What do you think?
Rate this book
Rex Libris #1-5
Rex Libris, Volume I: I, Librarian
The astonishing story of the incomparable Rex Libris, Head Librarian at Middleton Public Library, and his unending struggle against the forces of ignorance and darkness. Rex travels to the farthest reaches of the galaxy in search of overdue books. Wearing his super thick bottle glasses, and armed with an arsenal of high technology weapons, he strikes fear into recalcitrant borrowers, and can take on virtually any foe from zombies to renegade literary characters. In this first collection of Librarian adventures, Rex must confront the powerful Space Warlord Vaglox and retrieve the overdue Principia Mathematica while an energy manifestation of blood thirsty Vandals attempt to burn down Middleton Library, and all within, to the ground.
176 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
7 people are currently reading
569 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
August 13, 2008
This is my second in an unintentional series of unreadable books about the library. From now on only Jason Shiga is allowed to write library stories, especially comics.
I cannot figure out why this book is even a comic. The drawing is incredibly dull and lifeless. The book is mostly long, boring exposition. If only there were some way via cartooning to avoid long, tedious, small font descriptions of characters, plot, and action. If only those details could somehow be shown instead of endlessly described through overwrought narration and clunky dialog.
I cannot figure out why this book is even a comic. The drawing is incredibly dull and lifeless. The book is mostly long, boring exposition. If only there were some way via cartooning to avoid long, tedious, small font descriptions of characters, plot, and action. If only those details could somehow be shown instead of endlessly described through overwrought narration and clunky dialog.
March 10, 2025
Great concept, but it's execution in this graphic novel left something to be desired (for me). Graphics are black and white, which I often like, but are computer generated and not to my taste. Humor was also not to my taste.
February 17, 2019
Many of us are here because we love reading and via that love have a fondness for the Library and its staff. Most of us have had the experience of a good Liberian leading us to a great new read, or leading us out of a major research conundrum. Among the public servants and academic staffing least likely to get recognition the Liberian tends to be best honored by the individuals who remember to thanks them in the prescribed hushed voice allowed in the library. James Turner’s Rex Libris, Vol. 1: I, Librarian may rate as an honorable effort to raise the profession, but it is less than all the clutter and buck-shots of satire. The parts are at best are one note and the sum is hardly worth the effort. The notion of using the librarian is an underutilized the pathway to humor or to adventure is hardly that original. Starting with my personal favorite, Thursday Next to the several Librarian movies and TV shows and ending with the comic strip Unshelved (Another of my favs), there are many ways for us book lovers to see the this profession getting time in the limelight. Ex Libris does not get my recommendation.
Ex Libris is the vehicle to satirize several things. There are long detailed introductions by the fictional comic book publisher B. Barry Horst. These seem to mimic similar introductions by Stan Lee. There are appeals to nonexistent printing technology, Visicombionics, done so much better by Jasper Fforde. And then there is the story line.
Title character Rex Libris is a survivor of the ancient Library of Alexandria. He is now on first name basis with a variety of ancient gods and through them charged with enforcing library rules with apparently no rules of engagement. No romance among patrons, but the stacks themselves can be deadly.
His library is attractive to all historic and interplanetary evil doers and demons, but no big deal as long as they return their books, and pay their fines.
In this edition the big challenge is to retrieve an overdue library book traced to a remote snow bound planet. Of course Rex’s employers, The Order of the Liberians, has all manner of technology to scoot across time and space and climate and breathable air and of course much of is it comically unreliable. His just barely survived arrival on Benzine V accidentally results in the death of innocent snowman shaped intelligent life forms. Shrug so what? Umm sorry I do not get the joke.
Skipping over the way too text heavy need to over explain things, yeah I know wear down the reader is supposed to be funny. It is not.
The art work. Ignoring the heavy over use of granite jawed darkly outlined characters there are some very well don individual panels. Rex’s boss, Mr. Thoth, yea the god as bureaucrat, is very well done. Some of the machines and use of perspective speak to creative hands at work.
Taken together, my advice is don’t.
Ex Libris is the vehicle to satirize several things. There are long detailed introductions by the fictional comic book publisher B. Barry Horst. These seem to mimic similar introductions by Stan Lee. There are appeals to nonexistent printing technology, Visicombionics, done so much better by Jasper Fforde. And then there is the story line.
