Seen: True Stories of Marginalized Trailblazers

I have noted that these days are the Golden Age of Comics, as there are so many different genres, topics, and audiences being catered to by publishers. I am surprised not only what's out there but also what I miss, which includes this relatively new series of nonfiction graphic novels aimed at upper elementary readers. Thus far, there are two books in Seen: True Stories of Marginalized Trailblazers, one published in 2020 and the other this year. I like their size, small enough to pop into a pocket, and price-point, $5.99. They also have pretty extensive teaching guides, questions, and prompts as back matter, which seems to promote these books for classroom use. "But are they any good?" you might ask. Stick around and see what I think!

The first book from this series focuses on Edmonia Lewis, an internationally-renowned sculptor of mixed heritage. She was born in upsate New York, to a Mississagua Ojibwe mother and African-American father, and she lived from 1847-1907. She learned to be an artisan from her mother's side of the family, making and selling shoes and other household items.

While contending with much adversity in terms of family tragedies, racism, and sexism, she attended school and university, both which were not really promoted for women, let alone Black women. She also ended up being trained in sculpture, though she had to travel to Italy to become established. One of her most acclaimed pieces, The Death of Cleopatra, is heavily featured here. To be honest, I had never heard of her before I read this book, and I hope it will work to make her less obscure.

This book was a collaboration between relative newcomers to the comics field, writer Jasmine Walls and artist Bex Glendining. They both speak about their work on this book in this interview.

The reviews I have read about this book have been mixed. Sara Smith wrote that she did not "feel that the creators have embraced the graphic narrative format, but that this was a more complex picture book." Jennifer Wharton wrote, "The unique subject matter, accessible art, and extensive resources for teaching in the back (they include educational standards, a multiplicity of questions on the art and subject, and educational activities) should make this a stand-out title."

Rachel Carson, the subject of the second biography in this series, was more well known to me. She was the author of Silent Spring, a book that examined the harmful effects of pesticides, and a key early figure in the environmentalist movement. She started her career as a marine biologist and writer who spent a long term at the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She published multiple books about biology and the environment, and she ended up becoming a very important public intellectual who helped direct government policy. 

This book was a collaboration between writer Birdie Willis and artist Rii Abrego. In terms of comics, Willis has written a number of Over the Garden Wall stories. Abrego has drawn a number of comics for various publishers and has also drawn a graphic novel titled The Sprite and the Gardener due to be published later this year.

Most of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. In a starred review for Booklist, Sarah Rice called it "an ideal choice for tweens and teens with an interest in science or anyone looking for an introduction to Carson." As of this review, it has a 4 (out of 5) star rating on Goodreads.

Looking at both books shows some obvious commonalities. Both extensively lean on narration and captions to convey information. At times, this makes it feel like the words are more important than the illustrations in steering the story, and that these are more picture books than graphic novels. Still, I really like the illustrations in both, and I feel that they would be engaging for younger readers.

Both books contain a lot of information, but they vary in how much they convey personality. In addition to her many accomplishments, the Rachel Carson book also pays particular attention to her lifelong relationship to Dorothy Freeman, who was her neighbor and frequent correspondent. Their friendship is a close one, which may or may not have been romantic. This book captures that ambiguity, especially in a few wordless sequences where a good deal of emotion is implied. I think this second book did a better job of depicting Carson as a person. In the Edmonia Lewis book, her playful, comedic side is described a number of times but never really shown. The different time periods and existing primary documents mean that there is only so much to draw from, and the result is that one book feels a bit more personal than the other.

Both books are pocket-sized, and relatively inexpensive for color graphic novels. They are pretty short, about 60 pages each, and with all the teaching material built into the books, I feel like these might have been published to be bought up and used as class sets. Certainly, the subjects of these books would are worthy of study, and these books would be a handy way for both students and teachers who might be unfamiliar with the format of graphic novels to get acquainted with it. I am pretty eager to see if this series continues, and who else might be featured in future volumes.

Both books were published by BOOM! Box, and they offer more info about them here and here.

Not A Place To Visit

 

Earth Day is coming up soon, and I could think of no better book to review at this time than this great collection of visual essays Not A Place To Visit. All of the works in these pages explore the environment and how people have transformed it (usually for the worse). All of these essays have some basis in the author's experiences, from his childhood in Colorado, when he lead a privileged life due to his parents both being employed by the petroleum industry.

To his later life when he takes on all sorts of jobs, including working on a paddlewheel cruise ship on the Columbia River, catering to wealthy tourists.

Among the many topics he covers in these essays are the effects of fracking, dams, earthquakes, and floods. He also looks at the impact of industry on the salmon population and California’s Salton Sea. The illustrations are straight-forward and bold, a combination of black & white and color images rendered in pencils. They suit the text passages very well, and both combine to convey a train of thought about how changes in the western United States reflect those in the entire country and also the world. 

