Lately, I have been trying to be more conscious as a consumer. I found a black-owned bookstore based in Virginia called Books and Crannies. I ordered a few graphic novels online through their website, and they shipped to me relatively fast, considering the current environment. I’m reading comics faster than I can type these reviews, so I wanted to combine three of my most recent comic reads in one post.

Doctor Aphra Issue #1 Written by Alyssa Wong, Art by Marika Cresa, and color by Rachelle Rosenberg.

Doctor Aphra is a character in the Star Wars universe introduced through comics. Doctor Aphra is a morally ambiguous character who served as the chief archeologist for Darth Vader. Throughout various comic runs, she’s either working for Vader or on the run from him.

In this first issue, Doctor Aphra is hunting for artifacts on Hoth. She’s attacked by the Empire and forced to flee with her new team back to Shadow University in the Outer Rim. As Aphra is drinking at a bar, she’s approached by Detta Yao, a graduate student at the University. Yao tells her about the Rings of Vaale, which grant the wearer eternal life and fortune. Aphra joins the quest for these rare items, and chaos ensues.

For the first issue, this comic blew me away. Doctor Aphra is an intriguing character as she’s not necessarily good, but she’s not completely evil either. Her team consists of Lucky (her sniper), Black Krrsantan (a Wookie with a facial scar), Detta, Doctor Eustacia Okka (another archeologist), and robot TA418. Each character has their own personality and unique skill set.

I rated this comic five stars on Goodreads, and I aim to continue the series.

Eat And Love Yourself by Sweeney Boo

Major Content Warning: Eating Disorders.

Eat and Love Yourself is a beautifully written and illustrated story about a young woman named Mindy. She works as a barista and is dragged to go out by her best friend, Shae. After a late-night out, Mindy picks up a chocolate bar titled “Eat and Love Yourself”. As Mindy eats the chocolate, she’s transported back in time to see her past lived experiences. It shows where her body insecurities came from and how they play out today.

As stated, there’s a content warning for reading this graphic novel. This discusses in detail Mindy’s eating disorder. The graphic novel ends in an uplifting way, but proceed with caution before reading this.

Eat and Love Yourself is my favorite graphic novel I have read in 2020. I related to Mindy with her internal struggles. She’s somewhat introverted, and she loves cats. As a side note, her kitty, Jabba, is the cutest comic kitty. The artwork is captivating as it changes depending on what Mindy is experiencing. I rated Eat and Love Yourself five stars on Goodreads.

Waves by Ingrid Chabbert and Carole Maurel

Major Content Warning: Miscarriage.

Waves is a graphic novel focusing on Chabbert’s story about starting a family. This graphic novel follows a young lesbian couple as they try to get pregnant. As mentioned by the content warning, things do not go as planned, as they have a miscarriage. It shows how she copes with the loss by writing about her experience.

Waves is a graphic novel I want to re-read in a couple of years. My fiance and I discussed having kids in the future, but we aren’t ready yet. There can be a lot of shame associated with miscarriages, and the more miscarriage is discussed, we can take away the shame that’s associated.

I rated Waves five stars on Goodreads. Similar to Eat and Love Yourself, I was bawling my eyes out as it’s sad because she suffered a miscarriage, but also how she was able to use her experience to heal herself.

My comics are piling up on my nightstand, so there will be more comic reviews in the future. When ordering books or graphic novels, I highly recommend ordering from a smaller business. If you need a black-owned business to support, check out Books and Crannies. I cannot recommend them enough.