Ramona is flattered by Scott’s puppy-like adoration and agrees to date him.  There’s only one catch: Scott will have to defeat Ramona’s seven evil exes.  Can slacker Scott Pilgrim prove he has what it takes to kick butt?

Scott takes on Ramona’s exes while also dealing with typical quarter-life crisis issues like paying the rent, finding a job, and changing friendships.  The books poke fun at Scott and his friends, as well as stereotypes like hip vegans and famous rock stars, yet offers a heartfelt understanding of the confusion that accompanies young adulthood.  It’s portrayal of young love is especially realistic.  There’s a lot more depth to the cartoonish manga of Scott Pilgrim than one might think at first glance.  There are plenty of laughs, too!

Volume 6 is coming in July, 2010, and a film version is to be released only a month later in August.  Both promise lots of fun!

From its first sentence, Monsters, by Ken Dahl, addresses the jarring nature of isolation from love, romance, sexuality, and sharing emotions.  Dahl’s personal experiences with herpes illuminate how scary and lonely it is to always feel at risk of losing intimacy with others.

Lunch Lady, it turns out, is busy solving mysteries.  When the beloved math teacher Mr. O’Connell is absent for the first time ever, replaced by the boring substitute Mr. Pasteur, Lunch Lady and her side kick Betty (another lunch lady) suspect something is amiss.  Using tools that range from the Lunch Tray Laptop to the Spatu-copter, the two lunch ladies discover the truth: Mr. Pasteur is a cyborg!

Can the lunch ladies save the day?  Will the children ever learn that their lunch ladies are capable of more than offering up warm chocolate chip cookies?  Pick up a copy and find out!

Fans may also wish to check out Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians, which reveals of the plans of shifty librarians on a quest to world domination by a means many children would hate.  The latest in the series, Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta is also available now.

While mulling over the unfair treatment of African Americans, he also observes prejudice against homosexuals.  Although he’s dating a woman, Toland wrestles with knowing that he is gay.

Much more than a coming out story, Stuck Rubber Baby explores overcoming obstacles and the price that’s sometimes paid when differences are not accepted.  Armed with gripping characters, realistic drawings and a push to vigilantly fight intolerance, Stuck Rubber Baby is a call to action well worth heeding.

Stuck Rubber Baby

Lunch Lady comics

The Book of Genesis by R. Crumb

…and much more!

Artist Sara Varon’s work demonstrates the power of images in her near-wordless graphic novel Robot Dreams.  The only words are lables on some buildings and objects, onomonopaeic sounds, and the occasional verb.  Even those verbs seem selected to highlight the sounds of the actions rather than suggest a dependence on the words selected.

In Robot Dreams, a dog assembles a robot kit in order to have a friend.  The two watch movies together, go to the library together, and plan a trip to the beach together.  At the beach, both the dog and robot play in the water –only to leave the robot rusty and paralyzed as a result.  The dog, unsure how to aid his friend, leaves the robot at the beach.  When the dog later returns after researching how to help his friend be able to move again, it is too late, for the beach has closed for the season.  Months pass, and the dog tries making new friends while the robot is alone, dreaming, and subject to the actions of others who see him only as an object.

What makes Robot Dreams special is its demonstration of how natural it is for people (animals, etc.) to come and go in someone’s life.  In spite of such shifts, fondness and positive memories may remain while still moving on in new directions.  With simple and imaginative illustrations, few words, and a straightforward plot, Robot Dreams is a work that can be appreciated by all ages.

Also recommended is Jason’s haunting tale of boyhood friendship, Hey, Wait….

To sample Sara Varon’s work, visit her online at http://www.chickenopolis.com/ .

Asterios Polyp was on my radar for a few months, but each time I picked it up, I was put off by the amount of empty space on many of the pages.  Unaware that its protagonist was an architect, and his love interest a postmodern artist, I failed to recognize the deliberate nature of every line, color and manner in which space is filled or empty, hollow.  What’s there is as important as what is present through its absence.

The story describes the life of middle-aged paper architect and academic, Asterios Polyp.  His wife has left him, his home burned down, and nothing seems to be going his way.  With nothing left to lose, Asterios buys a one-way bus ticket to the middle of nowhere and assesses his life.

Told primarily through flashbacks, readers learn how Asterios met his wife, Hana, and how their marriage disintegrated due to Asterios’ egocentric nature, Asterios not expressing his appreciation for people other than himself.   Following his divorce, Asterios recognizes his flaws and the depth of his love for Hana.

Differing perceptions in _Asterios Polyp_

At once a love story, the work is also a study of art, philosophical stances, and human nature.  Asterios is charming and human in spite of his highly intellectual and often pompous nature, increasingly endearing as he comes to terms with his life.

In addition to a solid plot, Asterios Polyp boasts brilliant artwork.  Color plays important role in the work, shades of red used for coloring Hana and her life, blue for Asterios, and purple reflecting the two combined –their overlap.  In times of conflict, the two are broken down into their individual colors, visually demonstrating their separation.  Yellow, purple’s complementary color, is used in drawing the people Asterios connects with in the small town he moves to.

There are many nuances to Asterios Polyp, a work I will continue to process.  One thing’s for sure: Asterios Polyp is a work well worth returning to again and again.

As revealed in this telling autobiography, Pekar has long suffered from anxiety.  If he could not rely on his photographic memory to pull him through a situation, or brute force, he would often stop pursuing a goal.  He quit sports teams, dropped algebra class, dropped out of the navy, dropped out of college, quit music lessons –there wasn’t a lot that Pekar would stick with if he wasn’t successful.  Holding down a job proved difficult, as goofing around or slacking off in other ways ended up being too tempting.  It wasn’t until he took a job as a government filing clerk that Pekar seemed comfortable sticking with a project.

The Quitter, while an illuminating account of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, is ultimately bland.  Pekar explains his rationale for the actions he’s taken and times he’s given up, but the work is highly distanced.  Frustration and anger is conveyed, but those feelings are largely conveyed through Dean Haspiel’s illustrations rather than Pekar’s text.  Pekar often seems cold and removed, simply stating facts rather than feeling remorse.  While this tone and stilted dialogue helps the work appear more objective, it may leave the reader still feeling like little is clear about Pekar’s own thoughts and feelings about himself and his life.

Folks in the Midwest may wish to hear Pekar live this Saturday, October 10th at the Wisconsin Book Festival.  Pekar and historian Paul Buhle will be speaking about their adaptation of Studs Terkel’s Working.  For more details, visit http://www.wisconsinbookfestival.org/schedule/events.php?author_id=673