Graphic Novel Reviews, March 15, 2011
Mar 15, 2011
E-comics in libraries For comics industry-wide, the big story for 2010 was e-comics and e-reader apps, from DC Comics to an eUlysses. Per pop culture watchers ICv2, comics were among the top 2010 apps for iPhone and iPad, and the digital comics market grew from $6 million to $8 million. E-reading is growing generally: according to the December 20th, 2010, Publishers Weekly, 26 percent of adult book buyers read ebooks and an additional 34 percent are willing to try them. Most public libraries offer ebooks these days, and e-usage is growing. But can e-reading fanfolks get their graphic fix from library offerings?
Right now, the answer seems to be not much, not yet. Ebook distributor OverDrive does offer libraries hundreds of graphic novels from close to a dozen publishers and plans to add more. “We are in discussion with several companies,” reports David Burleigh, OverDrive’s director of marketing. And among OverDrive’s ebook publishers, Liquid Comics is the very first to permit simultaneous multireader access via its Maximum Access program. But MyiLibrary (Ingram), NetLibrary (EBSCO), and ebrary (ProQuest) offer only a few titles. MyiLibrary expects to acquire more eventually.
Meanwhile, web-based distributor comiXology sells barrels of comics from 40-plus publishers, but library licensing isn’t available—yet. This could change, though. Just before this issue went to press, Diamond Comic Distributors, mega-suppliers for brick-and-mortar comics shops, announced a collaborative program with web-based distributor iVerse to sell digital comics through those same comics shops. The goal: to bring retailers into the e-revenue and e-customer equation, including for long-format material: that is, graphic novels.
How about libraries? No mention yet, but Diamond maintains its Diamond Bookshelf just for librarians and educators, and might be interested in considering a library model once their Diamond Digital program is well past the beta stage.
Several web-based collaborative e-manga projects are in the works: the J Manga Portal Site involving over 30 Japanese publishers and Digital Manga Publishing’s Digital Manga Guild, also with multiple Japanese collaborators. Librarians should track both projects and push for library licensing.
As for comics publishers, each sails its own e-ship, some toward many destinations, some toward few, some toward libraries. Strikingly, Lerner’s Graphic Universe line covers all ports, from web and e-readers through OverDrive and other library vendors, and they are working on Apple device access. Toon Books uses no middlemen but offers all titles as ebooks free on its website, with audio enhancement. Some, like Dark Horse and DC, set up their own platforms as well as through comiXology or iVerse. Says Jim Gibbons, Dark Horse’s publicity coordinator, “No efforts yet on the library front. Our first priority is launching our digital store.” Says DC publicity manager Austin Trunick, about libraries, “We don’t have anything in place yet, but I am passing the info along to our digital team. It’s a neat idea!” No kidding.
By contrast, the e-exclusive Alexander Street Press sells its full-text database Underground and Independent Comics, Comix, and Graphic Novels primarily to libraries, with more comics projects a gleam in its eye (see Cheryl LaGuardia’s review in LJ 3/1/11, p. 98). Also only electronic at present: the Ulysses “Seen” project from literary web publisher Throwaway Horse. With the Telemachus chapter and reader’s guide free via web and iPad, Throwaway is talking about classroom and library arrangements as additional chapters appear, adding Shanower’s Age of Bronze to its offerings and looking beyond to Shakespeare.—M.C.
Dorison, Xavier (text) & Mathieu Lauffray (illus.). Lady Vivian Hastings: Long John Silver. Vol. 1. Cinebook. 2011. c.56p. tr. from French by Jerome Saincantin. ISBN 9781849180627. pap. $13.95. F
“No women in the story, Lloyd’s orders,” wrote Stevenson to his friend William Henley about Treasure Island. Thankfully, Dorison’s spin-off ignores Stevenson’s stepson. Twenty years later, Long John Silver is back in his old job as owner and cook at the Spy Glass tavern, impressing the ruffian regulars with his cuisine. In sashays bodacious Lady Vivian Hastings, looking for Silver’s help to seize booty from an expedition led by her estranged and hated husband. No saint herself, Vivian has been bonking Lord Prisham in hubby’s absence, partly out of boredom, partly out of spite, and partly to score another provider if Lord Hastings doesn’t return. But now he’s actually found the treasure of Guiana-Capac, and the lady wants a piece of it in spades. We can only munch happily on our popcorn to watch a he-rogue and a she-rogue try to cooperate against a worse foe. VERDICT Picaresque color art renders the lady, pirate, and period setting with juicy appeal. The story is shaping up nicely thanks to more rogues with cross-agendas. The series runs to four volumes, and this one is way too short. Recommended for adult collections.—M.C.
