Saturday, September 6, 2014

Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud

What better to explain the form of comics than in comic form? With a simple, cartoony avatar, a wildly varying, extremely appropriate artistic style, and deep insight into the psychological, artistic, and creative mechanics behind a comics, McCloud explores the world behind comic strips in an original and unique way. He begins with an introduction and definition of comics, quickly followed by the origins of juxtaposed images coming from Egypt and Mesoamerica, and then delves into the psychological basis for recognizing ourselves in a cartoony character that can be linked to our evolutionary instincts that come into play even when driving a car.

I enjoyed Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud, immensely and learned an incredible amount from it. With a simple style, McCloud proves just how complex and expressive the world of comics can become. Even something as simple as a line can convey a wild range of emotion. For anyone with artistic aspirations, or (like me) a simple interest in the world of art in general, I can’t recommend Understanding Comics enough to not only teach you how to draw, but how to think about the vast array of mental mechanics that comes with drawing comics. And this is all presented in an easy to read and understand comic book. 

Reviewed by Adrian G., grade 12
Grandview Library

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

The Gunslinger, Stephen King

The Gunslinger is the first book in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. It’s a bit of a departure from his usual genre of mundane and alien horror, but carries his signature writing style. It spans entire worlds, from a post-apocalyptic Wild West to different times on our own planet. Roland, the last of the gunslingers, is pursuing a sorcerer across a seemingly endless desert. Along the way, he meets Jake, a boy plucked from Earth by the sorcerer, as well as several others he meets through dimensional doors on a beach. His main quest is to find the Dark Tower, the multi-plane object that used to hold the universe together. Now it’s decaying, and Roland is trying to save it before the worlds collapse.

At its heart, The Gunslinger is more of a fantasy novel than a horror novel, although it does have some nightmarish elements. It’s the promising beginning of a series about nine books long. Personally, I found it interesting how King describes the gunslinger as less of a cowboy and more of a martial artist. He’s trained with his giant revolvers since his childhood and has shooting down to an art. In terms of the rest of the character, I liked the Eddie character a lot, but the split-personality Susannah character just seemed a little off to me. Still, I would definitely recommend The Gunslinger. 

Reviewed by Adrian G., grade 12
Grandview Library

Monday, September 1, 2014

The Magician King, by Lev Grossman

The Magician King, the second book in Lev Grossman’s trilogy, picks up where the last left off. Quentin is ruler of Fillory, the magical Narnia-esque land from the books he read as a child. After deciding to go on an adventure, as dictated by the magical realm he inhabits, he finds himself accidentally locked out of his dimension and stuck back on Earth. As he tries to find his way back, the story of his high school crush Julia unfolds. Unlike Quentin, she failed the Brakebills entrance exam and found a glitch in the memory wiping spell, which let her know there was a magical school out there, but closed to her forever. She chases magical knowledge all across the United States and works her way up the ranks of the underground magicians, paying some heavy prices along the way, and eventually reunites with Quentin.

For a bridge between the first and last books of a trilogy, The Magician King is really quite good. It departs from the more realistic, critical attitude towards magic and fantasy present in The Magicians and becomes a full-blown fantasy book that takes place in a world perfectly suited for fantasy adventures. The concept of a fantasy, fairytale world is nothing new to me, but the story of characters from our world exploring it is. And I think Grossman pulls it off really well, especially towards the end of the book where he begins to deconstruct the very nature of magic and provide an explanation for it. It may not be the most satisfactory of explanations, but explaining the origins of the universe is a monumental task and I think it fits in well with the rest of the book. 

Reviewed by Adrian G., grade 12
Grandview Library