi all, so I am reading this one right now, and I'm currently at around page 58 (had to count the pages as there's no page numbers). It's certainly not quite what I expected this to be, much more of a murder mystery with supernatural elements and bizarre drawings, but I am really liking it so far!

(view spoiler)[ I really enjoyed the Valentines day cards that Karen and her brother made with the Macaroni and the fake blood to freak everyone out. It worked really well as a joke and as an amusing image on the page when all the classmates have opened theirs.
I also think that the artwork in general so far is really cool, I am liking the cover art for the horror comics she reads, and I think that some of the metaphors are cool like the page where there is a woman's face over the top of a child's face and it's super optical illusion-y and odd!
Lots to like so far and I am looking forward to seeing where it goes, but this seems like it is going to take a lot longer to read than your average graphic novel because of the sprawling words and the way it bleeds across the whole page rather than just in boxes/bubbles like most of the 'standard' comics are. (hide spoiler)]

I just started it this morning! I heard from Emily (Possibly Literate) that it takes a while to get through because there are some many things happening on each page and the lined paper can make it a tad harder to read quickly as well. But I'm loving the art so far, and I'm definitely intrigued by these characters!

I'm currently reading it, and it's so interesting! I would guess I'm a bit over halfway through. This is for sure the most detailed graphic novel I've ever read. The art is amazing, and I'm actually liking it more than I expected to! I thought I'd feel pretty meh about it, because horror and mystery aren't really my thing.

I finished it, and I loved it! Gave it 4.5 stars. Unless Everyone's an aliebn wows me, this has my vote for graphic work. :)

I actually read this a couple months ago for my comic book club, and it was an interesting experience. I ended up reading it twice so I could truly understand the story. The second time around, I thought of it as an allegory and that helped me enjoy it much more.

(view spoiler)[{The somewhat abrupt ending irked me. Didn't greatly upset me or make me dislike the book, but it felt the story was finally kicking into high gear...then it ended.} (hide spoiler)]

I just finished it a couple of days ago and I gave it 3 stars. I thought it was as a great attempt at a graphic novel mystery but I felt there were parts that slowed the plot down and some of the mature content seemed gratuitous. I didn't mind the art history and historical tidbits, but some of the drawing explanations felt like they really slowed the story down especially close to the end in my opinion. I understand that the author may have been trying to make us feel more for the Deezee character. I guess maybe Emil was trying to make him seem multifaceted despite his questionable unscrupulous actions. I thought it was beautifully illustrated but I wanted more mystery and more about Anka's backstory. I'm not sure if I will pick up the second book yet.

This was my first graphic novel and I had a hard time with it. At the end I did end up enjoying the story but the artwork was not my thing. This was right on the shelves at my library so I picked it up.