Dan Brown's Graphic-novel Gift Guide
By Dan BrownThe holidays are looming, and you’ve been racking your brains for ideas of what gifts to get your family and friends, but coming up short.Well, you’ve come to the right place.We are now at the point where there is a graphic novel for everyone on your list, so please consider the following suggestions as you do your Christmas shopping.For your husband/boyfriend: Any Tintin adventure by HergeFor your wife/girlfriend: Jillian Tamaki’s Super Mutant Magic AcademyFor your dad: Giant by MikaelFor your mom: Any collection of Peanuts comic strips by Charles SchulzFor your brother: Essex County by Jeff LemireFor your sister: Jonathan Dyck’s ShelterbeltsFor your young son: Any Geronimo Stilton graphic novel by Elisabetta DamiFor your young daughter: The Bad Guys Book 1 by Aaron BlabeyFor your best friend: Petals by Gustavo BorgesFor the Marvel fan in your life: Origins of Marvel Comics (the 2024 Deluxe Edition)For the DC fan: Irredeemable by Mark Waid, Peter Krause and Diego BarretoFor the person in your life who loves superhero movies: Robot Dreams by Sara VaronFor the person who hates superhero movies: Ghost World by Daniel ClowesFor the music fan in your life: Leonard Cohen: On a Wire by Philippe Girard For the history buff in your life: Fax From Sarajevo by Joe KubertFor the hockey fan in your life: Essex County by Jeff LemireFor the journalist in your life: Ten Days in a Mad-House: A Graphic Adaptation by Brad RiccaFor the photographer in your life: Weegee from Wauter Mannaert and Max de Radigues For the comics historian in your life: Brian Doherty’s Dirty Pictures (it’s prose)For the lover of newspaper cartoons: Joe Ollmann’s Fictional FatherFor the fan of CanCon: Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? by Chris Oliveros For the grad student in your life: Any of the Wendy titles from Walter ScottFor the theatre lover: Kill Shakespeare by Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col and Andy Belanger For the lover of literature: Slaughterhouse-Five: The Graphic Novel adapted by Ryan North and Albert MonteysFor the fan of the 1970s: Mimi Pond’s Over EasyFor the fan of the 1980s: Duran Duran, Imelda Marcos and Me by Lorina MapaFor the fan of AI: The Wild Robot by Peter BrownFor the deep thinker in your life: Leslie Stein’s I Know You RiderFor the Muppet fan in your life: A Tale of Sand from Jim Henson and Ramon PerezFor the comics newbie: Either The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller) Watchmen (Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons) or The Complete Maus (Art Spiegelman)For just about everyone: Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. SeussIf you have any of your own gift suggestions, I’d love to hear them in the comment box below! Alternatively, what titles are you asking Santa Claus to leave under your tree? Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 32 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Are New Stamps a Sign We’ve Reached Peak Graphic Novel?
By Dan Brown It’s an honour few receive and fewer deserve. It’s not something young Canadians aspire to, but it’s arguably more prestigious than getting a spot on Canada’s Walk of Fame, having your name on the Stanley Cup, or joining the Order of Canada. It’s reserved for those special individuals who have had a deep impact on this dominion we call home. It’s the literal stamp of approval. And now the literary medium you and I love – graphic novels — has it. That’s right: Last month, Canada Post – the folks who deliver the mail – dedicated a series of postage stamps to Canada’s graphic novelists. Chosen for the honour were Chester Brown, Michel Rabagliati, Seth, and the Tamaki cousins, Jillian and Mariko (these creators also contributed the designs that were used). “All of (them) have made significant contributions to the genre and continue a long line of Canadian storytellers honoured by Canada Post,” the Crown Corporation said in a statement about the four adhesive tokens. Those names were selected for their influence on graphic novels as an art form. It became clear a long time ago the Great White North produces more than its share of brilliant graphic novelists. I would liken their dominance in the field to how Canadians are overrepresented in the world of comedy. “The five novelists honoured on the new stamps pushed the boundaries and elevated the form, leaving a mark on readers around the globe,” Canada Post added. I’m sure we could all find reasons to quibble with Canada Post’s selections. I realize it’s still early days, but doesn’t Kate Beaton merit a stamp? And I gotta stand up for Southwestern Ontario’s own Jeff Lemire. He should get one as well.Other possibilities include Guy Delisle, Joe Ollmann, Bryan Lee O’Malley and Dave Sim. That’s off the top of my head. It’s possible other artists were asked to participate, and declined. Whatever happened, there are clearly enough influential homegrown graphic novelists for similar future stamps. It’s true there have been previous Canada Post issues dedicated to comic characters – such as the superheroes Captain Canuck, Fleur dy Lys and Superman. This is the first time graphic novels have been singled out. “Graphic novels tell rich stories by interweaving words and drawings in comic-book-like panels” is how Canada Post makes the distinction. A far more interesting question to ask is, what does this say about society’s attitude toward comics and graphic novels? Surely despite their origins as cheap reading material for kids, they have now gained mainstream approval as an adult pastime? With its announcement, Canada Post is in essence saying graphic novels are as Canadian as beavers, the flag, hockey, and Donald Sutherland, all featured on past stamps. Could the medium get any more respectable? University courses are taught about graphic novels. Scholars write actual books about comics.. They are