Free Graphic Novels!

Okay kids, listen up. Uncle Dave is going to tell you how to get free graphic novels.

It really works, too. Just a couple of days ago I got someone I've never met in Georgia to send me a copy of Sky Ape. All I had to do was send her a GN in return (in this case, volume 1 of The Prince of Tennis).

To get your free graphic novels, you'll need to make use of a site called BookCrossing, at http://www.bookcrossing.com/. If you don't have a BookCrossing (BX) account yet, go over there, click on the join link over on the left sidebar, and fill out the registration. Don't worry--it's free. (And there are no ads and no junk email--BX exists solely through benevolence.) My screen name is 'superman', if you want to put that in the 'refered by' field.

BookCrossing's true purpose is to encourage people to leave books around for others to find. But it is also used for book trading. Find a few old paperback books and/or graphic novels that you have lying around and that you're never going to read again, and register them on BX. Now you're all set.

A majority of the people on BX are willing to trade books via the mail. To find graphic novels that are available for trade, go to 'search books' and enter 'Graphic Novels' for the category and 'available' for the status. (Right now there are 464 GN's listed as available.) When you find one that you want, click on the screen name of the person where it says 'set by'. That will bring you to that BXer's bookshelf. From the bookshelf you can send that BX'er a private message, wherein you can offer a trade (e.g. "Hi, I see that you have Floogleman vol. 3 on your bookshelf. Would you be willing to trade?") Then wait for that person to get back to you. If you can come to an agreement, exchange addresses and drop your book in the mail, and wait for your to arrive. When it does arrive, you should of course make a new journal entry for the book, and your trading partner will do likewise. (In the US, you can cheaply send books via Media Mail, which will cost just a $1.42 for a standard paperback, and a bit more if it's a bit heavier.)

BookCrossing operates on karma. So when you're done reading the book you get, make it available to someone else, or release it 'into the wild'. Some BXers will offer to send you a book without a trade--if so, you are karmically responsible for making the same offer to someone else.

Part of the fun of BookCrossing is watching where your books end up. My copy of Chobits, vol. 1 is hopping around in Pac10 country, while a couple of Garfield collections are being enjoyed in Iran.

Speaking of offering books, I have two graphic novels marked available on my BookCrossing shelf right now, @Large, Vol. 1 and X/1999 Prelude, each of which I will send free to the first persons (in the US or Canada) who message me via BookCrossing and request them (only one per person). The only stipulation is that you have to give it to someone else when you are done reading.

So go, and set your old graphic novels free!

Cool Reviews

In the I-wish-I'd-thought-of-it-first department, Gardner Linn has Review Haiku.

Elsewhere, Tim O'Neil reviews Identity Crisis #3 by using the pages of the comic against itself.

Review: Making Rain

Making Rain
by Ursula Murray Husted
$9.95 ISBN: 0975322508
http://www.apocalyptictangerine.com/

A death in the family is something that most of us have experienced. Every experience is unique, of course, but there are commonalities to the experience too. In every culture there are death rituals, sometimes elaborate, which serve to facilitate the grieving process. When it happens in our own family, suddenly the world seems to tilt at an angle; we enter into a strange parallel existance, where the normal rules of society are suspended. You leave work or school, perhaps travel a long distance, participate in rituals, and people bring you food. Then, after a few days, things return to normal. Supposedly.

In the opening pages of Ursula Murray Husted's Making Rain, Rosie (whose age isn't given, but appears to be about 11) attends the death of her grandmother, who dies peacefully in a hospital, surrounded by loved ones. Rosie is then swept up in the aftermath: the funeral, the burial, the wake. She understands what is going on, but as this is her first experience with death, she doesn't quite understand the why. The purpose of the ritual escapes her.

A few days later, Rosie returns to school. But although the ritual is over, Rosie stills feels disconnected. She struggles to finally come to acceptance and continue on.

Husted's presentation of this story is wonderfully done. Done in two-tone (blue and brown), the art is a somewhat sketchy style with scant backgrounds, but is perfect for the story. Emotion, real emotion, comes forth from the pages, and it's very easy to be swept up into one's own memories of similar experiences.

