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Mammoth Australia Trip Reviews Post
Jul. 2nd, 2026 08:40 pmI am most of the way through a 12-day trip to Australia, during which I did what ended up being a 48-hr comics reading challenge, so I have a lot of reviews to post!
The Tea Dragon Society by K O'Neill:
Adorable, pleasingly diverse, emotive, heartfelt. My only complaint is that it was too short - definitely want to read the other two.
Cosmoknights Vol 1 by Hannah Templer:
Love the dedication - "To Found Family"
Pretty cool - liked the characters and the 'anti-patriarchy' theme but a big aspect of the worldbuilding doesn't make any sense and there was maybe a bit too much fighting for my taste. But I did like the intriguing setup for the next volume so will probably read more.
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell and Henry Cole:
Really well told true story about two male penguins who are devoted to each other. Beautiful.
Bingo Love by Tee Franklin:
Love a fat bisexual female protagonist, especially in a visual medium.
Very sad but also very sweet - perhaps a bit rushed and mostly told in summary, but lots of interesting stuff about historical attitudes.
Come Out Comix by Mary Wings:
This was really good. I loved the style and the interesting way the panels and text were formatted - both made the flow of the action really dynamic. Funny and sad and painful and very real.
The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught:
Very cute - I especially liked the various relationship dynamics, particularly that the female protagonist was much taller and stockier than most of the other characters. Good themes of tolerance, acceptance, protecting nature - but perhaps a bit slight overall.
My Brother's Husband by Gengoroh Tagame:
Interesting exploration of different cultural attitudes to things - especially good arc of the protagonist challenging his own prejudices and also being in a minority situation (single father). I loved how the little girl cut through all the awkwardness and asked all the questions the adults didn't feel comfortable asking. Really sweet overall and doesn't shy away from difficult topics.
Stone Fruit by Lee Lai:
I loved how messy and real this was - particularly in that it doesn't have a neat ending.
The little girl was great - and I loved the teenage sister, too.
Lots of complicated relationships and challenging of attitudes.
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang:
Cute, funny, heartfelt - some great panel reveals that had me reacting out loud.
But the modern dialogue style didn't fit with the historical setting and attitudes.
I loved it overall, though.
Mismatched by Anne Camlin:
A great adaptation of Emma - both queer and gender-flipped.
Cute and fun - has the same issues as the original, but generally well thought-out and clever.
It all went by a bit too fast, and didn't wholly work in places, but I really enjoyed it.
My Journey to Her by Yuna Hirasawa:
Really interesting nonfiction presentation of a Japanese trans woman's journey to Thailand for gender-affirming surgery.
Has a lot of the silly and melodramatic aspects of manga that I'm not that keen on - but that was an interesting counterpoint to the quite harrowing aspects of the events described.
Well told and very informative.
Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by Jadzia Axelrod:
Took me a little while to get into this, but I liked it overall.
I particularly liked the protagonist's girlfriend and the robot dog.
Galaxy: As the World Falls by Jadzia Axelrod:
It felt like I'd missed an instalment and it took me a while to catch up - but there doesn't seem to be a middle volume...
A lot of this was very fun - much more exciting and dynamic than the first one and I loved the way it ended.
I Want to Be A Wall by Honami Shirono:
Kind of sad but also very sweet.
Really interesting relationship dynamics and I loved the way the central couple developed and built a greater bond as the story went on.
A bit awkward and painful in places but also really lovely - I definitely want to read the others in the series.
Heartstopper Vol 1 by Alice Oseman:
Finally got around to reading this and so glad I did!
I do think I prefer the TV show - but only because there's more of it and more of the characters get more depth of presentation.
Very affecting and absolutely adorable.
Heartstopper Vol 2 by Alice Oseman:
Even better than volume 1.
I particularly love Nick's arc in this one, especially the scenes with his mum.
Also Charlie's sister is awesome. And the dog is very cute.
Forbidden Places by Penny Vincenzi:
This was a really entertaining read - compelling and enjoyable throughout.
It follows three women who discover their independence and purpose during the Second World War.
