Outside of a Dog, #34

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

We can’t forget to mention works that don’t fit any of the other categories. Of course, I’m talking about manga! What is manga? It’s literally translated Japanese for “whimsical pictures,” and they’ve been around since nearly World War II. Listed here are some more modern favorites – most read in the traditional style: back to front and right to left, instead of front to back, left to right.

Full Metal Alchemist
Edward and Alphonse Elric are two brothers who lost parts of their body when trying to use alchemy to bring their dead mother back to life (which failed). The story has the backdrop of a civil war, which the main characters of the story were involved in. It comes out that the war was generated by homunculi (humans infused with the Philosopher’s Stone) who each represent one of the seven deadly sins. The Elrics are searching for the philosopher's stone to regain their bodies back to normal. The manga (which as a different plot line than the anime series) has deep-running emotions/themes, the essence of what makes one human, humor, action, government conspiracies, and a look at two boys trying to find their way back to an age of innocence when they know they can never un-know what they have witnessed.
YA Fic Arakawa WCV
GN Arakawa MPL
YA Graphic Arakawa ROG

Death Note
Light Yagami is a young man who is upset by the crime and corruption he sees in his city. When he happens upon the Death Note – a notebook that has the names of people fated to die written in it – he decides to become “The God of the New World,” passing judgment on the criminals he sees. Unfortunately for Light, there are rules as to how the Death Note is to be used by himself and other shinigami (“death gods”), and he will have to deal with them, especially one who goes by the name of “L” throughout this suspenseful series.
YA Fic Ohba WCV
741.5 Death RSV
Graphic Novel Death Note WAM

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story
Former assassin Himura Kenshin decides to work for peace after the Bakumatsu War. He wanders the Meiji-era (1868 – 1912) countryside of Japan, offering protection and aid to those who need it, as a way to make up for all of the killing he did during the war.
YA Fic Watsuki WCV
GN Rurouni CHE
Ya Graphic Watsuki ROG

Absolute Boyfriend
Absolute Boyfriend is a short (6 manga) series about an independent high school student named Riiko who helps an odd-looking cosplayer (person who dresses up as anime character in real-life) retrieve his lost cell phone. From there, she "accidentally" fills out an online form from his company on what makes the perfect boyfriend....and they deliver him (a robot) straight to her door! What ensues is a crazy series of adventures as Riiko tries to keep the truth about "Night" (her robo-boyfriend) from the cute-guy-next-door who secretly has loved her for years. Night is perfect in every way, and what every girl dreams of, but will Riiko ultimately chose him over a real flesh-and-blood guy? From a jealous best friend to a malfunction that turns Night the size of a mouse, this manga had me laughing out loud so much. I've never read one so funny. The ending is bittersweet and the entire series is a delight.
YA Fic Watase WCV
YA Comics Wat WMB

If you’re not sure any of these great adventures is for you, try an issue of Shonen Jump or Shojo Beat magazines, which feature many stories in each issue. Shonen Jump specializes in action or “boy” comics, and Shojo Beat is more about romance or “girl” stories.
Shonen Jump YA Fic Shonen WCV/ Magazines WMB SJ
Shojo Beat WCV YA Shojo Beat/ Teen Shelving TPL Sho

Thanks to PW, NB, and BW for your help with this column!

Outside of a Dog, #33

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

DC may be home to the originals – Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, but Marvel comics, founded by Martin Goodman in 1939, boasts more than a few famous names, many of them created by the now-familiar Stan Lee. Here are some of the best:

Ultimate X-Men, Volume 1: The Tomorrow People – Mark Miller

Rebooting one of the most popular and long-lasting franchises, “The Tomorrow People” begins retelling the story of the Sentinel Project, used to hunt down and kidnap or kill hidden mutants.

YA Fic X-Men WCV

Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume 7: Irresponsible – Brian Michael Bendis

When a foreign-exchange student, Gedlhoff, shows up with the strange ability to blow things up just by looking at them, Spider-Man really has his work cut out for him. But, as always, his real life and his superhero life don’t always cooperate, because, as Peter Parker, he’s dealing with losing Mary Jane as a friend and a girlfriend!

YA Fic Spider-Man WCV

Best of the Fantastic Four – Mark D. Beazley

Collecting many adventures of the cosmic-ray-altered supergroup, this graphic novel tells the first story of the Fantastic Four (which debuted in 1961). It also continues on to stories as late in the continuity as 2004.

