Welcome to Litsy!

This was a crazy ride and no surprise from the great late Anthony Bourdain.

For the rest of the review, visit my Vlog:

https://youtube.com/shorts/zPc2Xy_FnEo?feature=share

Enjoy!

I was eager to get the next volumes, but I haven't been reading a lot in the last couple of days. I think I overdid it on reading challenges -- so it was nice to feel a bit more like tucking into this, and get a chance to read it. I have volume 4 ready as well, which is nice.

I'm veeery curious about the System in this one and if indeed it does want to use Jinwoo for something. Each progressive volume feels a bit darker...

Driving in the US and its fun roadside attractions and creative billboards is abruptly displaced by the lack of friendly signs. Instead, warnings, traffic, and automatic weapons to be searched are unsettling. La Mordida's possession of goods from travelers is roadside armed robbery. Many characters lose their precious items to La Mordida's bite. The culture of the US is stripped away and replaced with that of Mexico's.

Each character is fleshed out in such tiny but special ways, shown in how they interact with each other and what necessary items are in the grocery store. Or how the narrator loves how his mother tries to relate to him by attempting to name all the characters Superman, because our narrator loves comics. Any reader is bound to find some aspect of each character in a way that they can relate to or admire in their qualities.

There are multiple life lessons sprinkled throughout Mexikid, but one that stuck out to me was this moment of kindness displayed by the father, and I took it literally as I am writing about it, just as Pedro is told to. Time and time again, Pedro's father is shown as a man with a strong and honorable reputation in hopes for providing his children with a role model.

There are bigger things than the what, learning the why gives so much more context and knowledge to the story of everything. This is one of the parts that I thought was a great life lesson to take away, that most people (including me) don‘t think about all the time. Teaching students this in the classroom and setting the stage with this in mind from the get go will build a strong classroom environment.

I did not think would like this since it‘s a graphic novel, they are not my favorite read, but I enjoyed the book for what it was worth. The funny moments, familial aspect, showing history, and bringing attention to more political aspects all brought the book together and made it a fun, easy, and fast read.

Reading “Mexikid“ right after reading other graphic novels like “Baddawi“ and “Zahra‘s Paradise“ for another class really made me think about how different stories use visuals to explore identity and history. Unlike the heavier political themes in those books, “Mexikid“ feels more personal, but still carries a lot of emotional weight. It reminded me how graphic novels can capture these family and cultural experiences in a completely unique way.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I don‘t remember the last time I had my heart squeezed this hard.
Graphic novels are such a beautiful medium, & this was expertly done.

Comics in the Classroom

Just wrapped a postcolonial lit class focused on comics, and I‘m more convinced than ever that comics have a powerful place in the classroom. They can be used to explore complex ideas like identity, culture, and resistance in an accessible way. Especially for postcolonial stories, the visual form gives voice to perspectives that are often marginalized. Some books I'd recommend reading are “Baddawi“ or “Guantanmo Kid“.