01:39:29 am, by ComicList Categories: Fantagraphics Books, VIZ Media, TwoMorrows Publishing, Midwest Book Review The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf April 2008 The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers.
KRAZY AND IGNATZ: 1941-1942 follows the love story of KRAZY KAT in a volume which packs in color Sunday strips from all the 1941 and 1942 comics. Any library specializing in comics history needs this: it provides a gorgeous display of full-page strips and captures well the art and sentiments of the Krazy Kat comics of its time.
The space adventures and worlds envisioned by a classic DC Comics series edited by Julius Schwartz and written by Gardner Fox and John Broome is revealed in SILVER AGE SCI-FI COMPANION, a consider of the series stories of Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space which includes reviews of complete series and behind-the-scenes insights on writers and artists alike. Any Silver Age comics collector, library catering to them, or science fiction fan will relish the plot synopses and insights.
Frank Cho loved to draw women, monkeys and dinosaurs and earned a following though his Liberty Meadows works, earning my prestigious awards in the comic industry: his biography joins others in the 'Modern Masters' series celebrating comic book artists of modern times, and provides an excellent selection of black and white sketches to accompany text exploring Cho's works and perspective. No library strong in comic history should be without this.
Throughout the 20th century, newspaper comic strips have been a staple of American popular culture. Winsor McCay's "Little Nemo In Slumberland" was a color comic strip that debuted in the New York 'Hearld' on October 15, 1905 and achieved an immense popularity almost overnight. It continued to be published until December 1913, when McCay was pressed by his editor to suspend the series in order to concentrate on editorial cartooning. In August 1924 McCay revived the comic strip and it ran for an additional three years. Now the Checker Book Publishing Group has brought out a photomechanical reprint in full color of all of the strips from the first episode in 1905 though August 15, 1909. Also included in this impressive first volume are forty-three strips comprising 'Tales of the Jungle Imps', as well as samples of original promotional material, play bills, posters, early Nemo merchandising, and more. Of immense nostalagic interest and a superb example of early American newspaper cartoon strips, "Winsor McCay's Little Nemo In Slumberland; Volume One" is also highly recommended because it makes available to a whole new generation of readers the wonderful adventures of Nemo, Flip, The Princess, and a cast of memorable characters.
The graphic novel as a literary form within American popular culture has truly come of age. Ably assisted by a team of five talented artists, three letterers, two designers, two cover artists, and an editor, Shawn Granger's "Innocent" is a compelling story of an angel of retribution who befriends a psychopathic mortal. The angel Innocent finds himself hard pressed to keep his psycho friend David focused on killing only those who really deserve to be murdered, and leaving the innocent well enough alone. A sophisticated story featuring characters that are intrinsically interesting and a bit more than casually sophisticated, "Innocent" is the first volume of a graphic novel series that can be confidently recommended to the attention of science fiction and fantasy fans in general, and graphic novel buffs in particular -- and will lead readers in both groups looking eagerly toward the next installment of this debut effort.
Now available on in an "editor's choice" reprint edition with a new cover, the fifteenth and final volume Maison Ikkoku concludes the slice-of-life romance between Godai and Kyoko, with a thoroughly satisfying wrap-up of their story as well as that of their rambunctious, out-of-control neighbors. Though the issues of love, relationships, and responsibility take the dramatic center stage, the situation comedy elements are neither gone nor forgotten; the well- known "goddess of manga" Rumiko Takahashi pens Maison Ikkoku's finale with her usual flair for wit and insight. Maison Ikkoku carries the highest possible recommendation, as a heartwarming saga that resonates so strongly with the ups and downs with real life that it is worth rereading again and again. EDITOR'S NOTE: The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so. The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at http://www.midwestbookreview.com Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to: James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalm...@aol.com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price). James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief Tag cloudaction comics avengers batman black canary blog from another world cable captain america checker bpg comiclist critiques dark horse dc comics dynamite entertainment fantagraphics final crisis flash flash gordon frank frazetta geek goggle reviews geek goggle weekly rankings gi joe green arrow green lantern green lantern corps hulk idw idw publishing image comics indiana jones iron man kick ass lone ranger marvel comics mice templar midwest book review reviews secret invasion spider-man star wars star wars superman suspended animation transformers twomorrows ultimate human variant edition walking dead wildstorm wolverine world of warcraft x-men |