{"id":536,"date":"2009-08-20T01:47:27","date_gmt":"2009-08-20T01:47:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2009\/08\/20\/books-received-81909-graphic-novel-edition\/"},"modified":"2012-08-17T05:19:25","modified_gmt":"2012-08-17T05:19:25","slug":"books-received-81909-graphic-novel-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2009\/08\/20\/books-received-81909-graphic-novel-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Books received 8\/19\/09 Graphic Novel edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s take a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound. <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

West Coast Blues<\/span><\/a> Adapted by Jacques Tardi from the novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette<\/span><\/p>\n

Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n

A SAVAGE NOIR THRILLER REUNITING A MASTER CRIME NOVELIST AND A SUPERLATIVE FRENCH CARTOONIST<\/p>\n

George Gerfaut, aimless young executive and desultory family man, witnesses a murder and finds himself sucked into a spiral of violence involving an exiled war criminal and two hired assassins. Adapting to the exigencies of his new life on the run with shocking ease, Gerfaut abandons his comfortable middle-class life for several months (including a sojourn in the countryside after an attempt to ride the rails turns spectacularly bad) until, joined with a new ally, he finally returns to settle all accounts… with brutal, bloody interest.<\/p>\n

Originally released in 2005, West Coast Blues<\/span> (Le Petit bleu de la c\u00f4te ouest<\/span>) is Tardi\u2019s adaptation of a popular 1976 novel by the French crime writer Jean-Patrick Manchette. (The novel had been previously adapted to film under the more literal title Trois hommes \u00e0 abattre<\/span>, and was released in English by the San Francisco-based publisher City Lights under the English version of the same title, 3 to Kill<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

Tardi\u2019s late-period, looser style infuses Manchette\u2019s dark story with a seething, malevolent energy; he doesn\u2019t shy away from the frequently grisly goings-on, while maintaining (particularly in the old-married-couple-style bickering of the two killers who are tracking Gerfaut) the mordant wit that characterizes his best work. This is the kind of graphic novel that Quentin Tarantino would love, and a double shot of Scotch for any fan of unrelenting, uncompromising crime fiction.<\/p>\n

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Babymouse #11: Dragonslayer<\/span><\/a> by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm<\/span><\/p>\n

Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n

Get ready for the next big epic fantasy . . .<\/p>\n

In a distant kingdom a growing darkness falls over the land.<\/p>\n

One is called to defend . . . to bring hope . . . to slay the Mighty Dragon. . . .<\/p>\n

Could it be . . . Babymouse? Find out when Babymouse leads her fellow Mathletes in the quest of a lifetime, a death-defying fight to win back both her school\u2019s honor and the coveted GOLDEN SLIDE RULE. Our brave young hero must face not just the evil Owlgorithms but also her own personal dragon\u2014MATH. Destined for glory, for greatness, for bookstores and libraries everywhere . . . this is the epic adventure fans have been waiting for!<\/p>\n

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All and Sundry Uncollected Work 2004-2009<\/span><\/a> by Paul Hornschemeier<\/span><\/p>\n

Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n

All and Sundry<\/span> corrals critically-acclaimed author and artist Paul Hornschemeier\u2019s work from the last five years \u2014 work previously ungathered, and in many cases never before seen in print.<\/p>\n

These works span the globe, from periodicals to museums, including: conceptual drawings and comics of Ulysses S. Grant created for an exhibit in Paris; an award-winning cover exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; the seventeen-part serialized tale of divine intervention, non-linearity, and social webs \u201cHuge Suit Visits the People\u201d created for the celebrated German newspaper Frankurter Allgemeine Zeitung<\/span>; and comic strips for The Wall Street Journal<\/span> and CNN featuring the unlikely cartoon protagonists of Michael Jackson, Sylvester Stallone as Rambo, and the \u201cgray fox,\u201d Anderson Cooper. In addition to these oddities, All and Sundry<\/span> collects covers and designs from multiple foreign editions of Paul\u2019s books, ranging from Holland to Korea; recent album art for David Byrne’s Luaka Bop record label; a collaboration with celebrated comics humorist Michael Kupperman (Tales Designed to Thrizzle<\/span><\/a>); as well as short, illustrated prose (thus far seen only in the pages of the anthology Mome<\/span>).<\/p>\n

The collection concludes with extensive selections from sketches and sketchbooks, providing an unusual glimpse at the chaotic world of Hornschemeier\u2019s work, before the polishing of lines and colors of the printed page. Here we see how works have developed and what the future holds for still gestating projects.<\/p>\n

All and Sundry<\/span>, perhaps more than any previous collection of Hornschemeier\u2019s work, demonstrates the variety and depth of the artist\u2019s interests and pursuits, and invites an examination of the entirety of his process, from first fevered scrawl to final, pristine brush line.<\/p>\n

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The Sandman<\/span><\/a> by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby<\/span><\/p>\n

Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n

At last, the classic 1940s Super Hero series by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby is collected from the pages of WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #6-7, ADVENTURE COMICS #72-97, #100-102 (1942-1946) and SANDMAN #1, the comic that reunited Simon and Kirby in 1974!<\/p>\n

In the capable hands of Simon and Kirby, the Sandman left behind his trademark green suit, fedora and gas mask to become a brightly costumed adventurer on the trail of crime in the big city with the help of his sidekick, Sandy the Golden Boy. With a strong element of the fantastic in the form of haunted dreams and foes claiming to be figures of myth, these stories were perfect examples of the fast-paced, slam-bang adventures that made Simon and Kirby the most celebrated comics talents of the 1940s.<\/p>\n

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The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book<\/span><\/a> by Joe Daly<\/span><\/p>\n

Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n

Set in sun-drenched Cape Town, South Africa, The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book<\/span> \u2014 featuring two full-length stories, \u201cThe Leaking Cello Case\u201d and \u201cJohn Wesley Harding\u201d \u2014 is stuffed to the gills with mystery, suspense, action, adventure, conspiracy theories, cool cars, and excellent weed as Dave and his freeloading pal Paul, well-meaning stoners in the tradition of Cheech &amp; Chong and Harold &amp; Kumar, thwart criminal malfeasance even as they ponder the larger questions, such as, \u201cWhat steps can I personally take to help protect the Earth and the species that inhabit it?\u201d (though most people\u2019s answers to these questions don\u2019t involve sword fights and hovercrafts).<\/p>\n

Joe Daly brings a refreshingly original \u2014 and utterly hilarious \u2014 voice to the comics medium, a dry, deadpan wit anchored in everyday reality combined with unnervingly deranged plots, rendered with a hyper-detailed, half-realistic and half-cartoony Tintin-style crispness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s take a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound. West Coast Blues Adapted by Jacques Tardi from the novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette Promo copy: A SAVAGE NOIR THRILLER REUNITING A MASTER CRIME … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n