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LA Times Book Prize Finalist Spotlight: Celluloid by Dave McKean
The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes are a set of awards for excellence in literature held annually since 1980. They are given to books published in the United States within the previous calendar year by a living author(s). Winners receive a citation and $500 for each category. The finalists for each category were announced recently, and the Graphic Novel category, the newest to be added to the prestigious prizes, has an impressive line-up. The Comics Observer looks at each Graphic Novel finalist in the build-up to the award ceremony April 20.
Celluloid by Dave McKean
Dave McKean‘s wordless erotic graphic novel Celluloid is an unexpected choice as one of the finalists for this year’s LA Times Book Prize. It uses mixed media and a variety of art styles to depict a sensual and increasingly dream-like and abstract series of sexual encounters by a woman who discovers a mysterious film projector that transports her into another world.
Despite the fantastical angle and artistic prowess of McKean, it is a book with no words and lots of nudity and sex. Perhaps not the ideal poster child for literacy in comics. Despite that simplistic and prudish summary, its artistry elevates it to another level, and that artistry has not gone unnoticed. Paste Magazine named it the fifth best comic of 2011, describing it as a “coital masterwork that elicits beauty and excitement in equal measure” and a “treasure of technical finesse and sensual mystique that transcends its potential controversy”.
It helps that Dave McKean is an award-winning artist known for pushing visual boundaries by depicting the dark and bizarre with more than just a pencil and paper. He has been known to include photography, paintings, sculptures and more to capture his unique visions. He is perhaps most well known for his eerie covers of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman and directing the feature film MirrorMask. He also wrote and illustrated the massive award-winning graphic novel Cages.
Will all of that acclaim and the stunning execution of the book itself be enough for the LA Times Book Prize judges to select erotica for the graphic novel of 2011?
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books 2012 announces Graphic Novel Finalists for Book Prize
The LA Times Festival of Books is ramping up for this year’s event, one of the country’s largest free outdoor book fairs. Last week, a press release announced the finalists for the 32nd Annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, which are given out on the eve of the Festival. Last Friday, the Festival’s website and social media once again came to life to announce that the 17th Annual Festival of Books will be held April 21 and 22 on the campus of the University of Southern California. The Book Prizes award ceremony will be held in USC’s Bovard Auditorium on Friday night, April 20.
The LA Times Book Prizes have been awarded every year since 1980, but it wasn’t until 2009 that a graphic novel category was added. This third year of the graphic novel category has the following five finalists:
- I Will Bite You! And Other Stories by Joseph Lambert (Secret Acres Books)
- Celluloid by Dave McKean (Fantagraphics Books)
- Finder: Voice by Carla Speed McNeil (Dark Horse Comics)
- Congress of the Animals by Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics Books)
- Garden by Yuichi Yokoyama (PictureBox)
Finalists and winners of the LA Times Book Prizes are selected by a panel of three judges per genre. The panels are made up of writers who specialize in each genre. Tickets for the Book Prizes ceremony will be available for purchase at 10 a.m. Monday, March 26. Once again Geoff Boucher of the LA Times’ Hero Complex blog will be presenting the Book Prize for the Graphic Novel category. Look for more on each of the finalists here at The Comics Observer in the weeks and months leading up to the ceremony.
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books began in 1996 and typically attracts about 140,000 people every year. Just as comics and graphic novels have been embraced by libraries and book stores over the last decade, so too has their presence increased at the Festival. This year will surely include plenty of writers, artists and other comics creators and publishers. A list of authors attending the Festival has already been posted and will be updated as more are confirmed. Already spotted are writers Cecil Castellucci (The Plain Janes and the upcoming The Year of the Beasts) and Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), and writer/artist Jim Woodring (Congress of the Animals, Weathercraft)
New Graphic Novels, Comic Books for You – 10/28/09
Never read a graphic novel before? Haven’t read a comic book in years?
Here’s some brand new stuff that came out the week of October 28 that I think is worth a look-see for someone with little to no history with comics. That means you should be able to pick any of these up cold without having read anything else. So take a look and see if something doesn’t grab your fancy. If so, follow the publisher links or Amazon.com links to buy yourself a copy. Or, head to your local friendly comic book shop.
