University of San Diego Multiple Literacies: EDUC 517 Graphic Novel One-Pagers
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Will Eisner is known as one of the most innovative, and influential illustrators and authors of all time. • Career spanned over eight decades • Wrote numerous graphic novels, comics, non fiction novels • One of the comic industry's most prestigious awards, The Eisner Award, is named after him. • He truly was the 'father of the Graphic Novel'
“Eisner was not only ahead of his times; the present times are still catching up to him.”—John Updike
A Contract with God is a semi-autobiographical work which re-creates Will Eisner’s youth growing up during the 1930s in The Bronx, NY. There are four stories that comprise the book: "A Contract With God", "The Street Singer", "The Super" and "Cookalein"
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“A Contract with God”
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“The Street Singer”
“The Super”
“Cookalein”
Examines the world of immigrant life in New York City with a look at the emotions, and hardships each character faces in their day to day life. Each of the stories expresses joy, as well as tragedy, and gives the reader an in-depth view of the everyday drama of life on ‘Dropsie Avenue.’
My Review: • • • •
Amazing, detailed illustrations and thoughtful, personal accounts of Will Eisner’s life growing up in The Bronx Depressing but truthful Nudity, and sexual references—Not a graphic novel for young readers I would recommend it to an older, mature audience of readers
Professional Review: • •
“One of the most influential graphic novels ever written” "A Contract with God" Eisner utilizes the comic book format in an innovative and pioneering way to explore stories and memories from his childhood growing up in a New York City tenement. Each tale captures the brutality, fragility, and tenderness that exists among people living in close quarters in challenging economic times.” –Comic Book Resources News Team
Ashley Morris EDUC 517 GN One Pager Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life is one in a series of six graphic novels written and illustrated by Bryan Lee O’Malley. The series is published by Oni Press, and the first volume was released in July of 2004. The sixth, and final, volume was released in July of this year, 2010. The story’s main character, Scott Pilgrim, reoccurs in all six novels. There are many characters throughout the series, but the constants seem to be his roommate Wallace, his band mates, his sister, and the apple of his eye, Ramona. Oh of course there’s an evil ex-boyfriend of Ramona’s that he has to defeat in every novel as well. Bryan Lee O’Malley is a Canadian cartoonist and musician. O’Malley’s works are as follows: he illustrated for the miniseries Hopeless Savages: Ground Zero; Art Spiegalman’s Lifehis first work was Lost at Sea (2003) a two-page color comic in •
college educator in theAOni Press Color Special. This was followed by his well known Scott Pilgrim series graphic arts and writing.
(2004-2010) Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (2004), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World •
Writes young adult (2005), Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness (2006), Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together graphic novels with his
(2007), Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe (2009), and Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour (2010). wife Francoise. He has two other short stories; Monica Beetle which he wrote during the second Scott
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Drew New Yorker covers
Pilgrim novel and wasyears published in Project: Superior. He also has a text free story titled and graphics for 10 Smiling is Something Other People Do published in The SPX 2003 Anthology.
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Won a Pulitzer prize for an all around teen friendly story. It’s light-hearted, fun and easy to read. No MausIt’s in 1992.
