GN shorts

I've been reading a lot of books and watching a lot of films lately -- I just haven't been writing about them. Here's a piece of catch-up:

Graphic novels & comics

• All-star Superman (vol. 1) by Grant Morrison (writer) & Frank Quitely (illus.) is a nice re-imagining of the archetypal superhero, creatively written with some nice twists, well-drawn with clean, strong lines and sophisticated coloring. Worthwhile for anyone who enjoys the DC mythos.
• Mouse Guard (vol. 1: Fall 1152) by David Peterson is a comic book for all ages. Halfway between the Knights of the Round Table and Brian Jacques' Redwall books, this is an entertaining adventure parents can share with kids.
• Avalon High - Coronation (vol. 1: the Merlin Prophecy) by Meg Cabot, is a disappointing manga-style sequel to Cabot's Avalon High Arthurian romance novel. There's a lot of re-hashing of the original novel, and the artwork seems uninspired and occasionally confusing. Which might be why it's taking a whole year to bring out the second volume. Too bad, because the original book was light fun -- here's hoping Cabot can adapt her writing to the medium and that the drawing shows improvement.
• Monster (vol. 1) by Naoki Urasawa is a terrific read, and I'm looking forward to catching up with subsequent volumes. A medical and crime thriller reading something like Grey's Anatomy meets CSI, this story of a brilliant Japanese surgeon in Germany who unwittingly helps launch a serial killer, this 18 volume series is rated as the overall best manga on Anime News Network.
  
• Flight (vol. 1) - various authors and artists - this is the first installment of an award-winning international anthology, showcasing a broad variety of short works with a common theme of flight.
  
• Phoenix (vol. 7) by Osamu Tezuka [Civil War, part 1] is not one of the stronger entries in the long-running and diverse epic of loosely associated stories. But it still entertains.
  
• DC: the New Frontier (2 vols) by Darwyn Cooke is a retelling of the CD mythos from WWII through 1960. By viewing super-hero characters and the Justice League as metaphors for empowerment and social change, Cooke tells a compelling story through a lengthy series of anecdotes. He includes McCarthyism, Ku Klux Klan lynchings, Edward R. Murrow and Richard Nixon, before building to a climactic battle that seems like standard Justice League stuff but for the strong character development that runs through the story. But he concludes with a powerful denouement.
  

Cybils Winners

The Cybils winners were announced a few weeks ago. Check 'em out! Read 'em all! Thanks to Jennie at Biblio File for the reminder!

Cybils Graphic Novel Finalists

The Childrens' and YA Bloggers Literary Awards finalists for 2007 have been announced. I'm going to touch on a couple of my favorite categories here, but encourage anyone who appreciate literature for kids and teens to check out the Cybils. It's encouraging to see recognition of quality graphic novels. Annotated listings and more are available on the Cybils website.

2007 Graphic Novel Finalists

Teen/Young Adult:

• The Arrival written and illustrated by Shaun Tan - Arthur A. Levine Books
• Flight Volume Four edited by Kazu Kibuishi
• Laika written and illustrated by Nick Abadzis
• The Plain Janes written by Cecil Castellucci; illustrated by Jim Rugg
• The Professor's Daughter written by Joann Sfar; illustrated by Emmanuel Guibert

Elementary/Middle Grade:

• Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel written by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin; illustrated by Giovanni Rigano and Paolo Lamanna
• Babymouse #6: Camp Babymouse written and illustrated by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
• The Courageous Princess written and illustrated by Rod Espinosa
• Robot Dreams written and illustrated by Sara Varon
• Yotsuba&! Volume 4 written and illustrated by Kiyohiko Azuma

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

This is a magical book. As magical as stories, as picture books, as silent films -- because it's all of them at once and a terrific read to boot.

Brian Selznick has written a story accessible to older children but able to grab adults. The story unfolds both in words and pictures, and Selznick's genius is that the pictures are not normal illustrations, but long sequences of double page spreads that immerse the reader into a virtual silent film. As the story goes on, the technique grows increasingly natural and fitting.

The novel tells of young Hugo Cabret, secretly living in the Paris train station in the 1920s and eking out a living by petty theft. Hugo's life seems a tragedy, but is filled with small mysteries, as are the lives of the people he encounters.

