Sir and his reviews

Originally posted on Moonshine Arts magazine.

Good as Lily by Derek Kirk Kim

176 pages
Minx (August 1, 2007)
1401213812
978-1401213817
http://tinyurl.com/3nhayj

Good as Lily, by Derek Kirk Kim and illustrated by Jesse Hamm, is a graphic novel geared towards those in high school and older. It is the story of young woman, Grace, finding her way through life, love, the future, and high school. Grace is a Korean-American high school student who on her 18th birthday finds herself with some rather unusual companions, multiple versions of herself. Grace spends the next few days with herself at 29, herself at 70, and herself at 6 years old. Together they explore the meaning of life and surviving high school.

Grace is a typical young woman with all the strengths and flaws that would be found in real life. She has friends, has arguments, finds love, and even sets fire to the high school gym, all in a short period of time. Kim deftly tells a tale of Grace, her friends, and the other Grace’s, overcoming their fears and dreams to achieve reality. At times they fail and give into the flaws that make them all too human and at other times they rise above their flaws and succeed. Kim successfully weaves in multiple versions of Grace and shows that no matter the age, no matter the wisdom, life still has challenges to face and everything isn’t always perfect.

Hamm’s illustrations are inspired by the world of manga and while not overly complex, add a sense of realism to the story being told. The images ground the story in real life, capturing the daily bits and grind of life that are often overlooked in the world around us, but let us know where we are.

Although Good as Lily is a relatively short tale, it delivers a great story. We see the range of emotions as the characters learn that growing up isn’t always easy and how they can adapt to the life and world around them. A great story for all ages.

Originally posted on Moonshine Arts magazine.

Wacky Packages by The Topps Company

Wacky Packages
The Topps Company (Author), Art Spiegelman (Introduction)
240 pages
Abrams (June 1, 2008)
ISBN-10: 081099531X
ISBN-13: 978-0810995314
http://tinyurl.com/4c6uyk

Topps Company is most well known for its continued production of sports related cards, such as baseball and football. However, at various points in its history Topps has branched out into other creative arenas, such as the famous Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages. Wacky Packages was born out of more creative era of advertising where design helped sell the product. Wacky Packages were spoof cards/stickers of real products where the name and packaging changed into more creative formats for the young at heart. The cards were the brain child of Woody Gelman, Lee Brown, and Art Spiegelman, the Pulitzer prize winner author of Maus. Wacky Packages has run
several different times since 1967 the latest series coming in 2007.

The introduction is written by Art Spiegelman, where he discusses how he came to be involved with the Topps Company and how they helped give him a creative outlet to practice and hone his artistic skills. Art leads us into the journey of how Wacky Packages were born, how the ideas were developed to market them, and the creative process into
creating the spoof cards. The first hand insight that Art is able to offer gives the reader an in-depth look at the creative process that was undertaken. The afterward is written by Jay Lynch, a writer and artist who also worked on Wacky Packages, who examines the history and possible sources for where Wacky Packages was born.

The majority of the book, however, is filled with reproductions of images from the seven series. Each of the cards is reproduced in large and easy to read, with bright vibrant colors. The reproductions make it easy to determine which product the artist spoofed and to examine the level of detail created for the cards. Like everything some of the cards are better than others, such as “Mrs. Klean will up the floor with Mr. Klean if she can find him,” a clever parody on Mr. Clean. Other parodies, such as “6up,” are clearly not as creative (even Art admits that this was probably one of the worst gags.) Readers will enjoy examining the large illustrations and determining how the parody differs from the reality. This is a book that can easily be enjoyed by all ages.

Some samples of images can be located here:
http://tinyurl.com/4zaswd
http://tinyurl.com/4zaswd
http://tinyurl.com/4zaswd

Originally posted on Moonshine Arts magazine.

Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa

Three Shadows
Cyril Pedrosa
272 pages
First Second (April 1, 2008)
159643239X
978-1596432390
http://tinyurl.com/69828x

Cyril Pedaroa is a former artist for Disney, who worked on such films as “Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Hercules,” but has since transferred his creative and artistic talents to the world of graphic novels. Three Shadows is a story of life, a family’s love, grief, and death rolled into an all too short novel. Pedaroa captures the tale of this family with ease and their relationships with one another and the world around them.

