e_k_braveman | Monthly Media Roundup

Decided to start a monthly thing where I look back at what I read/watched/etc. over the past month. Mostly for myself and to keep track of that stuff, bc I tend to forget. But also to get myself to post here more often lol.

Books

Finally finished SVSSS vol.1! I only had the last chapter so I didn't count it on the book bingo even tho it was eligible for one of the squares. Still, I'm glad I did. Relatedly, I also started SVSSS vol.2 and am currently 42 pages in. I actually read ahead on that one a little, because I was so excited for the BingQiu angst, but not suuuuper far. I did look through all the illustrations though, cause I love 'em.

I also finished I'm Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya. I left a review on Storygraph that goes deeper into my thoughts but TL;DR very moving, does some cool things with POV, unfortunately undercooked theorizing, but also talks about things in a way I haven't seen anyone else talk about in that way, 4.25 stars. Good stuff!

Started reading Wanted: Brooding Man, Tragic Past by Lydia Foxglove. I mentioned this on my book bingo post (I think?) but I picked this up because of the romance square on that and because the author made a youtube video about it that piqued my interest. It's fun so far and it has some interesting worldbuilding. Didn't get super far into it, only 35 pages, but that's just how my brain is.

Corporatism and comparative politics: the other great "ism" by Howard J. Wiarda. It's a non-fiction (academic?) book on what I think is a pretty obscure topic? I started reading it a while ago out of curiosity about modern political systems outside of capitalism and communism (so, like, not feudalism or anything, cause that's pre-modern in this layman's definition I'm using lol). I feel like I haven't quite gotten to the meat of the topic yet, especially cause I'm not that far into it.

Torture and Dignity: An Essay on Moral Injury by J.M. Bernstein. Another non-fiction book which talks about, well, torture and its effects on people. The central thesis is actually about systems of morality and arguing against, like, Kant and shit but I have zero clue about that lol. I just saw it recommended as a book that does the topic of torture justice and as someone who does intend to write about it in fiction, but doesn't want to perpetuate harmful views about its victims, I was interested. I only skimmed a bit bc by the time I got to it my brain was fried from reading academic texts in compsci for my thesis, but from what I saw, it's engagingly written!

Relatedly, the prev book mentions an Austrian-born author by the name of Jean Améry, who wrote about his experience being tortured in a concentration camp. He wrote in German so I decided to seek out his writing in the original language, since I can read it after all. The library I went to didn't have the part J.M. Bernstein quotes, but they did have a biography by Irene Heidelberger-Leonard, so I picked that up. Might go to a different library this month for the specific texts, though.

Comics

I decided to try binging through Namesake by Megan Lavey-Heaton and Isabelle Melançon after telling myself to do it for years, only to find out Melançon was involved in the Hiveworks debacle. Probably soured the comic as a whole for me, but tbh I did find it kinda mid anyway? Probably it felt very fresh at the time, but in the big year of 2026 the stuff it does has been done a bunch of times (stories about stories, trippy mysteries with identity-related plot twists, what if the faity tale bad guy was good actually, etc.). It doesn't help that we spend a large chunk in the beginning getting to know the characters of Oz, only to then shift to the real world where they're barely present or relevant, for a while at least. And tbh I don't find any of the Calliope or Ripper characters as charming or interesting as the Oz ones. So, I probably will never finish the comic. Oh well.

I tried getting into Blue Exorcist but the website I was reading it on kept glitching and annoying me so I didn't get far lol.

Still keeping up with various currently running webcomics: Leif & Thorn (RIP daily updates), Gunnerkrigg Court, What Happens Next, Hello from Halo Head, Bittersweet Candy Bowl and Queens which I only found out about because it's by a BCB fan :D

Movies

Donnie Darko - already made a post about it here, but TLDR it reminded me of David Lynch in the best ways and I'm also convinced it inspired the German Netflix series Dark.

Iron Lung - Yes, the Markiplier movie. I went very last minute because Dan & Phil mentioned it on Phil's birthday stream yesterday, I saw they were showing it somewhere realtviely close by and I decided to go. Was definitely worth it! I even made a letterboxd account just so I could review it. TLDR: very emotionally effective, especially at the end, but had a weak start and cinematography choices I found boring, but also I liked how the characters were all various shades of assholes.

Particularly outstanding youtube videos

What getting shot feels like by Genus on youtube. I drafted a whole post about it in Obsidian, but didn't actually get around to posting it. But idk I just found it profound in a way I still struggle to articulate. Genus is a very good storyteller and visual artist, so he conveys the experience in a truly evocative way.

Magentically hovering guitar strings by Mattias Krantz. Way more lighthearted that the previous thing, but like. Look at that shit man. Is that not the coolest shit ever?