Neil Gaiman Discusses "The Graveyard Book"

At the web-site of the Newshour with Jim Lehrer, acclaimed comics writer and novelist Neil Gaiman discussed his Newbery Medal winning children's novel, The Graveyard Book, with arts correspondant Jeffrey Brown. Follow this link to listen.

Essential Dykes To Watch Out For Reviewed by American Prospect On-Line

In a post back in '07, I expressed surprise that the liberal political journal The American Prospect would actually devote its cover story to an article on super-hero comics. Alison Bechdel's "Dykes To Watch Out For", on the other hand, seems a more natural fit. Sure enough, a review of the new hardcover collection, The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For, was posted on the mag's web-site yesterday.

Stuff Ray Is Reading

I have just begun to read "Schulz and Peanuts", David Michaelis' new biography of Charles Monroe Schulz. I'll have a full review once I've finished. In the meantime, if you'd like to read more about the book, check out the following articles and reviews:

-from Publisher's Weekly

-John Updike reviews the book in The New Yorker

-and then there's this item from Yahoo! News.

I've also been reading Cerebus...unfortunately I've stalled while waiting for the one copy of Minds that the Columbus library owns to be returned and delivered to the Whetstone branch for me to check out. It's probably a good thing, though, as I could use a break after slogging through the purple prose and bitter ranting that make up the text portions of Reads.

I've also just read the first three trade collections of DC's year long weekly series 52. Even as someone who has read superhero comics all his life, I am stunned by the level of violence and gore in this series, especially in the scenes involving Shazam! villain Black Adam. (He literally rips a man in half--and not off-panel-- in the third issue.)

On the positive side, I'm intrigued by the return, in Vol 3, of the "Yellow Aliens" who created Animal Man and eager to see where that plotline, obviously the brainchild of co-writer (one of four) Grant Morrison, will go.

A Wonderful Wordless Work of Art

As if the quotes in the above ad aren't enough, Sunday Comix's very own resident librarian, Rebecca O'Neil, says, "If you haven't read The Arrival by Shaun Tan yet, I can't recommend it highly enough. It is a wordless story done in sepia-tone pencil drawings; one of the most gorgeous and affecting books I've ever read."

Suggested Reading

The Best American Comics 2007
edited by Anne Elizabeth Moore & Chris Ware
Houghton Mifflin Company
$22.00

Guest editor Chris Ware and series editor Anne Elizabeth Moore have sought out the best stories to create this cutting-edge collection. Contributors include Lynda Barry, Robert Crumb, Aline Crumb, Kim Deitch, Gilbert Hernandez, Seth, and Art Spiegelman.

"The idea of Houghton Mifflin's distinguished Best American series turning to the comics would once have seemed unlikely, but the powerful narratives in this collection prove why it's a good idea... this volume shows the Best American Comics concept to be a showcase for thought-provoking and evocative work."
Publishers Weekly review of Best American Comics Vol 1

"...the high standard this edition sets heightens expectations for future series installments and the talent they may introduce."
Booklist review of Best American Comics Vol 1

Provided by Read Yourself Raw