Three Shadows is the story of a small farming family, father, mother, and their young son named Joaquim. They live an ideal life with all that they could ever need in their lives. Until the day Joaquim approaches his parents and tells them of the three shadows outside watching him. After initially not believing him, his parents watch as the three shadows come closer and closer to the home. Like any parent they want to protect their child from shadows and each goes about providing protection in a different way. The mother visits a local shaman to find out information about what the shadows are and how to stop them. When she finds she cannot, the father takes Joaquim and journeys across the river, in hopes of escaping the shadows. Joaquim’s father is willing to do anything to protect his son, including giving up his own life. The father is a larger than life figure in the book, both figuratively and literally. His presence is seen and felt from the beginning and it is clear he has compassion and love, but is a force to be reckoned with, not only for his physical strength, but the mind and heart behind it. The father is a protector and almost seems lost when he cannot protect those around him, but he doesn’t give in. While they seem to escape the shadows by crossing the river, the shadow figures come back with a vengeance before Joaquim and his father finish crossing the river. No matter what Joaquim and his father try they just can’t seem to escape the three shadows. Joaquim is eventually willing to accept and meet his fate, but has one last task to complete before he can move on.

In the end, all of the characters introduced in the novel, find that no matter how hard you try, you can’t escape death. The story itself would appear to be a simple one, but the twists and turns of the lives portrayed make it a compelling story. Although the story is more father and son, the mother’s love is evident by her sacrifice to allow father and son to undertake their journey. Both parents handle the situation as best as they know how and exemplify a family’s love for one another. The story’s overall message is that even in death, you can find hope, and that even though death may come, life will still go on.

What really sells the story and draws the reader in, are the illustrations. The illustrations in the novel are simple black and white line drawings, but through Pedrosa’s use of lines they convey emotion and energy. Even without words, the drawings are able to convey joy, fear, grief, and love through the characters expressions and movements. The reader becomes not a mere witness to the story, but a participant, feeling a sense of the place, the time, and the people. The characters cease to be mere drawings on the page, but become real to the reader, as if we could meet them in real life.

This novel is a must read for any age, but particularly for those struggling with grief of a loved one. The story touches on life, love, and grief in a way that is easy for any reader to relate too. The simplicity of the illustrations, the depth of the characters, and the compelling story line make this a great read for any age. Pedrosa’s novel has captured the essence of a family that transcends country, culture, or time.

Originally posted on Moonshine Arts magazine.

Enclosure by Andy Goldsworthy

Enclosure
Andy Goldsworthy
168 pages
Abrams Books (October 1, 2007)
English
0810993910
978-0810993914
http://tinyurl.com/5e6qex

Enclosure is the latest book collection of Andy Goldsworthy’s work. Goldsworthy is an ephemeral artist, who works with items in nature, such as rocks, leaves, snow, and even the rain as it falls on the ground. Since the majority of Goldsworthy’s art does not last long, the photographs in this book documents the work as it thought out and created, is the lasting impression of his work. Andy Goldsworthy lives and predominately works in the English country side and his work reflects his appreciation of the land that he lives in and its history.

While Enclosure repeats some of the work that can be found in Goldsworthy’s other book, Arch, Enclosure gives more details and insight into how Andy Goldsworthy plans his works and executes his sculptures. Enclosure focuses primarily on Goldsworthy’s project to recreate sheepfolds in Northwest England. Begun in 1995 and working on and off for more than a decade, he completed 35 of these folds. Not only did Goldsworthy rebuild many of these folds so that they could fulfill their intended purpose, but he also took into account the history of the land and its people in his shape and design. Folds were designed to take into account the shape and fold of the land, in some places incorporating trees and homes into their design. The reader sees the sketches and concept drawings of the folds, as well as photographs of them being created. Throughout the book is a diary like account of the construction and creation of these sculptures. This diary account gives great insight into the thought process of the artist at work and the planning of this monumental sculpture. The reader is privy to Goldsworthy’s innermost thoughts on the weather of the day and the process he undertakes.

Also included in the book is a collection of ephemeral works related to sheep. These ephemeral works are more typical of Andy Goldsworthy’s style. They include a series of sheep “paintings” made by the hoof-prints of sheep, a cairn created with sheep’s’ wool, and sculptures created with wet wool.

Enclosure typifies Goldsworthy’s books showcasing his thought process, sketches, and photographs of his work in process. It is a great addition to any fan of Andy Goldsworthy or of ephemeral art.

Originally posted on Moonshine Arts magazine.

Little Things: A Memoir in Slices by Jeffrey Brown

Touchstone; 1st Touchstone Trade Pbk. Ed edition (April 1, 2008)
352 pages; 1416549463

Little Things, a graphic novel by Jeffrey Brown (author of Be a Man, Clumsy), is geared towards the mature audience as the story deals with mature material such as sex, death and life of a young adult. Little Things is Jeffery’s life story told in thin “slices” from various points of time in his life. Jeffery’s “slices” are bits and pieces of his life that can be a few hours to a week to longer. Jeffery captures himself and those that he interacts with in a lose line drawing style, mostly picturing himself as a scruffy young man.