heavy themes are addressed in this book; it’s more about the intimacies shared in
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Was part of an
relationships, alsobook the dishonesties that plague relationships. undergroundbut comic
movement of the There is an70’s underlying theme of sexuality. There are frequent comments made about Scott’s roommate Wallace and the fact that he’s gay. They don’t necessarily make and is an icon in the InInThe Shadow A biographical novel detailing The Shadow fun of him, but comments are made about how he’ll go after anyone the and about how he industry. of No Towerslifefelt of like his father from the ofVladek, Nowas Towersand Scott share an apartment. I never anything said to put Wallace down and Current Available Work 2004 start to the end of World War 2 as a 2004 make his sexuality seem like something inappropriate. Polish Jew. BreakdownsBreakdownsPortrait It moves fluidly fromofthe past to has a unique metaphor in the Portrait ofthe the 2 Parts: Maus Artist as a the present andArtist showsasArt a and A Survivor’s Tale: 1986 artwork. %@&*!2008 Vladek’s current relationship, and how %@&*!- 2008 Jews= My Father Bleeds History: 1991 Mice Germans= Cats Art recorded the story. The first chapters of each were Americans= Dogs Polish= Pigs Published by released as comic strips in Major Themes are: guilt, Published by genocide, magazines first. and family relationships. Pantheon Books
The Complete Maus- by Art Spiegalman
Pantheon Books
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EDUC 517 December 7th, 2010 aphic Novel One Pager Catalina Trejo EDUC 517 December 7th, 2010
Graphic Novel One Pager Ghost World Enid and Rebecca just graduated high school and they won’t want anything more out of life but to enjoy it day to day, at least that’s what they first thought. It turns out that Enid doesn’t want things to remain the same. She wants to go out and explore the world, although she doesn’t say so. Rebecca, on the other hand, wants things to stay the same as in high school. Both Enid and Rebecca are witty and love to make fun of others who don‘t see the world as they do. They are observers, but it is often Enid that encounters interesting characters that peak her interest. Characters like John Ellis a lover of perverted things and Bob Skeetes an Astrologer capture her attention, as well as point to the characters that walk into our lives. This book is about how random life is and how youths relationships evolve as they transition into adulthood. The characters are real and one can’t but help but fall into their complicated teenage angst. I would recommend this graphic novel to youth, ages 16-22, especially females. Its characters are very real and it does a good job in capturing how complicated relationships. At first I did not like this graphic novel because of its crude language. It took me a while to get over the language, I curse just like anyone else, but they seemed to have too much of a colorful vocabulary. I did get over the use of the language only to then realize that I kept getting lost, there was not real underlying story, it just seemed to be a series of events connected by the same characters. I had to look at reviews to really see how good this novel was. By no means do I think it is the greatest book, but I do believe that its portrayal of teens is very accurate (they do curse a lot), and that its portrayal of life and its relationships are even better. I now see the lack of a plot as representing how life doesn’t follow a plot, but is series of events that happen to have the same character, us. I do like the characters and the underlying ideas about life, but I would have to re-read the novel to see if I like it as a whole.
Christina Andrade Graphic Novel Analysis
EDUC 517
Persepolis: Graphic Novel Presentation Introduction-Fast Facts Title: Persepolis Author and Artist: Marjane Satrapi Publishing Company: Pantheon Year of publication: 2003 (English translation) Color: Black and white Page count: 153 Genre: Autobiographical memoir (graphic novel) Context: This autobiographical memoir is the story of the author’s life from the ages of six to fourteen growing up in Tehran, Iran during the Islamic Revolution.
Danielle
Amulet The Stonekeeper By Kazu Kibuishi
Biography Kazu Kibuishi was born in Tokyo, Japan, and moved to the U.S. with his mother and brother when he was young. He graduated from Film Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara, and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Kazu Kibuishi is the author and artist of the popular hand-drawn Amulet graphic novel series; beginning publication in 2008 and book three was released in 2010. Kazu is also the creator of the Flight Anthologies, a critically acclaimed comics series, and Daisy Kutter: The Last Train, a winner of the YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Award. He currently lives in Alhambra, California and works as a full-time comic book artist.
Amulet: Book One: Brief Summary: After a family tragedy, Emily, Navin, and their mother move to their greatgrandfather’s home in Norlen. They hoped to start a new life, but during their first night in the house their Mom is kidnapped by a slimy creature. The amulet’s power is finally revealed when Silas, the kid’s great-grandfather persuades Emily into taking on a dangerous role—keeper of the stone. With the help of the amulet, and a mechanic robot named Miskit, it is up to Em and Navin to save their Mom’s life, and set things right again.
Major Theme in Amulet Book One: -Sacrifice -Abandonment -Trust -Loss These themes are explored on many different levels within the story. For younger readers, these themes can be talked about on a surface-level; however, older readers could delve into the cultural implications of these themes.
A Closer Look at the Amulet Trilogy Book Two: The theme of defining good versus evil is further explored as Em tries to triumph over evil while controlling the amulets power. Will she lose herself? Book Three: The final installment of the amulet trilogy, Em and Navin set out to the lost city of Cielis with an unlikely companion, the Elf Prince. Struggles meet them along the way, but will Em ever be able to trust the voice of the amulet?
