Bottomless Belly Button
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Lowdown: Didn’t like it. At all. Slightly surreal, technically excellent, but way too explicit for me.
Blankets
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Lowdown: Really liked it. Never sappy, frequently poignant, and beautifully illustrated. A wonderful story of first love.
Asterios Polyp
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Lowdown: Liked it. There’s a lot to digest in Asterios Polyp. On the surface, it’s the story of the title character coming to grips with himself. But there is a deeper subtext and meaning hidden below the surface that requires careful, additional readings. This would be a great read for a book club or school class.
The Umbrella Academy Volume 2: Dallas
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Lowdown: Loved it. The Umbrella Academy (both volumes) are the craziest, zaniest super-hero stories I’ve ever read. They have a freshness and energy that fuels my love for the comics medium.
Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Lowdown: Really liked it. I had never heard of Louis Riel before, but shortly after starting to read this fascinating biography of him, I couldn’t put it down. More about the events of the man’s life than the man himself, I found it engrossing.
The Arrival
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
A wordless story of a man seeking to make a new life for his family, The Arrival is equal parts fantasy and human interest drama. Excellent in every way. Not what I expected.
Mage Volume 1: The Hero Discovered
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Mage: The Hero Discovered is a modern-day fantasy story, feature magic, dragons, good vs. evil. The writing is excellent. The art is excellent. A solid story from Matt Wagner.
Essex County
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Set in a fictional version of Lemire’s hometown of Essex County, Ontario, Canada, Essex County tells three interwoven stories about loss and loneliness. Volume 1, Tales from the Farm is simply brilliant, and should be read in literature classes. Volumes 2 and 3, Ghost Stories and The Country Nurse, while not as deep, are just as poignant. Beautiful and wonderful human interest dramas.
Tales from Outer Suburbia
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Lowdown: Liked it. A magical, fantastical collection of wonderfully illustrated short stories. Perfect for young readers, but adults should enjoy it, too.
Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Lowdown: Really liked it. A great comic that starts out mostly fantasy and switches its last third to focus on the realistic lives and feelings of its characters. Solid art, solid characters, and solid storytelling.
The Timeless Way of Building
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Lowdown: Loved it. Just like the DNA that makes humans simultaneously the same and different, there is an underlying pattern to building that creates things that are the same, yet unique, which makes them true to the forces that created them. These things are then free from conflict and bring us peace. This is the timeless way of building.
Ratio
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Lowdown: Really liked it. What makes a cake a cake? Or a cookie a cookie? Or bread dough a bread dough? Ratio successfully distills cooking down to the essential ingredients and techniques and gives you a great foundation for working magic in your kitchen. Just make sure you’ve got the time.
What the Dog Saw
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Lowdown: Loved it. Gladwell is one of my favorite writers. This collection of stories written for The New Yorker magazine do not disappoint. I was drawn into each one. It seems strange to describe a book of non-fiction as a page turner, but it is. Fascinating.
Your Money or Your Life
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Lowdown: Loved it. I don’t want to call this book a program, but in the end that’s what it is. Its nine steps are designed to change your relationship with money. I haven’t started the program yet, but it’s already started working for me. Highly recommended.
Wolverine
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Lowdown: Liked it. Nothing new or original here. I’m sure that wasn’t the case when it was published. Always fun reading about Ninjas and Wolverine.
The Lost Symbol
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Lowdown: Loved it. I certainly don’t judge this book on technical merits. Brown will never win Pulitzer or Nobel literature prizes. But for engrossing, pick-up-and-read-until-you-finish pleasure, he’s hard to beat. This one even had a surprise for me at the end.
The Barefoot Serpent
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Lowdown: Really liked it. A short biography of Akira Kurosawa, the great film maker, is divided by a beautifully minimal and poignant story that pays homage to Kurosawa’s films and the themes of those films. Moving and magical.
Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Lowdown: Liked it. This is a beautifully painted glimpse into Morse’s thoughts on his life and family. The prose gets a little abstract at times. Its subtitle accurately describes the book: “a collection of scattered thoughts and moments that somehow equal a whole”. This was a pleasure to read. The art should be absorbed and studied instead of just casually enjoyed.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Lowdown: Liked it. This seven volume, post-apocalyptic graphic novel is visually captivating, with a wonderful, strong female lead character, great art, and unique story. Well done.
Death Note
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Lowdown: Loved it. This 12-volume manga series, while not original in the art department, has a thoroughly engrossing, fantastically unique story. Once you start, be prepared to fork out at least $63 to get the complete set, or make generous use of your library.
