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Graphic Novels & Comics July 2014
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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. 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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New Titles at the Library
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East of West volume 2: We Are All One
by Jonathan Hickman
The latest volume of this political sci-fi fantasy western delivers deepened intrigue and stretched family ties, plus a sharp rise in creepy tentacled monsters. With epic scale and stylish art, this book is quite an enjoyable read -- be sure to start with volume 1 if you haven't already read it.
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Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?
by Roz Chast
Alex Witchel of the New York Times says that "Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? is [Roz] Chast’s graphic memoir of her parents’ final years: Her father, George, died at 95; her mother, Elizabeth, at 97. This is a beautiful book, deeply felt, both scorchingly honest about what it feels like to love and care for a mother who has never loved you back, at least never the way you had wanted, and achingly wistful about a gentle father who could never break free of his domineering wife and ride to his daughter’s rescue. It veers between being laugh-out-loud funny and so devastating I had to take periodic timeouts.
"Cartoons, as it happens, are tailor-made for the absurdities of old age, illness and dementia, the odd dramas and grinding repetition expertly illustrated by copious exclamation points, capital letters and antic drawings. They also limit the opportunity for navel gazing and self-pity, trapping you in the surreal moments themselves. The recurring, maniacally angry face of Chast’s mother, which Chast eventually mimics, is one I have seen in my own mirror all too often."
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The Encyclopedia of Early Earth
by Isabel Greenberg
A boy and girl from opposite poles fall in love, only to discover that their bodies can't come in contact with each other. With obvious expressions of affection off the table, the pair is left to bond by means of storytelling, and the stories that unfurl are a wonder to witness -- mythic in scope, often comic, sometimes tragic, and always told with a love of the role of stories in human life.
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Family Ties: An Alaskan Crime Drama
by Eric Hobbs
Bill Sherman of seattlepi.com think's highly of this updated King Lear by Eric Hobbs and Noel Yauzon (who previously worked together on The Broadcast) "Writing in more modern dialog, Hobbs doesn't provide the bleak verbal poetry of his ultra-dark source. His [protagonist] lacks Lear's eloquence and is more plainly portrayed as in the throes of Alzheimer's. The old man does get his share of poignant scenes, though, most memorably in a sequence where he wanders through the Alaska snow in the throes of his dementia, backed against a tree, lost in a past that may or may not be real. This is no howl but the moans of a man who realizes, if only momentarily, how much he's missed and gotten wrong...A superb graphic novel that should appeal to students of Elizabethan drama and of grandiosely brutal gangster stories"
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Sex Criminals vol. 1: One Weird Trick
by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky
This unexpectedly compelling (but unsurprisingly popular) story revolves around a pair of lovers who discover they have the power to freeze time by achieving orgasm, and, of course, use that power to go on a bank robbing spree. (To paraphrase the narrator: I know how it sounds, but don't judge.) Likably-flawed characters, enjoyable artwork, and more double entendre than you can handle make this a truly fun read. For adults. A truly fun read, for adults.
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Spotlight on Science Fiction
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Want more? Join in the discussion at Main Library's monthly Graphic Book Club! |
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Prophet series
by Brandon Graham and others
John Prophet awakes from a years-long (hundreds? thousands?) cryosleep, already focused on pursuing the goal he was conditioned to pursue: reactivate the G.O.D. satellite and reawaken the Earth Empire. Prophet is a kind of terrestrial space opera -- it's full of alien (to us) life, high- and low-tech societies, massive objects and jarring violence, all without leaving our homeworld (more or less). It's a playground for writer Brandon Graham, where an setting leaves open infinite possibilities of storyline, creature design and world-building, and it's a joy to explore. Although the story is more setting-driven than plot- or character-driven, it's still best to start with volume 1.
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The One Trick Rip-Off + Deep Cuts
by Paul Pope
"One Trick" gang member Tubby and girlfriend Vim undertake a risky move to steal a quarter million dollars from the One Tricks before splitting town in a near-future story that has become writer/artist Paul Pope's well-crafted specialty. Also featured in this volume are a handful of early stories (the "deep cuts"), including the rarely-seen-in-the-States manga Supertrouble. Highly recommended!
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Saturday, July 12, 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. We're reading science fiction books this month!
All kinds of different things can make a story Science Fiction. Alternate histories, time travel, space travel, alien life, advanced technology, these are just a few of the common plot elements you’ll find in the genre. Here are some springboards to help you pick a book, and get you thinking, between now and our next meeting:
•One of the things that varies in Science Fiction is how the science is presented. Fans of the genre can wrangle for hours about hard sci-fi versus soft sci-fi, some even going so far as to classify large portions of the genre as ‘science fantasy’. Where does your book fall on the scale of hardness, and why?
•There are lots of subgenres in Science Fiction. Which, if any, does your work fall into, and why?
•Try to find out when your book was written (or if it’s based on another book, like a classic sci-fi short story, when the original work was published). Do you see any ‘futuristic’ elements that don’t seem so farfetched anymore, now that you can buy them at Best Buy?
•Alien vistas, the depths of space, stunning technological marvels, and twisted perversions of science. How does your book’s art handle the gorgeous and grotesque in the story?
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Durham Comics Project News
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Submissions Due July 11! If you’re planning on your comic being apart of the Durham Comics Project Anthology you need to have your comic in today. You can submit your comic directly to Amy Godfrey at the Southwest Regional Library, or drop it off at any Durham County Library location, attention Durham Comics Project. You may also submit your comics digitally to durhamcomicsproject@gmail.com. Check our Submit page for guidelines. If you have questions about submissions feel free to email akgodfrey@dconc.gov or call Amy Godfrey at 919-560-8595. More about the project at durhamcomicsproject.org.
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Comics Fest Webpage is Live!Starting now, the Durham County Library Comics Fest has its own brand new page on the DCL website:
durhamcountylibrary.org/comicsfest
The page will feature Comics Fest event schedule (updated as we get details pinned down), information about past events, resources for finding comics and comics-related events in the library, and more!
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"The Greatest Signing of All Time" at Chapel Hill ComicsSaturday, July 12, 6-9 p.m. 316 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill
One last big event before proprietor Andrew Neal hands over ownership of the shop, featuring Ed Piskor (Hip Hop Family Tree), Jim Rugg (Afrodesiac, Supermag, Street Angel), Tom Scioli (Godland, American Barbarian, Transformers vs. GI JOE) and Christ Pitzer (owner, Adhouse books). More information here or at 919-967-4439.
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Ultimate Ladies Alliance discuss The Dark Phoenix Saga at Ultimate Comics Thursday, July 3, 8 p.m. 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. This month: Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s classic X-Men epic: The Dark Phoenix Saga.
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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. Roxoboro Street, Durham, NC 27702
librarywebmaster@durhamcountync.gov
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