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Graphic Novels & Comics April 2015
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Greetings!My name is Patrick Holt, and I'm a librarian at Southwest Regional Library. I'm also a lifelong reader of comics and graphic novels. Check out the contents of this month's newsletter in the box to the left, and get access to past editions in the archive at the bottom of the page. I hope you find these recommendations worthwhile, and please email me at pdholt@dconc.gov if you have any thoughts or questions.
Thanks and enjoy!
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Ofelia: A Love and Rockets Book
by Gilbert Hernandez
From the publisher: "In Ofelia, the sisters, the kids, and the cousins are all settled comfortably in California after leaving Palomar in Luba and Her Family. Luba and her cousin Ofelia’s relationship has always been fraught, but when Ofelia threatens to write a book about Luba, past memories, secrets, resentments, and pain resurface. Meanwhile, Luba’s children—genius Socorro, recently out-and-proud Doralís, and prickly Maricela—show that a talent for trouble may be hereditary. Luba’s sisters, Fritz and Petra, swap lovers (as usual), but…are Fritz and family friend Pipo sittin’ in a tree? These vividly drawn characters are charged with Hernandez’s trademark complexity; they live, love, age, fight—and die—in this sweeping, multigenerational saga."
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Savage Wolverine 4: The Best There Is
by Jen Van Meter, Gail Simone, Richard Ellis and Neil Edwards
This collection of short Wolverine stories sees Logan doing his thing amid a range of historical settings, including 1960s L.A. and 1920s Chicago.
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Vinland Saga vol 1-3
by Makoto Yukimura
Toshi Nakamura at Kotaku says: "The story of Vinland Saga takes place in the early 11th century Europe and focuses on the life and times of Thorfinn, an Icelandic boy forced to grow up under the worst of circumstances. After Thorfinn's father, Thors, is killed in front of him by the Viking commander, Askeladd, Thorfinn swears to avenge him and joins Askeladd's war band, in order to keep his father's killer close so that he can have his revenge. "If you like action, if you like drama, if you like thought-provoking dialog with a pinch of "based on historical events," then Vinland Saga is for you. Seriously, I don't know how many different ways I can say this manga is worth reading. It is a bit on the violent side – as the images in the article do indicate – so do bear that in mind."
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Want more? Join in the discussion at Main Library's monthly Graphic Book Club!
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Hilda series
by Luke Pearson
From The Comics Alliance: "Charming all-ages comics that teach important lessons about gender — while not actually being about gender at all — are a unique and powerful thing. [These books] are stories about a young girl named Hilda. She could have been any gender at all within the framework of the plots, but the choice to have a female lead in these stories serves a powerful purpose that extends beyond the page."
From Patrick: "Also, they're beautiful!"
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Jane, the Fox & Me
by Fanny Britt
Hélène is a young girl for whom nothing is as intimidating as her classmates... From The New York Times: "The magic of a story like this is that it’s a hand stretching from Hélène’s school to ours to let us know we’re not alone. Loneliness is a language that doesn’t need translation. It’s understood by anyone who has prayed that a dress could transform her into a different person; by anyone who has been destroyed by worry over whom to sit beside on a bus to an overnight trip; by anyone who has ever stared at a classroom clock in disbelief at just how long a day can last, how long childhood can last. It’s a language understood by anyone who has endured the interminable wait for a [friend] of her own."
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Cursed Pirate Girl.
by Jeremy Bastian
From the back of the book: "Adventures on and under the high seas lead a cursed pirate girl to encounter mythic creatures, gnarled and crusty pirates, and ghostly apparitions as she tries to find her lost father, one of the dreaded Pirate Captains of the mythical Omerta Seas. A whimsical swashbuckling tale of wonderland journeys and unimaginable dangers, starting in Port Elisabeth, Jamaica in the year 1728, and quickly heading across and beneath the waves."
