Book Buzz

LAURIE SANDELL

This graphic memoir deals with a completely dysfunctional family and one daughter’s search for truth, understanding and meaning.  Laurie grew up worshiping her father. The dad was a great storyteller. They were all about what a great warrior and savior he was. Saving General Westmoreland in Vietnam and befriending the Pope were among his anecdotes.  But as she grew older she realized that these great narratives could not all be true. Then she found out that he had photocopied her diary. When she applied for a credit card she was refused by because other cards in her name had been in arrears.

Heal was a long and painful process. An interesting theme to find in graphic format.

I enjoy graphic books for their brief and concise story telling.

WILL EISNER

NAME tells the story of the Arnheim family, German Jews who immigrated to America in the mid-1800s, through four generations of wealth, death, disaster, and marital strife. Eisner’s expressive characters show the reader the lives of immigrant families who suffer from “the uncertain feeling of being Jewish in a Christian world,” to quote Eisner. One thing that I found interesting was the racism of the German Jews against the Jews from Russia and Poland. It is also the story of cutthroat business deals and class. The characters are all one-dimensional, and there isn’t much nuance in the story. It is melodramatic with sudden heart attacks and a no-good, alcoholic younger son.

Not the greatest graphic novel but with Eisner being the father of the graphic novel I wanted to give it a try.

JONATHAN HICKMAN

J M RINGUET

Best Graphic Novel I have read recently. Hickman iluustrates  genetic engineering and the creation of super-humans, from a corporate, profit point of view. The book is a documentary telling the story of two rival scientists who were both trying to bring about the next step in human evolution but solely for a profit. The rival scientists are both trying to create superhumans; one via genetic engineering and the other using technological modifications. Au cureent is the inclusion of venture capatalists who fund the research again for a profit share.

I enjoyed the way Hickman slowly revealed the consequences of this human engineering.

Art: lauralengyel.com