Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Bones and Berserkers

The 13th book in one of my favorite graphic novel series, Bones and Berserkers changes up the format in that it features a collection of 13 tales rather than one overarching narrative. Still, all the major players are still here, and the range of horrific stories run a gamut of genres. There are folk tales like the Demon Cat, an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "Hop-Frog," the real-life misadventures of pro-golfer Eben Myers with medicinal radium, and the terrible murders and arson at Frank Lloyd Wright's home/studio Taliesin. I felt that in some ways this book was a bit more documentary in places, like history mixed with true crime writing, which worked well.

This book is dedicated to Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell, and it shares a real kinship to their Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. It features some pretty graphic scenes, including a human head stripped bare by cancer treatments, a bunch of men dressed as orangutans who are set on fire, and butts being chopped off of people's bodies, so it is pitched toward an older audience than earlier volumes in the series. Still, there are moments of grim humor that punctuate the proceedings much like the Crypt-Keeper did in Tales From the Crypt. It's not a book for the squeamish, and I found it to be wonderfully gruesome and fun. This book is a treasure trove of horror for fans of both fiction and nonfiction.  

The Jersey Devil!

Bones and Berserkers was made by Nathan Hale (not related to the Revolutionary War spy), a highly accomplished graphic novelist. I love his work so much that I named one of my annual favorites list categories after him. Aside from his great success with this series, he has also published the fictional graphic novels The Mighty Bite,  One Trick Pony and Apocalypse Taco. He has also drawn a few others, including Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack. I learned some more about Hale's work on this book and his upcoming projects in this article.

The reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Kirkus Reviews summed it up, "Not all true, but truly nightmarish." Susan Harari wrote that it would be "perfect for reluctant readers in middle or even high school who are brave enough to handle both fictional and factual horror stories."

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Bones and Berserkers was published by Abrams Fanfare, and they offer more information about it here.

DC's Misfits of Magic

Continuing my look at spooky themed books this month, today I look at DC's Misfits of Magic, which is from the latest series of their graphic novels for YA readers. This one is focused on a summer camp for adolescent magic users and stars teen-aged versions of quirky characters like Deadman, Blue Devil, and the Enchantress that I enjoy. Their ringleader is Rikki, an orphan with no last name, who is a riff on Dr. Occult the Ghost Detective. Together this motley bunch does arts and crafts and the like until mysterious things start happening in the library. Behind the back of their counselor Zatanna, they do the Scooby gang thing and investigate, uncovering quite a few surprises.

What I liked about this book was its whimsical artwork, snappy dialogue, and use of interesting, fun characters. The book is very colorful and uses it to great impact in its sound effects and depictions of magic use, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. I have long been a fan of the "Justice League Dark" characters (long before they got called that), and how they are portrayed here is rewarding to a long-time fan like me or to new readers, because they are introduced in quick and informative ways. There are also references to other DC characters, and I feel these would also be quite accessible to even casual fans. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would like to see more stories set here.

DC's Misfits of Magic was written and drawn by Matthew Dow Smith, a comics artist who has done work for most major US comics publishers. He also has worked on a number of webcomics and series published by small publishers over the years, and a couple of them, October Girl and Amelia Shadows and the New Head Ghost, will be published as graphic novels soon. He serializes his works in progress on his Patreon page.

I was not able to find many reviews online, but the ones I read have been positive. In the most substantive one I saw Too Dangerous for a Girl concluded, "So if you know a small person who enjoys colourful, imagination-expanding comics, buy them a copy of DC’s Misfits of Magic. They’ll love it, and chances are you will too."

DC's Misfits of Magic was published by DC Comics, and they offer more info about it here.

Golem Pit 224

It's October and to celebrate this spooky month, I am going to review a bunch of different graphic novels that fit the season. First up is Golem Pit 224, a book I got from a Kickstarter campaign last year. The plot revolves around a couple, Thea and Kelsey, who decide to go on a camping trip to explore an unusual land form, the not-at-all-creepy- sounding Exclusion Zone Golem Pit 224. Kelsey is a research professor who is treating the trip more like an opportunity to collect work samples, and Thea would like to actually have fun and spend time with her partner. Without spoiling too much, they end up having to deal with some psychoactive material and find themselves literally and figuratively on shaky ground.

