November 2023 MBR The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf

The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf

Kafka: A Manga Adaptation
Nishioka Kyodai, author/illustrator
David Yang, translator
Pushkin Press
www.pushkinpress.com
9781782279846, $19.95, PB, 176pp

https://www.amazon.com/Kafka-Graphic-Adaptation-Japanese-Novellas/dp/1782279849

Synopsis: Franz Kafka's work is given vivid new life in "Kafka", a collection of manga adaptations of 9 of his greatest stories by author/illustrator Nishioka Kyodai and deftly translated into English by David Yang.

With spectacularly detailed, otherworldly illustrations, the brother-and-sister duo known as Nishioka Kyodai create a haunting, claustrophobic visual world for Kafka's surreal masterpieces.

Features are adapted versions of: The Metamorphosis; A Hunger Artist; In the Penal Colony; A Country Doctor; The Concerns of a Patriarch; The Bucket Rider; Jackals and Arabs; A Fratricide; The Vulture.

Among the standouts are "The Metamorphosis" and "A Hunger Artist," which present absorbing moments for their unique art style to offer vivid entry points into Kafka's world and which take the immersion experience to a whole other level.

Critique: An inherently fascinating, entertaining, and novel approach to the short stories of Franz Kafka, this manga-style graphic novel adaptation of his work, and presented in this paperback edition by Pushkin Press is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, and college/university library Dystopian Fiction & Graphic Novel collections, as well as a supplemental Franz Kafka curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: Nishioka Kyodai (literally 'Nishioka siblings') are the brother-and-sister manga duo of Satoshi Nishioka and Chiaki Nishioka. They debuted in the weekly magazine Morning in 1989 and have since produced more than a dozen works and have become well-known for their surreal illustration style and dark psychological themes.

Editorial Note #2: David Yang is a Ph.D. student in Japanese Literature at UCLA, having previously received a B.A. in German Literature and Cultural History from Columbia University. He translates from Japanese, Chinese, and German.

Watership Down: The Graphic Novel
Richard Adam, author
Joe Sutphin, illustrator
James Sturm, adaptor
Ten Speed Graphic
c/o Ten Speed Press
https://crownpublishing.com/archives/imprint/ten-speed-press
9781984857194, $35.00, HC, 384pp

https://www.amazon.com/Watership-Down-Graphic-James-Sturm/dp/1984857193

Synopsis: A stellar story about a group of rabbits who must go on an epic journey in search of home, "Watership Down" by novelist Richard Adam is a classic tale of survival, hope, courage, and friendship that has delighted and inspired readers around the world for more than fifty years.

Adams originally began telling the story of Watership Down to his two daughters, Juliet and Rosamond, on a trip to Stratford-on-Avon, to see a play. They insisted he publish the tale as a book. When Watership Down was finally published, it sold over a million copies in record time in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Watership Down has become a modern classic and won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1972.

Now masterfully adapted by James Sturm and gorgeously illustrated by artist Joe Sutphin, "Watership Down" is now a spectacular graphic novel from Ten Speed Press that will once again delight old fans while inspiring new ones, bringing the joy of "Watership Down" to a new generations of appreciative readers.

Critique: An acclaimed work of literary excellence when it was first published some five decades ago, with the publication of "Watership Down: The Graphic Novel" we see a flawless adaption of this original and legendary fable into an extended graphic novel format. This large format (7.25 x 1.34 x 10.28 inches, 1.25 pounds) hardcover edition is especially and unreservedly recommended for the personal reading lists for ages 10 to Adult, as well as community, college, and university library Classic Literature/Fiction Graphic Novel collections. It should be noted that "Watership Down: The Graphic Novel" is also available in a paperback edition (9781984857200, $26.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).

Editorial Note #1: Richard George Adams (9 May, 1920 - 25 December, 2016) is best remembered as the author of Watership Down, but he also wrote many other novels, short stories, poems and a biography. During the last year of his life he kept a blog: https://www.watership-down.com/blog/.

Editorial Note #2: Joe Sutphin (https://www.joesutphin.com) is an illustrator of fine books for kids such as Andrew Peterson's beloved Wingfeather Saga, the newly envisioned edition of Hellen Taylor's timeless classic Little Pilgrim's Progress (Moody Publishers) and the official graphic novelization of Richard Adams's masterpiece Watership Down (Ten Speed - 2023). His love of nature, and of the living creatures in the fields and woods around his home, has informed his art for much of his life.

Editorial Note #3: James Sturm (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Sturm) is an American cartoonist and co-founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. Sturm is also the founder of the National Association of Comics Art Educators (NACAE), an organization committed to helping facilitate the teaching of comics in higher education.