included in Canada Reads, and they have been source material for movies and TV shows for decades. My nightmare would be the stamps are a sign graphic novels have peaked. Could Canada Post’s gesture, which was meant as an honour, actually be the kiss of death? Naw. I ain’t worried. After all, rock-and-roll pioneer Elvis Presley had to wait a full 16 years after his death to be honoured by the United States Postal Service with a stamp. And when the USPS offered consumers a choice – did they want a handsome young Elvis on the stamp, or an older, sweaty Elvis in a jumpsuit? – more than a million Americans registered their votes in the pre-internet era early 1990s. Look what’s happened to Elvis since then. He hasn’t faded from the collective memory at all. In fact, there was a major motion picture just two years ago telling his story to an entirely new generation. No one is losing interest. Rather than being an indication graphic novels are on the wane, I choose to believe there are many more Canadian creators who will redefine the medium again and again in the days to come. Oh, and while we’re on this topic, Happy Canada Day! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Curly Head Ballet an Enchanting Summer Read
By Dan Brown Judging by the sticky weather and thunderstorms we’ve been having in recent days, the time for summer reading is here – even if summer won’t officially arrive for weeks. If you’re in the mood for a warm-weather read, The Curly Head Ballet by Forest City cartoonist Doug Rogers will scratch that particular itch. This 33-page, black-and-white tale is an enchanting, wistful look at one little girl who just wants to dance, and was inspired by the city’s Original Kids Theatre.It’s longer than a traditional kids’ book, but not quite a full graphic novel, yet still packs a (sweet) punch. I enjoyed it on a recent muggy afternoon. It’s one of those books that is as deep as you want it to be. You may know Rogers for his political cartoons. Following in the footsteps of London Free Press legend Merle Tingley, Rogers skewers politicians at all levels of government. A recent LondonOntLife online cartoon has Ontario Premier Doug Ford promising, during his announcement to loosen liquor restrictions, “Save just 10,000 pop-up tabs (off beer cans) and get a doctor!” Rogers also specializes in depicting cartoon cats of various shapes, sizes and hues. “I think this is the first time I have ever finished anything,” Rogers joked about Curly Head Ballet in a blog post in February. He completed the book this spring. As with other summer reads, questions like “What happens in this book?” are kind of moot. It’s more about creating a feeling, a vibe, surrendering to the atmosphere Rogers has conjured. Natasha, the heroine of the story, goes to Madame De Barge’s studio in order to learn how to dance. She finds fairies there, and the story follows her as she is mocked (the nymphs call her “NaTRASHa” at one point), then told she must “Lose your head! Throw that stinking thinking away!” before there’s a musical number that ends the story with a whirl of bodies. It’s not clear what’s “real” in this book, nor does it matter. The point is just to enjoy Rogers’ fluid, expressive drawings. As summer frees us from the cold, Curly Head Ballet is sufficiently entertaining to free you of any hangups to make sense of its narrative. So naturally I was floundering to think of a comparison for The Curly Head Ballet. I racked my brain for another artist or property that would help readers understand it without having the new book in their hands. Then, it struck me. The perfect parallel. And bonus, it’s also a local one.You may remember how I reviewed another atmospheric graphic novel in this space last summer. I’m talking about DS Barrick’s dreamlike Murgatroyd & Nepenthe. Although they are both from local creators, Murgatroyd & Nepenthe and The Curly Head Ballet don’t have much in common in terms of content. But I do think they are similar in terms of the vibe they evoke. “Darling, your head’s in the way! I can’t help you if your head’s in the way,” Madame De Berge scolds Natasha, a line I could very easily see passing between Barrick’s two title protagonists. Another way to think about it: I don’t know for sure, but these two local creators both seem to have been inspired by Berkeley Breathed after he ended Bloom County and remade the strip in an abstract vein, calling it Outland. So by all means, spend a day this summer in a field with your back against the grass looking up at the clouds in hopes of spotting familiar shapes. Or you could check out The Curly Head Ballet instead and let yourself be transported to a theatrical, imaginary place where children and fairies dance side-by-side like you always knew they should. (A good starting point if you’re new to Doug Rogers is his blog, which can be found at dougsamu.ca.) Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Somebody Please Adapt the Jason Lutes Graphic Novel Berlin
By Dan BrownThere’s no law saying a comic has to be anything other than a comic, but every fan has a dream project they would like to see adapted for the big or small screen.For me, it’s the Jason Lutes graphic novel Berlin. Clocking in at nearly 600 pages, the sprawling epic is ripe for the plucking as a multi-season series on a streaming service like Netflix. It is, to borrow a term from comic scholar Andrew Deman, preposterously cinematic.The book depicts life in the German city between the First and Second World Wars. Even though the reader knows how the story will turn out, it’s a vivid portrait of a changing society and the individuals who are driving that change, or find themselves caught up in it.It’s a historical epic, a portrait of the Jazz Age, a romance, a journey of self-discovery, and so much more.I did a quick Google search but didn’t find anything saying Lutes has sold the rights. I would be shocked if he