#Norwegian graphic novels

[anewgayeveryday]

Today's LGBT+ Character is;

Gunnhild from Ragnarok by Odin Helgheim-Bisexual and Polyamorous

Requested by Anon (You didn't specify but you usually ask for anon so)

Status: Alive

[thefuneralbook]

GACK/1:23:58

[godteri-takk]

Hi, fun to meet meet another Norwegian here 😀. So I thought of something... In the notes of that comic asked me "what is wrong with Scandinavia"... I've also seen many Americans talking about wanting to cancel Spain over their history... Which is honestly unfair. Yes Scandinavia, Spain, Japan, and wherever has much terrible history, but so does USA, let's look forward and at good people rather than judging everyone..! Anyway, so I have an idea but no matter what I do, I'm terrible at sharing it, so maybe you have more luck.

So due to their survey, Seven Seas Entertainment published (look at the second slide Shimanami Tasogare. And late last year they started accepting stories from all over the seven seas rather than just Japan. So what if..! We tell friends and family, and somehow make a viral post (maybe blazing it? But I have no idea how to make people interested in actually reading it...) where we suggest people fill the likes of Nordlys📒, Phenomena📔, Ragnarok📒, Krypto📒, Dragens Øye📒, Arkin📒, Underbyen📒, Oppfinneren📒, Mia Myhr og barna som forsvant 📒, Mørkalven📒, etc (Both Snøkattprinsen and Ravneringene have been licensed in English already if you are wondering why they aren't included). And from other countries such as Royalty Witches📔📒, Asynja📔, MiniMonsters📒, Phantomland📒, Dinokid📒, Nidur📒, Leyendas de Parva Terra📒, Incanto📔, Strawberry Moon📔📒, Cronache del Regno della Fantasía 📔📒, Donde los Árboles Cantan📔, Mystical 📔, etc. Into it! Some with “[story] by [author]" others by pasting the urls..! One can also send them to the likes of Dark Horse, but they do not seem as open to suggestions... And by this, maybe we can help more creators getting out there like they deserve! It'll be amazing to give them that as a present before the year end!

(📔=novel 📒=graphic novel/comic 📔📒=hybrid)

Feel free to answer with the chat as it's a little bit difficult send links in the asks. Vi kan skrive norsk om du vil, but I'm more used to writing English online 😅. Well then..! Thanks for your time! I hope you have any ideas ^^. I unfortunately don't know how many suggestions are needed, but as a shy introvert I have a difficult time telling people... So I need help from someone extroverted to spread the word..!

Sorry if I bothered you...

Idk that much about Seven Seas but it seems cool and a good place to buy books! I filled in the form with Mystical, Phenomena, and a comic i actually own, Oppfinneren bok 1: Jakten på evighetsmaskinen! I love that book SO much and can't wait for the next in the series. Everything about it is just so good.

And no worries its no bother, i love books and I'd love for these books to get read by more people! U put a lotta work into that ask it seems, i like your engagement

[dyemelikeasunset]

would you be able to include flag country names for the dom&mor characters lineup? ty!

(i love how diverse all your art and characters are, i wish i could read thru all about your ocs and stories like browsing through a wiki in an autism way)

THANK YOU!! In fact I can do you one better and write little blurbs for everyone! Including our leading ladies too of course Under the readmore:

Mor's side

Morgan: Jamaican American Lesbian. Mor's parents came from Jamaica but she was born in the US, where she grew up with her mom in Boston before moving to NYC. Mor went to university for a BA in Graphic Design and met most of her friends there. She works from home these days. Mor doesn't really realize she's the resident Pretty Girl in her group of friends (she has bad self esteem)

Lexi: American Nonbinary Lesbian. Lex met Mor in high school when they both played on the softball team, and they both came out to each other. They've been able to stay friends all these years cause their tastes in girls are wildly different. Lexi belongs to a different group as the rest of Mor's friends since they didn't go to the same college, but they're Mor's very annoying ride-or-die

Panos: Greek Ethiopian and Bisexual. Panos met Mor through their shared degree and has been a mentor and big brother figure for her since. They help onboard her to a lot of projects, and the two of them rely on each other professionally. He never really stops talking about his wife and daughter-- it's the price everyone has to pay, since he's so reliable and understanding and helping everyone all the time

Ryan: (Sansei) Japanese American and Gay. Out of Mor's art friends, Ryan is the one who's most practical about his job. Instead, he puts his energy into being a menace in his dating life. He loves to gossip about his and Mor's very messy love lives and is convinced Morgan is just as much of a heartbreaker as he is behind her innocent facade. She has unfortunately told Ryan all her dirty laundry so he teases her relentlessly every chance he gets

Barjis: Malay Trans and Bisexual. Barjis came to the US with their boyfriend to pursue their degree and also start their transition. They have a surprisingly cute illustration style and work with Panos and Mor often. They love to talk animated movies with Morgan, and it's one of the few things that gets them to talk a lot. Very skittish and tired all the time, and has a bit of a fear of "normies"

Elsa: Norwegian Lesbian. Elsa is Mor's unwitting rival in love because they always crush on the same girls (Ryan loves to tease her about this). Elsa is currently losing (Mor: 7, Elsa: 2) but she's not bitter, just single and sad. She's currently working in web journalism even though she wants to publish her novel. Friendly and considerate, but awkward

Dom's side

Dominique: Korean/Chinese and Asexual. Dom was born in Beijing but grew up in Seoul with her mother. She started working as a model at 16 and moved to the US alone when she was 18. She's currently coming back into the modeling world after a 2 year hiatus. She's charming and good at socializing, but she doesn't really know how to make friends, which frustrates model coworkers who want to be closer to her

Farid: Afghan French and Gay. Farid became a model in his late father's footsteps, so he's often accused of being a nepo model. He's fussy and annoyed easily, but he can never refuse helping people. One of Dom's only real friends, he's a bit like a little brother to her and relies on her a lot. He has a bad habit of dating married men and acting like it doesn't matter to him (it matters. A lot.)

