Elizabeth LaPensée

I hate to rate labors of love badly, but this was not well edited and very cheaply produced. Even the barcode on the back is wrong. There were maybe 1-2 good stories; many of the others were confusingly written and/or drawn and probably could have used some outside input and revisions.

I'm not rating on the art alone, to be clear---I've backed a number of kickstarter anthologies, and I can often find something to like about a story even when the art is not to my taste. This book made me realize that comics has a capacity for incoherence that surpasses any other kind of storytelling. At least you generally know what order to read books in. If dreaminess is the intent, as I think it could have been for at least one story (the one about kids playing basketball), the script still could have been edited so it wasn't in doubt.

Many of these stories could have been improved significantly by very a basic level of feedback to the artists, and I'm sad for them that they didn't get the chance to present themselves in their best light.… (more)

Illustrations expand the understanding of the 9 short stories and poems presented here. With 8 different illustrators, there is a wide variety of styles; I'll admit my favorite illustrator was Elizabeth LaPensee.
The stories mostly depict modern experience of Native Americans, and can be pretty raw (e.g. "Trickster Reflections") but also use humor ("Ice Tricksters") or a twist on familiar memes ("Werewolves on the Moon", "An Athabasca Story"). Despite the inherent sadness in "Mermaids", there is also a teaching and a commitment to responsibility/connection.
I'm guessing this is a book written and illustrated by Indigenous for themselves and their own community; there is little of explanatory information to help white readers understand some of the subtext or cultural references (especially "Just Another Naming Ceremony"). I'm not stating that as a lack, just saying that some readers might need to put a little more effort into a full appreciation.… (more)