Title character Rex Libris is a survivor of the ancient Library of Alexandria. He is now on first name basis with a variety of ancient gods and through them charged with enforcing library rules with apparently no rules of engagement. No romance among patrons, but the stacks themselves can be deadly.
His library is attractive to all historic and interplanetary evil doers and demons, but no big deal as long as they return their books, and pay their fines.
In this edition the big challenge is to retrieve an overdue library book traced to a remote snow bound planet. Of course Rex’s employers, The Order of the Liberians, has all manner of technology to scoot across time and space and climate and breathable air and of course much of is it comically unreliable. His just barely survived arrival on Benzine V accidentally results in the death of innocent snowman shaped intelligent life forms. Shrug so what? Umm sorry I do not get the joke.
Skipping over the way too text heavy need to over explain things, yeah I know wear down the reader is supposed to be funny. It is not.
The art work. Ignoring the heavy over use of granite jawed darkly outlined characters there are some very well don individual panels. Rex’s boss, Mr. Thoth, yea the god as bureaucrat, is very well done. Some of the machines and use of perspective speak to creative hands at work.
Taken together, my advice is don’t.
October 2, 2008
Who doesn't like the idea of a librarian super-hero? Mine would be called (um) "The Librarian!" And she would get library levies to pass -- even in difficult economic times -- and somehow (with super powers) inspire the men who sit on the computers all day to organize and run some small business that makes them feel useful and needed. She would install those new "MetroNap" chairs in the staff lounge and wash-down stations for bicycle commuters. Stuff like that.
Rex is James Turner's idea of a super librarian. Unfortunately for me, Rex lives in a dopey 1950s idea of a library, not too far off from the Desk Set set of library imagery and norms. Only library customers think library fines are interesting (subject of much of Chapter 1), and anyone with imagination would see this as the least of a dizzying array of mind-boggling library topics.
Plus the type's too small.
Rex is James Turner's idea of a super librarian. Unfortunately for me, Rex lives in a dopey 1950s idea of a library, not too far off from the Desk Set set of library imagery and norms. Only library customers think library fines are interesting (subject of much of Chapter 1), and anyone with imagination would see this as the least of a dizzying array of mind-boggling library topics.
Plus the type's too small.
August 8, 2015
The best part of this wasn't the story or artwork, which was so-so, but the description of the Ordo Bibliotheca (the page right after the final panel of book one). Here's why:
"Since at least the Sixth Century all librarians have received extensive training and are lethal with even the common toothpick."
True.
"The veil of secrecy that has surrounded the Ordo Bibliotheca, the secret international Order of Librarians, has been so complete and well maintained that is has, unlike the cover stories of the Templars and the Masons, remained completely unpenetrated by conspiracy theorists."
True.
"The current Archmagus of the Ordo Bibliotheca is unknown, but one can be sure that they are working behind the scenes for the sake of all humanity, and their efforts to disseminate knowledge to the public can be seen, all over the world, at your local library branch."
So true!
Anyway, I didn't really enjoy the rest of the book, but that little bit was genius. It elevated a two star graphic novel to a solid three.
If you want to read about some other powerful librarians in a comic book format, read the Jack of Fables series by Bill Willingham (but don't bother reading all of them, it gets really bad towards the end) or the Unwritten series by Mike Carey (I didn't really get into that one, but some folks do).
"Since at least the Sixth Century all librarians have received extensive training and are lethal with even the common toothpick."
True.
"The veil of secrecy that has surrounded the Ordo Bibliotheca, the secret international Order of Librarians, has been so complete and well maintained that is has, unlike the cover stories of the Templars and the Masons, remained completely unpenetrated by conspiracy theorists."
True.
"The current Archmagus of the Ordo Bibliotheca is unknown, but one can be sure that they are working behind the scenes for the sake of all humanity, and their efforts to disseminate knowledge to the public can be seen, all over the world, at your local library branch."
So true!
Anyway, I didn't really enjoy the rest of the book, but that little bit was genius. It elevated a two star graphic novel to a solid three.
If you want to read about some other powerful librarians in a comic book format, read the Jack of Fables series by Bill Willingham (but don't bother reading all of them, it gets really bad towards the end) or the Unwritten series by Mike Carey (I didn't really get into that one, but some folks do).
