Spike: Shadow Puppets

Book: Spike: Shadow Puppets
Author: Brian Lynch
Artist: Franco Urru
In a Nutshell: Spike is a wee little puppet man!

In this continuation of the story arch from the hilariously twisted Angel episode "Smile Time" , Spike and Loren go to Japan to investigate reports that the evil puppets of "Smile Time" have gone global. And of course, the two end up turning into puppets and battling not just a horde of evil ninja puppets, but also evil replicas of Angelus, Druscilla, Cordelia, Classic Wesley, Spoiler Wesley, Fred/Illyria, Street Gunn, Lawyer Gunn, and more.

Very funny. Nice job on Spike's dialogue especially.

The Plain Janes

Book: The Plain Janes
Author: Cecil Castellucci
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: Four Janes make art, not war

After she is a victim in a terrorist attack in Metro City, Jane's family relocates to the sterile suburbs. She finds a group of misfits- Jane, Jayne, and Polly Jane- and once she overcomes their resistance, together they form P.L.A.I.N. (People Loving Art In Neighborhoods) and secretly perform random acts of public art, what some consider art terrorism. She continues to write letters to a John Doe in a coma in Metro City, and when a letter is returned, she must go against her parents' orders and go back to see what happened.

Great graphic novel about the healing and bonding power of art.

Art by Jim Rugg.

The Professor's Daughter

Book: The Professor's Daughter
Author: Joann Sfar
Artist: Emmanuel Guibert
Audience: Tween to Teen
In a Nutshell: girl and mummy at large in London

In Victorian London, a famous archaeologist's daughter and the inexplicably animate mummy of Imhotep IV go out on the town, only to accidentally kill two men later, go through trial, jail, and the Tower, then the biggest challenge: facing Imhotep's father, the less civilized Imhotep III.

Oddly engaging story with very bizarre concept; lovely watercolor art is a step or two above your average comic book fare, much as I love them. Originally published in France, 1997.

Good As Lily

Book: Good As Lily
Author: Derek Kirk Kim
Artist: Jesse Hamm
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: talk about Multiple Personality Disorder!

A piñata from a mysterious street vendor works a strange kind of magic on Grace's life on her 18th birthday. It creates 3 extra versions of herself at 6, 29, and 78 years old. Trying to keep them hidden or explain their presence is tricky enough without young Grace throwing tantrums, old Grace stealing her father's cigarettes, and adult Grace coming on to Mr. Levon, the young English teacher she has a crush on in real-time. In the midst of juggling all of her selves, Grace is forced to face issues from her past, warnings for the future, and gets the chance to see the value of certain friends in the here and now.

Fun idea, nicely rendered with snappy dialogue and good drawing. I especially like the way Grace is drawn: a comic book girl with beautiful natural curves. Oh, and if you're wondering where the title comes from, it has to do with her sister, who died young.

Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil

Book: Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil
Author/Artist: Jeff Smith
Audience: Tween to Teen
In a Nutshell: a fresh look at Captain Marvel

I've never read any other Captain Marvel comics, so I don't have anything to compare this to in the pantheon. But I like Jeff Smith (of Bone fame), and I liked both the bright, appealing art and the story here. This incarnation of Marvel has the aw-shucks charm of an Old School superhero without descending into total cheese ball territory. And some people have said that the megalomaniacal Attorney General character bears a striking resemblance to Dick Cheney, but Smith denies any intentionality there. ;) The world it's set in is definitely influenced by the current state of the union, with a "Heartland Security" division flexing increasingly militant power. Aside from the political stuff, the story of orphaned Billy and the superhero he becomes with a magic word, and the crazy monsters and threats to the space-time continuum that he and his friends fight, is solid comic book fare. The bad guys swear once in a while, but overall I'd put this in the same all-ages appeal category as Bone.

The Arrival

Book: The Arrival
Author: Shaun Tan
Audience: Ages 10 to adult (seriously!)
In a Nutshell: wordless tale of immigration, only with crazy critters and surreal scenery

I don't know where I first read about The Arrival, but whoever it was, they were really psyched about this Australian book's American release. And whoever you were, you were right. Done in sepia tones in the style of a faded, aging scrapbook, the masterful appeal of this graphic novel defies easy description; you just need to pick it up and see for yourself. The story is an old one: a man leaves his wife and daughter to emigrate to a strange country, where he hopes to earn enough money to bring his family over and start a new life. The reasons for leaving are vague but sinister: huge shadows from spiky tails, tentacles, or worse are cast over everything. The written language in his new country is unfamiliar to the man, and to the reader, and the feeling of incomprehension and confusion comes through amazingly well.