Jeffrey is the one “character” consistent throughout the novel as it is the story of his life. People move in and out of the “slices” never seeming to stay for very long or come back, but seem to make a lasting impact within his life. For example, one “slice” deals with a camping trip into the woods with friends. The “slices” allow for the reader to see just how such a small event can have a greater impact on life than wee might expect. He shares with us the good times, being with friends, to the bad times, death of loved ones. Jeffrey shares his story in “slices,” snippets of his life story that range from a few minutes to a week or longer. Time never stands still and is constantly moving on to the next story or the next person.

Where the story suffers is that the move through timelines if often disjointed in places, transitioning from present to past back to present in what is often confusing. The last “slice” of Jeffrey’s life deals with the birth/pending birth of his child. We are never really told the status of Jeffrey and the baby’s mother, as whether they are married or engaged and while this piece of information can be missing, it stalls the flow of the story. When the “slice” begins we see Jeffrey and young woman (possibly Jennifer), waking up in the middle of the night to take care of the young baby. A few pages later the couple is driving to Kansas, but it appears that the baby has not yet been born. A few more pages and it appears to be the beginning of the pregnancy and the young couple is discussing pets. Where the story seems to fail is that there are no clear transitions in this passage of time. The reader is lost as to the passage of time and place with no clear indication of what might be happening. Perhaps if readers read his other stories, more would be revealed about his life and those in it, but if this is to be seen as a standalone work (as it appears to be), the casual reader will become lost. That being said, Jeffrey shows the simplicity and beauty in life and how different interactions with those around you shape it. Things that most people wouldn’t think of as being life altering are shown and a story takes shape.

The graphic novel uses simple black and white lines to create the universe and life that Jeffrey resides. Jeffrey captures the world around him from rescuing ants in a stream to his young son next to him with simple and often elegant line drawings that show a deeper meaning to life. He is able to show the voice of the character through the expressions on their faces and the simple beauty of the world that surrounds him. Brown captures the simplicity of the stars in the night sky in the forest and the rushing river going past. The chaos of life is captured in the drawings that Jeffery shares to tell his stories.

Although the time line can be confusing, the story is an interesting experiment in telling a story. Although the author does not quite succeed with keeping the story time line easy to follow, it is a worthwhile experiment to see a life story told in a different manner and worth a read at the local bookstore or the library.

Originally posted on Moonshine Arts magazine.

Amulet (Book 1) The Stone Keeper
Kazu Kibuishi
192 pages
GRAPHIX (January 1, 2008)
0439846811
978-0439846813

Amulet, a graphic novel by Kazu Kibuishi (Flight, Daisy Kutter), is geared towards the 9-12 age group. However, the novel will captivate anyone that begins to read it as they are swept along a moving story with beautiful illustrations. This is book one of a scheduled five part series

Our young heroine Emily witnesses the death of her father in the opening pages of this novel. Time passes and Emily, her mother, and her brother Nevin move into the home of their missing great grandfather. It’s an older home, unlived in since his disappearance many years ago and full of dust bunnies and shadows. While exploring the house Emily discovers her great grandfather’s study, with an amulet hidden in secret panel. But, there are more secrets lurking within the house, one that soon ensnares Emily’s mom. She’s dragged from the basement by a tentacle through an open door and Emily and Nevin must go on a rescue mission. They are taken to another world, with nothing to guide them, but the voice of the amulet. Along the way they encounter demons, robots, and talking animals. The amulet leads them to a house, where they find their great grandfather and some of his creations. With the help of Misket, a rabbit robot, Emily and Nevin set out to find their mother, and learn more about their family’s history, their great-grandfather, and the amulet that Emily found in his study. The amulet’s motives are unclear. Does it have the best interest of Emily and her family in mind? And where will the next adventure take them?

This story captivates the reader from the beginning. The reader is compelled to feel for the characters of the story, from Emily witnessing the death of her father to watching her mom being dragged away by some unknown creature. Although this is only the first part of the series the reader gets a true sense of the characters, their feelings, and their emotions and is left hanging at the end of this book and wanting more.

What really sells the story are the illustrations as they capture and convey the moods of the characters and their surroundings. The drawings have a light airy quality to them, with a simple, but moody, color palette to show off the extensive use of shadows to convey emotions of the character in graphic detail. The reader is never left wanting or wondering what the characters are thinking, the colors clearly display what they feel—the age of the great-grandfather is written into the lines on his face, the fear and courage of Emily as she seeks to save her what’s left of her family. As the story progresses a darker palette is used and we are left wanting the lighter colors to return. Something unique about the drawings is that when the story first begins the characters almost look undefined. While we can read their emotions they are merely shapes on a page. However, as the story progresses they gain more depth and emotion.

