Following his success of Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics with another affirmative and considered guide to comics, Gravett now focuses on the phoenix-like return of the "Graphic Novel" that failed to live up to expectations in the early '90s. However, time has moved on and this book reveals how the medium has evolved dramatically over the past ten years. Gravett's masterstroke is to reproduce at least two full pages of sequential artwork, giving readers a real flavour of each title examined. Annotated notes alongside the artwork explain the material in a manner reminiscent of fine art books. Not only that but the excellent, if initially hard to follow, thematic cross indexing means there are endless ways of making connections between disparate titles such as Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Dystopias) leads to Enkil Bilal's Nikopol Trilogy. Follow another link (Nature) and you get Jiro Taniguchi's The Walking Man. It's a close as the Internet on the page as you'll ever get. This book is perfect for librarians and educationalists looking to broaden their, and their students', knowledge and while many comics aficionados will be familiar with the titles, there are still a few surprises and the chapter openers contain many anecdotal nuggets. A perfect present to convert that literary die-hard who'd have to admit that comics haven't just grown up, but are now entering a self-assured and confident middle-age.
This is a terrific resource for anyone looking to get into comics or a comics fan looking for more reading material. Gravett discusses 100 comics, by such greats as Art Spiegelman, Neil Gaiman, and Daniel Clowes. The book is informative, well-written, and has tons of sample excerpts from various graphic novels. Most importantly, it's a lot of fun to read!
I was looking for something to give me a firm history of this "new" genre of fiction and this proved very useful. The author seems to have a firm understanding of how the reader's eye moves about (especially comic book readers) and keeps his format as true to his subject matter as possible. He allows the reader to skip ahead, and around; dig deep in the subject matter, or theme; run rampant around the page. I couldn't recommend this book more for those who are unfamiliar with graphic novels, aspire to write one, or just plain enjoy the history. I loved the way that the author stuck to mature subject matter/ writers as well.
The Argus (Melbourne,..., Saturday 10 October 1936 Supplement: Week-End Magazine p 39 ... and often has the criticism been I offered that the Dominion exalts sport and neglects the cultural ... pioneering days. But It Is essentially a huirían story, and not a history book hi thin disguise. The ... novel- J 1st. have overlaid their stories with "atmosphere," and Maoris, kauris, and kiwis have been ... 1105 words
The Mercury (Hobart,..., Saturday 20 November 1920 p 6 ... novelsand as graphic as the,illustrated papers. ... tapical history so unallunng and unconvincing. ") know histhry isn't tlirue, Iliiinissy,'' observed Mr. ... ple creed. The dignity of, history is apt to become its pomposity, and "a preserved only too often ... 1205 words
The Argus (Melbourne,..., Saturday 22 April 1939 Supplement: The Argus Week-end Magazine p 21 ... Ltd. novels, because It dealt with the scena which showed the raw emotions of our history. Kingsley ... their own. Idriess, with his graphicand romantic pen, has won for himself in recent years almost a ... literature. In the field of literary criticismand the essay, Australia has a mounting record of ... 696 words