A review by blinkfraid
Buzz! by Ananth Hirsh
3.0
I was both excited and reluctant to pick up this graphic novel--not because of the subject matter or the author, but because of the artist. It took me many years to stop being sore about Tess abandoning "Hanna is Not a Boys Name." I'm sure she had her reasons unseen, but she was a big influence in me continuing reading webcomics and continuing my own art. This book was the first bit I'd heard or seen of her in years and it sat on my shelf for just as long till I finally finished it in one sitting.
And I can say that it's definitely redeeming.
I saw it as a fun, nerdy story that I kind of saw the ending happening before I got there, but I did NOT expect it to be about literal word wars. The story will make any word nerd tingle a bit on the inside. Though I will say at some point it gets visually hard to follow at times, but it's for dramatic effect. I think my ONLY issue with the story is the very quick push out of backstory per character. One of the characters unraveled a bit too strangely and I think I might need another read through to figure out what their full story is. I think all the choppiness at the end and the quick exposition was trying to stuff everything into one book and maybe too few pages. I still recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the underdog story.
And I can say that it's definitely redeeming.
I saw it as a fun, nerdy story that I kind of saw the ending happening before I got there, but I did NOT expect it to be about literal word wars. The story will make any word nerd tingle a bit on the inside. Though I will say at some point it gets visually hard to follow at times, but it's for dramatic effect. I think my ONLY issue with the story is the very quick push out of backstory per character. One of the characters unraveled a bit too strangely and I think I might need another read through to figure out what their full story is. I think all the choppiness at the end and the quick exposition was trying to stuff everything into one book and maybe too few pages. I still recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the underdog story.