Lights

I took a while with my thoughts before I could write this up and I think I liked the music videos and the music better than the graphic novel. I picked up the book for review on Edelweiss (copy provided for review purposes) in hopes of reviewing it for my romance comics site at Loveinpanels.com, but it's... not great as a piece of queer fiction. The main character, who Lights styled after herself, is bisexual, but both of her partners in the book are evil. I wrote on Twitter that it felt in both cases like having sex leads to the end of the world (think Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and not exactly like queer pain, but very much not a happy ending for anyone. The indie pop soundtrack that goes with this book is much more upbeat, so I'm not sure what's going on here. Maybe an apocalyptic wasteland wherein we've fully destroyed the Earth is a place to go spend my free time these days, especially since there's no happiness to be found.
The art is lovely, I'll give it that.… (más)

I enjoyed this series. The world construction was interesting and the characters were engaging. However, the begining of the story set me up for a dystopian type of industrial world. That wasn't what the reader got in the end. I am still not sure how I feel about the way it ended. It is understandably open-ended, but the shift in the main character is sudden and leaves me wondering why.

I love the synthesis of Lights' album and this comic series. It is a partnership of music, art, and story which I can deeply appreciate and always enjoy. Some of my favourite metal bands have done something similar before. It is definately an inspiring and artistic combination.… (más)