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Loved the book? Check out the graphic novel!

by gulickb

Whenever a much beloved book is adapted into another form, whether it's a graphic novel or *gasp* a movie starring Brendan Fraser as your favorite character (and thus ruining the image you had of that character forever) there is always the temptation to scoff at the adaptation.

I mean how can it compare to the awesomeness that is the original book? The answer is, quite often that it can’t, and it shouldn’t.
While adaptations can often be enjoyed by those who are already fans, the idea behind them is often to appeal to a new audience, as well as the old.
So if you’re ready to take the plunge into new adaptations of some amazing books check out the following.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman follows Nobody Owens as he grows up in a graveyard, raised by ghosts.

The Infernal Devices adapted from the smash hit series by Cassandra Clare The Mortal Instruments.

Maximum Ride adapted into a Manga from James Pattersons hit fantasy series.

Vampire Academy is an adaptation of the wildly popular Vampire Academy series.

And last but no means least Phillip Pullman’s The Golden Compass has been adapted into a wonderful graphic novel, originally published in France. The art is breathtaking and worth reading if you’re a fan or not of the original series

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Blog Post

Kaptara: Not your grandfather's sci-fi.

by gulickb

Imagine for a second that you are part of an interstellar crew, highly trained for the job that you've been chosen for. Except instead of landing on the planet you were expecting to, you crash-land on a world so different from everything you were expecting. A world teaming with life, some of which is trying to eat you.

This is where Kaptara begins, but don't take it too seriously for example one of the characters is a vegetarian, except when other people kill the animal. The creative mind behind this Chip Zdarsky is the same creative genius who brought Sex Criminals to the world last year.

The art is every bit as colorful and fascinating as you would expect from Zdarsky, and the content can be every bit as boundary pushing as his previous work.

If you love sci-fi, light on the science heavy on the fiction, and want characters who are not your typical sci-fi heroes then you should check our Kaptara.

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Blog Post

Artist focus: Michael Deforge

by gulickb

Michael Deforge's art is "weird" in the original sense of the word, it is strange and otherworldly and often has a hint of the improper. It's beautiful and experimental and often you will find yourself drawn into the image as your mind races to make sense of everything that you are seeing. His books, often a collection of seemingly dissonent tales that somehow come together to create something beautiful. He is also an artist that is on the move, his work is steadily gaining popularity and as he leaves the shadow of his work with Cartoon Network and claims his own style and voice in his comics it can only bring great things.

This year his latest endevor is Dressing is a collection of some of his short stories which is sure to entertain.
His last work First Year Healthy, which came out late last year, is a story about a woman who having been recently released from hospital has to come to terms with her life.Deforges careful use of color along will draw you along and make you think about the choices that people are faced with. While it is a scant 45 pages long, you will not feel rushed in this story, nor will you leave feeling that it was too short. Rather Deforge manages in 45 pages to tell a complete and whole story.

If you are interested in Deforge's work and can't wait for his latest books to come out then check out the titles the library has ready and waiting to be checked out Very Season and A Body Beneath both of which are collections of his work.

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Blog Post

Teen and Adult Crossover Graphic Novel: Special Batman vs Superman edition

by gulickb

With Batman vs. Superman just around the corner now is the perfect time to read up on both superheroes and maybe the Batman vs. Superman graphic novel.
Now this list is not everything that the library has of these two seminal heroes but rather some of the best graphic novels that we have of Batman and Superman (I'll put a link to a search for everything we have on them at the end of the post).

Let's start with Batman (because I think he's the best, feel free to tell me why I'm wrong or right in the comments).
Batman:Under the Hood is one of those graphic novels that has fans both loving and hating it. It takes one of the old supporting characters from Batman and re-imagines them as a violent anti-hero: The Red Hood. This graphic novel has everything that you could want from a Batman story and controversy aside it is a must read for any fans of the series.
Another Batman series that has fans conflicted is Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn which re-imagines the characters of Batman and Robin, almost reversing the dynamic between them with Robin being the scowling broody hero and Batman being more lighthearted and spontaneous hero that fans would often expect Robin to be. This series is definitely worth a read if you are willing to put preconceptions about what the various characters should act like. It makes a nice break from some of the darker Batman stories.
The last Batman story is Batman and the Mad Monk. This story is one of the first times that Batman has to fight a supernatural villain and it makes from a nice change from the run of the mill criminally insane that we so often see him fight.

The first Superman crossover graphic novel is Superman:Red Son This is one of my favorite Superman stories, it takes Superman's origins and asks the question, what would have happened if he had been raised in Soviet Russia instead of the United States. This change in origin makes for a wonderful story in which we get to see some of our favorite characters engaging with Superman in a way that they have never before (this is a must read for all fans and non-fans alike)!
The next Superman is The Death of Superman. This is one of the first times when the mortality of Superman was put to the question. Could Superman die, and how might this happen. This story is one of the most iconic ones in the history of Superman.
The final superman story is Superman: Exile this story takes place after Superman has broken his oath to never kill and he places himself into a self imposed exile from earth and learns that he cannot run from himself. This is a very different kind of Superman story with lots of introspection, but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking in action or that it’s boring in any way shape or form, instead what we end up with is a story that strives to bring deeper understanding to just who Superman is.

As promised here’s a link to a search for all the graphic novels the library has on
Batman and Superman

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Blog Post

Get Fuzzy this spring

by gulickb

Darby Conley has been working on "Get Fuzzy" for 16 years now with the comic being syndicated in daily newspapers. Every once in a while Conley takes some of his best strips and combines them into a wonderful collection of his wit (and occasional wisdom). Two of these collections are I'm Ready for my Movie Contract and You Can't fight crazy.
For those of you who are not familiar with the strip Get Fuzzy is about a Boston Ad Executive (think Mad Men but less cool) Rob Wilco and his two anthropomorphic pets Satchel Pooch and Bucky Katt. The comic plays on a lot of cat/dog stereotypes and readers will soon get to know that Bucky is mean and conniving and Satchel is sweet and innocent (and very very gullible) while Rob tries to keep the peace in his home.

