Archival Quality - BookWyrm

Paperback, 280 pages

Published March 6, 2018 by Oni Press.

ISBN:: 978-1-62010-470-5

(2 reviews)

Weir and Steenz have crafted a freshly-textured ghost story for the new millennium. It's a grand mystery, a pointed critique, and a celebration of individual resilience all wrapped up with a perfectly charming dose of the macabre.'--Daniel F. Yezbick. (Back cover) The Logan Museum is a mysterious old building practically covered in skulls, and also the new workplace of Celeste "Cel" Walden, a librarian who was let go from her previous job after a mental breakdown. But Cel is desperate to feel useful, and Abayomi Abiola, the Logan Museum's chief curator, is desperate to hire an archivist. Cel soon realizes the job is unlike any other she's had. There's an apartment onsite she's required to live in, she only works in the middle of the night, and she definitely gets the impression that there's more to the museum than Abayomi and her new boss, Holly Park, are letting on. And …

Weir and Steenz have crafted a freshly-textured ghost story for the new millennium. It's a grand mystery, a pointed critique, and a celebration of individual resilience all wrapped up with a perfectly charming dose of the macabre.'--Daniel F. Yezbick. (Back cover) The Logan Museum is a mysterious old building practically covered in skulls, and also the new workplace of Celeste "Cel" Walden, a librarian who was let go from her previous job after a mental breakdown. But Cel is desperate to feel useful, and Abayomi Abiola, the Logan Museum's chief curator, is desperate to hire an archivist. Cel soon realizes the job is unlike any other she's had. There's an apartment onsite she's required to live in, she only works in the middle of the night, and she definitely gets the impression that there's more to the museum than Abayomi and her new boss, Holly Park, are letting on. And then strange things start happening. Odd noises. Objects moving. Vivid, terrifying dreams of a young woman Cel's never met, but feels strangely drawn to. A woman who for some reason needs Cel's help. As Cel attempts to learn more about the woman, she begins losing time, misplacing things, passing out--there's no denying the job is becoming dangerous, but she can't let go of the woman in her dreams. Who is she? Why is she so fixated on Cel? And does Cel have the power to save her when she's still trying to save herself?

1 edition

Anne reviewed Archival Quality by Ivy Noelle Weir

Review of 'Archival Quality' on 'GoodReads'

2 stars

This book kind of fell flat for me. Positives first: diverse characters (in terms of race and sexual orientation), dealing with mental health issues, a female lead (who's also a librarian), a ghost story, and an old mental health institution.

Negatives: First, the way the characters interact with each other feels "off." In other words, the actions they take throughout make sense, but they act in ways that are kind of cliched and don't seem totally realistic (Abayomi being totally unwilling to discuss the board and living in fear of them, how Cel acted with her depression, and Kyle's actions in trying to convince her to seek help). Second was the treatment of Cel and her mental health issues. It was realistic, but also seemed a little oversimplified. True, even after she seeks therapy it's not like she's instantly better, but it's also not as simple as freaking out at …

This book kind of fell flat for me. Positives first: diverse characters (in terms of race and sexual orientation), dealing with mental health issues, a female lead (who's also a librarian), a ghost story, and an old mental health institution.

Negatives: First, the way the characters interact with each other feels "off." In other words, the actions they take throughout make sense, but they act in ways that are kind of cliched and don't seem totally realistic (Abayomi being totally unwilling to discuss the board and living in fear of them, how Cel acted with her depression, and Kyle's actions in trying to convince her to seek help). Second was the treatment of Cel and her mental health issues. It was realistic, but also seemed a little oversimplified. True, even after she seeks therapy it's not like she's instantly better, but it's also not as simple as freaking out at work and losing your job over it and then being totally able to find a new job right away. Third, the ghost story. Too many hints early on with not much to go on, and then when we do figure out what's going on, the conclusion comes very quickly and it seems too easy of a fix. Also, perhaps too many parallels to Cel's own experiences—not necessarily a bad thing, but again, too convenient here. Fourth, whatever happens to the doctor who mysteriously disappeared the year before? Fifth, why does Cel have to work at night? It's never explained why she can't work during the day like her coworkers.

To sum up, the idea is cool and I really enjoy the artwork, but it didn't quite work for me.

meeg reviewed Archival Quality by Ivy Noelle Weir

Review of 'Archival Quality' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I finished this book in a day- the plot was gripping, I really loved the illustration style, and I'm pretty interested into looking into medical museums/ libraries too. Also, I can totally relate to the struggle of the protagonist wanting to work in a library but not having a degree. Those feels are real.

However, I have a pretty big gripe with the depiction of Cel's relationship with her boyfriend, Kyle. Mental illness is a main theme in the plot of this graphic novel, and Weir certainly doesn't shy away from highlighting the really hard parts of struggling with mental health when it's your own brain and your partner's brain. Certain parts of the novel felt "praise-y" when Cel made some unhealthy decisions, and I felt as though characters who wanted to help her and had the right advice were portrayed as bad or …

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I finished this book in a day- the plot was gripping, I really loved the illustration style, and I'm pretty interested into looking into medical museums/ libraries too. Also, I can totally relate to the struggle of the protagonist wanting to work in a library but not having a degree. Those feels are real.

However, I have a pretty big gripe with the depiction of Cel's relationship with her boyfriend, Kyle. Mental illness is a main theme in the plot of this graphic novel, and Weir certainly doesn't shy away from highlighting the really hard parts of struggling with mental health when it's your own brain and your partner's brain. Certain parts of the novel felt "praise-y" when Cel made some unhealthy decisions, and I felt as though characters who wanted to help her and had the right advice were portrayed as bad or controlling. I don't want to give anything away from the story, but there were just a few parts that rubbed me wrong and felt like toxic Tumblr advice on mental health/ self care, and not real-word, "I'm concerned for your health and want to help you" care.

I think as long as anyone who picks this for a book club/ comic group focuses on some of the flaws in the self care/ mental health care aspects of this graphic novel, it could be a really great learning and discussion opportunity.