Not Just Kid's Stuff

Our most excellent library has a comics section for every age group: Adult, Teen, and Children.  Now, you might think that the children's graphic novels would be, well, childish.  And certainly, many of them are.  But if you look close enough, there are treasures hidden on those shelves, delightful for any age!  Here are a few of my favorite not-really-just-for-kids series.

Oddz 'n' Endz

Hey guys!  So, I have been pretty busy doing that whole finishing school thing, and I really, super apologize for not putting a lot up here lately.  Even I haven't had time to read comics *sob*  But never fear!  I am now in the process of reading what I am assured is a really awesome comic, King City, so I'll be reviewing that as soon as I'm done.  Until then, hit the jump for a few awesome tidbits to tide you over.

Questions: Marvel 1602

Ah, Neil Gaiman, we never quite tire of him at Graphic Content, do we?  1602 is his first book written for Marvel, and is thus of historical importance (bwahahahahaha!  Oh god, that was awful).  Honestly, I just really wanted to write a bad pun.  Read on for tonight's discussion questions.

Web-Comic Review: Questionable Content (Part 1)

Jeph Jacques' Questionable Content is without a doubt one of the biggest successes in webcomic history.  Started in 2003, the comic is still running today, earning enough to support the author and his now wife entirely.  I have been reading QC religiously for the last week, and have reached around strip 950 in this 2000+ strip epic.  So, while I haven't quite caught up with the comic, read on for my musings on the story thus far and where I think things might go from here.

Questions: Level Up

Cartoonist Gene Luen Yang has built his career from talking about what it is like to grow up as an Asian American.  Level Up continues in that vein by exploring the stereotype of the strict Asian parent, examining both its veracity and its effect upon the sons and daughters it is inflicted on.  

Quickies: Americus and Kinetic

Neal Barton is miserable.  It's his first year of high school, and not only has his best friend been sent away to military school, but his favorite book series is being attacked by a local group of religious fundamentalists who aim to ban it from the local library, his home away from home.  What's a nerdy guy to do?  It's time to take a stand.

As a librarian, this one got me where it counts.  I completely identified with Neal's obsession with the Apathea Ravenchilde series (Song of Ice and Fire junkie here!) as well as with the amazing librarians he befriends.  Being from a relatively small and very religious town, it was very easy to imagine this situation occurring here.  I couldn't ask for a comrade more dedicated than Neal.  I would recommend this book strongly to the tween crowd, as a good way to learn about freedom of speech and how to stand up for what you believe in.  Adolescence is all about rebellion, but some forms are more constructive than others.  Americus shows how to do it right!

Review: The Sentry

The great heroes of Marvel have been established for decades.  Spider-Man, The Avengers, The X-Men.  Creating a new character and garnering enough popularity with that character to join the big boys (and girls) in main storylines and events can take years.  For instance, the character Deadpool was introduced to Marvel in 1991, and is just now coming into prominence in the Marvel universe.  So what do you do when you want to skip that whole process?  The Sentry holds the answer.

Quickie: DC Comics Covergirls

Louise Simonson's intricately researched and beautiful coffee table book takes readers on a tour of the lives of our favorite DC heroines and femme fatales.  With chapters dedicated to fan favorites like Wonder  Woman and Catwoman, as well as the lesser known Vertigo girls and supporting cast like Lois Lane, this book was thoroughly fascinating.  It also profiles the masters of cover art, ranging from the 1930's to today, using hundreds of images, many in their full sized glory.  There is something here for everyone, whether you're interested in comics history or evolving gender roles and their reflections in art.  There is also a very witty introduction written by the brilliant Adam Hughes, master of the pin-up comics cover girl.  If you like your heroes with a little bit of feminine wiles, this is the book for you!

Review - The Question: Zen and Violence

As a long time fan of The Question as he appeared in the fantastic Justice League Unlimited television series, I have always been curious about the character's origins.  Dennis O'Neil began writing the character in 1987, and Zen and Violence is the first collection of his work on the character, documenting his leap from ruthless investigative reporter to martial artist vigilante.

Quickie: Li'l Depressed Boy

A satire that alternately mocks and embraces hipster culture through the tried and true format of "boy-meets-girl".  Cynical, but heartfelt, creator's S. Steven Struble and Sina Grace, show no remorse for the extremely blatant caricature that is the series, even going so far as to name their protagonist LDB, or Li'l Depressed Boy, a literal every man with a blank face and a doll body who is of course chasing his own Manic Pixie Dream Girl (look it up).  Without this wink to the reader, LDB would be cliche, and it is interesting to read a book toeing that thin of a line between sincerity and mockery.  The book is undeniably "hip", drenched in pop culture allusions and self referential humor, in almost a self-hating sort of way.  It even has a scan page in the back with instruction to make a LDB paper doll.  I read the first collected trade, and the comic is still ongoing, so for now, let's just call it an homage.  And speaking of homages, click the jump to see more fabulous LDB art, including shout outs to other tales of this genre.

