35. Saga: Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

illustrated by Fiona Staples
interlibrary loan from Fredericksen - book was in pretty bad shape and sort of gross, pages coming out and stuck together, even a bit of an odor.....
2012, Image Comics
164 pgs.
Adult Graphic Novel - explicit sex
Finished 4-12-18
Goodreads rating: 4.23 - 165,022 ratings (holy schmoley!)
My rating: 2.5
Setting: Somewhere out there....

First line/s:  "This is how an idea becomes real."

My comments:  Granted, I’m pretty new to this genre - trying to be an eclectic reader - but I’m yet to discover the joy that others seem to get from reading graphic novels. This one was easier to follow than my other Brian Vaughan read (Paper Girls), I had no questions or head scratching when I finished. And my borrowed library copy had pages falling out, stuck together, and a faint odd odor, which didn’t help. Think I’m going to try another graphic novel author before I give up,

Goodreads synopsis:  When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. 
          From bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan, Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults. 

Graphic Novels and Comics

Alia's Mission - Mark Alan Stamatsy, 2004 (5) COMIC
     Within a few fast-paced days, Alia and some helpers move 30,000 books from the Library in Basra, Iraq before it can be destroyed by war.

Going into Town, a Love Letter to New York - Roz Chast, 2017 (4)
     A resident's clever, funny comments about traversing Manhattan.

Hereville - Barry Deutsch, 2010 (5) COMIC
     A fairy tale set solidly in an Orthodox Jewish community in contemporary America.

The Merchant of Venice - Gareth Hinds (based on the play by William Shakespeare) 2008 (2.5) COMIC

Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush - Luis Alberto Urrea, 2010 (4.5) COMIC
           Mr. Mendoza was the unwanted graffiti king of all Mexico.  His platform was social justice.  In beautiful handwriting he would comment on the sins of the world.

Paper Girls: Vol. 1 - Brian K. Vaughan, 2016 (3) COMIC
     "In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time."

Saga: Volume 1 - Brian K. Vaughan, 2012 (2.5) COMIC
     Two soldiers, Alana and Marko, soldiers from different warring entities, fall in love and are on the run, trying to protect their newborn.

PICTURE BOOKS

Egg - Kevin Henkes, 2017 (4.5)

Vanilla Ice Cream - Bob Graham, 2014 (4)
     Following some food, a young sparrow takes refuge in a truck and travels through India.

30. Paper GIrls: Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

Illustrated by Cliff Chiang
Colors by Matt Wilson
Letters by Jared K. Fletcher
read the actual book at Barnes and Noble on Easter, 4-1-18
2016, Image Comics Inc., Berkeley, CA
144 pgs.
Graphic Novel
Finished 4/1/18
Goodreads rating: 3.86 - 35,618 ratings
My rating: 3
Setting: 1988 Cleveland, OH

First page/s:  Erin is dreaming and thinks she's in heaven, being greeted by Christa MacAuliffe.

My comments:  I went onto Litsy to see what "comics"/graphic novels seems to be a top read in recent months and discovered a few titles, but this is the only one I could locate at Barnes & Noble.  There were lots and lots and LOTS of superhero comics/graphic novels, but not too many others.
      There were a couple of places in the story that no matter how hard you looked at the illustration or read the text, you couldn't quite figure out what was going on.  I skimmed through a second time and got a few answers...or at least answers that might have been correct, but satisfied me.  It was an okay read, and would be interesting to see what happens in Volume 2
     Erin is the "new girl" to the now-foursome that delivers the Cleveland paper together before dawn each morning.  Mac/MacKenzie is the pink-haired, swearing, smoking, unafraid of much leader,  Tiff/Tiffany is the darker skinned walkie-talkie owner, and KJ has the back ponytail and a bat mitzvah coming up.

Goodreads synopsis: In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this smash-hit series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.

23. Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York by Roz Chast

read the book -had to get it through Interlibrary loan
2017 Bloomsbury
169 pgs.
Adult Graphic Novel sort-of
Finished  3/7/18
Goodreads rating:3.79 - 2392 ratings
My rating:  4

First line/s:  "This is not a 'definitive guide book' to Manhattan.  In fact, it's not really a guide book.  There's nothing in here about the Statue of Liberty, for example."

My comments:  This graphic novel was a fun, quick – VERY quick – read. Granted, I didn't learn anything new about Manhattan, but it reminded me over and over again about why I love this wonderful city. The author's observations and comments are clever and funny, and her love for New York really comes through.

Goodreads synopsis: From the #1 NYT bestselling author of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast's new graphic memoir--a hilarious illustrated ode/guide/ thank-you note to Manhattan.
          A native Brooklynite-turned-suburban commuter deemed the quintessential New Yorker, Roz Chast has always been intensely alive to the glorious spectacle that is Manhattan--the daily clash of sidewalk racers and dawdlers; the fascinating range of dress codes; and the priceless, nutty outbursts of souls from all walks of life.
          For Chast, adjusting to life outside the city was surreal--(you can own trees!? you have to drive!?)--but she recognized that the reverse was true for her kids. On trips into town, they would marvel at the strange visual world of Manhattan--its blackened sidewalk gum-wads, "those West Side Story-things" (fire escapes)--and its crazily honeycombed systems and grids.
          Told through Chast's singularly zany, laugh-out-loud, touching, and true cartoons, Going Into Town is part New York stories (the "overheard and overseen" of the island borough), part personal and practical guide to walking, talking, renting, and venting--an irresistible, one-of-a-kind love letter to the city.

