Crazy for You

I recently took advantage of Fantagraphics' annual Fantabucks sale, and Crazy for You is the first book I've received and read from them. It contains two short stories written by novelist Paul Theroux and adapted by Steve Lafler, who has been making comics for decades. His most notable creation is Dog Boy and I have also really enjoyed a number of his smaller works as well. Theroux and Lafler speak of their collaboration here in this interview.

The first tale in this book is "Minor Watt," about a wealthy man who decides that he is going to deal with a divorce and economic recession by destroying precious artworks that he owns and buys. It was a roller-coaster ride of events that left me guessing how things would resolve. It lampoons contemporary art dealers and culture while also following a man's descent into madness.

The second story in the book is "Siamese Nights," about an aging businessman named Boyd who is sent by his company to Bangkok. He is an amateur artist who tours the town, sketching buildings and sites to bring home to his wife in Maine. He's also near retirement, and at first, he avoids socializing and going to bars with his younger colleagues. Eventually he joins them and meets a katoey named Song. He begins an affair with her and becomes obsessed, which complicates his marriage as well as his work situation. 

I found both stories compelling, even if the second trucks in exoticism. The artwork brings a strong sense of character, action, and passion to the events of each tale. These stories are also weirdly almost anthropological looks at later-life crises and male mania, including how emotional and social constraints can become warped, troubling, and destructive. These stories might be pitched at a specific mature audience, but I feel that they are well-rendered and thought-provoking.

The reviews I have read about this book have been conflicted. Steve Baxi called it a "mixed bag" and concluded, "I think 'Minor Watt' is worth the price of admission, but after that there’s plenty of other comics by Lafler and short stories by Theroux worth reading." William Schwartz pondered who the audience for graphic versions of these stories is and wrote that "the combination comes out like a well-aged Roy Lichtenstein, petty drama blown up to such an extent it’s hard to tell who’s laughing at who."

Crazy for You was published by Fantagraphics, and they offer a preview and more information here. This book contains profanity, nudity, and sexual situations and is recommended for readers mature enough to deal with them.

Slaughterhouse-Five: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

I should preface this review by stating that Kurt Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors ever. I have read every one of his novels, checked out many of his nonfiction essays, and laughed at his cameo in Back to School countless times. One of the high points of my college career was getting to hear him speak my freshman year. So, to say that I have high expectations for this book is a bit of an understatement. Beyond my own background, some of the weight of my expectations also lay in this book partly being adapted by writer Ryan North, a brilliant comics creator/humorist responsible for some of my favorite works, namely Dinosaur Comics, Jughead, and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. 

For those who have not read the original novel, Slaughterhouse-Five is about a man named Billy Pilgrim who becomes "unstuck in time."  Throughout the novel he bounces back and forth across his own timeline, witnessing his death, marriage, experiences in World War II, abduction by aliens who placed him in an interstellar zoo, and meetings with literary hero Kilgore Trout, among other things. As a result, he takes a unique view of humanity, forming opinions about the capriciousness of war and societal values.

As you can see from the excerpt above, which opens the book, this adaptation takes advantage of its medium in ways that enrich this reading experience. The tweaks firmly entrench the book in its own historical context as well as the medium of comics, and they are done in very smart ways. This book uses some of the unique features of comics to recast and retell portions of the novel to convey its spirit without being a strictly literal adaptation. For instance, using panels to play with time and imagination:

Or changing into a newspaper comics format to give short bursts of back story:

As you can see, it is almost as if this story was originally conceived to work as a graphic novel. Like its source material, this book is full of pathos, laughs, and dark observations about humanity. It's a witty, fantastically moving, and trenchant book. This adaptation is one of the best I've seen, in any medium, as much a classic as its source material. Perhaps this is faint praise, because most graphic novel adaptations do not take advantage of the affordances the medium allows. I wish I was not so surprised that reading an adaptation of a novel that hinges on continual shifts in time and space in a medium (comics) that constantly manipulates time and space is an excellent experience as this one. I feel that many creators, certainly not most literary adapters, do not take as much advantage as the medium as these ones do.

