Spring brings new treats for comics lovers
REVIEWS BY BECKY OHLSEN
Good news, comics fans: the latest batch of graphic novels includes some of the best and most notable titles to come out in some time. From new work by big names with longstanding reputations to inventive takes on classic novels, this season's offerings include a little of everything.
Original and moving, David B.'s Epileptic is a graphic memoir about the author's childhood near Orléans, France. His older brother, Jean-Christophe, developed epilepsy at age 11, and the impact this had on the artist as a child, a teen and an adult is detailed in alternately sweet, tragic and hilarious fashion. The simple black-and-white drawings call to mind Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, as do the adolescent's-eye view of life and the author's matter-of-fact tone. It's all beautifully presented in an oversized hardcover book.
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It's all about style
One of the most exciting books to be published recently is The Originals. A dream come true for many comics fans,
this semi-autobiographical, mod-meets-noir tale offers a peek into the formative years of revered author/artist Dave Gibbons,
co-creator (with Alan Moore) of the seminal Watchmen and a widely acknowledged master of the graphic novel. Gibbons
grew up during the ascent of mod culture, when nobody was anybody without a scooter and a skinny tie. The book is set in the future, although the slang, the style and the hover-scooters are all clearly nods to '60s London. The black-and-white artwork and hard-boiled text are the perfect medium for the gritty story of social ambitions gone wrong.
The social commentary continues in renowned artist Peter Kuper's dramatically vivid re-creation of Upton Sinclair's
classic novel The Jungle. Kuper, who has also done graphic-novel adaptations of Franz Kafka's stories and novellas, has a frenzied, almost violent visual style, full of movement and color and untidy emotions. The climactic scene, a workers' riot, fills two pages with a spectacular explosion of shapes expressing in no uncertain terms the chaos that had built up inside the main character, the immigrant Jurgis.
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Collaborations from the best
There's nothing even remotely matter-of-fact about The Book of Ballads, a collection of folk songs and fairy
tales illustrated by Charles Vess and written by some of the biggest names in comics and fantasy writing, including Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Jeff Smith (Bone) and Charles de Lint. Vess' delicate line drawings and fairy-tale subject matter can trace their roots back to the likes of Edward Burne-Jones and Arthur Rackham.
Another collection of short pieces by a variety of big names in the graphic-novel universe
is Bizarro World. Bizarro World, of course, is that "other" universe, where superheroes can be bad guys or, worse, bumbling losers. This new anthology has contributions from some of the most interesting alternative-comics writers and illustrators, including Craig Thompson, Peter Bagge, Harvey Pekar, Scott Morse, Evan Dorkin and Tony Millionaire and a cover by Jaime Hernandez. Watch Batman write a blog! See Wonder Woman undergo teenage angst! See Robin's comedy routine blow Aquaman right off the open-mic stage! Play along as Superman frolics with his faithful dog! There's lots more, some of it even sillier and all of it good fun.
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Manga and more
One of the fastest-growing divisions of Japanese manga, that vast universe of Japanese comics that's forever reinventing
itself, is shojo, comic books aimed at a young female audience, which typically combine light romance with a few
traditional action sequences. A prime example of this genre is the
new Saikano: The Last Love Song on This Little Planet, by Shin Takahashi. What seems at first like a simple high-school love story becomes much more: Shuji, an awkward but adoring guy, falls for the shy, apologetic Chise. Just as they've begun to overcome the hurdles of normal adolescent relationships, Chise confesses that she's been engineered by a foreign army to be "the ultimate weapon." This news might come as quite a blow to the average high-school boyfriend, but the two lovebirds are determined to stick together and work through it.
Manga has produced yet another innovation—and a sensation—with
Tokyo Tribes by Santa Inoue. It's a tongue-in-cheek take on the
Tokyo hip-hop scene, complete with rival gangs, rap-inflected slang, plenty of bling and, of course, major problems caused by stolen girlfriends. It was a huge hit in Japan when it came out and is sure to get mad props here as well.
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Tributes to a legend
Will Eisner, the man who created what's widely considered the first modern graphic novel (1978's A Contract with God) and coined the term "sequential art" to describe the medium, died Jan. 3 at age 87 after quadruple bypass surgery. Two new books from DC Comics provide indisputable evidence of the impact Eisner had on the comic-book universe.
Will Eisner's Spirit Archives, Vol. 14 is a beautiful clothbound, full-color book collecting issues of Eisner's classic The Spirit from Jan. 5 to June 29, 1947. A weekly newspaper supplement that started in 1940, The Spirit reached five million readers through 20 newspapers. The hero, detective Denny Colt, was supposedly murdered by crooks but was actually buried alive, allowing him to continue his crime fighting incognito. His milieu was full of subway muggings, domestic violence, hard-eyed dames, pickpocketing street urchins and other (at the time shockingly) realistic details of urban New York life. This was no kids' stuff; Eisner was clearly out to establish comic books as a serious art form, and it worked. We have him to thank for everything from Sin City to American Splendor.
For more on Eisner, there's The Will Eisner Companion, by N.C. Christopher Couch and Stephen Weiner. Subtitled "The Pioneering Spirit of the Father of the Graphic Novel," it collects essays about the artist's work and influence, an A-to-Z who's-who of The Spirit and glossy color reproductions of the Spirit's origins and the famous episode "Gerhard Shnobble." Written with enthusiasm and authority, it's as entertaining as it is encyclopedic.
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Becky Ohlsen writes from Portland, Oregon.
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