Death--real, human death--is a topic that is seldom dealt with in comics. Oh sure, we're constantly bombarded with the "In This Issue: A Character Dies!" type of death, but that's exploitive and sensational, and completely divorced from the real experience. Husted is to be commended for presenting a story with genuine humanity.

(The only drawback to Making Rain is the price--$10 is a bit steep for such a slim volume of 56 pages. But it is beautifully presented, and is easily worth your time and money over 3 issues of the latest X-Men spin-off.)

Rating: 4.5 (of 5)

Oh. Dear.

If you caught The Best TV Shows That Never Were on ABC earlier this evening, you were subjected to clips of television pilots that weren't picked up. And if you think that the stuff that makes it on the air is crap, you couldn't believe that stuff that didn't make the cut.

Among the travesties presents were four pilots made from comics: Daredevil, with blind lawyer Matt Murdock donning a black fabric costume to use cheesy martial arts to bring down the bad guys; The Mighty Thor, with the thunder god fighting crime in bad viking gear and sharing an apartment with an ordinary guy; Generation X, starring kids whose mutant powers appeared to be the ability to generate bad special effects; and Mandrake, the magician as a 70's super spy with an ugly mystical amulet.

Seriously, had any of these made it to air it would have set back the state of comic adaptations at least a decade.

Quick GN Reviews

Quick reviews on thick things with spines:

The Sandwalk Adventures
by Jay Hosler
I couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed with this one. I suspect that's because with Hosler's previous effort, Clan Apis, I learned a lot about bees, of which I knew very little about previously. This time Hosler's subject is the theories of Charles Darwin, notably natural selection, of which I already knew quite a bit. Plus, by restricting the subject specifically to Darwin, Hosler was not able to present further developmets in evolutionary theory (except for in the notes at the end). Still, Hosler manages once again to take potentially dry subject matter and inject it with fun and humor. Let this serve as an entertaining introduction to Darwin and take it from there.
Rating: 4 (of 5)

Bucky Katt's Big Book of Fun
by Darby Conley
I suspect many are already familiar with Darby Conley's Get Fuzzy strip from the newspapers or online. I'd previously read the first Get Fuzzy colection, The Dog Is Not a Toy, but found it underwhelming. Fortunately I checked out this treasury edition of the strip from the library and find it to be much improved. Much of the stuff in this volume is funny, with a mixture of short one-day gags and longer storylines that make for a succesful humor strip. Conley's cartooning skill has improved as well, although I must admit that his freakish-looking dogs and cats still give me the hoodees now and again.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Shadow Star, vol. 2: Darkness Visible
by Mohiro Kitoh
The fresh-eyed innocence of the first volume is replaced by a stronger sense of menace, as Shiina faces off against an older (and decidedly male) possesser of a much large alien star-creature. (Really, the Freudian imagery is dripping off the page sometimes!) We also break away from Shiina ina couple of episodes to take a look at government reaction and a group of 'evil' star-creature owners. The art is mostly gorgeous, although a bit sparse on backgrounds from time to time. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

The Sandman Presents: Taller Tales
by Bill Willingham and various artists
Prior to Fables, Willingham did a lot of Sandman-related work, much of which is collected here. The stories found herein are entertaining, if lacking much of the depth of Gaiman's original work. The lead story, "Merv Pumpkinhead, Agent of D.R.E.A.M.," is a fun homage/pastiche of Bond-type spy thrillers, with a guy with a jack-o-lantern for a head. "The Further Adventures of Danny Nod, Heroic Library Assistant" gives us a tour of various books come to life in the Dreaming, and is full of great pull-out library quotes (i.e. "An assistant librarian must live as much by his wits as his martial skills.") The best of the bunch, and also the longest, is the four part "The Thessaliad," which reunites artist Shawn McManus with the witch Thessaly. Rounding out the collection is the lightweight "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Dreams... But Were Afraid to Ask," which exists primarily to show off the art of Ducnan Fegredo, Kevin Nowlan, Mark Buckingham and others. Speaking of the art, it's pretty much top-notch all the way around, especially from Buckingham on the lead story and from McManus. Worth a read if you're a Sandman fan and caught up on your Fables reading.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

My Lieber's 11

Yes, it now seems like everyone is doing it, but seeing as I am an actual librarian, I figure it's my duty to make my contribution to Steve's Lieber's Eleven meme. To wit, here are my choices for 11 good graphic novels that would be good for a public library's collection.

