Graphic Novels Prepub Alert: R. Crumb Times Two, Naruto, and a Librarian's Guide to Manga
By Martha Cornog Sep 15, 2011According to the August 22 edition of Publishers Weekly, higher education titles led all book categories in growth since 2008. In comics, we have seen an increasing number of adaptations of star titles (classic as well as popular), nonfiction graphic novels designed to enhance coursework, serious textual nonfiction about graphic narrative (in relation to literature, education, library collections, and cultural impact), historical compendia of noteworthy past comics, and annotated editions. This January batch, for example, includes Mostly Manga for librarians, a second helping of adapted Poe, The Annotated Sandman, and Superheroes of the Round Table.
On that note, DC Comics just rebooted its whole universe and went to simultaneous print and digital distribution. More on that later.
Alice, Alex. Siegfried. Vol. 1. Archaia. Jan. 2012. 144p. ISBN 9781936393459. $24.95. F
With a veritable Who's Who of Olympus popping up throughout comics, it's inevitable that we'd hit the Nibelungenlied sooner or later and tap the Valhalla crowd. Young boy, half-god, half-mortal: check. Raised by a nasty character: check (here, a dwarf-goblin). Fated to win a Ring of power and fall for an ensorcelled beauty: check. Drinks dragon blood: yup. Comes to a bad end: yes, in the original story and in Wagner's opera adaptation. Judging from the cover, Alice is drawing this bloody and beautiful. Originally published in Europe; two more volumes are coming.
Crumb, R. The Life and Death of Fritz the Cat. Fantagraphics. Jan. 2012. 96p. ISBN 9781606994801. $19.99. F
Crumb's infamous and ever-horny Fritz has been reprinted before, but not recently and never in hardcover. Not considered to be among Crumb's best work, Fritz satirically embodied the zeitgeist of the 1960s: drugs, free love, boozing, and (later) cynicism, but his popularity after the Ralph Bakshi animated adaptation led his creator to kill him off in disgust at both the film and the public's bad taste. An underground classic, with touches of critical brilliance amid its college-kid-wannabe plots.
Cruz, Jeffrey Chamba. RandomVeus. Vol. 1. Udon. Jan. 2011. AMZ AND PUB SITE SAY SEPT 2011. 144p. ISBN 9781926778280. $29.99. HUMOR
"Delivers insanity with every parcel!" A goofy team of interdimensional couriers ferries packages to every corner of a vista erupting with octopus ninjas, robot gorillas, giant furry squid monsters, samurai mushrooms, and other inzanies. The lush rainbow art suggests My Neighbor Totoro's critters on acid.
Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery. Graphic Classics, Vol. 21. Eureka Productions. Jan. 2012. SEPT on Amz; Pub doesn't say. 144p. ISBN 9780982563021. pap. $17.95. F
Fifteen stories and poems adapted in full color. The Graphic Classics line kicked off in 2001 with a Poe volume, now in its fourth edition. This nearly all-new collection revisits only one story: "The Tell-Tale Heart." See contents and sample art snibbets here.
Foglio, Phil & Kaja Foglio. Girl Genius Omnibus. Vol. 1: Agatha Awakens. Tor. Jan. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780765331328. $34.99. F
"Adventure, romance, mad science!" This Victorian steampunk comic—a Hugo winner and YALSA pick—has been in omnibus editions already, but this version is in full color and will sit pretty in the first batch of graphic novels from the longtime sf prose publisher. See Brigid Alverson's interview with Phil Foglio about Girl Genius projects.
Gaiman, Neil (text) & various artists. The Annotated Sandman. Vol. 1. Vertigo. Jan. 2012. 560p. ed. Leslie Klinger. ISBN 9781401233327. $49.99. F
Reportedly, Gaiman and Klinger bonded over Baker Street business—Gaiman is a Holmes fan and Klinger edited the Edgar-winning New Annotated Sherlock Holmes as well as The New Annotated Dracula. Eventually, the pair decided to collaborate on a mutual literary detective project: a panel-by-panel commentary on the meanings and backstories behind Sandman episodes. Historical essays about graphic novels, Gaiman, and The Sandman will be included. The four-volume set will correspond to the four volumes of The Absolute Sandman collecting the 75 original comic books. Essential for all serious graphic novel collections.