The man meets people along the way who help him, and tell him their stories of how they came to live there. The first friend he makes is actually a little creature that makes himself right at home as a loyal pet. The presence of fantastical creatures and the very surreal, stylized, larger-than-life look of the city and countryside are brilliant ways to jolt us jaded modern people into the sense of wonder and intimidation that newcomers anywhere have felt for centuries, especially entering huge, New York-esque cities.

Even though it's wordless, resist the urge to flip through quickly. The longer you spend on each finely detailed page, the more you'll see. Considering this book, Printz Award-winning American Born Chinese, and National Book Award finalist The Invention of Hugo Cabret, graphic novels as a mainstream literary art form have taken some serious steps forward in the past year or two.

Pride of Baghdad

Book: Pride of Baghdad
Author: Brian Vaughan
Artist: Niko Henrichon
Audience: High School and Adult
In a Nutshell: escaped lions roam war-torn Baghdad

When Baghdad is bombed by US forces, the zoo is heavily hit, and what animals survive escape into the war-torn streets. Four lions- Zill, Safa, Noor, and the cub Ali- have different reactions. For Safa, freedom is a dream come true; Noor, who lived in the wild, prefers the safety of the zoo. It's up to the male, Zill, to hold them together as a pride. They face the dangers of other escaped animals, encounter dangerous new creatures such as herds of tanks, and learn more about the perplexing world of the Keepers as their world collides with the human world.

This graphic novel takes a powerful look at war from an animal perspective. For example, the old tortoise they meet by the river has seen it all before; he doesn't know what the conflicts are about, just that the humans make black death (oil) flow in the river every time. As if no food and the really nasty "pet" bear they find in an abandoned palace aren't bad enough, they have yet to cross paths with American assault rifles.

Be aware that this is an adult graphic novel; there is some language, graphic violence (I hope I never actually see a giraffe get its head blown off by a shell *shudder*), and sexual content. The sex is between lions and not graphic, but still disturbing in places where assault is portrayed.

Maturity level aside, this is a remarkable war story- and based on a true event, by the way. A group of lions did escape from the Baghdad zoo amidst shelling in 2003.

Oddly Normal

Book: Oddly Normal, Volume 1
Author/Illustrator: Otis Frampton
Audience: Grades 4-8
In a Nutshell: green-haired half-witch accidentally makes her parents disappear

Her first problem is her name: Oddly Normal. Her mother is a witch from the alternate world of Fignation, and her father is the most normal guy you could possibly imagine. Her green hair & pointy ears don't win her any friends at school, and she resents her blissfully unaware parents for raising her as a freak in the real world without realizing what an outcast she is. When her birthday wish is that her parents would just not be there, she is shocked the next morning to discover that they- and the house- are actually gone without a trace. Her aunt takes her to live in Fignation w/ the fictional, mythical and imaginary creatures. She meets some nice misfit friends, but most of the folks at her new school seem to have it out for her, starting with the English teacher. Turns out the story goes back to before she was born, to when her mother was young.

This graphic novel goes on my list of fun, clever all-ages comics that have enough humor and meat to them to appeal to teens as well as grade-schoolers. The highlight of that semi-theoretical list is Bone- that kind of graphic novel. This is the first of four parts, all available out there in Book-buying-and-borrowing Land.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Book: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Author/Illustrator: Brian Selznick
Audience: Grades 4 to 7
In a Nutshell: a young timekeeper-turned-thief, a little mechanical man that draws little clues, and a not-really-dead film director in Paris

Hey, kids! Want to read a 525-page book in a couple hours? Want to read a book that seems a lot like watching a movie? Look no further!

Even before his drunken uncle disappears, assistant timekeeper Hugo Cabret does most of the work of keeping all 27 clocks in the Paris train station running smoothly. He lives and works behind the walls, only entering the station to steal food or small mechanical parts from a toy maker's stall. He is obsessed with fixing up a small automaton of a man that will write something when it's fixed; Hugo is sure the writing will be a message from his dead father (he has his reasons). Instead, it leads him to an early French silent film and its legendary creater, Georges Melies, who was supposed to be dead, but isn't.

