Comments on: Graphic novels: From old-school to new-school to New Testament-school!

By: Okman

Okman — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:11:15 +0000

I finally got a chance to read Britten, and like you said it's very good. But I think I'm just too dumb to get it. Honestly, when the whole mystery was revealed at the end, I was scratching my head, wondering how he go to that conclusion. But that doesn't really detract from the book. It's an excellent piece of work, which is only marred by my dumbness.

By: Dan Felty

Dan Felty — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:30:34 +0000

I love Jim Ottaviani's science comics, and I'll be very happy to get hold of T-Minus!

By: The Dane

The Dane — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:05:09 +0000

Okay, this is barely worth the comment, but I looked up the book on Amazon, which features Search Inside. I did a search for Kim and then clicked the page Backmatter. It's the page with copyright and publication info and oddly enough it's at the end of the book rather than the beginning.

Anyway, it reads:
Text copyright © 2009 Gene Yang
Illustration copyright © 2009 Derek Kirk Kim
Compilation copyright © 2009 Gene Yang and Derek Kirk Kim

It also notes Duncan's Kingdom being originally published by Image in 1999.

Three cheers for the internet!

By: The Dane

The Dane — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:58:58 +0000

Shoot, I'll have to check when I get home to make sure I'm not wholly insane. I'm pretty sure it's there though—like on the About the Authors page, I think. I only noticed it because I too wondered why the book wouldn't advertise contributions. I guess that since "real" books don't divvy up the division of labour when they boast multiple authors, maybe First Second wanted to make the book more real? I don't know. But I agree and think that it's weird.

By: Greg Burgas

Greg Burgas — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:51:53 +0000

You must have a "special" copy, Mr. The Dane, because mine doesn't indicate which of them did what. Damn you and your special copy! I don't know why, if Kim did all the art, it's not on the actual book. That's odd.

By: The Dane

The Dane — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:25:37 +0000

RE Eternal Smile: I believe the back of my copy says that Yang wrote the stories while Kim drew them. Kim, on his website, reiterates as much. Eternal Smile was a quick read, but enjoyable—and apparently the first story ("Duncan's Kingdom") was created by the team more than a decade ago. The final story (the one with Janet Oh and the Nigerian scammer) was the favourite of both my wife and I—and in our collective opinion, the reason to read the book.

By: Greg Burgas

Greg Burgas — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:16:33 +0000

That's interesting about the original book, Matt. Good to know.

By: Matt Bird

Matt Bird — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:58:15 +0000

Well, you should read the original book "Working", which is a masterpiece. Two points:

1. There are at least a dozen white-collar interviewees in the book. Harvey (who is, in fact, a blue collar guy) probably picked fewer of them because he found them less interesting (or maybe just because their stories were less visual)
2. Turkel's genius was to take seemingly happy white collar guys like your dad and gradually bring to the surface their hidden frustrations. The whole reason he did the book was that it was taboo to talk about your job or think of yourself in class terms, but work frustrations and class resentments were always bubbling just under the surface, whether you were rich or poor.

Thanks for the review, I'll definitely pick that book up.

By: Graeme Burk

Graeme Burk — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:43:25 +0000

Ross decides to make it more accessible to the modern audience by setting the story in a world where the government has modern weapons and (almost) everyone dresses in modern fashions, and it’s not a bad way to go.

Actually done before by Al Hartley in the evangelical Christian comic "Paul: A Close Encounter of the Real Kind"

http://www.comics.org/series.lasso?SeriesID=13781

And, while Spire Comics aren't really my cup of tea, Hartley does a nice job of making an updated modern take of Paul work as a compelling comic book story. Of course it's an exceedingly reverent and unquestioning take on Paul, which is very different than Steve Ross'. I just thought it was worth mentioning.