Maithili: Indian Canadian and Pansexual. Maithili is breezy and easy-going, but behind her dreamy facade is a very level-headed personality. She works with Dom often for body diversity shoots, but she'd really like to do more high fashion. Very flirtatious, calls Dom and Farid her "work boyfriends" all the time

Wynter: British Trans woman. Wynter started modeling a little later than her peers. She was scouted after a big transition point, so modeling has brought her a lot of euphoria. She's one of the more mature personalities in Dom's life, and looks after her and the other models a lot. She lives with her boyfriend and is hoping he'll propose soon

Evita: Argentine American and Bisexual. Evita started as a social media influencer and has been able to make her way to the runway as a petite model. Despite their nonchalant persona, they work very hard and are very passionate about their job. Her current romance hangup is how oblivious Dominique is, and she knows she needs to move on

Inessa: Russian (and no fruity business). Inessa met Dom backstage at a Fashion Week while having a breakdown that Dom helped her through, so she's been attached like an inprinted duckling ever since. The type of straight girl who is obsessed with pretty women in a platonic way, so she really wants to get to know more about Dom's cute new girlfriend

[bogkeep]

so after watching the nimona movie and rereading the nimona graphic novel i scrolled ND stevenson's nimona tag (i will not apologize to my sideblog followers for the reblogging spree. in fact you are welcome), and you know what's interesting? most of the nimona art had a couple hundred notes, more recent ones over a thousand. i think the posts have gotten a couple more since yesterday, too. it may sound like a lot, but in the scope of Popular Online Artistdom it's not super much? nate had a lot of other popular tumblr posts that really made the rounds, but nimona was a fairly well known and beloved webcomic that got adapted into a graphic novel i saw on the shelves even in norwegian bookstores. nimona ran during the golden age of tumblr. nate got invited to dashcon. nate and nimona are basically THE tumblr success story. and yet!

it's interesting to me because across social media, many people seem to think Number Of Notes = Success, but that's not reeeally the case. this is Not me saying notes are nothing - but it's not THE indicator of how good/loved/successful/monetizeable your art is. which, to me, is really heartening.

[erieautumnskies]

(This will be constantly updated!)

About Me:

My name is Claire but you can call me Eri or Echo! I go by they/them pronouns (also found in my bio). I'm an 18 year old based in the United States.

Since I was young, art and writing have played a major role in my life. Hense, it has been a passion of mine that I'm endlessly turning back to. I'm currently studying creative writing, book publishing, and graphic design online; later hoping to study art history and print production. If I could, I'd indulge in every form of art that there is. I deeply enjoy helping other indie writers and creatives alike out in their journey, from ARC reading to showcasing their small business'!

To date, my poetry has been published in nearly 50 magazines and lit journals across the globe. I plan on releasing 4+ poetry/prose chapbooks, so keep an eye out for any updates regarding them! Moreover, I'm in the process of writing a few novels in an array of genres, sneak peaks of the stories may be shone!

You can find out more about me on my Website as well as on Instagram, Pinterest, and Spotify.

Languages I know: English (native), Vietnamese, Thai, Norwegian, Irish, Japanese, Hebrew, Czech, Indonesian, Hungarian, Hindi, Finnish, Ukrainian, Italian, Icelandic, Arabic, French, Malayalam, Swahili, and Swedish.

Languages learning: ASL, Korean, Mandarin, Urdu and Spanish.

Some of my favorite things: Rainy days, any kind of tea, flowers, exploring, the night sky, sunsets/sunrises, bookstores, cozy coffeeshops, nature walks, old books, sweaters, making art, creating playlists, volunteering, and learning about other cultures!

Fun Facts: I have undiagnosed ADHD, dyslexia, am queer identifying, gender non-conforming, and practice Shintō.

Blog:

Erie Autumn Skies will center around creativity and where I find inspiration. Expect postcard-poems, letters of prose, possible short stories, translated works of original poems, artwork, and so forth! I may post book reviews and travel photos now and then, too! This will be a writeblr blog and a personal blog! I am open to tag games, asks, etc. as long as they are writing related.

I'm open to DMs and collaborations if you ever want to chat or write together! Everything is okay to reblog. However, no resharing my work outside of Tumblr without my permission. Additionally, I'm open to requests for short poems as long as the prefered theme is included in your request and credit is given wherever the poem is shared.

WIPs:

Poetry Chapbooks

Book Recs:

Fiction Novels

Colorblock Interlude

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw

The Littlest Tea Shop in Lower by J. Lofton

The Mirror Visitor Quartet by Christelle Dablos

Secrets & Stars by Alix Klingenberg

Sakura Park by Bailey Rae

And numerous others!

Pov My Pinterest Feed:

All original posts will be tagged under erieautumn! Tag games will be tagged under erieautumn tags. Asks are under erieautumn asks.

It was nice to meet you! Happy to have you along on my creative journey and hang around for as long as you'd like! 🌸

[makingqueerhistory]

Different anon, but talking of Norway and queer graphic novels, we have:

https://booksfromnorway.com/books/2050-the-eye-of-the-dragon-betrayed

Where the main character is non-binary (like the creator, @cha-c-san) and they fall in love with a buff woman who hasn't fallen in love with men before, so they are afraid she won't fall in love them (spoiler: but she does). There's also a character who is poly pan, he has both a female and a male love interest, and there's a gay couple who have a son. And there's some het couples too that aren't treated as superior nor horrible because they are het, all the couples are treated just as natural. I hope there'll be some canon a-spec people too.

I'm a repulsed aroace but none of the romances were repulsing to me personally if any other repulsed aros, aces, aroace, or traumatized think it looks interesting but are afraid it'll be too much.

https://booksfromnorway.com/books/2421-wild-paws-the-fox-farm

Is made by a trans man. I haven't read it yet as the demographic seems a little too young for me, but apparently it talks about serious topics like anxiety and the fur trade.

https://booksfromnorway.com/books/2552-valiant

Haven't read it yet either, *goes to book store, they only have it that I'm interested in, feels dumb if I just buy one thing due to social anxiety, goes to another bookstore, they have another book I'm interested in but not it, repeat*. But the author (I do not know about the artist) is bi. I don't know if this'll be presented in the books, but the main character is modelled and named after the author.

Bonus, ordinary novels:

https://www.gyldendal.no/barneboeker/9-13-aar/phenomena-1-profetiens-utvalgte/p-10003080-no/

The girl main character (the main characters are twins, a girl and a boy) is canonically (although the author didn't specify it before 2022) an aroace lesbian! The first edition of book 1 came out in 2002! The years where most of what a female character was, was dreaming about having a boyfriend! Isn't that just amazing?!

https://booksfromnorway.com/books/1634-benny-goes-berserk

Not read it yet but it's a coming of age story about a gay boy, and while the other kids are figuring out themselves, he already knows and is infuriated by this.

I don't know if there's others, but Seven Seas Entertainment has a monthly survey where you can suggest stories, if enough suggest them they'll hopefully licence it.

