Review: Habibi by Craig Thompson

Habibi by Craig Thompson
672 pages
published by Pantheon

Brutal and beautiful. The sprawling narrative is a tad overwhelming but forgivably so. But seriously, the artwork is pretty astounding. Thompson is mostly known for his book of equal heft, Blankets, which is a great graphic novel in its own right but Habibi is clearly his most mature and imaginative work to date.

Down and Down and Down The Rabbit Hole

Logicomix by Apostolos K. Doxiadēs, Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos H. Papadimitriou, Alecos Papadatos, and Annie Di Donna
352 pages
published by Bloomsbury USA

I'm sure questioning the very foundations of mathematics was a very hot topic back in early 1900s, and it certainly was interesting to jump down the rabbit hole with Russell but there wasn't enough character development within the narrative for me to care enough about the logic/math hoopla. They put forth tremendous ideas, such as the play between madness and the quest for absolute truth, or the complexities of "the map" vs. "reality". But I don't feel that they were fully explored, or really explored at all. If they had, I think they would have found more character, more humanity. One last jab: the story relied far too much on epiphanies to move plot along. Seems like every other section had a miraculous Eureka! But maybe that's how it was. But maybe not.

The understated artwork carried the story but the logic and math-speak was a bit much at times which is 100% my weakness. I wasn't going to read this but then I came upon a damaged copy at my book shop so what the hell, ya know?

Zombies and Dead Dialogue

The Walking Dead (Compendium One)
1088 pages
published by Image Comics

I read the first issue a while back and I wasn't very impressed. I bought this compendium for my wife for Christmas because we've been watching the new AMC series. So, I gave the graphic novel another chance. Well, not much had changed. The graphic novel (much like the new series) suffers from some pretty terrible dialogue. Unfortunately, there is a lot of talking. I kept reading pretty much because I wanted to know what would happen.

Chris Ware is One of The Greatest Artists Alive

Acme Novelty Library #20 by Chris Ware
72 pages
published by Drawn and Quarterly

Another addition to the world of Rusty Brown! This time we learn about Jordan Lint. Lint was introduced in the first Rusty Brown volume as a school bully.

This new story line follows Lint from birth to death, with each page representing a specific time in his life. The narrative and art work also represent each developmental, with the first few pages visually representing the world as a baby would see it and then as a toddler, a small child, a pre-teen, a teenager, etc. As the story progresses, the artwork and narrative become more and more complex, a la Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by Joyce.

Ware pushed himself to experiment a little with this work and it worked out beautifully. If you have never had the pleasure of reading Chris Ware, you better get started.

Review of : Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

I think I'm gonna have to read this again because 1. it was very good and 2. there are a lot of allusions going on and I'm not sure I connected all the dots. References to the Adams Family, Daedalus and Icarus myth, Minotaur and the Labyrinth, Proust, Camus, F Scott Fitzgerald, Ulysses and James Joyce, etc. So it's worth a second read, for sure.

The art is excellent. I know I've been saying that a lot about the graphic novels I've been reading but, well, they've just been really good. I can't talk too much about the plot without giving away pretty much everything so I will say it's about memory as reality, distorted truths, uncovered truths, family, sexual enlightenment, complex paternal relationships, and gardening.

Bechdel says this about her art..."It's very important for me that people be able to read the images in the same kind of gradually unfolding way as they're reading the text. I don't like pictures that don't have information in them. I want pictures that you have to read, that you have to decode, that take time, that you can get lost in. Otherwise what's the point?"

Review of : Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan

I grabbed this at the library on a whim. The art work is like nothing I've really seen before, yet not so foreign as to be distracting. She does some interesting things with her colors, and her display of water seems to stand out in my mind, which seems like an odd thing to remark on, I know. At times, Modan's art work has an almost child-like innocence which couples remarkably well with the serious subject matter: commonplace terrorism, death, complex love, fractured families, class, racism, and sexism.

The story centers around Kobe, a young taxi driver in Tel Aviv. One day, a young woman approaches him, telling him that she thinks his father has died in a recent suicide bombing. The narrative launches off from that point, Kobe trying to solve the mystery of his father's possible death and reconciling his bitter feelings toward aforementioned father.

There are some really great moments strung throughout the graphic novel and the last panel of the book left me feeling hopeful and terrified, which is how I imagine a lot of the Middle East must feel most of the time.

Review of : The Alcoholic by Jonathan Ames & Dean Haspiel

Ames doesn't really bring anything new to the alcoholic narrative but Haspiel more than makes up for it with his art work. The story felt a bit rushed, which was both a pro and con. Pro because it kept the story moving, con because it didn't give much time for characters to develop. But maybe that was the point, that alcoholics move through life solipsistically, narcissistically, not letting the people in their lives develop into nourishing, stable relationships. Well, not narcissistically because that is a love of oneself and I'm pretty sure alcoholics are mostly full of self loathing. Though I guess narcissism also applys to just straight up self-preoccupation, so that works too.

But anyway, maybe the characters were supposed to be blurry, as if viewed through those dreadful "beer goggles". In the case of Ames, "Beer/Vodka/Cocaine/Heroin goggles". For the record, I hate the term "beer goggles" and I am ashamed for having used it. If only there was some sort of delete function on this dang alphabet board.

Review of : Stitches by David Small

Beautifully illustrated. Small has kind of a sketchbook style that appears rough and unfocused but when you really pay attention, it is sparkling with amazing detail.

The memoir itself is remarkably sad. Small is born with sinus complications and his father, a radiologist, conducts multiple treatments involving crude x-ray technology and essentially gives his son throat cancer at the age of 12(?). David undergoes two operations to remove the growth on his vocal chords and as a result is rendered nearly voiceless. His parents decline to tell their son he had cancer and David stumbles upon the information on his own. His parents are less than supportive, borderline neglectful/tyrannical. This is a rather rough outline of the story but you get the idea. Beautiful to look at, heartbreaking to read. Highly recommended.