Prince in Comics!
Nicholas Finer, author
Tony Lourenco, author
Montana Kane, translator
Joel Alessandra, et al., artist/illustrators
NBM Publishing
www.nbmpub.com
9781681123219, $27.99, HC, 168pp

https://www.amazon.com/Prince-Comics-NBM-Biographies/dp/1681123215

Synopsis: The late Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 - April 21, 2016) was a complete artist, all at once an author, composer, performer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. A real showman on stage, songs like " 1999" or " Purple Rain," made him an international star. With his tormented life, sulfurous relationships, sex and drugs, he was above all a genius artist with a very distinctive original style who sold more than 80 million records around the world. "Prince in Comics!" from NBM Publishing is his extraordinary destiny in a mix of colorfully illustrated articles and comics!

Critique: In an impressive graphic novel style biography that includes the work of two co-authors, sixteen illustrators, a graphic designer, and a translator, "Prince in Comics!" is a 'must' for the legions of dedicated Prince fans and a welcome addition to community library American Biography collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Prince in Comes!" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99).

Editorial Note #1: Nicolas Finet, author, publisher, filmmaker, journalist, curator, speaker, translator, has worked in comics for more than three decades. He is the author of more than half a dozen reference works on it. In music, he is the writer on NBM's recent bio of Janis Joplin Love Me Please and he has just made a documentary on the blues and comics, Mississippi Ramblin, devoted to bluesman Robert Johnson. He is also the writer of the graphic novel Forever Woodstock.

Editorial Note #2: Tony Lourenco (alias Nyt) has been exploring and expressing his artistic sensibility for a long time. He did this first through singing and piano at the Paris International Conservatory of Music, then, seduced by imagery, he created a photo studio in a Parisian barge. At the same time, he paints and writes short stories, scenarios, tales and travelogues.

The Pacific Comics Companion
Jon B. Cooke, author and editor
Stephan Friedt, author
Dave Stevens, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, et. al., artists
TwoMorrows Publishing
www.twomorrows.com
9781605491219, $29.95, PB, 160pp

https://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Comics-Companion-Jon-Cooke/dp/1605491217

Synopsis: With the publication of "The Pacific Comics Companion", author Stephan Friedt shares the story of the meteoric rise of the Schanes brothers' California-based imprint Pacific Comics, which published such legends as Jack Kirby, Sergio Aragones, Steve Ditko, Neal Adams, Mike Grell, Bernie Wrightson, and Dave Stevens.

From its groundbreaking 1981 arrival in the fledgling direct sales market, to a catastrophic, precipitous fall after only four years, "The Pacific Comics Companion" reveals the inside saga, as told to Friedt by Bill and Steve Schanes, David Scroggy, and many of the creators themselves.

It also focuses on the titles and the amazing array of characters they introduced to an unsuspecting world, including The Rocketeer, Captain Victory, Ms. Mystic, Groo the Wanderer, Starslayer, and many more.

Written with the editorial assist of Eisner Award-winning historian Jon B. Cooke, this retrospective is the most comprehensive study of an essential publisher in the development of the creator's rights movement. Of special note are the main cover illustration by Dave Stevens.

Critique: Another profusely illustrated and 'insider' informative history of the comic book industry from NBM Publishing, "The Pacific Comics Companion" is impressively comprehensive and must be considered essential reading by Pacific Comics fans and a seminal and recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library American Comics History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: TwoMorrows Publishing (https://twomorrows.com) is a publisher of magazines about comic books, founded in 1994 by John and Pam Morrow out of their small advertising agency in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Its products also include books and DVDs.

Working With Ditko
Jack C. Harris, author
Steve Ditko, illustrator
TwoMorrows Publishing
www.twomorrows.com
9781605491226, $24.95, PB, 128pp

https://www.amazon.com/Working-Ditko-Jack-C-Harris/dp/1605491225

Synopsis: "Working With Ditko" takes a unique and nostalgic journey through the 'Bronze Age' of comics, as editor and writer Jack C. Harris recalls his numerous collaborations with legendary comics master Steve Ditko!

"Working with Ditko" features never-before-seen preliminary sketches and pencil art from Harris' tenure working with Ditko on The Creeper, Shade the Changing Man, the Odd Man, the Demon, Wonder Woman, Legion of Super-Heroes, The Fly, and even Ditko's unused redesign for Batman! Plus, it documents their work on numerous independent properties, and offers glimpses of original characters from Ditko's drawing board that have never been viewed by even his most avid fans!

