New Release: All Summer Long

I was super excited to receive a review copy of Hope Larson's new middle grade graphic novel, All Summer Long. It's the story of Bina and the summer after seventh grade. From her changing friendship with Austin, the boy who has been next door all of her life, to her new opportunity to hang with his older sister, to the things happening within her own family, this is basically a story about how to cope with change. Some things work out well and some things don't in Bina's summer but it all comes together to teach her a bit about growing up.

With super realistic dialogue and simple artwork, this is a book that should speak to young teens for a lot of different reasons. Some will see their friendships with the opposite sex modeled in the one between Bina and Austin. Some will relate to getting that first babysitting job. Others will appreciate that Bina also has a gay older brother that is married and adopting. And lots of kids will relate to finding themselves through popular music.

I'm still building the stack of books to share with my nieces this summer. This will definitely be in it!

Lost in nostalgia,
K

Graphic Readathon Gems

During last weekend's Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon, I chose to read three YA graphic novels that all coincidentally ended up being about diversity, self-acceptance, and friendship. They are all also from the stellar publisher First Second Books (not coincidentally since they're review copies that I received at various times). I highly recommend all three!

The first is a new release -- Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol. This is a semi-autobiographical story based on Brosgol's own childhood as a Russian immigrant in the U.S. Vera has trouble finding her place with her American peers and thinks that the Russian camp that a fellow Orthodox churchgoer attends will be the place that she finally feels at home. Of course, things don't go quite as expected and Vera has to decide if she wants to be popular or be herself.

The second is also from this year and it is The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang. This one tells of Frances, a young but up-and coming dressmaker and designer who gains a very influential but secretive customer -- Prince Sebastian, who ventures out at night in his mother's cast-off dresses and a wig -- the clothing in which he feels most comfortable. Once he hires Frances, he creates his Lady Crystallia persona and gains confidence because he is clothed in such beautiful dresses. Of course, obstacles come up that threaten the happiness of both characters and so we must watch as they go through both the good and bad consequences of being different.

American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang, is from 2006 and it begins as three separate stories--one modern, one ancient, and one seemingly fictional--that come together to provide a story about accepting oneself as a member of multiple cultures.

Each of these stories left me feeling like I understood someone a bit better and, through that, would be able to more easily consider other people's stories in the future. And, as some of the biggest challenges facing our nation right now are due to the intolerance shown by those who are unable to understand or consider the stories of others, be they different in lifestyle or culture, it is essential to get books like these into the hands of young readers. I will be setting them out for my teenaged son and nieces to explore this summer.

Still growing and learning,
K

A Big Stack of Books - Fantasy and Sci-Fi Edition

Still working on that big stack I mentioned last time. Here are some of the recent-ish fantasy and sci-fi books I've enjoyed!

A lovely friend put this book, Lightless by C.A. Higgins, in my hands and told me I had to read it. I picked up the sequel at the same time based on the cool-sounding premise -- a state-of-the-art space vessel with an artificial intelligence and a scientist/mechanic who cares for her, even when faced with sabotage, terrorists, and an evil government interrogator. I don't read tons of straight-up science fiction but I would read a lot more if it was all like this! It was tense and exciting and so smart without trying to prove it's smart, if you know what I mean.

Ghost Train to New Orleans is the sequel to Mur Lafferty's The Shambling Guide to New York City and it was just as fun as the first book. Zoë and her colleagues head to New Orleans to write their second Shambling Guide and from the moment they board the ghost train, everything changes for Zoë. Luckily, everything is happening is a gorgeous, supernatural New Orleans where there are parties and beignets and plenty of things to hide from. I wish there were more books in the series because she mentions heading to London next!

I told you I wouldn't be able to wait very long before reading my next Company book and here I am, already done with The Life of the World to Come. This one brings together two of my favorite characters in an unexpected plot twist that has been building over a few of the books. I loved the way it was done and I loved this book. I totally understand why people love rereading this series because you become really invested in the lives of these not-quite-humans.

And yes, I read Monstress: Volume One - Awakening by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda. It has an incredible story and the artwork is amazing. It had a feeling of familiarity even though there was nothing in it that I had ever seen before. I'm really looking forward to the next trade (which just came out a couple of weeks ago).