That the creators of this book have many years of comics experience under their belts should come as no surprise. North has won multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards for his work on Adventure Time comics, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, and Jughead. Artist Albert Monteys was art director of the Spanish satirical magazine El Jueves from 2006-2011 and also created the Eisner Award nominated science fiction series Universe! Both creators speak about their work on this adaptation in this interview, and Monteys shares his take in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been raves. In a starred review from Library Journal Tom Batten praised it as "the best, and most effective, graphic novel adaptation of a literary novel in recent memory." In another starred review, Publishers Weekly called it "a rare graphic adaptation that enriches a literary classic." David Weber called it "a perfect graphic novel adaptation" as well as "an absolute joy to read."

Slaughterhouse-Five was published by Archaia, and they offer more info about it here.

Kafkaesque

In case you had not noticed, last month I reviewed books with a horror bent, as we approached Halloween. Today's book is more in the vein of existential horror as it is a collection of adaptations of works by Franz Kafka, but it is also tinged with dark humor. The introduction to this book is a short essay about Kafka's multiple translations and how perhaps knowingly histrionic his prose was. I was unfamiliar with the vast majority of these stories, but I have to admit there is a dark sort of zaniness to a number of them, at least how they are presented here.

Two longer works, "The Burrow" and "In the Penal Colony," have been included in this collection, and they are substantive and moody explorations of political control and paranoia. "The Burrow" reads like a sick version of a Dr. Seuss tale, with a rodent constructing an elaborate series of tunnels to hoard its food, guard against intruders, and also hide from predators. "In the Penal Colony" is a sort of horror history with a nameless officer trying to convince a traveler about the utility of an elaborate and bloody public execution machine.

Otherwise, most of the tales in this book are relatively short, about 5-6 pages in length. They show people in various strained situations, often isolated or alienated by the powers-that-be. These powers are often capricious and draconian, resulting in injustice and unhappiness. For instance, in "The Helmsman" the man steering a ship is overcome and overthrown by a larger man who then assumes control of the boat. He attempts to assemble the rest of the passengers to address the situation and retake his place as pilot, but they don't care. They just accept the new helmsman without any resistance.

As you can see, the art for this story is an excellent complement  to the narrative. It was done with a scratchboard technique, so it resembles a woodcut done in an Expressionistic style. This type of art was a movement contemporary with Kafka, and the entire enterprise really captures the zeitgeist of the moment and I would also venture, of today, when it seems to many that the world is spiraling into discord and anxiety. I think of this book mostly as a series of tone poems expressing discomfort with the modern condition, and I think it would also be interesting to compare these adaptations to the source texts. They also stand by themselves very well.

Peter Kuper, the artist who has adapted these works is no stranger to Kafka, having done a graphic adaption of The Metamorphosis. He also published a few of these Kafka tales in his 1995 collection Give it Up! And Other Short Stories. Kuper has long had an interest in political causes and drawing socially charged cartoons. He co-founded the political comix magazine World War 3 Illustrated in 1980 and has also adapted the muckraking classic The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. A successful commercial artist, Kuper also has published work in a number of high profile magazines and currently draws the Spy Vs. Spy feature in Mad Magazine. He speaks about his work on Kafkaesque in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read have praised the book. Kirkus Reviews summed up, "A richly innovative interpretation that honors the source while expanding the material." Publishers Weekly concluded, "Kafka’s timeless work has never hit so hard, nor more artfully." Rich Barrett wrote, "Kuper creates an accessible gateway for Kafka amateurs and a varied sampling that may surprise you and possibly expand your own definition of what constitutes something as being 'Kafkaesque.'"

Kafkaesque was published by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., and they offer more info about it here.

The publisher provided a review copy.

Baking with Kafka

Baking with Kafka is a wonderful collection of witty, literary comics by Tom Gauld. He is one of my favorite contemporary comics creators, and I love his point of view and proclivities toward literature. Goliath and Mooncop are brilliant graphic novels you should definitely check out, and his prior collection You're Just Jealous of My Jetpack was comedy gold. The comics in this particular collection are similarly hilarious and range all over the place. They were originally published in The Guardian and are mostly about books and/or history. There are a couple of patterns to them that I noticed. Many of them mess with classics and modernization:

Others comment on authors, their works, and their lives:

Still others offer meta-commentary about the literary field/business. What I like about this book mostly is that I can pick it up and read a few comics whenever I want. They are random, sure, but all amusing at least and often hilarious. This book is the modern equivalent to me of The Far Side albums I would read when I was a kid, although they are way more literary than science-themed. It's full of weird, funny stuff, and I like that it connects with some of my favorite topics, which include reading and books.