Critique: This large format (8.5 x 0.5 x 11 inches) illustrated paperback edition of "Working with Ditko" reveals the creative comic book process by one of the industry's most revered creators, as seen through the eyes of one of his most frequent collaborators. Inherently fascination and impressively informative, "Working with Ditko" is especially and unreservedly recommended for the personal reading lists of dedicated Ditko fans and community/academic library History of Comics collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: Jack C. Harris (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_C._Harris) is an American comic book writer and editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics.

Editorial Note #2: Stephen John Ditko (November 2, 1927 - June 29, 2018) was an American comics artist and writer best known for being co-creator of Marvel superhero Spider-Man and creator of Doctor Strange. He also made notable contributions to the character of Iron Man with the character's iconic red and yellow design being revolutionized by Steve Ditko.

Dungeon: Zenith: Fog & Tears
Lewis Trondheim, author
Joann Sfarr, illustrator
NBM Publishing
www.nbmpub.com
9781681123165, $17.99, PB, 96pp

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Zenith-vol-Fog-Tears/dp/1681123169

Synopsis: The valiant duck Herbert and Isis (his beautiful and belligerent Kochaque companion) a son is born. As much as the young parents are delighted with this new arrival, tensions are not long in rising. Isis wants to submit her baby to the traditional Kochaque rite of passage. Herbert, judging it far too dangerous, tries to dissuade her. Unable to convince her, he finally decides to kidnap the infant.

In the second story, the fight to recover the Dungeon from the hands of the big bad Delacourt still keeps our heroes busy. While Horus has been trying for days to hypnotize the spirits of Terra Amata freed from the Vault of Souls by Delacourt, the Guardian calls on Marvin to come to the thaumaturge's aid. But to get there, he will have to, willy-nilly, make an alliance with a former classmate of his new wife.

Critique: The fifth book in the graphic novel fantasy 'Dungeon: Zenith' series by French co-authors Lewis Trondheim and Joanne Sfar, "Fog & Tears" is a beautifully illustrated, deftly crafted, laced with humor, and fully entertaining read that is very highly recommended for the personal reading lists of all dedicated fantasy fans and a welcome addition to highschool and community library graphic novel collections.

Editorial Note #1: Lewis Trondheim is one of the leaders of a new generation of comic artists bringing in novel ways of creating comics. One of the founders of the disruptive 'L'Association' publishing cooperative in France, he helped usher in much longer and sophisticated narratives in the graphic novel form. He is an amazing font of original and out of the box ideas that have propelled him to a leading author standing in Europe.

Editorial Note #2: Joann Sfar is an artist, writer, and film director. He is best known for his adaptation of The Little Prince and his original bestselling title The Rabbi's Cat. Boulet, born in Meaux, France, now resides in Paris. He is a leading artist, scriptwriter and colorist for many popular series including becoming the regular artist on the Zenith subseries of Dungeon.

Editorial Note #3: NBM Publishing (https://nbmpub.com) is a leading and critically acclaimed independent graphic novel publisher showcasing the diversity of comics from North America and Europe.

Hockney: A Graphic Life
Simon Elliot
Frances Lincoln
Quarto Publishing Group USA
www.quartoknows.com
9780711288423, $24.99, HC, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Hockney-Graphic-Life-Icons/dp/0711288429

Synopsis: David Hockney OM CH RA (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. (Wikipedia)

From his childhood in Bradford and early years making it as an artist, to his sun-drenched Los Angeles period, to his triumphal return to the UK and his recent iPad drawings that proudly exclaim that 'spring cannot be cancelled', "Hockney: A Graphic Life" by Simon Elliot is a charming biography published in a graphic novel style format and traces the captivating life and times of David Hockney. Drawn entirely on an iPad in a fun, fully illustrated style (and in homage to Hockney's own iPad drawings) this is a colorful, thought-provoking and joyous biography of one of the world's best-loved artists.

Critique: Especially and unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library Artist Biography/Art History collections, and a 'must' for the legions of David Hockney fans, this hardcover edition of "Hockney: A Graphic Life" from Frances Lincoln accurately and informatively follows the life journey of David Hockney's exceptional life and career as an artist.

Editorial Note: Simon Elliott is a criminal barrister, art obsessive and standup comedian. Inspired by Hockney's message 'spring cannot be cancelled', and with time to fill (thanks to Covid), Simon engrossed himself in all things Hockney, learned how to paint on an iPad and began a journey to create this colourful, joyous and thought provoking biography with a twist.

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Midwest Book Review