Get to know the characters of the Amulet Trilogy www.scholastic.com/amulet
Jacqueline Ghost World (GN- 1 Pager)
Basic Facts: • • • •
Written and Illustrated by Daniel Clowes Originally a part of Clowes’ comic series called Eightball Published in book form by Fantagraphics Books in 1997. Focus is on friendship, alienation, and modern life.
Plot Summary: The story follows the lives of two close friends, Enid Coleslaw and Rebecca Doppelmeyer. These two girls have recently graduated high school and they are trying to figure out where their lives are taking them. Enid and Becky live day-to-day eating in coffee shops, hanging at home and making up stories about others. I think they are trying to cover up their own insecurities and fears of growing up. Becky and Enid have something bad to say about almost everyone and they are constantly playing pranks on others. The girls are extremely judgmental and stereotypical of others. Enid is the more promiscuous friend that is always trying to rebel and pressure others into awkward situations. (I.e. forcing their friend Josh to go into an adult bookstore with her). Throughout the novel, it is obvious that Enid is trying to discover herself and figure out where she fits in as an adult. Enid wants to grow up and wants to change from the teenager she was in high school. Becky however, is too afraid of the unknown. She wants everything to be the same as it was in high school and she tries to hold Enid back from going away to college.
Age Recommended: I would recommend this book for College and above. It is inappropriate for anyone under 18 years old. (At least in a school setting)
My Opinion: Although, some of the words were vulgar, racist and not necessarily anything I agree with, I could appreciate it because the words were coming from naïve teenagers. I have met a few people in my life like Enid and Rebecca; the type of people who are young but yet they still believe they know everything there is to know. Clowes did an amazing job painting a picture of a teenage friendship. He really had the mannerisms and language down and it kind of brought me back to high school.
Julie
Hereville How Mirka Got Her Sword By: Barry Deutsch
Ingredients that make Hereville sure to be a graphic novel favorite: A kick-butt heroine: Mirka A giant, menacing Pig A mysterious witch A fierce battle: Mirka vs. an ugly Troll An annoying, pestering older sister A dragon-slaying sword! Full of adventure, fantasy, and cultural traditions! Resources Related to Hereville: The best resource for Hereville: The OFFICIAL Hereville website! http://www.hereville.com/ Hereville was reviewed by Kirkus Reviews as one of the Best Children’s Books of 2010 in THREE categories – Best Graphic Novels, Best Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Best Fiction with a Female. To see other books in the same caliber, visit the Kirkus website: http://www.kirkusreviews.com/best-of/2010/children-and-teens/ Barry Deutsch studied under Will Eisner when he attended Oberlin College, School of Visual Arts in New York City. To read more about Will Eisner visit: http://www.willeisner.com/ Previous to the Graphic Novel, Barry Deutsch published Hereville as a webcomic in 2008. Click here to read the webcomic: http://www.hereville.com/webcomic/ Barry Deutsch draws all of his comics using a Cintiq, which is like a digital drawing pad. To learn more about this method of drawing visit: http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/ Hereville incorporates a TON of cultural traditions and language from Orthodox Jews. To learn more about this way of life, visit the Rabbinical Council of America: http://www.rabbis.org/ Barry Deutsch also does Political Cartoons that appear in Dollars and Sense Magazine. To see a complete archive of his cartoons, visit his website: http://www.amptoons.com/ Want to learn how to draw comics? Let Barry Deutsch help you with his Guide to Making Comics: http://www.amptoons.com/howto/how_to.html Can’t get enough of Barry Deutsch? Read his blog! http://www.amptoons.com/blog/
D e u t s c h , B . ( 2 0 1 0) . H er ev i l l e : h o w m i r k a g o t h e r s w or d . N e w York , NY: H a r r y N. Abrams
Ghost World
Author/Artist
“Ghost World” primarily revolves around the friendship between Enid and Rebecca (Becky). Both girls recently graduated from high school and are spending their summer whiling away the time. They watch television, hangout at the
local greasy spoon, mock people, involve themselves in the lives of others (generally pathetic, middle-aged men), and try to contend with problems of the past as they embark on the unknown of post-adolescence.
