MBR: The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf
Midwest Book Review
Tonoharu
Lars Martinson
Pliant Press
c/o Top Shelf Productions (distributor)
P.O. Box 1282, Marietta, GA 30061-1282
9780980102321, $19.95
A serious minority - Daniel Wells is the only American in a rural
Japanese Village, where he serves as an assistant junior high school
teacher. "Tonoharu: Part One" is the start of his story as Daniel must
deal with everything coming with his new job - language barriers,
culture shock, it's a lonely existence. His only relief comes from the
pursuit, although not effective, of an American girl who resides in a
town not far from his own. His adventures often turn offbeat and
intriguing, making "Tonoharu: Part One" highly recommended for
community library graphic novel collections.
All-Star Companion V. 3
Roy Thomas
TwoMorrows Publishing
1047 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614
9781893905801, $26.95
Followers of the Justice League of America, Black Bart, Super Squad
and other All-Star Comics will relish this third collection providing
insider insights into issues and series. Each listing comes with a
synopsis, review of characters, and sidebars of notes and information.
No color - the illustrations from comics are all in black and white -
but the comic cover reproductions and data are invaluable for
collectors and comic fans, and a top pick for any collection catering
to them.
Fantasy Classics
Tom Pomplun, editor
Eureka Productions
8778 Oak Grove Road, Mount Horeb, WI 53572
9780978791933, $11.95
Volume fifteen in the Graphic Classics series, Fantasy Classics is an
anthology of black-and-white comic adaptations of timeless fantasy
(and horror) stories by great literary authors. Each adaptation is
illustrated by a different artist with a fiercely individual style.
The adapted literature selections are "After the Fire" by Lord
Dunsany, "Fantasmagoriana" (a prologue to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein,
telling of a creative exchange of ghost stories Shelly once had with
fellow writers), "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, "Rappaccini's
Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Glass Dog" by L. Frank Baum,
"The Dream-Bridge" by Clark Ashton Smith, and "The Dream Quest of
Unknown Kadath" by H.P. Lovecraft. The resulting compilation is highly
recommended as an invaluable introduction to the worlds of fantasy,
wizardry, and dreaming that took root in humanity's collective psyche
well before "The Lord of the Rings" established certain tropes as
mainstream. Due to mature and often tragic themes, Fantasy Classics is
recommended for readers who are at least twelve years of age.
Rex Libris: I, Librarian
James Turner
Slave Labor Graphics Publishing
PO Box 26427, San Jose, CA 95159
9781593620622, $14.95
Rex Libris: I, Librarian is a black-and-white graphic novel collection
of the time-and-space spanning adventures of Rex Libris, librarian
extraordinaire. Originally a librarian of ancient Rome, Rex has
devoted himself to protecting books throughout millennia; his present-
day librarian duties include preventing patrons from straying to their
deaths amid nigh-endless bookshelves, stopping demon-possessed samurai
from taking books without a library card, and reclaiming overdue books
held by mad galactic overlords. Aided by a telekinetic songbird with a
thirst for world conquest, Rex's latest challenge begins by
accidentally teleporting into freefall and only gets harder! The over-
the-top two-fisted action combined with fiendishly overwrought
narration and tongue-in-cheek lampshading of comic genre conventions
make for an exhilaratingly funny read cover to cover. Highly
recommended.
The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame, author
Adapted by Michel Plessix
Papercutz
40 Exchange Place, Suite 1308, New York, NY 10005
9781597070966, $13.95 1-800-886-1223
The Wind in the Willows is a full-color graphic novel adaptation of
Kenneth Grahame's classic anthropomorphic fable following the
adventures of the humble Mole, the river-loving Water Rat, the gruff
yet wise Badger, and the fabulously wealthy yet all-too-easily worked-
up Toad. Toad has many foibles, some more endearing than others, but
perhaps the most troublesome is his sudden obsession automobiles - a
trait that prompts his downfall when he commits a sudden infraction of
grand theft auto out of his pure love for reckless driving! Though
Wind of the Willows is set in a quasi turn-of-the-century motif, with
subtle issues of class and social station, The Wind in the Willows has
a timeless grace that makes it a joy to read for adults and children
alike. The caricatures of the story's many creatures, as drawn by
Michel Plessix, perfectly capture the quirks and enthusiasm of the
many woodland denizens. Perhaps most awe-inspiring, though, is
Badger's prediction that rings as true today as it ever did: "If this
contraption [the automobile] keeps on, people will invade all the
beautiful places! You'll have to build roads to go there and buildings
to house them, thereby destroying what they came looking for in the
first place... And then you'll have to park the cars somewhere.
They'll hog the sidewalks and the squares. Children will no longer be
able to play in the streets, and the people strolling will disappear
because it will become necessary that everything go as fast as that
machine. Since people will spend all their time in this rolling cage,
they'll lose the habit of speaking to one another and will no longer
understand one another. Then they'll hate each other." Highly
recommended for readers of all ages.
Dominatrix: You Want Me
Gene Simmons
IDW Publishing
580 Santa Fe Street, San Diego, CA 92109
9781600101571, $19.99
Gene Simmons is more than just a tongue and a pretty face for the
legendary rock group Kiss. He's also a gifted creator of a fiction/
fantasy genre as evidenced by his coming up with the idea of Dominique
Stern, a young woman with no family, few friends, a past, and makes a
profitable (albeit unusual) career in the sex industry as a
professional dominatrix. A woman who inflicts pain and humiliation on
her clients at their request -- and expense! It's while servicing a
client that Dominique finds herself having to become a superhero and
dealing with government arrogance, a diabolical cabal, and dangers to
herself, her friends, and her country! Engagingly written by Sean
Taylor, superbly illustrated by the team of Flavio Hoffe and Esteve
Polls, colored by Debora Carita, and with a superb staff of cover
artists, letterers, and editors, "Dominatrix: You Want Me" first
appeared as a mini-series of individual comics from IDW Publishing
that has now been collected together into a magnificent graphic novel
format that is highly recommended for mature readers.
The Complete Peanuts 1967 to 1968
Charles M. Shulz
Fantagraphics Books
7563 Lake City Way, NE, Seattle, WA 98115
9781560978268, $28.95 1-800-657-1100
The Complete Peanuts 1967 to 1968 continues Fantagraphics Books'
marvelous definitive compilation of Charles Shulz's iconic newspaper
strip, including both daily and Sunday strips (all strips are
reproduced in black and white). Featuring an introduction by John
Waters - which draws the reader's attention to Shulz's uniquely
expressive art style when drawing facial expressions such as a "total-
warfare frown", and his starkly accurate portrayal of the crushing
humiliation of defeat. In the 1967 to 1968 comics, Peppermint Patty
tries to trade Charlie Brown five baseball players for Snoopy the
shortstop; Charlie Brown makes a new friend in Franklin (who is
initially scared off from the local neighborhood when Linus tells him
about the "Great Pumpkin"); and Snoopy (a.k.a. the "Masked Marvel")
and Lucy get into a championship arm-wrestling match! Like all
previous volumes in the series, The Complete Peanuts 1967 to 1968 is
highly recommended for comic lovers of all ages and backgrounds, and
simply cannot be praised enough.
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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review