There being so many good graffic novels to choose from, I had to set some ground rules for myself. Besides being appropriate for a public library (granted, a library with a collection policy somewhat on the liberal side) I also restricted my choices to items which are 'done-in-one'--that is, a person can read the GN and be presented with a complete story that isn't continued in further volumes (this being the opposite tactic from what Jim Ottaviani took). Alas, this means leaving out most Manga--which tend to go on for many volumes--and super-heroes, which go on forever.

So, here in no particular order are my 11 picks for a library collection:

Whiteout (Oni)

by Greg Rucka & Steve Lieber

Mysteries are huge in public libraries, and this is one of the best mysteries in GN form. Rucka & Lieber really give the sensation of what Antarctica could be like. Plus, you know, it's the Lieber 11...

Dignifying Science (GT Labs)

by Jim Ottaviani et al.

Biographies are also big in libraries. Jim has now done several biographical books about scientists, but so far this volume about women scientists (all drawn by woman cartoonists) is my favorite of the lot (though I haven't yet read Suspended in Language). (Oh, and since as of Friday Jim is no longer my boss, this isn't kissing up!)

Imagination Rocket (Behemoth Books)

by Brian Clopper et al.

An anthology of educational comics relating to science and social studies by folks like Steve Stiles, Jon Hastings, Brian Clopper, Pam Bliss, Mark Crilley and others..

The Cartoon Guide to Sex (Harper Collins)

by Larry Gonick & Christine DeVault

Remember those awkward yet somehow boring sex ed classes? Remember wishing that they could be interesting? It's everything you ever wanted to know but never thought would be in an educational comic. Plus, Gonick is in his always entertaining top form.

Pedro and Me (Henry Holt)

by Judd Winick

Winick's first foray away from strips and into comics was a humorous and touching look at friendship, AIDS, and reality tv.

The Summer of Love (Drawn & Quarterly)

by Debbie Drechsler

An emotionally real coming-of-age story set in 70's suburbia.

Amy Unbounded: Belondweg Blossoming (Pug House Press)

by Rachel Hartman

Fun and sweet, perfect for the SCA set.

McSweeney's Quarterly Concern #13 (McSweeney's)

by Chris Ware et al.

A gorgeous introduction to many of the finest independent cartoonists working today: Dan Clowes, Charles Burns, Richard Sala, Seth, Joe Matt, Gilbert Hernandez, Adriane Tomine, Chester Brown, and many more. Plus, y'know, being McSweeney's it's all literary and stuff.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, vol. 1 (DC/Wildstorm/ABC)

by Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill

Of course I had to get Alan Moore somewhere on the list, and LXG is probably his most accessible work. It can be enjoyed on many levels, from straight-up adventure tale to multi-layed intelligent pastiche.

Testament (Metron Press)

by Jim Kreuger et al.

The best religious comic in quite some time. An A-list of comics artists--including Bill Sienkiewicz, Sergio Aragonés, Scott Hampton, George Pratt, Steve Rude, and many more--join writer Jim Kreuger in a retelling of stories from the Old Testament. There have been many attempts at religious comics in the past, but seldom are they this good.

The Crow (Pocket Books)

by James O'Barr

If you're a certain type of kid at the right age, this comic is genius.

(Hey look, I managed to get the bonus points for picking each one from a different publisher!)

Note that these are not necessarily what I consider to be the best GNs, but rather 11 that I think would be good for a public library's collection. And being that there is an eleven item limit, there are many perfectly good choices that aren't included.

Quick Reviews

I'm not the sort to go in-depth with reviews, but from time-to-time I'll offer some quick observations about things I've read. Ratings are on a 5-point scale, with 1's and 5's being rare.