PICTURE BOOK - Egg by Kevin Henkes

Illustrated by the author

2017 Greenwillow Books

HC $17.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.97 - 713 ratings

My rating:  4.5

Endpapers: a simple checkerboard of the four pastel colors of the four eggs...looks very Easter-y

My comments: Oh my goodness, what a sweet book!  I didn't know what the surprise would be (I hadn't read any reviews, which are rich with spoilers) and I was really tickled when I got to it.  Simple, charming illustrations using a limited amount of colors AND words ... describing it as a graphic novel for toddlers is perfect.  Perfect and perfectly charming!

Goodreads:  Egg is a graphic novel for preschoolers about four eggs, one big surprise, and an unlikely friendship.

PICTURE BOOK - Vanilla Ice Cream - Bob Graham

Illustrated by the author

2014 Candlewick Press

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.54

My rating: 4

Endpapers: peach with subtle leaf repetitions

Setting:  Contemporary India; over the ocean; then a city of white people

1^st line/s:  "The young sparrow rises from the dust.  He looks down at Annisha and Suhami."

My comments:  This is one clever, adorable book.  Limited words, super illustrations.  Some pages have several boxes to closely examine - sort of a beginning graphic novel.  The whole time you're reading you're thinking ... vanilla ice cream?  This is about a sparrow's journey -- but the cute twist at the end is fun.

Goodreads:  A wild sparrow’s journey sets in motion a toddler’s new experience in Bob Graham’s tale of life’s surprising little turns — and unlikely connections.
          Following some food, a curious young sparrow stows away in the back of a truck and takes an unusual voyage south — through the lush rice paddies of India, across the rough sea, and all the way into a bright new day. As the sun rises high over the city, he finds little Edie at a café with her grandma and granddad, and for a fleeting instant, his world meets up with hers and changes her life in the most delightful way. From the masterful Bob Graham comes an invitation to notice the smallest of moments as they unfold around us, full of unexpected promise.

61. Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie - Julie Sternberg

#1 Eleanor
illustrated by Matthew Cordell

2011, Amulet Books

120 gs.

Early Reader - CRF - in verse

Finished 9/21/2014

Goodreads rating: 3.77

My rating:  4/ Loved it

Paperback Swap - Hardcover!

Setting: Contemporary city (she lives upstairs in an apartment building, very New Yorky in feel and illustrations)

1st sentence/s:  
     "I had a bad August."
      A very bad August.
      As bad a pickle juice on a cookie.
      As bad as a spiderweb on your leg.
      As bad as the black parts of a banana.
      I hope your August was better.
      I really do."

My comments:  This is a very charming book, written in verse, with lots of illustrations,so it's somewhat of a graphic novel, too. Eleanor is about to start 3rd grade, but her beloved babysitter (the daily kind), Bibi, has had to move to Florida.  Eleanor is distraught.  It's a book that's easy-to-read but not babyish.  And it's the beginning of a series!

Goodreads book summary:  When Eleanor's beloved babysitter, Bibi, has to move away to take care of her ailing father, Eleanor must try to bear the summer without Bibi and prepare for the upcoming school year. Her new, less-than-perfect babysitter just isn't up to snuff, and she doesn't take care of things like Bibi used to. But as the school year looms, it's time for new beginnings. Eleanor soon realizes that she will always have Bibi, no matter how far away she is. 
          Written in a lyrical style with thoughtful and charming illustrations throughout, this remarkable debut novel tells a poignant story of friendship and the bittersweet feelings of growing up.

71. Wonderstruck - Brian Selznik

A novel in words and pictures
Scholastic Press, 2011
640 pgs.
For: everyone
Rating: Liked it
A visual masterpiece!

There are two stories for the first 500-or-so pages, one of a boy in 1977 Minnesota who has just lost his single-parent mom, and one of a deaf girl in Hoboken, NJ in 1927. They connect as you near the end of the book. One of the stories is using words, only. The other is using pictures, only.

In his acknowledgements, Brian Selznick says he spent seven rainy weeks in a cabin in the woods in Peterorough, NH, working on the book. These illustrations must have taken a lot longer than that, though!

Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush - Luis Alberto Urrea

Artwork by Christopher Cardinale
for: YA - Library says "TEEN" I'd say for older YA & adults
Graphic Novel
Cinco Puntos Press, El Paso, 2010
Paperback $17.95
Rating: 4.5

"When I remember my village, I remember the color green.
A green that is rich, perhaps too rich, and almost bubbling with humidity and the smell of mangoes."

Mr. Mendoza was the unwanted graffiti king of all Mexico.  His platform was social justice.  In beautiful handwriting he would comment on the sins of the world.  And when it came to leaving this world, he had his own way for that, too...

