Big Comix Round-up

I hardly have time to post about the books I'm reading, but I thought I'd write up mini-reviews of some of the graphic novels I've read recently. The good ones anyway.

Paul has a Summer Job
By Michel Rabagliati

Paul Has a Summer Job is a gentle coming-of-age story about a teenage boy who drops out of high school and ends up as counsellor at a camp for underprivileged kids. It's set in Quebec, has a lot of French-Canadian cultural references and, as you might expect from a book with those modest roots, is great in an unassuming way. The story trots along--partly innocent and tender, partly funny and poignant--and builds quietly to an ending that hits you with a sweet wallop. I think I liked Paul Has a Summer Job the best of the four books on this list (From Hell is technically superior). It's just so nice.

City of Glass
By Paul Auster, Adapted by Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli

I'm at a bit of disadvantage reviewing this, since I haven't read the original Paul Auster novella. But the graphic novel adaptation of City of Glass has been so widely praised that I had to pick it up (and I love David Mazzucchelli's artwork). So it's a lot of things, but mainly it's an exploration of the visual language of comics wrapped in a kind of noir detective story. For a thoughtful work-up on the story and what it means, read Martha Kuhlman's The Poetics of the Page. There are also a couple of other good reviews. I've picked up City of Glass a few times since reading Kuhlman's piece, and I always find a new layer to peel away.

From Hell
By Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell

A masterpiece. I put off reading this for a long time, but finally got around to it last summer. Alan Moore weaves various Jack the Ripper conspiracy theories into a dense and compelling Victorian horror story, while he and artist Eddie Campbell pull off some absolutely mind-blowing formal riffs over the steady and familiar beat of the nine-panel grid. (My god, does anyone know what I mean by that?) This is not for those with weak stomachs--the artwork gets pretty grisly--but it's a classic nonetheless. There's a movie based on this book, but it's not the same. At all. Not even close.

The Speed Abater
By Christophe Blain

This is a French graphic novel about a group of sailors on old steam warship at the start of the Second World War. The sailors, sick from the rolling seas, explore the belly of the ship until they reach, finally, the reduction gears, where everything is silent and perfectly still. This is finely crafted bandes dessinnee, with loose and flowing artwork that captures the hot, cramped, stifling atmosphere of a warship.