A selection of December graphic novels

Naked City by Eric Drooker (2024) 336 pages

With New York City as the location I'm reminded of Will Eisner's work. The two-page spreads of city blocks are gorgeous. It is about the struggle of artists to survive in the 21st century. I like the style of the artist's paintings and how the conversation continues through those pages. The singer and painter are given more backstory than the dancer, but all of their hopes, dreams, and struggles are well woven into the whole. In word and image it is poetic at times. Sad at times. It is intended to be a comedy. It makes you feel the coldness of winter at the beginning and end, but also warms your heart.

Breadcrumbs: Coming of Age in Post-Soviet Poland by Kasia Babis (2025) 256 pages

Black and white art with shades of grey and pops of red to represent passion, fear, or conflict are perfectly expressive. Loved the coming of age story. Discussing Catholicism, Authoritarianism, Politics, and Abortions are all captivating. Life moves Kasia politically left, dating is difficult, being an activist comes with attacks,  but she presents her self effectively in this graphic memoir.

The Asiri: Vol. 1 by Roye Okupe with art by Samuel Iwunze (2024) 144 pages

Comparisons will obviously be made to Wakanda, but this is its own new creation. Nigerian writers and artists are putting out a whole slate of new superhero sci-fi/fantasy. This is an Afrofuturist tale about a spacefaring West African civilization ruled by humans who transform into super beings. I am very curious to find out what happens next in volume 2, and the other titles promoted at the end of this book sound interesting as well. The art is equal to the standard of DC and Marvel. The world, ruling council disagreements, and action are all exciting. There are three minor typos in the ebook I caught, but that didn't stop my enjoyment.

The Girl Who Danced with Death by Sylvain Runberg with art by Belen Ortega (2019) 176 pages

I saw the Swedish trilogy of films, then read the Millennium books. It is nice to revisit these characters. The alpha male group of villains inspired by Sparta make sense in the current rise of fascism around the world. It is a bit silly that they actually wear Spartan helmets. Still I liked this sequel. It includes all the excitement of the original thrillers.

Under the Banner of King Death: Pirates of the Atlantic by David Lester (2023) 136 pages

I appreciated Marcus Rediker's Foreword. His nonfiction books about pirates are the inspiration for this graphic novel (specifically Villains of All Nations). I liked the history and themes of freedom and democracy in this graphic novel. TV shows Black Sails and Our Flag Means Death are good fun and are better at conveying this message. I did not like the art style here. Some images are overlapped and smudged. Fight scenes try to suggest motion, but are quite messy.

Heretic by Robbie Morrison with art by Charlie Adlard (2024) 128 pages

I enjoyed the The Name of the Rose style mystery. I enjoyed the realistic Gothic black and white art. Religious hypocrisy and witch hunts make for a dark and gory tale. Solid, but it did not wow me. 

Biography of X

 Biography of X by Catherine Lacey, 416 pages.

X was a polarizing artist in varied mediums, a divisive critic and, above all else, a mystery. After she drops dead in her office, her widow CM throws herself wholly into writing her biography, despite her late wife's wishes. She is driven not only by the need to disprove an unauthorized biography that misunderstood her late wife, but by the need to finally understand the woman she deified after she was gone. Her research takes her through an alternate America that is recently reunified following the reabsorption of the Southern Territory, a fascist theocracy whose history CM finds herself deeply immersed in. Soon she finds, buried deep in a web of betrayals and lies, that her wife was both more and less than she ever could have believed.

I was totally engaged in this book the whole time I was reading it. It is an interesting case where many of the facts of the novel feel implausible, but also where it feels like that fact has absolutely no bearing on how well the novel accomplished what it was trying to do. I found this novel to be profound, with just enough plot outside of the prose and meditations to keep things a little exciting. I am also always a fan of a fictional novel that is committed to presenting itself as an in-universe piece of nonfiction, which I think this book pulls of quite well. I found this book in an Atlantic article of contenders for the title of the great American novel, and I would say this book deserves it's place on that list. 

The Lost Van Gogh

The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer  339 pp.

This novel starts out great but then slips in to a story of too much with too many characters. A young-ish couple, one a painter, the other an art historian find a nondescript painting in an antique shop. With closer examination they discover that under the painting of a woman, a Van Gogh self portrait is hidden. As they try to prove it is real, it is stolen from them. This leads the couple on an international search with private investigators, art galleries, INTERPOL, and Nazi looted art specialists. The introduction of more and more characters - good guys, bad guys, and ones who switch allegiances - make the story much more complicated and tedious. You really need a scorecard to keep track of who is on which side and who can be trusted. It's a nice premise but overblown. No fault to the audiobook narrator, Edoardo Ballerini who does an excellent job, as usual.

