»• II " . . rgraphic novelsBy Steve Raiteri

\n thejauuary 2(K)4 column, I shared somegraphic novel (GN) circulation starisricsfrom rny library system, the GreeneCounty PL, OH, for part of 2003. Thistime I'd like to update with figures cover-ing 2)KI4.Wc"rc a mid-sized hbrary systemof seven locations, and we've been buyingGNs seriously since 1996. Our circulationperiod for GNs is three weeks.

As of the end of 2004, our systemwideGN collection included 2,250 items. Ofthese, 107 circulated 16 times or more, andof those, 97 were manga. The top circula-tor for the year was a copy of HitoshiOkuda's Tciichi Miiyo: Sasami Stories, whichwent out 26 times. Gopies of hiu-Ydsha,Vol. 3, and R.wiiui 1/2. Vol. 8, both byRuuiiko Takahashi, tied for second at 25

for other material; our list of GNs that cir-culated ten to 15 times includes severalmore from the above-mentioned iion-manga series, plus many other superherotitles (starring Superman, the JusticeLeague, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers,and Green Lantern, among others); nu-merous Star Wars tides from Dark Horse;and the first three volumes of Crouciiiti^i^Tiger, Hidden Drai^on from GoniicsOiie.

Stepping away from 201*4 and lookingat the bigger picture, our all-time top-circulating C;N from my last report still re-tains its crown; Marvel's The Greatest Spi-der-Man and Daredevil Tearti-Ups has goneout 1 13 times since November 1997. Un-fortunately, it remains out of print. (Noteto Marvel: how about a new edition?)

Not your everyday teenage trials: organ farming, magical warfare, and spiritual possession

circs each. Various volumes of Low Hinn.dirdaiptor Sakura. Drii<ioii Ball Z, and MiiijirKtfi i/// Rayearth all circulated 22 or moretimes, and tbe 16+ list also included vol-umes of Cowboy Bebop, Fiishii^i Vi(i,'/, KareKano, Kodocha, Marmalade Boy, Mars, NeonGenesis Euan^eliim. No Need for Tenchi. OhMy Goddess!, Peaeh Girl, Revolutionary GirlI 'tcna, and Sailor Moon Slars.Thc top cir-culating non-manga GN for the year wasa copy of Simpsons Gomics Madness, at 24circs. The only other non-manga on the16+ list were two more Simpsons books.Batman: Hiisli,Vo]. 2, Ultimate X'Men,Vo\.4, and five volumes of ( 'liimaie Spider-Man.

Obviously, manga rules the roost at themoment, but there s still a sizable audience

Steve Raiteri is .Audiovisual and ReferenceLibrarian at tlie Greene County PublicLibrary in Xniia, OH. where he started the^^raphic novel collation in 1996

')8 I LIBRAKY |OURNAI. I MAY i:;.2fM)?;

Baker, Kyle. Plastic Man: On the Lam. DCComics. 2004. 144p, ISBN 1-4012-0343-4.pap. $14,95. FWildly and comically inveiitivc.Jack Gole soriginal Plastic Man stories from rbe 1940s(currently being reprinted hy DC in theirArchives series), are much loved by comicsfans and admired by Art Spiegelman.whose Jack Gole and Plastic Man is part bi-ography, part appreciation. Now Baker(Wljy I Hate Saturn) presents a new andvery funny take on the character. PlasticMan was the criminal Eel O'Brien untilthe accident that gave him his powers andthe intervention of a kindly monk helpedhim turn iiis life around. Now his pastconies back to haunt him, as someoneframes Eel O'Brien for murder, and Plas-tic Man must solve the crime while tryingto prevent his fellow FBI agents fromlearning his secret. Baker's exaggerated,cartoony artwork is reminiscent ot TV an-

imation, and Baker uses Plastic Man's infi-nite malleability in endless siglit gags.Withhilarious dialog and lots of good-naturedsuperhero parody, this won the 2004 EisnerAward for Best New Series, and it's stronglyrecommended for all collections, for teensand adults.

Busiek, Kurt (text) & Stuart Immonen(illus.). Superman: Secret Identity, DCComics. 2004. 208p. ISBN 1-4012-0451-1.pap. $19.95. FThe teenage Clark Kent of this book is aKansas farm boy, but in his world. Super-man is just a comic book character, andClark gets teased for having his name. Butone day, Clark discovers that he actually hasall of Superman's powers. As he starts to usethem, he draws government attention—but this book isn't as much about super-heroics and men in black as it is aboutClark the man. Busiek {Marvels; A.<tro City),one of the finest superhero writers cur-rently working, is known for his fresh takeson the genre. He delivers another whollysatisfying take here as he follows Clarkthrough his life, showing not only howClark's powers change things but also howC;lark remains the same inside through it alland how the issues life poses to iiim—-oftrust, commitment, compromise, finding aplace in the world, and letting go—are thesame ones faced by non—super people. Im-monen's realistic artwork is an ideal matchfor liusiek's approach. Strongly recom-mended for teen and adult superhero fansand for anyone who feels that the genrelacks "human interest."

