ABQ Graphic Novel Book Club discussion
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Summer 2020: Reading at Home
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Steve S. has also been in a dystopian frame of mind, reading Captain America Vol. 1: Winter In America by the great Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Jonna wrote: " reading the graphic novel version of The Ring of the Nibelung by the legendary artist P. Craig Russell.."Thanks. Just ordered a copy now.
Graphic novels read this year, so far: -- Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, by Daniel Clowes (9781560971160) collects all ten chapters of the serialized story Eightball. As if the Eightball stories weren't odd enough on their own, reading all ten at once is disconcerting. I love Daniel Clowes' work, and there is some good stuff in here. But it's early work, so some of this is excellent, some good, some overblown, and some full of gratuitous details. I didn't rate it very high, because some of it is disturbing without a good story behind it.
-- Criminal, Vol. 7: Wrong Time, Wrong Place, by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, is a powerful story like Road to Perdition, with a twelve year old assisting his father in crime, and not innocently. He admires and learns from his dad, when he's around. The story uses comic books as a McGuffin. The father reads two comics in jail, and we read along with him. The son reads them as well throughout. It is part of their bond. However, the son is often alone, moving often, and his dad is frequently in jail, so he has no friends. The plot involves his forming a friendship with a young girl who shares his interest in comics. Exceptionally well written. 5 stars.
-- Before Watchmen Omnibus, by Brian Azzarello, J. Michael Straczynski, et al. (9781401285517) goes deeper than Watchmen itself. Sure there are conspiracy theories galore, and everyone's backstory too, but in between the threads of each story runs a recurring philosophical thread that does get you thinking about life's dualities, absurdities, and moralities. Whereas Watchmen exposed the myths of superheroes, Before Watchmen..., ostensibly a complete omnibus of the prehistory, goes after all of us. The writing and art are superb. Franz Kafka would have enjoyed it. 5 stars.
-- Sandman: The Dream Hunters, by Neil Gaiman. P. Craig Russell, (9781401224288) is a fable of a monk and a shapeshifting fox set in old Japan, written by Gaiman and Russell that is the graphic novel adaptation of Gaiman's original text. It is not only a moral tale but a love story. The artwork is mind-blowingly beautiful. Rated it 5 stars.
-- Cairo, G. Willow Wilson and Mk. Perker, (9781401211400) is hard to describe. It's a quest, full of mythology, and as diverse a set of culturally diverse characters as can be assembled, including djinn, Israeli Special Forces, a hash smuggler, and a whole international cast. Again, the black and white artwork serves the story well, as it is fanciful, but also high drama, violence and betrayal. Maybe an unlikely love story as well. Whereas much of the book is drawn in sequential panels, there is also a great deal of creativity in how they are presented, sometimes as circular inserts, sometimes elongated panels, and sometimes as large panels full of details integral to the story. The different sizes and shapes serve to move the story along when necessary or present a broader sense of setting. I gave it 4 stars.
-- About Betty's Boob by Vero and Julie Rocheleau (9781684151646), tells a story in (mostly) wordless format, beautifully illustrated, about what a mastectomy means to a patient, and how she comes to grips with it. She demands that she be given the boob, which is contained in a small box. (boob in a box?). Anyway, as ludicrous as it sounds, it serves to emphasize how devastating she finds the loss. Her husband loses interest in her sexually, and her as well. It is a common story, and somewhat of a cliche of many women's fears, but how she handles it, and her own sudden freedom is something else again, taking her on an impossibly surreal journey. A beautifully drawn story, full of imagination and humor, so a good gift of humor for anyone facing such a loss or something similar. 5 stars.
-- Palimpsest: Documents From a Korean Adoption, by cartoonist Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom (9781770463301) is a fascinating story. I've heard about these terrible things that go on behind adoptions, but this story is mostly about an adoptee trying to connect with her roots. But there are roadblocks. I would recommend this to anyone in a similar situation of having been adopted, especially from another country. It's a tangled web of misinformation, clichés, lies, money, and greed. And that's hard to navigate. But I'd also recommend it to anyone thinking about adopting a child from another country. A good, personal story. The author had amazing perseverance over the course of thirty-five years. 4 stars, because the dark backgrounds and small lettering made reading it a little tedious at times.
-- Firefly Original Graphic Novel: The Sting, by Delilah S. Dawson, Joss Whedon, et al. (9781684154333) is a delightful Firefly story, especially for those of us who can't ever get enough Firefly. The whole crew, together. What else do I need to say? There's Kaylee, River, Inara, Zoë, and Saffron, working a job together, in a convent. A party full of rich men, a diamond named "Her Majesty", and the doors will lock at dawn, for the rest of their lives. Drama and adventure, as per usual.
-- There's a couple others, The Sixth Gun: Dust to Death, by Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt, et al. It is not that interesting. #8.1 in a series with the same characters. Unoriginal visions of the weird west, with shamans, the Spirit World, magic pistols, and bounty hunters. Two stars. And, -- Pearls Goes Hollywood, the latest collection of Pearls Before Swine syndicated comic strips by Stephan Pastis. It celebrates the release of the movie based on his children's book: Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, although there is nothing of the book or movie in this collection. But there is a two-page poster at the end of the book. 256 pages. 4 stars. (The Timmy Failure books are hilarious, for children or adults.) I also read Big Hero 6 (9780316263894), illustrated by Disney, the tie-in with the movie by Disney, adapted from the manga by Haruki Ueno. I always wondered what the story was about, and I found the book by a dumpster. The big white marshmallow character is a personal health-care robot named Baymax. A young prodigy named Hiro is the main character. Three stars for the science fiction aspects and the tragic death? of one of the main characters.
I may have recommended this before, but this online comic recently started a new chapter I'm readinghttp://sssscomic.com/
A sort of zombie postapocalypse, takes place in the former Finland/Nordic countries. 100? years after the apocalypse. It starts off pretty slow, but it's got some fun characters and tension. And lovely art. Although honestly it's a little weird reading it during the current circumstances lol
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Recently, I read the graphic novel White Bird, which was amazing 5 out of 5 stars. It is written and drawn by R.J. Palacio of young reader fame for the book Wonder. Julien, a character from Wonder, face times his Jewish grandma and gets her to tell him her story. The story of when she was a teenager living in France under the Nazi occupation during WWII, she goes into hiding in a barn and forms a friendship with the son of the family helping her. Well researched, beautifully drawn and written; this story will move you, make you shed a tear or two.
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ABQ Graphic Novel Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Ring of the Nibelung (other topics)The Ring of the Nibelung (other topics)
Captain America, Vol. 1: Winter in America (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
P. Craig Russell (other topics)Ta-Nehisi Coates (other topics)
We hope you're safe and well, and we hope you're finding something uplifting, encouraging, or sensational on your bookshelves. We've got a stack of books at home--and lots of Hoopla rentals--and we'd love to hear what you're reading. Please feel free to share!
Take care,
Jonna