The reviews I read of this book were mostly positive. The reviewer at Publishers Weekly liked it, summing up, "The art is dominated by shadowy stick figures that inhabit often complex spaces, which somehow makes it all the more droll." Rob Clough gave an in-depth analysis of the comics in this book and wrote, "I prefer his long-form work as it's drier and more restrained in its humor, but that's not to say that his pure gag work isn't entertaining as well." Annie Mok was less taken with the book, concluding her review, "Read this if you want to be mildly amused and you find it at your local library, but $20 is just too much for a stray chuckle or two out of 160 pages."

Gauld's art style is pretty minimal, kind of like Ed Emberley by way of Edward Gorey, but to me it is well suited to his sensibility and voice. For those who are interested in learning more, Gauld speaks about his work on this book in this interview.

Baking with Kafka was published by Drawn & Quarterly, and they have a preview and more available here.

The One Hundred Nights of Hero

The One Hundred Nights of Hero might be the most subversive graphic novel I've ever read, and I LOVED IT. It is a feminist retelling of the tale of Scheherazade from The Arabian Nights, and it simultaneously a commentary on religion, male-female relations, love, and social institutions, and it skewers them all but in the most subtle, yet comprehensive ways. The front matter of the book sets up a cosmic mythography, a religion based on the petty and omnipotent god Bird-Man and his progeny Kid and Kiddo. This introductory tale sets up and informs the rest of the book, and it is reminiscent of many other creation stories (Joseph Campbell would approve), but it also is a canny parody/rebuke of the sexism inherent in such belief systems.

The majority of the book is a narrative that hinges on a wager. Two men Manfred and Jerome have little regard for women, and they bet their kingdoms on whether Manfred can bed Jerome's wife Cherry given 100 days. Jerome does this because thinks that Cherry is the paragon of virtue and the perfect wife, but his perceptions do Cherry an injustice. She is intelligent, crafty, and strategic, and she, along with her maid/lover Hero have a plan. Each night when Manfred comes to have his way, Hero will tell him some story to belay the inevitable. And what a storyteller Hero is. She beguiles Manfred, along with the guards who overhear, and anyone else who is privy to her tales. The two misogynists' plan goes off the rails, and I won't spoil how everything resolves, but it is some pretty caustic commentary on traditional state of affairs.

At this point I should comment on a critique I have seen from some quarters calls this book out for male-bashing. Although Jerome and Manfred are terrible people, I feel this book is more a commentary of the general shabby treatment of women across history and cultures. It is also about the power of stories and the abilities and stamina of women to withstand and even triumph in the face of hegemony.

All  of this is not to say this book is dry. I found it pretty funny and cheeky throughout, actually. Part of what I love about this book lies in its subtle naming and snark. The main characters' names clearly set them up as archetypes, and the side narratives that Hero tells all end up woven into a grand tapestry that encompasses the entire book. I looked up a bunch of the more obscure (to me, anyhow) names of people and places, and was rewarded to see that they were actually historical or mythical references that added layers of meaning to the events of the book.

Not to say all the humor is highfalutin. Probably my favorite part of the book is probably how Manfred gets drawn, like he thinks he is God's gift to women and saunters about wearing a cape and no shirt. This buffoonery is hilarious, in my opinion, though also pretty horrific. Toward the end of the book, when his ridiculous is revealed and he begins to unravel, the power he gets to exercise as a male still has dire consequences. Such nuance and execution are hallmarks of exemplary publications, and as a piece of satire and social commentary, I rank this book up there with the greats like Jonathan Swift and MAD Magazine.

This book is the second graphic novel by Isabel Greenberg. Her first, The Encyclopedia of Early Earth, was nominated for two Eisner Awards and won the Best Book category at the British Comic Awards. She spoke about her work on TOHNOH in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been very positive. Maya Gittelman gushed, "It’s just such a cool premise: queered revision fairytale. I love it!" Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, writing, "Greenberg combines elements from fairy tales, children’s books, and folklore from around the world to create an original but teasingly familiar mythos." Nivea Serrao wrote that "within no time readers will be captivated as Greenberg transitions effortlessly from tale to tale, while still telling the story framing each one."

The One Hundred Nights of Hero was published in the US by Little, Brown and Company, and they have info about it here.