From space to eternity,
K

Friends With Boys

One of the graphic novels that I enjoyed the most this past Readathon was Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks. Maggie, the lovely girl on the cover, is the youngest of four kids. Just like her three older brothers, she was homeschooled until high school by her mom. The difference now is that her mother, finally done with raising her kids, has gone away to live her own life. So Maggie starts high school with no friends, a police chief father, and, well, a ghost lady from the nearby graveyard as her protector.

This was just such a great story. There were parts with no words that didn't need them --

because Maggie's face was so expressive. There were parts of the story that were so perfectly high school --

like the random enthusiasm of Lucy for this old museum piece. There was the hint of supernatural stuff, which I love, but most of it was honest emotion and high school-type happenings. I rarely reread graphic novels but this is one that I'm already looking forward to revisiting later.

Making a new book friend,
K

Spill Zone and Decelerate Blue, or YA Dystopian Graphic Novels Are Harsh

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you saw that I read a nice stack of graphic novels and comics during this last Saturday's 24-Hour Readathon. Two of them were dystopians and they've both stuck with me for days.

Scott Westerfeld and Alex Puvilland have created Spill Zone, which actually comes out today from First Second. It's about Addison and her little sister Lexa, two of the survivors of a horrible something that happened in Poughkeepsie, New York. They now live alone/together in a cordoned-off area just outside the abandoned not-exactly-a-ghost-town. Lexa doesn't speak and Addison financially supports them by sneaking back into town and taking pictures of the derelict buildings and frightful creatures -- but never the people who have been left behind, the ones who hang almost-lifeless in the air with creepily glowing eyes.

In a time where we now have to face the possible prospect of nuclear war, a town that has been destroyed by some sort of bizarre radioactive substance is not the easiest subject to read about. But Addison's story is compelling, Lexa's is perplexing, and this book definitely will leave readers yearning to know what happens next. I did have to tell Z (almost 13) that he couldn't read this book. He asked if it was because of blood but, no, it was because of the super high amount of foul language. It seemed entirely appropriate for the plot and the characters but it's not something I would put in front of a tween or younger teen. This one definitely skews older YA or adult even.

A few weeks ago I got a surprise package from First Second with YA graphic novels in it. One of them was Decelerate Blue by Adam Rapp and Mike Cavallaro, a beautiful book with blue edges and black and white art. It's about a future where nothing matters but speed and brevity. All food is preprocessed, all books and films are condensed. Even language is as brief as possible. Lives are run by a corporation and, as you can guess, not everyone is thrilled about this. Angela is only in high school but she already knows that this life isn't for her. She wants something different and she finds it by accident when she stumbles into the lair of the resistance.

The beginning of this book seriously had me stressed! The frantic conversations, each sentence of which ends with the word "Go", made me feel rushed and irritated. Angela's frustrations came through clearly, as did her immediate relief once she found the resistance. The ending was heartbreaking but the ultimate message of appreciating each moment balanced that out somewhat. As some of us participate in small rebellions and resistances of our own these days, this book seems particularly relevant.

Speaking up today to keep these from being our tomorrows,

K

Books That I've Read Lately But Haven't Reviewed Because They Were Weird

My stack of books to review has been sitting here a while and I keep picking up books from it and then setting them back down and I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized ... it's because they're weird.

I got Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia from the library because Jenny raved about it. This book about high school musicians at a statewide event at a big old hotel (The Bellweather) who get snowed in was full of ups and downs. There was a suicide mystery and that was totally not the main point of the book at all. The point was all of the strange people that it skipped between -- the aged concierge, the twins (chorus and bassoon), the Scottish conductor that is missing fingers,and the music teacher/chaperone who is severely damaged because of the harridan mother/musician/teacher. All of the people were interesting but they were also just all so ... crazy. I had lots of feelings during the book but I can't figure out what exactly to say about them. Was the book good? Yes-ish. It was weird.

Mendoza in Hollywood is the third in Kage Baker's Company series. Mendoza is sent to the hills of what will eventually be Hollywood in a time before Los Angeles even exists. She stays in a roadside inn with a few other immortal cyborgs, one of whom is obsessed with early cinema. So, this story is really just a lot of California history and some very long passages where the group sits and watches a classic silent film and the reader gets a scene by scene walkthrough of it. Very little actually happens except for a weird time glitch that is pushed off to be explained at a later time. I did however love the California history as I am actually a 5th generation Californian and my great-great-grandfather was a main figure in making Los Angeles habitable. So, it was the history of a region that is literally in my blood. But there was the lack of actual story and the really LONG film parts, so this wasn't my favorite Company novel but I still liked it quite a bit. But, well, it was weird too.

