Graphic Novels

Love and comics have been in bed together since at least the 1700s, when witty kibyõshi (pictorial novels) recounted infatuations and misadventures in Japan's pleasure quarters (see Adam Kern's scholarly Manga from the Floating World, incorporating three kibyõshi stories in full). The sometimes sappy, sometimes scandalous American romance comics reached huge audiences pretelevision, until anticomics witch hunts in the 1950s and the growth of other, franker media in the sexy 1960s led the comics industry to put most of its talent into superheroes for 30 years.

For a blast from the past, Marvel Romance reprints a best-of selection from the 1960s and 1970s. Romance Without Tears, a collection from unsung 1940s writer Dana Dutch, features feisty heroines not afraid to throw over bad-news dates. But for Marvel Romance Redux, a slew of humor writers rescripted the original comics into amusing send-ups. For Truer Than True Romance, Jeanne Martinet does the same for DC Comics' True Romance stories, replacing dialog with zingers like, "The good-night kiss passed the test—it was Wall Street with a hint of tantric yoga."

Since manga recently engaged the affections of feminine America, romance is back. The runaway classic favorite, sometimes compared to Jane Austen, is surely Maison Ikkoku (LJ 1/04), which features the courtship of slacker student Yusaku and his widowed landlady, Kyoko. In the gorgeous Paradise Kiss (LJ 5/1/03), the two lovers do not end up together, while Absolute Boyfriend (LJ 9/15/06) stars a love triangle of which only two are human. Many manga romances feature the heroine spirited away into another time or place, as in Red River (Xpress Reviews, 1/16/07), Magic Knight Rayearth, and From Far Away. Gender-crossing classics include Fake for boys' love (or BL; see "Romance by Any Other Name," LJ 9/15/07) and the one-volume Adolescence of Utena for yuri (as in girl-on-girl romance).

The masculine view of romance has not been overlooked—in manga, witness Train Man (LJ 3/15/07), Boys Be..., and the funny boy-girl-penguin trio in Tuxedo Gin. The Swedish Blue Pills poignantly introduces AIDS into the love equation (see review, p. 72), while True Story Swear to God comes from the pen of a culture-clashed American comikker coupled up with a bubbly Mexican newscaster.

Romance plots are still not common in American comics, although some superheroes have loved and married, especially Marvel folk (e.g., Storm of X-Men and the Black Panther, see LJ 11/15/07). French comics have no such hesitations with the engaging The Professor's Daughter (see review, p. 73) and a poignant, luminous Swann in Love out of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. Curiously, Jane Austen seems never to have made it into comics, except for a pretty but abbreviated Northanger Abbey from Trina Robbins and Anne Timmons in the Gothic Classics line. Austen deserves longer treatment, with manga-style pacing.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that readers in possession of more than a dozen years on this planet must be in want of good stories of how Jackie and Jillian meet and mate. In the United States, love comics have taken second place for decades to adventure plots. But no longer, especially with BL making it out of the niche category. Look for strong growth in romance of all kinds, including increased crossover from prose fiction such as Dark Hunger (Xpress Reviews, 11/20/07). Project: Romantic (see review, p. 73) gives a glimpse of some of the possibilities.

With communism's triumph over capitalist science via Sputnik, Soviet Premier Khrushchev wanted an in-your-face sequel: a living creature sent into space. The lucky gal is Laika, an accommodating street mutt that captured her handlers' affections. The plucky dog survives training, and her story is juxtaposed with a flashback of the space program director's earlier hairbreadth escape from a gulag. Indeed, the director chooses Laika for launch partly because of his feelings of empathy for her. But Laika does not survive her mission, and the unsavory details are hidden initially. The entire account leaks tragedy—not just Laika's death and the director's harrowing experience but also the tragedy of the other characters and, indeed, all the Russian people struggling to maintain their humanity while enmeshed in suffocating bureaucracies. Drawn in grimy-colored naturalism, Laika is a powerfully emotional reading experience, easily the match of the starred First in Space, about chimps in the U.S. space program (Xpress Reviews, 8/1/07). Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, both well-researched titles fictionalize turning points in the space race. While fine for ages 13+, Laika has more narrative subtlety than First in Space and would be appreciated by adults. Highly recommended for public and school libraries. The title needs appropriate nonfiction catalog entries.—M.C.

