“What is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?”
— Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
Follow the kids (and a few brave adults) into that one corner of your favorite chain bookstore: usually well away from literature, shotgun-wedded in next to Sci-Fi, where you’ll find that store’s selection of so-called graphic novels. Regard these colorful tomes! Witness how stoically they suffer their ostracism, how silently they bear the indifference of the average reader all too willing to dismiss them as mere “superhero comics.” Pity the Average Readers! They have no idea what they’re missing.
Bottom line: It’s time. Time you made that rueful trek to the graphic novel section, skulked around a bit and allowed yourself to be amazed by the artistic inventiveness, the narrative skill, of what legendary practitioner Will Eisner dubbed “sequential art”: a tale told in successive panels. You will find artwork to rival any other medium, storytelling as highbrow or lowdown as any purely textual narrative, and everything in between. Every year, it seems, the category grows broader and deeper; able to leap tall preconceptions in a single bound even as it continues to displace the complete hegemony of muscle-bound messiahs in this genre.
Anthologized Ink: Flight, Volume Four, Kazu Kibuishi (Editor)
(Trade Paperback, Villard, $24.95)
Weighing in at over 350 pages, Kazu Kibuishi’s latest anthology is a must-have survey of top graphic novel talents. Since the first Flight took wing in 2004, both artists and fans have conspired to make publication of each edition an eagerly awaited event. For those new to the category, this hefty glossy-paged volume presents an opportunity to slide into the deep end of graphic novel art and storytelling, Flight‘s artists chiming in here with 25 short works. Particular favorites — Dave Roman’s “It’s Dangerous to Sleep,” an ode to purpose-driven insomnia, and a great offering by Pascal Campion, the wordless tale that is “The Storm.” An impressive addition to the series, Flight 4 demonstrates that the real super heroes are the creators of these marvelous works.
Neo-Colonial Ink: The Lost Colony #2: The Red Menace, Grady Klein
(Trade Paperback, First Second, $16.95)
On an island isolated from the rest of colonial America, Lost Colony’s hodgepodge cast of characters keep busy. Maybe too busy. It’s difficult to say if the author had lofty aims for exploring themes of slave trade, racism, capitalism, or the march of technological progress; these themes tend to get blindsided and bludgeoned in his narrative. Interrupted by flashbacks, comic asides, and other narrative debris, Colony often flounders as a tale. The book scores, however, with its artwork, combining bold line work with intricate backgrounds. Klein plays with panel shapes and color schemes across his pages, achieving a distinct look.
Twice-Told Ink: Castle Waiting, Linda Medley (Hardcover, Fantagraphics, $29.95)
Medley’s graphic novel riff on the Sleeping Beauty tale raids central casting for the must-haves: fairy godmothers, evil witches, and ogres. But the bearded ladies? This is called a feminist version of the familiar story and it will keep you turning pages. No tucked-in bedtime story this. Beautiful draftsmanship, character-driven story.
More on the Spilling The Ink blog: spillingtheink.blogspot.com. Comments and book recommendations are always welcome: jon@charlestoncitypaper.com. Thanks for reading. Call your mother now and then.
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