Thank you so much! Fun fact, my wife is Norwegian, so this list is very useful to me personally as well!

For those interested:

(All the images have links attached, so I hope that works!)

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (November 27-December 3, 2022)

Netflix released the Norwegian blockbuster Troll on Thursday. It's decent. I'm glad that original creature features can still exist, but unfortunately there's not much to set this one apart from the pack besides the novel setting and monster. Readers of this column will have no trouble predicting nearly every story beat. Props for including a cute hacker (and the wacky operation shown above... trolls hate church bells, you see).

IDW finally published Godzilla Rivals: Vs. Gigan, which was originally supposed to come out on May 25 with a different artist. I'd say it's my second-favorite of the series, after the King Ghidorah issue. The premise—the Nebulans upload fighting techniques from gamers around the world into Gigan and sic him on Seattle—was always going to be a winner, and it actually does something with its period setting. Great action, and I'm delighted the Nebulans finally came back in a big way.

The Colorado-based toy company Titanic Creations has licensed Gorgo, and they've got big plans for the Irish Godzilla. The DopePope sculpt above will be the basis for a super-articulated figure; announced alongside it were a graphic novel that follows the 1961 film and (more tentatively) an animated film! The comic is due in 2024 and will be set in the same universe's that the company's original kaiju inhabit. Now they just need a bawdy novelization of the new film to complete the Gorgo hat trick.

Student-run Studio Mujaku has a short in the works, titled Midnight the Era, which will combine tokusatsu and hand-drawn animation. Fascinating premise—in a world where nuclear weapons are replacing human-controlled kaiju as deterrents, one of Japan's kaiju decides to resist its decommissioning. The storyboards and teaser trailer look lovely too. One scary caveat, from the SciFi Japan article: "Unlike many student works, MIDNIGHT THE ERA will not be released on YouTube. Instead, it is scheduled to premiere at the Summer 2023 Comiket comic convention in Tokyo. DVDs of the film will also be sold at Studio Mujaku's booth during the convention." So this might end up being one of those kaiju shorts that'll be nigh-impossible to see in the West unless you go to G-Fest (if that).

Godziban dropped another mostly-filler episode which recaps season 1, though it does start with a short scene of Rodan teaching Radon to fly. They're really testing Wikizilla's color-coding abilities with all these segments!

Radon is also getting a Bandai Movie Monster Series figure later this month, alongside the Godziban Anguirus. Images not to scale; I'd expect Radon to be about the size of the Minilla and Little figures.

In other Godzilla toy news, Playmates VPs of Marketing John Stelzner and Pat Linden went on the Adventures in Collecting Podcast and revealed some of the company's plans for the line. Offerings next year will include Baragon (not sure which one) and a new Titan Tech figure. They'll also be making more figures of MonsterVerse kaiju from before Godzilla vs. Kong, are working on a line for the fifth MonsterVerse film, and have their sights set on Hedorah and Biollante for the classic line.

I'll close with a reminder that Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time will be playing in U.S. theaters on the 6th, 8th, and 11th. My semester also ends on the 11th, so I'm in crunch mode now, but I'm still hoping to carve out the time to see it.

[natreads]

2023 reading wrap up

I read 45 books this year, including one for work. I don't typically include those but I was working with the translation of a book and so it had technically already come out so I decided to put it on Goodreads. I have however not included it in this wrapup, so there's only 44 of them here.

Classics (8) 1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 2 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 - ⭐⭐⭐

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (reread) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin (queer, reread) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans (e, childrens) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Grey Woman by Elizabeth Gaskell (au) ⭐⭐⭐

Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion (modern) ⭐⭐⭐

The House of Hunger by Dambudzo Marechera ⭐⭐⭐

Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz (modern) ⭐⭐⭐

Teleny by Anonymous (queer) ⭐⭐⭐

Poetry (4) 1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 2 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1 - ⭐⭐⭐

Dancing in Odessa by Ilya Kaminsky (e) ⭐⭐⭐

Closer Baby Closer by Savannah Brown (e) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Carrying by Ada Limón (au/ph) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Things You May Find Hidden In My Ear by Mosab Abu Toha (e) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Romance (2) 1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1 - ⭐⭐⭐

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (au) ⭐⭐⭐

Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (reread, queer) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Non-fiction (10) 3 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 2 - ⭐⭐⭐

Letters to Camondo by Edmund De Waal ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Det är natten by Karolina Ramqvist (sv, e) ⭐⭐⭐

En bok av dagar by Patti Smith (tr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Kind of Magic by Luke Edward Hall ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Blir du ledsen om jag dör? by Nicolas Lunabba (sv) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Krigsdagböcker by Astrid Lindgren (sv) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dagbok från 20-talet by Nicolas Lunabba (sv) ⭐⭐⭐

The Forster Cavafy Letters edited by Peter Jeffreys ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Greco Disco by Luke Edward Hall ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Fantasy (1) 1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (au, ph) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Contemporary (19) 1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 8 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 9 - ⭐⭐⭐

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin (queer, au) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kärlek i Seoul by Sang Young Park (queer, tr, au) ⭐⭐⭐

Andromeda by Therese Bohman (sv) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Min Far by Annie Ernaux (tr) ⭐⭐⭐

Göra sig kvitt Eddy Bellegueule Édouard Louis (queer, tr) ⭐⭐⭐

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (au) ⭐⭐⭐

After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz (queer) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Babetta by Nina Wähä (au, sv) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Policeman by Bethan Roberts (queer) ⭐⭐⭐

Rumple Buttercup by Matthew Gray Gubler (e, childrens) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Aftonland by Therese Bohman (sv) ⭐⭐⭐

Om uträkning av omfång 1 by Solvej Balle (tr, au) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Adventures of the Seven Christmas Cards by Anthony Horowitz (au) ⭐⭐⭐

Vinternoveller by Ingvild H. Rishøi (tr) ⭐⭐⭐

Heartstopper volume 5 by Alice Oseman (queer, YA) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Stargate by Ingvild H. Rishøi (tr, au) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In the Absence of Men by Philippe Besson (queer, tr) ⭐⭐⭐

Saint Sebastian’s Abyss by Mark Haber (au) ⭐⭐⭐

Additional info and stats under the cut:

e = ebook au = audiobook ph = physical (only used when I alternated between the audiobook and the physical copy) tr = translated sv = originally in Swedish

Childrens - 2

YA - 1

Middle grade - 1

Graphic novel - 1

Modern classics - 2

Translated - 8 (Korean, English, French x3, Danish x1, Norwegian x2)

Swedish - 7

Audio - 12

E-book - 6

Rereads - 3

Queer - 8

5 stars - 7

4 stars - 18

3 stars - 19

Owned - 30 + bought 1 as e-book)

Unhauled after reading - 8

[papayas-yum]

A Review of Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Just about every time there was a woman introduced in this novel, I felt more and more disappointed. It just reminded that men view women in a different light; it's almost like women aren't even people, what with the way that these female characters were all presented/portrayed.

