Amazing artwork and story in this evocation of the turn of the century immigrant life in New York. Found this graphic novel on a 100 best list and am Amazing artwork and story in this evocation of the turn of the century immigrant life in New York. Found this graphic novel on a 100 best list and am glad I did. Interesting trivia: Corman is married to cartoonist Tom Hart. Power couple or what?...more
Highly recommended. Six short stories, some funny, some touching, some quirky and odd. All of them staged, set, and "acted" by the equivalent of a virHighly recommended. Six short stories, some funny, some touching, some quirky and odd. All of them staged, set, and "acted" by the equivalent of a virtuoso film director. This is a comics artist at the top of his game. ...more
Great artwork and even better storytelling skills here. Took a few changes in direction where we're starting to have one expectation and then it goes Great artwork and even better storytelling skills here. Took a few changes in direction where we're starting to have one expectation and then it goes the other way. Funny, suspenseful and relatable....more
Just a beautiful story, fantastic artwork, and innovative use of graphic storytelling methods. Like Tintin for the literary set, this is the marriage Just a beautiful story, fantastic artwork, and innovative use of graphic storytelling methods. Like Tintin for the literary set, this is the marriage of great writing and great drawing. Loved it....more
Read this one because I liked This One Summer so much and Skim doesn't disappoint either. These two cousins are clearly a powerful combination in the Read this one because I liked This One Summer so much and Skim doesn't disappoint either. These two cousins are clearly a powerful combination in the world of graphic novels. Really great story of a confusing time in high school and a young woman coming to grips with her sexuality. Again, beautifully rendered by Jillian Tamaki....more
This was an example of great writing paired with great art to form the amazing synthesis known as comics. Jillian Tamaki's artwork actually has the seThis was an example of great writing paired with great art to form the amazing synthesis known as comics. Jillian Tamaki's artwork actually has the sense of a fine art world with cartoon characters inhabiting it. So beautifully done and the story is filled with the ache of a first love, a family dealing with a traumatic event and a friendship undergoing change. Beautiful. Must read....more
So we can't call this one a graphic novel because it is a real life chronicle. We can't use my other favourite category, "Autobio-graphica," because iSo we can't call this one a graphic novel because it is a real life chronicle. We can't use my other favourite category, "Autobio-graphica," because it isn't so much about the author's life as her parents'. Let's go with "Comics Memoir" for now, because I like making stuff up.
Here we go. Get ready for some end-of-life-awesomeness, a sandwich-generation-surprise, and overall impressive, even self-deprecating, authorial candour. This is the story of how one cartoonist's aging parents checked out in agonizingly slow, scrupulously-detailed fashion.
It was well-written and sometimes funny in a sad way. It's not a feel good page-turner, but worth a read. ...more
Fantastic artwork and spot on dialogue and prose made this beautiful graphic novel love story an overall winner. So heartfelt! Never heard of this artFantastic artwork and spot on dialogue and prose made this beautiful graphic novel love story an overall winner. So heartfelt! Never heard of this artist before, but I'll be looking for future works. This story was made into a film which became a Cannes Palme D'Or winner. ...more
Exciting news! The book jacket for this book has taught me the correct term for Non-fiction graphic works (ie. not "novels") which are first person acExciting news! The book jacket for this book has taught me the correct term for Non-fiction graphic works (ie. not "novels") which are first person accounts: Graphic Memoirs. And the artist is a Graphic Memoirist. I had been messing around with an alternative that I had made up to describe them as "autobio-graphic novels," but that still contains the distracting whiff of fiction, when fiction it isn't (except for the part about all history being subjective and, to a certain extent, a narrative of something that never actually happened, except in the author's own interpretation, never really approaching objective truth).
Anyway, the Stranger in a Strange Land is back with another of his wonderfully understated tales of travels with his wife and "Doctors Without Borders" to unusual places. He has an artist's eye for interesting detail along with the impartiality of a great reporter, which make these live-alogues so fascinating (because they live in each place for a year or more, I can't call it a travelogue, so there you go, another new term). Highly recommend this book and all his others. ...more
I have to think up a better category for non-fiction graphic "novels" which still acknowledges their relation to other works of the same medium. I sawI have to think up a better category for non-fiction graphic "novels" which still acknowledges their relation to other works of the same medium. I saw a shelf heading labelled "Graphica" at the University bookstore here in town yesterday. Not bad.
So, anyway, Marbles is another great entry in the tradition of other autobio-graphic-al cartoonists living interesting or informative lives. Here Forney tells us of her struggles in life leading up to and since her bipolar diagnosis. Her talents as cartoonist are well established and on full display here. She does an excellent job of investigating the history of bipolar and manic depressive artists and her concern that her creativity will evaporate along with her condition if she agrees to medication.