I read this book because it was a student selection for a recent seminar in Graphic Novels and Multiliteracies. Thank you, Brooke, for choosing it. I wish I had known about it much sooner, and I am so glad to have read it.

Decelerate Blue

The mark of a great book may be just how long it sits with you after you have finished reading it. I read this book and was pretty dissatisfied with the ending, but it keeps cropping up in my thoughts. Decelerate Blue is a science fiction tale set in a not-too-distant future where speeding up to keep up with societal and technological change is not just necessary, it's the law. Angela, a teenage girl, does not quite fit in here, and she resists many of the required "hyper" requirements, such as reading special novels, watching special movies, and going to a special mall. People even speak in rapid style, ending each speaking turn with a marker "Go." (This last feature was pretty maddening for me to read at the start of this book, but I eventually got used to it.) In this future, trying to slow life down is an act of resistance.

Angela's actions lead to some attention, unwelcome from some (like her parents) and welcome from others (like the mysterious person who drops her a copy of Kick the Boot, a novel that becomes the manifesto for an underground movement). Soon, she literally drops out of society, joins the resistance, and finds a potential romance in an unlikely place. Still, the establishment is very well organized and relentless, and things do not go well for the resistors in the end. I am not going to spoil it, but the ending was pretty bleak and left me with small feelings of hope and large feelings of despair. Still, it is a very affecting book, and that it stirred such emotions up in me is the hallmark of something done right. I have to say that the combination of artwork and narrative is pitch perfect for this sort of tale, though I was largely dissatisfied with some of the character work.

This book is a collaboration between writer Adam Rapp and artist Mike Cavallaro. Rapp is a Renaissance man who has worked on movies, music, novels, and play writing, and he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2006. Cavallaro has worked in comics for a couple of decades now, with a number of graphic novels to his credit, including Foiled, Curses! Foiled Again, The Life and Times of Savior 28, and Parade (with fireworks).

All of the reviews I have read for this book have been glowing. Kirkus Reviews summed up, "This is a strikingly illustrated book set in a potentially massive world, and readers will hope this isn't the only story to come from it." In a starred review from the School Library Journal Jordeana Kruse gave this verdict, "Fans of George Orwell’s 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 will find much to ponder in this notable graphic novel." April Spisak wrote that even though it is not happy "the conclusion remains complex and poignant."

Decelerate Blue was published by First Second, and they have a preview and much more available here. There are some language and sexual situations that might not play well with younger readers, but I think that this book would be appropriate for older adolescents.

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

Two Brothers

The most complex and moving stories can be spun from the simplest of things. Take for example, this book Two Brothers, which is based on the writings of Milton Hatoum, one of Brazil's greatest authors. This graphic novel follows a family over the course of a number of decades, with its many relationships, twists of fate, secrets, and reverberating decisions. Much of what transpires flows from the relationship of two brothers, Yaqub and Omar, who look identical but are very, very different. Yaqub us sent away to be raised in Lebanon at a young age while Omar stays at home in Brazil and becomes a ne'er-do-well who drinks and carouses much of the time.

Yaqub eventually returns a changed man, a learned one, too. Coming back raises many issues long thought buried, and the past once again haunts the present. Still, Jaqub becomes a notable engineer and moves to Sao Paulo, though his presence is still felt by the whole family.

Sorry for the info-dump about the plot set-up, but it is all prologue to my saying that this book has something for pretty much everyone: family drama, romance, secret affairs, illegitimate children, run-ins with criminals and con-men, revenge, and lots of people seeking recompense for what has happened in the past. Apart from the plot, the artwork, rendered in black and white, is also exquisite, full of energy, emotion, and detail. I was moved several times while reading this book, and once I started I really did not want to stop. Also, it is so beautifully crafted and full of nuance that I immediately sought to reread and revisit it. This is a sumptuous, deeply satisfying sort of book.