Elijah's Mermaid by Essie Fox has probably been sitting on my review pile the longest. I really liked Fox's first book The Somnambulist but this one didn't really work for me. It's got artists and prostitutes and families but they are all broken and creepy. But if you liked The Crimson Petal and the White (which I didn't) you will probably like this one. I felt the same about both, that some parts were just too gratuitous for my tastes. And, well, some things in this book were just weird.

And finally there is Penny Dora and the Wishing Box, a graphic novel for tweens. Penny finds a mysterious Christmas present left on her front porch and it turns out to be a box that grants wishes. Penny makes the mistake of showing it to her best friend and that horrid friend "borrows" it and goes all megalomaniac with it, eventually making Penny her servant. The friend was seriously awful, the art was sometimes, well, not good, and this story was not the magical tale I was expecting. It was super weird and negative.

Is there a book sitting on your review stack that you just aren't sure how to review?

Clearing the weird,
K

Manga Classics: Great Expectations

I read this Manga Classics version of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations back at the beginning of May but, because it reads from the back, it ended up on my review stack without the spine showing and I completely forgot about it!

I was super curious about this one when I was offered a review copy and luckily it didn't disappoint. I'm not sure that it would be a good starting point for readers completely unfamiliar with the story because it cuts a bunch out and skips around but, for fans of the original, I think this is a great companion book. It takes some of the most interesting parts of the classic tale and gives them life. If you would like to see a preview of the art and story, visit the catalog website. I particularly liked revisiting the relationship between Pip and Joe Gargery and I loved the way that Miss Havisham was drawn, beautiful but broken.

Some of the other Manga Classics titles are Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Les Misérables, and the one I think I will look for next, Jane Eyre. I would also love to see them tackle Wilkie Collins at some point!

Enjoying a different view,
K

Comics February - Edward Scissorhands

Since everyone else was reading comics and graphic novels this month for Comics February, I picked up the one trade book that I had sitting on my TBR shelf, Edward Scissorhands, Volume 1: Parts Unknown, written by Kate Leth and drawn by Drew Rausch. The story in this takes place after Kim dies of old age. Her granddaughter has always believed her version of things, namely that Edward was a gentle soul and not a murderer. She finds Edward up in his home having a bit of a crisis -- he has brought back to life one of the Professor's failed experiments and it has turned out to be quite evil.

I really liked the story in this volume. Edward's innocence and tentativeness came through even in this format. I also liked the artwork for the most part except that I don't quite like how Rausch draws faces (everyone is ugly and/or making ugly faces) and a few of the panels were hard to decipher. But he has just enough Tim Burton in there to make it appealing and I did like his artwork more than almost all of the alternate covers that were included in the back.

Volume 2 came out last October so I'll be picking it up sometime soon!

Sharpening my comics reading skills,
K

Reading for Fun: Bravest Warriors and More

I have a lovely stack of books here to review and lots sitting around that I "need" to read but I have been feeling lately (especially since the end of the RIP season) like reading hasn't been completely fun and that's no good. So, yesterday I set aside everything and grabbed some graphic novels off of Z's shelf.

In the last 24 hours I read the first two volumes of Bravest Warriors, based on the cartoon series created by Pendleton Ward of Adventure Time fame. I also watched the first two episodes of the web series because, well, this is just a fun story! There are four "brave warriors" -- Beth, Chris, Wallow, and Danny ... well, five if you count their friend Plum who is with them a lot -- and they have space adventures, focusing on friendship, feelings, bazookas, and a little bit of kissing. They're all surprisingly complex characters and the stories are anything but straight-forward. There are also these little asides at the bottom of most of the pages that are random literature and pop-culture references and it's really fun to recognize some of them. I'm definitely going to buy more volumes for Z (I think the 6th volume is coming out in February) and keep watching the series on Cartoon Hangover on YouTube. It's definitely brain candy!

I can't believe I gave these to Z without reading them myself -- not for content but because I missed out on a fun story by just handing them over to him. So, this leads to ...

The fabulous Andi is hosting a Read My Own Damn Books event next year and I'm going to join her. Since we get to make up our own rules, here are mine --

1. Read and/or reread 80+ books from Z and my shelves and my TBR (which is at 163 before any books I receive over the holidays). This probably won't even cut my TBR in half because I'll add some of Z's books and do some long-overdue rereads of favorites but this will at least get me below 100 again and that will feel nice.
2. Choose FUN books! I want 2016 to be a year of fun reading. I want to feel excited about every book I pick up.

