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Hollowspine

I'm Reading Comeeks

I dedicate this blog to comics in all forms, manga, autobio, superhero, art books, etc.  And of course, since I need a challenge, I've decided that I'll read and write (short) reviews for 365 comics during 2015.

The Story of Reading the Story of My Tits

The Story of My Tits - Jennifer Hayden, Jennifer Hayden

There are women who refer to their breasts as 'the girls' and there are women who do not.  I am firmly in the latter category.  In fact, the only time I spend thinking about boobs is how annoying it is to have them and how useless (to me) they are.  Which isn't too often, since luckily enough I've stayed pretty much in the category Hayden was so eager to leave.  Flat chested for Life!  

 

The story of my tits is the memoir of a woman.  Someone who sees herself clearly in entrenched in femininity, she describes her life, at first not worrying about marriage, but once all of her friends/family start 'tying the knot' she becomes obsessed with...encouraging her boyfriend of seven years to get on one knee and propose to her.  She does offer to do the proposing herself, which is nice, but is kind of more a threat than an actual proposal.  

 

I wasn't a huge fan of the overly cliched portrayal of Hayden's fictionalized self and family members.  She hungers for a big chest, a marriage proposal and babies.  After marriage she starts putting flowers around the house and growing her short hair out.  Her husband calls her 'the old ball and chain.'

 

Each section of the graphic novel has a tit referencing title.  From "No tits" to "Sick tits" to "Mommy tits" I have to admit I grew a little tired of tits.  I also don't understand why Hayden didn't write a straight graphic memoir instead of a slightly fictionalized graphic memoir.  Especially when she points to her influences like Clumsy by Jeffrey Brown.  

 

I'm left feeling a little bit confused about what to feel.  On one hand I enjoyed reading about Hayden's insights and feelings surrounding her mother and mother in law's fights with cancer, I could understand that fear and uncertainty and desire for escape and just asking, why why why.  However, at the same time I was irritated by Hayden's judgement of those outside her family members.  She dumps two doctors she was seeing, who were both women, in favor of a guy doctor, even though she describes one woman doctor as "comfortably manly."  Was she only comfortable putting her health in the hands of a male doctor?  Other times she just seems mean towards other women and overly judgmental and I didn't understand what that added to the graphic novel.

 

Maybe I just don't have a strong relationship with my own boobs, but I would never make boob prints, even if I knew I'd be losing them soon.  To hell with them, that's what I'd say.

 

It took me two days to get through this comic, I just couldn't identify with Hayden at all, didn't understand why she kept depicting the various women of the story as wounded deer or Jesus...I was just confused.  It got especially difficult near the end when she gets into the Eastern mysticism and goddess worship stuff.

 

Some of it is great storytelling, some of it seems like boring navel gazing.  I realize that memoirs are meant to be introspective and a bit narcissistic, but there is narcissism that serves a good story and narcissism that is dull, and this was a bit too far to the dull side for me.