February 6, 2012
This is one I really truly wanted to like, but couldn't. The book reads like a simultaneous parody of, and homage to, the classic Stan Lee stories of the 60's. Turner even goes so far as to include "Barry," the comic's publisher, who looks like Larry King, but talks in the frenetic hipster lingo of old Stan Lee editorial columns. This character is just as appalling as that description makes him sound.
Sadly, the writing on Rex Libris is just not as clever as James Turner seems to think it is. It's amusing sometimes, but just not that funny. It's tiring to read at times. The narration and dialogue is overly slow and wordy, especially if the intent was to evoke 1960's and 70's Marvel. Rex's bogus Nick Fury Bronx tough guy accent is grating. The action sequences are not that exciting, again suffering from being overly wordy, and excessive corniness.
I did like some of the supporting characters, namely Circe and Thoth. They seem less forced. Other than being immortal characters from mythology, they seem like real librarians. Hypatia, on the other hand, is a walking cliche. We've all seen "the mousy female librarian who can unexpectedly kick ass." Basically a rehash of Barbara Gordon without the Batgirl suit.
Sadly, the writing on Rex Libris is just not as clever as James Turner seems to think it is. It's amusing sometimes, but just not that funny. It's tiring to read at times. The narration and dialogue is overly slow and wordy, especially if the intent was to evoke 1960's and 70's Marvel. Rex's bogus Nick Fury Bronx tough guy accent is grating. The action sequences are not that exciting, again suffering from being overly wordy, and excessive corniness.
I did like some of the supporting characters, namely Circe and Thoth. They seem less forced. Other than being immortal characters from mythology, they seem like real librarians. Hypatia, on the other hand, is a walking cliche. We've all seen "the mousy female librarian who can unexpectedly kick ass." Basically a rehash of Barbara Gordon without the Batgirl suit.
January 5, 2010
The latest in Librarian action! This concept is a good idea, a superhero librarian fighting for public library causes, but I didn't like the density of text and competing graphics in each panel. And, well, schucks... I only saw one woman character in the book - how is that anything like the public library? (there are lots of monsters and alien creatures)
July 4, 2016
As a librarian I endorse this book wholeheartedly, it is intelligent, funny, interesting and oh-how-i-wish-i-could-get -overdue-books-back-like-Rex-fantastic. Rex and his band of librarians protect the world from evil and will do anything to retrieve an overdue book and fine. What a great story! This hardcover version covers Comics 1-5 and the rest of the remaining 7 comics have to bought individually if you want to see if Rex ever gets the Principia Mathematic from the now destroyed Vaglox. There are lots of add-ons in the book like messages from Barry Horst the "publisher" of the comic, he "pops" into the story-line occassionally, extra Rex comics from various artists, and an ad for toy librarians. I want those, especially the one of Hypatia "Kicking Evil Ass"!! This comic is so intelligently written I have to wonder if James Turner is a fan of Jasper Fforde. Of course I couldn't resist James Turner's description of librarians for his small expose at the back of the book on the Ordo Biblitheca. That is me to a T. (I wish) Rex, Simon-the-megalomaniac-cursed-to-be-a-sparrow-for-4,000-years (telekinetic semi-sidekick), Hypatia (fellow femme fatale librarian agent and possible love interest for Rex) and Circe (former evil goddess turned cookie baking librarian...she also cursed simon and sometimes turns irritating patrons into pigs, but she's mended her evil ways....hmmm we'll see about that) are all terrific characters. Not to mention the bad guys with overdue books and fines that must be tracked down. I cannot say enough how intelligently this comic is written, you might need to arm yourself with a dictionary to figure out what Rex and his fellow librarians or ever Barry are saying, but isn't that what we should have with us when we read all good literature. Enjoy!
I bought this book not knowing anything about it, solely for the fact it was about a librarian "superhero" and for the fantastic cover art, for the High School at which I am the librarian. It is a terrific find. My 2 sons ages 12 and 14 LOVED it and are anxious for me to get the rest of the comics so that they can see what happens. My 12 year old's favorite part is the fact that Rex constantly has a book with him and uses the knowledge he gets from within his books to defeat the bad guys.