That's it. I will still have 22 "required" books for the 100 Chapter Books project and I likely won't love all of them but I do love the project so that will be enough. Otherwise, I'm going to severely limit review copies and read-alongs to stick to these rules. Obviously DWJ March, OUAT, and RIP are still happening because that's when I get to do some of my happiest reading. Honestly, this is feeling like a really great thing for me right now and hopefully, as I feel better about what I'm reading, my blogging mojo will return as well!

Putting the fun back in reading,
K

RIP X: 6, Beautiful Darkness

I am honestly traumatized after reading Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann & Kerascoët. It pairs cuteness and horror into one really uncomfortable read. I am not usually a big fan of horror but dislike it even more when it involves children or toys or anything similar. This had it all.

I mean, this is the heroine, Aurora -- wearing a bloody mouse skin. You don't even want to know where she came from. And the others who came with her aren't exactly paragons of virtue and kindness. Nope.

I'll leave the rest for you to discover ... if you want to.

Or you could look at this instead ...

Photo by @amivitale #onassignment for @natgeo. Even pandas have Monday mornings! A day at the "office" for a newborn giant panda means being weighed every day at the Bifengxia Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in Sichuan Province, China. Baby pandas grow fast and their keepers work hard to ensure they are healthy and happy. @ipandacam @natgeo @natgeocreative @thephotosociety @nikonusa #pandas #bifengxia #sichuan #conservation #natureisspeaking #china #animals #wildlife #photooftheday #photography #nature #seetheworld #nikonnofilter #nofilter #nikon #d4s #nikonambassador #photojournalism #amivitale #🐼

A photo posted by Ami Vitale (@amivitale) on Sep 28, 2015 at 3:13pm PDT

Cleansing the palate,
K

New Release: Nimona

I've been a bad blogger lately but a good reader! I have had so many stellar reads lately, starting with Nimona by Noelle Stevenson.

Ballister Blackheart is the local baddie, appointed by the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics. One day, young Nimona shows up at his lair, declaring herself to be his new sidekick. Where she is from and what she is up to is to be determined. What we know right from the start though is that she is truly exceptional.

Nimona was originally a webcomic and this is the compilation. It's gotten rave reviews and all of them are well deserved. This is a story with complexity, heart, and humor. It goes in unexpected directions but, for a fantasy story, is incredibly well grounded in real human relations. It has diversity, ambiguity, and a unique style. If you haven't yet tried graphic novels or if you haven't found one that you loved yet, this might just be the one to get you hooked!

Redefining good and evil,
K

Four Recent Reads That I Loved

I read some great books over the past couple of months. In no particular order they are

First up, I read Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier when we were in Kauai. I hadn't read any du Maurier in years but this was just as good as Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel. It's quite gothic with brooding good guys and equally brooding evil ones. It definitely put me in the mood for rereads too!

I wanted to read Andy Weir's The Martian before the upcoming movie but had to wait for hubby to read it first since I technically bought it for him. (I'm sure I'm not the only one who does that!) It was a super compelling read and I loved Mark Watney. Now I can finally watch that movie teaser trailer!

After devouring all of the volumes of Scott Pilgrim this spring, it was time to read Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley. This was a super awesome story about second chances and unintended consequences.

I don't know why I finally gave in and read my last unread Gaiman but Anansi Boys called to me and I couldn't resist. It was as good as expected with great characters and mythology. But now I am without a Gaiman on my TBR shelf. I guess now he just has to hurry up and write something new!

Are any of these books on your favorites list?

Filling the keeper shelves,
K

RIP IX: The Truth Is in the Graveyard

Neil Gaiman kindly obliged me this RIP season by having some nice new books out to enjoy.

First, there was The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains. This is an illustrated version of a short story that was published in the collection Stories a couple of years ago. I liked but didn't love the story when I read it before but, whether it was because this was a second read or because of the illustrations, I liked it more this time through. Some things that passed me by the first time were made clearer. The illustrations by Eddie Campbell were, in some cases, just as telling as the words themselves. In fact, the subtitle of the book is "A Tale of Travel and Darkness with Pictures of All Kinds". The illustrations aren't black and white but they are realistic and, when necessary, dark. I'm glad that I picked this one up and gave the story another chance.

