The Toxic Avenger

When I was growing up, there was a theater right next door to my dad's pizzeria, and I saw many a movie there. One of my formative experiences was watching the original Toxic Avenger movie, which warped my prepubescent brain with all its gore, violence, and "special effects." It led me to other films from Troma, and probably deranged me (in what I feel are mostly positive ways). I was not as big a fan of the 1990s cartoon revival of the franchise, though I was glad for the popularity and profits for the upstart parent company. A re-imagined version of the monster hero starring Peter Dinklage will debut in theaters this year, but before it arrived there was this five-issue comic book series collected here. 

This version of the Toxic Avenger operates independently of any of the movies, and new readers really do not need to know anything about them. Here, Tromaville, NJ is beset by a huge environmental disaster, and aliens and/or a shady corporation may or not be involved (I'm not going to spoil it). The entire area is quarantined, and a good number of the populace are exposed to something that radically transforms them into monstrous beings. Furthermore, there is a huge amount of misinformation coming from the government over both traditional and social media that obscures what is really happening. 

As you can see from this excerpt, this book follows the exploits of Melvin, once a scrawny weakling but now a strapping, grotesque hulk. Over the course of the narrative, he has to deal with physical battles from his former bullies who are also now monstrous, as well as the ethical dilemma of possibly becoming the public face of the huge cover-up fabricated to lie to the public about what happened in Tromaville. Among all of this action, horror, and intrigue, there is also a good dose of ridicule aimed at public and business institutions as well as some good old fashioned physical humor. I found this book highly entertaining, and luckily for those reading this trade paperback, they don't have to wait a month to see what happens in each subsequent chapter.

This book is the product of writer Matt Bors and artists Fred Harper and Lee Loughridge. Bors is a long time political cartoonist who also founded and edited The Nib. He has won multiple Eisner Awards and also writes the Justice Warriors series. Harper has a huge list of past clients, both comics and corporate. Loughridge is one of the most in-demand colorists in contemporary comic books. You can read more about these Toxic Avenger comics in this interview.

The reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Steven W. Alloway called it " weird, funny, sarcastic, satirical, sometimes violent, often gross, extremely campy, but ultimately good-hearted." Chris Coplan, who is a long-time Toxie fan like me, wrote that it "isn’t just a damn good comic, but it very much exceeds my kooky, totally awkward expectations."

The Toxic Avenger was published by Ahoy Comics, and they provide more information about it here. This book features body horror, gore, violence, and profanity, so I suggest it for readers mature enough to deal with those things.

And for those are enjoy this book, good news: there is more on the way.

History Comics: The National Parks: Preserving America's Wild Places

As a person who has been to a good many of them, I feel that the National Parks are one of the best parts of the USA. They are full of stupendous views, fantastic landscapes, unique flora, and surprising fauna. All of these features are sumptuously captured in the artwork of this volume of History Comics, and what's more it also provides excellent historical context for their creation and the people behind the scenes.

Have I mentioned that it is narrated by a Sasquatch and an eagle? It is!

This book details the major figures behind the origins and continuation of the National Park Service, warts and all. It tells about how Native Americans were removed from many of these spaces and how their concerns were largely ignored. It chronicles the racism experienced by the buffalo soldiers who were among the first rangers protecting Yosemite National Park. It portrays the many accomplishments of naturalist and The Sierra Club co-founder John Muir while also noting his racist and paternalistic tendencies. In all, I feel it is an excellent piece of scholarship that balances facts with entertainment, not shying away from the more negative aspects of history. The National Parks is one of the best of this fantastic series of graphic novels.

That this book is so well crafted is no surprise, given that it was written and drawn by Falynn Koch. She is a veteran of the History Comics series, having drawn The Wild Mustang. She has also drawn a couple of entries in the Science Comics series, Bats and Plagues, as well as a Makers Comics book about baking.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Kirkus Reviews called it "a witty yet complicated history of the national parks." Johanna Draper Carlson wrote that it "can be read multiple times, with new facts standing out to the reader each time through."

The National Parks:  Preserving America's Wild Places was published by First Second, and they offer a review and more information about it here.

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.

The Nib, Issue 5: Animals

The latest issue of The Nib magazine came out a few weeks ago, and its theme was animals. Not only was I treated to a variety of art styles and tones, I learned a lot from reading this book, including the fact that in the 1930s there was a supposed talking mongoose(!), most fur for clothing comes from a raccoon dog(!!), and Mickey Mouse wearing gloves comes from a minstrel tradition(!!!). I also got to see lots of other interesting information, including distances and migration patterns of various creatures and drawings of a series of endlings, the last known individuals of a species.

Among the more lengthy feature articles, two particularly stood out to me. Arwen Donahue wrote and drew an thought-provoking piece about raising, milking, and butchering goats and how that squares up with her views of vegetarianism, environmentalism, and community. It is not a very cut-and-dried issue, and I appreciated just how much she elucidated a debate about the ethics of farming and raising various sorts of livestock.

Writer Dorian Alexander, journalist Sarah Mirk, and artist Levi Hastings collaborated on an article about the economic and ethical dilemmas regarding smuggling and selling parrots from tropical locales. It is a big business for some, with an impact on local ecologies as well as the people looking to profit from these birds. Not to mention that the birds themselves also suffer because of these practices. What I loved about both of these works was how they mingled personal experiences with research and journalism to make some very impactful writing.

And just to remind people that not everything in this magazine is so heady and complex, there are also a series of gag strips as well as illustrated letters to the editor that round out this collection. I truly feel that the contributors at The Nib are making some of the best comics right now. Herblock Prize-winning, Pulitzer Prize-nominated editor Matt Bors has assembled another murderers' row of creators here.

The reviews I have read of this volume have been positive. Zack Quaintance noted "that that reading experience was quite good, adding that journalism done via this medium is so rare that whenever I come across some of this quality, it tends to linger with me for days (and days...and days)." You can see a bunch of other reviews at Goodreads, where it has a 4.40 stars (out of 5) rating as of this blog.

Content for The Nib is published regularly online, though the print version features exclusive content and comes out about three times a year. You should consider becoming a member and supporting their high quality, independent artistic and journalistic endeavor.

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.