Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon, 1992)

GENRE: Graphic Novel - Memoir

HONORS: 1992 Eisner Award - Best Graphic Album: Reprint
1992 Harvey Award - Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work
1993 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction
1993 Angoulême International Comics Festival Awards - Prize for Best Comic Book: Foreign comic
1993 Urhunden Prize

REVIEW: Art Spiegelman continues to interview his father's experiences as a survivor of the Holocaust, and it is in this second part that Art begins to feel some harsh guilt about his parent's past, as well as the present health and will of his father, Vladek. His father's narrative of the events leading to him and Anje's survival run in parallel to his current day behavior and senile attitude that burden Art and his girlfriend's stay with him. Spiegelman is able to elaborate on a very grim event by alternating scenes of the past and present. Art is often found as the one trying to get the facts straight, while his father is the one where readers see the emotion and trauma involved. The reader learns, not only about the torture and ruthless acts of genocide that the Jews had faced, but one also pick's up on Vladek's skill of using his congeniality to make connections and survive.

OPINION: MAUS is an absorbing take on such an unrelenting subject, but Spiegelman has made it deeply alluring to young readers through its presentation and pace.

IDEAS: A must read for a bibliography on the topic of the Holocaust or recommendation of non-fiction graphic novels.

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon, 1986)

GENRE: Graphic Novel, Historical - Holocaust

HONORS: 1992 Pulitzer Prize - Special Awards, and other international awards

REVIEW: In Maus I, Art Spiegelman, portrays his contemporary life as a cartoonist in New York who documents a story of his father's survival during the overtaking of Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II. Presented in comic book format, the story confronts serious issues concerning the annihilation of the Jewish race, the father's abrasive nature towards his second wife and those around him, as well as the events that lead to the suicide of his first wife and Art's mother, Anja. The characters portrayed in the comic provide a satirical tone to the story where felines are the Nazi's, pigs are the Polish, and mice are the Jews.

OPINION: An engrossing read that vividly captures the tracing of one’s family history. The story touches on how thousands of families were lead to concentration camps or to their deaths for their culture and identity. The comic format and rendered art is visually appealing and conveys a clear dialogue for young people to learn about the tragedy of the Holocaust without plowing through a history textbook.

IDEAS: A great addition to The Diary of Anne Frank, The Sunflower, and Night for high school curriculum about the Holocaust or for libraries to feature during the month of May, which is Jewish American Heritage Month.

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon, 2005)

GENRE: Graphic Novel - Memoir

HONORS: 2002 Angoulême Prize for Scenario

REVIEW: Volume 2 picks up where the first left off, which is when Marjane has separated from her parents to seek safety and study French in Austria. She is a young woman now, and the second volume reads more as a coming of age story than the first. Marjane has to find new friends and fit in, has become a bit promiscuous (compared to Iranian standards), and has sunk into deep depression. She even experiments with drugs and ends up homeless for a period of time. The second volume is what young adults will relate to the most because of Marjane's alienation and difficulty fitting into the world. After a series of dark events, she then returns to Iran to reunite with her family and to come to terms with her identity.

OPINION: The second volume does not focus so much on Iranian history, but it is where Marjane deals with her even darker past. Even though her parents felt that sending her away was protected her from the grim realities of warfare, she still could not escape her own pain of depression. On a side note, although graphic novels are a still a new and evolving, Persepolis will be deemed a classic. That is how GREAT it was.


IDEAS: see post for Volume 1.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon, 2004)

GENRE: Graphic Novel - Memoir

HONORS: 2001: Angoulême Coup de Coeur Award

REVIEW: Persepolis has given needed exposure to Iranian history that Americans do not often see or even too ignorant to learn about. The first volume is where Marjane Satrapi writes about her childhood growing up during the Islamic Revolution. This volume highlights the digression from a liberal culture to a strict, religious state. Reader's get to learn how the black robes and extreme Islamic domination are not a refection of Iran's citizens, but of their government. Before the war, Marjane lived a lavish life where her parents raised her to be educated and independent. In this graphic novel, she illustrates the transformation of the Iranian government, as well as the emotion of having to part with her lifestyle, her parents, and her identity because of the war.

OPINION: This book is as gripping and can be thought of as an equal predecessor of MAUS in terms of quality and content. Marjane has written something that is very relevant to our current political affairs, but in a light that can be understood from a Western standpoint. Her punk rock attitude and quirks of finding ways to express her individualism are a welcomed comic relief from such a heavy subject.

IDEAS: Notable curriculum for social studies or English class when focusing on war torn/ oil rich countries and how it has changed their culture.

Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft Vol. 1 by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW, 2008)

GENRE: Graphic Novel - Horror

HONORS:2009 Eisner Awards nomination for "Best Limited Series" and Joe Hill is nominated for "Best Writer
2009 British Fantasy Award for Best Comic or Graphic Novel

REVIEW: The talented collaboration of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez means a quality graphic novel of extraordinary graphics and a captivating story about the evil in paranormal and alternate worlds. The murder of Rendell Locke, a father of three and high school principle, by Sam, an angst ridden teen, has hauled the Locke family cross - country to their safe haven, a mansion in the town of Keyhouse in Lovecraft, Massachusetts. This may seem like a story about high school violence (i.e. Columbine), but the story progresses to paranormal signs of evil. While exploring the mansion's grounds, Bode finds a key that unlocks a new realm and releases the demon from the well. They soon learn that their father and this house holds more secrets then they bargained for.