And, as soon as I saw that there were going to be graphic novel versions of The Graveyard Book, I got very, very excited. I bought the first one for read-a-thon and then Chris said he already had the second volume too so I bought that as well. I read both of them in the middle of the day and, honestly, rushed through them too quickly to really appreciate them. Still, I thought they were fantastic. Each chapter is done by a different illustrator and they each bring something different to the story. I liked some of the styles more than others but didn't hate any of them. The thing I was least ready for was the fact that by turning this story into a graphic one, it is no longer a children's story. In my opinion, these were made for adults, bringing the story to another audience. I can't wait to reread them and to pay more attention to the details.

The final new Gaiman of the month isn't being released until October 28 so I might not actually get to it until the beginning of November. It's a graphic retelling of Hansel and Gretel, illustrated by Lorenzo Mattotti and put out by Toon Books. I'm curious to see what they do with this well-known tale.

Gaga for Gaiman,
K

RIP Reads 13 & 14: Spooks in Other Formats

During read-a-thon, I tried out the first volume of the Grimm graphic novel, based on the NBC television show. I'm a pretty big fan of the show and had been missing it all summer long so I was hoping for a fun read. And, while this collection was a bit repetitive (they didn't edit out recaps between issues when combining them for this book), the story was indeed fun and the characters were exactly like their television counterparts. If you don't watch the tv series, I think there was still enough character introduction at the beginning that you wouldn't be lost but I do think that this will likely be more interesting for existing fans.

I also wanted to grab an audiobook for the read-a-thon but, while I didn't get to it during that day, I didn't want to miss this chance to get more familiar with Ray Bradbury through The Halloween Tree. I listened to it over the past week or so and really enjoyed this tale that is part history lesson about the cultural origins of Halloween and also a harrowing tale of a young group of friends that must rescue one of their own. I did have to rewind and re-listen at one point after one small idea by Bradbury sent me off on a thought tangent about gods for about five minutes! His word choice is amazing and the flow of his prose is magical. As for the narrator, I thought Bronson Pinchot was engaging and easy to listen to but sometimes his kid voices were a little whiny.

Here's a preview clip for the 1992 Hanna-Barbera animated film version. It looks like the drama has been ramped up a bit!


Enjoying Halloween in many ways, K

New Release: The 13-Story Treehouse

For the first time, Z has read an entire book to me at bedtime -- The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths, illustrated by Terry Denton. This amusing illustrated novel out of Australia is full of penguins, monkeys, catnarys (you'll have to read to find out about them!), a sea monster and even a giant gorilla. And who could ever resist a treehouse with every awesome feature imaginable?

The trailer can do much better than I can to show you all that this book (and treehouse) has to offer --


Z absolutely loved this book, sometimes reading me three chapters a night! We laughed out loud constantly and had a fun time following the increasingly ridiculous plot. And though there was a bit of burping (and a brief monkey poo mention), this book managed to be funny without resorting to over-the-top bathroom humor as so many other series seem to do these days. And apparently there will be a sequel next year -- The 26-Story Treehouse!
Dreaming of marshmallow machines, K and Z

RIP VII Reads #10 & 11: The Sandman Volumes 1 & 2

During Read-a-Thon, I decided to finally start one of the few Neil Gaiman works that I hadn't read yet -- The Sandman graphic novels. It's somewhat strange to experience the work of a beloved artist in another medium. I mean, I've seen Mirrormask, Stardust and Coraline but those were interpreted and fleshed out by other people. I'm not sure if I'm making sense but these collections, even with various artists through the different issues, felt more like the essence of Gaiman -- his pacing, his words.

So far, Volume 1: Preludes & Nocturnes and Volume 2: The Doll's House are part of a continuing story -- the story of Morpheus' capture, confinement, escape and restoration to power as Lord of the Dream World. As you can expect from Gaiman, some parts of the story are beautiful and lyrical, others are shockingly dark and demented. The graphic aspect of some of it was quite uncomfortable to read but then, quick as a flash, the scene would be over and done with, Gaiman and The Dream King leading you on to another more pleasant illusion.

I'm definitely curious enough to keep reading this series. I've heard that it gets better and better as it goes along and I'm already entranced by Morpheus and intrigued by his sister, Death. Also, I feel like I won't fully "know" one of my favorite authors without reading it all. I'll probably only make it through once but it will be a journey worth taking.

