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3 Works 56 Members 6 Reviews

Works by Sara Soler

Voices That Count: A Comics Anthology by Women (2021) — Illustrator — 21 copies
Us (2021) 19 copies
Season of the Bruja (2023) — Illustrator — 16 copies

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Common Knowledge

Gender
female

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Reviews

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start with the positives:
I really loved the art. It’s beautiful, especially the magic.
I definitely enjoyed the different cultural background from your classic fantasy stories.
There are these funny and quirky moments and a lot of warm ones too.

Now what I didn't enjoy as much was the story itself. Why? Because despite the different cultural wrapping, it didn't seem that original. The villains were kind of cliché. Same with the dialogue. Can't help but feel like it's a story I read already, just in different setting. Also, sometimes the flow of the panels made it bit hard to follow. Especially during the fights.

There was quite a bit of Spanish. Might be more friendly to lessen it a bit or add some kind of dictionary or small notes on page. It didn't really bother me as I could get the gist of it thanks to knowing Portuguese. I am all for adding another language but I don’t think it should force reader to pull out dictionary.

Now the important thing is: Did I enjoy it? Yes, I did and I would be interested to continue. It is after all just first volume and there can be lot of improvement going forward.
… (more)
 
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Levitara | 2 other reviews | Apr 5, 2024 |
Pocos comics de 135 me han hecho emocionarme y reir tanto como este. Te deja el corazón calentito aún con las cosas malas que puede llegar a contar. Genialerrimo.
 
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Cabask | Mar 27, 2024 |
Another mixed-bag anthology. There are a couple gems, but the rest is pretty meh.

Julio / Julia Otero, writer; Ada Diez, illustrator
~2 stars~

Julia Otero's chauvinist father, Julio, becomes a "self-made feminist" as he supports and respects her and her successes. Seems like the bare minimum to be a father, but I suppose some don't.

24 Hours / Lola García, writer; Agustina Guerrero, illustrator
~2 stars~

A trifle of a dream sequence that imagines a world where men are harassed and earn a fraction of the salaries of the women who take the lead role in business and government. Not as shocking as the creators intended. Wouldn't a better dream involve equality rather than role reversal and continued oppression based on gender?

The Bug / Diana López Varela, writer; Akira Pantsu, illustrator
~4 stars~

The author recounts her struggle with anorexia. Always depressing as subject matter, the art really trips it over into a manga-esque horror story.

Empowered / Estefanía Molina, writer; Ana Oncina, illustrator
~2 stars~

Giant blocks of text with a nearly academic tone caused me to zone out and totally disengage. This looks and feels more like a government pamphlet about sexism than an autobiographical account. Good points were made, but in a very boring way.

Loneliness / Eva Amaral, writer; María Hesse, illustrator
~2 stars~

This is a visual adaptation of song lyrics from the song "Soledad" by the author's band, Amaral. So it's like vague poetry with random and surreal imagery, which I consider in principal to be a waste of time.

Sexier / Leticia Dolera, writer; Raquel Riba Rossy, illustrator
~4 stars~

A television actress has all the feels when notes from the network request that she wear a push-up bra to make her character sexier.

This is a graphic adaptation by Rossy of a chapter from Dolera's original book, Morder la manzana : la revolución será feminista o no será. A full graphic novel adaptation, Morder la manzana, was subsequently published in 2022. I hope it gets translated to English sometime.

Turtle Steps / Sandra Sabatés, writer; Sandra Cardona, illustrator
~2 stars~

This story follows a family heirloom for over a century as it passes through generations of mothers leading up to the author. It skims a little too quickly through the decades and women to really allow me to engage with anyone.

Over a Banana Skirt / Almudena Grandes, writer; Sara Herranz, illustrator
~2 stars~

Ugh. So many graphic anthologies try to sneak in an illustrated text story amongst the actual comics. This one, excerpted from the author's essay, "Por una falda de plátanos," is a tribute to Josephine Baker. The author is astonished that her grandparents went to watch Baker dance topless. Big whoop.

Mzungu / Patricia Campos, writer; Sara Soler, illustrator
~3 stars~

The author was the first female jet pilot in the Spanish navy. Unfortunately, she zips past that achievement and its many challenges and spends most of this autobiographical sketch talking about her love for soccer and how she traveled to Uganda to teach soccer as a means of improving the lives of the children there. One of those stories that makes me want to know more about the subject.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: [All stories translated by Diego Jourdan Pereira]
• Cover illustration / Esther Gilli, illustrator
• Introduction / David Hernando, writer
• Julio / Julia Otero, writer; Ada Diez, illustrator
• 24 Hours / Lola García, writer; Agustina Guerrero, illustrator
• The Bug / Diana López Varela, writer; Akira Pantsu, illustrator
• Empowered / Estefanía Molina, writer; Ana Oncina, illustrator
• Loneliness / Eva Amaral, writer; María Hesse, illustrator
• Sexier / Leticia Dolera, writer; Raquel Riba Rossy, illustrator
• Turtle Steps / Sandra Sabatés, writer; Sandra Cardona, illustrator
• Over a Banana Skirt / Almudena Grandes, writer; Sara Herranz, illustrator
• Mzungu / Patricia Campos, writer; Sara Soler, illustrator
• A Few Words [author and artist commentary and biographies]
… (more)
 
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villemezbrown | 1 other review | Mar 8, 2023 |
I feel like I just accidentally watched the eleventh episode from season three of an ongoing drama that I have never watched before, and it didn't include a "previously on" recap, the English subtitles aren't working, and it turns out to be the first half of a two-part season finale, and it's the last day of the month and the whole series is leaving the streaming service at midnight so I'm just SOL.

Utterly lost and discouraged.
 
Flagged
villemezbrown | 2 other reviews | Feb 24, 2023 |

Awards

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Associated Authors

Raquel Riba Rossy Illustrator
Eva Amaral Author
Akira Pantsu Illustrator
María Hesse Illustrator
Ada Diez Illustrator
Sara Herranz Illustrator
Ana Oncina Illustrator
Agustina Guerrero Illustrator
Sandra Cardona Illustrator
Esther Gili Cover artist
David Hernando Introduction

Statistics

Works
3
Members
56
Popularity
#291,557
Rating
½ 3.6
Reviews
6
ISBNs
7
Languages
1

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