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| JOE KUBERT |
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FAX
FROM SARAJEVO
A Story of Survival |
| by Joe Kubert |
Paperback: 224 pages
Dark Horse Comics, Inc.
ISBN: 1569713464 |
$16.95
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| Joe Kubert’s
historical drama of the Bosnian war won every major award for graphic novels.
Now, this recreation of the events of his agent sent to him by fax are
available in an new affordable trade paperback edition. |
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In 1945, we
told the world, "Never again." In 1992, the promise was broken into bloody
shards. That was the year the war broke out in Sarajevo, Bosnia, the year
that genocide revisited the planet. It was the year that Ervin Rustemagic
-- an international businessman whose clients included author Joe Kubert
-- found himself and his family trapped in a city under siege. Ervin's
only means of communication to the outside world was via his fax machine.
As Joe began to receive these messages from Ervin, he did what he had done
for years -- he put the story to paper.
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From Booklist
Too few mainstream comics
artists have taken advantage of the adult comics revolution to explore
new subject matter. Kubert, best known for war comics, takes the plunge
with this graphic novel recounting the struggles of a Bosnian friend, Ervin,
to escape with his family. Trapped in Sarajevo as the city underwent Serbian
bombardment, Ervin was able to contact the outside world only by fax. Kubert's
highly effective work of agitprop is based on those faxes. His style is
not exactly understated, and his occasionally ungainly dialogue demonstrates
that he is an artist first, a writer second. His outrage shows on every
page, and he makes genuine drama out of this story of war's effects on
civilians, in which the briefest outdoor excursion is dangerous. Although
lacking the complexity and nuances of Sacco's Palestine (Kubert's depiction
of Serbian attackers is uncomfortably reminiscent of the hackneyed Nazis
in his earlier war comics), Kubert's work, like Sacco's, renders political
conflict understandable and with plenty of personal impact.
Gordon Flagg
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| PETER KUPER |
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THE
SYSTEM |
Written and illustrated by Peter Kuper
Introduction by Calvin Reid
Bob Kahan, Editor |
Paperback: 192 pages
DC Comics
ISBN: 1563893223 |
$12.95
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A silent graphic
novel in which actions speak louder than words, as a corrupt cop shakes
down drug dealers, a serial killer slaughters strippers, a political scandal
is set to explode, and the planet is burning.
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"...never
pass up a new Kuper title. His talent for telling a story is too good to
ignore, and his blunt stencil art is just as wonderful."
--WIRED
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| Kuper's unique
silent style tells a story of the interwoven lives of people in the city.
"Peter
Kuper's beautiful drawings take you on a tour of the secret places in a
dark and ominously silent universe you will never forget."
--
Gahan Wilson
"A
dark, dense, subtle portrait of the intricate continuum of urban life--and
death--done in such bold strokes and shapes that you will never see the
city in the same way again."
--
Kirkpatrick Sale
"THE
SYSTEM is pushing the perimeters of this medium -- Bravo!"
--
Will Eisner
"THE
SYSTEM paints a complex portrait of a place in which many stories are unfolding,
intersecting, and symbiotically feeding off one another. That locus is
the megametropolis of New York City, where the poorest of the poor and
the richest of the rich act out the ironies of postmodern civilization
on a daily basis."
--
Boston Phoenix
"This
is our world, folks, as it exists right now, teetering on the brink of
something we can't quite imagine, laid out by Peter Kuper as a flow
chart of parallels and coincidences and connecting fibers so powerful and
occult that a pin dropped in a back street creates shock waves that make
skyscrapers tremble. THE SYSTEM is a silent epic in the tradition of Fritz
Lang and Lynd Ward -- paranoid, yes, and with good reason."--
Luc Sante
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| TERRY LaBAN |
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LOVE'S
NOT A THREE DOLLAR FARE
More Stories from "Unsupervised
Existance" |
| by Terry LaBan |
Paperback: 128 pages
Fantagraphics Books
ISBN: 1560971657 |
$14.95
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From
Booklist , March 15, 1995
Now
that alternative comix artist LaBan's Cud is firmly established, his former
publisher, Fantagraphics, collects from his earlier magazine, Tales of
Unsupervised Existence, these stories about a circle of overeducated, underemployed
twentysomethings. |
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| LaBan's
current work is sharper and more outrageous than these stories, which are
gentler slice-of-life tales centered mostly on Danny, a cabbie and unpublished
poet, and commitment-shy, perpetually job-hunting Suzy, his girlfriend,
as they ponder such issues as monogamy, poverty, and uncooperative landlords.
The ambience is more latter-day hippie than Generation X slacker (the latter's
been pretty much sewn up for comix by LaBan's Fantagraphics stablemate,
Peter Bagge, anyway). Unfortunately, the collection ends at a turning point
for the couple that coincided with Unsupervised Existence's cancellation.
Would it have been too much to ask LaBan for a new story resolving the
situation? It would have made this a more satisfying package. Still, it's
impressive to see LaBan's graphic and storytelling techniques sharpen over
the six years during which this stuff was published.
Gordon
Flagg
Copyright
© 1995, American Library Association. All rights reserved.
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| LORNA TOURYAN MILLER |
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WITCH |
by Lorna Touryan Miller
Introduction by Peter Bagge |
Paperback: 80 pages
Slab-O-Concrete
ISBN: 1899866213 |
$9.95
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| Lorna Miller
presents an audacious and richly illustrated collection of her eclectic
comic art. Ranging from the serious to the hilarious WITCH packs in such
superb strips as "Angela Sales Assistant" — the sorry tale of a girl born
for better things; "Berlin" — reportage in comic strip form of an important
chapter in history; "Little Catholics" — the torturous environment of a
Glaswegian catholic school and "Jane" — the surreal blending of traditional
comic genres with macabre fairy tales. Lorna's use of subversive parody
alongside challenging issues makes this book a prime example of what can
be achieved with the comic medium. |
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Witch contains
a wide range of styles and approaches but can be compared to the work of
powerful women cartoonists such as Roberta Gregory (A Bitch is Born, Naughty
Bits), Julie Doucet (Dirty Plotte) and Dame Darcy (Meat Cake), comparisons
in storytelling can be drawn with Peter Bagge’s Hate and Daniel Clowes
Eightball. Lorna’s parodies take the genres of girl’s annuals, adventure
comics and Jack Kirby and give them a sharp twist.
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“Sorry
guys but it looks like all the Bunty-style girl’s comics dedicated propaganda
about ponies, good deeds, ponies, healthy outdoor pursuits and ponies was
either wasted on the young Lorna or has festered into subversion in the
pages of Witch and it’s all your fault!”
--Variant
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“There’s
more sexual semiology here than in Angela Carter, and it’s a lot wittier
too.”
--Ed
Pinsent, Zum
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“Tales
of drunken debauchery, getting even and assorted ‘witchy things’ as well
as several beefcake pinups! (you know, the kind men like!)”
--Hate
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About the Author
Lorna Miller is an artist
and illustrator recently relocated to the UK undergorund comics capital
Brighton from Glasgow. Her four issues of WITCH published in comic format
over the past three years garnered great praise and all sold out their
print-runs. This book consists of new work produced over the last year.
Lorna Miller’s comic art has been exhibited at shows in Glasgow, London
and Brighton.
The author of the introduction,
Peter Bagge, is the artist behind HATE, the biggest selling alternative
comic worldwide. |
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