Bloom

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Written by Kevin Panetta and illustrated by Savanna Ganucheau, this is a heartwarming story about finding yourself and stumbling upon love (oh, and baking. Hector, on the other hand, was almost too good to be true and I honestly think he could probably have done better than Ari. There is a fine balance between Ari’s wants and the pressures on the family as a whole; the bakery is popular but is only breaking even. This just really hit home because in that when you’re crushing on someone (no matter your/their sexuality) you’ll let them get away with SO much more than someone who is actually just a friend or has no potential. Cieszę się, że ukazane są tu nie tylko słodko-niezobowiązujące momenty, ale także ważne rozmowy, stawianie granic i trudne relacje.

The story often pauses for double-page montages, capturing moments in time wordlessly with overlapping slivers of observation.Illustrator Ganucheau's black, white, and blue art is drawn in a simple, naturalistic style with manga-adjacent expressions that suit the story. As much as Ari wants to get out of town and move to the big city, he’s stuck working in his parents’ struggling bakery. Likewise, panel after panel of Othello’s turn to violence and his enraged face obscured by shadow provide a poignant dramatic effect but seem to exacerbate prejudices inherent to both the play and medium. Beautiful artwork depicts characters coping with life's increasing responsibilities and is especially sumptuous when focusing on the yummy desserts. You can literally smell the tantalizing aroma of fresh-baked goods in the air, amplified by the sweetly lusty sideways glances Ari and Hector toss at one another.

Imagine reading and watching Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook with a queer couple, not changing anything about the story. Aw, this one wasn't for me 😭 I felt that the plot meandered, was paced strangely, and that the relationships didn't grow in understandable ways. While the first time through left me feeling “eh”, followups put me more in sync with what it was trying to do.

Hector is tall and broad-shouldered, with hair thick and wavy on the top, shaved on the sides and in back. I like it that there are few words and so much happens through the visual, not too much talk, perfect for graphic novels, even more perfect for graphic romances. Bloom is a charming and compelling look at the first summer after high school, with the angst of choice and decision looming and the blush of first love. Many scenes don't end properly, they skip from one part of the book to another without any explanation. He isn't quite sure what he wants to do now that high school is over, although he and his friends are talking about trying to make it with their band.

The relationship with Hector jumpstarts with a kiss, there felt like there was little build up or angst. Savanna Ganucheau is a comic artist living in Australia, with a BFA in film from the University of New Orleans. That is until Hector, his replacement, arrives and brings with him a calmness and a love for baking that makes Ari question his life choices. With a little bit of conflict that’s neatly tied up at the end with a beautiful happily ever after, Bloom is one of my favourite books, and definitely one of my favourite graphic novels. The artist’s use of color is especially striking: His battle scenes are ample, bloodily scarlet affairs, and Polyphemus’s cave is a stifling orange; he depicts the underworld as a colorless, mirthless void, domestic spaces in warm tans, the all-encircling sea in a light Mediterranean blue and some of the far-away islands in almost tangibly growing greens.Bloom is creating a space for stories like this to become common, and that is refreshing and exciting to see where it takes us in the future of media. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Ari went through absolutely no character development whatsoever and was horrible to all those around him.