Blog Post
Kids Read Comics event June 22-23 at the Downtown Library
by K.C.
The free Kids Read Comics convention is just around the corner and promises tons of comics fun. Running both Saturday and Sunday, the convention will open with fun comics crafts at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Downtown Library. Everything really kicks off @ 11 a.m. when special guest Ben Hatke, creator of Zita the Spacegirl, will make a presentation. At 12 Noon the Artists Alley (3rd Floor) along with fun programming and hilarious Quick Draws get under way! Program details and the guest cartoonist list available at Kids Read Comics.
There will be a FREE photo booth (with a game code!) outside the Teen Room from 12:30-4:30! Bring your friends and get a strip of pictures!
FREE comic books will be given out of the 3rd Floor where all of the artists will be exhibiting!
Don't forget! AADL Summer gamers who come to KRC can collect a bucketful of game codes!
Blog Post
May's Books to Film
by muffy
Iron Man 3 (PG-13) is a Walt Disney Studio adaptation of Marvel's Iron Man: Extremis by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov. It pits brash but brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?
For limited release is What Maisie Knew (R). With newcomer Onata Aprile in the title role, Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård star this family drama, a contemporary re-imagining of the novel by Henry James. It's the story of a captivating little girl's struggle for grace in the midst of her parents' bitter custody battle, navigating the turmoil with a six-year-old's innocence, charm and generosity of spirit.
Based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby (PG-13), would-be writer Nick Carraway leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922. In this era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby; across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan; and is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich.
Released just in time for summer vacation is the animated Epic (PG), based on The Leaf Man by William Joyce. It tells the story of an ongoing battle between the forces of good, who keep the natural world alive, and the forces of evil, who wish to destroy it. When a teenage girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she teams up with an elite band of warriors and a crew of comical, larger-than-life figures, to save their world…and ours.
Blog Post
Reed Gunther: The Bear-Riding Cowboy
by K.C.
Get ready for some rootin’ tootin’ fun with Reed Gunther: The Bear Riding Cowboy, a “wild” west tale about a goofy bear-riding cowboy Reed Gunther who usually means well but manages to make things worse. Lucky for him he is helped by his stalwart bear companion, Sterling, and by Starla, a no-nonsense fearless rancher. In this first installment Reed, Sterling, and Starla must prevent the onslaught of a whistle-stop tour of monsters from California all the way to New York City. To compound their trouble, a malicious circus owner tries to stop Reed so he can collect the monsters for his freak show.
The story is fun and energetic, propelling readers from one thrilling episode to the next. The art is expressive, giving everyone personality and sparkle. Though in some ways this is like watching old 50’s cowboy shows, you’ll not get bored. If this first volume appeals, don’t miss lassoing Reed Gunther: Monsters and Mustaches: Vol. 2.
Blog Post
The Adventures of Theater Kids
by pkooger
From the gregarious Glee kids to the harmonious horde of High School Musical, kids these days love their theater! And it’s not just on TV or in music. Check out one of these great books and read about awful auditions, big solos that bring the house down, backstage drama and pursuing your dreams! There’s no business like show business!
Better Nate Than Ever – Unbeknownst to his parents, Nate skips school and runs off to the Big Apple to audition for a fabulous role in E.T. The Musical. Will Nate be the next big Broadway star, or will his parents catch him and drag him back to his mundane small town life?
Starring Jules – Jules can’t wait to be on TV! She has an audition for a mouthwash commercial, but everything keeps going wrong! Can Jules land the part, and also befriend the new girl?
Drama – Callie is the stage manager for this year’s big musical, and she is committed to making it the best one the school has ever produced. Enter, the twins, stage right. Justin and Jesse both have amazing voices, as well as a knack for getting Callie into confusing romantic entanglements. What’s a young theater professional to do?!?
Blog Post
Comic Artists Forum with Cartoonist Joe Foo
by K.C.
Sunday, June 2 | 1:00-3:00 PM | Downtown Library | 4th Floor Meeting Room
Cartoonist and teaching illustrator Joe Foo will discuss the creative process of building characters out of abstract forms and never setting limits on your creations. Joe is the creator of Desmond's Comic. Check out his book Desmond's big book: a collection of Desmond Comics Number One. Joe also is working on a series of books and videos that will teach kids the joy of drawing.
Join the Forum to get fresh ideas for your next comics and network with other cartoonists. Drawing supplies will be provided, so drop in.
Blog Post
Berlin: The Seven Dwarves
by K.C.
A World War II Lancaster bomber flies low across the English countryside as a girl watches from the road. One of the bomber’s twin tails is shot apart. One wing tip and flap are gone. Oil trails from its outer port engine. What is going on? And just like that you are sucked into the graphic novel Berlin.
