Just some news…
Yay, according to Bleeding Cool, there will be more Fell. Finally!
Of course, publishers react to the iPad.
Didn’t see the Super Bowl but caught the Prince of Persia preview.
It’s so cold in here. I can barely type!
Reading Over Shoulders
Sun! Sun! Sun!
I don’t normally post reviews of floppies but I loved reading this.
This kind of thing is said over and over but – if you aren’t reading Kimi Ni Todoke yet, you should be.
Hmm, weird lack of reviews this week.
Tanpopo review
It’s been so long since I sat down to write a review of something I’ve read that I’m probably a bit rusty. We’ll see.
Tanpopo by Camilla D’Errico is a strange mix of classic poetry, manga and color. On some levels, it works. On others…
Volume 1 is based on Goethe’s Faust. The text comes straight from that poem and the artwork re-imagines it as a new story. Unfortunately, Goethe isn’t very accessible. Which is fine. I’m not saying that art has to be entirely accessible to everyone but it does make it difficult. I had a hard time understanding both the poem and the artwork together because, having not studied Faust, I had no context. I was thrown into a world that I couldn’t quite get a grasp on and so much of it made no sense. Tanpopo appears to be a girl or a robot or an angel hooked up to a machine and she is saved by the devil. A devil who is alternately a cute bunny thing and a hot boy. I do like hot boys.
The second volume is based around the Rime of the Ancient Mariner and this poem I know. This poem, I really love. Therein lies the danger of adapting well known, well loved literature. I’m not sure I wanted or enjoyed seeing a poem I like turned into a teenage bully story. In this volume Tanpopo is threatened by a group of teenagers mad that they think she killed a bird. I guess?
Whether I missed the meaning of these interpretations or the writer missed expressing them clearly, I’m not sure. What I was sure about was that I would keep turning pages just to see the artwork.
It’s raw, for sure. It reminds me of leaning over in study hall and catching site of a friends notebook. Impressive and startling but unfocused. D’Errico is an accomplished artist and so this feeling is certainly intentional. Tanpopo and the devil are haunting. In volume two, the drawings of the albatrosses show her depth and range. She combines traditional manga-style illustrations with splashes of color and a scratchy, unhinged stroke. She lets the drawings take over the page, leaving out conventional sequential storytelling methods like panels and word balloons. Certainly, taking on this sort of experimental style is brave. However, I would have preferred an original story. The characters seem well-defined in D’Errico’s mind. I would like to see them stand on their own, in their own story, their own words.
copy provided by publisher
Webcomic Wednesday
I feel like perhaps I’ve highlighted Nemu-Nemu before but it’s just so darn cute. I mean, supa cutes 
Junko Mizuno’s Strange Tale
I found these scans here.
I guess I don’t need to go into how much I love Junko Mizuno since I’ve done that. I really still haven’t figured out why I love/crave her so much. Obviously, her artwork is unique and lush and gorgeous. Her stories are unapologetic in their attempts to redefine and resculpt the feminine mystique – or aren’t they? I don’t know. With Mizuno, I never know. So, I’ll just sit back and enjoy it.
Winter Wonderland
The past four days have been a strange mixture of wonder, boredom, hot chocolate, tuna helper, giggly baby and sick toddler. That’s an ice storm for you. I had everything I needed: power (thank goodness!), antibiotics (for the toddler), decentish food and the internet (double thank goodnesses!). But, I didn’t have the one thing a librarian really has no excuse to be without – a good book.
Tragic, I know. Next time I’ll be prepared with these great wintry graphic novels:
Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 – this take places over several seasons but winter is by far the most dramatic and the most beautifully drawn.
30 Days of Night - forwarding thinking vampires attack a town locked in night and winter, as if I needed one more reason not to live in Alaska.
Whiteout – a mystery set in Antarctica might make 20 degrees seem downright balmy!
1001 Nights of Snowfall – it’s got snowfall in the title but it’s really the story of how the Adversary (of the series Fables) takes over the Homelands.
Webcomic Wednesday
So, it’s not technically a webcomic but it is on the web and it does serve as a reminder for everyone who cosplays:
If you need to venture into walmart – just…don’t.
Twilight graphic novel proves to be popular
I can’t really explain the fascination I have with all things Twilight. I’ve only ever been able to read half of the first book, I haven’t seen the movies because *duh* I can see the stills online and make my own paper doll movie out of those and from what I have read I can tell I’m not missing anything. But still…just the media frenzy surrounding the whole thing makes me feel like a weird outsider. I mean, for god’s sake I even got Avatar – why can’t I “get” TwilightSaga?
Then, there was the graphic novel with this cover:
And I’m again totally confused. Is that a giant zombie hand she’s caressing her own hair with? Or is it supposed to be Edward’s? Whatever, but also…tell me everything about it.
It’s so weird.