Young Terry Lee, bequeathed a map to an abandoned Chinese mine by his late grandfather, sets out to locate it with his two-fisted adult friend, Pat Ryan, and their Chinese interpreter, Connie. Together, they find excitement and danger among the pirates, bandits, and expatriates of 1930s China. This inaugural volume of IDW's "Library of American Comics" reprints the first 26 months (1934–36) of this seminal adventure strip, with the Sunday installments in full color. Caniff, also known for his later newspaper strip Steve Canyon, begins somewhat crudely but hits his stride quickly, introducing one colorful and memorable character after another—many of them romantic foils for Pat, including heiress Normandie Drake, the slippery and beautiful Burma, and perhaps the series' finest creation, the haughty, dangerous, and complex Dragon Lady, a pirate queen who sometimes threatens our heroes and sometimes fights alongside them. The stories remain rousing; action sequences are interspersed with comic relief, often courtesy of Connie's goofball antics and fractured but witty "Engrish." NBM has published this material previously, but their editions are long out of print. This first of six planned volumes collecting Caniff's complete run on the strip is strongly recommended for all libraries.—S.R.

Like the linking-rings magic trick, two stories intertwine: Long Tack Sam's around-the-world life and the transcontinental crusade of his great-granddaughter author Fleming to reanimate him. Relatives and magicians from America to mainland China opened doors for her, uncovered memorabilia, and spun yarns. Trained in China as a magician and acrobat around the turn of the 20th century, Long immigrated to Europe, married an Austrian beauty, and then took American vaudeville by storm. Rubbing elbows with Cary Grant, Jack Benny, and George Burns (who later confirmed Long's skill to Fleming), Long knew everyone and turned up everywhere but refused to act in Hollywood movies because only villainous and despicable character roles were offered to Asians at the time. Thus his story dropped from public knowledge as vaudeville ended. In what amounts to a colorful collage—postcards, clippings, photos, handbills, letters, cartoons, and Fleming's own cheery sketches of Stickgirl—Fleming carries their stories through two world wars, turbulent international politics, and Asian racism. That both Long and Fleming triumphed despite incredible barriers is the real happy ending. Fleming is an independent filmmaker, and this graphic novel is based on her 2003 award-winning, feature-length documentary. Her captivating and moving scrapbook-style portrait is recommended for teen and adult collections.—M.C.

Herriman's inventive and influential Krazy Kat Sunday strips are widely regarded as comics masterpieces and have been extensively reprinted. The strip's daily installments are far less known, but this nicely designed, oversized (15" x 11") hardcover should begin to change that. Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse first appeared in a small strip included at the bottom of Herriman's daily feature The Family Upstairs, and this volume includes some of the first Family Upstairs strips focusing on them, from 1911 to 1912, along with some of the first stand-alone Krazy Kat strips from 1914 and a long run of strips from 1920 to 1921. It's clear from the beginning that Herriman is a master of wordplay, and he quickly establishes his trademark mutable backgrounds, Krazy's uniquely accented (and spelled) dialog, and the running gag of Ignatz punctuating every strip by flinging a brick at Krazy's head. Only later does it emerge that Krazy mistakenly regards these missiles as messages of love. Also included are Herriman's program illustrations for the 1922 Krazy Kat jazz pantomime ballet written by John Alden Carpenter. No library should be without some Krazy Kat; the Sunday strip collections are top priority, but libraries collecting those should not overlook this volume.—S.R.

