reading notes

by more than a dozen authors, including Shaun Tan
Gestalt Publishing (Australia)
ISBN: 9780977562831
This book is a collection of comic short stories, varying in length from single page/panels to nearly forty pages. The theme is dark/unsettling/creepy, and most of the stories deliver on that, in various shades of gray or simply stark black and white. There’s a [...]

by Hope Larson
ISBN: 0972179496
This small book (more mass market paperback size than trade paperback, only very thin compared to that fat airplane or beach reading fare) contains a charming story. With green and black ink on white pages Hailey’s childhood summers playing outdoors unfolds.
Sometimes using panels, sometimes with one image filing the page, sometimes sketching [...]

New Comic Art and Narrative Illustration
edited by Roanne Bell and Mark Sinclair
ISBN: 0300111460
Looking for the ISBN number on this book, it struck me how oddly some books come together: this is put out by Yale University Press, printed in China, and the majority of artists in it are European.
The editors don’t talk much about how [...]

by Rutu Modan
ISBN: 9781897299067
This book is a slice of different life — unless you are living in Israel and are somewhat accustomed to news of suicide bombings, that is. It is also a quite recognizable slice of life if you’ve ever had a not-too-thrilling job, oddness in your family, a difficult relationship with a parent, [...]

by Shaun Tan
ISBN: 9780545055871
I’ve loved Shaun Tan’s work since I discovered The Red Tree. From The Rabbits to The Lost Thing and on to The Arrival (which seemed to bring Tan the wider attention he’s deserved) I’ve been fascinated, enthralled.
I have to wonder if there is even a point in me writing reviews of his [...]

by Mark Waid and Alex Ross with Todd Klein
ISBN: 1563893177
Superheroes — the traditional ones, with capes, such as Superman — usually aren’t my thing. All bulging muscles and unstoppable powers and moral superiority, they tend not to appeal to me, as story line or as visual art. I probably wouldn’t have gone out of my [...]

by Seth
ISBN: 189659770X
The production quality of this paperback book is high: it has a solid binding, cover flaps, and the blue and black printing looks wonderful on the off-white (sepia, really) pages. But then, Seth didn’t just create this graphic novel, he designed the book, too.
The storyline first appeared in in his Palookaville comic series, [...]

by Sara Varon
ISBN: 9781596431089
Varon does cute very well, without being cloying or self-conscious about it. I really enjoyed her previous book, Sweaterweather, in part for that reason. I feel the same about this one. Except this one has robots! And a dog!
There are also bunnies, a snowman, an ice cream-eating penguin, and a recycling [...]

And Other Observations
by Jeffrey Brown
ISBN: 9780811858229
Jeffrey Brown has previously published several graphic novels, mostly about the sad state of relationships. Saying that might not be fair, as I haven’t actually read them so I might be wrong — that’s my perception based on what I’ve read about them, and what I’ve heard. Honestly, they didn’t [...]

by Jon Adams
ISBN: 0979387906
Imagine if an inept superhero had a misguided plan to protect small town citizens. That’s Ameriman — “He is by your side. Just from headquarters where he’s safe.” His right hand man, the real brains behind his operation? She’s called Orifist. Yes, really. Take a look at the two of them, prepping [...]