Hey, It's Time To Talk About: Swamp Thing, Book 1

That which you absorb with your eyes and ears is just as important as that which is spun from the fingers. Therefore, take a moment to pause for a little review:

Saga Of The Swamp Thing, Book 1 by Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette and John Totleben

Much has been written about Alan Moore and I probably won't bring anything new to the table here but I did want to offer my perspective on this singular book (series).  Like many, my first introduction to the work of Alan Moore was The Watchmen.  He's of course a legend to many, a god to fanboys, and the mad devotee of Glycon, and his influence in the field is immeasurable.  I could write whole posts just about Moore but this is a review of Swamp Thing.

Swamp Thing, the loneliest hero

'Moore' after the break.

Hey, It's Time To Talk About: The Tale Of One Bad Rat

That which you absorb with your eyes and ears is just as important as that which is spun from the fingers. Therefore, take a moment to pause for a little review:

The Tale Of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot

I should say this: Bryan Talbot is an interesting guy, and by that, I mean I know nothing about the man.  Well, I do know one thing, I disliked another one of his books, Alice in Sunderland enough to NOT finish it.  Alice In Sunderland is this weird meta-history thing that weaves the story of Lewis Carroll into the folklore of this part of England, Sunderland.  Anyway, it's a bit of an information overload and schizophrenic in its presentation, but it was my introduction to things Talbot.  So, I didn't know what to expect when reading The Tale Of One Bad Rat.  Turned out I was pleasantly surprised.

This story has focus, it's of a coherent style, and even if a lot of the ground covered in Tale is familiar and kinda-tropey, there's enough interesting ideas woven into to keep you engaged.  I love the whole parable aspect of the graphic novel and how it hearkens to Beatrix Potter stories, even going so far as to bring us through different stages and locations of her life.  The art has a kind of strange, washed-out look that reinforces that Potter/watercolor bond.  One of the best aspects though is the smart characterization.  While our hero, Helen, is a touch flat, the rest of the characters really shine in their brief appearances and the whole thing is brought to a nicely realized climax.  It's a really quick read and bit different from normal graphic novel fare.  I suggest picking it up and giving it a whirl, if only for the rat hallucinations later on in the story.

Grade: 83/100

Hey, It's Time To Talk About: Blacksad

That which you absorb with your eyes and ears is just as important as that which is spun from the fingers. Therefore, take a moment to pause for a little review:

Blacksad by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido

Let me begin by saying that Blacksad is a fantastic romp that had very few drawbacks.  I'll start with the art.  As you can see by the picture above, it's good, it's accomplished, and most importantly it was done in watercolor, appearing to be completely created in the real world.  I'm a huge fan of traditional media and Blacksad spoke to me instantly because of this.  The character designs are inventive, the expressions are spot on and the whole endeavor is just an absolute pleasure to look at.  And that's no surprise as the illustrator, Guarnido has worked for Disney (Tarzan), and it shows.  I love the fact that the book (which is a hardcover collection of three stories) feels like some kind of newly found Disney cartoon for adults.  I can't express what a huge fan I am of the visual aspect of this book.  As you can tell, I even went so far as to completely lift the boxy bubbles with the loopy tails for my own word balloons in Chandra.

This brings me to the only really glaring problem.  While the stories are good, and a lot of the exposition can be gleaned from the visuals, there's definitely a feeling that something is lacking in the translation of the actual words in the book.  This is not a knock on writer Canales at all.  The fact that it's two Spaniards making it for the French market and then it was subsequently released in America may have something to do with it.  I'm sure there were fine people working on the translation but for me it simple did NOT read well in that I felt integral pieces of each of the stories were being left out all along the way.  A shame too because I want the writing to have all the verve of the art.  All that being said, I definitely still recommend this book for anyone's shelf.  I think it's popularity speaks for itself as it's sold well over 200,000 copies.

Grade: 90/100