This was a really cool story, told by a young man whose hormones are zapping and illustrated in what looks like black scratchboard.  It is funny, bawdy, and takes us into rural Mexican village life, based on Rasario, Sinaloa, Mexico.  It's a quick read, and I highly recommend it.  I love the author's voice!

3. Hereville - Barry Deutsch

How Mirka Got Her Sword
A graphic novel
Amulet Books, 2010
HC $15.95
For: Middle Grades
142 pgs.
Rating: 5

Now here’s a winner. The first graphic novel I’ve really enjoyed…enjoyed enough to finish, too! Hereville is a fairy tale, set solidly in an Orthodox Jewish community somewhere in contemporary America. However, it could have been set just about anywhere. It is isolated and totally Orthodox. Residents speak Yiddish and Hebrew, words are sprinkled thorough the story. The translations are thoughtfully stuck onto the bottom of the page, but most of the text is in English.

Clever. Funny. Fun. And even educational, when it comes to learning about Orthodox Judaism. I can’t even begin to go into the plot, which is multi-layered. The protagonist, Mirka, is one of nine children in a blended family. She respects and cares about her stepmother, Fruma, who is wise and my favorite character in the book. Mirka has studied monsters, she keeps a hidden book about them under her mattress. It his her great desire to become a dragon slayer. She has a younger brother, Zindel, who spends much time with her, and a stepsister, Rochel, who seems wise beyond her years.

The characters, including a huge talking pig, a witch that lives in a nearby house just discovered, and a knitting troll are wonderful. Fresh, believable, fun, and funny. Adventurous, animated, well-illustrated, clear…a wonderful book!

Barry Deutsch has a Hereville BLOG that he writes almost every day. It’s fun.

Stephen Frug has a blog that reviews Hereville beautifully and thoroughly. So does the Bob Hayes Online blog. So I'd suggest reading one (or both) of those for more in-depth information about the plot.

54. Satchel Paige - James Sturm

Striking Out Jim Crow
A Graphic Novel
Illustrated by Rich Tommaso
The Center for Cartoon Studies, 2007
96 pgs.
$16.99
Rating: 4

The title was a little misleading - I thought, for a bit of the beginning, that the protagonist was Satchel Paige. When I figured out it wasn't, at that this was a linear story and not vignettes, I went back and started over, understanding the story.

From the point-of-view of a young black man that faced the pitching of Satchel Paige, we learn of many things - about the great black pitcher, about the lack of any rights for blacks, in baseball or in life, at this point in time (the book goes from 1929 through 1944), and at the life of one sharecropping family in the south during this time.

The introduction by Gerald Early sets up the history of black baseball in America and the true story of Satchel Paige, at the end are short discussions of various pieces of historic information brought up in the book: Wages, The Railroad, Sharecropper Shacks, The Negro National League, African American Press, Bullet Rogan, Paige's Personal Catcher, Paige's Pitches, Rituals and Rhythms, Speek and Daring, Barnstorming, The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, Jim Crow's Unwritten Laws, Lynching, The Role of Church, The N-Work, Calling in the Infielders, His Next Gig.

You get a real feel for the man, the time, and this tiny slice of black history - all in graphic novel form.

Alia's Mission - Mark Alan Stamaty

Saving the Books of Iraq
Published: 2004
Rating: 5
Endpapers: red
Illustrations: Brown on cream

I'm still getting used to reading graphic novels - I realize I like the large, easy-to-read font in this one. And the illustrations show the magnitude of the job this brave woman took on. I really like Jeanette Winter's version, but I like the way Stamaty's version really makes the plight and the task overwhelmingly real.

Although Alia knows that war in Basra, Iraq is imminent, it's not until she arrives at her job as chief librarian at the Basra Centrl Library and sees armed soldiers (with an anti-aircraft weapon!) on the roof that she knows the library is in terrible danger. So, in a few fast-paced days, she and many helpers move over 30,000 books - by hand - before the library is destroyed. They're stored stacked everywhere in her own home and home of friends. Whatt a story!

The last page tells the history of other famous libraries in the middle east.

36. The Merchant of Venice - Gareth Hinds

Graphic Novel
Based on the play by William Shakespeare
For: YA/Adult
Pub: 2008
72 pgs.
2.5/5
Read: Aug. 12, 2008

I keep trying graphic novels. I really wanted to love this one. Immediately you take in the modern setting and easily understood conversations. Okay, this might work. But then, many of the guys in business suits look the same (except for Shylock) and you have to keep flipping back pages to compare. However, you're comfortable with a few holes in the plot and you're following the storyline just fine. But wait. Slowly the dialogue is beginning to change, and although it flows beautifully, it's getting harder and harder to understand. Hinds gets tricky and goes from easy-to-understand modern prose to unedited Shakespeare by the end of the book. Some readers might like this dip into the original. I didn't.

I got it, but I had to work too hard for it. Darn, I had hight hopes. I'm teaching this play to seventh graders this year, and a graphic novel would be such fun. Not this one, unfortunatley. I'll just have to keep looking!