Fittingly, this book's creators, Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá are twin brothers who have been making comics together since childhood. Moon is probably best known for his collaboration with writer Matt Fraction, Casanova, a science fiction spy story, and his Eisner Award winning webcomic Sugarshock. Bá also collaborated on Casanova and is well known for drawing The Umbrella Academy, a celebrated tale of super-powered siblings written by rocker Gerard Way. The brothers collectively blog about their works here, and they have created a number of works jointly, including the multiple-award winning Daytripper and an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's short story "How to Talk to Girls at Parties." They speak extensively about their work on Two Bothers in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book mentioned how excellent it is and also how it enhances its already rich source material. Jesse Schedeen remarked on how it "weaves a complex, multi-generational tale of a family torn apart by a feud" and "features both artists working in perfect storytelling sync." Matt Little praised it as "a work of art that shows the power of sequential storytelling and its ability to enhance and enrich an already captivating story through mis en scene and confident artwork." Oliver Sava wrote, "Moon and Bá’s talent for dramatic composition and nuanced emotion allows them to realize the full scope of Hatoum’s novel while interpreting it through their own distinct artistic sensibility, giving readers a deeply poignant story that is elevated by the phenomenal visuals."

Two Brothers was published by Dark Horse, and they have more info about the book here.

I just met the two authors at HeroesCon this year, and they were nice enough to autograph and doodle in my copy of this book. It was a great thrill to meet them!

Tim Ginger

I think if there is any question that we are living in a great age for graphic novels, Tim Ginger would settle it. This beautiful, spare, idiosyncratic  book is unlike other graphic novels I have read, with a pretty singular subject and wonderful execution. It focuses on the life of an ex-test pilot living out in the desert after being widowed. He leaves this sanctuary to go on a book signing tour where he encounters a persistent conspiracy theorist who keeps asking him questions and an old friend who brings back lots of buried feelings and remorse.

All of these interactions are prelude to contemplations of life, marriage, family, legacies, love, and keeping secrets. Additionally, his old friend is a potential old flame who has written a book of comics about people who decided to not have children, which is excerpted throughout, adding a meta-commentary to the proceedings. I feel the entire narrative is mature and nuanced, aided by expert storytelling that is effective at simultaneously being evocative and subtle while also incorporating some flights of fancy.

I feel that the artwork is appropriately stylized so that feelings are as muted as the coloring, and overall I was quite moved by what I read. I cannot see this book being of much interest to younger readers, but I feel that it is an excellent meditation on life, love, and finding one's place in the world.

Award winning artist Julian Hanshaw created this volume. He is from the UK and is known for his prior two graphic novels The Art of Pho (also available as a motion comic) and I'm Never Coming Back. Tim Ginger is his US debut, and he speaks at length about its creation in this article.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been full of praise. Joe Gordon called it "a hugely satisfying, maturely emotional work, which gets under your skin in a quiet, calm, gentle manner." Neil Bason praised it as "deeply moving, brilliantly witty, and wonderfully written." Chris White wrote, "The story of Tim Ginger will stay with me for some time, thanks to the great writing and artwork—take a chance on this smart, funny and emotional indie comic and thank me later."

Tim Ginger was published by Top Shelf, and they provide a preview and more here.

Sshhhh!

Sshhhh! is a peculiar and fascinating look at love and life. It is a wordless graphic novel starring an anthropomorphic crow in ten different chapters that might be a continuous story or just random episodes that happen to be compiled here. These stories range from romantic interludes that can be rather mundane but also fantastic, as the couples are beset by villainous vultures, space aliens, and other interlopers.

Other episodes are more metaphysical, with the main character encountering personifications of death, the devil, and, in one instance, himself. The symbolic characteristics of these stories, which feature emotionless faces and characters devoid of affect, leave them widely open for interpretation. They are surreal, strange, and often disturbing, but they also sometimes resemble parables. Some of them are more substantive than others, but I think overall this book took me on a worthwhile roller-coaster ride of situations and emotions.

The prolific Jason is a Norwegian cartoonist who has won a number of awards, including the Inkpot, Harvey, Ignatz, and multiple Eisners. Among his many books are I Killed Hitler, Athos in America, Low Moon, Werewolves of Montpellier, and The Left Bank Gang. He speaks more about his various works in this interview.

The reviews I have read about this book have praised its craft if not always its content. Parabasis called it "a delightful examination of love and loneliness." Jason Michelitch wrote that "Jason’s formal inventiveness is clever and at times breathtakingly elegant, but the...stories presented here don’t have the substance that his style seems to demand." Christian Perring took a more philosophical view of the book and concluded, "As an unusual illustration of core existentialist themes – hell is other people, we live and die alone, the contemplation of suicide – SSHHHH! works remarkably well."