I bought this book not knowing anything about it, solely for the fact it was about a librarian "superhero" and for the fantastic cover art, for the High School at which I am the librarian. It is a terrific find. My 2 sons ages 12 and 14 LOVED it and are anxious for me to get the rest of the comics so that they can see what happens. My 12 year old's favorite part is the fact that Rex constantly has a book with him and uses the knowledge he gets from within his books to defeat the bad guys.
July 10, 2009
This book was just flat-out fun. Rex Libris is a galaxy-traveling, dimension-jumping librarian from Middleton Public Library. Although he carries a huge gun, he often simply uses his vast knowledge of history & the universe to get out of tough scrapes.
The man has every fictional tool under his belt and works for the Egyptian god Thoth, which makes the story pretty funny.
One of the best things about this book is pure imagination behind the writing. James Turner turns on the creative jets with this one. He basically has all of human literature to pull from and he does a great job with it.
My only complaints: the text, which is in thought-bubbles and speech-bubbles, is too small. But of course it has to be since he's chocking it full of great lines and historical information. The other complaint is B. Barry Horst, the "editor" who is helping Rex write his autobiography. The character is basically a conglomeration of every weird/mean/strange editor in other fiction. He's a businessman at heart so he's trying to "spice up" Rex's stories. I think the story doesn't need him at all.
Overall, I loved this. I can't wait to read the next installment, "Book of Monsters."
Thanks to my brother-in-law, Matt, for introducing me to Rex!
The man has every fictional tool under his belt and works for the Egyptian god Thoth, which makes the story pretty funny.
One of the best things about this book is pure imagination behind the writing. James Turner turns on the creative jets with this one. He basically has all of human literature to pull from and he does a great job with it.
My only complaints: the text, which is in thought-bubbles and speech-bubbles, is too small. But of course it has to be since he's chocking it full of great lines and historical information. The other complaint is B. Barry Horst, the "editor" who is helping Rex write his autobiography. The character is basically a conglomeration of every weird/mean/strange editor in other fiction. He's a businessman at heart so he's trying to "spice up" Rex's stories. I think the story doesn't need him at all.
Overall, I loved this. I can't wait to read the next installment, "Book of Monsters."
Thanks to my brother-in-law, Matt, for introducing me to Rex!
September 18, 2011
Rex is the Head Librarian at Middleton Public library. But Middleton...isn't your average library. And Rex isn't your average librarian. Rex is an immortal librarian, beginning his training back in the great ancient Library of Alexandria. And Middleton serves patrons from all over the universe and all manner of creatures. Rex uses every resource at his disposal to get Warlords to return their overdue books and pay their fines. Joining him in his adventures are the Head of the Library Thoth (the ancient god), Quagis, and Circe.
It isn't too often that you get to see a book that features a librarian as a hero (yes there are a few, but there far and few in between.) So as a librarian I was glad to stumble across Rex and his merry band and see how they dealt with patrons from across the universe (I made sure to take notes on how to defeat demon spirits.) The story is great fun, easy to read, and easy to get into (and you don't have to be a librarian to enjoy it.) There's a little bit of something for everyone in this book. My one complaint is the lettering gets a bit tiring to read after a while. Otherwise sit back and enjoy the adventure.
It isn't too often that you get to see a book that features a librarian as a hero (yes there are a few, but there far and few in between.) So as a librarian I was glad to stumble across Rex and his merry band and see how they dealt with patrons from across the universe (I made sure to take notes on how to defeat demon spirits.) The story is great fun, easy to read, and easy to get into (and you don't have to be a librarian to enjoy it.) There's a little bit of something for everyone in this book. My one complaint is the lettering gets a bit tiring to read after a while. Otherwise sit back and enjoy the adventure.
September 8, 2015
My only disappointment with this series is that it ended with no apparent plans for more issues. I loved this so much. It's hilarious and a blast to read, although, obviously, you're going to need to be able to suspend your disbelief big time. Rex Libris reminds me a bit of a noir detective version of Dr. Who with a very literary bent. I love how he's constantly fighting evil - but only because he needs those books to be returned on time. Seriously, it doesn't get any better for me than over the top, outlandish humor based on libraries and librarians.