Glidden, Sarah. How To Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less. Vertigo: DC. 2010. c.208p.ISBN 9781401222338. $24.99. MEMOIR
In the Israel-Palestinian conflict, who is right? Glidden thought she knew her mind. Of Jewish heritage but not religious, she held Palestinian sympathies. But after six weeks of reading and ten days on a “Birthright Israel” tour for young Jews, she wasn’t so sure. And after 200 pages sweating out emotional and intellectual dissonances with her, perhaps neither are we. Taking a diary approach, Glidden pulls together maps, facts, figures, and ghosts of dead relatives and dignitaries who figure into Middle Eastern politics and the stories she heard during the tour. This part memoir, part political travelog spins out the history of Jewish attraction toward the area that is now Israel and the resulting hostilities involving Arab locals, interwoven with Glidden’s personal intellectual journey. VERDICT This graphic novel has a Persepolis feel because of the way it depicts a hot spot through memoir, but it provides more about multiple sides of the issues. The pleasant watercolor conjures semirealism, contrasting ironically with the centuries of bloodshed staining that expanse of land. Strongly recommended for high school and adult collections in company with Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Footnotes in Gaza and Rutu Modan’s Exit Wounds.—M.C.
Hosler, Jay (text) & Kevin Cannon & Zander Cannon (illus.). Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth. Hill & Wang: Farrar. 2011. c.152p. ISBN 9780809094769. $18.95. F/SCI
In this delightful follow-up to The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA (by the Cannons and writer Mark Schultz), alien scientist Bloort 183 explains to King Floorsh 727 and his bright, enthusiastic son, Prince Floorsh 418, the evolution of life on the first other planet with intelligent beings to be discovered by the squinches of Glargal: the Earth. In an engaging, accessible, and authoritative manner, Bloort covers Darwin’s theory of natural selection, important experiments and fossil discoveries, and the processes of inheritance, adaptation, speciation, and extinction. The squinches hope this research can help them deal with the “heritable disorder” that plagues them. VERDICT Multiple Eisner nominee Hosler (Clan Apis; Sandwalk Adventures) writes with admirable clarity and conciseness, and his genial wit and humor, well matched by the Cannons’ versatile cartooning, make this science lesson highly enjoyable. Sexual reproduction is dealt with in an entirely nonexplicit fashion (though the monarchs of the squinches—intelligent, asexually reproducing echinoderms—still react to the idea with an “ewwww”). A sterling example of the educational potential of comics; strongly recommended for ages ten and up.—S.R.
Lagos, Alexander & Joseph Lagos (text) & Steve Walker (illus.). The Sons of Liberty. Vol. 1. Crown. 2010. c.176p. ISBN 9780375856709. pap. $12.99. F
While historical fantasy mashups with zombies and vampires have recently dominated comics playlists, this series builds a compelling, socially relevant swashbuckler out of other material. In pre-Revolutionary America, runaway slaves Graham and Brody head north toward abolitionist Benjamin Lay but get pressed into service as lab rats for the electrical experiments of Benjamin Franklin’s wild-eyed son, William. Somehow they end up with superpowers instead of epitaphs, willing and able to ruin their former slave master and support the colonists’ rebellion against the British. There’s something terribly satisfying in seeing slaves turn on their oppressors with such zest and scare the britches off the Redcoats in the process. George Washington’s ownership of slaves has not been widely publicized until recently, and this story expands knowledge of how long slavery persisted in North America before the Civil War. VERDICT A YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens, The Sons of Liberty has wide audience potential and will appeal to many fantasy/superhero fans across ages. The glowing painted art is well designed and suits the story. An online educator’s guide explains the historical context. Volume 2 comes in July.—M.C.