YA Comics Bes WMB

Runaways, Volume 1: Pride and Joy – Brian K.Vaughan

A comic made with teenagers in mind, this series takes on a whole new meaning of ‘fighting with your parents!’ The kids in this story find out that their mothers and fathers are all evil supervillains – and they, too, have superpowers! Will they be able to work together to stop their parents?

YA Graphic Novel Runaways #1 WAM

YA Graphic Vaughan FRA

Outside of a Dog, #32

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Last week, we featured graphic novels NOT about superheroes. This week, let’s see what the world of the caped and masked, brought to you by one of the great comics titans, DC, has to offer:

Wonder Woman: Love and Murder – Jodi Picoult

Picoult, probably best-known for her controversial and popular novels like Nineteen Minutes and My Sister’s Keeper, now takes on the legend of the Amazon princess. When Diana Prince, Special Agent of the Department of Metahuman Affairs, is assigned to capture Wonder Woman, her alter ego, she’s set on an adventure of both human and epic proportions.

YA Fic Wonder WCV

Graphic Teen Wonder Woman TPL

Watchmen – Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

The excitement surrounding Watchmen is at fever pitch right now, as the movie was originally set to release in March 2009. The book, published in 1986 and 1987, follows superheroes at a time when they’ve become outlawed. Watchmen is a masterpiece of art and story, sometimes showing flashbacks, sometimes using a story-within-a-story, and it has won not only praise from Time magazine and The Comics Journal, but a Hugo Award, as well.

GN Watchmen CHE

Y Fic M FRA

Ya Graphic Moore ROG

Green Arrow: Quiver – Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith, director of cult favorite movies like Clerks and Dogma, is a big DC Comics fan. He was offered the chance to write for Green Arrow, a superhero archer whose trick arrows can do anything from stick to a villain like glue, or trap them in a web. The best part? Green Arrow was killed off in 1995 fighting eco-terrorists. Smith reboots the original character, Oliver Queen, and the series, to great success in Quiver.

YA Comic Smi - WMB

Batman: Dark Detective – Steve Englehart

Could we mention caped crusaders without mentioning Batman? While The Dark Knight Returns, by comic legend Frank Miller, is the best-known and best-regarded of the superhero’s impressive history, the Dark Detective series delves into a storyline where the Joker is running for Mayor of Gotham City.

YA Fic Batman WCV

YA Graphic B SHL

Outside of a Dog, #31

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Are comics just for kids?

Graphic novels - usually defined as collections of storylines in regular comics (like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns or The Astonishing X-Men: Gifted), or standalone novels in graphic format (like American-Born Chinese or Maus) – are taking the literary world by storm. Once the province of kids and collectors, the offerings available in the graphic novel format now are, well, astonishing! Here are a few of our favorite “no flying, no tights” graphic novels:

Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale:: My Father Bleeds History and Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale:: And Here My Troubles Began – Art Spiegelman

The Maus novels, by legendary writer and artist Art Spiegelman are based on the author’s father’s recollections of being a Polish Jew during the Holocaust. While the story is told using mice, pigs, cats, dogs, and other animals, it never feels like a child’s storybook. Maus has won the Eisner Award for great achievement in comics, as well as a Pulitzer Prize Special Award.

Y 940.531 S HPW

Y 741.5973 S SCS

940.531 Spiegelman SHL

Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi

Satrapi grew up in Iran during the Iranian Revolution of 1979, and here, in startling black-and-white drawings, relives that childhood, as a rebellious girl with radical parents who struggle under the new regime. There’s a second novel, too, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, which details the author’s schooling in Vienna, and return to Iran. The first graphic novel was also made into a movie in 2008, though it cannot be placed on hold through the library at this time.

YA Graphic Satrapi FRA

YA Graphic S ROK

YA Fic Comic Satrapi WMB

Graphic Teen Persepolis TPL

Bone – Jeff Smith

Bone is a serialized collection of comics put together irregularly from 1991 to 2004, currently published in 9 graphic novel collections. The story follows the Bone Family as they are run out of the city of Boneville, and is something of a high fantasy novel, though with humor interjected at key points. Almost every edition of Bone has won an Eisner Award, and a Harvey Award.

JFic Smith WCV SHL

YA Graphic Smith FRA

J 741.597 Smi LWM

Next week, we'll visit with some great superhero graphic novels from one of the comics giants: DC.