Like many parents, I have mixed feelings about comics and graphic novels, especially adaptations. I want my kids (and the rest of civilization) to be able to read through a block of text without pictures to help them along; and I want them to read “the real thing,” not a watered-down version of a classic. But more and more, I see that, while many comics are still lurid and vapid, many are not. We’re firmly in an age of comics with something on their mind. They’re not just colorful, easy-to-digest substitutions for books; they’re something different — or at least they can be. Ben Hatke‘s and Mike Mignola’s work spring to mind.
The other week, I stumbled across an ad for a serialized comic adaptation of The Light Princess. Although I adore the original illustrations by Maurice Sendak, I have always wished someone less wordy than George MacDonald had written his wonderful stories, especially for reading out loud. So I dug around to see what else the publisher, Cave Pictures Publishing, is up to.
It turns out they’re new, and The Light Princess is one of five comic titles debuting this year
— and holy cow, it’s a diverse line-up, to say the least. There’s also “Appalachian Apocalypse” by Billy Tucci (Shi), Ethan Nicolle (Axe Cop), and Ben Gilbert:
After the ancient staff of Lilith, mother of the damned, reanimates the dead, country boy J.B. and his estranged upper-crust wife Anne must come together to stop the zombie hordes and save the people of Appalachia.
and “The Blessed Machine,” a dystopian sci fi series by Jesse Hamm (Batman ’66) and Mark Rodgers
Locked in a city deep within the earth, a courageous few struggle to reach the surface, fighting not only against the minds and flesh of men but against their man-made minders.
Other titles:
THE NO ONES by Jim Krueger with art by Well-Bee
A team of superheroes, blinded by their fame and self-promotion, are forced to reckon with their destructive choices when a twist of fate erases them from both history and present memory.
WYLDE by Daniel Bradford
When a mysterious masked lawman partners with a suspicious sheriff to save his frontier town from an invasion of the undead, the sheriff will learn ancient secrets of the lawman’s past and the power of self-sacrifice. In saving his town, he will save himself.
Okay, sure!
Cave Pictures (tagline: “Great comics for the spiritually inclined”) says it intends to deliver more than mindless, two-dimensional entertainment. They’re not religious, but they hope to engage readers who thirst after spiritual meaning.
My take? I’m intrigued. The artwork and storytelling is skillful and lively, and they do seem dedicated to presenting work that’s layered, but driven primarily by story and art, not message.
The first issue of The Light Princess (the only title I previewed) is a little unsettling. For reasons that are not yet clear, they’ve invented some odd backstory for the princess’ parents
but I’m suspending judgment until future issues. The artwork leans fairy-tale-ish, and so far lacks some of the weird, jarring edge inherent in the story; but this may change as the plot progresses (the first issue ends just as the baby first loses her gravity). The overall look is professional and effective, sometimes quite lovely. The lettering occasionally gets overly pictorial and almost too ornate to read in a few places, but not disastrously so;
and the story moves along briskly and keeps the reader’s attention. In short: Not perfect, but intriguing, and definitely a publisher to watch. I’ll be asking my librarian to look into carrying these titles, and I’m more curious now to look into the other stories, which are all original, not adaptations.
Here’s a page from their free comic that frames their mission, retelling Plato’s allegory of the cave:
Earlier this week, I chatted with the president, Mandi Hart, who “manages all the moving parts of Cave.” Hart has a background in filmmaking, but got a law degree to help her manage the legal and logistical aspects of running a creative business. She soon came to realize that investors would be willing to finance a company that published what their children and grandchildren loved, and that meant comics.
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The key theme in the The Blessed Machine is about whether there is more to the world than the characters inhabit, than what they can see — and more than what the machines they depend on for life are telling them exist.
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The Light Princess is actually a little more overtly Christian than the even book itself is. Is there some particular faith background from which you’re approaching these titles?
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Hart welcomes questions from readers. You can follow Cave Pictures Publications on social media:
Interesting! My job at a college is partly connected to our English department, and one of my colleagues likes incorporating a graphic novel (which tends to change every semester or so) into one of his assignments. He doesn’t seem to align with a particular faith but does seem to like big questions, so maybe I’ll suggest he check these out.
These look beautiful!! My local library and are geeks, I need to ask them about these.
*librarians are geeks. Dang autocorrect.
You probably know that Ben Hatke is an observant Catholic in addition to being a terrific storyteller, right? Plus he’s a heck of a nice guy. So his books should always be safe for kids to read.
Cheeeeeesy! The only valid comic books worth owning are the Tin-Tin series, the Asterix series, and Calvin and Hobbes. I’ll also throw in Doonesbury. Graphic novels are a symptom of our anti-culture and poor educational system. Or they are propaganda tools in the vein of Jack Chick. At a certain age, we should all outgrow illustrated chapter books as our main source of literature or information. Not that I have any strong opinions about this or anything.
Those books you list are considered comic STRIPS and yet are labeled Graphic Novels in library catalogues. I should know. I volunteer at my library and shelve graphic novels all the time.
I differentiate between graphic novels, comic books (think Batman, Spiderman, DC and Marvel ‘verses), comic strips, and manga. (There are other types but those are the ones I deal with most.) They are all labeled graphic novels in the library catalogue, however, comic strips may also be found under 741.5 in the Dewey Decimal system.
Graphic novels aren’t just illustrated books. They are novels unto themselves. Some are terrible I freely admit and others are very good. It depends on a lot of things. I read graphic novels frequently but they don’t stop me from reading actual books. I started reading graphic novels after having to read one for the Adult Summer Reading program at my library. I read certain authors or series and can be very, very picky about what I read. The graphics can add or detract or be no help whatsoever to a story. I tend to focus on the dialogue and look at the graphics after reading the words.
Who reads graphic novels depends on a lot of things. I know kids who refuse to read them (adults as well) and others who wonder why they didn’t start reading them sooner. Again, it depends on the person.
For kids and adults I recommend:
The Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi
The Nameless City series by Faith Erin Hicks
Newsprint by Ru Xu
Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks
The Baker Street Peculiars by Roger Langridge
For Teens :
The Delilah Dirk series by Tony Cliff
The Legend series by Samuel Sattin
Ichi-F : A Worker’s Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant by Kazuto Tatsuta
Rabbi Harvey series by Steve Sheinkin (yes, they’re Jewish but still delightful and amusing without overt religion)
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman
In This Corner of the World by Fumiyo Kouno
Fairlaine the Goblin series
I have to go but with post a list just for adults later
Oops. I meant to get back sooner but real life happened. Honestly, for adults I’d recommend the ones already listed. There are a few historical ones that I’d recommend as well but the rest would be up to personal choice and preference.
I would suggest starting with just one graphic novel and going from. Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s for you. You are not going to like every graphic novel or read every graphic novel. Use reviews on Goodreads. Talk to your librarian.
And you can’t go wrong with The Far Side.