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| TERRY LaBAN |
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LOVE'S
NOT A THREE DOLLAR FARE
More Stories from "Unsupervised
Existance" |
| by Terry LaBan |
Paperback: 128 pages
Fantagraphics Books
ISBN: 1560971657 |
$14.95
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From
Booklist , March 15, 1995
Now
that alternative comix artist LaBan's Cud is firmly established, his former
publisher, Fantagraphics, collects from his earlier magazine, Tales of
Unsupervised Existence, these stories about a circle of overeducated, underemployed
twentysomethings. |
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| LaBan's
current work is sharper and more outrageous than these stories, which are
gentler slice-of-life tales centered mostly on Danny, a cabbie and unpublished
poet, and commitment-shy, perpetually job-hunting Suzy, his girlfriend,
as they ponder such issues as monogamy, poverty, and uncooperative landlords.
The ambience is more latter-day hippie than Generation X slacker (the latter's
been pretty much sewn up for comix by LaBan's Fantagraphics stablemate,
Peter Bagge, anyway). Unfortunately, the collection ends at a turning point
for the couple that coincided with Unsupervised Existence's cancellation.
Would it have been too much to ask LaBan for a new story resolving the
situation? It would have made this a more satisfying package. Still, it's
impressive to see LaBan's graphic and storytelling techniques sharpen over
the six years during which this stuff was published.
Gordon
Flagg
Copyright
© 1995, American Library Association. All rights reserved.
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| JOE
SACCO |
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PALESTINE |
by Joe Sacco
Introduction by Edward Said |
Paperback: 288 pages
Fantagraphics Books
ISBN: 156097432X |
$24.95
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Art Spiegelman,
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Maus
[Sacco's] obviously got
the calling. His stuff is obviously well wrought, with dizzying pages and
good rhythm.
The Journal of Palestinian
Studies
Palestine deserves a place
among the very best of documentary. |
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Nasseer H.
Azuri, Professor of Political Science, The University of Massachusetts
Dartmouth
Sacco's Palestine brilliantly
and poignantly captures the essence of life under a repressive and prolonged
occupation.
The Comics Journal #166,
Frank Stack, February 1994
I may as well get right
to the point. Buy and read Joe Sacco's...Palestine.
Book Description
Fantagraphics Books is pleased
to present, for the first time, a single-volume collection of this 288-page
landmark of journalism and the artform of comics. Interest in Sacoo has
never been higher than with the release of his critically acclaimed book,
Safe Area Gorazde.
Based on several months of
research and an extended visit to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the early
1990s (where he conducted over 100 interviews with Palestinians and Jews),
Palestine was the first major comics work of political and historical nonfiction
by Sacco, who has often been called the first comic book journalist.
Sacco's insightful reportage
takes place at the front lines, where busy marketplaces are spoiled by
shootings and tear gas, soldiers beat civilians with reckless abandon,
and roadblocks go up before reporters can leave. Sacco interviewed and
encountered prisoners, refugees, protesters, wounded children, farmers
who had lost their land, and families who had been torn apart by the Palestinian
conflict.
In 1996, the Before Columbus
Foundation awarded Palestine the seventeenth annual American Book Award,
stating that the author should be recognized for his "outstanding contribution
to American literature," while his publisher, Fantagraphics, is "to be
honored for their commitment to quality and their willingness to take risks
that accompany publishing outstanding books and authors that may not prove
'cost-effective' in the short run."
This new edition of Palestine
also features a new introduction from renowned author, critic, and historian
Edward Said, author of Peace and Its Discontents and The Question of Palestine
and one of the world's most respected authorities on the Middle Eastern
conflict.
About the Author
Joe Sacco lives in Queens,
New York. In April, he received a 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship to work on
his next project. |
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| LEWIS TRONDHEIM |
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HARUM
SCARUM
The Spiffy Adventures of McConey
Volume One |
| by Lewis Trondheim |
Paperback: 48 pages
Fantagraphics Books
ISBN: 1560972882 |
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$10.95
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| It is impossible
not to love the hysterical monster mystery Harum Scarum. The plot is well
thought out, and the characters--a police detective dog, a wise-cracking
reporter cat, and an innocent-bystander bunny--are utterly enjoyable. The
bunny's school pal asks him to stop by the pal's father's place and to
bring along a journalist. Imagine the surprise of the bunny and the journalist
when they find a monster in the apartment! |
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get wrapped up in police cover-ups, communist terrorists, and a mad scientist's
plan to cleanse the world. Lewis Trondheim's gift of comics storytelling
really shows through when you read a scene in which one of the characters
explains a trick or a trap, and you can go back a few panels and see the
whole thing perfectly set up, wondering all the while how you could have
missed it. And Trondheim's ability to have his character's dialogue devolve
into petty discourses about trivial matters such as the "niceties of tipping
and the exact location of the jugular vein" is a true joy. |
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| LEWIS TRONDHEIM |
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The
Spiffy Adventures of McConey
THE
HOODOODAD |
| by Lewis Trondheim |
Paperback: 48 pages
Fantagraphics Books
ISBN: 1560973382 |
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$10.95
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From School
Library Journal
McConey, who looks like
a well-dressed pink rabbit, is the voice of reason and sagacity among his
friends, the closest of whom is a superstitious and puerile alley cat garbed
like a retro hood. Their adventures in the series opener, Harum Scarum,
revolve around magic powders that can turn the city's population (all of
whom are animals) into self-destructing monsters. |
| In The Hoodoodad,
a cursed stone is at the crux of the action. The beautifully colored drawings,
which show a terrific range of facial expressions and architectural details,
along with the anthropomorphic characters, belie the fact that McConey's
adventures really are best suited to mature readers. High school-aged boys,
especially, will enjoy the frank machismo informing many of the exploits
and the realistically foul language of Richie, the alley cat. The depictions
are never truly gruesome or carnal; even the shootouts in Harum Scarum
are no more graphic than Saturday-morning cartoons. Both books will be
popular additions to collections serving teens.
Francisca
Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright 1999 Cahners
Business Information, Inc.
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