I didn't like the unnatural dependency that all of these women had to the protagonist. To me, Naoko, one of the lead female characters, didn't serve much of a purpose because of the fact that the majority of her storyline was still clinging to Toru (protagonist). I felt like almost no part of her was separate from the male protagonist, and in some ways, I got the feeling that she wasn't really a character, but something of an object to Toru.

Midori wasn't her own character either, because throughout the entire she was just sexualized to the point where I can't even pick out a discernable personality trait of Midori herself. Her only dialogues are about sex and her body, there's one scene where she basically begs Toru to think of her while he does jerks off. There's a scene where she tells Toru about getting naked in front of a shrine of her recently deceased father, that I thought was unnecessary (or at least, I couldn't find a purpose for it). She's not her own person; she also has an odd fixation with Toru, like Naoko; whenever I think of either her or Midori, I also have to think of Toru because I felt like they were so intertwined (and not in a good way).

Reiko, the only other relevant character, is a character I was initially interested in when reading NW, and I wish that there was more exploration to her. The one thing I didn't really like was that her SA was explained in detail, which I found kind of unnecessary. I feel like there's no good reason to graphically explain or describe SA. And she too was weirdly attached to Toru. (and the last scene she was in with Toru threw me so off guard because I didn't see the point in it).

Mieko Kawakami (author) pointed out in this interview to Murakami that women in his novels seem to be stuck into an overtly sexual role, no matter what sort of character they're supposed to be. I haven't read other Murakami books, so I can't say that much on them, but it looks like the portrayal of women isn't too different from NW. And while it's true that Naoko and Midori and Reiko each have their own internal turmoils that are mentioned in NW, but I can't help but notice that those struggles are overshadowed by their sexualization and attachment to Toru.

I guess it really sounds like I hated NW, and to some extent, I did, but I guess "disliked some aspects of it" works better. I did really like the writing, and how this was a sort of exploration of loss and grief and depression and the character's inner struggles, but I can't just overlook the way these women were written. It was so odd, and I won't lie, it grossed me out.

NOTE: I'm not good at reviewing; in fact, I'm kind of bad at it. I just wanted to talk about how I feel about books I read because it's fun lols, so take this with grain of salt (or many).

quote I liked lols: "I was always hungry for love. Just once, I wanted to know what it was like to get my fill of it—to be fed so much love I couldn't take anymore. Just once."

[outsassing-nero]

09.09.22// starting to feel better after a 3-day cold i caught because of the intense ac in korea :D i’ve done some phd research today and listened to two podcasts in norwegian afterwards - i’m also halfway through one last stop and it’s so good!

i bought this gatsby graphic novel a few days ago and i love it so much! the art fits the plot so well!

listening to: snsd, mood lamp

[lexa-el-amin]

Top 5 queer books i read in 2023

1) Cross My Heart and Never Lie (Ti kniver i hjertet) - Nora Dåsnes

this norwegian graphic novel is like a warm hug. it tells the story of a 12-year-old girl who falls in love for the first time - with another girl. the way it is told and depicted is so healing and I saw so much of myself in this story. definitely the kind of book I will read over and over again. it's heartwarming and funny and beautifully drawn. i can also recommend the second book which focuses on the lead character's friend.

2) she is the poem - June Bates

a beautiful sapphic poetry collection that made me self reflect so much. it's about love and heartbreak and coming out, about cherishing the little things in life.

3) Ich war Mann und Frau. Mein Leben als Intersexuelle - Christiane Völling

sadly, this book is only available in german. it is the autobiography of Christiane Völling, an intersex woman who - in 2011 - was the first person worldwide who successfully sued the doctor who castrated her against her will when she was younger, a non-consesual sex reassignment surgery many intersex people go through. the book is devastating, yet leaves you hopeful. once Christiane realized she's not alone and found her community, she was able to start healing.

4) Girls like Girls - Hayley Kiyoko

going in without any expectations this book really surprised me. the two main characters are complex and the plot is touching. I really loved it. and the audio book was nice too.

5) all the young men - Ruth Coker Burns

this autobiography tells the story of Ruth, a single mom, who in the 1980s and 1990s singlehandedly cared for several hundred gay men during the height of the AIDS crisis in the state of Arkansas. she helped where health workers and politicians refused to. the book is tremendously sad, but in the most beautiful and loving way it tells us about the lives of all these lovely young men who were abandoned by everyone.

[aroaceconfessions]

I've love the Norwegian book series Phenomena* since I was 12, and my favorite character is Ilke (the blue girl). She's energetic and cheerful, has frost powers, flawed, but not annoying, I'm tired so I'm not the best at describing things right now, trying my best, it's 4:03AM at the time of writing). At one point she saves a man's life, and even though she was 10 at the time and he's a grown adult, I was terrified he'd become her boyfriend because that was normalized back in 2002. The chapters went by, and they became best friends but nothing more. She never seemed interested in boys either, even if they were interested in her. The most attraction she has shown anyone was saying that she thinks women smell good.

So I asked the author by email, if Ilke by chance is an aroace lesbian. His reply was "yes, and I'm honesty surprised anyone noticed, relationships aren't her thing, that's her brother's thing (also writing something implying that he's bi/pan", I started crying tears of joy, one of my favorite characters from my childhood is representation 😭:'D

* since tumblr managed to get Shimanami Tasogare** licensed, what if we manage to get Phenomena come out in English using the survey at Seven Seas too? Put it in as Phenomena by Ruben Eliassen or the provided url due to the generic name. If you haven't decided what to put in the Graphic Novel fields, may I recommend Nordlys (no romance and the author got disgusted when someone shipped the main characters Sonja (14) and Espen (100+) remember to use the url or include the author's name as searching for just Nordlys in general will only get you nothern lights), Ragnarok (no romance, generic name alert), Arkin (generic name alert, no romance here either), and/or Oppfinneren (yet another generic title, no romance). (this I have some practice writing but not had guts to post before now 😅🥱)

* it has ace rep too! 🖤🤍💜

Thank you and take care 💕

[luzetteonthemoon]

