Comics Discussed in Literary Journal

[Ijiwaru Sensei]

For those interested in reading scholarly journal articles about comics, World Literature Today's latest issue (March-April 2007) is dedicated to "Graphic Literature." If anyone is interested, I'll try to scan the front cover and post it this evening. The fold out cover shows a number of people riding a bus, each one reading comics--everything from Maus to Understanding Comics to Watchmen

 

Articles included are as follows:

 

"Comix Poetics" by Andrew D. Arnold

"What Is a Graphic Novel" by Eddie Campbell

"The 'Woodcut Novel': A Forerunner to the Graphic Novel" by Chris Lanier

"Event" by Anders Nilsen (from Mome Fantagraphics, Fall 2005)

"A Comic-Book World" by Stephen E. Tabachnick

"Seeding Your Graphic Literature Library" by Andrew D. Arnold

"Artist Profile: Jessica Abel"

"Artist Profile: Lynda Barry"

"Comic Adaptations of Literary Classics" compliled by Armando Celayo and David Shook

"Frederic Boilet and the Nouvelle Manga Revolution" by Rob Vollmar

"Author Profile: Joe Sacco"

"An Interview with Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba" by David Shook

"Author Profile: Pedro Almodovar"

 

Happy hunting.

[Ijiwaru Sensei]

Eecommeneded reading by Arnold in "Seeding Your Graphic Literature Library":

 

Berlin: City of Stones

Buddha

Epileptic

Ice Haven

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth

Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: The Beauty Supply District

Louis Riel

Maus

One! Hundred! Demins!

Persepolis I

The Robert Crumb Handbook

Safe Area Gorazde

Adventures of Tintin

Understanding Comics

Watchmen

[deathlok]

Eecommeneded reading by Arnold in "Seeding Your Graphic Literature Library":

 

Berlin: City of Stones

Buddha

Epileptic

Ice Haven

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth

Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: The Beauty Supply District

Louis Riel

Maus

One! Hundred! Demins!

Persepolis I

The Robert Crumb Handbook

Safe Area Gorazde

Adventures of Tintin

Understanding Comics

Watchmen

 

Well, I have read two of them, Maus and Watchmen. The others, except Crumb and Understanding Comics, I have never heard of.

[HouseofComics.Com]

Persepolis has been a big bookstore "mainstream crossover" hit.

[Ijiwaru Sensei]

I've read Persepolis I and II. They're pretty good if you want to learn more about Iranian culture and how it has changed since the revolution. They're pretty bad if you don't have a high tolerance for whiny, self-indulgent, narratives told from a spoiled, sheltered, rich kid's perspective. Undoubtedly Satrapi has suffered, but she doesn't seem to realize the greater oppression felt by those outside of her class in Iran.

End of

 

I think I will try to track down some of these others books. I've only read Persepolis, Maus, and Understanding Comics.

 

Buddha was written by Osamu Tezuka, unfortunately misprinted in the journal as Osama.

[MK Ultra]

Eecommeneded reading by Arnold in "Seeding Your Graphic Literature Library":

 

Berlin: City of Stones

Buddha

Epileptic

Ice Haven

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth

Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: The Beauty Supply District

Louis Riel

Maus

One! Hundred! Demins!

Persepolis I

The Robert Crumb Handbook

Safe Area Gorazde

Adventures of Tintin

Understanding Comics

Watchmen

 

Well, I have read two of them, Maus and Watchmen. The others, except Crumb and Understanding Comics, I have never heard of.

 

 

Ditto

[ashrael]

http://www.ou.edu/worldlit/

 

[selegue]

Recommeneded reading by Arnold in "Seeding Your Graphic Literature Library":

 

 

Not that you asked for comments, but what the heck.

 

Berlin: City of Stones

Buddha

 

That's not a seed, that's a whole garden, right? 8 volumes?

I'm almost done with Ode to Kirihito and am really enjoying it. Every few pages I stop to admire a page and think how wonderful it would be to have a page of Tezuka's original artwork.

Does anyone know whether in the English translation the pages are literally flipped (mirrored), or are is they simply rearranged to Western page ordering?

 

Is Buddha worth the substatial investment of time, money and storage space?

 

Epileptic

Ice Haven

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth

 

Wonderful recommendation! I still think about some scenes from it.

 

Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: The Beauty Supply District

Louis Riel

Maus

One! Hundred! Demins!

Persepolis I

The Robert Crumb Handbook

Safe Area Gorazde

 

I've got to take Sacco in small doses. I tried reading a couple of his books in a row and started getting bored. Wander around, wreckage, visit, sit around talking, wander around, tragic scene, visit, sit around talking...

 

Adventures of Tintin

 

Again, such a broad recommendation that it's hardly a seed! The range of quality from the earliest to the last is huge. I loved reading these with my son when he was young. A couple of the middle books (maybe the two Moon books) when the story and artwork were at their peak would be a good seed. I'm looking forward to seeing what DreamWorks (?) does with the movie -- live or animated?

 

Understanding Comics

 

Too dry for a starting point -- you need to already be into the medium to like it, I think. I found the followup, reinventing comics, dull and unreadable.

 

Watchmen

 

Thought-provoking list. Thanks for posting it.

 

Jack

[deathlok]

I would venture a guess and say that Rob React has probably read all them all.

[underthebigw]

Eecommeneded reading by Arnold in "Seeding Your Graphic Literature Library":

 

Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: The Beauty Supply District

 

I haven't read this collection/book, but when I lived in DC, one of my favorite weekly events was the arrival of the CITY Paper, just to read this weekly strip. Great, brilliant stuff. Kind of bittersweet and poignant. Somehow it always made me feel old.

[Ijiwaru Sensei]

Here's the entire cover: