Posts tagged with graphic-novels
I'll pass
I finally watched the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of the French graphic novel series The Killer, written by Alexis "Matz" Nolent and illustrated by Luc Jacamo. It looks... utterly miserable, I gotta be honest. This is why my action movie tastes run in the John Wick direction: if...
The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo, Vol. 1, by Drew Weing
If you are shopping for any middle-grade readers this year, I highly recommend the collected volumes of Drew Weing's webtoon The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo. It boasts all the joys of an 80s kids movie (distracted parents! loads of adventure! legit brushes with danger!), but—thanks to being a comic—no worries about cheesy special effects or wooden acting...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo, Vol. 1, by Drew Weing
Our current Book Giveaway is the first collected volume of Drew Weing's excellent middle-grade webcomic The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo. I sent a copy of this to some 10-year old cousins, but first I read it aloud to my preschool-age kid (with some light editing) and my retirement-age mother, both of whom listened with interest, so suffice to say it appeals to a wide variety of ages. A full review will follow shortly...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Mystery Knight, by George R.R. Martin
This week's Book Giveaway is The Mystery Knight, a graphic novel adaptation of one of the Dunk and Egg novellas from George R. R. Martin’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. (It's a distant prequel to the events in Game of Thrones.) A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 5/15/19...
Sleepless: Vol. 1, by Sarah Vaughn
A few months ago, I asked my local comic shop owner for his honest opinion of the new Books of Magic reboot. (I loved the original series as a kid, but I've been burned before by the various attempts at re-starting it, and my comics budget is not limitless.) He hesitated—clearly, a sale's a sale—but...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Sleepless, by Sarah Vaughn
Our current Book Giveaway pick is the first volume (of a two-book series) of Sarah Vaughn's new graphic novel Sleepless, which combines high fantasy, romance, and A+++ artwork. A full review will follow shortly, and this giveaway will run through 5/10/19...
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Graphic Novel), by Ransom Riggs and Cassandra Jean
I rarely read graphic novel adaptations of popular books, because they never look like the stories do in my head. But I was recently given a copy of the graphic novel version of Ransom Riggs's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and it had two things going for it...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs and Cassandra Jean
This week's Book Giveaway is the graphic novel adaptation of Ransom Riggs's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. (I realize the original version of the book was also pretty graphics-heavy, but apparently someone decided to go all the way.) Again, a full review will follow shortly, and please note: due to a bunch of overdue postings, this giveaway will run through October 12th...
Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip: Vol. 1, by Tove Jansson
In 2006, the Canadian publishing company Drawn & Quarterly released the first volume of Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip. Whoever did the graphic design for these editions deserves a raise: they're vivid and eye-catching, doing full justice to Jansson's art and characters...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip: Vol. 1, by Tove Jansson
We are currently giving away a copy of the first volume of Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip, released in 2006 by the Canadian publishing company Drawn & Quarterly. Even if you're not a Moomin fan, this thing is a triumph of graphic design, and would grace any coffee table in all the land...
Rivers of London: Body Work, by Ben Aaronovitch
Ben Aaronovitch has many of the same strengths and weaknesses as Janet Evanovich: his Rivers of London mysteries rarely make much sense, but they don't need to. His fans read them for the characters, his distinctive sense of humor, and setting, not the cleverly-laid clues...
I don't know about the artwork, though...
Variety recently announced that actresses Kerry Washington and Rashida Jones are joining forces to make a film version of the graphic novel series Goldie Vance. Washington is producing, and Jones will write and direct the adaptation...
Octavia E. Butler's Kindred, adapted by John Jennings and Damian Duffy
Octavia E. Butler's Kindred is a classic for a reason: it's memorable and dramatic and utterly terrifying. And in Damian Duffy and John Jennings's excellent graphic novel adaptation of Kindred, you don't need to imagine the horrors in Butler's novel, you can experience them via full-color illustrations! (The better to keep you up at night.)
Weekly Book Giveaway: Octavia E. Butler's Kindred, adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings
This week's Book Giveaway is Damian Duffy and John Jennings's graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler's 1979 book Kindred. A full review will follow shortly, but take warning: this book literally gave me nightmares.
Comparatively famous
According to Variety, Rosamund Pike is set to star in a film adaptation of Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout, Lauren Redniss’s 2011 nonfiction graphic novel. This movie will feature some big names in the graphic novel world: not only was...
Atmospheric
I've been admiring the trailers for the upcoming Charlize Theron action movie Atomic Blonde, which I just learned is based on a 2012 graphic novel by Antony Johnston called The Coldest City. And I see...
Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye, by Tania del Rio and Will Staehle
Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye is a tribute to three people: Will Staehle, who created the title character, provided the illustrations, and designed the book, Tania del Rio, who wrote the story, and the unknown Quirk Books employee who agreed to publish such a detailed, gorgeous, labor-intensive work...
No thanks.
The Guardian put together a list of the "Top Ten Uncanny Graphic Novels", for those of you with fearless natures, strong stomachs, and lots of disposable income. Their picks are all solid (and include Charles Burns's Black Hole, which I still haven't fully recovered from...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth, by Judd Winick
This week's Book Giveaway is Judd Winick's graphic novel Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth. Winick set out to write an action comic that's 100% all-ages-appropriate, and I want to let him know that my mother (who works in a small, conservative, private school library; the kind of place where she occasionally has to tell kids that their parents won't allow them to check out the Harry Potter books) is...
The Raven's Child, by Thomas E. Sniegoski
Thomas E. Sniegoski's standalone graphic novel The Raven's Child has all the right ingredients for an epic fantasy: an inspiring protagonist, a memorable cast of evildoers, and a detailed, visually striking world...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Raven's Child, by Thomas E. Sniegoski
This week's Book Giveaway is Thomas E. Sniegoski's graphic novel The Raven's Child. I'm pretty excited about this one; the artwork isn't exactly my style*, but Sniegoski is apparently the only writer to work on Jeff Smith's Bone series (apart from Smith himself, obviously)...
Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson
I had good feelings about Noelle Stevenson's Nimona from the first page. I liked the warm colors and distinctive character design, I always enjoy stories about unconventional families, and I instantly fell in love with the title character, who reminded me strongly of an evil-doing Yotsuba. As the book progressed, however, the initial offbeat silliness began to feel like a bait-and-switch...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson
This week's Book Giveaway is Noelle Stevenson's graphic novel Nimona. Admittedly, I picked it because the main character's name and image reminded me of a fantasy version of Ramona Quimby, but you know what? I've chosen plenty of books for stupider reasons. A full review will follow shortly...
Bad Machinery: The Case of the Simple Soul, by John Allison
First up: I know this cover was decided on long before I complained about the overly cutesy packaging featured on the previous two volumes in this series, but I'm taking credit for this eye-popping image anyway. Thanks, Oni Press! And don't worry: that little arsonist is adorable. I'm sure the kids will still want to read alllll about her...
Scary Go Round, by John Allison
If you're looking for a Halloween read this week and you haven't got any money (or a library card, or friends who own books), you're in luck: John Allison's pre-Bad Machinery comic Scary Go Round is available for free online...
A little look-see
NPR is offering readers a sneak peek at Jules Feiffer's upcoming graphic novel Kill My Mother, due out next Tuesday. The story appears to be a play on classic Hollywood film noir, re-imagined via Feiffer's inimitable art style...
Bad Machinery: The Case of the Team Spirit and The Case of the Good Boy, by John Allison
I picked up the first volume of John Allison's Bad Machinery because I kept seeing it described as a spectacular title for children, and I figured: what the hell, I'm pretty childish. But now that I've read every Bad Machinery strip to date, I've decided Allison's publisher is making a mistake by pushing Bad Machinery exclusively at kids—this is a story about children, but that doesn't mean it's best appreciated by children...
Seconds, by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Still riding high from the resounding success of his Scott Pilgrim series, Bryan Lee O'Malley's new standalone graphic novel Seconds is a fantasy/horror/humor hybrid about Katie Clay, a young, talented chef at a popular restaurant. Katie is trying to open a new restaurant (one that she will co-own), but the process is slow, so she's stuck in limbo, hanging around her former kitchen and pestering her ex-employees. When a moment of inattention leads to a waitress being injured...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Seconds, by Bryan Lee O'Malley
This week's Book Giveaway title is Bryan Lee O'Malley's new graphic novel Seconds. People have often suggested that I review O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series, but I couldn't get past the first volume, which opens with the books' 23-year-old protagonist dating a 17-year-old girl...
MetaMaus, by Art Spiegelman
I've had a copy of Art Spiegelman's MetaMaus gathering dust on my to-be-read bookshelf for almost three years now. I have always hesitated to review it, believing that Spiegelman's most devoted fans probably leapt upon it like starving lions the moment it was published, and suspecting that it would be of little interest to anyone else. I still think that's true, frankly, but as more universities and high schools assign Maus in their classrooms, it seems increasingly possible...