Category: Graphic Fantastic

Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, has fallen on hard times. She needs one more big score so that she can finally retire as a cat burgler and just watch her assets accumulate interest. So when her old Gotham City pawnshop pal Swifty hooks her up with an Afro-ed-out-to-there sister-friend who’s ready to give up the goods on her Italian Mafioso boyfriend, she knows she’s found the perfect score. But she’ll still need a little help from her friends, namely a grizzled, cranky ex-lover named Stark, a tall, dark and handsome charmer named Jeff, and strangely enough, a hard-boiled detective on the right side of the law named Slam. These three guys will all end up not just falling under Selina’s spell, but taking the fall for her when the gig goes all wrong and the Cat is left holding the bag. Brought to vivid life in blocky, 50’s-looking beatnik art, Selina is stunning, smart, and gratefully, not ridiculously busty. Besides being a terrific crime saga, Selina’s Big Score is such a beautiful piece of work that you’ll want to own the hardcover.

Rose Red is missing, possibly dead. But don’t worry, the Big Bad Wolf is on the case, assisted by deputy major of Fabletown, Snow White (acting in Old King Cole’s stead). The usual suspects include the wily Bluebeard, that rascal Jack the Giant Killer, and even Snow herself. After all, Snow White and Rose Red were not the closest of sisters after Red slept with Prince Charming, which caused their bitter divorce. Talk about a fractured fairy tale! Twisting the fairy tale archetype until it screams, Willingham gives us a wonderfully inventive, grown-up version of all our childhood favorites. Clever, clever, clever. (And special thanks to Robin Brenner, the fabulous webmistress of the groovy GN website No Flying No Tights for pointing this one out to me!)

Who is Wolverine? Literally the greatest mysteries in comics, Wolverine’s origins have always been shrouded in secrecy. But Marvel finally decided to reveal where the wolfish man with the heart of gold came from, under great controversy and consternation. The result is beautifully digitally painted graphic novel about a little boy who lost his parents under horrifically violent circumstances. Traveling under a different name with his beloved childhood nanny, young Wolverine begins to feel the effects of his superhuman strength as he tries to make his way at a mining camp in the frozen Yukon Territory. But his past will catch up with him in a way he couldn’t even be able to imagine, and this time, Logan won’t be able to keep his claws from coming out. A compilation of the material originally published as a serial, Origin is a gorgeous GN, full of rich art and gory conflict. Wolverine is a fascinating character to try to understand and unravel, and this volume helps immensely in trying to understand his complex motives. A real reading pleasure.

Kevin Smith, of Clerks and Silent Bob fame, has cooked up a fantastic plot about a slain old school superhero that comes back to life, his troubled son, the kindly man who saved the superhero but who is hiding a secret agenda, and all the members of the JLA, who, despite all their fantastic abilities, are having a hard time believing that said superhero has actually come back from the dead (especially when the superhero, a mouthy and arrogant Green Arrow, insists that he never left the plane of the living. How’s THAT for messed up?) Throw in a poetry-spouting demon and some serious Satan worship, and you’ve got a whiz-bang of a graphic novel that was the only GN to make the Best Books for Young Adults list for 2003.

Meet Rebecca and Enid, two high school seniors who love to hate EVEYTHING, from tabloid TV and nosey parents to 50’s diners and sometime-Satan worshippers. Now that high school is over and there are no more easy targets for their caustic slurs, they have to see if they really have anything else in common other than their habit of trading sarcastic quips. Their running commentary on pop culture, relationships, and life in general is pretty funny (even if it’s so mean-spirited it can make you cringe a little). Definitely pair this GN with the very fine movie adaptation of the same name.

Even if you’re not as Real World obsessed as I am, you would have had to have been living under a rock to not have heard of AIDS activist and SanFran RW housemate Pedro Zamora. Pedro set out to educate people about AIDS after discovering he was HIV positive at age 17. Picked to be on the Real World, he became close friends with many of the cast members, especially cartoonist Judd Winick. His death after the end of the RW season saddened everyone who had gotten to know him through their televisions. So Judd decided to chronicle Pedro’s life in the best way he knew how–through pictures. Judd produced a beautiful, funny, full length graphic novel about the Pedro he knew on and off the Real World set. It’s a touching tribute about life and the power of friendship, and also just a really good book. Even if you’re not into the Real World, you’ll really get into Pedro and Me. I guarantee it.