Ohba, Tsugumi (text) & Takeshi Obata (illus.). Bakuman. Vol. 2. Viz Media. 2010. c.194p. ISBN 9781421535142. pap. $9.99. F
The team behind the wildly popular Death Note weighs in with a quite different yet appealing series about a pair of teen manga artists shooting for publication in Japan’s mega-manga mag, Shonen Jump (where Bakuman is currently running). Plotting chops really count in this kind of character-driven story, and Ohba’s got ’em. Moritaka is the sweet so-so student artist and Akito the supersmart writer. As the plot develops, other characters introduce twists and complications: Nobuhiro, Moritaka’s late artist uncle; Miho and Kaya, the girlfriends with their own agendas; Akira, the Shueisha editor who sees the boys’ potential but keeps challenging them; and Eiji, their competition. As an extra, scattered throughout are reproductions of Ohba storyboards followed by Obata’s redrawn thumbnails. VERDICT Fans hoping for paranormal histrionics will be disappointed, but others will be engrossed in the suspense these creators build for the boys and their dreams as well as insider glimpses into the Japanese manga industry and the difficulties facing manga superstars. As with Hikaro No Go and Death Note, Obata’s art is excellent. Up to ten volumes in Japan, the series is recommended for teens and up.—M.C.
O’Neil, Denny (text) & Neal Adams (text & illus.). Superman vs. Muhammad Ali. Deluxe ed. DC. 2010. c.96p. ISBN 9781401228415. $19.99. F
Another pairing of a little real with a lot of unreal, this collector’s item first appeared in 1978, during a period when Superman chummied up with quite a few then-celebrities. Such stories raise serious challenges for character development and plot, since both can be constrained by the reaction of the celebrity unless the purpose is pure satire, such as Antarctic Press’ Sarah Palin: Rogue Warrior comic. Another challenge for O’Neil and Adams was setting up a situation where two obvious good guys must fight each other. So it’s the psychopathic Rat’lar, emperor of the alien Scrubb race, who demands a Superman-Ali match so that the winner can fight the Scrubb champion. The prize: survival of Earth. The buildup offers pretty standard superhero fare, but the denouement gets quite inventive when Superman and Ali hatch a plot involving switched identities and feigned skills interspersed with the expected heroics. VERDICT This enjoyable read allows us to watch Ali trash-talk at the aliens, who don’t know what to make of him, and teach Superman how to box. Really! Extras include sketches and commentary. A classic recommended for teens and up.—M.C.
Rand, Ayn & Charles Santino (text) & Joe Staton (illus.). Anthem. NAL: Penguin Group (USA). 2011. c.132p. ISBN 9780451232175. pap. $15. F
In a letter to Walt Disney, the controversial, radically individualist Rand (The Fountainhead; Atlas Shrugged) wrote that if a film were made of her dystopian parable Anthem (1938, revised 1946), she would prefer it to be done “in stylized drawings, rather than with living actors.” She gets her wish, sort of, in this graphic adaptation. In a future society so collectivist that its language has no first-person singular pronoun and so primitive that it only recently began using candles, street sweeper Equality 7-2521 begins sneaking away at night to pursue his forbidden scientific ambitions and discovers not only an ancient technological secret but also the value of independence. With the girl Liberty 5-3000, he also discovers love. VERDICT Santino relates the story in the present tense, robbing some of its mythic feel. Staton’s unvarying three-panel page layouts fail to emphasize the story’s more dramatic moments, and his cartoony style (with monochrome art rendered in uninked, sometimes sketchy pencils) fails to match Rand’s fierce and poetic language. The original Anthem, short as it is, isn't a forbidding work; readers should stick with that.—S.R.
