Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.
Trotsky: A Graphic Biography by Rick Geary
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Trotsky was a hero to some, a ruthless demon to others. To Stalin, he was such a threat that he warranted murder by pickax. This polarizing figure set up a world conflict that lasted through the twentieth century, and in Trotsky: A Graphic Biography, the renowned comic artist Rick Geary uses his distinct style to depict the stark reality of the man and his times. Trotsky’s life becomes a guide to the creation of the Soviet Union, the horrors of World War I, and the establishment of international communism as he, Lenin, and their fellow Bolsheviks rise from persecution and a life underground to the height of political power. Ranging from his boyhood in the Ukraine to his fallout with Stalin and his moonlight romance with Frida Kahlo, Trotsky is a stunning look at one of the twentieth century’s most important thinkers and the far-reaching political trends that he launched.
Trotsky has long been one of my favorite historical figures. I’m looking forward to this one.
The Troublemakers by Gilbert Hernandez
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Low-life drug dealer Dewey Booth has $200,000 that even-lower-lifes want. Wes is a rock and roll loser that only wants to buy a club where nobody can tell him he can’t sing or perform. He’s known Dewey for years, but that isn’t enough to get his dough. Wes needs help. Nala is an uber-stacked bombshell whose pleasure in life is to seduce and then humiliate men dumb enough to fall for her. For half the dough, she agrees to help Wes get Dewey’s ill-gotten goods. Things don’t go so well when a wily grifter from Wes’s past shows up to complicate things. Vincenze is another troublemaker who enjoys wrecking people’s plans and wants the Dewey dough, too. In the end, deadly fires ignite, heads literally roll, eyes are shot out and-all Wes wants to do is sing in a rock and roll club. The Troublemakers is Gilbert Hernandez’s second, original graphic novel for Fantagraphics, following 2007’s Chance In Hell. This hard-boiled, pulp graphic novel will delight longtime Hernandez fans as well as provide a perfect introduction to newcomers to Hernandez’s work.
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John Leguizamo (Ice Age, Moulin Rouge!), Freddy Rodriguez (“Six Feet Under,” Bobby), Debra Messing (“Will & Grace,” “The Starter Wife”), and Alfred Molina (The Pink Panther 2) lead a hilarious ensemble cast in this humorous and heartwarming holiday story that is “laugh-out-loud-funny and downright touching." (MoviePictureFilm.com) It’s Christmastime in Chicago, and the far-flung members of the Rodriguez family are converging at their parents’ home to celebrate the season. During the course of this eventful week, traditions will be celebrated, secrets revealed, old resentments forgotten, familial bonds re-affirmed and the healing power of laughter will work its magic. Nothing Like The Holidays is a “heartfelt,” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times) gift for the whole family.
What?!?! No mention of John Leguizamo’s work in Spawn or Alfred Molina in Spider-Man 2.
Luna Park Written by Kevin Baker Art by Danijel Zezelj
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Alik is a former Soviet soldier who has relocated to Coney Island only to become a gangland enforcer. He’s haunted by memories of his past, and the only thing that soothes his angst is booze, heroin and his lover, the prostitute Marina. But as much as Alik encourages her to break away from the ganglord who owns her, Marina can’t because of her daughter, who never leads the ganglord’s side. So Alik comes up with a desperate plan to save all three of them, and in doing so, he’ll find he’s destined to repeat the past over and over again, including a past or two he might not even be aware he has, in a story that flashes from present- day run down Coney Island to the Russia of 10 years ago during the Second Chechen War to turn of the 20th century Coney Island, when the area was at its peak amusement park glory and wonder.