When Harry Met Pablo

 

When Harry Met Pablo: Truman, Picasso, and the Cold War Politics of Modern Art by Matthew Algeo  256 pp.

From the time of the creation of "Modern Art" it has created controversy. Many spoke out against it calling it "garbage, untalented, ugly, subversive, and Communist." There were movements among the art world against it. There were also movements by government officials who came just short of wanting it banned. Harry Truman was admittedly one of those who didn't like it. But at least he agreed artists had the right to create what they pleased. After Truman was no longer in office, Alfred H. Barr, one of the founders of New York's MOMA managed to engineer a meeting between Truman and Picasso that included a photo op. It all took place during a tour of the Mediterranean by Harry & Bess Truman and his former advisor, Sam Rosenman, and his wife Dorothy. The President who was responsible for the use of the atomic bomb and the Communist artist who created the anti-war masterpiece Guernica had a amicable  meeting. Picasso showed the Trumans his studio and the pottery where he also created art. While there is no recordings of their conversations, it was a civil meeting. However, it didn't change Truman's opinion of Picasso's art. I listened to the audiobook which drove me slightly crazy because of mispronunciations of artist's names, locations, and other words that should have been corrected in editing. 

Foursome

Foursome: Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Strand, Rebecca Salsbury by Carolyn Burke  419 pp.

This historical account of four artists at the forefront of art in the early 20th century focuses in large part on photographer Alfred Stieglitz and the influence he had on getting photography recognized as an art form. Stieglitz's various art galleries featured all types of art including that of Georgia O'Keeffe, his sometime model, painter, and later wife. Photographer Paul Strand was a protégé of Stieglitz who later transitioned to motion pictures. Rebecca "Beck" Salsbury, who married Strand, was a painter of mediocre success which improved after switching to reverse painting on glass. The Stieglitz-O'Keeffe marriage was unusual in that they generally spent many months apart while working on their respective arts. The large difference in their ages and Stieglitz's philandering also affected the marriage. Strand and Salsbury later divorced but remained friends. These four personalities merged and clashed throughout the  decades between the 1910s and Stieglitz death in 1946. Strand, O'Keeffe, and Salsbury remained friends and shared gallery shows until her death in 1968. Strand died in 1976 and O'Keeffe outlived them all until 1986 in spite of multiple health problems. This book was informative but rather dry.

Endpapers

Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly (2023) 336 pages

I loved this novel by a trans author with a nonbinary protagonist. The synopsis on the book jacket inside the front cover sums it up perfectly. "A queer book conservator finds a mysterious old love letter, setting off a search for the author who wrote it and for a meaningful life beyond the binary in early-2000s New York City." The background setting just shortly after 9/11 works so well. I'm totally into the mystery of the hidden love letter from Gertrude to Marta and the research involved for Dawn to find them. The author explores Dawn's close friendships at home and at work. We follow Dawn's creative process and self doubt as she creates a "Project" for a group exhibition about imagined cities at an emerging art gallery. We learn about the Lavender Scare in NYC targeting queer people, which happened concurrently with the Red Scare. Dawn tentatively looks for inspiration from her Jewish roots at an especially low point, and ultimately finds courage through this and what she learns from Gertrude. Books featuring queer characters that were passed secretly back in the 1950s always ended tragically. Readers from oppressed groups crave stories of hope and joy. This book sees both the hate directed at queer people back in history and in recent years, but ends with feelings of hope that Dawn's life and self expression are supported by those who matter most to them.

 

Portrait of an Unknown Woman

 

Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva  431 pp.

Gabriel Allon has retired from his job as head of the Israeli Secret Service and settled, with his family, in Venice. His wife, Chiara, is running Tiepolo Restoration Company while Gabriel does the art restorations. Soon he is drawn into a deadly investigation of the sale of art forgeries on a grand scale. To catch the forgers and unscrupulous dealers, Allon must become the world's greatest art forger and enter into the dirty side of the multimillion dollar art world. This book has all the action and intrigue of the previous novels without the political angle.

The Art Forger

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro, 360 pages

Three years ago, painter Claire Roth became a pariah in the Boston art scene, thanks to her role in a scandal that called into question exactly who created a buzzy new painting. Since then, she hasn't been able to exhibit or sell her own work, and is instead working for an online company that creates reproductions of famous works for its clients. But while she's doing this, she gets an offer that's as dangerous as it is incredible: can she duplicate a long-lost Degas painting so that one copy can be sold to a foreign collector and the original can be returned to the museum from which it was stolen?