Rostan, Andrew (text) & Dave Valeza & Kate Kasenow (illus.). An Elegy for Amelia Johnson. Archaia. Mar. 2011. c.120p. ISBN 9781932386837. $14.95. F
Henry is an Oscar-winning filmmaker whose latest project hasn’t impressed his producer; Jillian, a journalist with a career floundering on the shoals of work not up to her breathtaking first effort. Neither has ever managed an extended love relationship, but both have remained long-term friends with Amelia, now dying of cancer. Amelia is a golden girl poet whose perceptive if sometimes flighty charisma touches everyone around her. Searching for an artistic way to communicate at the end, she decides that her parting message to her loved ones should be a film scripted by Jillian and made by Henry. This is, of course, a romance, and as usual rocks emerge on the path to mutual bliss, fortunately keeping the story from dissolving into saccharine stereotypes. Jillian and Henry fight. They encounter unpleasant surprises when interviewing others in Amelia’s past for the film. And they confront each other with their own and Amelia’s shortcomings. VERDICT As human drama with a bittersweet taste, Elegy will appeal to teens and adults who appreciate relationship plots with imperfectly happy endings and can be recommended for anyone interested in grief work. With attractive black-and-white art.—M.C.
Wolfman, Marv (text) & Gene Colan & others (illus.). The Tomb of Dracula. Vol. 2. Marvel. 2010. c.272p. ISBN 9780785149224. pap. $24.99. F
This 1970s series, which sees Dracula revived in the present and spreading terror anew, has been highly regarded among comics fans. Pursuing Dracula is a group including Rachel Van Helsing (great-granddaughter of Bram Stoker’s Van Helsing), Frank Drake (descendant of a prevampiric Dracula), and the vampire hunter Blade, who first appeared here and later inspired a popular film series. This volume reveals Blade’s origin and introduces Dracula’s estranged daughter, Lilith, while Dracula faces other supernatural menaces (including Marvel’s Werewolf By Night) and the bizarre scientist Doctor Sun, who craves Dracula’s power. VERDICT A few early issues are poor and melodramatic, but the writing stabilizes when Wolfman (!) takes over permanently halfway through Volume 1 and improves from there. The 1970s writing style is far wordier than most current comics, but Wolfman’s storytelling comes to match the stories’ gothic atmosphere, aided by Colan’s eerie, beshadowed artwork. The “parental advisory” label seems simply because of the series’ occult nature, though it may indicate that other, more adult Dracula work from Marvel’s black-and-white magazines may be included later. This full-color paperback series is recommended over previous collected editions.—S.R.
ABOUT COMICS
Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books and Graphic Novels. Continuum. 2010. c.366p. ed. by A. David Lewis & Christine Hoff Kraemer. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780826430267. pap. $34.95. GRAPHIC NOVELS
Every art form has told stories of faith, and sequential art embodiments have included Egyptian tomb paintings, the traditional Stations of the Cross, and Bible comics from the last century. With the recent graphic novel boom, religious themes and interpretations abound, mostly summarized in a dozen or so popular books like Stephen Skelton’s The Gospel According to Superheroes, Arie Kaplan’s From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books, and Jeff Dunn and Adam Palmer’s The Soul of Spider-Man: Unexpected Spiritual Insights from the Legendary Superhero. Graven Images appears to be the first to take a broader and more academic approach, collecting 21 essays from a conference of the same name held at Boston University. While most of the contributors have faculty appointments, five are comics creators. Themes range across religions and denominations, from expected topics (animistic and Christian themes in the manga/anime Nausicaä) to surprising ones (connections between religion and underground comics). VERDICT This varied and thoughtful collection invites more serious consideration of the medium thematically and hopefully presages additional conferences and collections. For all academic and larger public libraries.—M.C.
| Author Information |
| Martha Cornog is a longtime reviewer for LJ and, with Timothy Perper, edited Graphic Novels Beyond the Basics: Insights and Issues for Libraries (Libraries Unlimited: ABC-CLIO, 2009). Steve Raiteri is Audio- Visual Librarian at the Greene County Public Library in Xenia, OH, where he started the graphic novel collection in 1996 |
