City of Glass

Wow, city of glass was a real trip to read. What is initially a short story about the nature of twisting language and reflexive narration, just gets even more interestingly intertwined when translated into the graphic novel format. The way the words, narration and art all interacted and seeped together was really flawless, otherwise it just would not have worked properly. The most fascinating part of the book was when Stillman the younger delivers is introductory rambling monologue. The first thing I noticed was that the type face of his words and the shape of the bubbles was the same as it was when he was talking on the phone, immediately associating his voice with distance, with the mechanical. The way the panels stayed centered on his face, and his mouth never changed made it almost as though the words were seeping out of his mouth. As the monologue goes on, his mouth morphs into a number of unliving objects, some of which are mechanical in nature. This had a really interesting effect because instead of merely using the pictures to depict physical action, or using the shape of balloons to dictate the feeling of the sound, we visually see the sound becoming different objects. In scanning across the page, the "sound" of Stillman's voice gets mingled in with all manner of objects, giving the otherwise unbroken monologue a distinct rythmic feeling. The story reminded me of some of Borges' Ficciones, it that it is a story about a story, in which both stories are kind of a puzzle, leading to an ultimate realization. It's a really impressive kind of writing, which must take huge amounts of skill and precision to execute.

It's A Bird... Those Left Behind

I found Steven T. Seagle's It's a Bird... an extremely moving and insightful commentary on escapism and inspiration. The book is described as "semi-autobiographical", and I can't help but wonder which parts were completely true and which were embellished. The ultimate message of the book seems to be that while death awaits everyone, in one for or another, and is rarely pleasant, it is no reason to shy away from living and loving in the fullest. This is the insight that Steve gets at the end. The story manages to be relatively gloomy for most of the novel, but manages to wrap up in an ending that is relatively happy and affirming, while simultaneously satisfyin and uncheesy. On first reading, I was so wrapped up in the story that I was not paying much attention to the art style. Flipping through the book again, it is clear how much thought and skill went into the constantly shifting imagery which Teddy Kristiansen brings to the table. The gloomy, skechy style that describes the "now" in the book somehow contrasts and blends wonderfully with the bright, saturated colors of superman's world, and Steve's colorful childhood memories. There are several smaller sub-stories within the main story, each of which call into question the nature of Superman as seen by Steve, each of which has a unique and meaningful art style. While some of the scenes are extremely gloomy, especially when Steve sees his Aunt suffering horribly from Huntington's disease, and ends up in a brutal fist fight with his father, the story is ultimately one about the importance of overcoming the inertia of cynicism, and embracing life, family and friends.

An utterly different sort of work, Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon is an unabashedly slick and stylized piece of Sci-Fi escapism. Based on the Firefly TV series, Serenity is a kind of futuristic western, reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop, but utterly American in style. The comic is loud, violent, colorful and full of satisying action movie one-liners. That is not meant to be disparaging. Serenity is as original and unknown as it is familliar, It's world is unlike any other I've seen in fiction, and showcases Whedon's mastery of universe-crafting. Will Conrad's art is perfect for a work like this. His art is definetly "comic book" art, but somehow classier, full of meticulous details and intense lighting that Bring Whedon's world dramatically to life. Even minor characters are painstakingly rendered with intense tattoing, over the top costumes, and clear visual personality. I had seen the Serenity film, but not the television series. This book definetely brings the world from the movie directly into the comic book medium without sacrificing anything, the faces of actors and the nuances of the characters translates fully. Reading it has definetly put Firefly on my list of TV shows to watch.