Review: The Definitive Irredeemable (collected issues 1-12)

Amazing and pitch perfect cover art by John Cassaday

Long time members of Graphic Content (if you can call a little over a year "long time") will no doubt remember Mark Waid's writing from Kingdom Come, one of last year's most popular discussion books.  In yet another examination of the true challenges of super-heroism, Irredeemable takes a look at what happens when the pressures of the career irrevocably destroys a hero, leaving behind...something else.

2012-2013 Book List Finalized

Things have leveled out, and since club attendance has been on the rise and new members have been joining, I was finally able to order the rest of the books for this year of Graphic Content.  Head over to the "Discussion Book 2012-2013" link on the right of the page to check out the full list!

Questions: Barefoot Gen Vol. 1

Boy, as finales go, that one was a doozy, and if you're like me, you're racing for the next volume.  But before  you get started on that, let's see what we've gleaned from Volume 1, shall we?

Review: 100 Bullets Vol. 1

100 Bullets has a deliciously simple but effective premise: take a person who has been drastically wronged, give them a gun, 100 untraceable rounds of ammunition, proof positive of who wronged them, and permission to do as they please.  The results are entertaining, to say the least. 

Extras: The Pitfalls of Comics Anatomy

The infamous Catwoman cover.

Anonymous satire

Parody by the fabulous Kate Beaton.

Over on the Facebook page, we've been having sort of an impromptu link share showing one of comics most well known features: horribly drawn anatomy.  While it is truly sad that talented artists often stoop to reinforcing bizarre body image icons, well, if you can't cry, you might as well laugh.  Warning: Not all links are safe for work.

Series Review: The Sandman

For the last year, I have been devouring Neil Gaiman's epic series, The Sandman.  Not only have I read all 10 of the collected editions of the series, but also 3 spin-off books, 1 collection of short stories, and The Sandman Companion by Hy Bender, which analyzes each book in the series through interviews with Mr. Gaiman himself.  The books revolve around an idea so big, that it encompasses near everything.  And I mean everything.  It's a story about stories.  So for lovers of fantasy, myth, history, and fairy tale, mixed with a fair bit of goth sensibility and family drama, strap in tight, because this is the series for you.

Clarification

I guess that I was not very clear about things in the 2012-2013 book list page.  When I say that Barefoot Gen is our August book, I mean that that is the book being handed out, not being discussed.  In August I will be handing out the book and going over the changes I have been working on for the club.  In September we will discuss it, and then I will hand out Arkham Asylum to be discussed in October, and so on and so forth.

Sorry for the confusion.

- P

Excitement! Movie Night Announcement

In light of the release of The Dark Knight Rises and all the hub-bub surrounding it, I have decided that as our special end-of-first-year treat, we will be watching Batman Begins followed by The Dark Knight!  Because, you know....Batman.

Update: Arkham Asylum

Since we still have the materials to use Arkham Asylum for a discussion, and nobody was able to attend our first try at it, we will be adding AA to the 2012-2013 list.  Hopefully, things will turn out better this time around.  Because BATMAN!

I came to this decision using the polling tool on our Facebook page, and plan to continue using polling in the future.  I am no longer going to be posting updates for Graphic Content through my personal Facebook, so it is important that everyone use the page and participate!  I am also going to begin posting our meetings as events through the page, which should automatically invite all members.  This way, everyone knows far in advance the time and date of the meeting.

Review: Ethel and Ernest

A touchingly written and lovingly drawn tale detailing the lives of the author's parents from first meeting to final breath.  

Quickies: American Vampire, Uncle Sam, and Laika

Unfortunately, I've been so busy lately that I haven't really gotten a good chance to write a solid review, even though I've read some real cracker-jack comics.    That sucks!  So follow along below and I'll give you a quick guide to some of the books I've been lost in.

In the past few years, vampires have been more popular than ever, with a never ending stream of books, movies, and tv shows emerging to capture the hearts of all types of vamp lovers, from swooning teenaged girls to hardcore horror fans.  In such an era, it it genuinely rare for a vampire story to arise different enough to catch me off guard.  American Vampire is one such story.  Swinging back and forth from the old west to 1920s Hollywood, AV captures the imagination with rough riding desperados and sleek starlets.  Scott Snyder is great, and it doesn't hurt that Stephen King is on board either!  It's crunchy, and doesn't bull any punches.  AV  (volume 1) is a great set up for an exciting ongoing story line. 

