Reviews | alt.lib

Saga Vol. 2

Review by Alex Morrow

I'm pretty enamored with this series so far. The art in particular is right up my alley, I'm a sucker for the weird sexuality, and the universe has a sort of "Star Wars" appeal to it in the way it combines fantasy and sci fi. HOWEVER... Sometimes I feel like the dialogue has a bit to be desired. Like Vaughan is sliding by with senseless vulgarity (although there is plenty of sense...ful....vulgarity) instead of throwing his back into proper conversations and jokes.

Bottomless Belly Button

Review by Jasmine (Jammys) Chang

Wow. Each character in this bizarre family drama/comedy/mystery/romance is so intricate, relatable and fleshed out. The web of blood connections is suddenly thrown off-balance as the Loony family's grandparents decide to get a divorce after 40 years together. The Loony relatives return to the divorcing household to reunite one last time. Shaw follows each Loony and maps out their fears, desires and vulnerable places while interweaving their stories. It's fricken beautiful.

Prophet Vol. 2: Brothers

Review by Future Man

I am so pleased with where this series is headed. For those who read the first book and reached the end wondering what on earth had just happened, but just couldn't get enough, prepare for more of the same. This book seems to open countless more doors, while closing very few. I would classify this only very loosely in the action/adventure genre. The story is so unlike any other genre comics I've read and the artistry is so top-notch inventive, its inspiring to me in the same way that free-jazz is, just bleeding with possibilities. While it seems that the primary influence on these stories is from European comics, there is a spontaneity here that reminds me of some of the most experimental of American underground comics. Pick this book up and hold on, because it demands your full attention.

Walrus: Brandon Graham's All Bum Album

Review by Future Man

Brandon Graham is great! Lately, he's been recognized by a much larger audience for his unconventional revival of a '90's superhero comic, Prophet, for which he has essentially created something entirely new. Here, we get to see his punny humor and rubbery cartoon characters uncensored and it's a joy to explore! This book is essentially a collection of different 'sketchbook' drawings, but its been assembled and designed in such a way that it really highlights Graham's attention to story in even the smallest moments. Each page holds your attention much longer than a typical sketchbook page, since every corner seems to have a silly pun smashed into it. If you're familiar with any of Graham's work, especially Multiple Warheads, this will definitely deliver more of the goods! For the uninitiated, I feel that this could also make for a good introduction to Graham's cartoon sensibilities.

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

Review by Becca Dang

The Wall is filled with personal insight of being an artist in the Solvet Union in 1948 and beyond in Prague. The book tells the tale of the writer's experiences dealing with the repression of artistic expression. The author details a world in which personal expression and outside ideas are forbidden....a world in which only social realism is permitted. That is just the story.. The way Peter Sis did the illustrations to convey the story is profound in its original imagery from his imagination.

If n Oof

Review by Helios Wilson

Rad Rad RAD. This is the best I have seen from Brian Chippendale. Coherent storyline and fantastic drawings, wonderful dialogue and cool ideas. So thouroughly enjoyable. I love the format and the printing of the cover. A pure pleasure to read and inspiring to my brain nibblits. Do it! read this book.

MERE

Review by Helios Wilson

man, what a bummer.. I really really enjoy the other books by this author, but this was such a let down. It's just lazy work, like a bunch of scabs picked off and collected in a paper bag. I like the way the cover is printed, but I cant believe that someone published this. don't waste your time

A Field Guide to California and Pacific Northwest Forests

Review by Zach Sylvester

Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories (Love and Rockets)

Review by Future Man

Many times I find comics that have made a profound effect on the medium and have acheived a sort of legendary status that gets them automatically added to many best-of lists. The Hernandez brothers and their work in their comic book series Love and Rockets is one such example of a book approached with such reverence, but unlike so many other stories, this one really stands the test of time. This work is SO AMAZING!!! This book contains all stories written and illustrated by Gilbert Hernandez (one third of the legendary 'Los Bros Hernandez') which were previously published in Love and Rockets and built the groundwork for the still continually building world that Gilbert has created. These stories are most profound to me for their expansive depth, exploring the fictional South American village of Palomar. Palomar is a town of less than 400 denizens, many of which occur as consistent characters within the story. The beauty is in the rich and believable interlocking histories of the characters. As anyone who has lived in a small town will know, everyone is connected, whether they want to be or not. Essentially, the whole story is like a huge and continuing family drama which we get to watch develop across generations. Characters grow up and become adults and have children of their own and some leave Polomar to seek something more, but we wish they wouldn't. The perspective shifts and we see events transpire from many different perspectives, to the point that eventually the reader identifies with no particular character as a central perspective, but comes to understand the interconnectivity of everyone and identify with the town as a whole. When characters leave, their absence is felt. So much to say about this story! If you read it, we should talk.

Sunny Vol. 1

Review by Future Man

I LOVE MATSUMOTO! I can never get enough! The art in this is of the same cleaned up and detailed style that was used for his previously released Gogo Monster and the storytelling style was really similar. The cast here is much larger however, while again using the sort of eccentric children characters that Matsumoto is known for as the focal characters which the story moves around. While I really enjoyed a lot of the emotional moments within this story, by it's close it was seeming to be just beginning. This is the first book of a series it appears, but how many more or how long until a next book is unclear. I hope that this book does well enough to warrant translating more of this story into English.