Hoping the bedbugs don't bite,

K

"Go Tesla!" "Go Science!"

Yes, that is Nikola Tesla with two lightning-shooting guns and some stylish goggles, flanked by his assistant Tim and being goaded on by the one and only Mark Twain. The Five Fists of Science is a short graphic novel, written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Steven Sanders. With an irresistible title, this was an impulse buy at our local comic shop. And while it had some laugh-out-loud moments, cool technology and a truly wicked Thomas Edison (as we all know he is, the damn elephant murderer), I wasn't entirely sold on this one.

Pairing Tesla, Twain and the Baroness Bertha von Suttner as a team united against the evil forces of J.P. Morgan, Edison, Guglielmo Marconi and Andrew Carnegie is a fun idea. While Tesla's team believes in science (and in Twain's case, a bit of showmanship), Morgan is relying on black magic and mythical creatures to gain power. Which will win?

Some of the dialogue in this book is hilarious and some of the art is inspiring. But then there are other times when some of the dialogue is repetitive and some of the art is a bit too dark to decipher. But, with a giant robot that works like Big O and looks like the Iron Giant, there's enough to enjoy in the book to make it worth reading for fans of science and/or steampunk. A fair warning, though, there is a decent amount of profanity and some blood in the book -- and more than enough New Jersey jokes.

I chose to add this to my reading list at the last minute because of Carl's 2012 Science Fiction Experience. It's my first time participating which, honestly, doesn't make much sense. Usually I protest "well, I just don't read science fiction very much" but then I went to my TBR and was able to pull this right off the top of a stack. So, with this and my upcoming review of Connie Willis' Blackout and All Clear, I guess I will officially be joining this annual event. It feels nice to come out of the sci-fi closet!

Getting my geek on,
K

Graphic Retellings of Classic Stories

I'm starting to think that I might not really be a fan of graphic novels made from classic stories. I seem to find them to be okay but never awesome, never improving on the experience of reading the original. I felt this way about The Picture of Dorian Gray graphic novel that I read last fall and now a graphic version of The Wizard of Oz that I read last week. I appreciated that this book was based on the original novel rather than the well-known movie. And I do think it could be a good stepping stone for children who might only be familiar with the film's version of things (for example, the ruby slippers). But I think it pales in comparison with L. Frank Baum's wonderful storytelling. I simply finished the book and wanted to go read the original -- to experience the full range of emotions that the novel portrays and not just a few brief action scenes.

Have you read any graphic novel versions of classic stories? What are your thoughts on them? Do you have any suggestions for me of one that you thought was well done?

Pondering the magic of the original story,
K

RIP Read #2 and RIP Film #1: Dorian Gray

As a big fan of Oscar Wilde's story The Picture of Dorian Gray and the 1945 film version, I thought I would join the 21st century this year and change up the formats in which I experienced the story for the RIP Challenge this year.

First, I read the graphic novel version, "written" by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Sebastian Fiumara.  This is part of the Marvel Illustrated series of classics retold in graphic versions.  Lest you worry, this is from Thomas' introduction:

Since our aim was to tell Wilde's story, in the author's own words wherever possible, I was loath to put words into the mouths of his characters.

I think that Thomas definitely did a great job of this.  Wilde's humor and cynicism shows through on every page and Fiumara's skilled and reserved illustrations are a fantastic companion.  And yet, this is still a graphic novel and I had to chuckle when seeing such things as "BLAMM" and "SHUNK" in the middle of Wilde's story.  I think this would be a good introduction to the story for someone that is a bit wary of Victorian language.  It contains a four page glossary at the back of possibly unfamiliar words like brougham and pomander.  It is also lacking in Wilde's long passages of philosophy which might appeal to some readers wanting to just explore the plot of the story.  This (and others in the Marvel Illustrated series) might even be a good start for someone wanting to explore graphic novels but who is not sure how to make the leap from standard literature without landing in comic book territory.

Next, I watched the recent film version of Dorian Gray which was finally released on DVD here in the U.S. a couple of weeks ago.  It stars Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian) as Dorian Gray and Colin Firth as Lord Henry Wotton.

As you could probably guess would happen, this was a ridiculously sensationalized version of the story with uncountable plot and character changes.  As always, Firth was fantastic in his role (just as wonderful as George Sanders in 1945) but Barnes just wasn't able to surpass Hurd Hatfield's amazing performance in the old film.  And the plot changes seemed unnecessary in some parts and ridiculous in others.  An added character even changed Dorian's final attempts at redemption into just another selfish act.  I was quite disappointed in this film overall.