Jeg vil gledelig annonsere at jeg jobber for tiden med en tegneserieroman som skal utgis hos Egmont, høsten 2023. Tittelen er så langt «Jenter» og historien er en nerdete og skeiv oppvekstroman, satt på ungdomsskolen på tidlig 2000 tallet. Jeg gleder meg masse til å dele mer om prosjektet og til slutt få gitt ut denne boken, som blir min første tegneserie utgivelse. At jeg har sommerfugler i magen er en underdrivelse. English: I’ve been working on a graphic novel the past six months and I can announce that it will be published next fall, with the Norwegian publiher @egmontserie . The story is a queer and nerdy themed coming of age story set in the early 2000. I’m super looking forward to share more about the project and see it published next year! #graphicnovel #comics #tegneserie #tegneserieroman #norsketegneserier #procreateart #procreate #illustratør # #norwegianillustrator #barnebokillustratør (ved Oppegård) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck_mm7QquC3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[bogkeep]

How would you describe your experience with being half Czech and half Norwegian? Really curious cus I never see alot of osmosis between nordic and slavic countries.

oh boy that's a really big question that's pretty difficult to answer! this is kind of a major part of my life and identity and not really possible to crystallize into a concise point, since it's just... my whole life :')

one part of this is just the experience of not fully belonging to one place and culture, of being caught inbetween, which is something a lot of people all over the world understand and relate to, i think. this might sound niche but i have a fondness for graphic novels about coming of age where the protagonist is is the child of immigrants and has to navigate their way through honoring their heritage and fitting in with the culture they live in at the same time. maybe this sounds dramatic for someone who belongs to two european countries that are only 2-3 days of driving apart, but that's my truth haha.

another part is the more specific differences between czechia and norway as countries and cultures with different language families, which is something i can talk about at length, for sure, but like... every place has its differences, even two towns in the same country. sometimes it's difficult to know what's a real difference between two places and what's just differing personal experiences.

some things:

- one of the most iconic christmas movie that plays in norway is Three Wishes for Cinderella, a czech made cinderella adaptation (tři oříšky pro popelku). the version that plays in norway has been dubbed over by the same voice, a method referred to as russian dubbing. this movie is so iconic and beloved they have done a remaster of it, making it crisper and more colorful, but they cannot make a better dub or the people of norway would revolt. for a while i had no idea this was such a big deal, because i would spend every christmas on czech, and for me, cinderella was just one of many fairytale movies. my grandfather would always tape the fairytale adaptations on VHS and would get me to watch them when i visited for the summer. it took me a while to get into any of them, since i vastly preferred cartoons over live action TV (i have many fond memories of czech cartoons. víla amálka, rumcajs, rákosníček, krteček, lots of classics), but i enjoyed a lot of them eventually. i think the first one i liked was one called Nebojsa, about a guy who feels no fear. my eventual favourites would become Král Sokolů (the king of falcons) and S Čerti Nejsou Žerty (give the devil his due) - the latter becoming a christmas movie For Me.

- a big difference between norway and czech, culturally, is politeness conventions. norway is very informal and introverted, more first name basis than last names - in fact, i don't know the last names of any teachers i had at school except for ones i've found on facebook. i used to spend a couple months every year of grades 1 - 5 in czechia, to go to school there and practice the language. not only was school more advanced and stricter, but i'm pretty sure i was supposed to refer to teachers as Mr or Ms Last Name and i did not know this. i apparently caused quite a ruckus in first grade, but i only have my family's word for it. i remember almost nothing of my time in czech first grade except crying on my first day because i was so overwhelmed. another thing i did not realise until i was a teen was that when talking to strangers or people Of Respect, you refer to them with a Plural You until you've reached enough familiarity to switch to Singular You. it's accepted for kids to refer to everyone with the singular - same vibe as referring to every familiar adult woman as your auntie - but i've made quite a fool of myself multiple times calling cashiers and waitresses by singular you when outside of the Acceptable Age Slot. if it sounds like an autism nightmare that's because it is :'D

- i think every person in europe has been to prague at some point. every person i tell i'm half czech to tells me they've been to prague. it's a pretty city though! check out the astronomical clock

- there is a small community of czech and slovakian immigrants in my norwegian hometown. obviously it's not Every Czech Person in town, i've run into a lot of czech speaking people at random every now and then, but yeah! i think the biggest community event that gets arranged every year is Mikuláš in december. it's very reminiscent of Krampus celebrations. essentially kids are expected to perform a song or poem in front of st. Nicholas, an angel and a devil (that's the krampus in this instance), and then they get evaluated and told if they've been Good or Bad this year before being given candy (with a piece of coal or potato in it because everyone is a Little naughty sometimes). after growing out of being one of the children, i've contributed by playing the devil or the angel a couple times each.

for some reason there's a lot of people from the czech community in the historical archery club my mom and i are both part of. we actually have a lot of immigrant members, so for something so viking aesthetically coded it ends up being a fairly multicultural experience!

[adarkrainbow]

The Ultimate Fables Catalogue (C)

I know, I know, I haven’t released part “B” yet. But as it turns out, I finished the part C long before the part B, so I will release this one first. 

In this continuation of the “Ultimate Fables Catalogue”, I will cover a part of the spin-offs. To be precise I will take a look at the two Cinderella spin-offs (Cinderella: From Fabletown, with love ; and its sequel Cinderella: Fables are Forever), and the entirety of the Fairest series (including its graphic novel, Fairest: In All the Land). 

SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! 

The Cinderella spin-offs

Cinderella: From Fabletown, with love

# The title of the series is an homage to the James Bond novel “From Russia, with love”. Cinderella’s own adventures as Fabletown’s spy evoke those of James Bond and of the Bond girls. The writer of this series, Chris Roberson, evoked the two main influences of the plot by describing the comic as “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service meets Sex and the City”. 

# Crispin Cordwainer is the shoemaker from the Grimm fairytale “The Elves and the Shoemaker”. His name comes from saint Crispin, patron of cobblers and leather-workers. 

# Cinderella mentions “an ogre and a talking cat”, referencing Charles Perrault’s “Puss in Boots”.

# Among the magical items found among the Mundies, Beast mentions the “seven-league boots” (from Charles Perrault’s Little Thumbling), a “horn of plenty” (the Cornucopia), a magical flute (I don’t have any specific reference for this one) and a “singing sword” (I don’t have any clear reference, though the “singing sword” concept appears here and there - it is the name of an Arthurian novel by Jack Whyte, and an episode of the cartoon “The Legend of Prince Valiant”, among many other things). 

