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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
A great book, that starts out in typical, acerbic Jess Fink style, then takes a memorable and profound detour to some dark and thoughtful places. Fink ultimately tackles the question, "What does it truly mean to want to go back and fix the errors of our life, both large and small? Is it more about who we were, or who we are?"
Fun little read about the past and the ways you see it.
Silly, fun, escapist, horny. Fairly predictable time-travel moral. But breezily entertaining, for sure. Yay normalization of the ladies libido.
While you hear Fink's name tossed with the word "erotica," don't expect the illustrations to be particularly sexy. This is relatively self-deprecating work, with a nice dose of awkward.
A professional review I wrote after a database of "children's literature" sent me this (hence all the THIS-IS-NOT-FOR-KIDS-ESE):
What is the first thing you would do if you had a time machine? Stop yourself from doing dumb things? Make out with yourself? Revisit pleasurable moments? Jess goes immediately for the sexy parts of her past, both bad memories and good. It’s an unusual twist on the memoir genre. The fictionalized Fink interacts with her former selves freely, even transporting multiple versions of herself to various points in her timeline. The content, while not graphically explicit, is overt in its sexuality – the author is acclaimed for this kind of work and known for contributions to comic anthologies such as Erotic Comics and Smut Peddler. As such this work is best suited to libraries serving all ages or adults only. A typical page contains between four and six relatively free-floating panels containing Fink’s accessible grayscale drawings. The Fink character runs into many of the downsides of time travel into one’s own past – memories not living up to your recollection, the inability to influence a more positive outcome, and more. This is a diverting read, and a unique example of memoir storytelling, but best suited to libraries serving the public.
While you hear Fink's name tossed with the word "erotica," don't expect the illustrations to be particularly sexy. This is relatively self-deprecating work, with a nice dose of awkward.
A professional review I wrote after a database of "children's literature" sent me this (hence all the THIS-IS-NOT-FOR-KIDS-ESE):
What is the first thing you would do if you had a time machine? Stop yourself from doing dumb things? Make out with yourself? Revisit pleasurable moments? Jess goes immediately for the sexy parts of her past, both bad memories and good. It’s an unusual twist on the memoir genre. The fictionalized Fink interacts with her former selves freely, even transporting multiple versions of herself to various points in her timeline. The content, while not graphically explicit, is overt in its sexuality – the author is acclaimed for this kind of work and known for contributions to comic anthologies such as Erotic Comics and Smut Peddler. As such this work is best suited to libraries serving all ages or adults only. A typical page contains between four and six relatively free-floating panels containing Fink’s accessible grayscale drawings. The Fink character runs into many of the downsides of time travel into one’s own past – memories not living up to your recollection, the inability to influence a more positive outcome, and more. This is a diverting read, and a unique example of memoir storytelling, but best suited to libraries serving the public.
Let's separate this into two categories.
1. Digital Comics
I bought this digitally and read it on my phone. Which was a horrible idea and a horrible experience. Also, the download I bought gives you 24 hours to download 6 copies. Which is crazy. Why the hell would I need 6 copies in 24 hours? SIX? And on the flipside, it's crazy because it would have been nice to access it through a purchase code for more than 24 hours. How about we meet in the middle? Two codes, forever.
It's one of my first experiences with digital comics, and I have to say, I'm not sold. Never have I purchased a physical copy of something and then had restrictions placed on where I could read it and how. It's not like you buy a print book and if you don't shelve it in your home within 24 hours, poof, it's gone.
That part sucked. Sucks still. But the above star rating doesn't have much to do with that because that would be unfair. That would be like someone who gets on Amazon and rates a product badly because of a shipping issue. These people exist, and they are legion, and they are real dum-dums. Legion of Dumb!
2. This Comic
A lady makes or gets a time machine. There's a time machine. And she's gonna go back in time and fix all the mistakes she made as a young'un, which mostly have to do with awkward moments of growing up.
I didn't finish the book because, like I said, I lost access to it. Is this theft? What's old web(ster)-head say? "the felonious taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it"
Huh. So in a way, Top Shelf comics kinda committed theft, did they not? Because I had personal digital property that I rightfully owned, and I was deprived!
Anyway, sorry. Back to the comic.
Here's the thing. This lady goes back in time and seems to spend a lot of time making out with herself. Future lady makes out with past lady. I don't even know what to call that sexual act. It's not the same as kissing, say, your hand for practice, but it's also not the same as kissing a completely different person.
