#four points

[deadmotelsusa]

Holiday Inn (1969) → Amarillo Inn & Suites (2019) → Four Points by Sheraton (2023)

[dingoat]

I owed @askshivanulegacy a thankyou piece and they wanted @kaosstar’s boys to join in on the fun, and Ahuska’s never going to say no to that! (Though Der looks like he might have tried to hahaha.) I’m guessing they’re somewhere on the slopes of Alderaan, and Ahuska and Zim, at the very least, are having the best day out ever!

[fourpointstrading]

Come say hello at the Harbor games!

We at Four Points Trading are excited to be taking part in the Harbor Games. As always we will be handing out free tea samples. Our new menu is sure to delight and all our teas are ready for small or bulk orders. Best of luck to you all at the games!

@atc-wra

[singlekingnonsmoking]

Mississauga, Ontario

[travelless]

Dubai at Night

[rebeccamock]

Hi everyone! I’m gearing up for the release of Knife’s Edge, our 2nd graphic novel (written by Hope Larson and drawn by me), which will be in stores on the 27th of June!

This weekend, June 16-18th, in Charlotte, NC, I will be back at Heroescon to debut Knife’s Edge! Table AA-1111, which is the greatest table number I’ve ever had. I will have the first book, Compass South, in paperback, as well as a select amount of Knife’s Edge! Be the first to own it!

And as a special treat, Hope Larson will be tabling with me on Saturday, the 17th! We can sign books together and celebrate finally having both books printed. We’ve worked hard over the past 3 1/2 years to make these books, and I couldn’t be more proud.

Come say hi, and check out my other comics too--Old Woman, my Yuri on Ice fanbook, and my Poe Dameron fanbook! I’ll have prints of my illustrations for sale too! 

[comixconnection]

Counter Monkey John Arminio reviews ‘Four Points vol. 2: Knife’s Edge’

In 2016, Farrar, Straus and Giroux published Compass South, the first in the Four Points series of graphic novels written by Hope Larson and illustrated by Rebecca Mock. Compass South chronicled the trials and travails of twin brother and sister Cleopatra and Alexander Dodge (perfect names for a pair of adventuring siblings, by the way) as they set off on a cross-continental voyage to search for both their father and treasure. Along the way, they escaped pirates and quicksand, foiled the plans of press-gangs, and even broke a few hearts.... and got on each other’s nerves, as young siblings do. It was a fantastic tale of high adventure and family that stood out for both its quality and originality. A joy to read from back to front.

This year saw the release of the second volume in the Four Points series: Knife’s Edge, and it is everything Compass South was and more. Sequels are an inherently difficult prospect when the original saw the characters cross oceans, not to mention the sometimes more stormy cultural boundaries and gender politics that can occur for a young boy and girl traveling around the world on the sea during the 19th Century. How does one follow up such an epic journey and have it feel satisfying? What Larson and Mock have managed to do is tell the tale of how life for characters goes on after the reader reaches “The End,” no matter how satisfying a full story Compass South might have been. Yes, the Dodge twins have found their father, but what are the ramifications after so long a familial separation? Now that Cleopatra and Alexander have been independent for so long, can their father really be their father again? How will the expectations of being a young woman in 19th Century society affect Cleopatra after expressing more self-determination and grit than an entire crew of male pirates?

These are, of course, unanswerable questions. If there were real, permanent answers, we would always get along with our families and find a way to solve sexism. What Knife’s Edge does is present these knotted quandaries to capable, likable characters who sometimes lose their tempers or make grievous mistakes. The Dodge’s father has spent months under severe strain and toil and is thus severely weakened to the point of convalescence. While depending on his own children for succor and sustenance, he watches as his son learns the ways of a sailor and his daughter courts with pirate boys, fights with her brother, and learns the ways of the sword. These activities do not fit in with his plans, and as each Dodge family member attempts to control the activities of the others, jealousy and suspicion arise. It’s not even the possibility of treasure that creates these conflicts, nor is it any petty squabble. The deep love this family has for one another, when coupled with the constant fear and danger their quest necessitates, inevitably breaks out in the form of bickering, frustration, and words said that will later lead to regret. It is only the forces outside the Dodge family, the ones preoccupied with the more material obsessions in Knife’s Edge, that create discord because of treasure and quests for power. It is these dastardly actors, with their murder and hostage-taking, that impinge themselves upon the Family Dodge.

These nefarious forces not only manifest themselves in piracy, but also, when our protagonists sail to a friend’s home in the Marshall Islands, in the heinous specters of colonialism and slavery. Such global policies and practices are not only present in the abstract, but take an immediate and personal configuration in Knife’s Edge because the ship that is the setting for much of the story is commanded by the noble and capable Captain Tarboro, a black man, who has been mentoring the Dodge twins in their father’s absence. In this way, Larson and Mock have deftly found a way to address these issues honestly without depicting the brutality and inhuman ugliness that often went along with them, keeping Knife’s Edge appropriate for all ages, yet not without teeth. It’s a testament to Larson and Mock’s storytelling prowess that they are able to find this balance; a book that is truly all-ages, not just for children.

Knife’s Edge is at its most heartbreaking when the larger historical conflicts of civilization vs. piracy or individual desires vs. global forces are combined with the interpersonal conflicts of the characters. This is what the best historical fiction can do; it uses the past to tie themes and conflicts to the characters and it uses well-drawn characters to bring the past a new clarity and purpose. When a character like Cleopatra Dodge acts in a way that neither the reader nor the other characters expect, it is all the more surprising and poignant when the weight of history is hefted upon the backs of the Dodge family and their allies. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the age of sail, American History, or the 19th Century, not to mention great graphic fiction in general. Artist Rebecca Mock is a relative newcomer to graphic novels but she makes these characters, the times they lived in, and their actions come to life in vivid detail. Her drawings are precise and emotional, each facial expression brimming with authenticity and empathy. Along with the narrative wisdom of comic veteran Hope Larson, the Four Points series should be a source of great stories for many volumes to come. If you have read Compass South, Knife’s Edge is essential reading. If you are new to Four Points, Knife’s Edge is proof that it is a series well worth investing in.

[etsyfindoftheday]

etsyfindoftheday 2 | 5.22.17

minimalist, unique jewelry by misscalexandria

four points brass bar necklace

statement tassel earrings // icy pink or dark blue

tiny gold ball stacking rings

madison, wisconsin-based @etsy shop misscalexandria continues to release beautiful jewelry styles year after year — the top and bottom pieces are part of their new collection, and the large tassel earrings are from a past collection. bohemian and rad.