Graphic-Novel-Loving Librarian Blog

Summary: For some lucky people, knowing what they want to do in their life comes to them at an early age.  Jimmy Gownley is one such individual.  Having been an avid reader of comic books since his toddler years, Jimmy decides, during his middle school years, that he wants a career creating comics.  In The Dumbest Idea Ever! , Jimmy tells us of how he gets started, who were his influences, and where he gets his inspiration from.  Remarkably, the advice that he gets from a childhood friend, which Jimmy initially believes is the dumbest idea ever, is what leads to Jimmy to financial and worldwide success.  So, what is the "dumbest idea ever"?  That is for to us to read and find out. Reference : Jimmy Gownley (2014). The Dumbest Idea Ever! Scholastic Graphix. New York.  Why I Picked It Up: The title.  I know it's cliché, but I chose the book for it's title. It intrigued me enough for me to want to know what exactly was "the dumbest idea ever." Why I

Summary: A biographic telling of an artist finding herself through the lens of a camera. Graciela breaks from tradition and social expectations in order to follow her muse.  She shares with her reader her self discovery, her passions, her poetic insight, and most importantly her art.  Through out her life, Graciela's soul flies with the birds that she encounters through her aesthetic encounters, flying away from her everyday life toward her freedom from it.  Depicted through illustrations and photographs, Isabel and Zeke reveal to the reader the beauty of Graciela's artistic and aesthetic life. Reference : Isabel Quintero, Zeke Peña (2018). Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide . Getty Publications. Los Angeles, CA. Why I Picked It Up: Having been a photographer myself and a fan of professional photography, I was curious as to who Graciela Iturbide was and what her photography would capture. Plus, the idea that an writer and artist would try to meld two artistic a

Summary : The biography of Jacob Kurtzberg, aka Jack Kirby, aka the King of Comics.  From his lowly beginnings as a newspaper hawker to drawing comic book heroes, we see the man doing what he is good at doing: creating.  Creating stories, creating fantasy, creating characters, creating never before seen artistic illustrations, and creating comic book lore.  Yet, he did not necessarily do it out of love for his profession, but out of love for his family.  That love of family entails a man's responsibility of taking care of his loved ones, so Jack did.  Yes, he enjoyed what he did and he was good at it, but if Jack could have found a better way to earn money, he would have leaped at the chance.  During his time, the profession of comic book artist paid very little and received even smaller recognition.  Throughout his career, Jack craved respect, but seldom got it; however, this did not deter Jack from continuing to fight for it, no matter who the publisher was, or the format.  Ja

Summary: The second part of a trilogy.  Sam Hannigan is a Bay City detective who is trying to keep his town safe, as well as America itself.  Unfortunately, like a number of noir characters, Sam isn't the cleanest of officers and neither is the world around him.  Borrowing heavily from old classic gumshoe-type movies, we following Sam throughout his days, dealing with his community, working the streets, obeying his higher-ups, and partaking in some nefarious doings.  A myriad of characters in Bay City are representative of the American way of life in the big cities during the 1930's.  From union strikers trying to get fair wages from their apathetic bosses to the fear of communism and blatant prejudice.  Like all noir protagonists though, Sam begins to have a change of heart, turning his world more ambiguous.  Unfortunately, that change is not without its consequences.  Reference: Jules Feiffer (2016). Cousin Joseph . Liveright Pub. Corp, New York. Why I picked it up:

Summary: Emotionally up and down, socially in and out, self/worldly comprehension and confusion: characteristics of high school teenagers.  Such is the case for Wendy, Marsha, Frances, Gemma, Trevor, Trixie, Cheddar and many others, all students at the Super-Mutant Magic Academy.  These students have their cliques as well as their outsiders, their jocks and their performance artists, their hip teachers and their clueless ones, unrequited love and hidden agendas.  Everything your typical high school would have, except these students aren't just kids, they're mutants.  Some students are humans with special abilities, while others are evolved animals with human characteristics.  Yet despite their mutant status they all still suffer from typical teenage angst and concerns, which are all on full display by Jillian Tamaki.  Each character has their own journey to follow, but unfortunately not every issue gets resolved.  Reference : Jillian Tamaki (2016). SuperMutant Magic Acade

Summary: The 1960's were a volatile time due to the desire for Civil Rights.  So many American leaders and innocent lives were lost during this tumultuous period. America was finding itself through violence and battle, but found itself it did.  There were a myriad of individuals who became involved in the protests and rallies, but sadly only a few of them are alive today.  John Lewis, a current U.S. Representative, is one of those surviving individuals, a person who was right there on the front lines for civil rights.  The March Trilogy is his account of the events, a first hand telling of what went on during this decade.  His story is so extensive that it requires three volumes in which to tell it; yet, I'm sure there was still so much still left out.  The amount of detail information and description adds greatly to the story, so much so, that it gives credence to his struggle and fight.  For individuals like me, who weren't around during the time period, the books pr

Summary: Just how do so many Hollywood stars become successful?  Did they have any struggles before they became successful?  Was there any help along the way?  There are so many questions we all have when it comes to celebrity biographies and it's no different with John "Legs" Leguizamo.  In this autobiography, we are supposedly told of his struggles and triumphs, we are asked to empathize with him in his journey.  But just as Hollywood has the reputation for being a tinsel town, this autobiography is somewhat flimsy, too. Reference : John Leguizamo 2015. Ghetto Klown . Abrams ComicArts. New York, NY. Why I Picked It Up: I wasn't necessarily a big fan of John Leguizamo, but I knew who he was and enjoyed some of his movies, like Hangin' with the Homeboys , Spawn , and Ice Age .  When I saw this biography, I was interested in finding out just how he made it to Hollywood and just how did he become a sought-after star. Why I Finished It:  I was initially su

Summary: Every so often, some people become the scapegoat for something they didn't do, the fall guy, if you will.  Since Spider-Man is seen on the rooftop where the bricks that killed Stacy came from, Spider-Man becomes the fall guy to the citizens of New York, even though the reader knows it was Dr. Octopus.  However, Captain Stacy is a close friend of Peter Parker, the father of Peter's girlfriend, Gwen, and one of the few supporters of Spider-Man, so Spidey takes his death to heart.  Peter has lost another person who was close to him, someone he considered a father-figure, much like his Uncle Ben.  As was the case with his Uncle, Peter feels responsible for Stacy's death.  Spidey believes that if he had been more astute to the people in danger instead of being so single-minded on Doc then maybe Stacy wouldn't have perished. The reader knows though that that wasn't the case. We know that Stacy sacrificed himself to save other people who were in danger and that