Kick Butt Graphic Girls

One of my colleagues is selecting and ordering some graphic novels in her larger selection area of recreation, creative and performing arts. However, she doesn’t really like comics and when she receive them, she floats them to me (knowing I love comics) to examine and evaluate. And recently we received a book called “Over the Wall” which tells the story of a normal girl who is strong and goes on a quest and overcomes insurmountable odds to succeed. And this made me think, we have in our collection several wonderful graphic novels that show strong girls and women taking names and kicking butt.

“Over the Wall” by Peter Wartman is set in a mayan type village and it starts where a girl writes a note to her parents explaining that she’s going to search for her missing brother. The boys of the village, when they turn 16, are sent to enter the old, abandoned city where demons are caged. And as the girl entered the city, her wit, quick actions, gumption and help from a no name demon, allow her to prevail. Wartman’s art is very good too. With purple hues, there is very little color used. But I think this style makes the designs he created stand out a little better than if they were in full color. Also, his characters are very expressive. With large eyes and great expressions, the emotions of the characters is easily read.

As I was reading “Over the Wall”, I was thinking, “this is just like another graphic novel, ‘Zita the Spacegirl’”. Created by Ben Hatke, Zita is a story about a girl and her brother who get teleported to a strange alien planet with strange alien creatures. Kind of like the cantina on Mos Eisley, you can tell Hatke had fun with the unique designs of everything. In the story, Zita’s brother is grabbed by some tentacle monster with a diving bell head. And for the rest of the book, she is on a quest to reunite with her brother and get back to Earth. The style of this book is vastly different than “Over the Wall”. With vibrant colors, the alien worlds and creatures are super interesting. And the action he shows is very fast paced and dynamic.
 

Another new graphic novel recently came across my desk with the same theme of a kick butt woman called “Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant.” By Tony Cliff, we meet first the Turkish Lieutenant, Erdemogul Selim, describing to the Sultan a woman they have captured and all her outlandish claims. With extensive training from all over the world along with a flying ship, she plans on stealing valuable works from the Sultans library. From there, the action becomes fast paced and two fisted. Selim is dragged along, first unwillingly and eventually  whole heartedly, as Delilah travels and plunders from dangerous characters. With its exotic settings (both geographically and chronologically), any fan of adventure, young or old, would do well picking up this book for a fun read.

Other great graphic novels with kick butt protagonists:

Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead by Steve Pugh

Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi

Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III

Review - Athena : Grey Eyed Goddess

Review - Athena : Grey Eyed Goddess
by George O’Connor
First Second

Greek gods are hot. Not as hot as vampires. Not even as hot as zombies. But they are inching their way up in the young peoples psyche. And George O’Connor is creating a series of graphic novels based on the myths of Ancient Greece which helps increase the awareness. This book tells a handful of stories relating to the goddess Athena is the second, and newest in the series.

Starting with the origin story of Athena, where she is cracked out of Zeus’ skull a fill grown adult woman. We are also told of how she won her aegis in a contest, how she and the other Olympians won an epic Battle of the Gigantes. And most entertaining for me was the tale of Perseus and his quest for the head of the Medusa.

I liked this story because anyone who reads comics has also seen the movie Clash of the Titans. Where Harry Hamlin kicks the ass of the Ray Harryhausen creatures with his great hair. This version of the story of Perseus shoes him kind of as a hick, who gets a lot of help from Athena and Hermes. In the book, Perseus even gets scoffed at when he asks for a helmet of invisibility (as he received in the movie).

I enjoyed the artwork. Its style is of line and ink. The colors are, for the most part, muted. But there are a couple pages, where the action is most intense, where more vibrant colors are used. What is also really nice is that O’Connor give all the gods very expressive features. After all, weren't the ancient gods subject to the same emotional foibles of us mortals? We see Athenas rage against Arachne. Her determination and despair is shown as she battles Pallas.

I suspect many libraries will be picking up this series. It has all the requisites to attract unknowing Children’s librarians. It’s well reviewed in all the usual sources, covers an area of the school curriculum that we are constantly being asked about. It’s not too expensive and thankfully, its a very good book.

Two Historical Graphic Novels from First Second

Booth
written by C.C. Colbert, illustrated by Tanitoc

Resistance: Book 1
written by Carla Jablonski, illustrated by Leland Purvis

These two books were received by the library last month and are interesting since they are both based on actual historical events. Booth shows the life of John Wilkes Booth from 1863, two years before the assassination of Lincoln to Booth's death shortly thereafter. And Resistance is less biographical, but tells the story of a family in Vichy France during the Nazi occupation and how they became members of the French Resistance.