# The silhouette of the tourists are seen, and while we already know of Mowgli and Cinderella, we will discover the other two to be Feathertop (see later) and the... what was originally planned to be the Huntsman and then became a Woodsman apparently (it is one of those unclear points). Cinderella in turn has her group of three spies: Puss in Boots (who likes to be known as the “Marquis of Carabas”), from Charles Perrault’s fairytale of the same name ; Dickory, the mouse that ran up the clock, from the nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock, and finally Jenny Wren, whose lover Robin Redbreast was murdered - from the cycle of nursery rhymes surrounding Cock Robin (”Cock Robin Got Up Early ; Who killed Cock Robin? ; Jenny Wren Fell Sick). 

# Aladdin, and the djinn of the ring, are both from the “Aladdin” story of the One Thousand and One Nights.  I suspect his driver, Farid, to be the prince Farid from the One Thousand and One Nights story “Farizad of the Rose’s Smile” - given it is the only Farid character in the Arabian Nights I know of.

# The ghuls are creatures of Arabian folklore.

# Ultima Thule (named after the legendary island of Thule that cartographers of Antiquity believed to exist north of England) is the realm of Scandinavian fairytales, especially Norwegian, filled with trolls and talking polar bears and giant elks. Its former ruler was king Valemon, from the fairytale “White-Bear-King-Valemon”. Other inhabitants of Thule include the widow Gudbrand (wife of Gudbrand from “Gudbrand on the Hill-Side”), Askelädden (the famous Norwegian folktale character known as “Ashlad” in English), Little Freddy (from “Little Freddy with his fiddle”), Little Annie the goose-girl (from the fairytale of the same name), Butterball (from the Norwegian fairytale of the same name), as well as the ram and the pig, from “The Ram and the Pig who went to live in the woods by themselves”. 

# The Fairy Godmother is here another “archetype character” in the likes of Frau Totenkinder, Prince Charming or Jack of All Tales. She was the fairy godmother of Cinderella, but also alongside her sisters the “good fairies” of the Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty fairytale, and she secretly worked to help Rapunzel by sending the prince rescue her. The Fairy Godmother’s perpetual fight against Frau Totenkinder has notably been the source of numerous of the fairytales: it seems to have started out by Frau Totenkinder “ruining” the fate of Briar Rose by playing the role of the “wicked fairy/angered wise woman” in the tale, only for the Fairy Godmother to retaliate by sending the prince of Rapunzel (whose witch-adoptive motive was Frau Totenkinder). The evolution of her role throughout the fairy tales is also explained by this perpetual duel: after sending Prince Charming to save Briar Rose from Frau Totenkinder’s curse, the witch fought back by killing the Fairy Godmother’s two sisters with poisoned apples (evoking Snow-White), which is why she was alone when helping Cinderella ; and the reason her spells only last to midnight is because her powers were weakened due to her actions in the Rapunzel story, all of her efforts exhausting her spells so that they could only work for a day and no more. It is also confirmed that the prince of Rapunzel is NOT prince Charming, as the Fairy Godmother “reused” the same prince to save both Briar Rose and Cinderella.

The Fairy Godmother is also very clearly an homage, or rather a dark parody, of the fairy godmothers of Disney movies. Her being part of a trio of benevolent fairies looking like little grandmothers at the times of Briar Rose’s birth is a nod to Fauna, Flora and Merryweather, the three fairy godmothers of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, while her being the kind, elderly, grey-haired, plump godmother of Cinderella is an obvious nod to Disney’s interpretation of the fairy godmother of Cinderella. 

# The palace being made of glass is of course a nod to the glass slippers of “Cinderella”, but I wonder if it isn’t a reference to the Norwegian fairytale “The Princess on the Glass-Hill”, or something similar... 

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever

# The title of the series is again a James Bond reference, this time to “Diamonds are forever”.

# The “Shadow Fabletown”, the Soviet community of Fables living beyond the Iron Curtain and opposing the American Fabletown, is composed of Ivan Durak (Ivan the Fool, a folk character of Russian fairytales), Tugarin Zmeyevich (the Slavic character known as Tugarin or Zmey Tugarin), Meng Chiang-Nu (the character of the Chinese folktale Lady Meng Jiang), the Seven Chinese Brothers (see below), and Anansi the spider (a folkloric character from West African tales and legends)

About Tugarin Zmeyevich, the Fables Encyclopedia explains a bit more the process behind choosing this character that turns into a dragon: they explain Tugarin Zmeyevich started out as the antagonist of a folktale where he was opposed to the Rusian folkloric hero Alyosha Popovich - and in the oldest/”first” version of this folktale Tugarin Zmeyevich was “merely” a man as tall as a giant, riding a horse that had fire coming out of its nostrils and smoke from its ears. However, throughout adaptations and expansions of the tale, Zmeyevich inherited the “breathe fire and smoke” traits of his horse, and then from a fire-breathing man became a dragon. So, for the Fables comics, they decided to have Zmeyevich look like a man at first, but be able to turn into a dragon at will. 

As for the Seven Chinese Brothers, the Fables Encyclopedia also brings more information: they are actually part of a popular Chinese folktale merely known as “The Five Brothers” - which became well-known in the West thanks to Claire Huchet Bishop’s “Five Chinese Brothers” in the 30s ; but there are several variations of the story where the number of brothers change, up to seven or ten. And the idea of the five brothers being actually seven was also popularized in the English-speaking world thanks to Margaret Mahy’s “Seven Chinese Brothers” at the end of the 19th century. 

# Dorothy Gale, aka “Silverslipper” is from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, by L. Frank Baum. Beyond her first nickname (evoking the magical “silver slippers” of the book), she is also called “The wicked bitch of the east” (a nod to the Wicked Witch of the East from the book). Numerous other characters and entities from the Oz books appear: the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion (from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”), the Chiss, Bungle the Glass Cat (”The Patchwork Girl of Oz”) and the Spoon Brigade (”The Emerald City of Oz”). We also see in the flashbacks all four witches of Oz (Good witches of the North and South, Wicked witches of the East and West), alongside the Munchkins and the Scarecrow. 

