Mr. Puffball: Escape from Castaway Island

Another of the wonderful authors I got the chance to meet last weekend at Read Up! Greenville, Constance Lombardo created the book I am reviewing today. Mr. Puffball: Escape from Castaway Island is the third book of a trilogy (I have to admit that I had not read the other two, but that did not stop me from enjoying this book at all). It features a fun tale full of laughs and a skewering of popular culture. The title character Mr. Puffball is a stunt man trying to become a celebrity. And his avenue for finding stardom is competing on reality TV shows. First, he wins the grand prize in Feline Ninja Warrior, a send-up of this show. The fame goes to his head though, and he blows through his new-found fortune in record time.

While languishing on the trash heap of ex-celebrities he hatches a plan to embroil him and his friends in another reality show, Castaway Island (think Survivor). This motley cast of characters features many strong personalities, from the famed star El Gato to body builder/celebrity personal trainer Bruiser to a feisty kitten named Pickles to the martial arts expert Rosie. Part of the fun in reading this book is seeing this cast of characters bounce off each other, part of it is in seeing celebrity culture being ridiculed, and part of it is in delightful cat-themed puns that abound.

First rule of Castaway Island: Help no one!

Also, as you can see from the excerpt above, this book is an illustrated novel, that is a hybrid of pictures and prose in the style of books like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Big Nate series. I thought that the illustrations were hilarious and expressive, and that the interplay of text and images was very well crafted. I had a lot of fun reading the adventures of Mr. Puffball and his crew, and I think many other readers, both young and old would, too.

In addition to the Mr. Puffball trilogy, Constance Lombardo is publishing her fourth work, a children's book titled Everybody Says Meow. She talks more about this latest book in the Mr. Puffball series in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Douglas Gibson felt that this might be the best of the trilogy, adding that "a group of friends choosing connection and empowerment over money and stardom makes for a beautiful and compelling story in a world where even kids can fall prey to our celebrity-obsessed culture." Kira Moody gave it 4 out of 5 stars and called it "lively, funny, and engaging." You can see more reviews of it at Goodreads where it has a 4.38 (out of 5) star rating as of this post.

Mr. Puffball: Escape from Castaway Island was published by Harper, and they offer a preview and more here.

Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance

Top Shelf Month enters its second week with a "real" book.

I was a little bit surprised when I cracked open this little hardcover that it was not a graphic novel at all, but a book with illustrations added to spruce up each chapter. Along with a biting portrait of each vice president, from John Adams to Dick Cheney, is an occasional scene portraying a specific life event, but the majority of this book is words. It sort of reminded me of the Secret Lives series from Quirk Books, which I have enjoyed very much. Each entry has a short summary of each person's life followed by separate entries about notable accomplishments, dubious doings, calamitous events, and/or an interesting quotation. In all it was a very entertaining and informative read. After reading this book I can tell you:

• There have been 16 times, due to deaths and other circumstances, when no one held the VP position and those instances total 37 years(!)
• Our 5th VP, Elbridge Gerry, inspired the term gerrymandering
• William Rufus DeVane King may have been romantically involved with the sole bachelor US president James Buchanan
• Theodore Roosevelt was selected to be VP in order to curb his political do-gooding
• Dick Cheney appeared in the movie Die Hard with a Vengeance
• Charles Curtis was the last VP or president to sport facial hair
• James Schoolcraft Sherman is the only VP whose bust in the US Senate wears glasses
• The nickname "Veep" was coined by Alben W. Barkley's grandson
• James Madison had two of his VPs die while he was in office

What is striking about this book is just how random, uneven, and seemingly pointless the office has been historically. Some VPs are immensely talented while others just seem hopeless or inept. Some hardly knew who their running mate was, and some treated the office as a political death sentence. A select few had great accomplishments, though it seems that most simply held and office and lingered. I gained much insight into how insanely and arcanely politics often runs in the US after reading many of these passages.

It was difficult for me to find much information about this book's creators. Writer Bill Kelter is a businessman and contributes to sites like Politico. Artist Wayne Shellabarger does not have a lot of comics credits, but he is known for having drawn an array of rock posters in the past. The duo speak more about their collaboration on this book in this interview.

All the reviews I have seen online about this book have been glowing. Curt Holman called the book "playful" and added that its worth comes in how well it "illuminates the flaws and foibles in a political system that manages to elevate unworthy candidates while letting talent go to waste." Anthony Bergen gushed, "Veeps is a great read.  I loved it, and couldn’t put it down until it was finished.  It’s also a great-looking book, with fantastic art and a sweet design." Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow wrote that the book was "a snarky, thorough look at the foibles and missteps of the vice presidency," and added, "I had no idea how completely comic the office has been through the years."