I like to think of myself as pretty smart about the Civil War. I've taken a couple college courses. Read all the Bruce Catton books. And even seen the Ken Burns Civil War series a couple times on PBS. So maybe I'm a little biased about the lack of information in the book Booth, but I found it to be rather terse and somewhat superficial. I know, more books have been written about Lincoln than anyone in history. And the timeline and plots around the conspiracy of his death have been well documented. So I won't consider this a definitive biography of the actor, but I would of like a little more historical though and context in the story.

I found the book Booth to be very disjointed. And it seems the author takes liberties in creating situations which might be a little outside the historical record. I had not heard of Booth's relationships with either Lucy Hale, a daughter of a Republican Senator, or of a romance with a barmaid named in the book only as "Ella". But the book seems to focus mostly on the relationship Booth had with these two women and the actual conspiracy to overthrow the government is almost like an afterthought in the book.

Though I didn't really like the artwork on first reading the book, it grew on me. It is rough with heavy, dark lines. But slowly I realized that the colors used for the characters made it a little easier to follow the story. Booth is always in a green outfit while his brother Edwin is in blue. Ella has a red dress and purple is the color for Lucy.

I didn't order this book and I don't know if I would of picked this book up for the library. It kind of fails on both sides of its intent. Someone interested in the Civil War or Lincoln would find many things to criticize. And someone interested in graphic novels will find better works elsewhere.

I liked Resistance more than Booth. I think that was because it's not based on a well known historical figure but a fictional French family living in the Vichy France. The Tessier family, whose father has been captured by the Germans. The young daughter Marie and her brother Paul one day return home and their neighbors the Mr. and Mrs. Levy have been taken by German soldiers. Their son Henri Levy was away swimming and was not picked up. So Marie and Paul hide Henri in their wine cellar. As the story progresses and peoples secrets are revealed, we learn more about the France resistance movement. The feeling of paranoia and repression grows as the Tessier's try and reunite the Levy family.

The plot in Resistance is a little clearer that in Booth. However, unlike Booth, the book is not tied to well documented historical events. Indeed, the Author's Note at the end of the book is a fantastic description of historiography and how past events can not be seen as clearly back and white.

The artwork in this book more traditional than in Booth. With cleaner lines and more emphasis on facial expressions, it is easy to follow the story and it's characters.

I feel this book is a good purchase for the library. There are several different themes that would draw readers in. First, the main characters, Paul and Marie can be understood by children reading this book. Also it is a good book that display the treatment of Jewish people without the nightmare inducing imagery. I would definitely recommend this book for kids wanting to know about civilian life in Europe during World War II.

Review - Cat Burglar Black

Cat Burglar Black
by Richard Sala
First Second

I was hesitant to pick this book up for the library. Being a bad librarian and just judging a book by its cover, I wasn't captured by the image of a young girl with white hair and a black mask caught in a searchlight. But after reading several positive reviews, I added it to last months book order. And I'm glad that I did.

Cat Burglar Black is about a young lady named Katherine Westree, but she prefers to go by the initial K. The story starts with K entering a new school, which turns out to be a front for a secret organization of thieves called "The Obtainers". We find out that K, since here parents disappeared when she was very young, was placed in an orphanage where she along with the other children were trained to be pickpockets and thieves. At her new school, K meets three other girls who who also are trained thieves. K and the others are eventually told that there is a pirate treasure and that they must break into houses in the area to acquire three portraits of the schools founder Anodyne Quinn. These portraits are clues to the hidden treasure and are guarded by very eccentric keepers.

I found this book to be a charming mix of a Nancy Drew style mystery with an Edward Gory vibe. The old house where the school is held and the unique, almost Dickensian, characters are sure to keep sleuthful minds interested. The art work grew on me. Initially the designs I thought were a little crude, but for the story and it's intended audience, the drawing style fit very well. The story flows along at a good pace. There are creepy moments and times of high suspense. But there is also heartfelt, touching touches. Especially when K is thinking about her parents.

This book is definitely worth adding to any library collection. And looking in the California Catalog, it looks like many libraries have already added this to their stacks. I would recommend this to any tween, bus especially a girl, who is looking for a Lemony Snicket, Nancy Drew type story.

Review - The Color of Earth

The Color of Earth
by Kim Dong Hwa
First Second Books
 

I had been reading about this book in several library type magazines as being well done. And last month I added the three book of this trilogy to the buy list for the library.

The Color of Earth is a coming of age story set around a young woman named Ehwa. She is 10 at the start of the book and lives with her widowed mother who runs the tavern in an rural village. Set in Korea during the early 1900s, this first book in a trilogy is a wonderful story with very pretty artwork. By the end of the book, Ehwa is a young teenager and her interests in boys is growing.