Questions: Arkham Asylum

Intense!  Gritty violence, psychological trauma, and beautiful art collide in the fun house that ain't so fun.  Dig deep as we the readers discover the sordid history of Arkham and the Batman discovers that sometimes, sickness is a place called home.

Announcement: New Books

Hey gang.  I know that during our last meeting, I let you look through several choices and pick which ones you would like to read.  I wanted to give you the power to choose, and to really know that you guys are an integral part of this club.  I lead the discussions, but your opinions matter.

Unfortunately, due to funding issues and the question of repurposing our comics after the discussions, we have had to order different books than the ones you chose.  When I began this club, I fully intended for teenagers to attend as well as adults.  Things didn't work out that way, which is why the books I gave you to choose from this round were a bit more adult.  However, it has been decided that once we are done discussing our books, they will then be used for high school discussions.  This means no sex, nudity, or over the top violence, no matter how good the writing or message.  We all know how easy it is to upset even just one parent who could cause an uproar.  Also, due to the cost of printing comics, ordering so many at a timje, and the fact that almost 10 of our books have not been returned over the course of this year, I have been asked not to order books that cost (with our discount) over $12.00.

All of this together meant that I needed to completely re-pick our books.  I'm sorry.

But! The books I did get are also awesome.  Never fear faithful readers, you are in good hands.  Right now we have only order 4 books, as an experimental stage until we figure out where we are going to get our permanent funding.  So, in 4 month's time, we may be able to have more options.  Either way, the books are great, so no worries :)

So, without further ado, here are our first four books for the new year!:

Questions: Persepolis

The story of a girl, her country,and the people of her country, all tied up together with the complexity of family and home.  How do war, tradition, religion, family, and freedom shape us all?  Marjane Satrapi shares their effects on her, as an intellectual young lady growing up in the midst of revolution and war.

Issue Review: Earth 2 #1

Earth 2, a parallel world to the mainstream DC universe, made it's "New 52" debut this week.  Similar to Marvel's Ultimate universe, Earth 2 is a zone unrestricted to the main storyline canon.  Basically it uses the same characters to tell completely different stories, explore different relationships, and break rules you could never break in the normal DC world.  And this new run begins with a BANG. (slight spoilers)

Quickie: Friends with Boys

Friends with Boys is Faith Erin Hicks' webcomic-turned-print success, featuring high school drama and spooky ghosties.  A heartwarming tale with an emphasis in family, FWB is a refreshing change of pace from the usual rebellious teen selection.

I'm not doing a full review on this book, because, honestly, there isn't too much to say.  It reads like a webcomic, although the individual pages have been stitched together seamlessly.  It's a short sweet story, notable for taking the high road, depicting a family of teenagers that aren't particularly edgy or troubled, unless you count seeing ghosts or missing your mom as edgy.  There is also a strong father figure, you understands and cares for his children attentively.  This is neither boring nor cheesy, but rather an aspect of life not often depicted in comics.  It didn't take long to read (about 1-2 hours) and left a smile on my face.  If that sounds like your cup of tea, I totally recommend!

BTW, I also recommend her other webcomics, particularly her 100 page superhero spoof (realistic depiction?), The Adventures of Superhero Girl.  

Movie Night

Howdy ladies and gents!  As we near the end of our first year's journey, I feel that we should celebrate.  I have therefore compiled a list of comic book movies (some you might not have realized were comic books) for you to choose from for us to put together a movie night in July.  Freakin' sweet!  The details are yet to be ironed out, but here is the list, with accompanying Wikipedia links for reference, of our movie choices.  I'll have a voting sheet for you guys on Monday, at the same time we vote for next year's books.

Questions: Kingdom Come

The tension!  The moral dilemma!  The ridiculous costumes!  OMGBATMANROBOTS!  (spoilers, sorry)  This book has everything!  Now, what do we think?

Review: Morning Glories Vol. 1

For all fans of resourceful teens in dire circumstances (here's looking at you, Hunger Games peeps!) Morning Glories is high tension introduction to Image's hit ongoing series.  When punishments go from losing car privileges to losing your life, your only option is to make The Academy pay.

Review: Violent Cases

Violent Cases is the very first collaboration between master storyteller Neil Gaiman and genius artist Dave McKean.  This strange story explores the frailty of memory and the many faces of violence as seen through the eyes of an innocent child.

