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.
Scary Halloween Graphic Novels
By Dan BrownIn time for Halloween, here’s a rundown of graphic novels that range from unsettling to creepy to scary to horrifying. Read them at your peril, boys and girls!Vision: The Complete Collection: Imagine you live in suburbia and your new neighbours turn out to be emotionless androids. Literally. This Tom King-written story ends with the Vision taking on pretty much the entire Marvel universe.Monsters Volume 1 and 2: These omnibuses, dubbed “monsterbuses,” collect classic tales by Jack Kirby from the 1950s and 1960s, when evil creatures came with names like Fin Fang Foom. Find out what the world was like before superheroes! Before Marvel was even Marvel!The Simon and Kirby Library: Horror!: See some utterly creep characters the King came up with before he switched to inventing the Marvel universe pretty much on his own. In addition to EC’s many gruesome titles, this is the kind of comic that got denounced by U.S. politicians for causing juvenile delinquency!Any EC collection: From the publisher that brought you the Crypt Keeper! It doesn’t matter which EC horror anthology you read (they have titles like Tales From the Crypt and Crypt of Terror), they are all great examples of EC’s thoughtful suspense and horror!Monsters: Originally envisioned as a story about the Hulk, this thick tome from Conan the Barbarian artist Barry Windsor Smith is as gorgeous as it is horrifying! A military experiment goes wrong and unsuspecting civilians pay the price! Nicely marries horror with a touch of magic realism.Something is Killing the Children Book One: You can file this series under the heading of “the title is the premise.” Something evil has been leaving a trail of lifeless tots in its wake in the sleepy small town of Archer’s Peak. Will a heroine rise to stop the slaughter of innocents? Written by James Tynion IV.Wild’s End: Your basic alien invasion story set between the wars. The twist: The characters who populate the British countryside are anthropomorphized animals. The alien invaders look kind of like Victorian-era street lamps and remind me a bit of Triffids. This ain’t no Watership Down!H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness Volumes 1 and 2: This manga adaptation of Lovecraft’s story about a doomed Antarctic expedition is made even more unworldly by the fact it’s a manga. Japanese creator Gou Tanabe takes his time to recount this encounter between humankind and the previous alien inhabitants of this planet.The Nobody: This Jeff Lemire joint, which made nary a splash when it came out in 2009, asks the question, What if the Invisible Man came to Essex County? Yes, I know Lemire never specifically says the story takes place in Southwestern Ontario, but it’s easy to imagine it does.Snotgirl Volume One: Green Hair Don’t Care: Written by Londoner Bryan Lee O’Malley (yes, he does stuff other than Scott Pilgrim!) this is a psychological drama featuring an influencer named Lottie Person. The fun comes from trying to guess how much of her adventures are really happening and how much of the action is in Lottie’s head. Vampirella Archives Volume One: My favourite version of Vampirella is the one featured in these stories from 1970s Warren Publishing magazines that were drawn by Jose Gonzalez. Giving the character a science-fiction twist – in this continuity, vampires are from the planet Drakulon – infused her stories with that X factor I was looking for as a kid.Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands: What does Kate Beaton’s account of her time in the oil patch have to do with Halloween? If you’ve ever wondered how an entirely male society would work, Ducks explores that theme in horrifying detail. Ducks is all the scarier for the fact it really happened. The old standbys: There’s also the Walking Dead for zombie fans, 30 Days of Night for vampire enthusiasts, and Hellboy books like Conqueror Worm for fans of the paranormal.Your suggestions: What are YOU reading this spooky season? I want to hear it in the comment box below!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.