Daniel Clowes lives with his wife and son in Oakland, California. He was born on April 4, 1961. After growing up in Chicago, Illinois, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, to study Fine Arts at Pratt University. Clowes graduated in 1984 - at the age of 23. Now an acclaimed author and artist, Clowes has won a variety of Harvey, Eisner, and Ignatz Comic Awards. Clowes was also nominated (with Terry Zwigoff) for the “Best Screenplay” Academy Award. He is known for authoring “odes to contemporary loneliness and disaffection,” “vindicat[ing] our unlovely thoughts” as proof that we’re paying attention and actually care (Weldon). His style is sometimes considered “tight, meticulous,” but he has a broad range of ability, which he displays in his various works (Weldon).
Kate Ackerman Art Spiegleman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale is truly a remarkable book. In his writing of a biographical memoir of the Holocaust, Spiegelman captures the fear and hope of the Jewish people with his brilliant illustrations and minimal dialogue. Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale, chronicles the journey of Spiegelman’s parents through Nazi Poland. Beginning with their courting, the story quickly becomes more serious as the Germans begin to increase their presence. As the Nazis closed in, the Spiegelmans were moved around to smaller and smaller places. Each new location was worse than the one before, and each time they had fewer freedoms. The families tried to stay together, but often found it very hard to do so. They made the tough decision to leave Richieu with an aunt, believing that this was the better choice. Unfortunately, they later found out that they had not made it out. The Spiegelmans visited several internment camps, including Auschwitz, Dachau and Ravensbruck. When they were able to get away they were hiding in pits and cellars, surrounded by rats and filth. It was very hard to know who to trust, as everyone was really out for themselves. Several times, Vladek and Anja were promised help and then robbed by fellow Jews. As the story of Vladek and Anja is being told, the book is interlaced with scenes of the modern-day Vladek, where Art Spiegelman is visiting his father regularly to hear his stories from the Holocaust. The reader can see the effects of the Holocaust on Vladek; he has been left a very stingy and cynical man. His second wife, Mala, was also a Holocaust survivor. The scenes of Spiegelman, Vladek and Mala provide a small amount of comic relief in the otherwise grim story. I loved Maus! I had heard of it previously and was anxious for an excuse to read it when we first received the assignment. At first glance, I thought the artwork was kind of amateurish. I knew about the animal representations, but thought that they would be more artfully done. Once I started reading, however, they were very appropriate to the story. I had a bit of a tough time understanding some of the dialogue, because the characters were speaking with accents and the text was spelled phonetically. It did not take very long to get used to, however. I definitely preferred the scenes from Vladek’s narrative because they were more interesting and I foung myself annoyed every time the story jumped back to the present day Vladek and Artie. They were constantly squabbling and Vladek was always complaining. I started to find these parts more endearing when I learned more about what Vladek had been through and felt more sympathy for him. I think a big strength of Maus is that it is very easy to read. It is obvious where the eye of the reader is supposed to travel, and it is not difficult to follow the story line. The images, as well, make for an easy read. Having the different characters represented by animals makes it easy to tell who is who. Even within one group, Spiegelman effectively gave characters different features or props to indicate who they were. A weakness of the book, as I stated earlier, was that it definitely required some prior knowledge of the Holocaust. The characters used a lot of terms that would need to be looked up by an uninformed reader, such as names of different internments, and made mention of things without elaborating on them. I would definitely recommend Maus to someone who is interested in reading a story with historical significance. It effectively synthesized the story of the Holocaust with the consequences it had on the survivors. It also left me thinking just as critically about the historical magnitude of the Holocaust as the reading of Anne Frank’s Diary. Had I been asked previously, I would not think a “comic book” would have this ability. "Art Spiegelman" (http). Witness & Legacy -contemporary Art about the Holocaust:. http://sunsite.utk.edu/witness/artists/spiegelman/. Allen, Sara (1997). "MAUS: A Narrative History of Family and Tragedy" (http). http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/218/projects/allen/maussea1.htm. "Maus" (http). National Museum of American Jewish History. 1996. http://www.nmajh.org/exhibitions/maus/maus2.html. Robert S. Leventhal. (1995) Art Spiegelman’s MAUS: Working-Through the Trauma of the Holocaust. Wikipedia articles: “MAUS,” and “Art Spiegelman”
