High School 15+
ASTERIOS POLYP
By Catharina Evans Staff Writer STORY REVIEW David Mazzucchelli’s first solo foray into graphic novels exquisitely blends a strong aesthetic voice and a complex, engaging story on the posturings of academia, the difficulties of intimacy, and the philosophy of design. And to put it simply, one of the most visually provoking novels I’ve ever read.
I SEE THE PROMISED LAND
By Kevin Hodgson Staff Writer STORY SUMMARY I SEE THE PROMISED LAND is a creative graphic novel mash-up that is put together like a comic, picture book, poetry and rap in a way that tells the life story of Martin Luther King Jr. from interesting angles. Creators Arthur Flowers (a blues musician and teacher), Manu Chitrakar (An Indian artist) and Guglielmo Rossi (a graphic designer) pull it off by fusing the well-know biography of King with the storytelling style of Africa and India, with hints of Hoodoo, too, as the Patua (Bengali) scroll-painting artwork transports the reader into an story […] Read More
LEONARDO DA VINCI: THE RENAISSANCE MAN
By Kevin Hodgson Staff Writer “There may not be in the world an example of another genius so universal, so full of yearning for the infinite, so far ahead of his own century and the following centuries than Leonardo da Vinci.” – Hippolyte Taine, art critic and historian STORY SUMMARY The mystery of the stolen masterpiece, The Mona Lisa, underpins a wonderfully conceived graphic story of the life of the most famous Renaissance man whose art inventive mind continues to echo to this day.
GOVERNMENT ISSUE: COMICS FOR THE PEOPLE, 1940S-2000S
By Kevin Hodgson Staff Writer STORY SUMMARY In this extensive and intriguing collection of comics through the years, you suddenly realize how often comics were used to educate and influence the American public through rhetoric and persuasive writing by our government. In a 1942 pamphlet called “Pocket Guide to China” by the US military for soldiers stationed in Asia, the headline of “How to Spot a Jap” really jumps out at you. Or, it should. And that’s when you begin to realize the extent of comics being used to influence the minds of many.