What’s the book? Henry & Glenn Forever by Igloo Tornado.
What’s it about? It’s a series of gag-style comic strips about a love affair between Henry Rollins and Glenn Danzig.
What’s the art look like?
Do you recommend it? Yes! At six bucks, it’s a steal. And these are some of the most adorable cartoons about romance you’ll ever find. This makes Adrian Tomine’s sappy book about getting married look like the most calculated Hallmark bullshit imaginable.
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What’s the book? Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth by Jay Hosler, Illustrated by Kevin Cannon and Zander Cannon.
What’s it about? It’s a science-minded look at evolution.
What’s the art look like?
- Click to zoom.
Do you recommend it? I do. The framing sequence, in which a young alien is learning about human evolution, is a bit much to swallow, but the science here is solid and informative and presented in an eminently accessible way. And the jokiness doesn’t come across as too “cool teacher”-y; it’s got a nice old Warner Brothers cartoon vibe. This is the best of the cartoon textbooks I’ve read in recent memory—not as good as the first History of the Universe, but way better than the Guide to Genetics, especially. (Bonus review: A friend of mine who is taking courses at UW on evolutionary biology read the book and really liked it. She said the science was rock-solid.)
More reviews after the jump!
What’s the book? War Is Boring: Bored Stiff, Scared to Death in the World’s Worst War Zones by David Axe and Matt Bors.
What’s it about? David Axe was a correspondent for The Washington Times, C-SPAN and other media outlets. He’d fly in to dangerous parts of the world and immerse himself in the situation, only to get pulled out again and sent home. Boring is his story of being a “war tourist.”
What’s the art look like?
Do you recommend it? Frankly, I’d recommend Joe Sacco over this any day of the week, but that’s not really a fair comparison. War Is Boring is more like the story of a thrill-seeker, kind of a journalism version of The Hurt Locker. Axe thankfully displays no ego here; the situations aren’t overdramatized. But he doesn’t really bring anything new to the comic book memoir genre, either. If you’re into the subject matter, go for it, I say.
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What’s the book? Palookaville #20 by Seth.
What’s it about? It’s another chapter in Seth’s ongoing Clyde Fans serial story, plus a whole bunch of bonus materials in a new hardcover package that Seth openly admits is an attempt to cash in the Chris Ware model of cartooning: One new volume a year, with an eye on eventually collecting the material into a larger book.
What’s the art look like? You probably know what Seth’s artwork looks like, so I’m going to show you the gorgeous cover instead:
Do you recommend it? Not unless you’re a hardcore Seth fan. My favorite part, actually, was the photographic section showing the tiny cardboard town—Dominion City, the setting of Clyde Fans—that Seth constructed to help him make the setting more realistic in his own mind. It’s fascinating stuff. But this is a disjointed package that feels like all the stuff Seth has been working on over the past year, thrown into one place. Hopefully as he works on future volumes, they’ll have more of a feeling of unity. This time around, it’s kind of a gorgeous mess.
I like your little reviews, except for Palookaville. Having never read it, your review gave me nothing to go on. I don’t expect reviewers to hold my hand and spoon feed me, but c’mon. Not all of us are up on the current stuff because we don’t get to look at comic books for a living. Give the lowly uncool readers at least a nugget to work with. Yes, I know there’s a link but nothing you said encouraged me to investigate it.
Thanks as always for the comic reviews.
I used A Cartoon History of the Universe/Modern World as a quick study read for classes. High School and Uni. I still try to read them on a regular basis.
Henry & Glenn looks like Chester Gould and Ernie Bushmiller had a gayby.
Thanks for the Henry & Glenn review, I added it to my Powells order!