Comments on: The troops live under the canon’s thunder

by: Chris Midweeker

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:05:46 +0000

I can only hope the 500 Graphic Novels book is going to prove as invaluable a reference as Paul’s book, lovely to have it mentioned in the same breath, so thanks Heidi!
I’ve written a good chunk of it, and I think the sheer range of books reviewed should hopefully make it an entertaining read. I absolutely guarantee that all but the most well-read GN reader will find something new in there.

by: gene phillips

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:53:31 +0000

Katherine F.,
In the spirit of discussing such matters in more expansive fashion, I wrote my own response, here:

http://arche-arc.blogspot.com/2008/03/readin-and-writin-and-rest.html

by: Jonathan

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:51:18 +0000

With nowhere better to post this comment, I like when The Beat shows up in other blogs….

http://www.boneville.com/wp-content/uploads/RbMarder.jpg

http://www.boneville.com/wp-content/uploads/RbHeidi.jpg

by: Katherine F.

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:23:48 +0000

Gene: Thanks! That entry’s set for no comments because… I’m sure I had a good reason but I’m not sure what it was. Maybe just that I thought I’d get a bunch of boneheads missing the point in an obnoxious way in the comments field and I couldn’t be doing with it. (This has happened before and at times it’s put me off the whole idea. I’m not convinced that blog comments fields are the right place to be having this kind of conversation. The format is awkward and unintuitive and doesn’t encourage one to delve deep. Livejournal threads are much easier to follow and to read; message boards give more space for replies; email has the advantage of not being public… Yet here I am, replying to a blog comment. Well, I never claimed to be consistent.)

The Paul Gravett book is one of the best books about comics that I’ve found — it works as an introductory guide but it’s also good for long-term readers because it draws connections between works that aren’t always obvious.

by: Ali Kokmen

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:20:18 +0000

As a digressive anecdote, I just want to say that the cover shown above, with the subtitle “Stories to Change Your Life” is from the UK edition of the book. The US publisher used the subtitle “Everything You Need to Know,” thinking the UK original sounded a bit self-help-y. Which new subtitle I did not quite realize the author more or less hated until he began a MoCCA talk about graphic novels by telling about the subtitle change.

And, of course, in full disclosure, I worked for that US publisher when they published that book. While I won’t say that I was responsible for changing the subtitle, I’m sure I didn’t object strenuously or champion the original. Paul Gravett has forgiven me (I think! I hope!) but take this as another act of contrition…

by: Douglas Wolk

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:08:55 +0000

Nice Brecht/Blitzstein joke, Heidi!

by: Torsten Adair

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:41:55 +0000

Here is an alternative to the Genre Wars… Libraries. They select books using three general criteria: patron requests and demand (professors and students, or general public), quality (reviews, scholarship, reputation), and special collections (local interest, specific audience, archives).
Librarians catalog each book, adding subject headings, added entries, and notes. They do note the genre on occasion, but usually it is as a cross reference, such as “American history–comic books, strips, etc.”
Public libraries counter canon by offering what readers need. This is why one finds Spanish and Chinese comics in the New York Public Library.
Myself, I enjoy good comics, comics which teach, and books about comics. Tell me the color code, so I can wear the proper bandana at Comiccon.

by: gene phillips

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:00:22 +0000

Good comments from Purity Brown, which I’d say on her blog if she’d enabled the “Comment” function. At least *I’m* not seeing it.