Anyone who enjoys a good story and picks up this book will likely be hooked in a few minutes. It's a quick read, both moving and entertaining, and would be a good piece of historical fiction for reluctant readers.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

This is simply the best graphic novel I've read in along time. Gene Luen Yang weaves three tales in a character study that illuminates Chinese tradition, racial stereotypes and problems of Asian-Americans in our melting pot society.

The three stories tell about a young boy who moves to a new school where he's subjected to prejudicial bullying, the mythical Monkey King -- a major figure in the Chinese story "Journey to the West", and a teenager embarrassed by visits from his totally stereotypical cousin. By the time I was halfway through, I knew I liked Gene Yang's writing and drawing -- a lot. Not only did the stories grab me and pull me in, not only did he create believable three-dimensional characters, but he gave one of the best and most accessible retellings of the story of the Monkey King that I'd ever encountered. It wasn't until I started writing this review that I found Yang's tribute to the artistry and influence of Osamu Tezuka. Interestingly, for his day job, he teaches computer science in a Catholic school. This guy's a real talent; I'm going to look into getting his other works for our library collection.

American Born Chinese won the 2007 Michael Printz Award for a book that "exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature." Highly recommended.

Nodame Cantabile by Tomoko Ninomiya

Nodame Cantabile gets points for being different, at least for North American readers. In Japan, we hear, they have manga for almost every kind of interest. But it seems pretty unusual to run across a romantic comedy set among students at a university devoted to classical music. Even more surprising, the plotlines often seem to have more to do with the music and performance than with romance.

Noda Megumi, or Nodame, is also an atypical heroine: she frequently behaves annoyingly, has poor personal hygiene, lacks most social graces, and has unrealistic expectations of herself and others. However, this makes her a marvelous foil for the other main protaganist, the talented, arrogant and phobic Shinichi, whom Nodame loves unrequitedly. The eight volumes published thus far explore their relationship, their friends, their progress in school and their music.

It's fun and lightweight reading, but wiht a quality that makes it easy to understand why it has become wildly popular in Japan. There is a live action TV series based on the manga, and many recordings of musical selections taken from or inspired by the books.

Because the books do deal somewhat with adult relationships, our library put them in adult ficiton rather than the YA graphic novel collection. Recommended!

Strangers in Paradise: Adieu, Katchoo

I just finished reading issue #87 of Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise, which will end this May, in just three more (or Moore) issues. Dang, it was good -- I hate to see this story end, but the fact that it's ending shows its strength, and the stregnth of author-driven independent comics.

The series has grown and evolved over it's run, and the characters have grown as Terry Moore's writing gained depth. Sometimes maddeningly complex and elusive, and impossible to classify, SiP is ultimately a human drama. The story of tragic, angry Katchoo (Katina Choovanski, pictured above left in an image beloved of librarians) and sad, funny Francine, as their relationship weaves in and out of other lives is a fine read. I really knew this comic was unique when my local comic shop proprietor told me that a prominent minister and the library director (yrs truly) were the only two people in town reading this title regularly. But patience is rewarded for the reader and the collected volumes make the complex story easier to follow than the monthly issues.

This is what I mean when I talk about graphic novels, because this is truly a long, complex engaging novel. Now if I can just get the catalogers to stop putting this stuff in nonfiction :-)

Tezuka strikes again -- Ode to Kirihito

Just finished reading Ode to Kirihito, the big Osamu Tezuka novel I got for Christmas. At almost 900 pages, its a substantial piece of work and a good read, though not among his best. Though fairly long for a manga, the total reading time was probably only four or five hours.

The story describes the stuggle against a disfiguring disease, complicated by a corrupt medical establishment. The plot is a fairly standard medical potboiler, though a bit on the dark side and with the interesting addition of many explicit Christian elements. One of the characters is a nun struggling with disfigurement and disgrace. There are a couple of disturbing rape scenes and occasional nudity, so the book is not one for kids, though older teens should have no problems handling the subject matter. Beyond that, much of the book reads like an extended episode of Black Jack, Tezuka's medical genius character. As usual in Tezuka, most of the drawing is clear if workmanlike, while landscapes are often lovingly detailed.

While the book is dark in tone and makes good points about the effects of pollution, the indifference of some in the medical community to societal problems, and the dangers of scentists' politics interfering with scientific practice, the overall impression is melodramatic. Still, this is a good addition to any library collection serious about manga or where Tezuka's other serious works have found readers.