Disclaimer: For the most part, I have not read these yet, so I can’t vouch for their quality. But, from what I’ve heard and seen, odds are good they just might appeal to you.
Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer – $10.95
By Dustin Higgins & Van Jensen
128 pages; published by Slave Labor Graphics; available at Amazon.com
After seeing Geppetto die at the hands of vampires, Pinocchio swears revenge in this darkly funny graphic novel. As the vampires plot the enslavement of mankind, only a one-puppet army stands in their way. But will a wooden boy and his endless supply of stakes – courtesy of plenty of lies and his elongating nose – be enough to save the day?
Funny concept! Here’s a 5-page preview and a different 7-page preview. And a trailer:
Looks like a pretty funny execution of a funny concept. If you’re into humor/horror, this could be the comic you’ve been waiting to read for your whole entire life.
Casper and the Spectrals #1 – $2.99
By Todd DeZago & Pedro Delgado
published by Ardden Entertainment
Just in time for Casper’s 60th anniversary, Ardden Entertainment proudly debuts Casper And The Supernaturals, an all-new take on the world’s most famous ghost and his two friends, Wendy the Witch and Hot Stuff! There is a city within New York City known as Spooky Town, but most humans are unable to see it.
Within this city live the Supernaturals, the ghosts, goblins, demons and witches of the world. When an ancient entity known only as the Volbragg threatens both New York and Spooky Town, Casper and his friends are forced to band together and defeat an unimaginable evil!
THIS ISN’T YOUR FATHER’S CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST! He’s EXTREME! I kid. Seriously, this looks like a cute revitalization of this classic character. If you don’t know who Casper is, don’t worry about it. This is a totally fresh start. No prior knowledge needed.
Bart Simpson Comics #50 – $2.99
By Sergio Aragonés
Published by Bongo Comics
Bongo Comics welcomes Sergio Aragones as a new regular featured writer and artist in the pages of Bart Simpson Comics!
First, Sergio starts with a story that pits the Simpsons against our national security in ‘The Simpsons Project,’ and then he debuts his regular bi-monthly feature entitled, ‘Maggie’s Crib.’
Get ready when the world’s fastest cartoonist meets the world’s brashest boy! And as if that wasn’t enough, Sergio also provides the cover to Bart’s fabulous 50th issue!
Somebody tell Bongo Comics to get a website. Come on. It’s almost 2010.
That embarrassment aside, Sergio Aragonés is a fantastic cartoonist (and has a website). Every year at San Diego Comic-Con, he does this hilarious must-see panel called Quick Draw where he, super-cartoonist Scott Shaw! and a guest cartoonist try to out-draw each other. It’s tons of fun, very spontaneous and immensely creative. Sergio drew for MAD Magazine for years (heck, he probably still does) and also does his own comic Groo The Wanderer. Seeing him handle The Simpsons will be a big treat.
Che: A Graphic Biography – $22.00
By Sid Jacobson & Ernie Colón
128 pages; published by Hill and Wang; available at Amazon.com
A symbol of counterculture worldwide, Ernesto “Che” Guevara is one of the most, if not the most, recognizable and influential revolutionary figures of the twentieth century. From the pages of history textbooks to silk-screened T-shirts at Urban Outfitters, his mythologized face is positively unavoidable. But what, exactly, does this glorified image stand for?
During his life, and perhaps even more since his death, Che has elicited controversy and wildly divergent opinions as to who he was and what he represented. In Che: A Graphic Biography, Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón—the graphic duo who made the 9/11 Commission Report understandable in their bestselling The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation and who most recently explained the ongoing war on terror in After 9/11—have come together again to give a real portrait of Ernesto Guevara de la Serna. Following Che from his fabled motorcycle journeys with Alberto Granado as a young medical student to his eventual execution at the hands of Bolivian soldiers and CIA operatives, Che: A Graphic Biography not only provides a concrete time line of his life but also gives a broader understanding of his beliefs, his legacy, and Latin American politics during the mid-twentieth century.
