Bob Callahan (1942–2008)

I was going to give this a single star but I decided that was too harsh. A friend of mine was getting rid of this so I took it. In theory I like graphic novels, in theory I'd especially like one in a series designed by Art Spiegeleman. That doesn't work for me here, though. In great crime fiction, the dialog is vivid not only b/c of its content but b/c of its phrasing, its dialect. But, here, in graphic novel form, the dialog just seems reduced to Reader's Digest Condensed Book oversimplicity. The intensity of the content, despite the skills of the graphic rendering, don't convince me or involve me. Instead, for me, it all seems forced - it's believeable, but I don't suspend disbelief.… (mehr)

A fun and wide-ranging collection that would have been made better with some consistent biographical information on the authors and prominent dates of original publication for the comics to provide context. Also, 2004 doesn't seem that long ago, but there is no way a collection like this would fly in 2020 without the inclusion of more women. I'm not a big superhero comics gal, so it was interesting to see some "best" examples. The Neil Gaiman "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was a revelation! Also includes some of my faves like Lynda Barry, Harvey Pekar, and Daniel Clowes.… (mehr)

There's hardly a review of the absolutely stunning graphic adaptation Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli did of Paul Auster's City of Glass that doesn't mention that it was originally commissioned as part of the "Neon Lit" series of graphic novels, which was intended to adapt contemporary crime/mystery fiction into graphic format. Upon a recent rereading of City of Glass, it occurred to me that I'd never even heard the title of another work in that series, so I went and looked it up.

Well, there was only one other, and it's this. Perdita Durango was originally a novel by Barry Gifford, second of his Sailor & Lula series; Bob Callahan scripted a comics adaptation of it that was drawn by Scott Gillis. Perdita Durango isn't terrible in any way, shape, or form, but coming on the heels of City of Glass, it's not remotely in the same league. The story doesn't do anything near as interesting with word/image interplay, it's simply a somewhat over-narrated tale of a journey across America by two criminals. I don't know how long the original piece was, but this feels overly compressed; they've crossed America before they've even left.

Perdita Durango is dark, twisted, and occasionally funny, but perhaps its failing-- the thing that stopped me from ever really engaging with it-- is that you finish it without understanding Perdita. And not in a oh-isn't-she-such-an-enigma way, but in a we-have-nothing-interesting-to-go-on-not-even-an-interesting-lack-of-knowledge way. I have only the barest hint of who she is and what she does. Good prose-to-comics adaptations are capable of much; unfortunately, Perdita Durango does not achieve it.… (mehr)

A stunning collection of comix, from the punk funnies to foreign voices and places in-between. Published in 1991, the chorus of independent voices range from Harvey Pekar to Gary Panter to Art Spiegelman to Chris Ware and Los Bros. Hernandez. Before the publishers marketed the heck out of the term "graphic novel" and prior to Maus legitimizing the genre to cautious, middlebrow, suburban white people, this anthology stood out like a lighthouse in the storm of Reaganomics, Cold War paranoia, and the tights-and-capes crowd. The ensuing decade has seen these artists become more and more mainstream, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, since the mainstream has gotten more and more fragmented, violent, and vulgar. Spiegelman has become an editor of the New Yorker and "Ghost World" become a successful "indie movie" bringing the world closer to Clowe's world and Steve Buscemi's teeth.

The anthology is indispensable as a historical document, repository of personal visions, and a pop cultural footnote of gigantic proportions. Like "The Dead Sea Scrolls" and the Clash's "Sandanista," it is a monument to the Eighties Era and a precursor to future artistic trends. Also, the story about the Garbage Barge is hilarious.… (mehr)