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.

Mooncop

Mooncop is the latest book from Tom Gauld, who is rapidly becoming one of my favorite comics creators. He excels at drawing in deceptively complex manner that simultaneously ends up conveying great dramatic weight and comedic potential, which is an amazing ability. Past works like Goliath and You're All Just Jealous of My Backpack also reflect his great craftsmenship, and I highly recommend you check them out.

Mooncop is a dark comedy/slice of life tale set on a lunar colony in some (not-so-distant?) future. It is the kind of comic Stanley Kubrick might have made, only by which I mean it shares a similar matter-of-fact sensibility about science fiction as well as an overall devotion to impeccable detail, craft, and style. The goings-on revolve around our titular police officer, whose job is not so fantastic or demanding as it might seem. There is surprisingly little happening on the moon, and the people who are there are law-abiding, so mostly we just see his daily routine.

Still, there are some pretty cool things on the Moon, like therapist-robots, automated donut dispensers, and neat, modular buildings. And the monotony is broken up by a few episodes, such as looking for a teenage runaway, dealing with a broke-down car, and helping find a lost dog.

This future is pretty bleak though, and more and more of the lunar population leaves to return to Earth because life on the Moon is pretty humdrum and drab, a bright future turned  disappointment. Still, the ordinary actions of the Mooncop are still quite compelling, if mundane. There is a sort of dignity in his endeavors, matched by the somewhat ridiculous ways technology affects his life. In the end, this book reads sort of like 2001 meets American Splendor, and that is actually quite a wonderful combination. The humanity and emotional life of the cop shine through all of the sci-fi trappings.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have sung its praises. Michell Buchman called it "a fun, clever meditation on what it means to be human." Greg Hunter wrote that it "may be best appreciated as a retro sci-fi tone poem, big on feel in its depictions of loneliness and depression but short on insight." Oliver Sava remarked, "Gauld is known for his minimalist aesthetic and deadpan sense of humor, and these two elements work wonderfully together to bring levity to the emotional crisis in these pages."

Mooncop was published by Drawn & Quarterly, and they have a preview and more information available here.

Goliath

Goliath is a sparse, poignant, and inventive retelling of an old, familiar tale. It re-imagines the Philistine giant as an introspective and philosophical man who is more prone to doing administrative tasks than being a warrior. However, being that he stood at six cubits and a span tall (9.5 feet!), he becomes part of a plan to deter any Israelite attack. Twice a day for 40 days he goes out decked in armor to challenge the forces of Israel, putting fear into them because of his massive size.

Not much of a warrior, he is more a tool of his leaders. He spends much of his day in the company of a 9-year-old shield bearer, and mostly he stares at the wastes in the valley and the rocks that cloak the enemy camp. Eventually, he does not even go back to camp with his troops and chooses to stay out in the valley, perhaps even contemplating deserting his post. This is a darkly funny book, with his quotidian routine making him quite relatable. And when the inevitable ending occurs, it does not seem very celebratory.

The creator responsible for this clever, moving book is Tom Gauld, a Scottish cartoonist who draws a weekly comic for The Guardian. His collection You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack was one of my favorite books of 2013, and his spare artwork bursts with meaning and feeling. He speaks more about his work, both on this book and in general, in this interview.

Goliath has received much praise and was nominated for an Eisner Award. Marty Mulrooney concisely concluded, "Goliath tells a familiar story from a fresh angle and the results prove delightful." Noel Murray praised the book "both for the alternately funny and poignant scenes of its hero waiting forlornly on the plain for something to happen, and for Gauld’s art, which is typically on-point." Jeff Jackson wrote that it is "an example of what good storytelling can do, even with stories we’ve heard hundreds of times."

Goliath was published by Drawn & Quarterly, and they have previews and much more information about the book here.

You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack

Tom Gauld is a Scottish cartoonist who draws a weekly comic for The Guardian. His first graphic novel, Goliath, which tells the Biblical story of David and Goliath from the point of view of the Philistine giant, was very well received. This is his second graphic novel, though it is really a collection of his weekly comics and not a unified narrative.

The comics in this book are deceptively simply drawn and also very smartly presented. They depict pompous people being deflated, authors put in silly situations, as well as often surreal and intelligent observations about popular culture and literature. The titular comic consists of one panel:

Good title for a book...

 But most are a short series of panels. All last for one page and here is a sampling:

As you can readily see, Gauld is a master of one page funnies. His one panel gags are excellent, and his other short stories told in panels are well paced in terms of action and punchlines. I feel his line work is simple and elegant and rates up there with other comic virtuosos such as Gary Larson, Kate Beaton, Edward Gorey, and Nicholas Gurewitch. Gauld regularly shares his artwork on his tumblr. He also speaks more about his work and career in this interview.

Reviews I have read about this book have been very positive. The School Library Journal's Angela Carstensen praised it as "breathtaking and delicious." Boing Boing's Mark Frauenfelder wrote that Gauld's comics are "presented with a sense of graceful whimsy that makes his work such a delight to read." Paste Magazine's Hillary Brown summed up that this book "is awfully pessimistic and awfully cheery at the same time, which is exactly what a short-form newspaper comic should be."

You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack is published by Drawn & Quarterly. They provide a preview here.

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