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"Tatsumi Yoshihiro, one of comics history’s greats, passed away on March 7, 2015. He was seventy-nine years old. He died of malignant lymphoma. "Tatsumi is famous as the artist who helped fashion a new style of manga known as “gekiga” (dramatic pictures), a term he coined in 1957. He played a major role in broadening the possibilities of the medium to accommodate mature-reader genres like mystery, action, and horror, oftentimes in 100-plus-page, single-story books that predate the advent of the “graphic novel” by many decades. Though there was hardly a genre Tatsumi didn’t try his hand at, he is best known for the stories he created in the late ’60s and early ’70s about the bleak lives and perversions of aging white-collar and low-level blue-collar workers. French and Spanish translations of these stories in the early ’80s first introduced Tatsumi’s work to an outside audience. But the artist’s star took off like a comet only with new and expanded editions of this material in Japanese and English in 2004-05. A Drifting Life (2008-09), his massive 850-page autobiography in comics form, cemented Tatsumi’s reputation as one of the comics medium’s most important artists. Late in life, Tatsumi was awarded three of the industry’s top awards: a special prize at Angoulême (2005), the Tezuka (2009), and the Eisner (2010)."
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The Push Man, Abandon the Old in Tokyo and Good-Bye
by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
These volumes showcase what Tatsumi's gekiga are all about: a cynical, naturalistic realism that was light years away from the fantasy-oriented content of most comics (regardless of genre), Japanese or Western. Lives plod by, or end, without any particular light at the end of any particular tunnel. These stories are difficult but masterful, and are especially recommended (if only in small doses) for lovers of contemporary realism or anyone interested in urban Japanese life in the 60s and 70s.
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Fallen Words
by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
From local comics critic Rob Clough at The High-Low: "[In this collection of stories,] Tatsumi combines the dark tones and harsh emotional truths of gekiga ["dramatic pictures"] with the oral storytelling tradition known as rakugo ("fallen words"). In many respects, this innovative fusion actually goes back to his roots and the roots of modern manga itself... While none of the stories are directly linked to each other, they still take place in the same time, the same place and with the same sense of humor, a pitch-black kind of comedy that incorporates the lowest forms of humor with a frequently nasty view of humanity. Tatsumi's work manages to be simultaneously dark and uplifting, allowing the reader to identify with and laugh at foibles we all share."
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A Drifting Life
by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
In 2009, The New York Times called Tatsumi's autobiography " a book that manages to be, all at once, an insider’s history of manga, a mordant cultural tour of post-Hiroshima Japan and a scrappy portrait of a struggling artist. It’s a big, fat, greasy tub of salty popcorn for anyone interested (as Americans increasingly are) in the theory and practice of Japanese comics. It’s among this genre’s signal achievements."
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Saturday, April 18, 2 p.m. Main Library - 300 N. Roxboro St. Questions? Call John Davis at 919-560-0125 Join our MeetUp group at meetup.com/graphic-book-club Enjoy comic books or graphic novels? Join us for the monthly meeting of Main Library's Graphic Book Club. This month we're reading books all-ages books!
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Ultimate Ladies Alliance discuss Ms. Marvel at Ultimate Comics |
Thursday, May. 4, 8 p.m. Ultimate Comics, 6120-A Farrington Rd., Durham The first Thursday of each month the Ultimate Ladies Alliance meets to discuss a different comic or graphic novel. Join the Ultimate Ladies’ Alliance on Facebook for more info and to vote on your top picks for the next month’s meeting, plus suggest books for future discussion and share your favorites. May's selection: Ms. Marvel vol. 1: No Normal.
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| Durham Comics Project: Drink & Draw Wednesday, April.15, 7-9 p.m. Location TBD - check our Meetup page or call 919-560-8590 for up-to-date info This monthly meetup is for those new to comics and seasoned vets alike. The hardest part of making comics is often making the time to draw, so let’s make that time together! We'll have an exercise or two (often collaborative), but you're welcome to just come to work on your own thing. |
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Comics Fest 2015 coming soon!
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For personalized reading recommendations from Durham County librarians, try My Next 5! Simply complete an online form to tell us a little about what genres, books, and authors you like (or dislike). A DCL librarian will review your submission and reply with a list of the next five books you should read.
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NoveList Plus is a comprehensive database of fiction and nonfiction titles for all ages, including recommendations, articles, and lists for your fiction and nonfiction needs. DCL cardholders can access NoveList Plus from any computer.
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Links to newsletters from the past year:
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If you are having trouble unsubscribing to this newsletter, please contact the Durham County Library at
919-560-0100, 300 N. Roxboro Street, Durham, NC 27702
librarywebmaster@durhamcountync.gov
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