Sophie Crumb: Evolution of a Crazy Artist
Edited by S. Crumb, A. Kominsky-Crumb, and R. Crumb, Norton, $27.95 (304p) ISBN 978-0-393-07996-8
Sophie Crumb's slender body of published comics so far identifies her as an interesting--but still mostly promising--young cartoonist. Questions about this compilation of childhood and sketchbook drawings are both unavoidable and acknowledged. In their twin introductions, Sophie's parents (and co-editors) Robert and Aline Kominsky-Crumb position this book as something other than "Crumbsploitation," praising their daughter's artwork and suggesting that this chronological, lifelong sketchbook anthology constitutes a unique and fascinating document of personal and artistic development. The book satisfies somewhat on these counts. Sophie's earliest work includes very advanced preschool art, and she remains continuously prolific. However, to distance this work from her family background denies part of the reason for her early, sustained development and one of this book's major narrative threads: her relationship to the legacy of her celebrated parents. Their presence as media guides is evident in her early subjects (the Three Stooges, vintage cartoons). Later she leaves home to join a circus, study tattooing, and live with lowlifes in New York City. The true legacy of her parents' influence is her constant outpouring of uncensored, self-critical, and perceptive drawing. (Nov.)
40: A Doonesbury Retrospective
G.B. Trudeau, Andrews McMeel, $100 (700p) ISBN 978-0-7407-9735-4
This monolithic overview of G.B. Trudeau's landmark newspaper strip is the most comprehensive book on the subject imaginable, a must-read for both fans and those interested in what amounts to a chronicle of American society over the past four decades. The book reprints virtually all of the strip's significant story arcs in sensibly abridged versions, trimming the fat for newcomers yet retaining all of the narrative qualities that have made the series a riveting but topical narrative. Despite the age of some strips, the material holds up and the then innovative wry attitude of its cast (and, by default, its creator) remains fresh, compelling and frequently hilarious. Forty years have done nothing to dull the edge of Trudeau's left-wing political stance, and his gift for blending sociopolitical commentary and multigenerational serialized narrative have only been refined over time. Mike, B.D., Zonker, J.J., Alex, and the huge cast have become like friends to faithful readers, and leafing through the pages is like taking a long look through a family scrapbook. A gorgeous tribute to a seminal comic strip. (Oct.)
Cuba: My Revolution
Inverna Lockpez and Dean Haspiel, DC/Vertigo, $24.99 (144p) ISBN 978-1-401-22217-8
This dramatic account of the experiences of a young woman named Sonya during the Cuban revolution is based on the experiences of Lockpez. The narrative traces Sonya as she transforms from an idealist revolutionary studying to be a surgeon to a dissident artist who realizes she must flee her beloved but troubled country. Along the way, she witnesses carnage, is imprisoned and tortured, and is separated from her family. In the midst of the chaos, she also finds love. Haspiel, who has known Lockpez for over 20 years, provides striking illustrations that chart Sonya's shifting emotions and alliances; particularly strong are the surrealist depictions of her dreams and her ordeal in prison. Painter José Villarubia adds tones and shades of red that further intensify the story. At times Lockpez relies too heavily on clunky exposition explaining the history of Cuba and Castro, although some readers may find the context helpful. It is impossible to deny the power of Lockpez's dramatic coming-of-age story, which make the human cost of the revolution all too clear. (Sept.)
The Tango Collection
Edited by Bernard Caleo, Allen & Unwin, $26.95 paper (240p) ISBN 978-1-74237-143-6
More than 50 creators from Australia and New Zealand contribute short works to this compilation of comics on the theme of love, but the end result is disjointed and uneven. The contents are taken from an independent comics anthology of the same name, and contributing artists mostly work with an underground feel. In segments ranging from one to six pages, writers and artists present takes on romance and love ranging from the surreal to the autobiographical. The impact is haphazard as the tone, message, and quality of writing and art varies drastically from piece to piece. Although a few artists stand out--Bruce Mutard's clean sexual horror, Nikki Greenberg's whimsy--there's little sense of overall momentum as the book jumps from short piece to short piece. It's more successful as the document of an emerging comics scene than an exploration of the theme. (Sept.)
