More reviews

 

Grandville. Bryan Talbot. Dark Horse. 108 pages.

Funny animals? Ugh. Though Walt Kelly, Carl Barks and even Jack "King'' Kirby embraced and elevated the genre, it mostly left me cold — until now. Talbot's tightly plotted political thriller posits an alternate universe where France conquered England in the Napoleonic Wars, and the world is ruled by anthropomorphic animals, with a few hairless apes as servants and lackeys. Following his tour de force Alice in Sunderland, the grand master of British comics' recent projects have been a bit odd. Grandville is no exception, but this wildly heady blend of mystery, heroics, politics, religion and romance is more reminiscent of his classic Luther Arkwright series than anything he's done since. If you can get past — or embrace — his archetypical menagerie of well-drawn faux-bipeds, the story, with allegorical echoes of 9/11, is further evidence that Talbot blazes his own path and is always worth following.

 

The Year of Loving Dangerously. Ted Rall, Pablo G. Callejo. NBM Publishing. 127 pages.

In different alternate universes, normal-looking Rall, an award-winning writer and artist, is a stud-muffin, so irresistible that women at peace protests, pizza joints and other public places invariably invite him to share their beds. Just as well: Since he was tossed out of Columbia, Rall has no fixed abode and usually bunks down in supply closets or subways (and strange ladies' apartments). The story is true, apparently, and unfolded in the 1980s after a freak medical condition resulted in Rall's school expulsion for failure to take his final exams. Rall scripted but wisely left the illustrations to Spain's Callejo, who did a great job illuminating a story as bleak as the empty experiences it depicts.

 

The Escapists. Brian K Vaughan, Eduardo Barreto, Philip Bond, Steve Rolston. Dark Horse. 160 pages.

Stories about comics can be dull affairs. Affection for the medium and its practitioners often distorts the image. Even the great Will Eisner's The Dreamer was somewhat whitewashed and sentimental.

Michael Chabon's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay added mysticism and religion to the mix, but his love of the genre dominated. The series of comics spun off from his novel are a mixed bag, but this standalone story is wistful, evocative and powerful as it depicts the conflict and ambiguity of art, comics and real life. Vaughn's story has all the elements of a great comics tale with clearly drawn heroes and villains, but it also transcends the medium with its great heart and spirit.
— Richard Pachter

Originally published in The Miami Herald

Reviews

By RICHARD PACHTER
original versions published 11/13/07 in The Miami Herald

• Alice in Sunderland. Bryan Talbot. Dark Horse. 328 pages.
"Sprawling" and "rollicking" may not be terms often used to describe historical works, but this one, actually labeled "an entertainment" by Talbot, the Grand Master of modern British comics, certainly sprawls and rollicks. Ostensibly a history of the Sunderland region, an area overflowing with cultural, political and religious significance, Talbot, the relentless genius behind "The Adventures of Luther Arkwright" and "The Tale of One Bad Rat," weaves in a dazzling array of contrasting and complimentary threads, including biographical revelations of Lewis Carroll and guest appearances by comics guru Scott McCloud, English vaudeville stars and several variations of the author himself throughout this multimedia tour de force. It's no wonder that even crusty punters like Warren Ellis and Alan Moore bow to the brilliance of Talbot. If you're already a fan, grab his gossipy collection of out-of-school tales, "The Naked Artist," illustrated by Hunt Emerson, a bawdy and scatological peek behind the curtains of comic conventions and other lunatic gatherings.

• Ronald Reagan: A Graphic Biography. Andrew Helfer, Steve Buccellato, Joe Staton. Hill and Wang. 112 pages. Helfer, a veteran editor and the scripter of the graphic biography of Malcolm X, turns his attention to the near-mythical Reagan. The art of journeymen Buccellato and Staton ably supports the narrative as the future governor and president wends his way through show business and politics. Partisans of either stripe might find the story lacking, but Helfer is solidly supported by research and biographies, and the facts of the articulate and charismatic Reagan's life are well-documented and interestingly portrayed.