Dick Tracy by Segura, Moreci, Borges, Osman, Englert, Campbell

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

I grew up reading the comic strips in the local paper.  I read them all, from Peanuts to Far Side to Little Orphan Annie, so of course I also read Dick Tracy.  Tracy was created by Chester Gould and made its first appearance in the papers in 1931.  By the time I came along, Tracy had his iconic two-way wrist radio (which appeared in 1946, so talk about being ahead of its time!), a wife named Tess, and a son called Junior who met and married a girl from the moon.  She was named Moon Maid and their daughter was Honey Moon.

I am not making this up.

Dick Tracy was one of those strips that was both serious and over the top at the same time.  Tracy was a strong-jawed, rather grim figure who was out to deliver justice.  His adversaries were often mob figures with names like Pruneface and Flattop.  Characters often met violent ends, and there was corruption in high places, both government and corporate.

When I saw the Dick Tracy graphic novel come in, I was immediately intrigued. It was both immediately recognizable and noticeably different:  Tracy wore his trademark yellow fedora and coat and was appropriately square-jawed, but in a more realistic style.  I found the graphic novel did reflect the tone of the original in a lot of ways, but it was also set firmly in the late 1940s. The opening scenes have a reporter meeting with a nervous councilman who wants to unburden himself, but the two are rapidly murdered along with everyone else who had the misfortune to be at a local café.  The councilman’s daughter, one Tess Trueheart, joins forces with Tracy to find out who was behind the hit.  An old war buddy of Tracy’s also shows up, trying to figure out what happened to his brother, a WW II veteran who had been struggling with civilian life before his disappearance. And he’s not the only vet to go missing:  there’s something very wrong going on in the city.

Being used to the flatter newspaper style, it did take a few pages to get used to the artwork in this graphic novel.  It’s dynamic and more realistic, not to mention more colorful. The old daily strips were black and white, with the only color being on Sunday.  The graphic novel uses the expanded color palette to good advantage, giving a moody, noir feel to some scenes. The plot is well supported by the strong tension that runs through the art and dialog; there’s a lot of action to keep a reader turning pages. It seemed a bit more violent than the strip, but on reflection it’s probably just the color and larger page size.

In short, I was impressed with this effort which remained true to the original while—in my opinion—making Dick Tracy more interesting to a modern audience. For me, it was a trip down memory lane. I was very surprised at how many of the names I remembered, including some who didn’t appear in this incarnation.  (B.O. Plenty, for example—Gould really liked descriptive names.) It’s apparently coming out in comic book form on a regular basis; this is listed as volume 1 in the series, containing issues 1-5 of the comics.  Volume 2 is due out in the summer of 2025 and I’ll be on the lookout for it. In the meantime, I now want to find a copy of the Dick Tracy movie with Warren Beatty and watch it. 

Pucky, Prince of Bacon by Georgia Dunn

Reviewed by Jeanne

I’ve loved both comic books and strips from even before I started reading.  I can remember my grandmother reading the strips to me from the newspaper, including her favorite strip which was, appropriately, called Grandma. Now I like to start my day with a cup of coffee while reading a selection of my favorite daily comic strips.  Recently, I have picked up two collections in a row, starting with Tom Gauld’s Revenge of the Librarians. The next thing I knew, I was reading the new Georgia Dunn collection, Pucky, Prince of Bacon. While these two are very different, I thoroughly enjoyed both. 

Dunn’s daily strip Breaking Cat News runs in some newspapers (not the Bristol Herald Courier, alas) and features the adventures of an assortment of felines and their friends who act as reporters for “news that’s important to cats.” The three main reporters are Elvis, a needy and neurotic Siamese; Puck, a three legged black cat who is very zen except when it comes to bacon or ham; and rambunctious Lupin, a deaf white cat who rushes in where angels fear to tread. They live in the Big Pink House with The Man, The Woman, and The Toddler.  Pucky, Prince of Bacon collects several months of these strips, including the Sunday ones.  This time around, our intrepid reporters take on the terror of pets everywhere, the vacuum cleaner, investigate Fourth of July cuisine to answer the question, “Can cats even eat potato salad?” and wonder why The Woman is getting very round. 

