Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
A collection of culturally specific vignettes related to hair.
While reading, I thought of many friends who have expressed the fear of "white people" wanting to touch their hair. I also thought of how this book could replace other books used in classrooms as exemplars for writing narratives.
The graphics are plain and deserve coloration similar to the cover — although I get the potential for metaphorical interpretation.
While reading, I thought of many friends who have expressed the fear of "white people" wanting to touch their hair. I also thought of how this book could replace other books used in classrooms as exemplars for writing narratives.
The graphics are plain and deserve coloration similar to the cover — although I get the potential for metaphorical interpretation.
Hair is such a curious thing. Everyone does different things with this dead stuff that comes out of the top of our heads. I am a low maintenance person when it comes to my own hair. No dyes, no perms, nothing but a good cut now and again. (I am writing this during the pandemic and so no haircuts right now.) I never asked another person if I could touch his/her hair. Why would I do that?
I won’t lie and say I was never curious about the difference between my hair and the hair of my African American friends. However, I never really acted on my curiosity until now. Hot Comb helped to answer some of my questions. I was saddened by the story of her sister who continually pulls out her own hair. White supremacy has a lot to answer for.
I am very glad that I read this book. The stories were fascinating, the art and the wording was interesting, and I learned a great deal. Learning is one of the main reasons I read, and Flowers gave me a lot to mull over. I think the fact that this is a graphic novel increased its power. Pictures are definitely worth a lot of words.
I won’t lie and say I was never curious about the difference between my hair and the hair of my African American friends. However, I never really acted on my curiosity until now. Hot Comb helped to answer some of my questions. I was saddened by the story of her sister who continually pulls out her own hair. White supremacy has a lot to answer for.
I am very glad that I read this book. The stories were fascinating, the art and the wording was interesting, and I learned a great deal. Learning is one of the main reasons I read, and Flowers gave me a lot to mull over. I think the fact that this is a graphic novel increased its power. Pictures are definitely worth a lot of words.
Hot Comb is a series of short stories collected in book form that center Black girls and women that all ultimately use hair was entry points to give social commentary on how the culture of hair shapes our lives. Each story lends an ear to so many relatable moments yet keeps the focus on women and the world that they live using a lens of Blackness. There everything under the sun: celebrations, coming of age stories, sad reflections, and instances of adulthood awkwardness collected here.
From moments of a little Black girl putting on her grand mama’s wig and dancing it out to oldies to men insisting that they love Black women but use their hair as baselines for a joke, there’s a lot to read, love, roll your eyes over and process. What’s not absent is the thread of recognizing how trauma and emotional labor weave themselves in several stories that ring true.
I was stoked when looking at the art as it carried a heavy Lynda Barry influence, so the book itself as a whole carried me back to my childhood in more ways than one. Her wonderful and weird stories paired with art that some other kids didn’t find beautiful but I personally loved–filled a storytelling niche in me I didn’t know existed that I needed. It is at the end of the book in the acknowledgments that I discover that Barry is mentioned, and I later learn that she taught Flowers–back in 2012 in a “What It Is, Shifting the Manual Image” class that proved to be transformative. Flowers mentions that the class itself and Barry’s role as mentor influenced much of her work that was to come including that as a Ph.D. student, and an educator..
Hot Comb is several things all at once: book with enough childhood stories to possibly be considered coming of age, a collection of short stories, a graphic novel, a memoir, a debut book, an ode to Black hair and the women it belongs to. The book ends on a joyful note, of a small group of Black women caught in a moment of playfulness, of friends enjoying the company of each other and being away from the pressures of a world that can make them feel small at times. I love that the stories that take from inside the beauty shop/parlor for the first time to moments on the subway when Non-Black women invade your space and demand answers about your hair and what you cover it with.
Read the rest of my review here: https://blacknerdproblems.com/hot-comb-review/
From moments of a little Black girl putting on her grand mama’s wig and dancing it out to oldies to men insisting that they love Black women but use their hair as baselines for a joke, there’s a lot to read, love, roll your eyes over and process. What’s not absent is the thread of recognizing how trauma and emotional labor weave themselves in several stories that ring true.
I was stoked when looking at the art as it carried a heavy Lynda Barry influence, so the book itself as a whole carried me back to my childhood in more ways than one. Her wonderful and weird stories paired with art that some other kids didn’t find beautiful but I personally loved–filled a storytelling niche in me I didn’t know existed that I needed. It is at the end of the book in the acknowledgments that I discover that Barry is mentioned, and I later learn that she taught Flowers–back in 2012 in a “What It Is, Shifting the Manual Image” class that proved to be transformative. Flowers mentions that the class itself and Barry’s role as mentor influenced much of her work that was to come including that as a Ph.D. student, and an educator..
Hot Comb is several things all at once: book with enough childhood stories to possibly be considered coming of age, a collection of short stories, a graphic novel, a memoir, a debut book, an ode to Black hair and the women it belongs to. The book ends on a joyful note, of a small group of Black women caught in a moment of playfulness, of friends enjoying the company of each other and being away from the pressures of a world that can make them feel small at times. I love that the stories that take from inside the beauty shop/parlor for the first time to moments on the subway when Non-Black women invade your space and demand answers about your hair and what you cover it with.
Read the rest of my review here: https://blacknerdproblems.com/hot-comb-review/
emotional
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
I always have trouble rating short story collections because there’s always some stories I like more or less than others. “My Lil Sister Lena” is haunting and will stick with me for a long time ... to me it’s the standout of the bunch.
I guess I’m just not that into comics. I don’t find the storytelling as compelling because usually the author is preoccupied with the art.
I did find the subject matter of HOT COMB (hair, relationships with mothers, aunties, and grandmas) to be so important and relatable for Black women. I swear I have PTSD from getting relaxers as a child and it was very affirming to see my experience reflected in that first story.
I mostly wish there was a bit more to each part. I wanted to know more about the characters; I felt like every vignette was merely a teaser for stories that could have far more depth but I guess that’s my whole issue with comics.
I did find the subject matter of HOT COMB (hair, relationships with mothers, aunties, and grandmas) to be so important and relatable for Black women. I swear I have PTSD from getting relaxers as a child and it was very affirming to see my experience reflected in that first story.
I mostly wish there was a bit more to each part. I wanted to know more about the characters; I felt like every vignette was merely a teaser for stories that could have far more depth but I guess that’s my whole issue with comics.