Sshhhh! was published in the US by Fantagraphics, and they have a preview and much more here. Because of its adult themes, some sexual scenes, and some violence, I suggest it for more mature readers.

Sshhhh! has also been adapted into a short film, which you can watch here.

Reading with Pictures

Reading with Pictures is a non-profit organization started by comics creator Josh Elder, who is known for his work on Mail Order Ninja. He, like me, thinks that comics are very engaging and found comics to be a large part of his diet when he was learning to read. He is seeking to make connections between comics and learning standards, and one of his projects is to make a textbook composed entirely of comics, which is what we have here. This volume was funded in part via a Kickstarter campaign, and it contains a number of comics stories sorted by content area.

Being that I am an educator by trade, and that I am a reading education person to boot, I am pretty much inclined to like this book. I have to say though, I am not thrilled with the tagline, "Comics That Make Kids Smarter," pretty much for the argument Tim O'Neil made when talking about books. Reading itself does not make a person smarter, but it is the content of the material, whether it be stories, nonfiction descriptions, or otherwise, that engages people and helps them think and perhaps amass some background knowledge through the process. And some books are better than others at doing those things.

So, how did this book do, you ask? Well, let me start with the good parts.There are some top-notch creators involved in this book, including Roger Langridge, Fred Van Lente, Ryan Dunlavey, and Chris Schweiser. For the most part, the artwork in this book was attractive and vibrant. And there were a couple of excellent entries:

I am a sucker for Van Lente and Dunlavey's work in the past, and their "George Washington...Action-President!" entry was no disappointment. I felt it offered a measured look at a vastly important historical figure that offered a complex picture of the man, warts and all.

Additionally, I had never read Chris Schweiser's Crogan Adventures until "The Black Brigade" tale offered here, but I will need to dig into some more soon. His account of Colonel Tye and a brigade of freed slaves fighting during the Revolutionary War was absorbing, dramatic, and very well rendered.

I have to say I was excited to see a mathematics section, because there are so few engaging and informative graphic novels about math, but I felt let down by these entries. One of the big problems I had with the book is characterized in the math story "Probamon" by Geoffrey Golden and Nathan Pride. It is a parody of the formerly ubiquitous Pokemon, and the jokes are pretty juvenile, mostly puns and poking fun at the protagonists (and I am OK with those, given the audience). But the danger of popular culture references such as this one, and they are pretty frequent in this book, is that they become quickly dated. I actually was amused by this story and I found it likeable enough, but I wonder how students five years from now might take it, or if they would even get the references. The story relies on the assumption that the reader knows how the game works and also that the reader can relate the concept of probability to its rules. So if such connections are not made, I wonder how successful or potentially bewildering this story might be.

“Probamon,”

Other stories in this book were less successful, for a variety of reasons. Some I felt were uninteresting in how they presented information, like comics stories with information thrown in. Some felt very pedantic and leaden in their delivery, like boring lectures. I know this book is aimed at elementary readers, but they can handle relatively complex information if it is presented in interesting ways. In the end, I felt that there were a couple of really great, engaging, and informative stories mixed with a bunch of tales full of clunky exposition and a few I felt were a waste of time. The biggest problem with this book is the problem with most textbooks: it tries to do too much. There are some factual and editing errors; the content seems thin and forced in most stories; and overall the book is inconsistent. I love puns, academic knowledge, and comics, but I felt disappointed reading most of this book.

It was an ambitious undertaking, and I think that I would have a difficult time finding much worth in any book that tried to shoehorn all of language arts, math, science, and social studies into its pages. There are a few graphic novels that I think would work excellently as textbooks, but they have much more of a focused topic. Off the top of my head, I can think of these in biology, world history, US history/government, World War I, and economics.

The reviews I have read for this book have been, at best, very mixed. Kirkus Reviews summed the book up as "wildly uneven in execution." Nick Smith recommended the books for classrooms and libraries but also commented that "not every segment is a brilliant success." Gretchen Wagner wrote, "Most of the pieces I did find both engaging and informative, but others I felt took too much exposition to introduce characters and backstory before getting to the concept, and others I could not find the point at all (although they were fun to read)." Jacob Canfield eviscerated the book in his review, writing "Despite all the good intentions in the world, The Graphic Textbook is a waste of money and time. With only a couple exceptions, none of the comics in this book are worth reading for any reason, much less educational ones."