This book was wonderfully weird and compelling. What I liked about it was that it worked as a horror tale as well as a relationship story. Kelsey and Thea have some unresolved tensions that they need to deal with, and the way those manifest both emotionally and physically throughout the story makes for suspense and high drama. There were also several scares, including one pretty gross one that involved possibly swallowing an alien life form. The plot was pretty unique, and at some points I honestly did not know how or if things would resolve. The artwork does not employ the typical panel borders of most comics, and the floating, amorphous way the figures and events are depicted makes for some interesting developments later in the book in terms of how transformations and mysteries play out. Also, the color palette dealt mostly in earthy, brown tones that create a murkiness that well suited the setting and events of the story.

Golem Pit 224 was written and drawn by Julia Gootzeit. She has mostly published her work in mini-comic form, and her more recent comics can be found on her Instagram feed.

Golem Pit 224 was published by Fieldmouse Press, and they offer a preview and more info about it here.

Pushing Buttons

This "futuristic workplace kerfuffle" recently came to my attention via social media, and I was very glad to buy and read a copy. Pushing Buttons features an eventful first day at work. It stars Margit, a young woman who has not had a job in months and is facing eviction. Luckily(?), her best friend Chloe is a supervisor for a local company and scores her a position operating a 3AZ machine, which involves reading a manual to learn which wires to connect and buttons to press. Chloe's supervisory position makes for some awkward situations, and Margit starts to question their friendship. She also quickly realizes that this gig has lots of restrictions.

This was a relatively short graphic novel, but I found a lot to relate to. I felt quickly drawn into the personal drama, and as I realized more about the social and work dynamics the more engrossed I got. The artwork is geometric and cartoony, somewhat drawing to my mind alternative comics artists like Kaz or Chris Ware. I felt that the cute, regular drawings made for a great atmosphere for the rote and soul-sucking situations Margit finds herself in. Additionally, the adorableness of the characters adds an interesting accent to the ways they put up certain appearances and treat each other. 

Pushing Buttons was made by Ursula Blix, an animator and artist who recently graduated from The Animation Workshop in Viborg. She has drawn a bunch of comics and covers, but as far as I can tell, this is her debut graphic novel, drawn as a final school project. She drew this interview that tells a little bit more about her work on the book. I was not able to find any reviews of it online, but I will definitely keep my eyes peeled to see what else she publishes.

Pushing Buttons was published by Black Panel Press, and they offer a preview and more here. 

Minor Arcana, Volume One: The Fool

I am a big fan of Jeff Lemire since I read The Essex County Trilogy  almost two decades ago. He is one of the most prolific comics creators in the field today, with a huge list of comics credits and having won a slew of major awards along the way. He has written a number of series for DC Comics and Marvel as well as his own creator-owned works like Black Hammer, and Sweet Tooth. I was very excited to read his newest ongoing series, his first solo one since 2012, Minor Arcana, and this book collects the first five issues.

Theresa St. Pierre is the protagonist of the series, and she's been called back to the small town of Limberlost to care for her mother, who has cancer. Theresa hated growing up there and is very reluctant to return, but she has had a bad run of her own and really has nowhere else to be. She is also a recovering alcoholic and generally seems to hate people. Her mother works as a psychic, and Theresa always thought she was just running an extended con on people, but then something happens that makes her realize that these abilities might be real. 

What makes this book so compelling to me are the hallmarks of Lemire's work. He is able to created strong characters with whom the reader is drawn to care about. Theresa is surly, unpleasant, and imperfect but also gives people credit when it's due, and she is a surprisingly relatable person. Also, the small town setting and family drama are fertile ground for delving into the past, unearthing secrets and revealing events that have profoundly shaped the present day. I loved how suspense builds through the plotting and pacing and how revelations in singular moments really pay off in terms of both story and imagery. All of Lemire's storytelling tools are in full effect here. I was instantly drawn into this world, and I cannot wait to see what else happens here.

I had a difficult time finding reviews of this trade paperback, but Jared Bird called this collection "tremendous work" that "feels special." There are a range of reviews available from The League of Comic Geeks, where it has been rated 4.3 (out of 5) stars as of this post.

Minor Arcana, Volume One was published by Boom! Studios, and they offer more info and a video preview of the series here. Lemire also speaks extensively about the influences on the series in this interview.

