Fábio Moon

The entire tale contains different chapters about the same character's life. But they're not continuous chapters of the same life - since the main character dies in each story at different ages and after diverging paths. So, that would mean this is a pretty dark book. And yet...and yet....it's not. Alright, it is dark...there's some murder, a variety of accidents, lots of other ill fated life, but there's also hope for the future, there's a message to make the best of the life we have, wherever it finds us. And that's something to take with you.… (mehr)

Um dos livros mais importantes da literatura brasileira contemporânea, Dois irmãos vem, desde seu lançamento há quinze anos, conquistando novas gerações de leitores. E foi com o mesmo entusiasmo desses leitores que Fábio Moon e Gabriel Bá embarcaram na missão de adaptar o romance de Milton Hatoum para uma graphic novel. Entre os mais premiados da última década, os irmãos quadrinistas vêm igualmente arrebatando fãs e trazendo uma verdadeira legião de leitores às HQs. Suas obras foram publicadas em diversos países, atravessando fronteiras culturais e políticas. Ao mesmo tempo que preserva a força narrativa de Hatoum, esta adaptação evidencia o talento de Bá e Moon na construção de histórias que alternam entre a tragédia, a delicadeza, a brutalidade e o humor. No traço deles, a vida dos gêmeos Yaqub e Omar ganha novos contornos épicos. A Manaus dos quadrinhos, feita de um jogo de luz e sombras, acolhe este drama que cruza gerações e, seja nos grandes planos ou nos mínimos detalhes, carrega o enredo original de energia e vitalidade. Quem conhece a obra de Hatoum vai não apenas reencontrar, mas redescobrir com outros olhos personagens marcantes como Domingas, Halim, Zana e Dália. E os novos leitores terão contato com um riquíssimo universo ficcional, um drama que, ao esmiuçar a intimidade e a rivalidade de Yaqub e Halim, lança luz nas frestas das relações familiares, do amor e da história recente do Brasil.… (mehr)

"I will never forget that moment, or forget the expression on Stella's face as she watched Vic hurrying away from her. Even in death I shall remember that. Her clothes were in disarray, and there was makeup smudged across her face, and her eyes-You wouldn't want to make a universe angry. I bet an angry universe would look at you with eyes like that."

In this graphic novel adaption of "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" which was nominated for the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Short Story and won the Locus Award for Best Short Story, Gaiman conjures up an eerie coming of age story that is not only about the differences between the sexes (men viewing women as foreign creatures or "aliens") but could also be read as a parable for how to treat girls (i.e. don't take advantage of them because, because after all, you wouldn't want to make the universe angry). It is also a great story that investigates (like so many stories from Gaiman have a tendency to do) childhood memory and the loss of childhood innocence through the lens of the fantastical.

The story is pretty simple. It is about a couple of British 1970s teen-aged boys, Enn and Vic, who go to a party to meet girls, only to find that the girls are very different from the boys' expectations. But the story goes deeper than that. Enn, who doesn't really know how to interact with girls (or so he thinks) encounters three "alien beings" who attempt to express their loneliness, their thirst for knowledge, imperfection, fear of death, and need to communicate their stories. His friend, Vic is a more superficial, takes off upstairs with the girl Stella (Star), and he gets more than he bargained for-as the universe finds him lacking.

Enn's last meeting is with Triolet, who pours her story/poem into his being. This story in the form of a poem changes him. Enn can recognize and access the story inherent in the music playing in the house amidst the stars and the universe. Just then, however, Vic dashes up and says they have to leave. Triolet is disappointed that she doesn’t get to finish her poem, but Vic is insistent. Enn looks up the stairs and sees the disheveled Stella, whose eyes he would never forget

Thirty years later, as Enn is telling the story, he recalls that Stella's eyes looked like an angry universe.

The boys run for a long time, until Vic stops and throws up in the gutter. He begins to sob as he tries to explain what he’s experienced. Enn says he still can’t imagine what Vic saw that night that terrified him so badly. Enn tries to remember the poem Triolet told him, but he cannot.

What is interesting about this story is the fact that both the girls and Enn seem to be travelers and in search of something. Enn seems like he searching for deeper connections and meaning and so are the girls. In contrast, Vic was only concerned with a more primal connection and well, upset a superior being in the process.

The story happens only through the course of a few hours yet encompasses eons of extrapolated human nature. How does Gaiman do it?

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, the folks who adapted this story into its graphic form, as they manage to create a strangely unique place in the everyday world that Gaiman has created. The artwork manages to highlight some of the stranger but subtle parts of the story well through its playful use of watercolors.

Highly recommended.… (mehr)

Interesting attempt at literary fiction, in comics. It's surprisingly a genre not that well represented in the artform, even in these modern times, with the "real mainstream". Anyhoo, it has a singular little conceit, a trope to structure the stories, which gets more grating as the story goes on. I suspect Moon and Ba found themselves regretting it at times. Still, it doesn't detract from what is a nice, engaging story about life and fate and romance and stuff like that. The art is pleasant and works well. I may be bumping up my rating a little for effort and originality.… (mehr)