I will forever love these two creators for doing The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation. I think it was a huge step in comics expanding on their potential. It gives an amazing timeline of events so you can see how things were happening simultaneously, in a way that straight prose never could. It was clear, concise, intelligent. Definitely one of the best comic releases of that year, possibly the decade. I don’t know if this is as significant, but again I applaud what their doing and the skill in which they do it.
Vlad the Impaler: The Man Who Was Dracula – $25.95
By Sid Jacobson & Ernie Colón
114 pages; published by Hudson Street Press; available at Amazon.com
From the bestselling author/illustrator team of The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation comes the truly gory tale of the historical Dracula.
The Dracula myth has sparked a legacy of endlessly entertaining creepy tales. The fictional character, originally penned by Bram Stoker, was inspired by and named after a real-life fiend—Prince Vlad Dracula, the fifteenth-century ruler of Wallachia—a man infamous for massacring and impaling his enemies. In brilliant four-color illustrations, Vlad the Impaler tells the ghastly prince’s life story from his seizure as a boy by the Turkish Sultan, to his love life, to his maniacal attempts to retain power regardless of whose throat he must slit.
From the bestselling writer and illustrator team who brought us The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation—hailed by Stan Lee as “beautifully and compellingly written and illustrated. . . . It will surely set the standard for all future works of contemporary history, graphic or otherwise”—this graphic novel, based on a true story, is replete with gory details of torture tactics. Ideal for readers who made 30 Days of Night and World War Z bestsellers, the combination of riveting legend and blood-and-guts drawings will be an anticipated addition to the graphic novel fan’s library.
Hey, it’s those guys again! Some nicely coordinated release schedules from two separate publishers. Smartly done. This seems a bit darker and more for fun, but should also be an interesting read.
Bob Dylan Revisited – $24.95
By Bob Dylan, et al.
104 pages; published by W.W. Norton & Company; available at Amazon.com
Rendered in striking, explosive graphic form, many of Bob Dylan’s most famous songs—illustrated as they’ve never been before.
Mesmerized by the power of Bob Dylan’s lyrics and intrigued by the possibilities of translating his powerful, enigmatic personality into art, thirteen leading graphic artists banded together to create this unusual testament to the universality and transcendent vision of an American musical genius. With their vibrant, unexpected colors and dynamic, cinematic imagery, this group has assembled in Bob Dylan Revisited one of the most provocative interpretations of Dylan’s music in decades. Whether illustrating “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Hurricane,” or “Lay, Lady, Lay,” these artists capture the tender emotions, the ineffable sadness, and the romantic overtones of Dylan’s classic songs, at the same time reflecting the moral and political urgency of his music. Each artist’s style surprisingly complements Dylan’s lyrics and offers an irresistible window through which to reconsider one of America’s most enigmatic artists. A deeply respectful and brilliant homage to the extraordinary influence of Bob Dylan.
Love the cover. Here’s the list of songs and the artists interpreting them, according to the publisher’s site:
Contents:
“Blowin in the Wind” interpreted by Thierry Muraty
“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” interpreted by Lorenzo Mattotti
“I Want You” interpreted by Nicolas Nemiri
“Girl of the North Country” interpreted by François Avril
“Lay, Lady, Lay” interpreted by Jean-Claude Götting
“Positively 4th Street” interpreted by Christopher
“Tombstone Blues” interpreted by Bézian
“Desolation Row” interpreted by Dave McKean
“Like a Rolling Stone” interpreted by Alfred (drawings), Raphaëlle Le Rio, Maël Le Maé (scenario) and Henri Meunier (color)
“Hurricane” interpreted by Gradimir Smudja
“Blind Willie McTell” interpreted by Benjamin Flao
“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” interpreted by Jean-Philippe Bramanti
“Not Dark Yet” interpreted by Zep
This looks really cool, very imaginative. Here’s a 12-page preview. Perfect Christmas (or other holiday) gift for that Dylan fan in your life, since they probably will have already either bought or sworn off the confounding Christmas in the Heart.
The Comics Observer 