Loosely based on the 1990 real-life theft of 13 paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, this novel gives insight into Gardner and her antics, Degas and his techniques, and the world of contemporary art, both legitimate and forgery. I loved learning about the ways in which forgers make paintings pass authentication tests (though they have certainly changed since this book was published in 2012), as well as the techniques artists use to create different effects. And I especially enjoyed learning about a few real forgers from history, whom I may have to research more (especially the guy who fooled Nazis with his forgeries). There were a few "I don't buy it" moments, but all in all, this was fun.

Cats of the Louvre

Cats of the Louvre by Taiyo Matsumoto, 428 pages.

During the day, when people roam the Louvre, there is only the occaisonal cat. At night, though, the cats who inhabit the secret places in the famed Parisian museum lead an extravagant sort of life. Snowbebe, the cat most often found during the day, is the cat closest to the human employees at the Louvre, but he is also the most at odds with the other cats. Matsumoto does a fantastic job with the art in this engaging graphic novel, bringing to life both the museum and the weird alternate world that the cats inhabit at night.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, 480 pages

In early 1800s France, 23-year-old Adeline LaRue is an old maid by community standards, though she's happy to be unmarried. Unlike her peers, Addie just wants to see the world, not be married off to a man that she's unlikely to love. In fact she's so against the idea of being married that on the eve of her wedding, she runs into the forest and makes a deal that frees her from ever being accountable to anyone...but also curses her to an immortal life in which nobody remembers her once she's out of their sight. She can see the world, but she can't leave her mark on it in any way.

This is a fascinating book about what it means to be free, as well as what it means to love and be loved. I'm a fan of Schwab's previous books about magicians in various parallel worlds, but this is absolutely nothing like those. That said, it's still a wonderful, thoughtful novel, somewhat reminiscent of Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. Well worth reading.

*This book will be published Oct. 6, 2020.

A Trace of Deceit

A Trace of Deceit by Karen Odden, 377 pages

Annabel Rowe has just left her art class and is stopping by to visit her brother Edwin when she discovers two police officers at his apartment. They're there to investigate Edwin's murder, which soon becomes complicated by the fact that Edwin had been in possession of an irreplaceable portrait that has vanished just days before it is set to go up on the auction block. Partnering up with the kind inspector Matthew Hallam, Annabel dives in to discover what happened to both the painting and her brother, hopefully before any harm comes to anyone else.

A plucky, intelligent woman is always a great detective in my book, and Odden certainly provides that here. Annabel's intelligence and her artistic talent are on display throughout the book, which relies on both her abilities and that of Scotland Yard to solve the case. I appreciated the realistic depiction of grief and regret, as well as the kind way that Odden treated Edwin's past. A fantastic novel for fans of Victorian mysteries.

The Clockmaker's Daughter

The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton  485 pp.

Sometimes a good story gets bogged down in too much detail. That is my experience with this novel. The tale encompasses different time periods between the 1860s and present day, jumping back and forth in time with all the action connected in some way to Birchwood Manor and its ghostly resident, Albertine "Birdie" Bell, the clockmaker's daughter of the title. Two world wars, a shooting, a group of artists, a missing diamond, a drowning, a young woman planning her wedding, and a disappearance involve a myriad of characters over 200+ years. Every era visited has a connection to the Manor in some way. In spite of the richly expansive details and interesting plot, I found myself impatient for the book to end, possibly because I figured out part of the mystery of Birdie's death and the missing diamond before it was revealed. I listened to the audiobook version which may be the only reason I finished it instead of setting it aside to leave it neglected.

Vincent's portraits

Vincent's portraits: paintings and drawings by Van Gogh / Ralph Skea, 112 pgs.

Although better known for his landscapes and flowers, Van Gogh considered portraits to be his most important work.  This book gives a nice overview of the development of painting styles and colors by grouping work chronologically.  The work changes depending on Van Gogh's location, his state of mind and the styles that he tries.  One thing that stays the same is his ability to capture the essence of his subject.  He often paints himself but there are many other models that appear and frequently the same people modeled multiple times.  Skea references many sources and provides a nice bibliography for further reading.  Photos never really do justice to paintings but this book is nicely done and if you can't see it in person, a decent way to consider the work.

The Italian teacher

The Italian teacher / Tom Rachman, read by Sam Alexander, 341 pgs.

