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| AMERICAN SPLENDOR |
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BOB
& HARV'S COMICS |
| by Harvey Pekar & Robert Crumb |
Paperback
Four Walls Eight Windows
ISBN: 1568581017 |
$16.00
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| Two Superstars
of Alternative Comics Unite!
The cranky humor of writer
Harvey Pekar-- mostly known to the public from his appearances on the old
(NBC) David Letterman show-- is combined with the legendary art of Robert
Crumb. The result is something new for both of them, collected here. |
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From
Booklist , December 15, 1996
Pekar's
AMERICAN SPLENDOR is hands down the best adult comic book and maybe the
best comic book, period, in the U.S. It is full of the adventures of Pekar
himself--a genuine working-class intellectual, a clerk in a government
hospital who on the side writes about jazz, the comics, and authors whose
work deserves renewed attention. He writes and storyboards the stories
and recruits professional comics artists to draw them. The most famous
of these is his longtime friend, Robert Crumb, dean of the 1960s "underground"
comics artists and subject of the extravagantly praised documentary film
Crumb
(1994).
The touchstones for the formal qualities and attitudes of these cartoon-illustrated
slices-of-life are the stories of such urban impressionists as Grace Paley
and Meyer Liben and the films of the French new wave directors, especially
Jean-Luc Godard and Eric Rohmer. Pekar and Crumb don't derive from those
artists, however; they are their peers.
--Ray
Olson
Copyright©
1996, American Library Association. All rights reserved.
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| SONJA AHLERS |
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TEMPER,
TEMPER |
| by Sonja Ahlers |
Paperback: 144 pages
AAA
ISBN: 1895837413 |
$14.99
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Kudos to Sonja
for sharing such a delightful and wildly personal account of the moments
of her life with the world. Moments. Snippets. A phrase snagged from the
air and thrown onto paper. Thoughts. Associations. A peek at the gymnastics
of the mind.
Through pithy remarks, snappy
one-liners, thought provoking collage work and ink blotty scribblyscrawlies,
Sonja lets you in. IN. In where? Into her head. |
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| Read it more
than once to pick up on the subtle threads weaving their way through what
seems like voyeuristic chaos. Smart, honest and seemingly unedited, which,
very simply stated, is the book's greatest charm. |
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| KYLE BAKER |
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THE
COWBOY WALLY SHOW |
| by Kyle Baker |
Paperback
Marlowe & Co
ISBN: 1569248346 |
$14.95
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| Considered a
cult classic (at least that's what it says on the back cover) from the
artist who went on to write and draw the highly praised Why I Hate
Saturn, THE COWBOY WALLY SHOW consists of four chapters:
"The Cowboy Wally Legend" is our introduction to this overblown mockery
of a film star; "Sands of Blood" and "The Making of Hamlet" are two crazy
attempts at film; and "Cowboy Wally's Late Night Celebrity Showdown" is
his final moment of television glory. This will appeal to fans of trashy
television talk shows. |
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| KYLE BAKER |
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YOU
ARE HERE |
| by Kyle Baker |
Paperback: 160 pages
DC Comics
ISBN: 1563894424 |
$19.95
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| A former criminal
needs to tie up just a few loose ends, if he can just keep his new age
girlfriend from finding out what's going on... and stay alive. |
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| YOU ARE HERE
is the story of Noel Coleman, a former denizen of the New York City criminal
underworld, and his girlfriend Helen Foster, a cheerful new-ager from rural
upstate New York. He's ready to go straight and leave his ugly past behind
to be with her. She's blissfully ignorant of who he "really" is. When Noel
goes to the city to tie off some loose ends, she surprises him by following.
You can imagine the comedy of errors that will ensue... or at least you
think you can. But Baker will surprise you.
From Publishers Weekly
Baker returns to the genre
scene with his first book-length narrative since Why I Hate Saturn (1990),
the clever sendup of the downtown bar and dating scene of 1980s New York
that became an underground comics classic. Here, Baker does New York City
again, but this time strictly for laughs. Noel Coleman, a handsome, momentarily
reformed criminal, falls big time for Helen, a beautiful redhead and sensitive
New Age spiritualist and animal lover. An unlikely couple? Of course, so
Coleman lies through his teeth about his spectacularly checkered past.
Helen discovers his sleazy life story anyway, just as a media-lionized
serial killer (a hilarious Robert Mitchum look-alike) goes after Coleman
for seducing his wife. Besides the pleasures of Baker's wisecracking dialogue,
there's a rousing chase through Central Park and a breathtaking fight to
the finish with the would-be killer aboard the Staten Island Ferry, all
rendered in a combination of virtuoso comics draftsmanship and richly saturated
coloring. Never mind the thin veneer of pop sophistication attached to
many graphic novels: this is an unpretentious, rip-roaringly entertaining
comic book farce.
Copyright 1999 Cahners Business
Information, Inc.
The author, Kyle Baker
This book is wonderful!
I have to say that it is truly one of the finest pieces of literature ever!
I recommend buying many copiesof this book, as it makes a fantastic gift
item year round. |
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| Kyle
Baker |
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Why
I Hate Saturn |
| by Kyle Baker |
Paperback: 208 pages
DC Comics
ISBN: 0930289722 |
$17.95
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| Living Single
in the Modern World
Kyle Baker earns his reputation
in this sharp satire of the single's scene and life in the modern world--
finding oneself is hard enough... finding another might be impossible. |
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