Stitches By, David Small Children’s Books Written and Illustrated: Eulalie and the Hopping Head, Imogene’s Antlers, Paper John, Illustrated: When Dinosaurs Came With Everything, Ruby Mae Has Something to Say, Gulliver’s Travels
Editorial Artist Publications: The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Esquire, and Playboy Awards for Stitches: Best Comics of 2009 Meta-List, Critics’ Picks: Best Books of 2009California Literary Review, New York Art- 2009’s Best Comics and Graphic Art, 2009 National Book Award Finalist
Oriana
Ghost World By: Daniel Clowes
Summary: One of the best-selling and critically-acclaimed graphic novels of all-time telling the story of two supremely ironic, above-it-all teenagers facing the thrilling uncertainty of life after high school. As they attempt to carry their life-long friendship into a new era, the careful dynamics of their inseparable bond are jolted, and what seemed like a future of endless possibilities looks more like an encroaching reality of strip malls, low-paying service jobs and fading memories. (Amazon.com) Author Bio: Eightball is a mixture of short humorous comics in which Ghost World 1st appeared Age Range: Young adults who would be mature enough to understand the content and the references to popular culture. But I wouldn’t recommend it to younger people because I don’t think they’re mature enough to handle the content. I also wouldn’t recommend it to older adults. Because of the graphic scenes I would feel weird recommending it. Also I don’t think older adults would appreciate or understand the popular culture references. My Personal Reaction: I liked the graphics because they were drawn with great detail I liked how it made references to popular culture because I understood what they were talking about and it made the storyline relevant to me A strength is Clowes’s knowledge and references to popular culture A weakness for me is there are a lot of minor characters throughout the novel and I didn’t get to know any of them in depth.
Qi Yang
Graphic Novel One-Pager
The “hard facts” Back Hole is a twelve-issue comic book limited series written and illustrated by Charles Burns. It was published as between 1995 and 2005. The first four issues were released by Kitchen Sink Press; after Kitchen Sink went out of business, Frantagraphics republished the first four issues and the remaining eight. A compiled hardcover volume was released by Pantheon Books in 2005 and the paperback volume was released in 2008. This black and white imaginative epic has 368 pages in its paperback volume. The setting of this story is suburban Seattle, the mid-1970s. From the beginning we can see that there is a strange plague descended upon the area’s teenagers, transmitted by sexual contact. The symptoms of this disease vary from the hideously grotesque to subtle and there is no cure for this disease. About the author Charles Burns was born on September 27, 1955 and grew up in Seattle in the 1970s. He is an American cartoonist, illustrator and film director renowned for his meticulous, high-contrast and creepy artwork and stories. His earliest works include illustrations for the Sub Pop fanzine, and Another Room Magazine of Oakland, CA, but he came to prominence when his comics were published for the first time in early issues of RAW. In 1982, Burns did a die-cut cover for RAW #4. Raw Books also published two books of Burns as 'RAW One-Shot': Big Baby and Hard-Boiled Defective Stories. Most of Burns' short stories, published in various supports over the decades, were later collected in the three volumes of the "Charles Burns' Library" (hardcovers from Fantagraphics Books): El Borbah (1999), Big Baby (2000), and Skin Deep (2001). From 1993 to 2004, he serialized the 12 chapters of his Harvey Award-winning graphic novel Black Hole. In October 2005, he released a slightly remastered collection of Black Hole (hardcover from Pantheon Books). In 2007 Burns contributed material for the French made animated horror anthology Peur(s) Du Noir. In October 2010, Burns will release the first part of a new series, X'ed Out. Burns' high-profile illustrations include work for the Iggy Pop album Brick by Brick. His art was also licensed by The Coca-Cola Company to illustrate product and advertising material for their failed OK Soda product. More recently, he has worked on advertising campaigns for Altoids and portrait illustrations for The Believer. In the early 1990s, his Dogboy stories were adapted by MTV as a liveaction serial for Liquid Television. In 1991, choreographer Mark Morris commissioned him to create illustrations that were then used as a basis for his version of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, calling it The Hard Nut. Burns's style was a source of inspiration for Martin Ander's artwork for Fever Ray, Karin Dreijer Andersson's solo project.(Information from Wikipedia) Sonny
