Word: comix
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...young man faces a choice: an elderly man, a scabrous woman, a corpse or a monk. Rejecting old age, disease and death, the man, Siddhartha, chooses the life of the monk and goes on to enlightenment in one of the key moments in the story of the Buddha. Thoughtful comix readers can relate to such limited choices. Even among the more ambitious works of graphic literature there have been few explorations of spirituality or attempts at creating a distinct morality. But now a radical, epic, ambitious, brilliant option presents itself: Osamu Tezuka's "Buddha" (Vertical...
...Neither reverent nor irreverent "Buddha" can best be described as playfully serious. (Tezuka takes the Middle Path!) Much of this comes from a uniquely Tezuka form of comix making. The characters have a simplified, "cute" design but inhabit a highly detailed, realistic environment - a style that became the foundation of the manga look. Recalling traditional Japanese landscapes, with careful pen and ink craftsmanship Tezuka depicts mountain vistas and waterfalls. In one remarkable scene a swarm of locusts fills an entire two-page spread...
...missing apples and extra toes. The comics are by an interdisciplinary group of writers and artists, all of whose stories begin with the line "It was a dark and silly night." In the opening piece, children's author Lemony Snicket of the "Unfortunate Events" series, teams up with comix vet Richard Sala to create a tale about a Somewhat Intelligent, Largely Laconic Yeti, i.e. a SILLY. In a twist that will appeal to the wistful imaginings of independence not just limited to children, the yeti turns out to be a little girl completely covered in snow who lives...
While "Little Lit" has been published by an imprint of HarperCollins, other traditional trade publishers are also exploring the children's comix genre. Simon and Schuster has just released two volumes of Frenchman Joann Sfar's wonderful "Little Vampire" series: "Little Vampire Goes to School" and "Little Vampire Does Kung Fu!" (30 pp.; $12.95 each.) Marketed to readers 10 and up, the first book begins when Little Vampire, feeling lonely at the haunted mansion with nothing but adult monsters and ghosts around, decides he wants to go to school. He goes at night, but sadly discovers no one is there...
...Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; 290 pp.; $9.95) continues the series of SPX anthologies that have become comix' greatest annual bargain. You can even (maybe) write it off on your taxes since it's published by the non-profit CBLDF - an organization that provides legal assistance to comix professionals with First Amendment troubles. The book appears in tandem with the Small Press Expo (SPX), an annual convention for alternative comix publishers that takes place every September. (It's happening this weekend in Bethesda, Maryland. See the SPX website for details...