There is a lot of information about this book, including a movie version, at its official site. Here is a preview and much more from the publisher.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Not Quite A Graphic Novel Month steams along with today's entry, The Caldecott Medal winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

This thick book is chock full of beautiful, evocative drawings that pack quite an emotional punch. They are very reminiscent of silent film images, with their quiet energy and instant empathetic appeal. The illustrations sometimes also resemble flip books or old time photographs. The story follows Hugo, a 12 year old orphan who secretly lives in a Paris train station during the turn of the 20th century. At the train station, Hugo maintains the grand clock, attempts to fix an automaton he found, steals food, and tries to avoid the police who guard the place. As time passes, we learn how Hugo came to be in this predicament and he befriends a young girl who accompanies him on his adventures. Unbeknownst to him, her godfather is George Méliès, a French film-making pioneer and the creator of the automaton.

The author of this book, Brian Selznick, is a well established children's book author who has been publishing books since 1991 and who has won multiple honors in addition to the Caldecott, which are all listed here. He speaks in depth about this book and his work in general in this interview from Scholastic. In addition, Selznick has a wonderfully detailed website about the book, its making, and its film adaptation here.

Aside from garnering quite a bit of critical praise, this book was optioned by Academy Award winning director Martin Scorsese who made it into a feature film. The film won Oscars for Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. A technical masterpiece to match the book, the movie cost a bundle to make and is well worth a viewing.

This has been almost universally exalted book. The tough critics at Kirkus Reviews gushed in a starred review that it was "elegantly designed" and "uniquely inventive." The New York Times' John Schwartz praised the book: its "story is full of twists and surprises, and it is especially touching for being based in part on the real-life troubles of Georges Méliès." The Guardian's kid reviewer called the book "brilliant" and added, "I think this book deserves five out of five stars."

A video preview is available here from the author. The book was published by Scholastic, who have a variety of resources at their site.

Why it is not quite a graphic novel: This book is beautifully illustrated, with each page acting as a panel that propels the story. The lack of words integrated in the story prevents me from saying it is a true graphic novel, especially when there are some extended text pieces that act as glue between the art chapters. It is the separation of the words from the art that lead to my decision about what to call this book, which is a supremely illustrated novel, if I have to categorize it. Not that this demarcation should detract from the book's beauty, warmth, and fantastic storyline. It reads simultaneously like a photo book, movie, and novel, which is no easy feat to achieve.

Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010

Up first in Not-Quite-A-Graphic-Novel Month is Michael Kupperman's Mark Twain's Biography 1910-2010. 

Most people are under the impression that Mark Twain died in 1910, but according to this volume the report of his "death was an exaggeration." Reading this book, we learn that not only is Twain still alive (thanks to a wizard's spell) but he has been having adventures the last 100 years. He fought in the Great War. He died his hair black, moved to Italy, and spent a year yelling gibberish at people. He had dalliances with Marilyn Monroe and Mamie Eisenhower. He foiled an alien invasion. He starred in several movies, including one porn film. He teamed up with Albert Einstein. He went to the moon with NASA. He fought in World War II. He even influenced Charles Schultz in creating Peanuts. Schultz's first version of the comic strip was decidedly less friendly and was called Li'l Sh*ts, and thankfully Twain was able to intervene with some constructive criticism.

Of course all of this is pure hokum. Still, I very much enjoyed the book, and frequently laughed out loud at the wordplay and absurd situations Twain engaged in. I found the best way to enjoy the book was to read it intermittently, taking time to savor each individual escapade.

This book is the creation of Michael Kupperman, a cartoonist most famous for his surreal, hilarious series Tales Designed to Thrizzle. He is known for his strange and wonderful characters such as Snake 'n' Bacon and Pagus. Kupperman speaks about his life and career in this interview with Big Think. And he speaks specifically about creating this book in this interview with SF Weekly.

The reviews I have read of the book have been mostly positive. The Comic Journal's Rob Clough praised the book, stating that "whatever direction he moves in, there is a consistent level of dizzying joy to be found in Kupperman’s work, a kind of humor that features dark and occasionally satirical edges but is mostly just a barrage of inspired wordplay, deadpan humor, and deceptively simple images." NPR's Glen Weldon called this book "hugely imaginative, exultantly silly, gag-a-minute writing that manages to comment on the popular culture of the last century while willfully wallowing in it — Python with a wry dose of Pynchon." Grace Bello enjoyed the book but was more lukewarm about the stories within, writing that "they're meant to be digested occasionally" so to avoid fatigue readers should read the book in small chunks.

Various previews and a plethora of links are available here from the book's publisher, Fantagraphics. Some sample chapters from the book (sans illustrations) are available here from the author.

Why it's not quite a graphic novel: Although there are a few sequential art episodes in the book, most chapters consist of a text piece and accompanying illustration. I see this work more as an illustrated book that has a few comic strips thrown in.