Kalen, Elizabeth. Mostly Manga: A Genre Guide to Popular Manga, Manwha, Manhua, and Anime. Libraries Unlimited. (Genreflecting Advisory). Jan. 2012. 150p. ISBN 9781598849387. $55. PRO MEDIA
While most recent books about graphic novels in libraries have mentioned manga, only one manga-exclusive volume has appeared: Robin E. Brenner's 2007 Eisner-nominated Understanding Manga and Anime. This newer work will include substantial discussion of Korean manwha and Chinese manhua as well as a historical summary, coverage of library-related concerns, and annotated bibliographies.
Kanzaki, Ryuto. Edo Cats: Tails of Old Tokyo. Japanime. Jan. 2012. 96p. ISBN 9784921205263. $9.99. F
This is billed as a whimsical travelog of bygone Japan through the eyes of the local cats, "teeming with history and nostalgia." The cover looks adorable. Kanzaki also authored the pictorial history Samurai Confidential, so she should know her way around swords and silks.
Kirby, Jack & Joe Simon. Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's 1940s-'50s Romance Comics. Fantagraphics. Jan. 2012. 200p. ISBN 9781606995020. $29.99. F
The guys who created Captain America also jump-started romance comics with several vanguard series. Top selling until the Comics Code clashed with '60s permissiveness, the genre captured feminine readers even if plots and characters tended to push patriarchal sex roles and a Stepford Wives take on coupledom.
Kishimoto, Masashi. Naruto: The Official Character Data Book. VIZ Media. Jan. 2012. 360p. ISBN 9781421541259. pap. $14.99. REF
Naruto: The Official Fan Book came out in 2008 (2002 in Japan), but we're years—and a lotta volumes—beyond that. This updated guide to the fan favest of shonen manga covers up through volume 43.
Long, Mark & Jim Demonakos (text) & Nate Powell (illus.). The Silence of Our Friends: The Civil Rights Struggle Was Never Black and White. First Second. Jan. 2012. 208p. ISBN 9781596436183. pap. $16.99. MEMOIR
Attributed to Martin Luther King: "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends." In 1967 Texas, a white family from a racist neighborhood and a poor black family work together against hellish odds to free five black college students unjustly accused of murdering a policeman. See an excerpt from Eisner-award-winner Powell's evocative black-and-white line art here. Tagged for age 14 up, this could be a pick for teens in time for African American History Month.
Miyazaki, Hayao & Hiromasa Yonebayashi. The Secret World of Arrietty. Vol. 1. 272p. ISBN 9781421541167.
Miyazaki, Hayao & Hiromasa Yonebayashi. The Secret World of Arrietty. Vol. 2. 336p. ISBN 978-1421541174.
ea. vol.: VIZ Media. (Film Comic). Jan. 2012. pap. $16.99. F
Studio Ghibli's latest anime film, inspired by Mary Norton's well-known children's book The Borrowers, is due for American release by Disney in February. Each about ten inches high, Pod, Homily, and daughter Arrietty live under the floorboards, "borrowing" from humans what they need to live. They've avoided all human contact, but then Arrietty makes friends with a boy who's come to live in the house, compromising her family's future. With the usual all-ages appeal of other Miyazaki hits (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro), this could attract adults who loved Norton's books as children.
Okura, Atsuhisa. Moe USA. Vol. 3. Japanime. Jan. 2012. 160p. ISBN 9784921205256. pap. $9.99. F
Two cute American teenagers take jobs at a Tokyo maid café, become famous as pop stars, and then get into cosplay. The twist: magical costumes give them special powers. An amusing premise, but why so few online comments? This volume finishes the series, and you can check out sample art here. Sounds like a good bet for younger teens and maybe tweens.
