Archives de catégorie : Comics & Graphic Novels

LUMINOUS BEINGS de David Arnold et Jose Pimienta

The first graphic novel from New York Times bestselling author David Arnold, illustrated by Jose Pimienta!

LUMINOUS BEINGS
by David Arnold & Jose Pimienta
Viking, Fall 2024
(via Writers House)

When a group of teens decides to make a documentary about humanity’s recent brush with extinction (via undead squirrels), their quest for top-notch gear leads them on a 24-hour wild goose-chase through rowdy nightclubs and once-familiar neighborhoods, perilous castles and off-grid RVs, and at every turn—people. Some more eccentric than others, all leading quiet lives of love and loss in a strange new world. With nothing but their phones, the Squad documents these conversations, along with a slew of hijinks and misadventures throughout the night. The resulting footage becomes (and is indeed filled with) LUMINOUS BEINGS, an accidental documentary, not about the past, or how shit hit the fan, but how people came together to answer the ultimate question: where do we go from here?

David Arnold is the New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland, I Loved You in Another Life, The Electric Kingdom, Kids of Appetite, and The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik. He has won the Southern Book Prize and the Great Lakes Book Award, and was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start for his debut. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages.

Jose Pimienta was raised in Mexicali, Baja California and now resides in Los Angeles, CA where they work on comics and storyboards for animation and film. Suncatcher was their debut author/illustrator graphic novel. Twin Cities is their first middle-grade graphic novel. In their stories, they focus on the importance of Latinx culture and the experience of growing up on the border.

 

STRANGE PLANET de Nathan Pyle sur Apple TV+

Le 9 août, la plateforme Apple TV+ a diffusé les trois premiers épisodes de la série animée STRANGE PLANET de Nathan Pyle adaptée de la BD du même nom.

La série télévisée est cocréée par le producteur Dan Harmon, connu pour son travail sur Community et Rick and Morty, et l’auteur Nathan Pyle. De nouveaux épisodes seront diffusés chaque mercredi jusqu’à la fin de la saison, le 27 septembre 2023.

Dans la BD, best-seller numéro 1 de The New York Times et phénomène international sur les réseaux sociaux, nous partons à la découverte de Strange Planet, une planète lointaine aux couleurs bleues, roses et violettes, où des êtres bleus attachants explorent l’absurdité des habitudes humaines. Cette BD pose « un regard doux et hilarant » sur un monde qui ressemble étrangement au nôtre.

STRANGE PLANET est disponible chez Kero et les droits de l’album pour enfants sont toujours disponibles.

ZODIAC: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR de Ai Weiwei, illustré par Gianluca Costantini

In this beautifully illustrated and deeply philosophical graphic memoir, legendary artist Ai Weiwei explores the connection between artistic expression and intellectual freedom through the lens of the Chinese zodiac..

ZODIAC: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR
by Ai Weiwei
illustrated by Gianluca Costantini
Ten Speed Graphic, January 2024

As a child living in exile during the Cultural Revolution, Ai Weiwei often found himself with nothing to read but government-approved comic books. Although they were restricted by the confines of political propaganda, Ai Weiwei was struck by the artists’ ability to express their thoughts on art and humanity through graphic storytelling. Now, decades later, Ai Weiwei and Italian comic artist Gianluca Costantini present ZODIAC, Ai Weiwei’s first graphic memoir.
Inspired by the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac and their associated human characteristics, Ai Weiwei masterfully interweaves ancient Chinese folklore with stories of his life, family, and career. The narrative shifts back and forth through the years—at once in the past, present, and future—mirroring memory and our relationship to time. As readers delve deeper into the beautifully illustrated pages of ZODIAC, they will find not only a personal history of Ai Weiwei and an examination of the sociopolitical climate in which he makes his art, but a philosophical exploration of what it means to find oneself through art and freedom of expression.
Contemplative and political, ZODIAC will inspire readers to return again and again to Ai Weiwei’s musings on the relationship between art, time, and our shared humanity.

Ai Weiwei leads a diverse and prolific practice that encompasses sculptural installation, filmmaking, photography, ceramics, painting, writing, and social media. Born in Beijing, China, in 1957, he is a conceptual artist who fuses traditional craftsmanship and his Chinese heritage, moving freely between a variety of formal languages to reflect on contemporary geopolitical and sociopolitical conditions. Ai Weiwei’s work and life regularly interact and inform one another, often extending to his activism and advocacy for international human rights.
Gianluca Costantini is an Italian cartoonist, comic journalist, and activist. He has contributed to numerous publications and is the author of several graphic novels. He is well know for his drawing related to human rights campaigns all over the world. He collaborates with organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, ActionAid, and SOS Méditerranée. In 2019, he received the Art and Human Rights Award from Amnesty International.

HARD BODY de Robert James Russell

A graphic narrative of body dysmorphia; a memoir of obsession, shame, and what it means to face the physical space you take up in the world.

HARD BODY:
A Personal History of the Self on Display
by Robert James Russell
Simon & Schuster, 2024
(via The Lark Group)

In the vein of graphic memoirs from Meichi Ng, Alison Bechdel, and Adrian Tomine, HARD BODY by Robert James Russell is a graphic narrative – a blend of comics, memoir, and history – about the author’s experience of male body dysmorphia. From personal stories about how the author’s body has been a commodity for others – while modeling or working at the cult-like Abercrombie & Fitch or teaching – to examining the history and current climate of “get fit” culture, the rise of personal fitness in the early 20th Century (Muscular Christianity, anyone?), and our collective obsession with our appearance throughout history, HARD BODY is a memoir of obsession, shame, and what it means to face the physical space you take up in the world.

Robert James Russell is a wellpublished, former creative writing professor who has taught national workshops for fiction, nonfiction, and graphic narratives across the country. He is the founder of two national literary brands (Midwestern Gothic and CHEAP POP).

OFFICE GODS de Catharina Octorina

Gods, demigods, and true romance? OFFICE GODS, based on the hit webcomic, is an addictive rom-com set in the corporate HQ of the Olympians themselves!

OFFICE GODS
by Catharina Octorina
Andrews McMeel, November 2023

Iris, a young human woman, is swept into the world of divine bureaucracy when she’s recruited to work in the office of the gods, in the department of Hermes. The gods and goddesses may be beautiful beyond human comprehension, but she quickly learns that they’re every bit as petty and quarrelsome as they were thousands of years ago. Can she survive Eros’ antics, Aphrodite’s temper, and getting caught between a love triangle with the demigod sons of Athena and Hades?

Cathy Octorina (@DemonicBlackCat) is a former advertising professional turned author. She has written webcomics such as The God of Pain’s Groom and Maid for Hire. She lives in Indonesia.