shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Mar 3, 2015 20:07:15 GMT -5
God's Manby Lynd Ward Sometimes considered the first graphic novel, this 1929 publication is a series of meticulous wood cuts telling a story without words about the symbolic life of an artist, beginning amid a sea of turmoil with the young artist realizing that his art calms the storms but, yet, won't pay the bills. So he makes a deal with a shadowy figure to obtain a magic brush that makes his work commercially viable, and all hell breaks loose from there. Cliche as the story may be, the visuals are absolutely breath-taking, and, with over a hundred of them (I haven't bothered to count), you can truly spend forever gazing at a single one. I can't even imagine the painstaking work that went into creating these wood cuts, but their brilliance lives on. A few examples:    _Gods'_Man_-_surrounded_by_wineglasses.jpg)   
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2015 20:09:36 GMT -5
I found the first one utterly unreadable. If it hadn't been a library book I'd have thrown it against the wall and then burned it. No way I would ever subject myself to two more. And, to be fair, I only read half the first one because it was so incredibly bad. I forced myself to finish the first one, cause I'm a stubborn idiot. But no way would I pick up another one. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2015 22:55:36 GMT -5
Of the stuff others have read for the week, I have read a few-Shazam Power of Hope when it came out-I really dug the Dini Ross albums and my wife adores them, so I have fond memories but have never felt the urge to go back and reread them. Maybe some day.Eisner's Last Days was one of the first things I read by him in the early 2000s when I was turned on to his stuff, loved it. Unfortunately I lent my copy out some years ago and it never found its way back to me, so I don't have a copy of it any more. Superman Earth One-I read the first 2 from the library, decided to skip vol. 3. The art in the first 2 was appealing, but Shane Davis didn't do the third, and I am not a fan of Syaf who did the art, he pretty much killed the Dresden Files adaptations he did (where I first encountered his stuff) making them unreadable (and I love me some Harry Dresden), and his stuff on Simone's Batgirl was dreadful, so as soon as I saw he was attached I decided to save myself the time and effort of getting it out form the library to dislike reading it. I haven't been enthused with any of the Eart One stuff though-Batman was meh and Teen Titans was just not appealing to me. I loved the concepts of the Earth One OGNs, but the execution of them has left me cold. Oh well, I am sure they have their fans, I am just not among them.
I have read some Chester Brown stuff, but it was Louis Riel not the selection Jodoc chose. I thought it was interesting, but not to my preferences. I have mixed feelings on Ian Gibson's art, I disliked the mainstream DC stuff he did, but have liked some of the others. I had never heard of the sword & sorcery book he did chosen for this, so might have to track it down. Pratt's Enemy Ace OGN has been on my list of books to track done someday for years, I should actually get around to doing it.
Love the selections and posts so far. Looking forward to seeing what else makes it to the board. I have read the first 2 stories in Minor Miracles by Esiner, and will get to the others soon.
-M
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Post by Rob Allen on Mar 4, 2015 12:55:55 GMT -5
I've read several more chapters of Usagi Yojimbo. This is seriously good stuff. If book 2 is even better, I'm really looking forward to it.
Let's see, I've now read the first three books of Bone, the first two of Love & Capes, and the first one of Age of Bronze and now reading Usagi Yojimbo. I'm in the middle of several really good series. Who needs DC and Marvel?
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Mar 4, 2015 17:14:33 GMT -5
Had my mythology classes read the first two issues of Usagi Yojimbo: Grasscutter today, as it provides a wealth of information about Japanese mythology. Reactions were mixed, as I expected; anthro comics, no matter how quality, are going to be looked down upon by some teenagers that take themselves too seriously, but a few really got into it.