Charles "Pinch" Bavinsky has always adored his father.  Even after he left Pinch and his mother Natalie and moved on to create another family.  The new family thing is something the great Bear Bavinsky does several times.  But why is the father so honored?  He is one of the great painters of his time.  He has created a legend of himself and his art is compared to Picasso and others.  Bear lives a life as he sees fit.  He does what he wants and cares little about the consequences.  He is a master of PR for himself by becoming the guy everyone wants at a party as well as being a great talent.  But this is Pinch's story.  He is young when his father leaves but devotes much of his life trying to gain his respect...or maybe just his attention.  His mother is Natalie, a ceramics artist who becomes relegated to "muse" and "wife of the great..." and who never finds her own success.  She loves Pinch and still even loves Bear whose personality suffocated her life.  We meet Pinch as a very young boy and follow him through his life.  He has limited success or is that just when compared to his father?  Turns out the mild mannered Pinch is a lot more than meets the eye.  Loved these characters and this story that is perfectly read by Sam Alexander.

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson  599 pp.

Walter Isaacson writes detailed biographies of highly intelligent people. I previously read/listened to his books on Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. While I enjoyed those two, this one on Leonardo is my favorite. What is obvious in the book is that Leonardo's entire life was focused by his curiosity. His works of art were preceded by detailed examinations of anatomy, light and shadow, and perspective. His insatiable curiosity often caused him to leave paintings incomplete or never get them to those who commissioned them because he continued to make changes based on his scientific investigations including his many autopsies of cadavers. While his procrastination frequently caused problems with the patrons who supported him, his talent and reputation meant he was never without a rich and powerful patron for long. Included with the audiobook is a .pdf of the illustrations in the book which are referred to by number in the text including paintings, sketches, and schematics made by Leonardo and others. There is so much information in this book but it is very accessible to readers without knowledge of art and engineering. This one is well worth the time to read and/or listen to it.

Stolen Beauty

Stolen Beauty by Laurie Lico Albanese, 302 pages.

The parallel stories in this novel follow Adele Bloch-Bauer and Maria Altmann, two actual Austrian women, aunt and niece, through their lives, especially exploring their strength as women, and how their lives were intertwined with the paintings of Gustav Klimt. Adele, who lived in Vienna from 1862-1925, sat for two portraits by Klimt, and was the model for his portrait of the Biblical heroine Judith. Lico Albanese portrays Bloch-Bauer as an exceedingly gifted woman who struggles to maintain her ideals, identity, and passion during a time when all three of these could be taken from a woman. Her niece, Altmann, as a Jew in post-Anschuluss Vienna struggles with a much more concrete set of threats. She must keep her wits about her as she attempts to win her husband's release from Dachau and find a way for them both to get out of Austria.

Guardians of the Louvre

Guardians of the Louvre by Jiro Taniguchi  136 pp.

This was reviewed by Patrick a few months ago and pretty much says it all. A young Japanese artist tours the Louvre and learns of the "Guardians" of the museum. The Winged Victory of Samothrace (with a head) teaches him about the art, artists, and history of the famous museum. He has face to face encounters with famous artists. What is left unsaid is whether the supernatural encounters are real or the result of the fever he suffered. The artwork is beautiful and the story intriguing.

Guardians of the Louvre

Guardians of the Louvre by Jiro Taniguchi, 136 pages.
The protaganist, a Japanese artist who is visiting Paris after attending a Comic convention in Barcelona, falls ill. His fever dreams may be carrying over into his visit to the Louvre several days later, or he could be meeting the secretive guardians, and meeting long-dead artists. It's hard for him to be sure. The art is beautiful and the story is interesting.

The Sculptor

The Sculptor by Scott McCloud   488 pp.

This is by far the best graphic novel I have read. It's a Faustian story of a young sculptor whose promising career stalls and in a drunken depression sells his soul to the devil in the guise of his Great Uncle. The sculptor is given 200 days left to live in exchange for being able to sculpt anything. In the process he meets an aspiring actress who is soon his love interest. It's hard to summarize this story without giving it all away so I'll just say you should give this a try even if you don't read graphic novels.

The Flame Throwers

The Flame Throwers by Rachel Kushner, 383 pages.
This book was shortlisted for the National Book Award, as was the author's previous book, Telex from Cuba. Set in primarily in 1970's Italy, NYC, and briefly, the Bonneville Salt Flats, the novel follows a woman nicknamed Reno through the New York City art scene, to Bonneville as she sets a short-lived land speed record as part of her photography / art installation, and then to Italy first to meet her boyfriend's family, and then to interact with the Red Brigades.
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