Summer Reading: Comics

NYT reviews some graphic novels.

Sundown by James O'Barr

James O'Barr did such an awesome job with the cover art for BEAT to a PULP: Round One, we'd like to share some of his latest work. James is pairing up with MotionWorks Entertainment to produce digital motion comics and graphic novels for app-based devices (smartphones, tablets, media players and app-enabled PCs), bringing graphic novels to life.

Here is preview of Sundown, "a gothic western set in the Post-Civil War chaos and at the height of the Indian Wars, a trio of unlikely characters (and a talking horse) band together in an epic journey across America's Badlands in search of answers for the misery they have lived through." You can check out the characters here.

How One Thing Leads To Another

A.J. Raffles? Thomas Carnacki ? As I began reading The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: 1910 I was scratching my noggin. I had missed the previous installment and well known characters like The Invisible Man were gone. I checked Bookgasm’s review and Rod Lott suggesting “research those characters on Wikipedia beforehand.” So I clicked over to the Wiki bio on the fictional Raffles:

Arthur J. Raffles is a character created in the 1890s by E. W. Hornung, a brother-in-law to Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, a deliberate inversion of Holmes — he is a "gentleman thief," living in The Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing cricket for the Gentlemen of England and supporting himself by carrying out ingenious burglaries.

Further down:

The model for Raffles was George Ives, a Cambridge-educated criminologist and talented cricketer according to Lycett. Ives was a discreet gay, and although Hornung "may not have understood this sexual side of Ives' character", Raffles "enjoys a remarkably intimate relationship with his sidekick Bunny Manders."

So being a history buff I kept investigating. And if you're interested, the Ives bio is here. Cheers!

The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics

This book is the most fun I’ve had reading since The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps. I’m not going to do a full review because others have done it far better justice (here, here and here) than I could. However, I will give it a quick plug... Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct stands out with its bizarre but engaging case of a blind painter who paints masterpieces and then kills his subjects... Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer is in a piece called Dark City (1954) that caused such an uproar over the depiction of a bound and gagged woman that the strip was soon cancelled for offending narrow-minded sensibilities. Spillane’s earlier creation, Mike Lancer, also appears in the anthology... Max Allan Collins delivers the charming Ms. Tree on Maternity Leave (1992). This is my first meeting with this tough babe and I’m hoping the movie will reflect this tour de force... My response to Dashiell Hammett’s Secret Agent X-9 (1934) was lukewarm, which surprised me. Even so, I’m glad to have it rounding out my D.H. collection... Johnny Craig’s The Sewer (1951) is a great tale of ultimate poetic justice when a murderer hiding out underground comes face to face with his own grisly handiwork... A new favorite of mine, the whimsical 'Spirit', shows up in Will Eisner’s The Portier Fortune (1946). I’ll be checking out more of Mr. Eisner's work... There are many, many other brilliant creators including Alan Moore, Sanchez Abuli, Alex Raymond, Paul Grist and Ed Robbins. Each storyline is introduced with a brief history and Paul Gravett does a fine job in the introduction Every Shade of Noir... This book should be on your shelf.

The Spirit

How did I miss out on The Spirit growing up? I’m not sure, but knowing me, I was probably in the Sgt. Rock and GI Joe section.

I've read my first Spirit, The Portier Fortune, in Best Crime Comics and have become hooked by Will Eisner’s masked man of mystery. And now after watching the trailer, I’m looking forward to the Frank Miller film coming this Christmas.



I love the Sin City look of the film and that Frank Miller style that translates well from graphic novels to the big screen. I’m not really familiar with Gabriel Macht who’s playing The Spirit but his bio includes roles in The Good Shepherd and The Recruit. Of course, all eyes will be fixed on the combined charms of Eva Mendes, Scarlet Johansson, and Paz Vega -- enough to make a Jessica Rabbit jealous.

The Trial by Franz Kafka (Montellier – Mairowitz)

The Trial takes place in a bizarre, impersonal, bureaucratic society where Joseph K, a bank clerk, is arrested for a crime that didn't take place. While he searches for answers as to where his trial is going to be held, no one seems to want to tell him. The authorities in Kafka’s cleverly created world are quick to arrest and sentence but have no particular interest in the accused’s defense.

Metropolis, 1984, A Clockwork Orange and Brazil have all explored similar themes, and after reading The Trial, I see where these frightening landscapes originated.

According to The Trial’s jacket blurb, artist Chanta Montellier, is one of France’s leading graphic artists and it’s easy to see why. She constructs magnificent nineteenth century interiors in vivid detail and then quietly blends them into a mixture of 1940’s film noir and a nightmarish gothic world. I thought it was a nice touch that Kafka’s likeness served as Montellier’s interpretation of Joseph K.

Writer David Zane Mairowitz is a well-renowned author and playwright. His bio states he previously wrote Introducing Kafka with Robert Crumb (that’s gotta be a great combination). His use of exclamation points and question marks are perfectly used to emphasize the citizens’ confusion in the totalitarian state.

I may never have read this classic piece of literature if it weren't for the graphic novel adaptation. The Trial is a great book for fans and for slouches like me who have just discovered this acclaimed novelist and short story writer. I’ll be reading more of Kafka’s work, like The Metamorphosis and The Castle.

On a similar note, check out Scott D. Parker's site. He has a review of Coward (Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips) plus a short history of graphic novels.

Nevermore

Last week I posted a Hemingway quote where he lamented on the longevity of writers: “Greatness is the longest marathon ever run; many enter; few survive.” Well, I think it’s safe to say after 150 years, Edgar Allan Poe is one writer who has gone the distance. His poems and short stories are still read by people from all walks of life. I own the complete works of Poe myself and find it’s one of the books that I regularly reference.

Nevermore is a graphic novel that gives a fresh lease on life for nine Poe classics, like The Raven, The Pit and the Pendulum and The Masque of the Red Death. This collection separates itself from numerous comic books in the past that have attempted to delve into the author's psyche. Nevermore succeeds.

A highlight is The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar by screenwriter Jeremy Slater and artist John McCrea. Valdemar wishes to avoid the pain of a slow death, so he hires a hypnotist who ends up placing Valdemar in limbo. He appears dead but his body doesn’t deteriorate and Mr. Valdemar can be heard saying eerie things like: "Everything is dark and cold! And there are things in here with me! I can hear them moving!" Mr. McCrea’s strong panels with Mr. Slater’s re-imagining made this fresh for someone that knows what the shocking final scene holds.

The Oval Portrait is also updated by writer David Berner who adds a nice twist in making the original painter into a photographer and the doomed model a movie star. Liliana Kuschke poses for Jed. Months later, he finally captures her “life” on film. Natalie Sandell (Carson City) does the fine artwork for this lesser known Poe piece. (Oscar Wilde was a fan of this story and used the "deadly painting" idea for The Picture of Dorian Gray).

For the final pages, Laura Howell pens a nifty biography with some interesting Poe facts. He was buried in an unmarked grave for twenty six years when funds were finally raised for a more appropriate memorial. The body exhumed from the grave was not Poe and later found to be a soldier named Philip Mosher. Poe’s body has never been located.

The cover of a slumped-over, blood-spattered raven draws attention to this well done adaptation. And with Roger Corman’s inspired forward, I’m hoping for a follow-up. This graphic novel proves Poe’s 19th century macabre tales are timeless.

Links:

Death of Edgar Allan Poe from Wikipedia contradicts Nevermore's take on Poe's remains.

Women Of Mystery's Terrie posted a great My Town Monday on Poe's NY cottage with a link to a NY Times article about the possession of Poe's bones.