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Mar 4, 2015 19:33:30 GMT -5
I've been trying to read more French/Belgian comics, so....  It's a fairy tale - magic fairies, kissed frogs, evil kings, kidnapped princesses, "the most beautiful woman in the world" but aimed squarely at adults (gory violence, nudity, cussin'). It's a good lookin' package overall. Good paper stock, immediately eye-catching coloring, and BIG, about 1.5 times the size of the traditional graphic novel. Hey, here's a youtube flip-through.  It's a really ambitious book - It covers a long span of time, with the fall of nations as background for the story of "Beauty" and the men who love her. It gets really dark in places - even our titular heroine can be a bitch on the "getting people killed" level - but it has a good heart and a happy ending. I'm still processing it, but it seems to be about questioning the traditional fairy tale narrative as beautiful-objects-for-Prince-Charming-to-possess. Still, there were some places I'm sure the translation was a little rough... I'd be a better comics nerd if I learned French and Japanese. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 4, 2015 19:39:21 GMT -5
 I think I may need to ask for an intervention. You see I saw Read a Graphic Novel week and saw this...and thought it was a good idea. This is how low I have sunk. I could have gone to the library and hunted down some Eisner(well maybe, certainly not my local library, but someone over here MAY have an Eisner), I could have found something online, but no, I thought I would be smart, read this, you already have it, you don't have to try hard for this one...IDIOT. I read the previous 2, not great, but I read them, but this is just a whole new level of...f***ing mediocrity, actually it aspires to mediocrity, it wishes fervently at the altar of graven idols for the opportunity to be mediocre, ...it...mate it blows chunks. No spoilers, go, see for yourselves, if you dare. I'm only a Kiwi, what would I know about the great American hero. Go on, I dare you, read this piece of ****. I have rarely been so annoyed with a comic as to wish I had those minutes back in my life, I've read some crap in my time, you only have to look in my reading club list, BUT I really wish I hadn't wasted that hour or so this morning. So...Intervention...nah stuff it, Ive got a stack of comics that wont read themselves... I don't think it was bad as all that, but yes it was not a good read by any stretch. About the only positive from it that I got was that I like the way JMS writes Clark and the supporting cast...but the villains? Man, do they suck. |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Mar 4, 2015 20:25:30 GMT -5
Corto Maltese: Under the Sign of Capriconby Hugo Pratt  I read the first Corto Maltese volume, Ballad of the Salt Sea, last year and was totally enamored. I now consider it in my top three novels of all time, graphic or otherwise, so when this second volume was announced as finally being published in English, I just about lost my mind. I got it for Christmas and had been waiting for the right time to read it. This week was certainly that. On the one hand, I found this follow-up volume disappointing. Ballad of the Salt Sea was a true novel, with a clear beginning, middle, and end, as well as some heavy symbolism and artistry at play that truly made it a piece of literature, and one of the finest I've ever read. This follow up, on the other hand, is just a bunch of serialized adventures with nothing heavy at the center of it all. Whereas Salt Sea was about something far greater than Corto and his misadventures, this is just a series of fun romps starring the devilish rogue with a heart of gold. Additionally, whereas he was a bit of a loser in the first volume, he's made out to be far more awesome this time around, and that gets a bit tedious at times (though I do love the addition to his backstory that, years ago, he didn't like the lifeline on his hand, so he extended it with a razor). That being said, like pizza, even losuy Corto Maltese is still Corto Maltese, and I still loved reading this thing, literally spending today at work yearning for the moment when I could get home and finish it. Pratt writes amazingly compelling characters, even when they only appear for four or five pages of story before dying (as happens more than you'd expect). On top of that, his art is so ridiculously striking -- his art captures reality surprisingly well at times, almost as if he's truly contained human souls in his lines and shadows. Two of my favorite pages from the collection:   Rare that a book can be such a let-down and such a thrill to experience at the same time. Everyone and their mother needs to read Corto Maltese: Ballad of the Salt Sea, but many of you would really enjoy this follow-up volume too.