Sweet, funny, and gentle, these books are marketed to middle school students but I know many adults who are also addicted. I think of them as being like Mutts or Peanuts: kid friendly but not juvenile.  I love Dunn’s attention to detail in the panels, from decorations on the walls, and the lovely color palette.

This is the sixth book in the series and while it can stand on its own, for full enjoyment I’d recommend starting with some of the earlier titles where you can read the backstories of some of the other characters.  I’m particularly fond of Tommy, who lives at another house with Sophie, an artistic feline soul who does not care for Tommy’s adoration.  The story arc where Elvis is lost and meets Tommy always brings tears to my eyes.  Yeah, I’m a softy.

Breaking Cat News

Lupin Leaps In

Take It Away, Tommy

Elvis Puffs Out

Behind the Scenes with Burt

Pucky, Prince of Bacon

Nevermore: Everybody Behaves Badly, Taking of Jemima Boone, Before She Disappeared, Pickles Tails

 

In the summer of 1925, Ernest Hemingway wrote his first best-selling novel, The Sun Also Rises.  He based the characters on some of his friends and companions at the time, a decision which ended a lot of friendships.  Author Lesley Blume in her book Everybody Behaves Badly examines some of the real people behind these characters and how Hemingway began to create his own legend.  Our reviewer said it was aptly named, as everyone did behave badly and while she had never been a Hemingway fan, she certainly wasn’t one now. 

 

The Taking of Jemima Boone by Matthew Pearl was praised by our next Nevermore member.  The author is both a novelist and a historian, and she very much enjoyed learning about Daniel Boone and his family.  She noted that the book covered much more than just thirteen year old Jemima’s capture by Cherokee and Shawnee warriors, but how the settlers and natives interacted as the American War for Independence begins. She recommends the book.

 

Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner features Frankie Elkin, a detective who specializes in finding missing persons.  She is especially drawn to those cases where there seem to be no leads, which is how she finds herself in Boston, tending bar while she looks for missing teenager Angelique Badeau.  It turns out that Angelique wasn’t the only girl in the neighborhood who is missing, and Frankie may be getting into more than she bargained for with this case.  The reader said she usually enjoys Lisa Gardner’s books because the author tells a gripping story.  Recommended for anyone who likes thrillers and page turners. 

 

Finally, Pickles Tails:  The Hijinks of Muffin and Roscoe by Brian Crane is a collection of Pickles comic strips featuring Muffin the cat and Roscoe the dog as well as their owners Earl and Opal, a long-time married couple who know just how to push each other’s buttons.  Our reviewer said it was a delight and brightened her day.  Anyone who needs a laugh should give it a try.

Other titles mentioned:

The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen

Next Year in Havana by Chantel Cleeton

Golden Age by Jane Smiley

On Animals by Susan Orlean

Lake Crescent: A Creature X Mystery by J.J. Dupuis

Fangs by Sarah Andersen

 

 

Reviewed by Ambrea

 Elsie is three hundred years old, but, throughout her centuries of undeath, she’s never met her match.  And then one night she meets Jimmy:  Jimmy is handsome and charming, and he has a wry sense of humor and he just seems to get her.  He’s also a werewolf.  Together, Elsie and Jimmy will explore their relationship, learning to understand and love each other’s curious quirks, unusual habits, and monstrous appetites. 

Written by Sarah Andersen, creator of Sarah’s Scribbles and author of Adulthood is a Myth, Fangs is a short collection of black-and-white comics that features a vampire and a werewolf—and all the mischief that’s to be expected when they fall in love.  It’s a fun and delightful (if slightly macabre) romp, and it’s certainly worth reading if you enjoy a bit of dark humor with your gothic romance.