Richter, Carl. The Crumb Compendium. Fantagraphics. Jan. 2012. 320p. illus. bibliog. ISBN 9781606995013. pap. $29.99. GRAPHIC ARTS
Mr. Natural turns 45 next year, as many years as his creator Robert Crumb has been publishing. Fantagraphics is billing this compendium as the "definitive reference guide" to Crumb's oeuvre, covering published comics plus other artwork, merchandise, articles and interviews, characters, and photographs. Richter is a Crumb collector who served as consultant to Fantagraphics on The Complete Crumb Comics set, and Crumb himself helped out. Hey, guys, keep on truckin'!
Rodionoff, Hans & Ray Fawkes (text) & Mike Huddleston (illus.). Mnemovore. IDW. Jan. 2010. 160p. ISBN 9781613770054. $24.99. HORROR
According to snowboarder Kaley Markowic, helmets ruin her flow. Alas, an accident and serious concussion ruin her mind and her career. Now with much of her memory gone, she becomes aware of an ancient predator that devours other people's memories—but she's immune because of her amnesia. Rodionoff told Comic Book Resources, "The easiest way to think of this story is as a paranoid Lovecraftian thriller told through the eyes of an unreliable narrator." The story was originally published as a comic book series by Vertigo in 2005, and there's been talk of a film.
Romulo Soares (text) & Jack Jadson & Alex Borges (illus.). Lethal Instinct. Arcana Studio. Jan. 2012. 138p. ISBN 9781926914398. pap. $19.95. F
Who better to track down a werewolf than a cop with the same curse? If you can send a thief to catch a thief. Preview the realistic, play-it-straight color art here.
Sumerak, Marc (text) & David Bryant (illus.). All-Ghouls School. IDW. Jan. 2012. 112p. ISBN 9781600109928. pap. $19.99. HORROR
When Becca gets fingered in a high school cheating scandal, she's sent off to do summer school at Darkmoor Academy. Now we know—duh!—that students at a such-named institution are probably not human, right? Bingo. And as the first human student, Becca's in deep yogurt. Manga has worked this premise over pretty well, so let's see what Marvel veteran Sumerak does with it as an all-ages. See a few pix and character bios here.
Taylor, Dan, Chris Faison, & others. Hero Happy Hour. Arcana Studio. Jan. 2012. 80p. ISBN 9781926914718. pap. $14.95. HUMOR
We waited a long time between rounds at the Hideout Bar & Grille—we thought Rusty the bartender had gone home for the night. Well, just in time for New Year's, he's baaack. This lighthearted webcomic was last collected by GeekPunk in 2009. Now a number of different contributors mix up the latest concoction, which has the superhero clientele of regulars dropping like (bar)flies. Perhaps a villain is trying to pull a "last call" or a newbie wants to shake up the place.
Tondro, Jason. Superheroes of the Round Table: Comics Connections to Medieval and Renaissance Literature. McFarland. Jan. 2012. Pages TK. illus. ISBN 9780786460687. pap. $40. LIT
That big S on Superman's chest? S stands for Spenser and Shakespeare, too. As knowledge of literature can inform readings of superhero comics, knowledge of the DC and Marvel universes can inform readings of Malory and Ben Johnson. And don't you love the title? This started out as Tondro's Ph.D. dissertation, and he blogs most entertainingly about his quite different original title.
Wan, James & Michael Nelson (text) & Piotr Kowalski (illus.). Malignant Man. BOOM! Studios. Jan. 2011. 112p. ISBN 9781608860708. pap. $14.99. F
He's been diagnosed with cancer, but then Alan Gates finds out that his tumor is a mysterious parasite that invests him with superpowers and a new mission: to fight "an evil army buried beneath society's skin." Check out an interview with Wan and Nelson plus a preview here.
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