All of these considerations have serious implications for the future of how people will have to adapt, but I also appreciated how the past is not shown to be simply "the good old days." Humans have always had some sort of impact on the Earth and its ecosystems, only that the affordances of contemporary technology have hastened and heightened these effects. Also, there are certain trajectories that are tied to capitalism, with those from lower SES groups feeling the brunt of pollution and environmental change. This book is not only informative, it is important for our potential future on Earth.

Not A Place to Visit was created by T. Edward Bak. He has created a number of comics over the past decades, with many appearing in prominent anthologies and sites like The Nib. He has also worked on a longer work, Wild Man, The Natural History of Georg Wilhelm Steller. He speaks about his many comics projects in this expansive interview.

The reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Publishers Weekly called it a "quiet but inspiring dispatch." John Seven wrote that he appreciated Bak's combination of commentary and science and opined that this book "is an excellent primer to where he might be headed and I hope he gets the chance to move further in that direction because I think comics could benefit from his voice." This book is currently rated 4.04 (out of 5) stars on Goodreads.

Not A Place To Visit was published by Floating World Comics, and they offer a preview and more info about it here. Bak also has a Patreon here.

Science Comics: Trees: Kings of the Forest

It's been a while since I've read a volume of Science Comics, and this one, Trees: Kings of the Forest, does not disappoint. As you might tell from the title, it is a long survey into trees, and it is chock full of information. For example, I learned how they adapt to protect themselves from some animals (like insects who eat their leaves) while also becoming inviting for others (like raccoons) to dwell in and on them. I learned how fig trees reproduce (the flowers are IN the fruit). I learned how a variety of seeds and pods are spread. I learned that trees actually have systems for communicating with other trees as well as for adapting to  environmental changes. And I also learned why some trees flourish in specific climate zones but not others.

The guide on this educational journey is a delightfully designed acorn who meets a variety of forest animals along the way. Some, like the squirrel, have ulterior motives for the acorn, and others, like a friendly beetle, just want to gnaw on and eat wood. The artwork in this book does so much. In some places it operates like the diagrams in a biology textbook, in others it offers helpful looks into the various layers and parts of trees. It also tells a fun story about an acorn as it travels across the forest and decides whether or not to begin the long process to become a tree. Just check out this excerpt to see how multi-purpose this book is.

It is clear that much research went into this book, both in terms of references and information. Like many other books in this series, it is intended for an upper elementary/middle school audience but offers much for older readers. It certainly features a lot of technical vocabulary, which is reinforced by the handy glossary in the end-papers. This book is the best kind of educational graphic novel, casting new light on its subject while maintaining a sense of humor and joy. I highly recommend this book and the entire Science Comics series.

This volume of Science Comics was created by Andy Hirsch, who has published other books in the series about dogs and cats. He also has a number of comic book series, including The Baker Street Peculiars, as well as a couple of other graphic novels under his belt, including his own Varmints. And on a personal note, Hirsch drew a caricature of me for The Comics Alternative podcast. I really dig his work.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been glowing. In a starred review Sarah Hunter opined, "It’s hard not to see the wonder in this dense, pithy comic, and kids who are under the misapprehension that trees are boring will quickly learn otherwise." J. Caleb Mozzocco wrote, "There aren’t really any bad comics in this line of books, but Trees? It’s a particularly good one." Jody Kopple concurred in her starred review, calling it "another winner in the series."

Trees: Kings of the Forest was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more here.

Hicotea

With the Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards winners announced earlier this month, I thought I would highlight some of the fine books I read as part of my role as Assistant Chair of the Middle Grades Jury. First off is this book, Hicotea, which was a nominee in the Middle Grades category and is also a good book to read this time of year with the 50th Earth Day just around the corner.

This book's creator Lorena Alvarez won the 2019 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award during the Eisner Awards. Hicotea is her second graphic novel, a sequel to Nightlights, featuring the same protagonist, Sandy, only in a different setting that makes no reference to the first book. Here, she and her class take a trip to a local wetland to gather specimens for science class. She happens upon an empty turtle shell, and then ends up in a magical space that is part museum/part library/part portal, curated by animals and full of all sorts of paintings, books, and other works about the natural world.  

While in this magical (or is it imagined?) space, Sandy learns about nature and also a number of threats it faces. These threats are embodied by dissecting tables, polluted ponds, and a sinister flock of black birds, from which Sandy has to use her wits and imagination to escape. This book works in a very organic manner, and I was impressed by how it features a strong environmental message without being didactic or preachy.

And as you can see from the excerpts above, the artwork is one of the major draws in this book. It is gorgeously and lushly illustrated, full of exquisite double page spreads. The characters are full of life and emotion, environments have strong tones, and the storytelling is complex and satisfying. This book is one well worth visiting and revisiting.

All of the reviews I've read of this book have been celebratory. Brigid Alverson called Alvarez "truly gifted." Johanna Draper Carlson opined that "the images are worth getting lost in, and the books can be looked at over and over, with new things discovered every time."  Gene Ambaum wrote, "The drawings, and particularly the colors, are absolutely dazzling."

Hicotea was published by NoBrow Press, and they offer a preview and much more here.

No Ivy League

I got No Ivy League from my colleague Jason DeHart (THANK YOU!), while rooming together at the recent annual meeting of the Literacy Research Association. On the couple of flights home I had a chance to pore over it and very much enjoyed it. It focuses on Hazel, a home schooled 17-year-old living in Portland, Oregon who wants a summer job so she can travel to go see the band Guster. She gets hired for the No Ivy League, which employs a team of young people to cut back the invasive ivy from trees and in forests to preserve the local flora.

The crew. All the names but Hazel's were changed.

The League typically targets "at-risk" youth, who are much more diverse and worldly than Hazel. Pretty quickly, she learns just how sheltered and privileged she is, especially after doing some research into the origins of Oregon and past attempts to integrate the schools there.

I know what I have described so far makes this book sound like an afterschool special, but it is much more compelling and nuanced than one of those. Most of the reason is the care that the author took in detailing and recasting their own experiences as a home-schooled youth in this gig. That process is well-detailed in bonus material presented at the end of the book. As a result, the characters are palpable and real. Their conversations ring true. The situations are not sugar-coated or idealized, and the entire enterprise does not devolve into didactics or preaching. In the end, there are no pat answers or firm conclusions, only a dedication to learning more of the truth and trying better to ensure a sense of equity prevails.

No Ivy League was created by Hazel Newlevant, an artist and editor whose work has appeared in anthologies such as Comics for Choice and Chainmail Bikini. They have also published the graphic novellas Sugar Town and If This Be Sin. This book is their first graphic novel, and they speak about as a comic book series here and as a completed graphic novel here.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Etelka Lehoczky wrote that it "may seem like a modest achievement at first glance, but it's got the audacity to direct you (ever so politely) to change your whole habit of thought. That's colossal." John Seven wrote, "For asking such big questions, Newlevant never gets preachy, never retreats into a frantic tone, and never tries to distance themself from their own place within the questions. It’s a sober account of something a lot of people go through and, unfortunately, continue to go through." Christopher summed it up as "a refreshingly honest, self-aware 'coming of age' story, that explores complex issues of race, gender, and privilege with care and nuance."

No Ivy League was published by Roar, and they offer a preview, teaching guide, and much more here. There is a large preview also available here. There are some profanity and a couple of sexual references in the book, so I would suggest it for adolescents mature enough to handle those.

Science Comics: Sharks: Nature's Perfect Hunter

I have read every volume of Science Comics to date, and I am glad to report that this volume Sharks: Nature's Perfect Hunter is an excellent addition to a very strong and informative series. In fact, the biggest quibble I have is with the title. I want the subtitle to be Nature's Perfect Hunters (for agreement's sake!), but hey, I am not in book marketing, so what do I know?

That petty grammar business aside, I can say that I learned a lot about sharks from this book. Many, if not all of us, are fascinated and captivated by sharks. There is so much about them that is interesting, which has fired up works as diverse as Shark Week, Jaws, and Sharknado. Visually, they are simultaneously frightening and fascinating, but there is much about them that we are either ignorant or misinformed about. This book's premise is to inform the general public about these creatures, and boy does it. Sharks are some of the oldest living animals on earth; they are some of the most unchanged from prehistoric times, and they are incredibly diverse in terms of specific species and families. And there are many factors that have contributed to them being over-hunted and killed in recent years. I am not going to say that they are all gentle or nice creatures, but they are the victims of some mis-characterization.

Perhaps most impressive about this book was how it was basically structured as one long essay without a narrator (although there is a farming sequence and a recurring character that resembles Maris Wicks). It packs in myriad amounts of information in a way that reads logically and flows very well. This text coupled with artwork that is clear, vibrant, and appropriately well-detailed makes this book a must-have for any upper elementary or middle school classroom library.

The reviews I have read about this book have been largely positive. Kirkus Reviews found faults with digressions, conflicting information, and racial representations, and summed up by calling the book "informative, exciting, and, unlike sharks, just a bit disappointing." Jody Kopple called it "an accessible and inviting work" in a starred review from the School Library Journal. Johanna Draper Carlson wrote that "the entire book is something to sink into, enjoying the images of these sleek beasts."

Sharks: Nature's Perfect Hunter was published by First Second, and they provide a preview and much more here.

A preview copy was provided by the publisher.