Eisner, Will. The Plot: The Secret Story ofthe Protocols of the Elders of Zion.Norton. 2005. 160p, ISBN 0-393-06045-4.$ 2 3 . 9 5 . HISTORY

This nonfiction work, Eisners final book,provides a great service to the truth by de-tailing the histoiy of an infamous hoax.Theso-calied Protocols of the Elders of Zionpurported to be a plan for world domina-tion drawn up by Jewish leaders—but thedocument was actually a forgery, created in1898 for use as anti-Semitic propaganda bya Frenchman employed by the Russian se-cret pohce. Incredibly, the hoax seems notto have been perpetrated because the con-spirators hated thejews;they were simply aconvenient target In a campaign meant toinfluence the easily led Czar Nicholas IL

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Eisticr dramatizes the IVotocois's Lreatioii,the 1*'21 expose revealiiii; th,it tliey wereplaiiiarized trom a satirical 1 864 Frenchbook, and many later denounceiiients ofthe hoax. Eisner also shows how the hoaxiiifluencedAdolfHitler and, sadly, contin-ues to intliience people today despite proofof its falsehood. Eisners extensive reprint-ing of text from the Protocols side hy sidewith excerpts from the French book does-n't make for riveting comics, but it doesdemonstrate the plagiarism explicitly. Rec-ommended for all adult collections. |SeePrepubAlert,/,/1/1)5.1

Gaiman, Neil (text) & Andy Kubert (illus.) &others. Marvel 1602. Marvel. 2004. 248p.ISBN 0-7851-1070-4, $24.99. FThis marvelous oversized hardcover bythe acclaimed Gaiman {Sandnmi) takes theMarvel superheroes and villains of the196()s—the original X-Men, Daredevil,Dr. Doom, and many others—and placesthem in the early 17th century. While theInquisition burns mutants at the stake,English spymaster Nicholas Fury and royalphysician l?r. Stephen Strange confer withan ailing Queen Elizabeth about a power-ful treasure of the Knights Templar thatmust be brought to England for safekeep-ing—and about the strange weather pat-terns that some feel portend the end ot theworld. Part of the fun of a book like this isseeing familiar characters in surprisingnew guises, and Gaiman doesn't disap-point on that score. But he also provides ahighly enjoyable story of alliances and be-trayals, of misdirection and revelation, witha more sf basis than the fantasies he isknown for. (Readers should avoid the in-troduction, which gives away too much.)Marvel tans will be thrilled with the book,while Gaiman fans are likely to be split,with some finding it too slight—but it'sstrongly recommended for all collections,for teens and adults.

Hart, Tom. Hutch Owen: Unmarketable!Top Sbelf Productions. 2004. 208p. ISBN 1-891830-55-4. pap. $14.95. FIn this satirical, laugh-out-loud tunny, andgenuinely moving book. Hutch Owen isa street philosopher, a lone voice cryingout in the consumerist wilderness againstthe greed, cynicism, and exploitation per-petrated and perpetuated by big businesswhile eking out his own marginal exis-tence. In the first and tunniest of the sto-ries, this outsider, who refuses even to buythings, discovers the magic of barter andthen has a run-in with his archenemy,mega-CEO Dennis Worner, who is mak-ing an overblown attempt to teach hisstaff creativity. With its crazy plotting and

parodic characters, this story reads hke anepisode ofthc Simpsons with protanity, andHart's cartoony, somewhat crude artworkfits it well.The books longest story, a re-sponse to the 9/11 attacks, changes thetone, with a symbolic and elegiac tale otmarketing, golf balls, and ghosts. Hutch'sincisive attacks against"the system"and hisidentification with the poor and down-trodden make him sympathetic and evenheroic, but Hart is realistic enough to showthe hmitations of Hutch's approach. Thetirst Hutch book, llie Golteeted Hutch Oiivn,was nominated for Harvey and EisnerAwards; this volume is reconmiended torolder teens and adults.