Wendy Keeps Turning Bad Decisions Into Funny Art
By Dan BrownThe Wendy Award is the fourth book in Walter Scott’s hilarious Wendy series. How is it different from her previous adventures? In this one, things take a metafictional turn.If you like comics that call attention to their own constructed nature, or you just find the hot mess Wendy and her masked friend Screamo a hoot, check it out.The Wendy Award takes the piss out of arts awards, museums, land acknowledgements, corporate sponsorships, life in the COVID era, addictions, sobriety meds, Gen Z, people who go by one name, and every pretentious panel discussion ever.The premise, such as it is, is that the title character gets nominated for a prestigious art award for her autobiographical comic strip, called Wanda. You follow?It turns out the people in Wendy’s life aren’t happy with how they are portrayed in Wanda. I’ll guess the inspiration for this theme is the way Scott’s previous work has been received by his own peers and acquaintances.The contemporary art prize is sponsored by the national chain Food Hut, whose slogan is “Because you gotta eat sometime!’ The prize includes an exhibition at “the prestigious Art Factory on the Toronto waterfront.” Since I’m more than skeptical about Canada’s arts establishment, I love this kind of comedy.Her fellow nominees include Winona, Octavia, Zima and Moonstone. The last of these is described as a “relentlessly ubiquitous artist of many mediums and collaborations.”Even though she is in line for the big award, this doesn’t mean Wendy’s perennially chaotic day-to-day existence as an aspiring artist is any less turbulent than it was in her previous books. She is still a sucker for wine and cocaine, and at one point takes a side trip to New York to find herself. She’s always trying to find herself.The strip is now in Seinfeld territory – remember the story arc in which the NBC sitcom showed Jerry pitching a sitcom to NBC? The Wanda Award is kinda like that when it bends back in on itself.Wendy crashes at the apartment of her friend Tina, who isn’t happy about the intrusion. “Maybe it’ll end up in your next book!” Tina yells as she tosses our harried heroine out on the street, terminating the tense visit.There are some nice touches here, including an experiment splash page and a panel that’s an homage to the William Burroughs/David Cronenberg acid trip Naked Lunch. While in the Big Apple, Wendy enters a cinema to watch a film in which moments from her own life are being projected on the screen almost in real time, recalling such self-reflexive motion pictures as Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo.You can feel Scott pushing the boundaries, trying to stretch himself as a graphic novelist and move the form in new directions.At another point, an upset Wendy even asks for a respite from being the title character in a comic strip. “Can you please cut away to something else for a bit?” she says directly to the reader during a vulnerable moment.Between you and me, I was unsure Wendy would be able to sustain as many books as she has. But Scott has not run out of material and now, I am more than invested in this character, who always feels she is failing at life. The joke is still funny. I am in it to the bitter end, whenever that might come.Speaking of endings, The Wendy Award concludes with a wordless epilogue in which Wendy walks out of the Art Factory, leaving the white cube behind. Is she finally forsaking the world of art for something more substantial that can make her feel whole?I look forward to finding out!! 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.
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.
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.
Comics vs. Graphic Novels
By Dan BrownWhen is a comic book not a comic book? When it’s a graphic novel.And what the heck is a graphic novel? Your guess is as good as mine.Comic lore has it the term was invented by legendary creator Will Eisner. I get the impression Eisner – known for the Spirit newspaper strip – couldn’t sell illustrated stories to a legitimate publisher as comics, so he came up with the “graphic novel” label solely as a way to sell them.So it was a marketing gimmick from the get-go.I am old enough to remember comics before the advent of the graphic novel. Eisner’s A Contract With God came out in 1978, the irony-in-hindsight being that it isn’t a novel, but a collection of four short stories.But as a graphic novel, it has some kind of heft it didn’t carry as a comic – even though it’s a sequential story told with pictures, panels and text. Isn’t that the definition of a comic? It landed differently owing to the elevated subject matter – just dig that title.Current editions of A Contract With God proclaim its place in comic history. Does that mean anyone who cracks the book reads it in a different way than a “mere” comic? I don’t think so.What maybe shouldn’t surprise anyone is how Marvel got on board with the term fairly quickly. By 1982 Stan Lee and friends were trumpeting The Death of Captain Marvel as one of Marvel’s first forays into graphic-novel territory. It had a unified storyline and was bigger and more expensive than the monthly mags of the time, but used characters from the company’s superhero line.Meanwhile, another important thing was happening in the background. Harvey Pekar had started publishing the comic series American Splendor in 1976. His appearances in the 1980s on David Letterman’s show may have been how he caught my attention.Pekar is important because he was using comics in a revolutionary way: To tell everyday stories, rather than put a spotlight on costumed do-gooders. It was all about the mundane, a staggering departure at the time.I read stories like The Watchmen or Dark Knight Returns in serial form. They are now known as landmark graphic novels, but when I was experiencing them one month at a time I never predicted they would eventually be collected in anthology form. Pretty much all comics are now published with an eye to the eventual graphic novel.So somewhere along the line Pekar’s innovative insight – comics can be used to tell any kind of story – got grafted onto the emerging use of graphic novels to tell more “serious” superhero tales.And a genre was born. I’ll grant that I may be the only person who cares about questions like this. Maybe I’m the only individual demented enough to care. And I guess as long as graphic novels and comics are experienced as a printed or online product meant to be read, the distinction doesn’t matter.I originally started writing a weekly column about graphic novels because the industry had reached a saturation point – there were enough graphic novels coming out, I could potentially review a new one every week. We’re now at the point in the history of the medium where I tell graphic-novel newbies, “If there is a topic or issue that interests you, there is a graphic novel out there for you.”Oh, and I know I left out a bunch of other definitions. What is a cartoon? What is a newspaper comic strip? What is a Sunday funny? A web comic?All fodder for future columns.Until then, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment box below.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.
