Love Lindy West, really enjoy her columns and the one book of hers that I read, Shrill.
So I did expect to like this one because as a fan of her writinLove Lindy West, really enjoy her columns and the one book of hers that I read, Shrill.
So I did expect to like this one because as a fan of her writing and having an interest in movies/pop culture, figured this would be any easy win win. The constant problem throughout this read was a jarring mix of comedic takes interspersed with overwrought and earnest political asides. It just... didn't work. Misplaced and lacking flow imo. And obviously comedy is hard to get right, so at base some stuff doesn't work that well (and that's ok not everything can hit the mark) but the political stuff just made it worse.
There are still some fun moments and portions in this book, but overall, too many things not working for me. ...more
The art by Alex Toth: brilliant. Beautiful compositions and drawing style. I'm amazed this was done in 1957-61 (I think), the style is very much aheadThe art by Alex Toth: brilliant. Beautiful compositions and drawing style. I'm amazed this was done in 1957-61 (I think), the style is very much ahead of its time.
That said, the stories? at best pedestrian, at worst, utterly boring and lazy. To be fair, the stories target a young demographic, but still, I've read plenty of things geared for younger audience that were written with great skill and interesting cleverness. And I do think the stories could have benefitted from more "bite" but being a Disney property at the time the depiction of violence and zippo romance make sense. A few of the stories (longer ones) were a bit more interesting but overall meh.
Recommend for Alex Toth fans and fans of great design/figure drawing. And story-wise I do think it can still possibly be entertaining for younger readers....more
Absolute classic. The drawing style is gorgeous, Kelly worked at Disney and you can really feel the animation style/influence on his line-work (fluid,Absolute classic. The drawing style is gorgeous, Kelly worked at Disney and you can really feel the animation style/influence on his line-work (fluid, energetic, precise). Regarding technical proficiency, this has to be one of the all-time best drawn newspaper cartoon strips imo. The art is detailed but not asphyxiated by over-drawing, so it strikes a great balance.
The writing is also phenomenal, I was actually quite surprised to see how well a lot of the humor and writing hold up. Lots of fabulous gag humor and clever writing in this volume. Albert the Alligator is prob my favorite, he's so ridiculous in the best of ways.
"A duller piece of information has not come my way since Christmas 1936." That line just kills me! (and the look of dumbstruck realization on Albert's face in panel 3 is hilarious too)
I was told that Walt Kelly was very influenced by George Herriman's classic Krazy Kat comic strip. And in turn, Kelly had a huge influence on a lot of big-time comic strip artists, notably Bill Watterson (and also if I recall correctly the guy who did Bone).
I plan on reading the 2nd volume released by Fantagraphics. I'm curious to see how the later political satire work holds up, imo political humor is very tricky and often times ages poorly (not to mention the political/historical context of the humor can be lost on modern readers). But we shall see! Plus, when I look at samples of the strip, I tend to prefer the earlier style of drawing vs how the later drawings look. Just my personal tastes.
Recommend for fans of comics, comic strips, humor, whimsy, etc....more
One of the most beautifully drawn strips I've ever read, an absolute classic.
This collection compiles the latter portion of McCay's Little Nemo work.One of the most beautifully drawn strips I've ever read, an absolute classic.
This collection compiles the latter portion of McCay's Little Nemo work. The reproductions are excellent, full newspaper scale. One thing to note, there are racist elements/tropes that pop up relatively frequently, not too uncommon for work of this period and a manifestation of some of the standard views/tropes around race in US at the time.
The strips themselves are beautifully drawn, fantastic clarity to the drawings, art-nouveau inspired. I'm convinced McCay was a drawing "genius" (not exactly a hot-take!). The clever use of perspective in the drawings, fabulous aerial shots, detailed buildings, vehicles, flying objects, all these things are wonderfully drawn in a very clean and finely executed style. I also love his drawings of animals/fantastical creatures. The conceptual framework of the comics, showcasing a little boy's dreams, often feature wonderful imagination and ground-breaking experimentation with the comic medium (especially for that time).
My one critique on the work itself is that it felt like the conceptual horsepower for the comic sort of tailed off in the latter half of this book (like McCay's mine of ideas had been somewhat stripped, which sidenote is why I'm always so grateful Bill Watterson did his 10 year run and then called it quits when he felt he was just going to start retreading).
The work is not overtly political, but there are certain strips where some of McCay's views bleed through (although hard to get an exact bead on his views as there are somewhat dissonant expressions). He seems to have been a champion of some more progressive causes (of the time), somewhat against big business (great set of strips where Nemo and friends land on planet where you have to pay to buy words in order to be able to talk! a word monopoly!). But that contrasted with one comic where he was making fun of the adamancy of women suffragettes (referencing the 2 hippos stuck in a zoo pen comic, June 25th, 1911: Hippo Comic 6/25/1911 ). I don't take that to mean McCay was necessarily against women's suffrage, but could just be he was poking fun at the adamancy of some of its proponents.
