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Graphic Novels & Comics May 2014
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Greetings! My name is Patrick, 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 right. 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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Hip Hop Family Tree
by Ed Piskor
Cartoonist Ed Piskor retells the origin story of Hip Hop in this beautiful, oversized volume that features pioneers like DJ Kool Herc, Russell Simmons, Afrika Bambaataa, and many more. Piskor's writing and art consciously refer to the superhero comics of the 1970s and 80s, complete with off-color paper, halftone colors, over-the-top narration, and larger-than-life characters. A welcome addition to the nonfiction comics canon!
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The Harlem Hellfighters
by Max Brooks
Maureen Corrigan of NPR says: "Max Brooks and Caanan White have dramatized the history of the ... African-American [369th Infantry Regiment] — called "The Men of Bronze" by their French allies and "The Harlem Hellfighters" by their German enemies — spent 191 days in combat, longer than any other American unit, white or black, and were one of the most decorated units in the entire American expeditionary force. They helped make "the world safe for democracy," even if, as one Hellfighter in this story ruefully says, "democracy wasn't exactly 'safe' back home." This is a stunning work of historical recovery and a very graphic graphic novel: bodies explode, rats feed on corpses, men are strafed and gassed. It's not pretty, but the "in your face" style of The Harlem Hellfighters is suited to dramatizing a crucial part of American history that hasn't been thrust forcefully enough into our collective faces"
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Polarity
by Max Bemis and Jorge Coelho
Max Bemis, lead singer and songwriter of the apparently popular band Say Anything, pens this story of an unhappy, medicated, bi-polar, hipster-inundated artist who has made the decision to give up on his treatment in favor of "life', which in this case means confident pursuit of women, "better" paintings, and superpowers?!? Dubious messages about mental health aside, this not-bad story has nice artwork and a fun amount of over-the-top action.
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The Undertaking of Lily Chen
by Danica Novgorodoff
Hillary Brown of Paste Magazine says, "The Undertaking of Lily Chen revolves around Deshi Li, a boy searching for a bride for his recently-deceased brother so he can enjoy his afterlife with a significant other. Deshi speeds through the countryside with only a week to find an unmarried and (ideally) fresh body. A mercenary supplies him with one that’s rather dustier than he would prefer, at which point Deshi eyes one Lily Chen: a young woman still very much alive and kicking. [The Undertaking] has plenty of appeal: a great production design, a new world to experience, a willingness to experiment (especially visually), a great color palette and the scope of a classic western set in the far east."
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Ant colony
by Michael DeForge
In what might best be described as "Game of Thrones among insects", this odd but oddly-compelling book makes use of deceptively simple pictographic drawings to tell the story of a handful of ants as they encounter mystical-minded bees, ferocious spiders, reckless centipedes, ruthless red ants, and existential crisis galore. Considering the surprising amount of gory violence and unsettling eroticism, this is definitely a book for grown-ups despite its almost Ed Emberly-like artwork.
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Tired of the squeaky-clean goody-two-shoes sorts of good guys? Here's a handful of books that focus on the heroes with more than a few flaws.
Want more? Join in the discussion at Main Library's monthly Graphic Book Club! Details below.
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Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
by Howard Chaykin and Mike Mignola
Acclaimed writer (and artist) Howard Chaykin and acclaimed artist (and writer) Mike Mignola skillfully adapt Fritz Leiber's classic sword-and-sorcery stories about a seven-foot-tall barbarian and a five-foot-tall thief who are not afraid of getting their hands dirty in the service of good. And gold. Swashbuckling, spell-casting fun!
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The Sixth Gun
by Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt and others
This Weird Western series follows Drake Sinclair, an ex-Confederate who's landed an unlikely job of tracking down six darkly powerful weapons and keeping them from the likes of an undead Confederate general, holy men with dubious motives, powerful voodoo masters, and just about everyone else who knows about them. This SUPER fun series should definitely be read in order, and is highly recommended.
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More Anti-HeroesIllustration of Dr. Manhattan by Paul Pope.
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Anti-Heroes!
Saturday, May 3, 2 pm Main Library - 300 N. Roxboro St. Question? Call John Davis at 919-560-0125
Enjoy comic books or graphic novels? Join us for the monthly meeting of Main Library's Graphic Book Club. We're reading books with anti-heroes this month. Join us in May to discover whether the ends justify the means! Here are some springboards to help you pick a book, and get you thinking, between now and our next meeting:
~ What do you think makes a character an anti-hero? Is it their motivation, their mission, their means, or something else? ~ Why is your character an anti-hero? ~ Like villains, many anti-heroes have tragedy in their background. If your book go into your characters origins, does tragedy play a part in their story? ~ What kind of world does your anti-hero live in? Are they reacting to, or a product of, their setting? ~ Where do you think the turning point is, where a hero becomes an anti-hero? Does it necessarily involve violence?
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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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