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graphic novel rec(s) of the week: Dropsie Avenue / Muchacho
Dropsie Avenue by Will Eisner (192 pages, b/w)
When I was younger I found Eisner's drawing style a bit too cartoonish... don't know what I was thinking. The more I read of his work, the more I see how brilliant it is, his characterizations in particular - very expressive. Perfectly fitting for the kind of story that revolves around characters.
I suppose Eisner is better known for the Spirit, but I always found his slice-of-life stories about ordinary people much more interesting. This comic tells the story of a street in the South Bronx over the course of a century, following its development from farmland into a big city neighborhood, its decay and eventual revival. At the same time the street's history mirrors that of the country. At the heart of the story are the tenants who come and go, shape the neighborhood and each other. I love the individuality with which each of the many characters is portrayed, and the way their stories are interwoven.
A few snippets from throughout the book...
(in somewhat related news, I think my scanner just did its final breath...)
The story is also reprinted in this book: The Contract with God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue (A Contract With God, A Life Force, Dropsie Avenue) by Will Eisner (544 pages, b/w). If I were to buy it, I'd probably get this one - three stories for almost the same price.
I'm re-reccing this BD here to have them all in one place:
Muchacho / part 2 by Emmanuel Lepage (160 pages, color)
Nicaraqua, 1976: young seminarist Gabriel de la Serna, a shy and sensitive budding artist who grew up protected in an influential family, gets sent to a small village in the jungle to paint a fresco for the local church. He has his eyes opened to the suffering and injustice going on in his country and gets involved with the Sandinistas. Just as fascinating is his personal journey... his growing as an artist, his coming to terms with his gayness. The story kept surprising me through the end. The story is draw in Lepage's gorgeous watercolor style - every single page is a feast for the eyes. I can't rec this one highly enough.
Two pages to whet the appetite ... because I can't really describe how beautiful the artwork is:
I couldn't find an English translation. However it's been translated into German. (I'd recommend getting the French version if you have the choice, because for the translated version they shrunk the comic to size A5.)
When I was younger I found Eisner's drawing style a bit too cartoonish... don't know what I was thinking. The more I read of his work, the more I see how brilliant it is, his characterizations in particular - very expressive. Perfectly fitting for the kind of story that revolves around characters.
I suppose Eisner is better known for the Spirit, but I always found his slice-of-life stories about ordinary people much more interesting. This comic tells the story of a street in the South Bronx over the course of a century, following its development from farmland into a big city neighborhood, its decay and eventual revival. At the same time the street's history mirrors that of the country. At the heart of the story are the tenants who come and go, shape the neighborhood and each other. I love the individuality with which each of the many characters is portrayed, and the way their stories are interwoven.
A few snippets from throughout the book...
(in somewhat related news, I think my scanner just did its final breath...)
The story is also reprinted in this book: The Contract with God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue (A Contract With God, A Life Force, Dropsie Avenue) by Will Eisner (544 pages, b/w). If I were to buy it, I'd probably get this one - three stories for almost the same price.
I'm re-reccing this BD here to have them all in one place:
Muchacho / part 2 by Emmanuel Lepage (160 pages, color)
Nicaraqua, 1976: young seminarist Gabriel de la Serna, a shy and sensitive budding artist who grew up protected in an influential family, gets sent to a small village in the jungle to paint a fresco for the local church. He has his eyes opened to the suffering and injustice going on in his country and gets involved with the Sandinistas. Just as fascinating is his personal journey... his growing as an artist, his coming to terms with his gayness. The story kept surprising me through the end. The story is draw in Lepage's gorgeous watercolor style - every single page is a feast for the eyes. I can't rec this one highly enough.
Two pages to whet the appetite ... because I can't really describe how beautiful the artwork is:
I couldn't find an English translation. However it's been translated into German. (I'd recommend getting the French version if you have the choice, because for the translated version they shrunk the comic to size A5.)
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