What I'm Reading -- Graphic Novels

Superman: True Brit by Kim Howard and John Cleese.

This seemed like a guaranteed quality read to me, but it turned out to be very disappointing. Basically, this is how the legend of Superman would have developed if he landed in England instead of the U.S. It sounds like an amazing idea and John Cleese is involved, but somehow this GN was boring and rarely amusing.

Curses by Kevin Huizenga

This is another one I could not get in to. Huizenga’s short story collection centers on spirituality, mortality and plain old weirdness. The writing just did not click with me. The design of the GN and the artwork, however, is absolutely brilliant. At turns stark and detailed Curse is visually impressive, but the stories are only occasionally intriguing.

The Left Bank Gang by Jason

This is fairly brilliant. The Left Bank Gang features literary giants like Hemmingway and Joyce as graphic novelists. Jason first writes about the group struggling with their art and lack of money they get from publishing their works. The plot then shifts and the group plans a robbery which is told from each of their perspectives. This is great.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

This award winning GN definitely lives up to the hype. Somehow the author is able to weave three completely different stories into one powerful narrative. Jin is forced to fit in to his American high school as the only Chinese-American, the Monkey King struggles with his quest to become a god and Chin-Kee comes to visit his American cousin every year and engages in behavior that fulfills every stereotype and disgusts his cousin. This is one of the best books in any format for any audience of the year.