Little Vampire

Little Vampire is a collection of three stories starring a little undead boy. To say that these tales are off-beat would be about right, and I think that they are excellent examples of effective and well defined world-building. His mom is some kind of supernatural being (a vampire or a ghost?); his dad (guardian?) is the Flying Dutchman, and his friends are all monsters of different types. He has a flying, talking red dog who accompanies him on his adventures. These stories seem fantastical and based on fairy tale logic, but they are also rooted in some pretty straight-forward real world considerations. The result is enjoyable, surprising, somewhat gruesome, and very satisfying.

In the first tale, Little Vampire decides he is lonely as the only child among the monsters and wants to go to school. Unfortunately for him, there is no one in the school at night when he can go. So he starts doing a young boy's homework and then strikes up a correspondence with him. The captain of the monsters is alarmed by these letters, as they may jeopardize the monsters' secret hiding place. So the Little Vampire has to go meet the boy to ensure their secret is not revealed, and, after some moments of alarm and terror, the two end up being fast friends.

In the second story, the little boy, whose name is Michael, decides he needs to learn kung fu to defend himself from bullies at school, and Little Vampire takes him to the unlikely training grounds of Rabbi Solomon. After a rigorous, secret ordeal, Michael is ready to take on lots of malefactors, but it is really for nothing. Some of Little Vampire and Michael's monster friends decided to take matters into their own hands and ended up killing and eating the bullying classmate. Not wanting to be party to murder, the gang then goes on to seek out magicians who can bring the boy back in one piece.

A visit to Rabbi Solomon's place (in the original French)

The last story is slightly less supernatural, about rescuing some dogs from a cruel owner who feeds them lipstick and tests various products on them. Of course, the rescue is not a smooth operation, and the children and monsters have to think pretty quickly to deal with all the repercussions of their actions.

Eisner Award winning graphic novelist Joann Sfar, a prolific French artist with more than 100 books to his credit since 1994, is responsible for this charming and creepy set of stories. Sfar has won many awards for his work in Europe and the US, and he is well known for idiosyncratic works such as Sardine in Outer Space, The Professor's Daughter, and The Rabbi's Cat. He has a pretty sardonic sense of humor, as seen in the English version of his homepage.

The reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Kirkus Reviews wrote in two different reviews that this book "will keep preteen comic-book fans amused" and "offers plenty of gags." John DeNardo worried that the horror parts might be too much for younger readers, but in the end concluded that he might be over-protective and that "these stories flesh out a highly imaginative world." Tina Kelley wrote similarly that the "unruliness, combined with some gross-out jokes and frightening characters, may give some parents pause. For those same reasons, of course, young readers will probably love it."

Little Vampire was published in the US by First Second. I may be mistaken, but it seems the book is out of print here currently, though I do see lots of copies available online from used book sellers.
 

Sardine in Outer Space

Another collaborative work from French graphic novelists Emmanuel Guibert and Joann Sfar, Sardine in Outer Space is the story of a little girl, Sardine, who is the most dangerous disobedient child in the universe. She is a member of a space pirate crew that includes her uncle Captain Yellow Shoulder, her cousin Little Louie, and her cat. The foursome travels through space having wild episodic adventures, dodging the authorities, visiting a galactic ice cream shop, shopping at a toy store, and escaping from a giant one-eyed, four legged beast.

The chief target of her actions is Supermuscleman, the "chief executive dictator of the universe," who looks like a mustachioed Captain Marvel--the Shazam! version--only without a cape. Supermuscleman is a tyrant who works with a mad scientist alien Doc Krok to capture Sardine, and it drives him crazy that this little girl constantly gets the better of him.

Guibert writes the stories here, and Sfar provides the art. Individually they have won multiple international awards for their works. For those inclined to learn more about him, Sfar keeps a blog where he shares his idiosyncratic and sometimes ribald thoughts.

Sardine in Outer Space has been received well. Brian Cronin appreciates that the children in the book are taken seriously as if they were adults and likens it to works by Roald Dahl, particularly Matilda. The Graphic Classroom's Kevin Hodgson appreciates the spunky protagonist and the humorous situations portrayed in the book. Kathleen Karr remarked on the creative use of literary stereotypes to create "clever, meandering plots" sprinkled with sight gags.

This is the first of a series of books, of which six are available in English. A preview and other reviews can be found here from the book's publisher First Second.

The Professor's Daughter

Imhotep IV, the mummy reanimated in this book is unlike many of his undead brethren. He is not an unthinking zombie, nor does he yearn for flesh or blood. He just wants to fit into 18th century British society and resume his regal lifestyle. He is abetted in this task by Lillian, the mischievous daughter of the professor who discovered him and brought him to England to display. He is enamored with this woman because she resembles his dead wife, a point of contention between the two. Among the exciting and zany things that happen to this unlikely couple: Imhotep III is also remarkably alive and up to seeming no good; Scotland Yard is after him for murder and rounding up all the mummies in town as suspects, and the pair must contend with her father's attempts to reclaim his prime display artifact. Also in the course of the story, Queen Victoria gets kidnapped in the hopes of her providing a pardon. Talk about a star-crossed romance...

This fantastical graphic novel was produced by two of France's premier comics creators, Emmanuel Guibert and Joann Sfar. Guibert is an artist capable of many styles who has been involved in writing the Sardine in Outer Space series as well as drawing Didier Lefèvre's The Photographer. The prolific Sfar has written and drawn hundreds of comics and graphic novels, including the acclaimed The Rabbi's Cat and The Little Vampire series.

As might be expected when two high caliber talents collaborate, the critics I have read largely celebrate this book. Susan L. Carr draws attention to the many whimsical details the story exposes about Victorian England. Heidi Dolamore from the School Library Journal praised Guibert's art as the best part of this "enjoyable melodrama." Gina Ruiz highly recommends this "bizarre, well told and completely wonderful" tale. Perosnally, I found the book funny, surreal, and slightly dark at times.

A preview is available here from the book's publisher First Second.

The Rabbi's Cat

As a fable or a parable, this book begins with a basic yet significant premise: the Rabbi's cat has gained the amazing ability to speak. The problem? He only tells lies. In response to this awful behavior, the Rabbi forbids the cat to spend any time with his daughter, lest he fill her head with falsehoods and nonsense. This crushes the cat who seeks her approval and affection and so he asks the Rabbi to teach him the Talmud so that he can become a better creature. The theological implications of the cat's request boggle the Rabbi's mind, especially when he starts asking for a Bar Mitzvah. Dealing with this situation requires compromises by all parties involved, especially when a young rabbi comes courting the Rabbi's daughter.

The creator behind this Eisner Award winning graphic novel is Joann Sfar, a French artist with more than 100 books to his credit since 1994. Sfar has won many awards for his work in Europe and the US, and he is well known for his series of Sardine in Outer Space and various Little Vampire books. He has a pretty sardonic sense of humor, as seen in the English version of his homepage.

The story takes place in the 1930's in Algiers, while it was still under French control, and it is replete with complicated religious and philosophical matters. This particular volume encompasses a wide range of story, as it contains the first three volumes Sfar published in France (there are 5 total). This dense yet energetic work has received some very positive reactions. Reviewer Douglas Wolk praised the strength of Sfar's level of detail regarding personalities and life observations. The Comics Shrew wrote that the book is not traditionally pretty but that it "on the whole is quite lovely and highly recommended whatever the status of your beliefs." NPR's Laurel Maury called it "a rare book that makes talk of art, faith and humanity as exciting as a rollicking thriller."

This graphic novel has also been made into a soon-to-be-released motion picture.

A preview is provided here from the book's publisher Pantheon Graphic Novels.