Beautiful psychedeco graphics spin out a story about a well-to-do daughter sent off to earn tuition for nursing school when family finances fail. The House of Cotton seamstress job in a seaside town drops Josephine into a love triangle with her inscrutable boss and mysteriously mute coworker, Edith, whom she befriends. Fantasy and dreamscape play alongside reality, eventually revealing the source of Edith's muteness as an abusive relationship with the boss. Blood ties it all together—the blood of seamstress needle—pricks, Edith's blood, and Josephine's own bent for fainting at the sight of blood. A more positive anchor is the aged tarot reader, whom Josephine meets in town, with a dog named Keri, from Kerberos, keeper of Hell's gate. The ambiguous tale gradually coalesces as Josephine, Keri, and finally Edith make their way out of the "clay" that has been sucking them under. Nowak's gorgeous pastel art overlays and deepens this self-discovery tale with the power of imagery and masqueraded nightmares. Nowak lives in Sweden and writes in English, and her work is touted as a blend of European and Asian comics traditions. This artfully disturbing tale will appeal to "shojo alumnae" ages 18+.—M.C.

Scott Pilgrim, a dopey but lovable 23-year-old slacker and bassist for struggling Toronto band Sex Bob-omb, was dating Knives Chau (17 years old) until he fell for Ramona Flowers, a mysterious American delivery girl. Only after breaking up with Knives (who still loves him) did he discover that he would have to defeat Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends to earn the right to date her. Fortunately, Scott is the best fighter in the province. In the fourth manga-sized volume of this hugely winning series, nominated for three Harvey Awards and one Eisner, Scott has to get a job, decide whether to tell Ramona he loves her, and battle not only ex-boyfriend number four (who turns out to be half-ninja and not a boy at all) but also Knives's katana-wielding father, who is belatedly protecting his daughter's honor. Scott's ex-girlfriends keep showing up, too, complicating things further. O'Malley's black-and-white artwork combines manga storytelling devices with cartoony American alt-comic character designs. It's part relationship drama, part comedy, part martial-arts parody, and even part video game, with large doses of rock 'n' roll, science fiction, anime references, and fourth-wall breaking. Ranma 1/2 fans and most anyone else will have a blast. Highly recommended for mid-teens and up.—S.R.

At a youthfully dissipated summer house party, Fred is smitten by Cati and her joie de vivre, though they barely speak. Several years later, they connect again, and love sparks. But Cati brings with her two surprises: a young son and their mutual HIV-positive status—the blue pills keep them alive and relatively healthy. The couple's deepening intimacy despite the hovering viral ghost carries the plot, as a sympathetic doctor counsels them with skill and frankness. Toward the end, a fantasy Socratic dialog with a mammoth helps Fred get his priorities together to appreciate the gift of love in all its wrappings. Peeters is an award-winning artist living in Switzerland, and his muscular, black-and-white art suits his story perfectly. Realistic and touching, by turns amusing and yet romantic, this memoir is strongly recommended for ages 18+ because of some well-contextualized nudity and explicitness. Needs appropriate HIV-related nonfiction catalog headings.—M.C.

Thirty-three wildly varied minicomics make up this lavish color collection, ranging in art styles from simple to baroque, in age levels from G to XX, and in plots from cute to plenty weird. Expectation, longing, lust, consummation, disappointment, mishaps, and relationship maintenance—they're all here, often tongue in cheek. A rooster tries to pick up a hen by praising her "nuggets." Two young couriers piloting quirky flying machines ditch their work for an hour to watch a sunset and feed a flirtation. When Cupid takes a day off, his enthusiastic assistant fires love arrows at everything in sight, and so the entire town of people, animals, and even inanimate objects falls instantly into joyous copulation. A college student with a flatulence fetish ends up in jail when her gassy would-be lover turns out to be a minor. The plotting isn't always up to the art, but the whole collection functions nicely as an inspiring example of how diverse good comics can be and of the many ways to see love. Includes an informative essay on the history of romance comics. For adult collections.—M.C.

