Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Do you like Fall? Do you like snacks? Do you like being happy? Yes? Then this is the graphic novel for you.

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell, Faith Erin Hicks

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This was, without a doubt, the most enjoyable reading experience I’ve had this year. Every single page was a god-damned delight. Do I need to say more? OK. Well. This is Rainbow Rowell, so if you love her, you’re going to need to read this. It reminded me a lot of her short story “Midnights,” except that this is about best friends who love Halloween instead of Best Friends who love New Years Eve. Deja and Josie work at an amazing Pumpkin Patch (honestly, if […]

“I shall tell you where we are. We’re in Hell.”

From Hell by Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell

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I own very few graphic novels, and this one about Jack the Ripper and his crimes I’ve had for years but never read it. Someone gave it to me, but it seemed unappealing because I’ve grown tired of the serial killer who mutilates women. I can stomach it if it is more about the discovering of the murderer’s identity than the actual deeds themselves, which this book, as I understood it, was not about. To just dive into the sick psyche of such a man, […]

Ah, the sweet autumnal smell of love. (CBR11 Bingo)

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell, Faith Erin Hicks

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I was always going to love this book. If there was a book created for me, this would be it. All its missing to make it absolute perfection is a focus on the color purple. Its set in my favorite season, specifically on my personal high holy day (Halloween), featuring an adventure, some unrequited/unacknowledged love, pumpkins, snacks, and a goat on the loose. Seriously, Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks nailed this delightful story of two friends spending their last night at work together before […]

Over the edge for yonks (in the best possible way)

The Complete Far Side by Gary Larson

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I’m about to date myself with some very specific references: when I was a kid, my parents clipped their favourite Far Side cartoons out of the Sunday newspaper and scotch-taped them to the wall next to the rotary phone.  Because my Dad is a farmer of mostly cattle, he shared Gary Larson’s love of all things bovine, so there was no shortage of Far Sides to ponder while tethered to the phone line.  I recently happened on the complete three volume Far Side set in […]

I’m gonna need more musicians to write children’s stories

Stories for Ways and Means by Jeff Antebi (creator)

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From the Waxploitation label comes Stories for Ways and Means, a gorgeous collaboration of artists and musicians that feature ‘grown up’ children’s stories with the majority of the proceeds going to organisations promoting children’s literacy.  Featuring lots of musicians I like as well as others I’ve never heard of, the 29 collaborations in this book range from the whimsical to the weird, with my particular highlight (coming as no surprise to anyone who knows me) being Nick Cave’s The Lonely Giant. Other stories that also […]

Go Fund Yourself. (illustrated, bingo)

Crowded by Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, Ted Brandt

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Let’s lead with this – this is the best book I’ve reviewed for CBR11. Go buy it, it’s good. I’m breaking one of my self-imposed rules for CBR here. I am a MAJOR comic book reader. I love them. I literally have three bookshelves devoted solely to my comics after having pared the collection down to just the essentials, my local comics purveyors know my life, I once started to estimate how much I spent on the comic books I have and shut that down […]



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