# Other pop culture references include the line “Cheshire cat got your tongue” (referencing “Alice in Wonderland”), “Are you done quoting Donny and Marie?” (the television series of the same name) and Cindy describing the relationship of Bigby and Snow White as “That whole Cheers things”, paralleling the couple with the characters of Sam and Diane from the “Cheers” show

 FAIREST

Wide Awake

# The main character is Ali Baba, from the One Thousand and One Nights story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”. Morgiana of the same story is briefly mentionned in flashbacks. Interestingly, in the Fables universe Ali Baba went from a thief killer to the “prince of thieves” himself, something pointed out as weird in-universe. I believe it is a reference to how in American culture at the time of the comic’s release, the name of Ali Baba was so strongly associated with thieves you often saw it being reused for a thief character. 

# The many modern USA culture references made by the Bottle Imp are too many for me to record them all.

# The fact of having the two “Sleeping Beauties” be a red-clad Briar Rose and the white Snow Queen isn’t just some fancy aesthetic choice. This plays on a common duality in fairytales between white and red that the comics itself already illustrated throughout the duo of Snow-White and Rose-Red. More interestingly, Ali Baba describing one as “the color of winter snow” and the other with “the color and heat of the first days of autumn” seems to be a play on the “seasonal” reading of the fairytale “Sleeping Beauty”, this analysis and belief that the fairytale actually depicts a metaphor for the cycle of seasons, Sleeping Beauty herself embodying nature falling asleep during the winter, and her awakening symbolizing spring. 

# The version of Sleeping Beauty’s backstory here is quite interesting because it clashes with the one presented by the Cinderella spin-offs - a “retcon” here that is present inside the main series itself, since it began with the implications that Frau Totenkinder was the one who cast the curse, being the “evil witch” against the “three good fairies” (a la Disney), but then switched to make this new backstory canon. In this version of the story, we are more faithful to Charles Perrault’s version of the tale, since we have seven fairies gifting the child and the evil fairy being the eighth. The fairies here are actually a mix between the actual “fairytale fairies”, as in French fairytale fairies, and British fairies of folklore and legends. The seven gifts here are as such: beauty (for Katrya the Pure), wit (for Sofiya the wise - though it is the “wit of an angel”, so it is actually naivity), elegance/grace for Nyura the Graceful (which is extended to being graceful and elegant in all things... including the bedroom), walth for Ionna the Gifted, the talent of singing for Alyas the Noble (though it is “singing like a nightingale”, quite literaly, so singing like a bird), the talent of writing good songs and playing music perfectly for Yeva the Lively. The last gift of not dying but falling into an eternal sleep is given by Leysa the Defender against the curse of the evil fairy, Hadeon the Destroyer - and here, as with all magic process, we receive an explanation for the why: as it turns out, Leysa could only “split” the death curse across so many people the death became a “mere” endless sleep. 

Beyond this, each of the fairy embodies a specific concept associated with fairies in general, or magic beings. Katrya the Pure is focused on purity and chastity (since her magical waters heal all knights chaste and noble) ; Sofiya the Wise is noted to have written a very famous grimoire ; Ionna the Gifted represents the “benevolent” fairies associated with darkness, since she is a daughter of the night who tames and traps nightmares (as opposed to Hadeon the Destroyer who is an “evil” fairy of darkness, shadow and fogs that rules over a typical “evil, nightmarish forest”), Yeva is strongly associated with music, merriment and parties, etc... The habit of Hadeon of turning her former lovers into objects she uses later (like into a boat) is also a very typical trope of fairy tales. 

# In a flashback, Ali Baba is seen stealing from Abd al Quadir. He is a character from the One Thousand and One Nights story “Ala al-Din Abu al-Samat” (253rd night). 

Lamia

# Lamia is of course the legendary monster/bogey-woman of Greco-Roman culture. 

# Saint George, his sword Ascalon and the village of Silene are from the legend of “Saint George and the Dragon”. Saint George seems to embody here the archetype of the “dragon slayer-hero” since he lists other famous dragons among his list of kills: the Chimaera (not an actual dragon, but the fire-breathing Chimera of Greek mythology, killed by the hero Bellerophon), Illuyanka (a Hittite dragon killed by the god Tarhunz), Tiamat (the Mesopotamian goddess-dragon killed by Marduk) and finally Vritra (the Indian reptilian demon slain by the god Indra). 

# When Beast lists the various fictional characters he becomes “like” during his various hunts for the Lamia, he mentions in order Auguste Dupin (created by Edgar Allan Poe), Sherlock Holmes (created by Arthur Conan Dole), Hercule Poirot (created by Agatha Christie), Sam Spade (from “The Maltese Falcon”) and Philip Marlowe (created by Raymond Chandler). 

The Hidden Kingdom

# The three movies seen at the theater at the beginning are “Bunny Lake is Missing” ; “Don’t Look Now” and “Picnic at Hanging Rock”. Rapunzel later compares the flying origami attack to Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”.

# This is I think the first time paintings are hidden around in the background. In Rapunzel’s flat there are two pictures on the walls: one is the poster for Kubrick’s “Clockwork Orange”, another is a reproduction of  “The Lady of Shalott” by Waterhouse. Frau Totenkinder rather has in her flat Fuseli’s “The Three Witches”. 

# Frau Totenkinder here appears mostly in her role of “the witch/adoptive-mother of Rapunzel”. Interestingly however, while Totenkinder is the witch that locked Rapunzel in a tower, and banished her after she slept with the prince, in the Fables continuity of the role of the witch in the Grimm fairytale got split with... the Fairy Godmother, who is revealed to have been the one preventing Rapunzel’s prince from returning to her.

# In the Japanese realm of Fables, the main characters include Mayumi (who is the Kuchisake-onna of Japanese ghost stories), Tomoko (a kitsune), a bakeneko (that just goes by “Neko”) and Katagiri (a kappa). Other supernatural beings coming from “The Hidden Kingdom”, the Japanese Homeland, include: funayûrey (ghosts of the drowned at sea), tanukis, a noppera-bo, a rokurokubi, an oni, an hitotsume-kozo, several kirin... 

# When Neko first appears to Rapunzel, he imitates Totoro, from “My Neighbor Totoro”. 

# Rapunzel briefly prays to the Jizo Bosatsu. 

# Rapunzel, in her numerous travels throughout the Homelands searching for her missing babies, adopted several different identities. In the Hidden Kingdom she was Okiku, the famous Japanese “ghost” in the well. In the Ancient Greece equivalent in the Homelands she also played the role of Theseus, by slaying the Minotaur. And she is noted to have assisted to the “birth of an empire” by seeing twins by a she-wolf: they are Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of the Roman Empire. 

# The treacherous shogun Ryogan actually fulfills the role of both the jealous samurai who mutilated the Kuchisake-onna and the samurai that killed Okiku. 

