Mini-Reviews: Graphic Novel Bundle
June 16th, 2011 § 4 Comments
since i’m on summer break and have a little bit more free time than i would during the school year, i’ve joined in the ‘book a day’ twitter challenge (use hashtag #bookaday). since i’m not a super speedy reader, i find that graphic novels are a great way to keep up with the one book per day pace without stressing myself out.
and bonus, i found a new stash of graphic novels at the state library and have been grabbing everything i can find! so here are the first three of the batch.
i loved reading these and am gaining so much respect and appreciation for graphic novels as a genre. more review bundles to come (i hope!).
Title: Prime Baby
Author: Gene Luen Yang
Published: First Second / 2010
Length: 64 pages
Rating: 9/10
i guess i’m officially a Gene Luen Yang fangirl. i read and loved two of his earlier works, American Born Chinese and The Eternal Smile, so i couldn’t pass this up when i saw it at the library. at a measly 64 pages, Prime Baby is a book you could read standing up in the aisle at your local bookstore or library, but i opted to take it home and savor it a bit.
as expected, the artwork is wonderful, with those telltale yellows and oranges that i’ve come to recognize as Luen Yang’s. the artwork just makes every cartoony moment pop out in such a wonderful way. and the message is again similar, teaching respect and tolerance for those with differences, in this case a baby sister who is either an alien or a genius (or perhaps both). my only wish is that it had been longer!
Title: Ghostopolis
Author: Doug TenNapel
Published: Scholasic / 2010
Length: 267 pages
Rating: 9/10
i had never read anything by Doug TenNapel, but i’m so so glad i picked this up. Ghostopolis is the story of young Garth, who is accidentally taken to the world of the dead by a ghost wrangler (reminiscent of the Ghost Busters). while in the land of the dead, Garth faces evil like he’s never known and must use the magical ghost world abilities he has gained to fight his way back home.
with a fun and quirky cast of characters and beautifully detailed paneling, this dark and fast-paced tale was so much fun to read. it even had a few really touching moments of confrontation with death and love that were unexpected, but very well executed. i’ll definitely be looking for more of TenNapel’s work in the future.
Title: Copper
Author: Kazu Kibuishi
Published: Scholastic / 2010
Length: 95 pages
Rating: 7/10
this isn’t actually a graphic novel, but rather a collection of short comic strips by the author in the order that they were published in a magazine. so, while there is no storyline to follow, the two characters, Copper and his dog Fred, are consistent and it was fun to follow their wild journeys. because of the short length of each piece, there was less depth to the work than you’d find in a true graphic novel, so i found myself wanting more from the characters. but, i don’t think that is the fault of the writer, but just a function of the comic strip genre that i’m not used to.
the artwork was probably among the best i’ve seen in comics and it was clear that Kibuishi goes to great lengths to get every detail perfected. my absolute favorite part of the book, though, was the Behind the Scenes look at the step-by-step process of creating a Copper comic. Kibuishi explains the sketch and inking process, as well as his use of digital processing for color. it was a fascinating inside peak at the life of a graphic artist and it made me appreciate the artwork that much more.
I liked Prime Baby a lot, and enjoy Gene’s work in general. Did you see him when he was one of the special guests for this year’s Celebrate Reading festival back in April?
no, i didn’t. i have a bad habit of missing every good book-related event that comes to town. it’s shameful, really. but, since Gene’s visit was during the semester, i’ll conveniently blame classes for keeping from such awesomeness.
I didn’t know Yang had another graphic novel out. My daughter loves Ghostopolis. She’s probably read it at least seven times in one month. I love Cooper. Kazu Kibuishi can do no wrong in my eyes.
I’m glad to hear bookaday is going well for you. I’m a little behind.
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