In this collection of comic strip shorts, a number of comic artists have come together to write and draw their interpretations of what it is like to be a teen. Mind Riot graphically captures the trauma of fitting in, skater punk culture, family problems, and masturbation (Umm, that last one is only mentioned, not pictured). Some of my favs include “Weird Girl” and “Out at the Movies”. All are different, all are intensely personal, some are funny and some will make you think. I promise you’ll find at least one to which you will be able to relate. Oh, yeah, it was also picked as a Book for the Teen Age by the New York Public Library in 1998. So, that means it’s good — trust us, we’re librarians.

Mild mannered Caitlin Fairchild is about to find out that instead of being an innocent college coed, she is actually an emerald-eyed, heaving bosom-ed super hero of the Gen 13 project. Gen 13 is the code name for a government run operation that tests drugs on unsuspecting persons in hopes of giving them super-human powers. But what the Gen 13 execs had no way of knowing was that their teen guniea pigs don’t exactly want to go along with the plan to turn them into war machines. Caitlin, Grunge, Roxy, Bobby and Sarah have decided to ditch the remote government compound they’ve been held prisoner at and release their new found powers to the world at large. But there are some mutant-government dudes who say different, and they are not above sending out scary android-type soldiers to track down the Gen 13 team. Look at Gen 13 as kind of an X-Men for teens. While the drawings of the girls are a bit too sexy for my feminist blood (Come on, NO ONE has breasts THAT large or legs THAT long) at least it’s made up for by how well these girls and their male counterparts kick butt! It’s a fast and fluffy read.

This tale is about a rat, but it’s really the story of a girl named Helen who has a huge problem. Her dad is getting a little too friendly, (like un-fatherly touching and stuff like that) and her mom flat out says that she never wanted Helen anyway. So, Helen chops off all the pretty blond hair that made her so attractive to her father and hits the road with the pet rat she rescued from the school dissection lab. She had this crazy idea that if she can just get to the birthplace of her author-idol Beatrix Potter, she’ll be okay. This is the story of how she hitchhikes around getting into all kinds of dangerous situations until she finally finds a place where she feels safe. Then she realizes she will never really feel safe until she confronts her dad about the sexual abuse. A serious, powerful graphic read about the effects of abuse and how to start the healing process.

Who can kill bounty hunters with a single blow, chain smoke, and flirt with kangaroo mutants all at the same time? Why, Tank Girl of course! Forget Xena, this futuristic warrior princess commands her own tank and takes no bull from anyone, including Satan himself. I love this crude, rude girl–she’s got a shaved head covered with Band-Aids and her language would make a truck driver blush, but her flowered push-up bra is always in place and her magenta lipstick is never smudged. Tank Girl–a heroine for our times and a lot less polished than those Gen 13 babes! Note, Tank Girl fans, there is also a movie of the same title starring Lori Petty, with Ice-T in one of his lesser known roles as one of the kangaroo mutants. The fun is in trying to guess which one!

In this powerful graphic parable about the Holocaust, the Nazis are cats, the Jewish people are mice and the American soldiers are dogs. Based on Spiegelman’s father’s own experiences during WWII, Maus is not only a survivor’s tale, but a compelling story about the relationship between a father and a son. A Pulitzer prize winner and credited with beinmg one of the first true “graphic novels,” I have always found this story much more interesting than some dusty old WWII history book.

The King of Dreams has been kidnapped from his fantasyworld by a mad scientist. After destroying those who kept him away from his home, he travels into the lives and dreams of people and demons, trying to find the special talismans that once brought together, will allow him to go back to his castle in the air. Sandman was the first GN I ever read and still my favorite. It’s the best blend of literary fantasy and great, gory illustration. Don’t expect an easy read–Sandman’s many complicated plot twists are challenging , and Gaiman doesn’t shy away from the gross stuff. But the truly original stories will make your imagination soar. Keep in mind that this title is only the first installment. The Sand just keeps piling up after this–happy digging!