pickAn excellent, effective conclusion to a great series. Brubaker never ceases to amaze me. This story was good, but nothing too special until this volume. It gets absolutely bonkers, but still feels like it is exactly the way the story was meant to unfold, if that makes sense. The artists really get a chance to flex as well.
Available digitally, name your price at http://panelsyndicate.com/comics/friday
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.
so-soI 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.
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“.
