I remember, when I took a film course as an undergraduate, studying with a professor named Don Kerr. When we watched The Birth of a Nation he read to us from the local newspaper in Saskatoon, an article dating back to the film’s release there. I still recall the amusement shared by all when the author claimed that henceforth, people could not longer criticize films for the decline in morality — “Films like this one can educate!” the article claimed — and that demon liquor was to blame. Huh? Social ills coming from either booze of movies? At a remove …
Tag: graphic novels
Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle
It is almost certainly unfair to Guy Delisle that reviewers will compare this book with his earlier Pyongyang, for that latter graphic novel was a major achievement, and for me at least, it represented something new in the world of comics. I read it in wonder, a few years ago, amazed at how Delisle managed to tell the story of a year so smoothly, so engagingly, and so courageously. The newer book is quite different, but this should surprise nobody: we cannot expect an artist or writer to produce work that is like the first work we have encountered from …
Shekhar Kapur’s Snake Woman, Vol 1: “A Snake in the Grass” by Zeb Wells (script) and Michael Gaydos (art).
So, graphic novels. The last few books I’ve read were all funny books. Expect the reviews over the next week or so to be focused on that area. Yeah, it’s hard for me to say much without spoiling this, but then again, I don’t think there are many surprises in this book, and it’s been out for ages (since June 2007), so I’m going to just go ahead and talk about it. Well: this is a horror comic that was published by Virgin Comics, one that, according to a tiny note on the cover, is “Suggested for Mature Readers.” The …
Can’t Get No by Rick Veitch

Warning: if you’re one of those people who hates spoilers, and you haven’t read this comic, then I don’t know what to tell you. Seek out a spoiler-free review, I guess, or read it. I don’t give away the whole store, but I do discuss the plot somewhat, as I need to do to say anything coherent about this book. This is one of those comics where I could just say, “I’m not sure I understood what this was about,” because I want to avoid the fact that I sort of understood, but had problems with the book, and yet …