Major Impossible

I love, love, love, LOVE the Nathan Hale Hazardous Tales books, and Major Impossible, the ninth(!) entry in the series focuses on John Wesley Powell. He was an abolitionist and aspiring scientist who served in the Civil War. He rose in the ranks to brevet lieutenant colonel, and also lost most of his right arm. In 1869, he gathered nine men, four boats, and provisions for ten months to explore the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. Not everyone made it back, but those who did chronicled their arduous journey well with journals. Those primary sources offered lots of great material that appears in this book.

One of the best features of this book is its attention to those historical details and facts. I learned much about exploration of the American west over the course of this book, but the characters are made to be engaging and interesting, too. Also rewarding about this book is its meta-narrative that builds in elements from other books. Of course, we see more interactions between the narrator Nathan Hale, the hangman, and the proctor:

 

 

These pages introduce the book, and they reward longtime readers of the series but also offer a quick introduction to new readers. I just gave this book to my 11-year-old nephew, and he got into it quickly and did not want to put it down. The combination of facts, vivid characterization, and a good dose of humor make this another excellent entry in a consistently strong series.

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you likely know that I love Nathan Hale's comics and graphic novels. This nonfiction series Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales is the gold standard for historical graphic novels, as far as I am concerned. I loved his takes on fairy tales and the southwest, Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack. And I really liked his original sci-fi graphic novel One Trick Pony as well as his scifi/horror tale Apocalypse Taco, also released this year.

I have not been able to find many reviews of this book online, but the ones I have read praise the book. Vic Sage wrote, "The greatest gift that Hale’s books give is not just knowledge but an entertaining education – there has not been a book yet where I didn’t find myself going down a rabbit hole trying to find out more about what I’ve read in a Hazardous Tales offering." You can see a selection of other reviews at Goodreads, where the book currently has a 4.19 (out of 5) star rating.

Major Impossible was published by Amulet Books, and they offer a preview and more info about it here.

The Hard Tomorrow

Imagine it's 2022, and Mark Zuckerberg is president. That's the premise of The Hard Tomorrow, the latest book from Eleanor Davis, one of the best comics artists going right now. The book's main character is Hannah, a young woman who works as an in-home caretaker for an elderly woman and who lives in a truck with Johnny. Johnny is working on building them a house, but he spends a lot of his alone time smoking pot and hanging out with their dog Tinker. Also, the two of them are trying to get pregnant.

When she's not at work, Hannah is involved in Humans Against All Violence, a group working for positive social action. She also hangs spends much of her time with her friend Gabby. Johnny spends his free time with Tyler, a reclusive survivalist who has many guns. Hannah is not a big fan of Tyler's, obviously, but the near future makes for some interesting bedfellows.

As much as this book is a commentary on the present day, and how it might become even worse, it is also a book about humanity and hope. Although things are tough, and in the course of the book several heartbreaking things happen, it casts a wide light on the complex and nuanced characters contained in its pages. Some of them are disappointments, while others come through in the clutch. Some are utterly wrong, and some who are easy to doubt end up being right. No one in this book is completely a saint or a sinner (except for faceless, fascist police and the POTUS), and the exploration of humanity under duress is both fascinating and moving. Most impressively, this feat is achieved via the plot and the pictures, as Davis's artwork breathes life into the pages. The Hard Tomorrow is both provocative and poignant, containing moments both jarring and subtle. Not many books move me as much as this one did, and the ending had me covered in goosebumps.

This book's creator is Eleanor Davis. She has racked up quite a few accolades, including the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award, and she has created a number of books that can appeal to adults (How to Be Happy and Why Art?), younger readers (Stinky), and adolescents (The Secret Science Alliance). You, a Bike, & A Road was one of my favorite books of 2017, and it won an Ignatz Award for Outstanding Anthology or Collection. She speaks about her work on The Hard Tomorrow in this interview. I'd be shocked if this book does not win at least a few major awards in the coming year, as it highlights just how spectacular a writer and artist she is.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been glowing. Publishers Weekly opined that "Davis seems to argue that any life is rich and complicated enough to merit its own book—and she convinces the reader she is right." Leonard Pierce wrote, "All told, this is a book that finds that razor’s edge between irrelevance (sic?) and datedness and balances there with the expertise of a gymnast." Oliver Sava called it a graphic novel that "looks at a bleak and very familiar near-future to tell a story about activism, empathy, and believing in a better world."