Charles Burns
Charles Burns moved to Italy in the mid-’80s with his wife. The Italian comics scene influenced him, joining the “Valvoline” group of artists founded by Lorenzo
Mattotti, and began publishing his work there. Upon his return to the U.S. in 1986, he experimented with a weekly strip (“Big Baby,” 1989-1991), collaborated with Gary Panter on Pixie Meat and worked on stories for various horror anthologies. Charles Burns’ works include: The “El Borbah” stories which were published as Thrilling Defective Stories by Pantheon in 1988. The “Big Baby” strip material was published as Blood Club, a full-color comic, by Kitchen Sink in 1991 and a graphic novel from Penguin called Skin Deep in 1992. Fantagraphics subsequently collected all this material in three hardcover books: El Borbah, Big Baby and Skin Deep. Black Hole, by Charles Burns is an all black and white graphic novel. Fantagraphics Books, Seattle, WA, originally published Black Hole as twelve separate comic books from 1995-2004. Pantheon Books, New York, NY, published the Black Hole, a compilation of Burns’ twelve comic books, in 2005. Charles Burns Collected Works Big Baby. Seattle: Fantagraphics, 1999. Black Hole. New York: Pantheon, 2005. El Borbah. Seattle: Fantagraphics, 1999. Close Your Eyes. Marseille: Le Dernier Cri, 2001. Skin Deep. Seattle: Fantagraphics, 2001.
Graphic Novel Analysis Tameah Chandler 12/7/2010 A Contract with God written and illustrated by Will Eisner is a
graphic novel that explores the lives of tenants living in a brownstone within the backdrop of 1930’s New York. This black and white novel told in 186 pages was the launching point to Will Eisner’s new style of comic writings. In 1978, the first year of publish, this book made history when it discussed real world issues and didn’t just focus on the fantasy aspects like most comic strips. It also broke away from the magazines and newspapers and became its own uniquely created genre of writing and expression. The sequential art form or graphic novels challenged many by discussing taboo themes and issues that had not been truly explored using this platform. This classic novel was published in 1978 and republished in 2006 by W. W. Norton and Company for whole new generation of comic lovers and audiences. Mr. Eisner provides lengthy background information and a great history of the people to the reader. This preface explains the stories are mix of fact and fiction, much content from Mr. Eisner’s life experiences. He doesn’t disclose which stories and information are fact but anyone who reads about Will Eisner is likely to see the connections. Book Title: the American Born Chinese · Author: Gene Luen Yang · Publishing company: Square Fish
#1 Three stories, three characters and one signal idea connect towards to one ending. Jin Wang starts his new school, where most students are white and he is the only one Chinese American student. Until a boy, Wei-Chen who is from Taiwan joins into his class, he starts their friendship. Before their friendship, Jin does not want to be a FOB like Wei-Chen, and he just wants to be an all American boy. Danny is an American boy and excellent students. His cousin visits him once year. Because Danny is very popular with girls and also good at basketball, his cousin’s visitation is a disaster for him. Without any reason, Danny has to transfer to a new school so that he can start over again. The Monkey King lives for almost five thousand years and masters five arts of Chinese Kung Fu. When he is ready to join the rank of the gods in heaven, there is no place for a monkey. #2 Basically, I will recommend it to those educators who have ELLs in their classroom or young adults who have peers are Chinese immigrants. This graphic novel definitely can help them to understand more about Chinese immigrants or Chinese English learners. #3 As an educator, the classroom is becoming more diverse and many different racial students are placed into the mainstream classroom. However, they might have a cultural issue in the classroom. For example, Asian students are not used to speak up in class and respect teachers in the classroom. For me, I think this book is truly addressing the studied lives of Asian students in the United States. Thus, I personally, have a certain impact from this book and am also glad that Yang brought up the issue in this book so that many people, like young adults, are able to read and get more understanding about the Asian American students.