OPINION: This graphic novel is not for the squeamish, and has more of an appeal to older teens because of its relatable characters, as well as violent, shocking illustrations. The quickly changing time lapses, puzzles, and multiple climaxes are what make this series addicting and hauntingly gratifying.

IDEAS: Teens who are a fan of Stephen King and his novels, as well as graphic novel series will be enthralled with this story. (Joe Hill is King's son). Unfortunately, the novel may not be as easy to access. (I was only able to find one copy out of three library systems.)

Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni Press, 2007)

GENRE: Graphic Novel

HONORS: 2007 Harvey Award, 2010 Eisner Award

REVIEW: This volume is significant because the reader gets to learn a little more about each character. In this volume, Scott actually gets a job, where he works as dishwasher for a vegetarian cafe. His situation becomes complicated when Scott moves in with Ramona, then gets kicked out cause she suspects he likes another girl friend, Lisa. In one night he loses his job and walks in on his gay roommate having sex. With no where else to go, Scott spends the night at Lisa's house, and later returns to Ramona's to confess his love, until he sees that Roxie spent the night. Scott's eyes flicker, but this sensation ends abruptly when he has to defeat Roxie and her twin, which were the next in line of evil ex-'boy'friends.

OPINION: Readers have learned to expect how the series will conclude, but compared to the others, this volume is the most climatic and has the greatest turn of events before the resolution. The presence of homosexuality is the most prominent here, as well as the fact that we learn Ramona's real age and reader's can come to their own conclusions about levels of maturity and the issues of various relationships. Highly recommended!!!

IDEAS: n/a

Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness (v. 3) by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni Press, 2006)

Genre: Graphic Novel

Awards: 2007 Harvey Award, 2010 Eisner Award

Review: The plot thickens in volume 3, as the rock star Envy Adams, another one of Scott's previous ex-girlfriends (this will be the 4th), comes to Toronto to play a gig and she needs Scott's band to be the opener. The first of Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends is introduced, while both exes battle it out. By this volume, one anticipates the sporadic bouts between characters, but the most amusing and charming aspects of O'Mally's books are his humor that touch on pop culture (in this case 'indie' culture). *SPOILER* Scott wins his first bout because Ramona's ex-boyfriend is a vegan, who went to school for veganism. He is defeated by Scott, when his vegan superpowers are taken away by the authorities because of the gelato he consumed earlier that day.

Opinion: This volume is an allegory about the complications of having former relationships, and Scott's band comes to terms of how terrible they are. As I mentioned before, this series will appeal to a broad range of interests because of the pop culture and music remarks, as well as the role-play gaming references that especially start to appear in this volume.

Ideas: Recommended reading if you liked the movie!

Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World (v. 2) by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni Press, 2005)

Genre: Graphic Novel

Awards: 2007 Harvey Award, 2010 Eisner Award

Review: Volume two is a look into Scott's past where he has ditched his high-school obsessed girlfriend, Knives Chau, and becomes enthralled with Ramona from her exotic New York origin and as a Amazon.com delivery person. The volume also touches on Scott joining a band, The Sex-BO-Ombs!, which are upcoming and destined to fail. The excitement lies in the 'cat fight' conclusion, where Knives and Ramona battle it out in the Toronto Public Library, which makes Scott appear to be an ideal- slacker heart throb.

Opinion: This was the first volume I read of this series that made me utterly obsessed. The manga like format and illustrations with a satirical interchange between characters makes this a superb crossover series for those who perceived manga as uncool, and those who are looking for a change from the fantasy.

Ideas: Purely for pleasure.

Garage Band by Gipi (First, Second, 2007)

Genre: Graphic Novel

Honors: none

Review: The minimal dialogue in this graphic novel does not speak as profoundly as the watercolor illustrations that tell the story of four young boys in rural Italy. They each have their own set of family matters and are unique in their disposition, but come together to start a metal band. Guiliano's father lends his bare garage for the boys to have band practice, but the making of a band has more ups and downs than they expect. When they have a chance at becoming signed to a label, the boys are on search for an amp to record a demo. This involves some sneaking and stealing from a church, which puts their band in turmoil.

Opinion: GiPi's graphic novel is appealing in two ways: it's a coming of age novel that focuses on a popular hobby of teens, which is creating a band and making music. The second is that it portrays how this yearning is universal, even though it differs by circumstances. For western culture, it's easy to grab a parent's credit card and go to the Guitar Showcase for equipment. When these means aren't available, a band finds their own ways to make music.

Ideas: A book recommendation or a title for display during library rec hours of Rock Band and the like.

Pitch Black by Youme Landowne and Anthony Horton (Cinco Puntos Press, 2008)

GENRE: Graphic Novel, Biography

HONORS: None

REVIEW: "Just cause you can't see don't mean ain't nothing there." Pitch Black takes place deep below the subways of New York City, where some of those who do not have homes are able find shelter. A sporadic meeting between two strangers on the train with the willingness to openly talk about life and art, leads to a glimpse of life underground. An autobiographical graphic novel with only a handful of words and sharp, poignant illustrations tells a story of homelessness in the big city that is difficult to neglect.

OPINION: The black and white illustrations and oblong shape of the book, makes the novel stand out on the shelves. As a true story, Pitch Black reveals one man's perspective that would typically not be voiced in the outside world. It conveys that even those shunned from society can find a sense of community and security without viable means.

IDEAS: A good book for addressing societal issues. Similar to Mole Men , and the documentary Dark Days, which also feature squatters in the NY subway.