Recommended for fans of fine illustrative style, comics/comic strip history.
A nice survey of a range of comics across mostly US, Euro, and Asian comics. Indie and Euro comics may be overrepresented at the cost of the more mainA nice survey of a range of comics across mostly US, Euro, and Asian comics. Indie and Euro comics may be overrepresented at the cost of the more mainstream US superhero comics. But it's actually hard for me to tell, my tastes skew towards Euro, indie, and manga, haven't read a ton of superhero work which is a gap for me. This potential underrepresentation of the US superhero comics may grate for some readers.
The layout is done decade by decade, which is a good framework. Could also have split into sections based on region/style, but maybe that would've gotten too complicated. The short write-ups are generally pretty decent.
In a book like this, many readers will feel like there are significant omissions. But all these type of lists and opinions are incredibly subjective, that is the nature of these things (1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die Based On Our Highly Subjective Viewpoints and Cultural Predilections doesn't quite have the same ring to it!). Anyways, for me some omissions based on my personal tastes: Esteban Maroto, Francois Walthery, Jose Gonzalez, Jeffrey Catherine Jones.
The one major critique I have is that I wish there was an accompanying image with each book. It's harder to get a bead on each book's particular style without an accompanying image. In a survey book like this that is a pretty big issue, but my guess is this was not done because of space issues (the book is already very large, nevertheless, it hurts the purpose and effectiveness of such a book to have this problem).
Overall, def recommend if you are looking to broaden your reading within the comics genre and need ideas for new avenues to explore....more
Interesting to read thru the reviews on here, some people love this and others absolutely aren't into it.
Cyril Pedrosa is one of my favorite comic arInteresting to read thru the reviews on here, some people love this and others absolutely aren't into it.
Cyril Pedrosa is one of my favorite comic artists, and this is one of my all-time fav comic works. He works with a particular stylization which you see quite a bit in contemporary French comics, but he has his own unique visual aesthetic working within that stylistic range. Personally I love this type of stylization, and the art is of the highest quality. The linework is gorgeous, magnificent compositions (love how he draws trees and buildings; the patterning is awesome), and the color-work is amazing. But I can see how it might not be everyone's tastes.
Cool story as well regarding inheriting a throne, getting exiled, medieval power struggles, etc. Fortunately this one has been translated into English, so accessible to the English-speaking audience. ...more
These are classics in the Franco-Belgian style of the 50s and 60s. Soooo good, the drawing is magnificent, especially Tillieux's car scenes. You can tThese are classics in the Franco-Belgian style of the 50s and 60s. Soooo good, the drawing is magnificent, especially Tillieux's car scenes. You can tell he LOVED cars given the attention to detail and great effort he puts into those scenes, the car chase and action scenes are just phenomenal. And the stories themselves are quite fun and well-done, but for me it's the drawings that enchant me the most :)
And I really like these collected volumes, usually collects 4-5 individual volumes together. It's a little more practical to read the collections rather than trying to track down individual volumes which can be a hassle, especially if you are outside of Europe. (but the collections are in French so unfortunately not accessible to much English-speaking audience)
I don't think there has been much translation of Tillieux's work into English, which is a pity. Although Fantagraphics did release one volume about 10 years ago but I don't think they continued, maybe because the sales on that one translated volume weren't so great? the Franco-Belgian stuff does not seem very popular in the US far as I can tell. I think the style and sensibility of these works are not very appealing to most of the US comic's audience? I don't really know. But if you are into comics, def recommend checking these out!...more
I love Guillaume Singelin's art style, it is a cross between a particular French style and manga stylization. And the coloring is nice, has a watercolI love Guillaume Singelin's art style, it is a cross between a particular French style and manga stylization. And the coloring is nice, has a watercolor feel to it. The cityscapes and street scenes in the comic are fantastic, wonderfully detailed with grimy, gritty atmospherics. Fits the story perfectly.
The story itself is about a war vet with PTSD. There are both some touching scenes and some excellent action scenes (cinematic). Overall themes focus on community and the importance of helping others. It's a bit heavy-handed, sometimes laying it on super thick, but a nice message nevertheless.
The book measures 6x9. Could have benefited from a slightly larger size, like 8x11, would have showcased the art better and read a bit more easily (lots of panel sequences are wordless and little visual details you are meant to pick up on regarding the storytelling)....more
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