The book follows the lives of the crew of the Arvo Lancaster bomber Snow White as they partake in dangerous night bombing raids against Nazi Germany. Author/illustrator Marvano aka Mark Van Oppen spins a nice yarn full of tense action, friendship and love in a historical setting. His graphics, especially of the flying equipment/action and the setting, are excellent.
Though Marvano’s (the author’s pen name) depictions of the night bombing action are excellent, some of his choices are interesting, especially his choice to show the dual engined push pull German Dornier Do 335 night fighter in one engagement. Admittedly it is a very cool plane, being menacing and high-tech looking, but it did not make its first maiden flight until after the action described in the book had occurred and per some records it may not have ever seen combat, period.
Beyond that though, this is an excellent read. Until now my reading of the British part of the strategic bombing campaign and their dangerous night missions had been limited to general histories and to the gripping young adult novel B is for Buster, about a young Canadian boy who works on a ground crew for a Handley Page Halifax bomber squadron, so this book, for sure from a mental imagery stand point, fills in some gaps.
If curious about the American part of the strategic bombing campaign, you can find quite a bit of specific literature out there about the 8th Air Force and its daylight bombing efforts against Germany flying the venerable Boeing B-17 and Consolidated B-24 (many of which were built right here in Ypsilanti). The library has both the informative and well written A Wing and A Prayer as well as the excellent teen novel, The Last Mission.
Blog Post
Comic Artists Forum with artist Mike Roll
by K.C.
Sunday, May 5 | 1:00-3:00 PM | Downtown Library | 4th Floor Meeting Room
Join Mike Roll, the artist of the comic series Apooka: The World's Most Adorable Zombie, as he provides an interesting and entertaining explanation of the development of Apooka, a kid-friendly zombie character.
Mike, who is a great inker, will also discuss about and demo his techniques and tools using one of his Apooka sketches.
Join the Forum to get fresh ideas for your next comics or graphic novel creation. Drawing supplies will be provided, so drop in to draw, learn, and network with other cartoonists.
Blog Post
Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me: a graphic memoir
by K.C.
Take an emotional roller coaster ride with Ellen Forney, author and illustrator of Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me: a graphic memoir. Meet Ellen in a manic period of life learning of her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Follow her as she first attempts to deal with her mania without meds, and then with meds. For five years Ellen valiantly struggles as she works with her psychiatrist to achieve a balance without sacrificing her creative self. Woven in with Ellen's story you'll find information about the different levels of bipolar disorder, the creative people who have suffered from the disorder, and the array of medications patients may take in order to strike an emotional balance.
The drawings are cartoony in style but so expressive of Ellen during both the manic and depressive times of her life. In one part of the story the only thing you see on each page is a tiny Ellen lying on her side wrapped in a blanket. The pages with this image go on and on relentlessly. You want it to end because you hate the hopeless feeling those images portray, just a tiny fraction of what Ellen is enduring. Marbles is a remarkable book that won’t be easy to read or to put down.
Blog Post
Post-Nuclear-War Graphic Novels
by pkooger
In popular fiction, the atom bomb destroys not only physical matter, but also society and even reality as we know it. Nuclear destruction is the modern day equivalent of the biblical flood that wipes out the world and its entrenched order. Unfortunately (according to the imaginations of most writers) this tends to lead to an even more brutal world instead of giving our children a clean slate and a fresh start. I guess we’ll never learn. Here are a few of my favorite post-nuclear-war graphic novels.
Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind – This ecological parable from the artists of Studio Ghibli follows a teenage girl caught up in a war for the dwindling resources of the planet.
V for Vendetta – A masked crusader fights for freedom against the corrupt government in the post-nuclear totalitarian state of England.
Barefoot Gen – After the bomb destroys Hiroshima, Gen, his mother, and his little brother must find a way to survive and carry on with their lives.
The Dark Tower – The Gunslinger rides to meet his destiny among the sorceries and plots of his war-torn world.
Akira – Neo-Tokyo sits on the ruins of the old city, which was destroyed by a mysterious blast years earlier. Now history is beginning to repeat itself.
Blog Post
Saga, Volume One
by K.C.
Should the hype about Saga. Volume One convince you to read it? You bet! This tale of two soldiers from opposite sides involved in an endless galactic war who fall in love and attempt to initiate change through their newborn daughter will draw you in from the dramatic opening to the surprising end. Apparently writer Brian K. Vaughan has not previously used narration but effectively does so here in using the newborn Hazel to tell the story. Actually, it’s a grown up Hazel looking back who tells the story of how from the first breath of life there are those who try to wipe her and her parents off the galactic map.
I enjoyed Vaughan’s pacing and engaging characters. Fiona Staple’s stunning artwork creates amazing worlds and characters, balancing the poignant quiet moments with the battles for survival. Request this book and be ready when Saga, Volume Two arrives July 9!