Great narrative, lots of information on depression and really great, funny graphics combined to make this one of the top ten "graphica" works in the EW end of year issue, which is where I heard about it. Certainly it bears comparison to Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel. Bechdel has actually provided a comment for the cover, expressing her admiration for Forney's achievement. Both are worth reading for the general interest reader of great works of "Graphica," but especially for those who know someone who has received this dreadful diagnosis....more
Really enjoyed this graphic novel by a theatre director and a visual artist. Very strong graphics to go with a pretty simple story line which played oReally enjoyed this graphic novel by a theatre director and a visual artist. Very strong graphics to go with a pretty simple story line which played out quite dramatically. A lot of innovative stuff showing tiny heads to indicate dialogue in a conversation, as well as showing people talking in Chinese with the translation into English playing out below. Really riveting stuff - great emotion, great characters and puzzling ending. Highly recommend it to fans of the medium....more
Some great new material in here that I hadn't read before, but mostly stuff I'd seen before on the website. It was just as funny the second time. JustSome great new material in here that I hadn't read before, but mostly stuff I'd seen before on the website. It was just as funny the second time. Just read on her blog that she is working on a new comic, so the web version will suffer for awhile. Hope it doesn't take too long. Follow her on twitter for some day-to-day doodlings and other fun stuff. Master cartoonist and hilarious writer....more
Coming from the author of "Blankets," the intimate story of a first love, this sprawling, 700 page epic of the Arabian desert was an unexpected departComing from the author of "Blankets," the intimate story of a first love, this sprawling, 700 page epic of the Arabian desert was an unexpected departure. And it wasn't subject matter that would normally draw me in, either. But this graphic novel of a love between two child slaves left me gobsmacked. It is a truly stunning artistic achievement as well as a brilliant and moving story.
This love story spans years and is set down amidst an exploration of religion, culture and language without it feeling overly didactic or at all pedantic. A combination of imagery, calligraphy, symbology and simply great characters "drawn" with a sure hand. Eisner, Harvey, Ignatz... here comes Craig Thompson again. He is on fire in this master work of art, of literature and of pure story. Can't recommend highly enough.
Mild spoiler warning: the book tricked me with its opening into thinking it was a historical piece, harkening back to the days of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves or Prince of Persia. It proved to be a modern context, reflective of our contemporary social and environmental condition. Quite a reversal of expectations, which comes on the reader gradually....more
I saw some of the original, uncollected "Essex County" comics in the comic stores when they came out and I remember flipping through them from time toI saw some of the original, uncollected "Essex County" comics in the comic stores when they came out and I remember flipping through them from time to time but never really piquing enough interest to bring me to purchase them. Then I heard the collected graphic novel version had made it onto "Canada Reads" and I wondered what I had missed. Since reading the entire thing, I now understand that the effect of this work is slow, elegantly understated and cumulative, so it is hard to "get it" on a casual glance through a single storyline.
There is such melancholy, such dignity and a quiet joy in the little things in this work. So much love and regret, isolation and loneliness and longing for the traditions of the past. I love the artwork in the series. It says that the story is anything but "super," that you'll have to look and listen closely to these lines. I love the feeling of personal histories being present with us all the time and having their influence on the events of our lives even as they happen. The inability to escape the past is a comfort and a curse to these characters.
Lemire is very adept at allowing a moment to happen without dialogue, sometimes from behind a window, where we can't "hear" what's being said. The effect is haunting in that it allows for quietness and gravity in what are often mundane details in the characters' lives. The book is also wonderfully steeped in Canadiana--from hockey to rural farming life, from Leamington to Toronto, in the inevitable "eh?" after each sentence, through five generations of characters' lives, whose stories are sometimes told all at the same time.
A beautiful, heartbreaking work of graphic storytelling....more
Really great story of an unusual relationship against the background of a society in conflict. Such great rendering of emotions and facial expressionsReally great story of an unusual relationship against the background of a society in conflict. Such great rendering of emotions and facial expressions that the artwork becomes an important part of the storytelling. Highly recommend....more
Really great story with a lot of pitch perfect characters and intense feeling. I would've hated to wait a week between every page if I was one of thosReally great story with a lot of pitch perfect characters and intense feeling. I would've hated to wait a week between every page if I was one of those following it in the paper....more
Guy alienates his wife, his marriage breaks up and he quits his job and gets lost for awhile. It is not a vastly original story, but the graphic sensiGuy alienates his wife, his marriage breaks up and he quits his job and gets lost for awhile. It is not a vastly original story, but the graphic sensibility and visual storytelling is quite complex and rewarding. I particularly liked the retelling of the myth of Orpheus in the subway system. The pacing and quiet sense of drama were perfect and carried the story along effortlessly as we work to unravel the mystery of how the world famous architect 'Sterio came to work as a car mechanic in small town nowhere. Really enjoyable and not even a let down, despite all of the media hype the book has received....more
I studied this textbook back in Grade 12 History with a particularly left-leaning teacher who opened our eyes to a whole new way of learning about hisI studied this textbook back in Grade 12 History with a particularly left-leaning teacher who opened our eyes to a whole new way of learning about history: from the point of view of "the loser," of who is most impacted by the outcome. This graphic novelization of the text is a great read and quite dramatically done. I'm sure it will become the "Coles Notes/Cliff Notes" for future classrooms covering the book....more
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