Paper Girls, Vol. 1

Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such a great first book! I love the art and colors, and the story so far is twisty and intriguing. It appears to be time-travel related, but I still have so many questions!

I'm curious what the "Grand Father" means by generational conflict. There appear to be two sides, an older more established group (with flying monsters and machines that make you relive your life) and a teenage scavenger renegade group.

I'm still not sure what happened in the girls' town that caused the old-timers to zap up all the inhabitants and put them in stasis pods. Also, what is this "Calamity" the boys spoke of?

I liked the explanation of time travel, but I wonder what happened with the exploding space ship - how did it happen to send the girls (just 3 of them?) to a different time? And what does that mean? What does it mean that future Erin is there?

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Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine

Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!

Definitely a book for our times. Yes, this is an extreme view of our possible future, but when our supposed president degrades and abuses women with no consequences, and women rise in reaction to those abuses, it's not hard to see it getting to this point.

I'm ending this book being just very sad. I can't believe Meiko is dead. There was a tiny glimmer of hope, and it just feels so unfair that these smart, courageous women keep getting slapped down and taken out, though I can't believe I am still shocked by that at this point. Nothing is fair in this world.

Obviously Kam's main goal is finding her sister. That seems to be her main motivation on going to BP. But what is she willing to put up with in order to reach that goal? What more is she willing to risk? I can imagine that Meiko's death will be devastating to her - will she continue to push on with her Megaton team? At what cost?

I loved getting to know more about Penny Rolle. Despite her rough childhood, she great into an amazingly confident woman. I loved the part where they showed her an image of her ideal self, and she wasn't changed at all. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And I ain't broke." If only we could all be so confident in ourselves!

The most frustrating people in this society are the women who just go along with their own marginalization. The teacher at Penny's school who continually punished her and insisted on calling her grandmother Mrs. Chester Alexander. The girls in Penny's shop who eat 15 calories at a time and measure their defecation. The young new wife in issue 1 who doesn't care that her predecessor was murdered to make room for her. And worst of all, Miss Whitney. Who actively instigates and organizes the death and humiliation of thousands of women. I truly don't understand her motivation.

Looking to the future, I'm also afraid to hope. I want Kam to keep fighting back, but who is going to be killed next? I'm curious to know who the Fathers are and how they got so much power (and why do they keep it). Will Kam find her sister? What will Meiko's father think when he arrives? Will they tell him about her death? So many questions.

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