Out of 525 pages, 284 are entirely taken up with original drawings by the author, plus there are photos, stills from silent movies, and reproductions of sketches by the real Georges Melies. I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this. The words and pictures blend seamlessly; the illustrations don't accompany text, they replace it in large chunks.

Cinematically presented story with mystery, action, and plenty of visuals: perfect format for telling a story about silent film.

Grease Monkey

Book: Grease Monkey: A Tale of Growing Up in Orbit
Author: Tim Eldred
Audience: Grades 4 to 8
In a Nutshell: young mechanic works on a space station for a big ape

Robin Plotnik, a new junior spacecraft mechanic aboard the Fist of Earth, is assigned to work with Mac Gimbensky, a gorilla with accelerated evolution and a nasty temper. After the alien hordes attacked Earth and killed 60% of the human population, the Galactic Alliance scientists accelerated the physical development and intelligence of gorillas in order to give Earth a fighting chance of recovering in time to fend off any repeat attacks. Mac isn't really going to eat his assistant; he just has an artistic temperament and approach to his job, and he and Robin get along great. Their squadron is the top-ranked, all-female Barbarians. Robin quickly learns how things work on the ship, meets a girl (Kara, who works in the library), and teases Mac about his undying love for the ship's beautiful (to him) commanding ape, Admiral Stettler.

A funny, most-ages-appropriate comic; many short episodes are collected here. Judging from the haircuts it was started in the 1980's, but aside from that fashion detail it's good ageless fun.

The Dragonslayer (Bone, book 4)

Book: The Dragonslayer (Bone, Vol. 4)
Author/Illust.: Jeff Smith
Audience: Grades 4 to 7 or so
In a Nutshell: Thorn chops an arm and accepts her destiny

If you've never read the Bone series of graphic novels, by all means, do it. Start at the beginning, with Out from Boneville. They're quick reads, they're clever and funny and all-around top-shelf material. After a few pages you forget that the protagonist is a lovable little femur (or something). And one of the rat creature cronies is obsessed with not merely eating the good guys, but baking them in a quiche. That's really funny to me.

The All-New Tenchi Muyo!

Book: The All-New Tenchi-Muyo! Vol. 7
Author: Hitoshi Okuda
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: One 17-year-old boy, some hyperactive alien women, a space pirate, a carrot-eating spaceship and more

Tenchi and his wacky group of alien girls help a girl learn to walk again; her motivation is seeing Tsunami, their tree spirit, and writing a picture book about him.

manga sub-genre: harem comedy

Fruits Basket

Book: Fruits Basket, Volume 1
Author: Natsuki Takaya
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: orphan girl finds new friends with crazy zodiac animal powers

Those Left Behind (Serenity graphic novel)

Book: Those Left Behind (a Serenity graphic novel)
Author: Joss Whedon
Artist: Will Conrad
Audience: Teen to Adult
In a Nutshell: what happened between Firefly (TV) tand Serenity (movie)

If you are a Browncoat, you should read this graphic novel. If you are a Browncoat, you probably already own this graphic novel. If you don't know what a Browncoat is, welcome to the fan world of Firefly, a marvelous but short-lived western sci-fi series by the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was truly one of the best sci-fi series to come around in the last 10 years, so of course Fox gave it the shaft. But it lived on in the hearts and DVD collections of rabid fans everywhere, and by some miracle Joss Whedon actually got a theatrical movie released to follow it up. The show and the movie are very, very shiny, to use Firefly lingo. I won't go into detail, but I'll throw the term "mercenary space cowboys" out there and let you rent/borrow/buy the DVD's and fall in love with Firefly yourself.

This graphic novel fills in a story that takes place between the end of the show and where the movie picks up. Without being a critical piece of the Firefly universe, the story does manage to be very interesting and relevant to the characters. But those of us who get all starry-eyed when Joss Whedon's name is mentioned have come to expect no less.

Eyes of the Storm (Bone, Book 3)

Book: Eyes of the Storm (Bone, Book 3)
Author: Jeff Smith
Audience: Grades 4-7
In a Nutshell: Bones and humans (and a dragon) against a returning evil

This excellent graphic novel series continues with Bone, Thorn, Grandma, Phoney, Smiley, and the rest of the people (and bones) in the Valley preparing to fight the big bad evil that's coming in the form of rat creatures and some creepy hooded figure who serves the ancient, powerful, hive-minded Locusts. Ooooo...