Two Cents Plain: My Brooklyn Boyhood
Martin Lemelman, Bloomsbury, $25 (320p) ISBN 978-1-60819-004-1
Lemelman's memoir of his childhood in 1950s Brooklyn gets off to a promising start, with his parents recounting their travails as Jews trying to survive in Nazi-occupied Poland (a story told fully in his earlier Mendel's Daughter). After meeting in a German displaced persons camp, the pair soon headed to America, where they promptly had two sons. And here the trouble begins. Once Lemelman becomes a character in his own childhood, potentially engrossing stories about growing up in a thriving Jewish neighborhood peter out or meander due to poor pacing and a lack of focus. The ostensible anchor is his father Tovia's shop, Teddy's Candy Store, but even the tales of Tovia's eccentric customers seem little more than impressions. The same can be said about Lemelman's pencils, which sometimes court vivid life only to give way to muddy, poorly conceived blobs. Lemelman's episodic remembrances are all mood, all era, and little story; the bittersweet nostalgia connects, but even the most skilled storyteller shouldn't take readers' indulgence for granted. (Sept.)
Web Exclusive Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love
Chris Roberson and Shawn McManus, DC/Vertigo, $14.99 trade paper (144pp) ISBN 9781401227503
In this collection, Cinderella has left the scullery behind, ditched Prince Charming, and becoming what others see as "a globe-trotting gadabout with a beef against her ex-husband." The secret is that she's actually a spy, working for the forces of Fabletown. As in the Fables series, where this incarnation of Cinderella made her first appearance, Fabletown is inhabited by characters from fairy tales. This, the first spin-off for an individual character from that series, gives her the difficult mission of figuring out who's taking magical objects from Fabletown and selling them in the regular world of Mundy. Sci-fi novelist Roberson writes an irreverent and fun tale for Cindy, taking lots of picaresque detours into a variety of fairy tale characters. Cinderella's prickly relationship with Aladdin, her partner in crime-fighting, gives the requisite romantic thrill, while her Manhattan store, "Glass Slipper Shoes," contains many of the story's funnier moments. The masterful McManus brings his trademark energy and precision to his drawings, making sure Cinderella looks great in Prada and Gucci as she jets about beating down baddies. Fables fans and new readers alike will rally around this collection. (Aug.)
Web Exclusive FDR and The New Deal For Beginners
Paul Buhle and Sabrina Jones, For Beginners (Random, dist.), $14.99 trade paper (200p) ISBN 9781934389508
The incredibly farsighted and productive presidential career of Roosevelt is handled in smart, dramatic fashion in this long-overdue addition to Steerforth's impressive "For Beginners" line of introductions to concepts, thinkers, and historical events. Buhle (The Beats) gives a clean overview of FDR's early years before heading into the meat of his story about America's most populist president. Dividing Buhler's text chapter are graphic renditions of many of the events by Jones (The Real Cost of Prisons), whose dramatic, woodcut-inspired art recalls political broadsides of the early 20th century. While avoiding lecturing, Buhle and Jones proudly speak from the left of the spectrum, a tricky balancing act. An introductory note states that the writer and artist were moved to create this book by the 2008 election of President Obama, which "created a popular, democratic and egalitarian excitement that, even now, after a considerable letdown, has hardly faded in memory." Buhle and Jones do such a good job of illustrating FDR's staggering legacy, however, that shutting the book and returning to 2010 comes as a considerable letdown. (July)
Web Exclusive Kill Audio
Claudio Sanchez, Chondra Echert, and Mr. Sheldon, Boom! (www.boomstudios.com), $24.99 (176p) ISBN 9781608860166
Prog-rocker Sanchez (lead singer for Coheed and Cambria), this time writing with fiancée Echert, ventures into the world of comics with this vivid but often baffling action story of a troll-like immortal, Kill Audio, in a surrealistic world of music and art. At first he's motivated by a desire to learn why he and his siblings were created. Later it's to carry out his intended purpose: to limit and control excessive creativity. Kill Audio and his energetic gang of grotesques, from a beaver-suit wearing skeleton to a sex-obsessed giant chicken, find themselves opposed by a vast conspiracy whose mastermind is closer to Kill than anyone suspects. Mr. Sheldon's art is crowded and repellent, perhaps too closely reflecting the violent and chaotic world it illustrates. Sanchez and Echert tell their story with considerable energy but a similar lack of clarity; the result is a tale told passionately but in a private language, with fervor but no depth. (Aug.)