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Mar 4, 2015 22:11:36 GMT -5
The Manara Library, Volume 1by Milo Manara (and sometimes Hugo Pratt)  Have you ever wished you could un-read something? I picked this up because Hugo Pratt did the writing for the lead story, and boy am I sorry I did so. Manara's art is visually striking, but, while I'm not easily offended by art, this one made me sick. Just about every page is chock full of masterbation, graphic rape, and/or incest. Worse yet, the characters in the story (and perhaps Manara and Pratt themselves) treated both the constant rape and incest as completely appropriate, normal things, engaged in by the good guys and bad guys alike. And you thought Game of Thrones was bad. Seriously. Sick sick stuff. I cannot believe Pratt had a part in this.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2015 23:46:47 GMT -5
I blew through the first half of my Smurfs comic in a day, then I got a new Game Of Thrones book, so don't know if I'll finish it. I should just because, but I"m really enjoying this book.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2015 4:29:01 GMT -5
Minor Miracles by Will Eisner (DC Comics Will Eisner Library; 2000) A collection of four stories set in the Dropsie Avenue neighborhood of Eisner's youth. Each tale tells of some small miracle-the four stories "The Miracle of Dignity" "Street Magic" "A New Kid on the Block" and "A Special Wedding Ring" each act as a bit of a morality tale, or a kin to a tale of magic realism, in which daily life is visited by a strange occurrence or series of occurrences that seem miraculous. As Eisner says in his intro-"It's hard to make a case for miracles. Either you believe in them or you don't. I believe in them." I am not sure I believe in miracles, but I believe Eisner works miracles as a storyteller. While these stories may not be true stories, they are truth stories, presenting the human condition in stark truth, but while such frank examinations often delve into cynicism or tragedy, Eisner weaves a tale that delivers a sense of hope despite all our failings and foibles as a people. His work is a gift that can only be appreciated by experiencing it first hand. Go treat yourself to this or one of Eisner's other miracles of storytelling. A sample page from a New Kid in Town...  -M |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Mar 5, 2015 6:02:30 GMT -5
Minor Miracles by Will Eisner (DC Comics Will Eisner Library; 2000) A collection of four stories set in the Dropsie Avenue neighborhood of Eisner's youth. Each tale tells of some small miracle-the four stories "The Miracle of Dignity" "Street Magic" "A New Kid on the Block" and "A Special Wedding Ring" each act as a bit of a morality tale, or a kin to a tale of magic realism, in which daily life is visited by a strange occurrence or series of occurrences that seem miraculous. As Eisner says in his intro-"It's hard to make a case for miracles. Either you believe in them or you don't. I believe in them." I am not sure I believe in miracles, but I believe Eisner works miracles as a storyteller. While these stories may not be true stories, they are truth stories, presenting the human condition in stark truth, but while such frank examinations often delve into cynicism or tragedy, Eisner weaves a tale that delivers a sense of hope despite all our failings and foibles as a people. His work is a gift that can only be appreciated by experiencing it first hand. Go treat yourself to this or one of Eisner's other miracles of storytelling. A sample page from a New Kid in Town... -M Considering how much I adore A Contract With God, I really should check this out. Didn't realize it was also set in Eisner's childhood neighborhood. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 5, 2015 17:10:23 GMT -5
Second read for me is one part nostalgia, one part new territory: Golgo 13 Vol.1 I had the game Golgo 13 for the NES growing up and it was seriously one of my favorite games, the action was great and it had cut scenes that at the time were fairly impressive. Beyond being a game I had no knowledge of the character, I though it was just a James Bond video game knock off. Fast forward to last month and I came across it at a local used book store and I instantly remembered it from my youth, I bought it and when I got home I did some research and found out that it wasn't just some James Bond knock off but actually one of the longest continuously published mangas out there which blew me away...and after now having read it I can see why. It has this great noir feel and the deep characterization and intrigue make it feel like it's an adaptation of something by John Le Carre. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2015 1:13:01 GMT -5
Corto Maltese - The Ballad of the Salt Sea by Hugo Pratt, published by Universe I took a while to warm to this book. I was expecting more action, a faster pace. But it turns out this is an adult adventure, not in the sense of boobs and blood, but because it's more interested in the international tensions and shifting character interactions to drive the plot. There are fights, and stuff gets blowed up, but that's not important. The people, their decisions, who they trust, are what bring us to the resolutions. The villain is a hooded crime-lord called the Hood; he's a cliche, but the revelation of his identity helps flesh him out some. Corto himself is not the usual clean-cut hero, but is the more interesting for that. Bottom line - not what I expected, but better than I expected.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2015 1:20:20 GMT -5
I was turned on to Corto Maltese: Ballad of the Salt Sea by Shax, who sang its praises from every rooftop. Took me a while to get to it, but when I did, I quite enjoyed it. I agree, it took a bit to adjust to the way the book was paced, it's tone and points of emphasis, but it was a welcome change for me.
-M
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