> GRAPHICS
My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies By Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips Image Comics; 72 pages; $22.99
Now, there’s a title that will catch your eye in the bookstore, and a beautiful cover to go with it.
For the last 12 years, the series Criminal has probably been the most consistently strong piece of work in comics, from one of the medium’s most exciting partnerships. This new graphic novella ties into that seven-chapter epic, but also stands alone as a sad, slow-burning story that hold the attention of new readers.
It centres on a new character, teenager Ellie, a patient in a rehab clinic. She’s trouble, and not just because she’s obsessed with tragic heroes like Judy Garland, Gram Parsons and Billie Holiday. Anything new from Brubaker and Philips is worth picking up, in any form, but this time they’ve taken the new approach of creating a graphic novel published in a gorgeous hardback. It’s unmissable.
Bad Friends By Ancco Drawn & Quarterly; 176 pages; $24.95
One quality of strong storytelling, sometimes, is making the reader think “This could have been me”. That’s what Bad Friends is all about. As Drawn & Quarterly continues to republish some of the world’s top graphic novels in Canada, this work from Korea takes its place among the best. Ancco’s fictionalized work, with a grounding in her own experiences, tells of a young girl’s bad behaviour and the dangerous places it takes her.
It’s an easy read but a challenging subject. The rebels and runaways in this story feel all too real, and the risks they take put them in danger. The abuse, from parents, teachers and other young people, is a shock, especially when you realize this could almost be any kid.
And this is a story of friendship. Told partly in flashback, it has an older, more sober main character musing on her friend’s experiences and what might have been.
Home After Dark By David Small Penguin Random House; 416 pages; $32.95
If you’re looking for a book to occupy a lazy afternoon, this is the one. Home After Dark, the new work by David Small, who deservedly received acclaim for his memoir Stitches, will draw you in for hours.
It’s the 1950s, and Russell Pruitt is 13 years old. After his mother walks out, Russell and his father move to a small town in Southern California, where Russell struggles to fit in.
There’s a lot of coming-of-age content here, which is excellent though familiar in graphic novels. Here there’s an added layer of being part of a single-parent family, too often left alone, and the effect that can have on a teenager.
The most compelling quality comes from the pace of the book, with a style that combines sharp lines and greywash texture, sparse dialogue and series of open layouts that all combine to generate a page-turning rhythm that’s rewarding.
Batman: White Knight By Sean Murphy, with Matt Hollingsworth DC Comics; 232 pages; $25.99
Some of the best comics start with the phrase “What if…?” This one starts with “What if the Joker was cured?” Well, the Batman would look crazy. This is a superb idea.
Rightfully one of the most buzzworthy comics of 2018, White Knight has been collected under the nascent DC Black Label imprint that’s supposed to be edgy; for example, it recently caused a stir with a fullfrontal-nude Batman.
But, unlike Batman, this story doesn’t need gimmicks. It’s just great stuff, with the good-guy former Joker trying to make amends by bringing down the most dangerous man in town: Batman.
It has superhero cameos galore (including possibly the neatest treatment of Harley Quinn in comics) but its real strength is its treatment of deeper issues, like political activism, mental illness and police corruption. And, no spoilers, but watch out for the Batmobiles. So cool.