Author: Gene Ambaum

744 results.

Graphic Novel Review: Bloom

By Gene Ambaum on June 13, 2019 at 11:50 am

Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau. First Second, 2019. 9781626726413. 364pp including a recipe for sourdough rolls and some production art in the back. – High school is over, and so is his sister’s wedding. Ari wants to move away to Baltimore with his friends/band mates. His parents need him to stay and help out at the family baker, so Ari hatches a plan to hire a replacement for himself. Enter Hector, a handsome dude who loves baking. Hector will either make it easier to leave or impossible, especially if their friendship ever moves on to the romance it seems destined to become. – The art is black and blue-green, a color that reminds me of a crayon I used to love, and it’s wonderful. The book seems destined to be a favorite of high school kids like my daughter, who hate it when adults their parents’ ages try to label everyone’s sexual orientation. There’s no coming out scene, […]

Book Review: The World’s Best Jokes for Kids Volumes 1 & 2

By Gene Ambaum on June 11, 2019 at 11:51 am

The World’s Best Jokes for Kids Volume 1 by Lisa Swerling and Ralph Lazar. Andrews McMeel, 2019. 9781449497989. 124pp. The World’s Best Jokes for Kids Volume 2 by Lisa Swerling and Ralph Lazar. Andrews McMeel, 2019.. 9781449497996. 124pp. Silly jokes and puns for kids, every single one illustrated (as it says on the cover) from the creators of Happiness Is… Are they going to be funny to adults? Sometimes. Are kids going to tell them over and over and over again while giggling? I think so. I HOPE so. I love the illustrations, and the jokes are pretty good. I’m giving my review copies to two kids I know because 1) they’ll love them and 2) they’ll probably torture their parents with them. I can justify the gift because puns are food for thought — they require a deep understanding of language — but I know that I’m going to have to fight hard not to laugh when my friends […]

Guest Book Review: Funny Business

By Gene Ambaum on June 8, 2019 at 10:53 am

Funny Business by Revilo. Hallmark Books, 2006. 115 pages. 9781595301345. (Guest review by Murphy’smom) This collection of comics was given to me by my manager earlier this week. All of the cartoons deal with corporate bullshit, which, unfortunately, we all have had to deal with one way or another. I especially enjoyed the ones poking fun at performance evaluations and their absolute pointlessness. (We’re going through the hellishness of second quarter evaluations at my job right now, and since there’s no monetary reward on offer, I see no need in doing these.) Artist Revilo is also spot on — it only takes a collared shirt and tie to move a yeti into upper management. (At least it appears this way.) I think this is a hilarious, relatable comic collection because as much as I love my library job and hate corporate America, I get it! But again, I may be just bitter because my manager docked me a few points […]

Graphic Novel Review: Dugout

By Gene Ambaum on June 6, 2019 at 11:10 am

Dugout: The Zombie Steals Home by Scott Morse. Scholastic Graphix, 2019. 9781338188097. 256pp. – Twin sisters Stacy and Gina are baseball rivals. Gina and her team are doing well, while Stacy isn’t having any luck. Some of Stacy’s teammates on the Rooks think they’re cursed, and that her grandma is a witch. The latter is true, but their grandma isn’t going to teach Stacy and Gina spells until they’re at least sixteen. After Gina secretly uses her grandma’s magical ingredients on Stacy’s glove anyway, a zombie climbs from the ground in the middle of the Rooks’ practice field. It’s a freaky looking (if somewhat rotten) old guy zombie but don’t worry, it quickly and humorously becomes part of the team. Later, there’s a ghost in a baseball uniform, and a baseball-centered mystery/adventure involving both. – Full disclosure: Morse is one of my favorite cartoonists. I own copies of most of his books and several pieces of his art and I […]

Two Graphic Novels by Max de Radiguès

By Gene Ambaum on June 4, 2019 at 10:57 am

                    Bastard by Max de Radiguès. Fantagraphics, 2018. 9781683961307. 174pp. – Hobo Mom by Charles Foresman, art by Max de Radiguès. Fantagraphics, 2018. 9781683961765. 62pp. – Belgian comics creator Max de Radiguès’s Moose was an amazing YA graphic novel about a kid dealing with an ethical conundrum: whether or not to let his bully die. His two new books deal, in one way or another, with the ethics of motherhood. (And he has several more about to be published in the U.S.) – In Bastard, May and her young son Eugene are on the run after taking part in 52 robberies in one city as part of a gang. After escaping the cops and burying their loot, it becomes clear they’re still not safe. A kind truck driver offers them a chance to lay low for a while, but it’s hard to tell if he’s really a nice guy. – In […]