# When the Hyakki Yagyo, the “Night Parade of the One Hundred Demons” is invoked, we also see among the numerous yokai tengus, chochin’obakes, an hebi, the wanyudo, and a nue. 

# Jack ends up thrown into the claws of the famous Japanese movie monster, Gdozilla.

# Lauren Beukes, the writer of this arc, listed her several inspirations as: the manga Tekkonkintreet, “The Pillow Book” ; the movies of Kurosawa, Miyazaki and Miike ; the work of the three Murakami (Haruki Murakami, Ryu Murakami and Takashi Murakami) ; “The Tale of Genji”, “Tokyo Vice” (no, not the television series, but the memoir of Jake Adelstein), and “The Illustrated Night Parade of the Hundred Demons”.

Aldered States

# The various suitors of Princess Alder include Mr. Pickles (from “The Magic Fishbone” by Charles Dickens), Trotty Veck (from “The Chimes” by Charles Dickens) as well as Farmer Giles (from Tokkien’s “Farmer Giles of Ham”). 

The Return of the Maharaja

# Nalayani is actually the past life of Draupadi, from the Indian epic “Mahabharata”. 

# There is a LOT of characters from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book here: Tabaqui the jackal ; the dholes ; Nathoo ; Buldeo ; Pudmini... 

# Prince Charming makes a reference to the “golden ticket”, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

# Among beings from Indian folklore, beliefs, folktales and Hindu mythology/religion we have the asuras, the pishachas, as well as a host of Hindu gods - Rama, Ganesha, Manasa, Kamadhenu, Nandini...  The Trishula trident is also important for the ending of the story. 

Of Men and Mice

# The very title is a reference to the story “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. 

# The cubs are being read one of the Harry Potter books - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to be precise. 

# At Cinderella’s ball, the transformed mouse ends up seducing Lady Isabelle du Lac, daughter of Lord and Lady du Lac. I wonder if it is a reference to Edmund Dulac... 

# I also believe the giant sentient humanoid rat-ninjas might be a reference to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. 

# The “King’s men” are the same from the nursery rhyme “Humpty Dumpty”. 

# Rama is the divine hero of Hindu mythology/religion, while Varuna is... I am a bit confused because to my knowledge Varuna is an Hindu god, not a tiger-headed fish... The only tiger-headed fish I know of is the Japanese Shachihoko... This leaves me confused.

# The Rodgers and Hammerstein’s version of Cinderella is explicitely referenced here. 

Clamour for Glamour

# Lady Maeve of Dunhollow seems to be Maeve/Mebd of Irish mythology.

# Mary, after losing her little lamb, took up gardening - and thus became the Mary from the nursery rhyme “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary”. 

# There is an entire section of the Farm called André’s Garden, where the Mean Sunflower Kid/Mister Sunflower lives, and we see here five other Fables living in this area: Snapdragon, Old Maid Hollyhock, the Dormouse Juggler, Alderman Poppy, and a woodpecker. Given this is the living area of the Sunflower, and named “André’s garden” I am pretty sure they are meant to be part of this same Victorian book of nursery rhymes written and illustrated by R. André/R. Andre from which the nursery rhyme “Mister Sunflower” comes. The problem is that I cannot have access to this specific book, which seems to not be easily available anywhere, so I cannot actually check... 

In case you want to know, I will place here the Mister Sunflower nursery rhyme as it was revealed in the Fables Encyclopedia:

In your dress of brown and yellow

What a stiff-necked 

Long legged fellow! 

Must you stare, although the bees,

Settle on your face and tease?

Can’t you turn your big flat head

Till the sun has gone to bed?

Fairest in All the Land

# This is where Mrs. Ford was confirmed to be “the old woman at the ford in a river”, the deadly and ghostly “washing woman” from Irish beliefs and folklore.

# While not an exact reference, the seven magical swords kept in the office named after concepts (Mercy, Justice, Regret,  Rage, Judgement, Love and Wisdom) are part of a long tradition in fantasy of magical swords with meaningful names (for example, take Tad William’s trilogy “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn”). The powers and nature of Maerorgladi, the Sword of Regret, is especially interesting, as its “hunger” forcing it to take a second life for each kill is clearly inspired by a famous trend of “sentient, soul-hungering swords” in fiction which was started by Poul Anderson’s “The Broken Sword” and Elric of Melniboe’s famous sword, Stormbringer. 

# Hautboy/Cendrée, the wizard that created the seven magical sword, is confirmed to have lived in the Dark Tower, from “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came”, before Roland actually arrived to said tower. The fact his main feats were creating buildings, magical chariots and magical weapons, makes him part of a long line of legendary magical smiths - in Fables, the main series, we already saw Weyland Smith and Daedalus appear, but I can also mention the Greek Hephaestus or the Finnish Ilmarinen. The Ilmarinen comparison is especially interesting, since the mythical ancestor of the evil swords I talked about (Moorcock’s Stormbringer, or Tolkien’s Gurthang) is a sentient, talking sword from the Kalevala. I have however very curious about the names chosen for him, both very French in nature... I think they might have been chosen at random (especially since “Cendrée” is actually the FEMALE form of the adjective “Ashen”/”Cindered”, the proper male form would have been Cendré), but maybe there is some obscure reference I am missing... though I slightly doubt it. 

# The topic of “swords that must kill” is also very frequent in Norse sagas: to quote TV Tropes, “Tyrfing of the Saga of Hervor and Heidrek, the sword of Bodvar Bjarki in the Saga of Hrolf Kraki, and Dainsleif from the Prose Edda”. Which brings me to the hero the Sword of Regret was built for, Turgo of Nor, who is the stereotypical “Norse barbarian”. He likes in a world shaped after Ancient Norse society, and he is a muscular, bearded warrior always eating and drinking, but going berserk every time he drinks too much (which is often, since he is a drunkard). However, the fact that he keeps flying into mad rages he then regrets, and that he wears a hood made of animal pelts, make him VERY similar to Herakles of Greek mythology. 

# The coat of Padarn Beisrudd is one of the “Thirteen Treasures of Britain”, part of Welsh folklore. 

# The Blue Fairy mentions the “Unseelie Midwinter Ball”. The Unseelie Court is one of the two fairy “courts” or fairy “hosts” of Scottish legends, alongside the Seelie.

# I can’t help but wonder if Hadeon’s role as a sentient, magical but malevolent red car isn’t meant to be a nod to Stephen King’s Christine.