This series is ideal for librarians and those who love them and fans of Doctor Who and other cleverly done science fiction/fantasy type shows. It's not meant to be taken seriously and it's a blast to read. My one critique is that the format makes it super hard to read in print. The book itself is smaller in size than most paperback graphic novels and the text is just tiny in places. If eyesight is any issue at all, this one will be hard to read in print.
This series is ideal for librarians and those who love them and fans of Doctor Who and other cleverly done science fiction/fantasy type shows. It's not meant to be taken seriously and it's a blast to read. My one critique is that the format makes it super hard to read in print. The book itself is smaller in size than most paperback graphic novels and the text is just tiny in places. If eyesight is any issue at all, this one will be hard to read in print.
June 10, 2012
Very stylized pictures. Some sparkling dialog but mostly a shot'em up. One of the better quotes is the monologue Circe gives to the younger librarian Hypatia.
"I'm over 2000 years old. My trouble making days are long behind me. wreaking havoc and seducing adventuring heroes is for young people. These days I like to curl up with a good book and a hot cup of tea ... Destroying lives, seeking power ... it isn't very fulfilling. After the first few millennia, the sex gets a little boring. There are only so many variations. The emotions around the sex have always been the real spice. Stimulating jealousy, spiking envy, and arousing aggression and anger in a suitor can make things terribly exciting and lift one's ego... Deliciously destructive, addictive and salacious, but over time, in the long run, nauseating. Think of being stuck on a hundred year long roller coaster ride."
"I'm over 2000 years old. My trouble making days are long behind me. wreaking havoc and seducing adventuring heroes is for young people. These days I like to curl up with a good book and a hot cup of tea ... Destroying lives, seeking power ... it isn't very fulfilling. After the first few millennia, the sex gets a little boring. There are only so many variations. The emotions around the sex have always been the real spice. Stimulating jealousy, spiking envy, and arousing aggression and anger in a suitor can make things terribly exciting and lift one's ego... Deliciously destructive, addictive and salacious, but over time, in the long run, nauseating. Think of being stuck on a hundred year long roller coaster ride."
May 27, 2012
Amusing, literate romp with librarian hero Rex Libris as he battles fictional emanations and chases aliens across the universe to recover overdue books. I'm hoping novice librarian Hypatia gets more screen time in volume 2!
October 6, 2016
I'm sorry to say I couldn't finish this (mostly because I got distracted by more interesting stories and I gave up) especially because I'm studying to be a librarian. I found it a bit more tedious than I was expecting, however the first scene was hilarious.
December 9, 2018
Celebrates the unsung heroes: the Librarians. Hey, I once spent an afternoon coming up with Archivists' superpowers and the great villains they battled. Amusing. Some of the interaction with the publisher began to drag a bit.
October 3, 2022
Maybe this wasn't my particular brand of humor; I just found it too long-winded. This caused me to focus more on the book's weaknesses. It seemed fairly obvious to me that it didn't go through a very rigorous editing stage as I saw a handful of spelling errors and noticed some design mistakes. Many writers and visual artists learn to "show don't tell" through their work, and this book was a clear example that some adjustments could be made to better feature the artwork and make the text more concise. There was also a lack of page numbers, and I could not fathom why beyond the fact that the designers were just lazy. The story really lagged for me and the dialogue was ... awkward. There were many obscure references but too many that related to early Christian literature or Anglo-centric historic events, like the Anglo-Afghan War. It made me a bit wary. Regardless, it was somewhat enjoyable to see a kind of librarian-superhero character (except for that crap about shushing; that stereotype needs to die).
March 26, 2018
Two-fisted librarian Rex Libris obtains overdue library books and protects the knowledge of the library. Turner's got a very stylized and design-intense line, but he very effectively channels a Jack Kirby energy and combines it with his own style completely organically. Great art.
Story has its moments. Turner comes up with some creative ways for Libris to win against superior foes, and the one-liners work well. Good humor, mostly from Rex's would-be "philosopher-king" turned bird (by a spell from Circe - who's now mellowed out over the years and works as a librarian herself!) sidekick Simonides.
Alas, Turner is quite taken with the alternate history of Rex's world and the evolution of the librarian asskicker. The book bogs down a few times with needless exposition that was probably meant to be funnier than it actually is. Promising, but not quite there.
