In any case, reviewers are still loving the book. Here's my summary of another half-dozen reviews, mostly by women:
- "Thematically it touches on life and death, seeing what’s really in front of you, and how choices shape your life. ... a graphic a novel with as much thought and story as a standard novel. Bravo!" (In the comments section, she adds: "It made me cry. Derek Kirk Kim is an amazing story teller. He really gets the whole writing for comics thing.")
http://mango-firefly.livejournal.com/13821.html - "...a fresh, entertaining and engaging tale of true friendship, love, and valuing one self as much as the people in your life do. Absolutely delightful and highly recommended."
http://dawnoftheread.livejournal.com/17012.html - "My advanced copy of this graphic novel says that I shouldn’t quote or review this without comparing it to the final version of the book…but I must say one thing. This Rocks! :)"
http://www.allconsuming.net/entry/view/49008 - "DC's Minx line continues to come on strong with Derek Kirk Kim's Good As Lily... a fairly complex little story about the things people want in life, how they change, and all the little key points where a life can start unraveling… [grade] A"
http://mobile.avclub.com/content/node/64696 - "If you are in the mood for a fun read that ends up being a little meatier than you might expect, GOOD AS LILY will be mighty good, indeed."
http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/1401213812.asp - "I absolutely loved this book. ... The momentum of the story carries it to a
conclusion that's satisfying without ever being pat or cloying. This fantastic done-in-one tale is easily one of the most heartwarming and enjoyable releases so far this year." And about my work specifically: "...[Hamm] turns out to be a very solid collaborator. ... Hamm's art does a stellar job using facial expressions and body language to communicate the subtle personality traits that Kim's script demands."
http://www.playbackstl.com/content/view/6484/167/ - Also, KTVU (the TV channel I relied on for cartoons as a youngster) ran a short interview with Derek which can be viewed here. Toward the end is a nice flip-through of the pages of GOOD AS LILY.
And lastly, a few mentions that made me chuckle:
- One blogger reports that "The cover is unimpressive, but it's written by Derek Kirk Kim, who I've heard amazing things about." (The [quite impressive] cover was drawn by Derek.)
- Another site touting itself as "The Portal for Quality Comics Coverage" refers to me as "Jesse Harm."
- This site neglects to mention me at all, refers to writer Derek Kirk Kim as "Kim Drek Kirk," and charges $11.99 for a book that retails everywhere else for $9.99.
(I may catch flack for chiding sites that give my book free press, but hey...)