This novel is a must read. A strong young heroine, with monsters and robots as well, enough to keep any crowd entertained. The moving illustrations and compelling story make this a great read and the book is highly recommended for all ages.

Originally posted Dec 31, 2010 as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Vanishing Girl: THE BOY SHERLOCK HOLMES, HIS 3RD CASE by Shane Peacock
There are a couple of different ways to look at this book. The first is imagine that the main character, Sherlock Holmes, is actually named something else entirely. In which case the book is a decent detective story with mildly interesting characters. There are a couple of plot holes and rather lengthy passages that seemingly have nothing to do with the plot of the story, but overall is fairly easy to follow. The major drawback is that its a book in a series and you’re introduced to characters and have mentions of other plots thrown at you, but no clue as to the real relationship they have with the characters.

Reading the book as a Sherlock Holmes story, is a bit different. All of the above remain true, but there are other exasperating questions thrown in, the details of which seem to have been pulled from no where in the Sherlock chronology. For example, at a few different points in the story the insult of “Jew boy” is thrown out and “half breed”. There’s no explanation given in this novel as to why those are the insults of choice, but even more exasperating to a fan of the Holmes mythology is…why is he referred to as Jewish? Basically all this character has in common with Sherlock Holmes is the name and heightened powers of deduction.

In short, if you’re a fan of Sherlock Holmes avoid the book. If you’re looking for just a mystery to read and don’t really care about Sherlock Holmes then the book isn’t terrible.

Originally posted Dec 10, 2010 as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence by Geoffrey Canada

This book is a graphic novel adaptation of a book by the same title that was originally published in 1995. Jamar Nicholas, the artist, does a fantastic job of illustrating the words that Geoffrey Canada wrote. He captures the fear of young boys as they are forced to fight and the violence they witness growing up, and he captures the triumph they feel at overcoming an opponent or standing up for a friend. It is a compelling story and a good introduction to the varieties of lifestyles and neighborhoods seen while growing up.

I’ve not read the original book so I can’t compare where the differences in story are between the two works, but there was one area that bothered me a bit. Translating a written memoir, such as the original book, into a graphic novel means that changes have to be made to ensure the story is told in a manner that makes sense. In a few places the text became overwhelming and causes the reader to shift mental gears in how they read the book (from graphic adaptation to straight story) and it makes it a bit difficult to transition back and forth.

Overall though the book is well worth the read and the illustrations really do make the story come alive.

Originally posted June 12, 2010 as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun

I’ve read pretty much any book I can get my hands onto about public speaking as I’ve recently started speaking at conferences and was expecting this one to be similar with the same trite advice as everyone else. This was not the case at all. Scott speaks regularly around the world and offered first hand knowledge and experience through out the book. He openly speaks of his flubs and what he learned from them and how the reader can learn from their own mistakes. Unlike other books Scott openly admits he isn’t perfect and neither will the reader and quotes the move Fight Club to say that “perfection is boring.”

He offers practical sound advice in an easy to read format. In the parts of the book where he backs his claims with citations, he translates whats being said into his own writing style. Overall a great read.

Originally posted June 12, 2010 as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

A Marvelous Hundred Square Miles: Black Hills Tourism, 1880-1941… by Suzanne B. Julin

I’ve spent time in the Black Hills on a few different occasions and I love the history and the landscapes of the area. As such I was looking forward to learning more about the area and how it was started, but I was disappointed in the layout and the writing style of the book. While it is evident that the author has a great passion and knowledge of the area, she lacked a good editor to make the book readable.

It is evident from the beginning that the author has a passion for the area and is extremely knowledgeable about how it came into being. From the introduction I had hopes that it would read more like a travelogue taking the reader on a journey into the areas past and letting us into the hidden details. And although the information is solid, the book doesn’t read that way at all. In fact its often downright confusing. Within one chapter we’re reading about tourism, but in the span of four pages we start at 1897 go to 1913, then jump back to 1911 and introduced to even more people. There are no clear delineations to help the reader focus on one time period or one area within the chapter and it’s very difficult to keep up with what area you’re in.

The overall information and photographs used within the book however are fairly solid (she does gloss over the fact that Mt. Rushmore’s land was essentially stolen from the Native Americans and was sacred land to them). It’s a useful book if someone is writing a history paper on the area or has specific facets of information that they are looking up, not so much for a pleasure read.