I was maybe a little bit disappointed in the ending, as it felt like the protagonists didn't have much agency and their situations only changed because of outside events - which seemed not particularly in keeping with the themes. But I really liked it overall.
The Tea Dragon Society by K O'Neill:
Adorable, pleasingly diverse, emotive, heartfelt. My only complaint is that it was too short - definitely want to read the other two.
Cosmoknights Vol 1 by Hannah Templer:
Love the dedication - "To Found Family"
Pretty cool - liked the characters and the 'anti-patriarchy' theme but a big aspect of the worldbuilding doesn't make any sense and there was maybe a bit too much fighting for my taste. But I did like the intriguing setup for the next volume so will probably read more.
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell and Henry Cole:
Really well told true story about two male penguins who are devoted to each other. Beautiful.
Bingo Love by Tee Franklin:
Love a fat bisexual female protagonist, especially in a visual medium.
Very sad but also very sweet - perhaps a bit rushed and mostly told in summary, but lots of interesting stuff about historical attitudes.
Come Out Comix by Mary Wings:
This was really good. I loved the style and the interesting way the panels and text were formatted - both made the flow of the action really dynamic. Funny and sad and painful and very real.
The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught:
Very cute - I especially liked the various relationship dynamics, particularly that the female protagonist was much taller and stockier than most of the other characters. Good themes of tolerance, acceptance, protecting nature - but perhaps a bit slight overall.
My Brother's Husband by Gengoroh Tagame:
Interesting exploration of different cultural attitudes to things - especially good arc of the protagonist challenging his own prejudices and also being in a minority situation (single father). I loved how the little girl cut through all the awkwardness and asked all the questions the adults didn't feel comfortable asking. Really sweet overall and doesn't shy away from difficult topics.
Stone Fruit by Lee Lai:
I loved how messy and real this was - particularly in that it doesn't have a neat ending.
The little girl was great - and I loved the teenage sister, too.
Lots of complicated relationships and challenging of attitudes.
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang:
Cute, funny, heartfelt - some great panel reveals that had me reacting out loud.
But the modern dialogue style didn't fit with the historical setting and attitudes.
I loved it overall, though.
Mismatched by Anne Camlin:
A great adaptation of Emma - both queer and gender-flipped.
Cute and fun - has the same issues as the original, but generally well thought-out and clever.
It all went by a bit too fast, and didn't wholly work in places, but I really enjoyed it.
My Journey to Her by Yuna Hirasawa:
Really interesting nonfiction presentation of a Japanese trans woman's journey to Thailand for gender-affirming surgery.
Has a lot of the silly and melodramatic aspects of manga that I'm not that keen on - but that was an interesting counterpoint to the quite harrowing aspects of the events described.
Well told and very informative.
Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by Jadzia Axelrod:
Took me a little while to get into this, but I liked it overall.
I particularly liked the protagonist's girlfriend and the robot dog.
Galaxy: As the World Falls by Jadzia Axelrod:
It felt like I'd missed an instalment and it took me a while to catch up - but there doesn't seem to be a middle volume...
A lot of this was very fun - much more exciting and dynamic than the first one and I loved the way it ended.
I Want to Be A Wall by Honami Shirono:
Kind of sad but also very sweet.
Really interesting relationship dynamics and I loved the way the central couple developed and built a greater bond as the story went on.
A bit awkward and painful in places but also really lovely - I definitely want to read the others in the series.
Heartstopper Vol 1 by Alice Oseman:
Finally got around to reading this and so glad I did!
I do think I prefer the TV show - but only because there's more of it and more of the characters get more depth of presentation.
Very affecting and absolutely adorable.
Heartstopper Vol 2 by Alice Oseman:
Even better than volume 1.
I particularly love Nick's arc in this one, especially the scenes with his mum.
Also Charlie's sister is awesome. And the dog is very cute.
Forbidden Places by Penny Vincenzi:
This was a really entertaining read - compelling and enjoyable throughout.
It follows three women who discover their independence and purpose during the Second World War.
I was maybe a little bit disappointed in the ending, as it felt like the protagonists didn't have much agency and their situations only changed because of outside events - which seemed not particularly in keeping with the themes. But I really liked it overall.