Comics News: Marvel/DC and Creators' Rights

Alan Moore and Jack Kirby

Although I may not be the biggest fan of Alan Moore's attitudes, this article shed a lot of light on the plight of authors and artists working for large companies.  Read all about it at Comics Alliance.

Review: Stuck Rubber Baby

A harrowing tale of finding one's self in the midst of social upheaval and injustice, Stuck Rubber Baby draws strong parallels between the struggles of the minority in the past and the present.  Filled with a memorable cast living in a town polarized by issues of race and sexuality, SRB may take place in the 60s, but it certainly has something to say about the present day.

Announcement: Drawing Words/Writing Pictures

After a trial run and careful consideration, I will be removing the DW/WP curriculum from the Graphic Content! program.  The book is still available for check out for anyone still interested in the lessons.

Questions: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

The original form of the wildly popular cult film!  Something hip for the youngsters...whippersnappers...rapscallions..  Yeah.  Anyhow, here are the questions for Bryan Lee O'Malley's cool and surreal runaway hit, Scott Pilgrim.

Review: a+e4ever

Broken glass can be both beautiful and the cause of intense pain.  That about sums up how I feel about a+e4ever, Ilike Merey's debut graphic novel about high school, friendship, gender, hetero/homo/bisexuality, and techno.

Review - Batman: Hush

Call me late to the party, but I have finally just gotten around to reading Batman: Hush, one of the most lauded Batman books of recent years.  Filled with shadowy noir goodness, bitter-sweet romance, and more revealing secrets into Batman's tragic past, Hush has earned its reputation as one of Batman's best.

Issue Review: Saga Issue #1

Brian K. Vaughan, the writer behind Pride of Baghdad, Y: The Last Man, and Ex Machina, debuted his triumphant return with last week's premiere of Saga #1.  A sci-fi/fantasy mash up with promise of serious drama, fighting, and the requisite shadowy oppressive government element, Saga does not (so far) disappoint.

Update: Let's Try This Again

Ok, due to nobody being able to make it to our February meeting after our reschedule, the discussion of Silver Surfer: Requiem has been pushed back my one month to March 12th.  We will be going over the DW/WP homework and also handing out our next book, Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.  Nothing should be different, you don't have to hand in your books before that, and nobody missed anything.

So, see you then!

February Meeting Rescheduled

Due to the poopy weather yesterday, Graphic Content! is being moved to next Monday, February 20th.  More time to finish book and homework!  Yay!

In the meantime, enjoy comic valentines!

Review: Page by Paige

Page by Paige is the journey of bibliophillically named Paige Turner from wall flower to artistic powerhouse in full bloom.

Review: Strangers in Paradise Vol. 1

By turns funny and heartbreaking, Terry Moore's  90s, pseudo-feminist, melodrama, Strangers in Paradise, illustrates the struggle between searching for love and loving yourself.

DW-WP: Homework Assignment 1



To be turned in on Feb. 13th

Questions - Silver Surfer: Requiem

Man, what a tearjerker!  This month's book, Silver Surfer: Requiem, studies the true invincibility of a superhero.  Read on for this month's discussion questions!

Review: Shutterbug Follies

Shutterbug Follies is a juicy little murder mystery with a quirky leading lady and surreal twists and turns that are sure to enthrall.  For anyone who's ever wished that their hum-drum life were more like a movie, let SF serve as a warning.  Sometimes you get what you wish for.

Review: Epileptic

A journey through the devastating effects of sickness on a family, and a contemplation on all of the ways a person can be ill, Epileptic travels the dark roads of the author's past. 

Rant/Rave: Are Comic Books for Kids?

Relaunched Comics Using Sex and Violence To Sell: MyFoxDC.com

Say what now?

Review: Habibi

Cementing his place as one of the most creative and artistically talented graphic novelists I've had the pleasure to read, Craig Thompson's Habibi is a breathtaking meditation on the meaning and strength of love in a cruel and unforgiving world.  Illustrated in gorgeous ink-and-brush that will pull you in, Habibi is one in a million.

Questions - Death: The High Cost of Living

Hey guys!  It's time for a new round of questions for this month's book, Death: The High Cost of Living.  Set in a world of music, celebrity, and emotional strife, things are already pretty complicated when Death herself comes knocking.  Read on for this month's discussion questions!

Review - League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 1

Talk about your unique settings! LoEG is an alternate fictional timeline, teaming up turn of the century characters such as Mina Murray (Dracula), Allan Quatermain (King Solomon's Mines), Captain Nemo (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, and Mycroft Holmes (brother of Sherlock Holmes).  When a mysterious enemy threatens the British Empire, this rag-tag group of misfits is called together to defend it - whether they want to or not.