San Anselmo Public Library

Teen Graphic Novel Reviews

You may have seen me behind the front desk, but for now I’m just reviewing comics. My name is Tracy, and I’m a 22-year old college graduate in environmental science who loves reading comic books. Here, I’ll try to direct you to interesting, thought-provoking, and beautiful comics and graphic novels. For other teen info, look to the left-hand sidebar.

Although I’d read a few graphic novels here and there and had a middle-school manga phase, it wasn’t until Watchmen, by Alan Moore, that I leapt headlong into the world of graphic novels. The characters were ‘superheroes,’ but not the immortal and flawless figures I associated with comic books, and the story explored deep questions using visual and written parallels. My tastes run more towards alternative and indie comics than the traditional superhero series, but DC and Marvel definitely do have some good comics (I particularly enjoy DC’s Vertigo line, which is "aimed at the mature, literate reader" and hopes to "push the boundaries of traditional comics").

I’m going to start reviewing comics at the San Anselmo Library. For those of you new to graphic novels, here are a few excellent ones you might consider starting with, though I may not get around to reviewing them for a bit:

• Watchmen – Alan Moore
• Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes – Neil Gaiman
• Castle Waiting – Linda Medley
• Marvel 1602 – Neil Gaiman
• Marvels – Kurt Busiek
• Pride of Baghdad – Brian K. Vaughan
• Salamander Dream – Hope Larson

For more mature readers

• Fables: Legends in Exile – Bill Willingham
• Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street – Warren Ellis

Shortcomings - Adrian Tomine

Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel Shortcomings develops from its characters’ flaws and explores the many forms of deceptions within relationships. Shortcomings follows hyper-critical, insensitive Ben Tanaka from his failing relationship with his Asian girlfriend who suspects he prefers white women, through his lame theater manager job, interactions with his sole friend, and his attempted relationships with white women after his girlfriend leaves for an internship in New York.

The satisfaction from reading Tomine’s work, including Shortcomings, stems from Tomine’s honesty and willingness to tell stories with imperfect characters that end with regret, unfulfilled potential, or simply a period. His characters sometimes act frustratingly emo, yet still seem plausible and true, and allow him to examine the pale tragedies of daily life and normal people’s mistakes. Shortcomings finishes with a tone similar to the movie Closer.

As always, Tomine’s artwork is superb, combining fine lines, swaths of solid black, and varieties of cross-hatching for a realistic but minimalistic style. He isn’t afraid of drawing lines, creases, and baggy eyes on his young characters.

Older teens and college students will probably relate to this book better than younger teens. If you enjoy this book, or just Tomine’s drawing style, I recommend his short story collection Sleepwalk for further reading.

Shortcomings is available from these libraries:

San Anselmo, Bolinas, Civic Center, Corte Madera, Fairfax, Mill Valley, Stinson Beach

The Professor’s Daughter - Joann Sfar & Emmanuel Guibert

Written and illustrated by two French artists, The Professor’s Daughter tells a whimsical Victorian love story wherein Imhotep IV’s mummy comes to life and falls in love with the daughter of the archaeologist who found him and brought him to England. During their courtship, Imhotep and Lillian, who bond over their controlling fathers, make some hasty and foolish decisions that land them in trouble with the law. Imhotep’s father (Imhotep III) launches an ill-advised rescue attempt and brings the story to a surprising and exciting close. The characters and their interactions are dynamic, believable, and well-developed for such a petite graphic novel. Pharaoh Imhotep III’s interactions with Queen Victoria are pricelessly ridiculous. Lillian in particular is an enjoyable character—she has little compunction about breaking rules or social standards, and her lack of surprise at live, coherent mummies seems to exemplify the Victorian era’s fantastic expectations and dreams.

The brief tale is illustrated with a combination of pencil / ink and watercolor, allowing artist Emmanuel Guibert a wide range of soft shapes and fine details. Guibert’s watercolors express lighting and mood beautifully. Some sections of the book use a limited and mostly subdued color palette, tinting everything shades of brown or green, while others, especially as the book climbs to its climax, use a bigger combination of colors. Both the story and the drawings are delightful.

The Professor's Daughter is Available from these libraries:

San Anselmo, Larkspur, San Rafael

The Plain Janes - Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg

After Jane closely survives a terrorist attack in the city, her family migrates to the safety of the suburbs. She copes with her mother’s ever-increasing fear and paranoia and her search for friends by writing letters to comatose “John Doe,” another survivor of the attack. Jane’s values changed after the attack, so rather than befriending the popular crowd at her new school as she would previously have done, she aims to break into the ‘reject group’—a wannabe jock, a know-it-all nerd, and an overly serious drama girl—funnily enough, all named Jane. Initially unreceptive, the Janes accept Jane as she drafts them into her guerrilla urban art project to beautify the suburbs, make people smile, and convince herself and everyone else not to succumb to fear. However, the community responds with alarm, believing that if the artists can conduct mischief undetected, terrorists can attack.

The Plain Janes introduces DC Comic’s new line of comics for girls, Minx comics. Cecil Castellucci tells a nice story that includes the requisite young adult elements—coming of age, forming relationships, fitting in—as well as themes especially relevant to 2008 America—coping with fear, living in a society and time strongly affected by terrorism, and finding and expressing your individuality while seeking acceptance. Jim Rugg’s art is pleasant, stylized, and just right to convey Castellucci’s story. Each character’s appearance is easily distinguishable from the others. Jane’s friends fulfill stereotypical roles, yet Castellucci has individualized each slightly—the athlete is mostly a benchwarmer, the science geek doesn’t have a studiously-informed, emotionally-devoid, jargon-filled response to absolutely everything, and the dramatist who uses a Cyrano de Bergerac monologue for a Grease audition takes glee in being grounded like a "normal teen." Jane herself is decently fleshed-out, and although she comes across self-centered and spoiled, reading her story and watching her learn and grow is enjoyable. The Plain Janes isn’t earth-shattering, but may help you pass a pleasant hour.

The Plain Janes is Available from these libraries:
San Anselmo, Belvedere-Tiburon, Corte Madera, Mill Valley, Sausalito