by Leonard S. Marcus
Hennepin County Library hardcover 163 pages
genre: YA non-fiction
This was in our Litwits list as a graphic novel . . . but it's actually a non-fiction book about graphic novelists (or as the newer term "comics artists.") Each of the thirteen includes an interview and a two-page comic about "the city." I loved seeing the different styles and interpretations. The interviews were interesting, too. Many of these people were new names to me!
I loved in David Small's foreword where he wrote, "Art-making at its best is a confrontation with the mysterious and the irrational. If we listen to the people concerned mainly with classification or marketing, we end up not making honest and true works of art, but only product, rubber-stamped and made to fit into a prefab box that might as well be a casket."
As a fan of comics and the history of the form, I found this book to be very interesting. The rise of web comics has fueled a lot of fresh creativity and a new generation of talent. I have long loved comics and to me, "graphic novels" still describe full-length stories told in comic book form.
In the interview with Matt Phelan, I like how he said, "You don't have to be a professional to benefit from pursuing creative work." I think that's a powerful idea. These thirteen people all make a living from their creativity, but he acknowledges including in one of his stories that "various 'ordinary' folks they know who paint or play music for the sheer enjoyment of it is crucial to the story."
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