Baby Got Books

Comics Round Up

Somehow, I’ve found myself well into February still writing about books that I’ve read in 2009. Maybe I should just let it go, but for some reason I’ve become obsessive about writing about ALL OF THE BOOKS that I read over the year. So to satisfy my OCD, I’ll try to wrap up last year in as few posts as possible. I was particularly slack in writing about the comics that I read last year for two reasons: (1) my approach to comics is completely haphazard, i.e., I pick things up that look interesting without much forethought and (2) I don’t know how to write about them. Here, allow me to highlight item number “2″ for you:

Fables 1 and 2

This series came highly recommended to me from various comics aficionados. The series kicks off with Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile. We learn that the characters of our childhood fables are real and they have been driven from their world into ours. Unsurprisingly, they live among us in New York City where they are able to keep a mostly low profile. Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, etc. are real people with very human shortcomings. It seems those fables were an idealized version of these troubled souls. In Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm, we learn that the non-human fables (like the three little pigs) are forced to live apart from their human counterparts on a farm up-state. This doesn’t sit well some of the animals. And that’s as far as I’ve gotten. The day that I went to buy the next edition, my comics dealer was sold out of Volume 3′s. I haven’t felt the need to overcome this surmountable obstacle. This is one of the problems that I have with comics series: how long do you continue on the potential of a story line before you call it quits?

Cecil and Jordan in New York

Cecil and Jordan in New York was a comic of a completely different stripe. Think of a collection of wry short stories about life for twenty-somethings in NYC and you’ll have a good idea of what Cecil and Jordan offers. These are fresh and interesting stories that somehow were meant to be told with the assistance of pictures. My only complaint is that the slim volume is over too soon. I picked this one up while visiting the bookstore of the comics publisher Drawn and Quarterly. If you find yourself in Montreal, don’t miss this store for any reason.

A Drifting Life

A Drifting Life is the comics memoir of “the godfather of Japanese alternative comics”, Yoshihiro Tatsumi. It is also a doorstop weighing in at 800+ pages. This is a fascinating look at a man and comics movement that I knew absolutely nothing about. It also provides an intriguing glimpse of daily life in post-war Japan and its relationship with the US. One of my issues with comics in general is that the medium tends to set limits on the length of the stories that can be told. However, A Drifting Life, decades in the making, provides a near immersion experience. It took me a week or so to make my way through this excellent book. It’s staggering to think about how many hours of work must have gone into this.

Exit Wounds

I’d say that of the comics discussed in this round-up, Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan was my favorite. A terrorist’s bomb in a busy market brings a strange young woman into the life of Koby Franco. Franco’s long-estranged father may have been among the victims of the blast, and the young Russian woman at this door says that she was his lover. The officials say that Koby’s father was killed in the blast, but his girlfriend has her doubts. The unlikely pair set off to learn the truth, and each brings their own expectations and baggage to the search. Exit Wounds masterfully depicts modern Israeli life while telling an intriguing story. Thumbs up. I picked this one up at Drawn and Quarterly, too.

Nemi (Volume 3)

Nemi is the anti-Cathy. She is a goth. She’s Norwegian. She drinks and swears. And she’s not putting up with any crap from you. Nemi is presented primarily in the traditional 4-panel style of the funny pages. I have not read Volumes 1 or 2 of Nemi’s adventures, but Volume 3 is charming and funny in that sassy, goth, Scandinavian kind of way.

See? All over the map. I have been comic-less so far in 2010. If you’ve got some titles that I should check out, leave your suggestions in the comments.

Books, Comix, Review | Tim | February 11, 2010 8:35 am

3 Comments

By Dr J, February 11, 2010 @ 10:20 am

Have you seen a comic called Family Circle? I think you’d like it. Edgy.
By Tim, February 11, 2010 @ 10:51 am

Alright h83r… I used to be a fan of the Dysfunctional Family Circus (do a Google image search) before it was made to go away. You might want to check out arfield Minus Garfield for some existential hilarity(http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/)
By Dr J, February 11, 2010 @ 11:32 am

Doh. Family Circle? Family Circus.
I do like me some garfield minus garfield.