Comics confidential Thirteen graphic novelists talk story, craft, and life outside the box

Book - 2016

Thirteen prominent cartoonists discuss their creative processes and the experiences and influences that led to their success in one of today's most vibrant art forms. Each interview is followed by an original graphic short on the common theme of "the city."

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Subjects
Published
Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press 2016.
Language
English
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xv, 176 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 165-173) and index.
ISBN
9780763659387
  • Harry Bliss ; Up, up, and away
  • Cátia Chien ; Water
  • Geoffrey Hayes ; Mister Bear makes his move
  • Kazu Kibuishi ; Copper
  • Hope Larson ; Starland
  • Danica Novgorodoff ; Turf
  • Matt Phelan ; City life
  • Dave Roman ; The proximity effect
  • Mark Siegel and Siena Cherson Siegel ; City entity
  • James Sturm ; Tomorrow, the world
  • Sara Varon ; No place like home
  • Gene Luen Yang ; Berkeley, California.
Review by Booklist Review

Twelve interviews offer the thoughts and backgrounds of the most influential cartoonists currently delineating the shape and form of comics, including Kazu Kibuishi, Hope Larson, Mark Siegel, James Sturm, Sara Varon, and Gene Luen Yang. An accomplished interviewer but apparently somewhat new to graphic novels, Marcus doesn't probe exceptionally deeply into the art form itself, though the artists do incidentally offer some ringing insights. See Larson on visual editing, Sturm on the perception of time in comics, and Danica Novgorodoff's revelatory comparison between drawing and horseback riding. Primarily, Marcus creates revealing portraits of the kinds of people who create comics for a living and their inspirations, education, psychologies, and skill sets. Most valuable for young readers may be the discussions of the cartoonists' work routines, providing the indispensable insight that this is not just an art but a job and emphasizing the level of professional discipline it requires. In addition to the interviews, each cartoonist provides an original short comic, deepening the significance of their words and illustrating how comics occupy a seemingly impossible position, simultaneously intensely personal and resonantly universal.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2016 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 6 Up-In this volume, Marcus compiles interviews with 13 different graphic novel artists. All of the interviews retain their question-and-answer format and are about 12 to 14 pages long. They cover the interviewees' childhoods, how they got interested in comics, ways comics and graphic novels have changed over the years, and the creative process. Each interview also includes an original two-page comic, created specifically for this volume, loosely focusing on the theme of "city." Each artist featured is a currently working, well-known creator of material for children (e.g., Cátia Chien, Kazu Kibuishi, Hope Larson, Dave Roman, and Gene Luen Yang). The work provides an interesting perspective on the evolution and growth of graphic novels, as the artists come from different times and places. While there is not enough information to be useful for reports, this is an engaging volume for the format's fans to learn more about the creators behind popular works and might serve as a good bridge from graphic novels into more prose-based selections. VERDICT A solid choice to supplement a robust graphic novel collection. Hard-core fans will be pleased.-Elizabeth Nicolai, Anchorage Public Library, AK © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

A foreword by David Small and Marcuss brief outline of the history of comics introduce the book. Marcus (The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy, rev. 7/06; Funny Business: Conversations with Writers of Comedy, rev. 11/09) then proceeds to interview thirteen prominent graphic novelists creating books for children and teensincluding Gene Luen Yang, Kazu Kibuishi, Hope Larson, Sara Varon, and Mark Siegel, to name several. Each individually tailored interview, in a QA format, opens with a self-portrait of the artist and contains both a short finished full-color comic inspired by the open-ended prompt the city and some preliminary sketches for said comic. Marcuss chosen comics creators together represent a nice range of styles, topics, nationalities, backgrounds, and intended audiences, while his insightful questions range from formative childhood influences to various career paths, and from individual creative processes to broader ruminations on the medium of comics. The profiles are concise and informative; taken together as a whole, the book represents a snapshot of the genre as it continues on its upward trajectory (what with Newbery Honors going to graphic novels in consecutive years). Appended with source notes, art media notes, artists bibliographies, and an index. jonathan hunt (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.