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| UNCLE
SAM |
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The
Graphic Novel |
Written by Steve Darnall
Painted art by Alex Ross |
Hardcover: 104 pages
DC Comics
ISBN: 156389436X |
$17.95
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From
Kirkus Reviews
This
truly subversive graphic novel more explicitly radical than anything else
from DC Comics in recent memory almost makes up for the years of
muscular patriotism and jingoistic violence that have long defined most
of the companys product.
Alex Ross, who recently provided the lush
paintings for Superman: Peace on Earth, here flexes his illustrative
skills in the service of Darnall's stunning text, a damning account
of American political history that also affirms basic democratic ideals. |
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From
the first full-page illustration of Uncle Sam as a derelict reaching
out to the reader, the visually rich narrative makes its overarching point:
the spirit of everything great in American history is down on its luck.
Uncle
Sam, whose image here derives largely from James Montgomery Flagg's
famous "I Want You" poster, stumbles through a dreamy landscape.
In the foreground, he's an old nut, a psycho in the ER who spouts sound
bites from presidential history and pop culture. Periodically, he finds
himself elsewhere in time: Preparing to fight the Revolutionary War;
in Kennedys Dallas limo; at the Blackhawk Massacre of 1832; at Andersonville
Prison; and at a labor protest in 1932; at a Louisiana lynching.
Scenes blend into one another, demonstrating the continuity of American
history; bedraggled present-day
Sam interrupts a political rally
exploiting his alter ego.
The
pictorial narrative here is so smart that political speeches are illustrated
with voice-over balloons explicating the truth behind the double-talk.
Supplemented with a fine essay on the iconography and legend of Uncle
Sam, this portrait of a down-and-out American hero quotes visually
from both fine art (e.g., Vermeer) and classic illustrationthe spirit of
N.C.Wyeth is very much alive here. Among the most captivating examples
of left-wing agitprop since the days of the Popular Front: Darnall
and Ross' populist message comes draped in red, white, and true-blue.
—Copyright
©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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| The
UNKNOWN SOLDIER |
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The
Collected Edition |
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Kilian Plunkett
Cover by Tim Bradstreet |
Paperback: 112 pages
DC Comics
ISBN: 156389422X |
$12.95
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| A maverick CIA
agent navigates a minefield of dirty tricks and black operatives as he
embarks on a globe-hopping search for the U.S. Army's legendary cleanup
man, known only as the Unknown Soldier, in this tale exploring battlefield
morality and the complex nature of patriotism. |
| One of DC's
classic characters is re-imagined for the '90s in this striking trade paperback
collecting the acclaimed miniseries written by Eisner Award-winning writer
Garth Ennis (Best Writer), with art by Kilian Plunkett. In addition to
the shocking decade-spanning tale of honor and espionage, and the distinctive
original covers by Tim Bradstreet (GANGLAND), the UNKNOWN SOLDIER paperback
features design sketches by Bradstreet and artist Kilian Plunkett (Star
Wars: Shadows of the Empire). |
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See Also: our
GARTH ENNIS listing.
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| VERTIGO
VISIONS |
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Artwork
from the Cutting Edge of Comics |
| by Alisa Kwitney |
Hardcover: 208 pages
Watson-Guptill Publications
ISBN: 0823056031 |
$29.95
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| Adult comic
book enthusiasts and lovers of cutting-edge artwork will applaud the ground-breaking
masterpieces in this collection of fantasy, crime, mystery, and surreal
illustrations. The book spotlights outstanding artwork that has appeared
under the famed Vertigo imprint since it was launched by DC Comics in 1993.
Always pushing boundaries, this art can be baroque or minimalist, haunting
or fantastical, painted or computer generated--and, as this volume amply
proves--it is always unforgettable. |
| A wide
range of acclaimed artists and designers includes Dave McKean, Marshall
Arisman, Rick Berry, the Starn Twins, Michael W. Kaluta, Sue Coe, Greg
Spalenka, Barron Stacey, and Brian Bolland.
Amazon.com
Well-known and much-beloved
for giving intelligent grownups comics they can read in public, DC's Vertigo
line has devoted as much energy to its art as to its stories. This attention
underlies every page of Vertigo Visions, a collection of 185 images from
covers, trading cards, and gallery work by 75 artists. Dave McKean's dreamy
collages from the Sandman series and Brian Bolland's precise caricatures
of the Invisibles highlight a collection of consistently startling work.
Tremendous care and feeling suffuse the art--in oil, watercolor, digitally
enhanced photography, and ink, and a range of styles spanning the centuries.
Editor Alisa Kwitney's text gently persuades inveterate readers to let
our eyes linger over each image as though we were actually reading a thousand
words, reminding us that paying attention delivers substantial rewards.
--Rob Lightner
Alisa Kwitney is a novelist
and former Vertigo editor. She lives in New York City. |
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