The Hard Tomorrow was published by Drawn & Quarterly, and they offer a preview and 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.

Blood and Drugs

The fourth book I got from my Kickstarter pledge, Blood and Drugs is a beautiful and horrible book, an intimate look at addiction and recovery. The main character is Buster, and he introduces himself thus:

Having heroin drive his decision making has led to him alienating his wife, children, and pretty much everyone else in his life. He lives in a group home, has to attend regular recovery meetings, and is trying to put his life together. Making this transition is not an easy thing, and he struggles with many  things. First off, he has messed up his drawing hand, which makes it difficult for him to make a living. He has to deal with cantankerous addicts and ex-addicts, stern caretakers at the group home, and simple things like acquiring transportation and finding adequate living arrangements. He also has to contend with a predatory art buyer who has snapped up his past works for pennies and flipped them for huge profits.

The book is divided into 12 chapters to echo the 12 steps of AA, and each paints a picture of the fits and starts that go along with recovery. Some days he makes progress, others he falters some. Some days he has to contend with difficult relationships and poor decision making, while others he finds hope and possibility. This book does not feature a cookie-cutter, happy-ending story but more of a visceral portrait of a person trying to find his way in a troubled world. He does find solace in some good friends, including his group home roommate, Nance, also a person in transition.

In the end, I was struck by how nuanced and complex these characters were. I have heard many recovery stories, and this one rings true to the range of experiences I have learned about. Also, I loved the bold, crude art style that tells this tale. In many ways, this book is a tough read, but it is also a very worthwhile one.

Lance Ward created this book, where Buster acts as a fictional stand-in for the author. He is known for his autobiographical comics Kmart Shoes and its sequel "Adults Only." He speaks about his life in work in this podcast interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Matt Vadnais called it "one of the most honest comics I’ve read in years." John Seven wrote, "With a stark and messy cartooning style dominated by thick black lines that have a life of their own, Ward does an amazing job of not only depicting the world that Buster lives in, but representing his emotional state of disarray." Ryan Carey called it "a strong work of comics realism and one of the most instantly-memorable reads in some time." Publishers Weekly added that it "delivers an unmistakably raw integrity."

Blood and Drugs was published by Birdcage Bottom Books, and they offer a preview and more here.

A spotlight on Birdcage Bottom Books

Several months back, I backed a Kickstarter campaign for Birdcage Bottom Books, and I am finally getting around to reading and reviewing these books. Today, I will write about three of the ones I received, and I'll save one to write about in my next entry.

Future Corpse is a short collection of comics by Eva Müller,  whose In the Future, We Are Dead was one of my favorite graphic novels published last year. There are a few short tales in this slim book, including an autobiographical look at growing up as a feminist, a look at how Karl Marx would be in contemporary times, and a frightening nightmare about a giant snake and failure.

I think that Müller is one of the best comics artists out there right now, and it's good to see some new work from her.

This book was actually a throw-in, as they like to offer freebies from other publishers they sell through their catalog. I had not actually read any Snakepit comics before, and it's a year's worth of diary comics from (as you might guess from the title) 2009. Each day, Ben Snakepit draws a 3-panel comic about the goings-on in his life. I am not going to say that each day is eventful or overly exciting, but it is strangely compelling to see a consistent record of what people do, even if it is eat, play in a band, watch movies, and hang out.

It is an enjoyable book and, interestingly, now a time capsule from 10 years ago (which is crazy, if you think about it). I cannot help but love a book that explicitly states on the front page that it "ever shall be intended to be read on the toilet."

Rooftop Stew is an acquired taste, I would say. It is a book full of short stories by Max Clotfelter that range from uncomfortably relatable autobiographical tales to gruesome yet funny fictional accounts of way-out characters like a family of drug addicts that sells their baby, FEMA victims who are forced to farm mutant foods, and neanderthal bar patrons. It's a very visceral book, both in terms of the art style and story content, and I found the whole thing utterly compelling. Sure, I winced a few times, but it's a rare book that simultaneously makes you want to put it down while also being so gripping it makes it impossible to actually put down. Also, in a way it's also an educational comic, for instance I learned what happens to a raccoon tail if you leave it under a dresser for six years. It's definitely not a book for young readers or the easily offended, but it is certainly full of eye-popping art, weird situations, and dark humor. If you think this excerpt is funny, it might just be a book for you.

