When Novels Get Graphic: The Alcoholic

Wandering around Borders Sunday night, I had a 40% of coupon burning a hole in my pocket, this little graphic novel caught me eye on the shelf. Picking it up for a close look and flipping through it pretty much decided my purchase right then and seeing it was written by Jonathan Ames cemented the sale. While I've never gotten around to reading any of his books, I hear good things though, I loved the few episodes of Bored to Death I have seen (a series he created for HBO) so I thought I would give his graphic novel a chance and man am I glad I did.

The Alcoholic tells the story of Jonathan A., our "fictional" protagonist and title character. A writer who has had quite a few experiences in his life, not unlike the writer of this work from what I've read, and regales us with the exploits, emotions, and experiments that have led him to where he is today. Sharing every dirty joke and heart-breaking moment, "Jonathan A." puts it all out on the table for the reader to see and relate to.

I, like most readers I'm sure, saw a lot of my own life in Jonathan's. The scripted phone calls of youth with a best friend, never knowing the right thing to say over the phone to the girl in the white dress, and the fear/dreams of what I would be like as a teacher are just a few of the examples I am willing to admit to knowing a little something about but it certainly doesn't end there. Most "somewhat autobiographical" comics speak of the qualities we want to see in ourselves through others, while this one makes you see those in addition to throwing in those ones you would like to deny.

Johnathan Ames and Dean Haspiel (the artist) really knocked it out of the park with this one. Bleeding heart and humor from every page, this dynamic duo provides us with a graphic novel that shies away from nothing and experiences everything. Whether its the awkward sexual experiences of puberty, the crazy drug trips of college and beyond, the heartbreak of relationships ending, or the cruel timing life has sometimes; the words and panels bring us into a world bearing a striking resemblance to own, although this one is a lot more honest about what its like. So if your like myself and love a good tale about about a drunken writer, do yourself a favor and check this one out. A solid 4 out of 5 in my book, well really blog but you get the idea.

When Novels Get Graphic: 45

(This is going to be my first graphic novel/trade paper back review for the blog, hopefully of many. The title links to the amazon listing of the book so you know exactly what I am talking about but I really recommend checking your local shop first if you intend to purchase it.)


The meat and potatoes of the comic book world is super heroes stories and while I certainly love that genre, more so than I should sometimes, it just isn't for everyone. Some people will scoff the idea of taking any story involving super heroes seriously. My recommendation: take those people (and yourself if you haven't already) and make them read 45, a graphic novel that captures the human side of super heroes better than almost anything out there.

45 tells the tale of journalist James Stanley dealing with the idea of becoming a father, and possibly becoming the father of a Super-S (those with super powers.) To explore the world of Super-S's that he might soon be forced into, James goes on a global journey to interview with forty-five Super-S or Super-S related people. The interviews he conducts are then what we, as the reader, read in the book matched up with an illustration of the interviewee. Through his voyage we meet some of his world's greatest heroes, Super-S children with great futures ahead, those that have hung up the tights, and even a villain or two. More importantly, however, we meet forty-five people whose life we experience in the length of two pages (the illustration and the interview.)

Addiction, sexuality, strained family relationships, commercialism, obsessions, egos, mortality, government control, and war torn countries are just a sampling of the issues these people are facing and where the reader can find a bit of themselves. Better still, all of this is prominent with out being just dramatic but featuring action (Super-S's do like to duke it out), humor (a 18 year old Super-S who faces the tremendous problem of picking his Alter ego name), and thrills (two child births.) While the stories told are awesome, I was almost more excited about the slick style of the book when I first heard about it and it did not disappoint.

Written and created by Andi Ewington, the entire graphic novel is written as one-page interviews coupled up with an illustration by some of the comic industries' greatest talent. The art on these one page illustrations is amazing, perfectly matching their stories and sometimes being a story unto themselves. All of this while still slipping in the overall narrative of James Stanley dealing with the idea of being the father of a Super-S is pretty amazing. Ewington has created a world that I hope is returned to in one way or another, possibly more interviews or maybe even a mini-series or two.

Totting a $17.99 the book is an amazing deal clocking in at around 130 pages with tons of sketch art, bonus interviews, and even a glossary of terms from the 45 world (my favorite is a Vader which is a superhero turned villain.) If you get the chance, I highly recommend picking it up and easily give it a 5 out of 5.