The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf April 2008
The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers.
Krazy & Ignatz 1941-1942: "A Ragout of Raspberries" by George Herriman
Bill Blackbeard, Editor
Fantagraphics Books
7563 Lake City Way Northeast, Seattle, WA 98115
9781560978879, $19.95 www.fantagraphics.com
KRAZY AND IGNATZ: 1941-1942 follows the love story of KRAZY KAT in a volume which packs in color Sunday strips from all the 1941 and 1942 comics. Any library specializing in comics history needs this: it provides a gorgeous display of full-page strips and captures well the art and sentiments of the Krazy Kat comics of its time.
Silver Age Sci-Fi Companion
Mike W. Barr
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614
9781893905818, $19.95 www.twomorrows.com
The space adventures and worlds envisioned by a classic DC Comics series edited by Julius Schwartz and written by Gardner Fox and John Broome is revealed in SILVER AGE SCI-FI COMPANION, a consider of the series stories of Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space which includes reviews of complete series and behind-the-scenes insights on writers and artists alike. Any Silver Age comics collector, library catering to them, or science fiction fan will relish the plot synopses and insights.
Modern Masters Volume 14: Frank Cho
Eric Nolen-Weathington
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614
9781893905849, $14.95 www.twomorrows.com
Frank Cho loved to draw women, monkeys and dinosaurs and earned a following though his Liberty Meadows works, earning my prestigious awards in the comic industry: his biography joins others in the 'Modern Masters' series celebrating comic book artists of modern times, and provides an excellent selection of black and white sketches to accompany text exploring Cho's works and perspective. No library strong in comic history should be without this.
Little Nemo In Slumberland HC Volume 1 Limited Edition
Winsor McCay
Checker Book Publishing Group
2044-A South Alex Road, West Carrollton, OH 45449
1933160217, $49.95 www.checkerbpg.com
Throughout the 20th century, newspaper comic strips have been a staple of American popular culture. Winsor McCay's "Little Nemo In Slumberland" was a color comic strip that debuted in the New York 'Hearld' on October 15, 1905 and achieved an immense popularity almost overnight. It continued to be published until December 1913, when McCay was pressed by his editor to suspend the series in order to concentrate on editorial cartooning. In August 1924 McCay revived the comic strip and it ran for an additional three years. Now the Checker Book Publishing Group has brought out a photomechanical reprint in full color of all of the strips from the first episode in 1905 though August 15, 1909. Also included in this impressive first volume are forty-three strips comprising 'Tales of the Jungle Imps', as well as samples of original promotional material, play bills, posters, early Nemo merchandising, and more. Of immense nostalagic interest and a superb example of early American newspaper cartoon strips, "Winsor McCay's Little Nemo In Slumberland; Volume One" is also highly recommended because it makes available to a whole new generation of readers the wonderful adventures of Nemo, Flip, The Princess, and a cast of memorable characters.
Innocent Volume 1: 2006-2007 Collection
Shawn Granger
King Tractor Press
PO Box 7732, La Verne, Ca 91750
9780978748630, $14.99 www.kingtractorpress.com
The graphic novel as a literary form within American popular culture has truly come of age. Ably assisted by a team of five talented artists, three letterers, two designers, two cover artists, and an editor, Shawn Granger's "Innocent" is a compelling story of an angel of retribution who befriends a psychopathic mortal. The angel Innocent finds himself hard pressed to keep his psycho friend David focused on killing only those who really deserve to be murdered, and leaving the innocent well enough alone. A sophisticated story featuring characters that are intrinsically interesting and a bit more than casually sophisticated, "Innocent" is the first volume of a graphic novel series that can be confidently recommended to the attention of science fiction and fantasy fans in general, and graphic novel buffs in particular -- and will lead readers in both groups looking eagerly toward the next installment of this debut effort.
Maison Ikkoku, Volume 15
Rumiko Takahashi
Viz Communications Inc.
295 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
9781421502793, $9.95 www.viz.com 1-800-394-3042
Now available on in an "editor's choice" reprint edition with a new cover, the fifteenth and final volume Maison Ikkoku concludes the slice-of-life romance between Godai and Kyoko, with a thoroughly satisfying wrap-up of their story as well as that of their rambunctious, out-of-control neighbors. Though the issues of love, relationships, and responsibility take the dramatic center stage, the situation comedy elements are neither gone nor forgotten; the well- known "goddess of manga" Rumiko Takahashi pens Maison Ikkoku's finale with her usual flair for wit and insight. Maison Ikkoku carries the highest possible recommendation, as a heartwarming saga that resonates so strongly with the ups and downs with real life that it is worth rereading again and again.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
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Midwest Book Review
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