The reviews I have read of this book have been very positive. Warren Elliott called it "lowbrow comix at its finest!" Publishers Weekly concluded, "This is a yawp of a book that highlights Clotfelter’s willingness to confront his demons head-on and turn them into visceral and emotionally affecting art." Robert Kirby opined, "Clotfelter is a natural storyteller, with a worldview and persona peculiarly his own, wrapped up in a visual style that fits it all like a ratty glove."

Rooftop Stew and Future Corpse are available here to purchase. Snakepit 2009 is available here.

Maria M.

If Maria M. were a movie, it'd be more than three hours long and with an ending that would put Scarface's to shame.

You know what's crazy? How fast time goes by. The first half of this book was published in 2013, and I wrote a review of it here. I have to say that looking back at my past reviews often makes me cringe a bit, but I think that one is pretty well composed and captures what I still think about this book. So go check it out. The only thing I could not say then but can now: Gilbert sticks the landing, and there is a lot of blood along the way. Whereas the first half of the book is a story of an immigrant trying to find her way in a sleazy world, the second half is more a concentrated crime drama with lots of intrigue and double-crossing.

Also, abdominal walnut cracking!

This book is an excellent one, showcasing an accomplished creator's range of skills in fine fashion. There is so much plot packed in the visuals, it's a testament to economical storytelling. It's a good read for those unfamiliar with his work or his Palomar tales, but it's also highly rewarding for readers who have been enjoying those comics over the years as well. The only people I cannot recommend this book for are younger ones, as it features sex, violence, and profanity. But if you are mature enough to handle those things and enjoy a gruesome crime tale that pays tribute to classic exploitation/B-films, this book is right up your alley.

This book's author is Gilbert Hernandez. He has been creating comics for about four decades now, most notably the Love and Rockets series with his brothers. He is prolific and considered one of the great American comics creators of all time. He talks extensively about his life and works in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Publishers Weekly wrote that "the pulp plot is executed with style, strong and sensitive character development, practiced casual linework, and the kind of gonzo weirdness—such as Maria’s talent for cracking walnuts with her abs—that defines the Hernandez ethos." Andy Shaw opined that "anyone else with an interest in sharp, sexy, violent but sophisticated stories can still enjoy it for what it is: a B-movie homage that takes the genre above and beyond our expectations." Robert Rea summed up, "Every writer should be so lucky to have the imaginative chops that Hernandez shows in Maria M."

Maria M. was published by Fantagraphics, and they offer a preview and much more here. Also, the publisher is having their big annual Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales soon, so check those out. They publish lots of excellent books!

Strange Planet

I am not sure where I first encountered the comic strips contained in this volume, but they sure did strike my fancy. Strange Planet is a webcomic that is published online and propagated across multiple social media platforms. Its author has more than 4 million Instagram followers. This book collects a bunch of strips, arranging them into broad themes, such as parenthood, pets, and recreational behavior. Here's a sample:

As you can see, the humor derives from making the ordinary strange. The aliens talk about commonplace earth practices using interesting/weird word substitutions. So, there's clever wordplay at hand pretty much in every strip, but what really sells them to me is how curiously evocative and even moving they can be.

Perhaps it's from the rather open and simple drawings of the aliens making it easier for the reader to relate to these characters (paging Scott McCloud!), but I also think it's from some brilliant craftsmanship as well. Observational humor is difficult to pull off often, and these strips hit their mark more often than not for me. These comics appear to be deceptively simple but they feature economically and smartly paced dialog and very human, relatable situations.

Nathan W. Pyle created these strips. He is an artist and animator who has written a previous book about etiquette in New York City. He gave a related TEDTalk about the topic here. Portions from an interview in this article help shed some insight into his work.

The reviews I could find of this book have been positive. Dami Lee wrote, "It’s clear why Strange Planet resonates with people. It stars beings without gender or race, meaning everybody can project themselves onto them. They navigate universal situations, shedding light on human behavior that no one understands the reason behind." Molly Barnewitz opined that "by defamiliarizing the human experience of the mundane, STRANGE PLANET helps readers relocate joy to the simple things."

Strange Planet was published by Morrow Gift, and they offer more information about it here.