dynamic duos & unos (July graphic novels)

In the category of stellar team-ups we have:

The Professor’s Daughter  written by Joann Sfar, art by Emmanuel Guibert

A bit of role reversal for Sfar and Guibert- Guibert’s watercolors are a pleasant surprise.  Fun little romantic romp featuring the aforementioned professor’s daughter and the mummy from daddy’s exibit. 

Fell vol 1: Feral City  written by Warren Ellis, art by Ben Templesmith

It’s surprising that these two have never teamed up before; Templesmith’s art envisions Ellis’ dark vision with aplomb.  I look forward to more of anti-hero detective Fell and the slummy Snowtown.

Wasteland vol1: Cities in Dust  written by Antony Johnston, art by Christopher Mitten

Another great team-up.  Reminiscent of Carla Speed McNeil’s Finder  series, the post-apocalptic dystopia of Wasteland is truly engrossing. 

And the one-man-wonders are:

Lone Racer  by Nicolas Mahler

Simple line drawing allow the quirky story of the fading racing champ who won’t just won’t quit to shine.

Midnight Opera vols 2 & 3  by Hans Steinbach

These entries in the goth vampire saga allow Steinbach’s ease with innovative layout and P.O.V to shine.

Ex Machina vol 5: Smoke, Smoke  written by Brian K. Vaughan

Mayor Hundred must deal with a robber masquerading as a fireman and the city’s drug laws.

Y, the Last Man vol 9: Motherland  written by Brian K. Vaughan 

Looks like the series is gearing up for the end, revealing the cause of the man-killing plague in this installment. 

paradise lost

Cage of Stars  by Jacquelyn Mitchard  (289 pgs/read 160) 2006

The book is like an afterschool special- with characters than tip just a bit toward caricatures and a slightly overwrought plot.   And I read far too much of it before admitting that it was a waste of time.

there but for WR Grace go we

Libby, Montana: Asbestos and the Deadly Silence of an American Corporation  by Andrea Peacock (244 pgs) 2003

A great author can make you not just care about the people they introduce, but actually feel like you know them, make it feel a personal loss when they are gone.  It’s an expecially rare talent for non-fiction. 

With this book, I felt like I was sitting around my Grandpa’s kitchen table sharing stories of “I remember when…”.   A judicious use of direct quotes, placed in their larger context enables the story to resonate in a particularly immediate way.  And the personal family experiences make the story of the decades-long poisoning of a small Montana town by the W.R. Grace Asbestos company that much more tragic. 

I was reminded of a photo-essay book I stumbled across and fell in love with, The Alpine Tavern by James Cloutier.  It contains photos of folks in a small Oregon town.  Genuine, down-home folks, whose lives are etched in the lines on their faces.  You feel like you know, and like, these people.  In Libby, Montana  it’s the same.  You can’t turn away from the fact that these are real families whose lifes were destoyed for generations.  And the loss feels personal.

diamonds are a girl’s best friend

Summer at Tiffany  by Marjorie Hart (258 pgs) 2007

Another NPR gem, this slender bio was penned by a 83-yr-old remembering the best summer of her life.  Bursting with wide-eyed exuberance, small-town Marjorie recalls the summer of 1945 that she and a college friend spent in New York City.  To their amazement they gained employ as pages at Tiffany & Co, becoming the first women ever on the sales floor.

Marjorie takes as much joy from the simple pleasures as she does from her brushes with history.  She sparkles with wonder as she recounts glimpses of the stars and social elite who graced the doors of Tiffany.  And she blissfully recalls heading downtown to get a glimpse of the small plane that struck the Empire State Building, and joining 50,000 other celebrants in Times Square on V-day.  Yet even simple anecdotes like going for desert at a prestigious restuarant or dropping a box of pearls in the elevator become grand adventures through Marjorie’s eyes. 

reality bites

No Humans Involved  by Kelley Armstrong (342 pgs) 2007  (Women of the Otherworld #7)

The latest installment in this fun series follows Jaime the necromancer as she films a reality TV show with a couple of other (fake) spiritualists to contact the Hollywood dead.  Things are complicated when Jaime discovers that the garden is filled with the bodies and trapped spirits of children slain in ritual sacrifice.

She and Jeremy, the werewolf alpha and newly Jaime’s love-interest, set off to track down those responsible.

the good, the bad, the boring graphic novels

GNs o’ June

The Mother’s Mouth  by Dash Shaw

This thing was in need of a good editor.  Weird story, and weird non-logical bits stuck in.  Left me feeling “mleh.”

Robin: Wanted  writer Adam Beechen, artist Freddie Williams

Too full of backstory and bombastic dialogue.  Couldn’t hack it.

Lonely Heart: The Art of Tara McPherson

Love her artwork.  It’s like emo via Suicide Girls.  This collection featured many of her concert posters.

Essex County vol 1: Tales from the Farm  by Jeff Lemire

Interesting little story about a boy coming to terms with his mother’s death and his new life on his uncle’s farm.  The  simple art and sparse storytelling add to the atmosphere of loneliness.

Elk’s Run  written by Joshua Hale Fialkov, art by Noel Tuazon

Exceptional story.  A group of Vietnam vets decide the only way to deal with a world gone mad is to withdraw from it.  They build a secluded Utopian society and would do anything to protect it.  But when their teenaged children learn exactly what that means, the kids would do anything to escape.

The Black Diamond Detective Agency  by Eddie Campbell

A man framed for a train robbery is tracked by a detective agency while trying to clear his name.  Good art, good story.

Midnight Opera, Vol 1  by Hanzo Steinbach

Goth manga about a heavy metal rockstar with a secret supernatural past that comes back to haunt him.  And hunt him.  The art is stylistic and stunning- innovative use of panels and viewpoints.

Beautiful People  by Mitsukazu Mihara

Short story manga from the creator of Doll.  Good stuff.

God Save the Queen  written by Mike Carey, art by John Bolton

Two converging stories about a girl falling in with junkie fairies and the evil former queen deposing her replacement.  One of my fav writers; great watercolored artwork.