I don't really know why she makes out with herself, and call me judgmental, but it's weird. In fact, fuck you if you think I'm being judgmental. I'm judging a sexual act that is IMPOSSIBLE to perform. You can't make out with yourself. So I'm going to go ahead and judge and say it's weird and also that it didn't make a whole lot of sense. In a world of all the people you could make out with, a world that's even larger because you can now skip along the 4th dimension, you decide to make out with YOURSELF!?
Of course, the question is, would you be curious? Would you make out with yourself? Just to see? Because it might provide some insight into your technique, or lack thereof. Maybe this would be an important educational experience.
My answer is no. Not just because it's gross. My answer is no because, if I did that, then when I made out with other people I'd just be thinking about what they were experiencing while making out with me. And the last thing I need in my head when I'm making out is, erm, ANYTHING, really. Kill the mind, use a little tongue. That's what my grandfather always said.
It's entirely possible that this book ramps up where I left off, maybe gets funnier or crazier or just generally more fun. But alas, I'll never know.
1. Digital Comics
I bought this digitally and read it on my phone. Which was a horrible idea and a horrible experience. Also, the download I bought gives you 24 hours to download 6 copies. Which is crazy. Why the hell would I need 6 copies in 24 hours? SIX? And on the flipside, it's crazy because it would have been nice to access it through a purchase code for more than 24 hours. How about we meet in the middle? Two codes, forever.
It's one of my first experiences with digital comics, and I have to say, I'm not sold. Never have I purchased a physical copy of something and then had restrictions placed on where I could read it and how. It's not like you buy a print book and if you don't shelve it in your home within 24 hours, poof, it's gone.
That part sucked. Sucks still. But the above star rating doesn't have much to do with that because that would be unfair. That would be like someone who gets on Amazon and rates a product badly because of a shipping issue. These people exist, and they are legion, and they are real dum-dums. Legion of Dumb!
2. This Comic
A lady makes or gets a time machine. There's a time machine. And she's gonna go back in time and fix all the mistakes she made as a young'un, which mostly have to do with awkward moments of growing up.
I didn't finish the book because, like I said, I lost access to it. Is this theft? What's old web(ster)-head say? "the felonious taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it"
Huh. So in a way, Top Shelf comics kinda committed theft, did they not? Because I had personal digital property that I rightfully owned, and I was deprived!
Anyway, sorry. Back to the comic.
Here's the thing. This lady goes back in time and seems to spend a lot of time making out with herself. Future lady makes out with past lady. I don't even know what to call that sexual act. It's not the same as kissing, say, your hand for practice, but it's also not the same as kissing a completely different person.
I don't really know why she makes out with herself, and call me judgmental, but it's weird. In fact, fuck you if you think I'm being judgmental. I'm judging a sexual act that is IMPOSSIBLE to perform. You can't make out with yourself. So I'm going to go ahead and judge and say it's weird and also that it didn't make a whole lot of sense. In a world of all the people you could make out with, a world that's even larger because you can now skip along the 4th dimension, you decide to make out with YOURSELF!?
Of course, the question is, would you be curious? Would you make out with yourself? Just to see? Because it might provide some insight into your technique, or lack thereof. Maybe this would be an important educational experience.
My answer is no. Not just because it's gross. My answer is no because, if I did that, then when I made out with other people I'd just be thinking about what they were experiencing while making out with me. And the last thing I need in my head when I'm making out is, erm, ANYTHING, really. Kill the mind, use a little tongue. That's what my grandfather always said.
It's entirely possible that this book ramps up where I left off, maybe gets funnier or crazier or just generally more fun. But alas, I'll never know.
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
super cute and funny...really made me think about what it would be like to make out with younger versions of myself ;) touches briefly on some heavy shit that I would like to know more about...Jess Fink sounds like someone I would totally want to be friends with (and make out with)
More a memoir that uses a time travel gimmick than a time travel story. Jess travels back in time at first to witness (and in some cases avert) her awkward early sexual encounters, then expands to try and fix everything wrong with her life. When that doesn't work, well, that's when our protagonist learns a lesson. Lots of humor with some quick changes in tone that disrupted the storytelling for me.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*blows whistle, throws flag on the field*
Foul.
Too h0rn1 & too miserable for my delicate sensibilities.
Nice message at the end, but still...I'd rather not watch a gal's greatest hits of shame and funnies...not when I JUST got done with The Midnight Library.
Foul.
Too h0rn1 & too miserable for my delicate sensibilities.
Nice message at the end, but still...I'd rather not watch a gal's greatest hits of shame and funnies...not when I JUST got done with The Midnight Library.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No