JSA #64
by Geoff Johns, Jerry Ordway & Prentiss Rollins
First off, I love the cover by Ethan Van Sciver, a wonderful homage to the original house ad for Sandman. Infinity, Inc. was one of my favorite comics way back when, and as much as I generally loved Sandman, I was never too happy with the way that Lyta Hall was treated. So I'm glad to see some closure to the story of Hector & Lyta, even if the events in Sandman could only be obliquely mentioned. And it was good that Jerry Ordway could be along for the ride.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Chosen #3
by Mark Millar & Peter Gross
Is there anyone who didn't see the 'surprise' ending coming from a mile away? (And what is it about British comic writers and anal rape, anyway?) Still, Millar tells the story in style, and it's always good to see Peter Gross's art. But this will have to be looked on as an opportunity wasted.
Rating: 3 (of 5)

JLA #103
by Chuck Austen & Ron Garney
Apparently not content with having written the worst X-Men story ever, Austen has turned his pen to the JLA. It's not that the story is so bad, but he's now told the same basic story 3 issues in a row, with different JLA members plugged in. (A story that takes about 3 minutes to read, I might add.) We get it: It's hard to be a super-hero. Can we move on, now? Add to that Garney's phoned-in art, and we have a completely underwhelming book. If I were smart, I'd skip the three remaining Austen issues and wait for Busiek to come on board. But am I smart? Probably not.
Rating: 1.5 (of 5)

Action Comics #818
by Chuck Austen, Ivan Reis & Marc Campos
Well, Austen and company certainly make this book live up to its name: there's plenty of action in each issue, just not enough explaination of why all this action is going on. Villains appear out of the woodwork, and pummeling ensues. Thankfully, Reis & Campos deliver on the dynamic artwork, so at least it's a visually stimulating 3 minutes.
Rating: 2 (of 5)

Captain America #30
by Robert Kirkman, Scot Eaton & Drew Geraci
Kirkman packs a lot of story into 22 pages of a super-hero comic. We get plenty of action, a little bit of romance, and glimpses of a plot which might make a bit more sense if I were following all of Avengers Dissembled. Which I'm not. (And someone needs to let Marvel's cover copy writer know that 'mercí' is French for 'thank you'--the French word for 'mercy' is 'pitié'.)
Rating: 3 (of 5)

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Thicker Than Blood
by Jeff Mariotte, Gabriel Rodriguez & Ashley Wood
Let's face it: IDW's books are priced too expensive. Their regular comics are $4, which places them well over my $3 rule and the content is never compelling enough for me to make an exception. But, since I found this in the LCS's 3/$1 box I decided to give it a try. It's not bad, and manages to tell a complete story in 44 pages, of about the same complexity as a regular episode of the tv series. Marriotte manages to get the voices of the characters right--I could easily hear the actor's voices in my head while reading--but unfortunately much of the actual dialogue comes off as rather banal. Rodriguez provides adequate art, but Wood's bits are completely confusing and do nothing to illustrate what actually happened--the exact opposite of the nifty-cool zooming effects from the tv show.
Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

Does the World Really Need Another Comics Blog?

Probably not. But that doesn't seem to be stopping me.

Hi, my name's Dave, and I'm a comix-holic.

I've been reading comic books for nearly 30 years now, ever since I had the chicken pox when I was 5 and my dad brought me home some comic books to cheer me up (Superman, Action Comics & Wonder Woman, in case you're wondering). Someday I'll tell the story of how that singular moment led me down the road to my career path.

I'm a librarian, but not at a fun public library where I could buy graphic novels for the collection. No, I'm at an academic STM library, where it's very hard to justify spending collection money on such things.

I've read plenty of other comics blogs, and I figure I've probably got plenty of things to say that are at least as intersting as half the stuff being written by others. And besides, I've actually been paid for my writing in the past, so I must have some modicum of skill, right?

So, will anybody bother to read what I have to say? Who knows--I may just be crying in the wilderness here. But I do have a secret plan to at least get my blog noticed (after all, what's the point of being friends with a couple of people in the industry if you can't exploit that relationship every so often?).

Hopefully I'll be able to update several times each week. Thanks for reading.