The relationship and discussion between Ehwa and her mother makes up most of the story. As Ehwa asks questions about growing up and she is told about life and relationships, many of the answers involve stories of flowers, insects and the wind. Ehwa notices a young monk in training and equates him with tiger lilies. Another boy, who is the son of the orchard grower, makes an impression on Ehwa, but has to go back to the city for his studies. And throughout the book, Ehwa's mother is loving and supportive of the decisions Ehwa makes concerning her life. The analogies for love and sex are almost poetic and in some sense (from my cynically unromantic point of view) almost unintentionally comical.

The art is very well done. Mostly using line drawings for the characters, occasionally they jump into a Japanese chibi style when appropriate. Also, though most of the background art is sparse, occasionally a realistic drawing of a landscape will be presented to effectively add to the drama of the tale. And once I figured out that Ehwa has a solid top with a patterned skirt and her mother is opposite with a patterned top and a solid skirt, it was much easier to follow the story.

Since the library has a new Young Adult librarian, I'm going to let her decide if these books are going to go into the adult non-fiction area of the young adult graphic novel section. Personally, though the themes are of love and sex, this treatment is very poetic and thoughtful.

Review - Ball Peen Hammer

Ball Peen Hammer
Written by Adam Rapp
Art by George O'Connor
Publish By First Second

Ball Peen Hammer is about a society suffering from an unknown disease which affects 96% of the population and is fatal. Told through a hand full of characters which initially seem unrelated, the reader gets glimpses into how society has changed with many of its inhabitants suffering from this modern day plague.

There are four main characters. Two men, Welton, a musician, and Aaron, a writer are holed up in a basement while a woman named Exley is helping a teenage boy named Horlick atop clock tower. All of them are trying to figure out how to survive in this broken, dangerous world. It seems there is a group that assigns individuals gruesome tasks which they must complete. But no one knows who this group is or why they these tasks are required. And tension in the story grows as we learn more about the characters discuss their situations and responsibilities.

Adam Rapp is actually a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, and musician and this is his first time writing a graphic novel. I didn't know he was so versatile when I picked this up for the library. But on contemplation after reading, it's easy to see how this could be set as a play. With just a couple settings and limited characters, there is depth to the story that isn't present in most comics.

What's interesting is that the two groups each emphasize a different aspect of this broken society. Welton and Aaron discuss the tasks individuals are given, art, and the reason why they ended up sitting in a basement. While Exley and Horlick are growing emotionally closer to each other with little thought about why they are in the terrible situation society seems to be in. Rapp is able to use these two groups to look at the same situation from two different angles giving the reader a more nuanced look at the world he has created for this book.

The art by George O'Connor is a little cartoony, but very well done for this work. The color palettes change between the pages concerning Welton and Aaron or Exley and Horlick. The characters are all very unique and have great expressions. The backgrounds are somewhat sparse, but in a post-apocalyptic work, it is very appropriate.

The blurb on the back cover is from Booklist magazine and says "Not for gentle readers". I am putting this in the adult non-fiction area of our collection because there are some harsh language and graphic violence. I can see a school librarians in Kentucky would be nervous ordering this.

Review - The Eternal Smile

This is an older review I wrote June 2nd, 2009.

The Eternal Smile : Three Stories
by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim
First Second

This is a book I ordered for the library since I really enjoyed American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. (which the library also owns) The Eternal Smile is actually three stories, each with their own style. But each of the stories are related thematically, about awareness and acceptance of your surroundings and yourself. I know. This describes just about every story ever written, but these stories are different enough where the reader is basically led to the same feeling, but by very different paths.

The first story, "Duncan's Kingdom", is about a young man who must kill the monster to marry the princess. But the lines are blurred between reality and imagination. The second story was my favorite. Basically set in the world of Disney's Uncle Scrooge, but with frogs instead of ducks. Entitled "Gran'pa Greenbax and The Eternal Smile", this story is a parody of the Carl Barks Duckville stories. But as Gran'pa Greenbax tries to make more money, he realizes that there is more than just the town he lives in and his money pond. The final story, called "Urgent Request" is about a shy, lonely office worker who asks for a raise. After being rejected, she finds solace emailing a Nigerian prince. She dreams of being swept away to Africa and becoming a princess.

After reading this book, it wasn't obvious to me that there were thematic elements consistent between the three stories. But as I pondered them while sitting on the reference desk, I realized that all of them had placed the characters into positions where they were forced to ask the deep questions concerning their identity and their need to use imagination to go beyond their lives. And the different art styles help convey the feelings of each story. With the fantasy, almost manga, style of "Duncan's Kingdom" and the practically monochrome, cartoon look of "Urgent Request", the artists have integrated the art into the feelings of the stories in a dramatic manner.

So, this graphic novel is one of the better ones the library received and is a definite read for everyone.