Enter Willow Payne / Exit Pat Coleman

By Gene Ambaum on June 3, 2019 at 10:47 am

Friday was Pat Coleman’s last strip for Library Comic. I know many of you, like me, love Pat’s style, plus all the Easter eggs and celebrity lookalikes he’s been slipping in. He always brings his personality and a huge array of skills to his illustrations, and I hope you’ll join me in thanking him for all his work. Willow Payne will be taking over art duties as of today, at least for a bit. She’s been working with me for years on Unshelved Book Club strips and our Barbarian Girl graphic novel, plus she illustrated The Library Tarot deck. I think you’re going to love her style, too, if you don’t already. -Gene

Tween Fiction Review: The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge

By Gene Ambaum on May 30, 2019 at 10:54 am

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin. Candlewick, 2018. 9780763698225. 544pp. with a discussion by Anderson and Yelchin at the end, about creating a book in which the illustrations disagree with the text. – Elfin scholar Brangwain Spurge is loaded into a barrel then shot from a giant crossbow, sending him on a journey over the Bonecruel Mountains and into the goblin kingdom. (It goes worse than you’d imagine, even with that start.) He’s a spy with a mission from the Order of the Clean Hand and, unbeknownst to him, possibly an assassin. In the goblin kingdom he’s hosted by Werfel the Archivist, historian at the Court of the Mighty Ghohg, who’s excited to meet an elf despite the history of war between their peoples. Werfel tries to show Spurge the best of the goblin kingdom, and to prepare him to meet (and dance for) the otherworldly and somewhat inexplicable Ghogh. Nothing goes as planned: the […]

Graphic Novel Review: The Highest House

By Gene Ambaum on May 28, 2019 at 10:09 am

The Highest House by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. IDW, 2018. 9781684053544. 188pp. Contains #1 – #6 of the series in an oversized paperback. – Moth’s mother sells him as a slave to Clan Aldercrest in order to feed his siblings. It’s soon clear that the Steward sees something special (perhaps magical) in him. After he crosses The Bridge of Sorrows and enters Highest House, Moth begins training as an apprentice roofer. He also begins delving into the mysteries of the House, both on his own and with a powerful being trapped somewhere inside it who speaks to him and wants Moth to pledge himself to its service. – This book has a lot to recommend. It’s from the creative team behind The Unwritten and the original run of Lucifer, both published by DC’s Vertigo imprint. Carey also writes as M.R Carey (The Girl With All The Gifts and its sequels), plus he authored the Felix Castor novels, many other […]

Graphic Novel Review: To Build A Fire

By Gene Ambaum on May 23, 2019 at 10:37 am

To Build a Fire by Chabouté, Based on Jack London’s Classic Story. Translation by Laura Waters. Gallery 13 / Simon & Schuster, 2018. 9781982100827. 62pp. An overconfident newcomer to Alaska and his dog walk through the frozen Yukon, headed for camp. He’s distracted by thoughts of warmth and food. The dog, of course, can’t tell its master how much the cold worries it. I can’t think of another comics illustrator as gifted as Chabouté. This short graphic novel combines the best elements of his Alone (an exploration of the mind of an isolated man) and his adaptation of Moby Dick (the time period, and strong, quick characterizations) with a sense of struggle and cold to perfectly express the short story by Jack London. (And maybe this is weird, but I was struck by his perfectly drawn birch trees. And his sticks! Every detail of this book looks perfect.) Worth noting: this graphic novel could save your life if you’re given […]

Graphic Novel Review: Blossoms in Autumn

By Gene Ambaum on May 21, 2019 at 11:47 am

Blossoms in Autumn by Zidrou and Aimée de Jongh. Translation by Matt Madden. SelfMadeHero, 2019. 9781910593622. 145pp. – A beautiful romance develops between a former model turned cheesemaker, Mediterranea, and Ulysses, a retired mover. Both are dealing with loss and with getting older when they meet in Ulysses’ son’s waiting room, and their relationship develops from there. My favorite moment: Mediterranea, still afraid of apples because she saw Snow White when she was a kid, examining her aging, naked body in the mirror and seeing the witch. And then there’s the first sex scene — drawn in a sketchier, less colorful style than the rest of the graphic novel; composed without panels, it really captures the timelessness of the moment. – Buy this beautiful graphic novel for your library’s adult collection. And then, for bonus points, maybe put it on display near your large print shelves?