RaveComics BookcaseThe Contradictions is an attractive comic on the surface. A distinctive style reminiscent of DIY comic zines pairs perfectly with the striking liner inks of each panel. It feels fresh with a touch of funky nostalgia. But the story immediately asserts itself as more than a quick, refreshing read with the author and main character, Sophie, reminding herself to ‘not be such a tourist’ in Paris, even though she is just that ... It’s a comic about growing up just a little bit. Learning that places, as well as people, have real, inner cores beyond their shiny, attractive surfaces. Not all of them are for you, and you are not for all of them. Not so much a cautionary tale as much as a truth about your twenties, it leaves you with a sense of both distraction and fulfillment, and says that holding on too strongly to convictions that you think make you look ‘cool,’ can really get in the way of enjoying your life.
Yoshiharu Tsuge, Trans. by Ryan Holmberg
PositiveComics Bookcase... a story that may initially come across as banal, with its indelicate and sometimes vulgar abandonment of excitement in favor of everyday happenings and disappointments, but quickly reveals itself as eerily relatable in its most base, unglamorous truths about being an artist ... the bare depressing but relatable tale of the stone seller is sure to guide readers through the worlds of suiseki, (the art of appreciation of single stones,) bonseki, (the art of appreciation of multiple rocks,) and jōhatsu, (the act of disappearing.) Part stylized cautionary tale, part exploration into the mind of a lost soul, it will leave readers examining their own passions and place in life.