hasn’t been approached by producers.The story was originally serialized over 20 years, then collected as one volume in 2018. Berlin was one of the selections last year for the L.A. Mood’ Graphic Novel Group book club. When I finished reading the hefty tome, I immediately flipped back to the front to start reading again. I don’t do that with many graphic novels.My first impression was how Berlin reminded me of HBO’s The Wire. It follows a large cast of characters, most of them fictional but with some real-life historical figures mixed in. Different characters rise to prominence at different points in the story.There are proto-Nazis, communists, social climbers. jazz musicians. Jewish families, unemployed labourers, confused children, and a young woman looking for her future. And, best of all for this reader, the central character is a disillusioned journalist.Someone who’s in the background in an early scene will return later as a lead character. Different places around the city become important at different moments. Seemingly isolated incidents ripple outwards, affecting everyone..Apart from catching the spirit of the times, the zeitgeist, the triumph of Berlin is how it shows Hitler’s rise wasn’t inevitable. Germany could very well have gone in another direction.The challenge for anyone who adapts the book would be in capturing that sense of how between-the-wars Germany was up for grabs. In that historical moment, there were many possible future fatherlands.It would be challenging to capture that sense of uncertainty on the small screen, but Lutes has already provided the storyboards in the form of this book. How about it, Hollywood?Do you have any comics or graphic novels you would like to see adapted? I’d love to hear about them in the comment section below.And yes, just because Lutes may have had offers to adapt his masterwork, that doesn’t mean he has to accept. He might be content just letting it remain a comic. Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Lorenz Peter’s Latest Graphic Novel is Like Spinal Tap, Only Deeper
I don’t know how it escaped my notice last year, but Lorenz Peter’s Moon Boots was one of the best graphic novels to emerge in 2023. On one level, it’s a straightforward tale of a cowboy-boot-wearing troubadour who goes on a road trip from Northern Ontario to the prairies to Calgary. On another, it’s a magically realistic trip about an individual who stretches out of his comfort zone, finding moments of surrealistic beauty and heart-warming friendship along the way. However you define it, it’s worth reading. Published last April by East Coast comic champion Conundrum Press, it follows other books by Peter such as On Vinyl, which I chose as the best graphic novel of 2018. The subject of that one is the “vinyl resurgence” we’ve heard so much about. In Moon Boots, the author/artist extends his preoccupation with music, only now he’s focusing on how one eccentric cowboy creates it. Lester Lafleur is the kind of natural songwriter who, moments after being kicked out of a small Ontario town, begins composing a tune about the police officer who escorted him to just beyond city limits: “I met her in the station, doo bee doo, she had nothin’ to do.” What comes next is Lester finds a path in the woods, which he calls an “ideal setting” to get inspired. Strumming his guitar under a tree, an audience of woodland critters gathers, with the owl perched on a branch above asking, “Hey, do you know any Lightfoot?” “Cockburn was a better guitar player,” another bird responds. If that sort of surrealism delights you, you’re in for a treat. The whole point of reading Moon Boots is not to anticipate whether Lester will succeed in his quest to form a band, then record an album, but to enjoy the journey he’s on. Along the way, there are moments of perfection, such as the three-page wordless spread that details the countryside – lakeshore, swamp, dragonflies — Lester is passing through as the hitchhiking passenger in a tractor trailer. The collision between town and country is another thread running through Moon Boots. As the miles unfold, Lester reveals that he couldn’t deal with living in Toronto: “I just couldn’t hack it in the city. I’m better off on the road.” Passing through different communities, a picture emerges of midsize Canada, a place rife with Tim Hortons locations. In fact, the singer’s truck-driving companion is a big believer the coffee chain should bring back it’s flip-lid cups: “You know, I remember a time when coffee lids didn’t spurt like a dolphin. Whole world’s gone to hell.” There are also restaurants like Crabby Moe’s and bars that host Shania Twain tribute acts – the one Lester opens for is called Twain Wreck. This is the urban landscape that comes after everything in the country has been turned into a mall. Moon Boots is a funny, touching book, with quirky touches. Think Spinal Tap meets Salvador Dali. There’s an RV – called an Eon-cation Omega Comf Wagon – that is so long it takes two hours to pass on the highway. When a Sheryl Crow tape gets eaten by the truck’s tape deck, the cassette sprouts wings, ascending to the heavens. And when our hero reaches the wide prairies and gets a deflated tire in a car a friend has borrowed, a spare comes bouncing across the flat terrain, sent by unseen roadside-assistance helpers miles away. There are no evil or untalented characters in Moon Boots, just surprising relatable individuals doing the best they can with what they have, like the queer homeless teenage goth who joins Lester as his drummer, photographer, driver and manager. Being a dog lover, I felt an instant pang in my heart reading one scene in which a decrepit canine sits exhausted on a farm front porch. The pitiful creature doesn’t even have the strength to bark properly at Lester, croaking only a “Harf, sputter,”’ as a greeting. I nearly cried. Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