Big Jim and the White Boy: An American Classic Reimagined

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been called "the best book we've had" (by Ernest Hemingway) and also been widely banned because of its copious use of the N-word. Here, this American classic is recast in a way where Jim becomes the central figure and Huck is more of a sidekick instead of vice versa. A big impetus for the switch is to bring dignity and humanity to a figure who is not given proper treatment in the original novel, but it is also made to explain some weirdness to the narrative, namely revealing why an escaped enslaved person would travel south instead of north to safety. Also, this book explains why Jim is so attached to Huck in the first place.

One major addition to this story is the revelation that Jim's family, who are referred to in the original but never named, have been illegally sold down the river by Huck's reprobate father Joe. So, Jim embarks on his odyssey to be reunited with them. Along the way, he is hunted, becomes a sort of racist bogeyman, assists with the Underground Railroad, joins the Union army, and has all sorts of adventures. He meets many people, telling all of them his story, and he becomes an almost mythic figure, an adventurer and beacon for freedom. 

What makes this narrative work is the fact that it is told across three different timelines. Some of the book focuses on the adventures from the book set in the 1850s, other portions show Jim and Huck as old men in the 1930s, telling tales of their adventures to Jim's grandchildren. The third storyline is set in 2022 and follows Jim's great-great-great-great-granddaughter Almena who is a history professor researching his life. The various viewpoints make for a rich, complex narrative, and the result is a grand epic. I cannot say enough good things about this book.

Big Jim and the White Boy was a collaboration between writer David F. Walker and artist Marcus Kwame Anderson, who previously produced the Eisner Award-winning graphic novel The Black Panther Party. Walker is a prolific author and is best known in comics for his work on the series Bitter Root, runs on Marvel Comics series such as Luke Cage and Power Man & Iron Fist, and the DC Comics series Naomi. He also wrote another nonfiction graphic biography of Frederick Douglass. Anderson also worked on his creator owned series Snow Daze. Walker and Anderson speak about their work on this book in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been glowing. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called it "a vital reconsideration of an American classic." Mike Rhode wrote that Walker and Anderson achieved what they "set out to do, providing readers with a work that strips away the minstrel mask that Twain placed on Jim and reveals reality." Carla Riemer declared that "this well-researched, well-written book belongs in all library collections."

Big Jim and the White Boy: An American Classic Reimagined was published by Ten Speed Graphic, and they offer a preview and more information about it here. There is also this 11-page preview available from Publishers Weekly.

Sunshine

Hey Kiddo is one of my favorite graphic novels, and Sunshine is its follow-up but it stands by itself. This book chronicles a week that Krosoczka spent at a camp for children with life-threatening conditions. He was one of six high school students chosen at random (and they are a motley bunch)

At Camp Sunshine, he is charged with helping out Diego, a 13-year-old who has a brain tumor and travels via wheelchair, and his family. He also meets a bunch of other children, notably young Eric, who is a bundle of energy and obsessed with Power Rangers. Instead of spending this time in sadness, instead he finds that this week is one of the rare and special times that these kids fit in, can relate to each other, and take time to enjoy themselves.

Many of these memories were captured by the video camera Jarrett brought with him, and the characters really come to life in their stories and the artwork. This book is very affecting, and the weighty subject matter comes off more as a celebration of life and a window into how individuals and their families deal with difficult life situations. There is much to smile at and cry about in this book, and I feel it does an excellent job of shedding light into areas that most people, especially those not involved, tend to shy away from. 

Jarrett Krosoczka is best known for his series of Lunch Lady graphic novels for younger readers, and he has also contributed to the Star Wars Jedi Academy series. His prior memoir Hey Kiddo won the 2019 Harvey Award for Best Book of the Year and also was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. He speaks about his work on Sunshine in this interview.

Most of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly concluded, "Though the creator is unsparing in his raw depictions of the campers’ situations and his reverence when recalling these memories is palpable, he never condescends, always faithfully documenting the warmth and life-changing potential of confronting grief head-on and participating in communal care." Tahneer Oksman wrote, "Krosoczka has a talent for uncovering the bountifulness and grace that can emerge from harsh, and otherwise quotidian, realities." Kirkus Reviews summed up, "Loving and true but doesn’t always avoid cliché."

Sunshine was published by Scholastic Graphix, and they offer a preview and more information about it here.