Maiden and mummy make a match in this goofy Victorian romp. While her anthropologist father is away, the curious Lillian opens Imhotep IV's case. To their mutual surprise, the ancient pharaoh comes to life, and it's love at first sight, even with his mummy wrappings still in place. Out on the town with Lillian for a lark, her embalmed escort accidentally roughs up a bystander. When the police come to investigate, Lillian poisons them, also accidentally. Then Lillian's father turns up and—surprise—so does Imhotep's mummy-dad; they don't get along. More inadvertent deaths follow, with derring-do, chase scenes, Queen Victoria kidnapped, and an unexpected happy ending for the smitten couple. None of this makes any sense as science fiction, but it doesn't matter a whit. In their first collaboration, French creators Sfar and Guibert (Sardine in Outer Space) have crafted a delightful petit four of a picaresque romance, with lovely, expressive watercolor art. Recommended for teen and adult collections.—M.C.

In this 1970 work by influential manga giant Tezuka (Astro Boy), Shogo Chikaishi is the son of a prostitute and an unknown member of her clientele. Derided by his mother and beaten when he sees her in bed with a customer, he comes to despise all lovemaking. Under psychiatric care, during electroshock therapy, he sees a goddess who curses him for disdaining love; he will be endlessly reborn to fall in love with the same woman, but one of them will always die before their love is consummated. In his visions, this story plays out in Nazi Germany; in an isolated, peaceable kingdom of animals; and on a near-future Earth ruled by artificially created humanoids who know nothing of love. In the real world, Shogo becomes a fugitive, but a woman shelters him, and his capacity for love is gradually awakened. This is no dewy-eyed paean to love's transcendent power, however; for Tezuka, love ennobles humans, but it also torments them. Tezuka's cartoony artwork here is similar to that in Buddha (LJ 1/04), and there is little of the characteristic goofy humor that can seem out of place in Tezuka's more serious works. With nudity and sex, this is recommended for adults.—S.R.

Welcome to the Middleton Public Library, where the patrons are not always human, the telluric energy of the local ley point brings fictional characters to life, and the librarians are always heavily armed. Long-lived Head Librarian Rex Libris, whose first library job was at Alexandria, is a member of the Ordo Bibliotheca, which throughout history has protected human knowledge from menaces both natural and supernatural. His colleagues include the ancient witch Circe, the megalomaniacal talking bird Simonides, and newcomer Hypatia, already bored with circ desk work and yearning for action. Here, Rex travels to Benzine V, planet of sentient snowmen, to retrieve an overdue copy of the Principia Mathematica from the Supreme Warlord Vaglox. Rather than play it straight, Turner complicates this inventive romp by turning it into a comic-within-a-comic, complete with discussions between Rex and his publisher on storytelling. Turner's black-and-white artwork here is more realism-based than his highly abstract work in Nil: A Land Beyond Belief (LJ 9/15/04) but still quite angular and cartoony. Rex is already an icon for librarians on the order of Buffy's Giles or Read or Die's Yomiko Readman, but the lay public will enjoy his adventures as well; recommended for mid-teens and up.—S.R.

Viz has previously published five high-quality, full-color English translated editions of art books based on films by Miyazaki—Japan's premier animation director—including Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. This latest addition to the series has a slightly different focus: it collects remarkable watercolor artwork by Miyazaki relating to both the manga and the anime versions of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the story of a brave princess in a dying, far-future Earth. The opening section focuses on the manga, including pieces created for magazine covers, posters, and calendars. Miyazaki's commentary relates the humorous circumstances behind some of the work and reveals his dislike of drawing covers and Nausicaä pin-up illustrations, with some of the most beautiful images among his least favorite. A second section contains preproduction artwork for the 1984 Nausicaä movie, featuring the film's characters, cities, flying machines, and the Sea of Corruption, a monstrous forest spreading over Earth. The final section begins with an interview with Miyazaki on the origins of Nausicaä and includes pre-Nausicaä conceptual artwork. Both the manga and the anime are revered by fans; this lavish hardcover is recommended for all collections.—S.R.