Story has its moments. Turner comes up with some creative ways for Libris to win against superior foes, and the one-liners work well. Good humor, mostly from Rex's would-be "philosopher-king" turned bird (by a spell from Circe - who's now mellowed out over the years and works as a librarian herself!) sidekick Simonides.
Alas, Turner is quite taken with the alternate history of Rex's world and the evolution of the librarian asskicker. The book bogs down a few times with needless exposition that was probably meant to be funnier than it actually is. Promising, but not quite there.
April 22, 2019
Somehow, a comic about a guy working at a huge supernatural library that's frequented by demons, aliens, and the undead, whose job is to retrieve books from patrons who didn't return them, manages to be BORING.
First off, you'd think this would be action packed, but it's wordier than a Silver Age comic, often telling us things that we couldn't possibly need to know (side note: If there are details you need to expand on in a comic, do what manga does and it make it a separate thing in the book). Second, just when the plot started getting good, it came to a screeching halt for skits between the protagonist and an "editor." Third, the story had no real flow.
So, yeah, it was a struggle to read.
First off, you'd think this would be action packed, but it's wordier than a Silver Age comic, often telling us things that we couldn't possibly need to know (side note: If there are details you need to expand on in a comic, do what manga does and it make it a separate thing in the book). Second, just when the plot started getting good, it came to a screeching halt for skits between the protagonist and an "editor." Third, the story had no real flow.
So, yeah, it was a struggle to read.
January 7, 2020
I would give this adult graphic novel about 3 and a half stars. Rex Libris is 2,000 year old librarian working at the Middleton Public Library. He fights the forces of evil, especially who refuse to return their library books. The primary mission for Rex in this novel is retrieve the overdue Principia Mathematica from the Space Warlord Voglox on planet Benzine V. The plot is not the point of the book as it pokes fun at librarie, librarians, and various forms of mythology. This book definitely does not play to a wide audience, but has a librarian I found it fairly funny but the jokes start to run thin by the end. Its humor is geared toward adults and older teens.
March 18, 2019
I wanted to like this (most likely because I had enjoyed Bookhunter back in 2013 and at a glance, this seemed to be in a similar vein). I was disappointed. I almost didn't bother to finish it off, but I am a bit of a completionist. I am not enough of a completionist though to push me into picking up the second volume. The art style really wasn't my cup of tea, but I would have been willing to overlook that for an engaging story with great characters. This failed to truly capture my attention and interest. I can't help but keep thinking the potential was high, but it just didn't deliver.
December 17, 2020
Meh. There were aspects of this comic about the immortal librarian Rex Libris that made me laugh--details about the daily duties of real life librarians alongside of Rex's intergalactic adventures, such as checking to see whether his library owns a book mentioned by another character--but I wasn't charmed enough to want to read any more in the series.
December 29, 2017
A fun, slim volume that is more word dense than I expected. I like the artist’s use of angular, monochrome illustrations. Simonides is my favorite character despite (or perhaps because of) being a megalomaniacal telepathic bird.
February 4, 2018
An adventure comic about a mythic interdimensional librarian traveling time and space to bring back overdue books. The style is sort of a blend of Fritz Lang and Red Meat. Not a bad read, not a great one, and probably has less appeal for non-librarians.
October 7, 2018
A librarian who is a super hero charged with finding overdue library books... What could be wrong with that? Because of this premise I took a chance on this YA graphic novel. Realized the story really didn't grab me and I'm not a super fan of graphic novels.
May 20, 2024
There were some neat ideas here, but too often, the text outweighed the artwork, and I found my patience wore thin fairly quickly with reading dense paragraphs of tiny text. Hopefully, the second volume has a better ratio of art to text.
August 22, 2017
I really, really wanted to like this but it just didn't do it for me
November 25, 2017
The idea is funny and it’s a cute comic, but the lettering is hard to read because it is too densely packed and a book about a hero librarian should not contain nearly so many typos.
December 22, 2017
Cool idea. I can totally get behind a bad-ass librarian! But the formatting (lots of words, small print) was a little problematic.
June 9, 2019
I was drawn in by the art style. The story, while not overly bad, just wasn’t my cup of tea.
July 14, 2019
DNFed after the first two chapters. It was tedious, with very small type, and not as funny or clever as it thought it was.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews