Graphic Novels - Friday, November 26, 2004

ONE HUNDRED DEMONS by Lynda Barry

Buddhism teaches that each person must overcome 100 demons in a lifetime. In this collection of 20 comic strips, Lynda Barry wrestles with some of hers in her signature quirky, irrepressible voice.

RAYMOND CHANDLER'S MARLOWE by Raymond Chandler

Elegantly designed and packaged in a mix of full color and black and white comics, this trio of graphic novels includes Chandler’s classic final Marlowe adventure, ”The Pencil,“ adapted from the Raymond Chandler story by award-winning mystery novelist Jerome Charyn and Marvel/DC comics illustrator David Lloyd; ”Goldfish,“ adapted by top British designer Ryan Hughes and “Trouble is My Business” illustrated by Lee Moyer, Alfredo Alcala in a style reminiscent of 30s illustrator J.C. Leyendecker. None of this work has ever been published before and represents the first adaptations of these Chandler stories into comics.

FOUR PICTURES BY EMILY CARR by Nicolas Debon

The life of Emily Carr, one of the few famous women painters of her generation, whose work is now compared to Georgia O'Keeffe and Frida Kahlo, is explored through four of her best paintings.

THE SANDMAN VOL. 3: DREAM COUNTRY
Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by Kelley Jones, Charles Vess, Coleen Doran, and Malcolm Jones III

Featuring the tale that won the world fantasy award for best short story, The Sandman: Dream Country continues the fantastical mythology of Morpheus, the king of dreams. In these centuries-spanning tales, the powerful entity known as the sandman interacts with a diverse assortment of humans, fairies, heroes, and animals as he walks the mortal plane. Including an amazing encounter with William Shakespeare and an interesting take on the origin and first performance of "a midsummer night's dream," this book depicts the dreaming world of cats, the tragic life of forgotten super-heroes and the folly of imprisoning and torturing a former lover of the King of Dreams. (DC Comics website)

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN
Written by Frank Miller; Art by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley

Written as a sequel to the groundbreaking BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, this masterful hardcover takes place three years after Batman's defeat of Superman. Faking his own death and creating an underworld civilization, Bruce Wayne has been keeping his eye on the world above. As that false Camelot reaches its breaking point, it is up to the Dark Knight to emerge from the underground shadows and once again return order to chaos. Joined by his army of Bat-soldiers and his female sidekick Catgirl, an elderly Batman wages a final war against a diseased world in an epic tale that features Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, and the Atom. (DC Comics website)

PERSEPOLIS 2 by Marjane Satrapi

"In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi dazzled us with her heartrending memoir-in-comic-strips about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Here is the continuation of her fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging." "Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran."

For more reading suggestions, check out our Summer Reading List or one of our other booklists.