pickSharp and silly and sweet and wholesome and funny.
As with Woman World, author/illustrator seems to enjoy straddling that line between pointing out how harmful generalizations are when discussing minorities as a monolith, and then turning around and playing into stereotypes for the joke. Pointing out how ridiculous prejudice is? Does also show clear, direct examples of racism experienced.
Love bonus insight into characters' development.
pickA complicated, earnest, lovely, touching, and sometimes funny, exploration of difference in society. Touching on issues like media representation, sexualization, dating, art, employment, parenting, and more, this book feels incredibly important as our world becomes more and more divisive. I thoroughly appreciated this book and will be thinking about it for a while…
pickCyclops have assimilated into Two-Eyes society, but their daily lives are a series of microaggressions & other challenges, in addition to quotidian joys. Representation versus exploitation in consumer marketing, is one example. Using a group of characters with differing situations, this uplifting graphic novel presents a witty satire of external and internal prejudices faced by anyone who is different from the mainstream. #LGBTQ #comics
Sometimes there‘s a story we tell ourselves and sometimes a story is told about us. Some parts of our story define us. But nuance and humanity is lost in the encyclopedias.
It‘s not a good photo, but I am attempting to show the way the image of half an eye on the front and back cover wraps across the edges of the pages to form a whole. Cool design.
This book opens with entries as if it‘s an encyclopedia reference, as sly as the satirical humour that follows in the comics panels that form the main part. Example: “There were few job opportunities for Cyclopes beyond herding. Publishers turned away Cyclopean authors, while many popular Two-Eyed authors wrote stories featuring Cyclopean leads.”
pickBrilliant graphic novel/comic about the various aggressions, pressures and damage to minority communities in a xenophobic world. The minority here is the Cyclopes community, and Dhaliwal looks at bullying, mixed marriage, arts, self-loathing & surgery, and more. Provocative read and excellent illustrations. https://cannonballread.com/2021/05/cyclopedia-exotica-elcicco/
pickThis collection of graphic short stories was compulsively readable and very interesting. Dhaliwal uses the concept of Cyclops--people with one eye, as well as other physical differences--to investigate difference and marginalization. Assimilation, internalized hate, community/belonging, support from a privileged partner, exoticization, and more! As a bi woman, I cringed in recognition many times, as I think other marginalized folks would too.
Cyclopedia Exotica | 