Despite all the good intentions in the world, The Graphic Textbook is a waste of money and time. With only a couple exceptions, none of the comics in this book are worth reading for any reason, much less educational ones. - See more at: http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2013/10/leave-those-kids-alone-the-graphic-textbook-reviewed/#sthash.NYVrNoKD.dpuf

A preview, teachers guide, and more information about Reading with Pictures is available here from its publisher Andrews McMeel.

Would elementary students get this reference? Bueller? Anyone?

The Graphic Canon, Volume 3: From Heart of Darkness to Hemingway to Infinite Jest

Representing huge swaths of literature in visual manners is a huge undertaking, as is trying to review all the intricacies of such a volume. Because it's that time of the year for me, I do not know if my brain or energy level is up for the task of describing these myriad adaptations, but suffice it to say that as a whole this book is impressive, thought-provoking, striking, daring in parts, and excellent for fostering discussions about representation and analysis. Russ Kick's third volume of the Graphic Canon contains a huge range of styles and interpretations of literature beginning from the late 19th century and extending to the end of the 20th, and it touches on more works from outside of the traditional European canon than the second volume did.

My favorite things in this book are the scattered "Three Panel Review" comics by Lisa Brown. They just tickled my funny bone with the way they simultaneously commented on and distilled books into comic strips.

A good number of the entries are more visual interpretations that do not have much textual accompaniment, such as

Graham Rawle's photo-diaramas of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Laura Plansker's photo-diaramas of Animal Farm

T. Edward Bak's spare adaptation of The Maltese Falcon

PMurphy's impressionistic panels from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Onsmith's frenetic panels interpreting J.G. Ballard's Crash

Other entries melded illustrations with the original text, such as Anthony Ventura's interpretation of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."

Other entries used more sequential art styles and conventions to both adapt and interpret literary works.

Sonia Leong's appropriately manga-flavored version of Reginald

David Lasky re-imagining James Joyce's Ulysses as mini-comics

Peter Kuper adapting more Kafka tales in paranoid, impressionistic ways

Trevor Alixopulos capturing the wild, deranged sides of Lord of the Flies

Jason Cobley coordinating a contextualized "Dulce et Decorum Est"

C. Frakes 1-page chapter summaries of The Age of Innocence

There is even a smattering of nonfiction pieces, such as Steve Rolston's adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway newspaper article "Living on $1000 a Year in Paris."

One of the aspects I appreciate most about this book is its selection of artists. I was unfamiliar with many until seeing them here for the first time, and I am glad to have been introduced to their work. As you can see from the images above, there is so much to peruse, mull over, and digest in these images. This book is chock full of literary and aesthetic goodness.

I have not been able to find many reviews about this volume in particular, but the entire project has generated much praise and good will. Henry Chamberlain called Volume 3 "such a mighty undertaking that you just can’t go wrong." The folks at Publishers Weekly named it one of the summer's best books and called it "the most beautiful book of 2013."

The Graphic Canon, Volume 3 was published by Seven Stories Press. Excerpts, information, reviews, and more can be found at the book's official site.

Thank you so much to Jesse for the review copy!

The Graphic Canon, Volume 2: From "Kubla Khan" to the Brontë Sisters to The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Graphic Canon is an ambitious project that began earlier this year with the first of a projected trilogy of tomes. It has garnered positive attention from a number of prominent sources, including The New York Times, and this the second volume ranges roughly from the Romantic to Victorian literary eras. Not all of the entries are sequential art, and some are stand alone illustrations or text pieces with a few illustrations. Most of them have not been published before. This volume focuses more on British literature than the prior one, which was more international, but it still contains a number of winning entries from exciting creators, including established figures as well as up-and-comers.
Among my favorites are:

• Underground comix fixture Hunt Emerson's adapted excerpt from Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
• Alice Duke's vibrant version of Coleridge's "Kubla Khan"
• Anthony Ventura's strong take on Shelley's "Ozymandias"
• Shawn Cheng's cartoony version of the Brothers Grimm's "How Six Made Good in the World"
• Neil Cohn's earthy adaptation of Keat's "La Belle Dame Sans Merci"
• The reproduction of William Blake's epic "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion"
• Tim Fish's fine, melodramatic take on Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights
• Alternative and mini-comic maven John Porcellino's expert, spare excerpt from Thoreau's Walden
• Dave Morice's fantastic, superheroic version of Whitman's Leaves of Grass
• Michael Keller and Nicolle Rager Fuller portraying Chapter 4 of Darwin's On The Origin of the Species
• Seth Tobocman's powerful, impressionistic version of Frederick Douglass's "The Message from Mount Misery"
• Corinne Mucha's depiction of a "Letter to George Sand" by Gustave Flaubert
• Dame Darcy's frightening, claustrophobic, and beautiful take on Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
• The gallery of various Lewis Carroll-inspired art works
• Eran Cantrell's dark, forceful version of "Jabberwocky"
• Megan Kelso's crisp, expressive look at Eliot's Middlemarch
• Ellen Lindner's gorgeous take on Tolstoy's Anna Karenina
• In an excerpt from the Introducing series, Laurence Gane and Piero's impressive and referential delineation of Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra
• Danusia Schejbal and Andrzej Klimowski's appropriately moody depiction of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

As you can tell, there is a lot of ground, both in terms of content and styles, covered within these pages. Most of it is not for young children, but other than the inclusion of an excerpt of Venus in Furs, nothing is beyond the ken of typical high school students. It seems that editor/provocateur Russ Kick played it a little safer with this volume. Maybe he is saving up "the good stuff" for the final volume, which will be more contemporary in scope?

Reviews I have read about volume two might not be as positive as they were about volume one, but they are still strongly in its favor. Emphasizing the worth of this book, Publishers Weekly wrote, "Apart from containing insightful introductions and wonderful artwork, these selections have a not-to-be-underestimated pedagogical value that educators will no doubt find invaluable in bringing classic works of literature to a 21st-century audience immersed in visual culture." Glenn Dallas offered a more tempered opinion, calling this collection "pretty hit-or-miss, depending on the source material and the artist," adding, "but it’s still an impressive sampling of historical and literary touchstones." Buzz Poole concluded that most of what is in this volume "exceeds expectations for how it absorbs familiar texts and shapes new lives into them, reminding readers how words read in a book can color so much of life that exists far beyond the page."

The Graphic Canon, Volume 2 is published by Seven Stories Press. A YouTube preview is available from the editor. Also, a number of preview images are available here from Brain Pickings.

Thank you, Gabe, for the review copy!

Dante's Divine Comedy

Seymour Chwast has had a long and distinguished career in art. In 1954 he co-founded the famous and influential Push Pin Studios with the all star artist team of Milton Glaser, Edward Sorel, and Reynold Ruffins. He has won numerous honors over his career, including the Augustus Saint Gaudens Award from The Cooper Union School of Art, a Gold Medal from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and an Honorary Doctorate from Parsons School of Design. He was inducted into the Art Directors Hall of Fame in 1983. He has art pieces in many major museums, and in 2010, he published this book, his first graphic novel, an adaptation of Dante's Divine Comedy.

Typically seen as the pinnacle of Italian literature, The Divine Comedy is an epic poem from the 14th century consisting of three parts, Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. Dante himself is the main character in the poem, traveling through the afterlife with the help of a number of guides along the way. As they go through Hell and rise up through Heaven they encounter a number of figures, from well known mythical characters like Odysseus to historical ones like Emperor Constantine and St. Thomas Aquinas. Also, we see a number of Dante's contemporaries, with the tensions and pettiness involved in his exile from Florence cropping up in their final fates.

This adaptation highlights this work as both an allegory and a satire that combines theology and philosophy in an artful, provocative manner. In presentation it takes a few liberties, such as depicting the poet/guide Virgil wearing a bowler and Dante Aligheri wearing a trenchcoat and fedora like some kind of hard-boiled detective, but it all works stylistically and economically.

Reviews I have read about this book have been overwhelmingly positive. G. Chiaramonte from The Literateur offered that this book is not something to replace reading Dante's works but acts more like "a visual accompaniment, something to be enjoyed and sometimes even consulted in conjunction with the poem." In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews wrote that Chwast "makes the Divine Comedy irresistibly comic and inspirationally transcendent." In another starred review, Publishers Weekly praised the craft in this book, "With his signature mix of humor, artistry, and high-level design, he conveys a breathtaking amount of information in clear black and white line drawings."

This graphic novel was published by Bloomsbury. A preview page is available here from The New Yorker. A few more preview pages are available here from The Huffington Post.