Category: Graphic Novel

Book Review, Classic, European Literature, Fantasy, Fiction, French, German Literature, Graphic Novel, History, Non-fiction

Two with Pictures: The Singing Bones and Yvain, the Knight of the Lion

I’ve been doing some reading for work. Since I teach 7th grade history and English reading for work takes me places it might not take other grown men. Not that I mind. Two strong contenders for actual classroom use this time around. The first is M.T. Anderson’s graphic novel (illustrations by Andrea Offermann) Yvain, The Night of the Lion based on the 12th century French epic … Continue reading Two with Pictures: The Singing Bones and Yvain, the Knight of the Lion

james b chester
American Fiction, Book Review, Classic, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Novel

Jimmy Corrigan The Smartest Kid on Earth by C. Ware

If you think graphic novels are easy to read, Jimmy Corrigan  by C. Ware will put you to the test. It will be worth it. I don’t know enough about graphic novels to say this with authority, but I think there’s a visual storytelling genius at work in Jimmy Corrigan. The way Mr. Ware uses the page impressed  me from the get-go.  Some pages are … Continue reading Jimmy Corrigan The Smartest Kid on Earth by C. Ware

james b chester3 Comments
American Fiction, Book Review, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Novel

The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

I guess I just have a hard time reading pictures. I’m too focused on the words when I read a graphic novel.  And the words usually are not very good.  This has long been my main complaint with the form–it needs better writing. The writing in Scott McCloud’s graphic novel The Sculptor isn’t bad, but the story suffers from what has become a trite cliché.  (Yes, that … Continue reading The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

james b chester4 Comments
American Fiction, Book Review, Classic, Graphic Novel, memoir

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast

I know this won’t win me many friends in some quarters but my main problem with graphic novels is that they are typically so much better as graphics than they are as novels. Even when I look at the graphic novels I’ve loved and admired, I have to admit that I like the artwork much more than I do the writing.   Most graphics novelists–in … Continue reading Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast

james b chester4 Comments
American Fiction, Book Review, Fiction, Graphic Novel, memoir, Non-fiction, Novel

Sunday Morning Ramble

Greetings from Clovis and me.  Sometime today we’ll be reading more of Anthony Marra’s new book The Tsar of Love and Techno.   See how it says “Stories” right there on the cover?  I should have paid more attention. I’ve enjoyed the book from the start, parts of it are very funny in that slightly skewed, dark way Russian writers have, but things just made no … Continue reading Sunday Morning Ramble

james b chester6 Comments
American Fiction, Book Review, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Novel, Young Adult

El Deafo by Cece Bell

I confess, at first it bothered me that all the characters in Cece Bell’s graphic novel El Deafo were rabbits.  Just this morning, I as was passing my copy of the book along to the school librarian, I realized why Ms. Bell made them rabbits. Duh. I was also a little put off by the language, as I usually am with graphic novels.  Full honesty here, … Continue reading El Deafo by Cece Bell

james b chester5 Comments
American Fiction, Book Review, Fiction, Graphic Novel, History, Young Adult

Incognegro by Mat Johnson

It can be hard to tell who’s black in America. This is something our history books tend to downplay when not denying it outright. It’s also something that can be used to one’s advantage in certain situations. In the early part of the 20th century, Walter White, the former head of the NAACP went undercover as a white man in the deep south to investigate and … Continue reading Incognegro by Mat Johnson

james b chester3 Comments
American Fiction, Book Review, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novel, History, Novel, Young Adult

Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Saints, the companion to Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel Boxers, makes the project worthwhile.  The two books each present different perspectives on the same set of events in China’s Boxer Rebellion of 1900. They’re not exactly opposing views.  Boxers told the story of a boy caught up in the rebellion, fighting on the side of the Chinese.  The girl in Saints  is also fighting for the Chinese, the Christian … Continue reading Saints by Gene Luen Yang

james b chester2 Comments