Cursed Pirate Girl by Jeremy A. Bastian

This graphic novel stars a one-eyed young woman who has adventures while searching for her lost father, a not uncommon kid plot. The cover copy says that the story will “captivate adults and children alike.” It does indeed have a young protagonist and contains nothing objectionable for kids. But it is a complicated story, with lots of big words and deep meaning hidden in intricate drawings. Also, the author did his own lettering, in a lovely cursive script that only an advanced reader will be able to parse easily. It probably needs at least adult supervision.

The book is filled with interesting and unexpected characters. There is adventure. There are many varieties of pirates. There is a girl swashbuckling hero. The backgrounds, studied carefully, reveal all sorts of extra seafaring weirdness. The overall effect is a sort of nautical Alice in Wonderland, mixed with the zany pirate craziness of One Piece. It is incredibly inventive, seriously silly, a bit scary, and tons of fun.

Octopus by Richard Fairgray

This one is definitely not for kids. Though there is very little graphic sex, there is mention of multiple sexual relationships, past and present, woven through every page of the story. The book is a memoir of the author’s relationships with older men, looking back on the “messy and uncomfortable memories” of decades. It is a series of stories of encounters with aging men who once might have been the author’s lovers, but who always meant more than that to him.

Richard Fairgray promises to “make your bookshelf gayer, but not necessarily nicer.” Octopus is not the kind of gay memoir where awakening leads eventually to self-acceptance. It is gritty and raw, and full of angst and a fair amount of self loathing. It has the brutally honest sexuality of Robert Crumb and the introspective storytelling in graphic form of Will Eisner. But, well, lots gayer.

The stories look back with regret on relationships of caring that were lost partly because they were overlaid with relationships of need. And yet there is a haunting beauty to the stories. There is a sense of time wasted on unimportant things. It is a memoir written by a gay man who has learned that sex is a need that sometimes can be fulfilled by a friend, but that, ultimately, the friendship is much more important.