The comic plays well with the strip format, with one or two strips making up an entire story-line and thus it makes these collections perfect for anyone who wants a book that they can pick up and put down without having to find the end of the chapter etc.

If you've never read any of the strips then these collections are a wonderful way in which to get introduced to them and if you are a fan of the series then these collections will let you enjoy some of the more classic of the strips along with ones you've probably never seen before.
So if you're looking for a quick to read book with lots of witticisms (such as eating dog food doesn't give you super powers) then pick up I'm Ready for my Movie Contract or You Can't fight crazy.

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Blog Post

Is the grass greener on the other side of the wall?

by gulickb

I'm not normally a fan of graphic memoirs, often I find them to be only of interest if you are a fan of the artist already but there are several graphic memoirs that despite having never heard of the author prior to picking up the graphic novel that have endeared themselves enough that I've read them multiple times. One of those graphic memoirs is The Other Side of the Wall by Simon Schwartz. The novel is set in the 1980's in Germany and follows the Schwartz family as they move across the wall from East Germany to West Germany in search of freedoms that they could not have in East Germany. This period of time is incredibly interesting and Schwartz manages to capture a lot of the emotions that his family went through, as well as documenting their personal history.

This graphic novel is wonderful and will open up a world that might otherwise be impossible to see. Germany in the 80's was on the brink of change, and it is in this precipice that Schwartz sets his graphic memoir.
The artwork is simple but at the same time conveys a huge amount of information about that period in time.

So if you're looking for a fantastic graphic memoir, or to learn about post war Germany, then The Other Side of the Wall is for you!

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Blog Post

Take a Walk with "The Walking Man"

by gulickb

Every so often a book comes along that defies labeling. A book so different from others that are being published that it's hard to exactly put your finger on what it is. The Walking Man by Jiro Taniguchi is one of those books.

At first glance, this manga graphic novel appears to be your standard fare for Japanese slice of life manga, but to list it merely as slice of life would be doing it a great disservice. The book is a series of short stories about a man who walks, but again, to say it's just a book about walking is to belittle the masterful art that has gone into its creation. So it's a slice of life manga about a man who takes walks, and on those walks, it could be argued that he explores the Japanese concept of "ikigai" or the reason for being.

The stories are almost meditative in their simple complexity (I know this is an oxymoron but somehow it works) and after reading them, it is entirely possible for you to walk away with a little more understanding of life and humanity, as the stories will resonate with different people in different ways.

So if you are looking for something different, something new and unusual check out The Walking Man.

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Crafts

Make a Minicomic Workshop with Matt Feazell @ UMMA Fridays After Five

Friday April 8, 2016: 6:00pm to 7:30pm
University of Michigan Museum of Art
Grade 6 - Adult

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Blog Post

Crossover Graphic Novels- February Adventure Edition

by gulickb

We’re well into the month of February and there are some amazing graphic novels that are great for all ages coming to the library (or are already available and ready to be checked out). There’s a little bit of a theme to this month’s crossover (great reads for all ages) graphic novels, each one has an adventure of some kind, whether that be dragons, or pirates, or even strange cats.

The first crossover graphic novel is Windmill Dragon: A Leah and Allen Adventure by David Nytra. This book is breathtaking. From the very first pages, you are hit with the amount of detail that has been put into each and every page of it. It’s very easy to find yourself lost in the detail as you take in everything that makes this book so beautiful. If it was just the artwork that was wonderful then this book would still be worth your time, but the story itself is equally unique and captivating. I don’t want to give too much away, but imagine how you might react if the windmills were suddenly not windmills.

The next is Apocalypse Bow Wow and Apocalypse Meow Meow by James Proimos. These two graphic novels look at the apocalypse from an animal's point of view. In Apocalypse Bow Wow two dogs go in search of food and water unaware that the apocalypse is occurring. In Apocalypse Meow Meow those same two dogs try to break into a factory to secure all the food that they could ever want, but are bested at first by a large and strange “cat”. Both stories are well written and entertaining and Proimos’ art choices will make reading this a joy.

The final crossover is not just one (or two) graphic novels but an entire series of 6 (so far) graphic novels. The Princeless series . This series is truly awesome. The art is bright and cheerful and the story is one of a princess finding her power and freeing herself (rather than waiting for Prince So-and-So to come and rescue her). Each of the graphic novels can be read independently, and so it really doesn’t matter where in the series you start reading (though I always recommend people starting with the first volume, as it helps you get to know the characters better). This series really rocks and if you like stories about strong independent characters who defy the normal conventions of the world they live in, then this series is most definitely for you.

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Blog Post

Giant Days brings Giant Entertainment

by gulickb

I'm a big fan of Boom! comics and their various imprints. They are the company who brought us Lumberjanes, and Mr. Stuffins (the best comic you'll ever read about a James Bond-like teddy bear). Now with Giant Days by John Allison, they have made a wonderful slice-of-life comic for the teen reader.

The comic follows three freshers (this is the British term for new university students) as they go about their lives during the first year of university. The stories are not grand and epic like Lumberjanes but rather they are small and meaningful. You really get to know the characters and there are opportunities throughout the comic to connect with what's going on with them, whether that's boyfriends, toxic friendships, or rescuing a friend from a trashy nightclub (and many many other such real life adventures).

The artwork is superb, with each of the characters and the locations really having a strong sense of individuality. So if you're looking for a comic that really connects you with wonderful characters, then Giant Days is a must read!