 I actually purchased a copy of this book late last year – shortly before Halloween – and I immediately fell in love with the comic.  I already enjoyed Sarah’s Scribbles online and I have absolutely adored Andersen’s published comic collections (Adulthood is a Myth, Big Mushy Happy Lump, and Herding Cats), so, I suppose, it was inevitable that I would enjoy her other works, too.  I loved the humor and the sarcasm and the puns – oh, yes, the puns! – and I loved the evolving dynamic between Jimmy and Elsie as they work through their relationship.

 Overall, I think Fangs was one of my favorite comic collections of last year.  (I’ve read it half a dozen times already, and I’ve found it doesn’t get old.)  Although it’s rather small, weighing in at just a little over a hundred pages, it’s an enjoyable read that’s perfect for the upcoming spooky season or just a free afternoon.

Strange Planet and Stranger Planet by Nathan W. Pyle

 

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

 Some months ago I started seeing some amusing comic strips featuring blue alien-like beings with big eyes and an interesting way of expressing themselves. Part of the fun was figuring out what they were talking about; for instance, a group gathered around a screen saying, “Catch the orb, we implore you!” is probably watching a ball game.   Another one has two aliens blowing up balloons aka “elastic breath traps” in order to celebrate a festive occasion.

I have to admit I was hooked pretty much immediately and looked forward to more.  Apparently I wasn’t the only one because two collections of the strips have been published as books.  Small books, but then sometimes good things come in small packages. (Pause while I try to figure out how that would be expressed in blue alien speak:  Items of delight may appear in less than medium sized containers, maybe?)

Anyway, the strips rather remind me of the old Coneheads sketches from Saturday Night Live but more innocent and sweeter. Maybe it’s the color palette in part, but these beings warm my major blood pumping organ.  They’re gently curious, trying to understand encounters with new beings (while holding a cat-like creature one exclaims that it is vibrating) and making the readers look at human customs from a different perspective:  peek-a-boo, birthday cakes, and ordering pizza (vast dough circle with extra fungus) will never be the same. Neither will the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” song.

And yes, there is also a dog creature, albeit one with three eyes.

I found some of the strips to be laugh out loud funny (the eye exam sequence for one) but all at least made me smile. 

And isn’t that just what most of us need right now?

In closing, I will give the traditional October salutation:  Suffer mild harassment or give me sucrose.

My Cat’s Not Fat, He’s Just Big-Boned by Nicole Hollander

Reviewed by Kristin

I have a fat cat.  His name is Todd, and he is a BIG BOY. So naturally I had to pick up a book entitled My Cat’s Not Fat, He’s Just Big-Boned.

Nicole Hollander is a comic artist who really knows her cats.  She had the syndicated cartoon strip Sylvia published in over eighty newspapers over the course of thirty years, ending in 2012.  Sylvia’s cats are very involved in her life, usually with their own goals in mind.  Don’t cats always have their own agendas?  Mine do.  They usually want food, a sunny spot to sleep, behind-the-ear scratches, and don’t forget:  a clean litter box.

Holland thoughtfully provides Sylvia’s cats with speech bubbles and a lot of one-on-one attention.  Her cats are also extremely talented, often holding up tag-team signs with written answers to her musings.  “Cats who hypnotize their owners” is a recurring bit in the comic collection.  In response to “Could you help me stop drinking so much coffee?” the cat thinks:  “You will sleep now, and when you wake, you will want to bring fresh flowers into the house every day, and when I destroy them, you will find it cute.”

In addition to being pudgy, my Todd is also a very tall cat.  This book really spoke to me, because I could argue that Todd is both fat and big-boned.  When Todd first adopted us ten years ago this summer, he was a tiny little scrap of an abandoned kitten.  His eyes were barely open so he was probably about one week old. We bottle-fed him, taught him how to go potty, and ended up with a seventeen-pound cat who thinks he is a human and that the humans are his furniture.

You can find this collection in the young adult section of the library.  If you’re amused by comics, browse through our 741.5 section and you’ll find a variety of fat cats (excuse me, that’s big-boned cats) such as Garfield and Heathcliff alongside superheroes and Japanese manga.

   Todd:  Then and now