And as a side question -- why is gratuitous violence more acceptable to film audiences than nudity?  This film is full of fight scenes and murders or attempted murders and yet barely shows any nudity, though sex was implied to be the bulk of Dorian's sins against others.  It was just incredibly unbalanced and, as I am not a fan of violent scenes, it really made me lose almost any interest in this film.  It turned the story into something it was never meant to be and was disappointing.

If this was a Book v. Movie post, I would definitely say "avoid the film but look for the graphic novel if you're into them or thinking about trying one out".

As sparkly clean on the outside as in,
K


Support our site and buy The Picture of Dorian Gray (Marvel Illustrated) on Amazon or find it at your local library.  We bought our own copy.

My First Manga

Tanabata at In Spring it is the Dawn has started a new challenge whose purpose is to introduce world readers to the culture of Japan. It's called Hello Japan! and consists of a monthly task. Here's the one for October --

The task this month is to read or watch something scary, spooky, or suspenseful, and Japanese of course! You can read a book (for those that like to multi-task, remember that a Japanese spooky read would also count for both the R.I.P. IV Challenge and the Japanese Literature Challenge 3!), but if you don't have time this month for a whole book you can read a short story, a ghostly folktale (there are some available to read online, see below), or a manga. Or you could watch a movie, or an anime.

I was searching through Netflix looking for a J-horror film but then decided to be a little more bold and try my first manga. I looked through some review sites and finally found one that looked interesting to me, The Cain Saga: Forgotten Juliet. Here's the brief description on Amazon --

Born under an evil moon harboring dark secrets, Earl Cain C. Hargreaves, the youthful heir of the aristocratic Hargreaves family, is a man on a quest to find the truth about his family's past. Written in dark, harrowing episodes, The Cain Saga chronicles how Cain solves the strange crimes that seem to plague his cursed existence, yet somehow bring him closer to deciphering the puzzling circumstances surrounding his father's tragic death.

Five gripping stories of love, friendship and betrayal--"Forgotten Juliet," "Branded Bibi," "The Youths Who Stopped Time," "Double," and "The Death of Cleo"--comprise this poignant first installment of Kaori Yuki's hit gothic manga series. Gothic fans will be left in awe long after this series has ended!

This is the start of a prequel series to the Godchild series by Kaori Yuki. She is apparently rather private although she has brief "letters" to her fans throughout her work that explain some of her influences like Twin Peaks, Young Sherlock Holmes and Dead Poets' Society. Funnily, I recognized some of these references and styles and was quite amused by them. The stories were all short but well fleshed-out and entertaining.

The hardest part of this reading was of course getting used to the right-to-left style. Also, I had trouble keeping track of characters because of changes in appearance. Still, I enjoyed reading these stories and am somewhat curious about the main series. Cain seems to be somewhat typical of the handsome loner that you see in other Japanese animation -- like Roger Smith in Big O. The husband and I used to watch a lot of Japanese series but it really is a different experience in print.

Since this read was mostly about learning more about Japan, I also went and read a bit about manga. This image is the kanji (Chinese characters) for manga and the word translates to "whimsical pictures". Most manga are in black-and-white and the artist of the manga is called the mangaka. Modern manga started showing up after World War II and incorporates both traditional Japanese themes and many American influences that came to Japan during the Occupation. You can find a manga about almost any topic or genre and just like graphic novels, many are written specifically for an adult audience. There are words designating whether the target audience is girls (shōjo manga), younger males (shōnen manga) or adult males (seinen manga). Some popular manga series in the U.S. are Sailor Moon, Ghost in the Shell and Akira -- though most Americans know these better as animated series and movies or anime.

I am going to count this one as another read for the R.I.P. Challenge. This little book had it all -- a poisoning, a stabbing, a shooting, an axe attack, a supernatural anti-aging potion and revenge, lots and lots of revenge. It was interesting to see these stories come to life through the illustrations. Since this manga was in black and white, it wasn't gory or anything but the faces of the characters were certainly expressive. Also, the text helped to fill in some of the details like in the story with the green poison. Yuri is a talented artist!

Using someone else's imagination for a bit,
K


Support our site and buy Forgotten Juliet (Cain Saga, Book 1) on Amazon or find it at your local library. We borrowed this book from the library.