Luckily for me, Deb Aoki over a About.com manga has the lowdown and we can all secretly be fascinated and subsequently bored by the whole thing. But then fascinated again. It’s a vicious circle.
Reading over Shoulders
I got nothin.
Kate Dacey says Happy Cafe vol. 1 is “about as filling as a Little Debbie Snack” which lured me to the review because I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.
Jason Thompson wrote the very useful Manga: The Complete Guide but that doesn’t exactly translate into being able to write manga.
I know it’s short but that’s really all I found interesting this week.
Great Graphic Novels for Teens
It’s here!!!! <—-four exclamation points of excitement
The release of this list and its Top Ten is kind of bittersweet for me. I was supposed to be on this year’s committee (I served last year) but I had to go and have a baby right before the Annual Meeting. This is not the first time this has happened to me – my first go round on the committee I had to step down after one year to have my first son. I would like to serve on the committee again but I’m a little afraid.
Anyway, it’s great to see the list even if it makes me a little sad. The great part is that I can talk about the nature of the list openly without worrying that YALSA might get mad at me.
Why the list is important:
Libraries are huge purchasers of books. I mean, duh. It’s completely overwhelming to even begin to imagine the number of books published and ridiculous to expect your local librarian to know about them all (though she/he probably knows about a lot of them. We’re awesome that way). So these lists help librarians make selections for their library which equal sales. It also highlights some of the great work of the year, including things that otherwise may not have been recognized. I’m thinking Pitch Black here.
Why you shouldn’t take it too seriously:
Before you flip out that your favorite book/most hated book ever isn’t on/totally made this list – remember, it’s made up of 11 actual people. There’s no easy formula to plug in and come up with a list. There’s emotions, opinions and, let’s face it, cultural bias involved. However, I assure you these librarians are aware of these complications and take great pains to try and make sure they don’t get in the way. In the end, it’s a list that gets some right and some wrong. Each year we leave with a promise to do better the next year.
What to remember when you read the list:
It’s for teens. I can’t stress this enough. It may not seem like it but that phrase “great graphic novels for teens” creates a lot of angst. Because how do you define it? I’ve always said I feel like an award committee might be a bit easier than a list committee because often there’s a few books that stand out as completely amazing – literary quality AND high teen appeal (though I imagine narrowing it down to just one is incredibly hard – I’m not discrediting the amazing work of awards committees – yes, I’m angling to get on one here). On a list committee things aren’t always so cut and dry.
Here’s the part where I ignore everything I just told you and let myself react:
The Top 10 list is totally solid but I’m surprised there are no superhero titles on it. Plus, I would have maybe argued that Pluto is not for teens. This was always a sticking point with me. I personally feel like stuff that maybe ‘appeals’ to teens but isn’t really for them should be left off the list and definitely not on the Top 10. But there’s a lot of grey area there and often times I was shot down. Plus, Pluto is an amazing title.
I’m also pleasantly surprised that the most overrated title of the year, Swallow me Whole, is left off the top 10.
Pinocchio:Vampire Slayer – yes!
As far as the overall list goes -
The Photographer – reaching, sorry, not for teens and I’m not sure it even has much teen appeal. I have a feeling this was one of those ‘omg this book is sooo amazing and won’t be recognized anywhere else if we don’t put it on this list!!!’ – yes, this discussion happens and sometimes it’s a little valid but in this case….ehhh.
Yay Buffy!
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Edition – hee this makes me want to see the ‘unauthorized’ edition.
Spider-Man Noir – blech
Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture – the inclusion of books like this is why I think this list is so awesome
Green Lantern: Secret Origin – Hmm, I would have maybe argued this for the Top 10…
The Color of Earth trilogy – see, when I’m not on the committee I can see why people get a bit upset and even question the committee’s credibility. This trilogy is an adult trilogy that, honestly, I don’t think you benefit from unless you have some kind of life experience. Is there even much appeal? I don’t know but I do know that a teen could read this and ten years later read it again and go ‘man, I really needed more time.’ Incidentally, this is why I’m not really for teaching Shakespeare in highschool. Not because teens can’t read and understand it but because there’s something to be said for experience.
Sorry, rant. done.
I will let you in on a committee secret – every single year there’s a lament that there’s not a childrens’ list or an adult list and to compensate stuff makes it on this list. I myself have been guilty of arguing a title I know is too young/too old just because I think it’s that good.
1985 – oh, this sounds interesting!
Oz: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – the artwork alone would land this title on the list but it’s also excellently written.
Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You – my favorite teen manga of the year!
X-Men: Misfits – ummmm
And there you go, my knee jerk reaction to the list. Those are the best kind of reactions
Congratulations on this year’s committee – it’s a great list and you should be proud. I miss this committee and hope to see you all again someday *sniff* – only keep your weird baby powers to yourself!
Thoughts?