Hotta, Yumi (text) & Takesbi Obata (illus.),Hikaru No Go. Vol. 2. Viz Media. 2004.200p. tr. from lapanese by Andy Nakatani.ISBN 1-59116-496-6. pap, $7.95. FThe board game Go, similar to Othelloand with a complexity exceeding that ofchess, has been played in Japan for hun-dreds of years. Sixth-grader Hikaru Shindothought Go was uncool until he foundhimself sharing his consciousness with the1000-year-old ghost of Go master Fuji-wara-no-Sai, who is haunting the worlduntil he can play "tbe divine move." Afterstarting to play just to get Sai to stopbothering him, Hikaru becomes genuinelyinterested in the game.When he plays us-ing only his own knowledge, Hikaru isjusta beginner with flashes of insight; butwhen he lets Sai take over, he's unbeatable.Hikaru's tluctuating skill level mystifies hisopponents, especially Akira Toya, a seventhgrader with professional-level playingskills. Obata's artwork is strong and ap-pealing, and the series" good humor arisesfrom its characters-^Hikarus capricious-ness and big mouth tend to get him intotrouble, but his pursuit of the game has arefreshing earnestness. Running 23 vol-umes in total, this winning entry in Viz's"ShotienJump"line ofboys'manga is rec-ommended for al! ages.

Kramer's Ergot 5. Gingko. 2004. 320p.ISBN 1-58423-172-6. pap. $29.95. ANTHOLIn this anthologN' of all-new alternativecomics and avant-garde work, the high-lights are mostly in the former category, in-cluding Kevin Huizenga's "Glenn Ganges,"an excellent story about deep theologicalquestions and golf'; David Headey's "MySexual History (Shghtly Abridged Ver-sion)," a candid autobiographical accountof numerous hetero- (and some homo-)sexual encounters with simple but highlyexplicit art; "Cecil and Jordan in NewYork"by Gabriclle Bel! {When I'm Old andOther Stories), a brief and affecting tale

packing a surreal surprise; and yet anotherwork of complex design and strong emo-tion by Chris Ware [Jimmy C(.'m^.»().Thepieces are well arranged for a good flow, andthe presentation is excellent, with wonder-ful color reproduction and a strong bindingthat lets the reader see all the way into thegutter. But as with most anthologies, thequality varies; works of childlike charmshare space with works that are simplychildish, and serious stories are set besidesome that seem essentially pointless. Withnudity and sex, this is for larger adult col-lections.

Nakanishi, Tatsumu. Oream Gold: Knightsin the Dark City. Vol. 1. ADV Manga. 2004.184p. tr. from Japanese by Masako & Jef-frey Lilly. ISBN 1-4139-0205-7. pap,$9.99. FIn this unusual manga, Kuroratjio Clocks(an intelligent young man with a photo-graphic memory) and his childhood friendKatana Shirabano (who practices magicalhacking on her "super heresy computer")live in the fuUiristic Dark City, a legendaryplace where "the center of all treasures,"1 )ream Gold, is rumored to be hidden.Tosearch for Dream Gold and other treasure.the city's mayor has established theKnights, and anyone who finds one of 250hidden treasure keys becomes a Knightsmember. When Kurorat, with Katana'shelp, obtains the 250th key, he discoversthat all Knights must follow any instruc-tions they receive—which may includefighting other Knights. There are manymysteries here, including the nature ofDream Gold itself, the root of the violentconflict between mayoral forces and thepiratical SkyTigers, the abilities of the re-spected "rei sourcers" and the superhero-like "deadly knights," and the reason whyKurorat and Katana have made a pact togo their separate ways after finding DreamGold. Nakanishi's art features bizarrelymodernistic machines, stylized figures, andlots of detail. Somehow it's all strangely in-triguing; recommended for most collec-tions, tor teens and adults.

'ArOakley, Mark. Tbieves and Kings.Vol. 5: Tbe Winter Book. I Box, POBox 2414, Wolfville, NS, B4P 2S3,Canada; tboxpublisbing@yaboo.com;www.iboxpublisbing.com. 2004. 208p.ISBN 0-9681025-4-9. pap. $16.95. FIn this thoroughly engrossing self-pub-lislied black-and-white fantasy saga, a mul-tifaceted conflict plays out between theevil Lady Locumire, who supports a power-hungry prince in his war of conquest, anda loose group of friends and factions op-posing her. Among the cast are 12-year-

1110 I LIBKAKY lOURNAl. I MAY 15.2005

GRAPHIC NOVELS

old Heath Wingwhit, a powerful sorceressliving through successive reincarnations,brought 11KIO years into her future to learnmagic; Ruhel, a teenage thief with specialabilities and charisma; Soracia, a beautiful,](),(K)()-year-old sorceress attempting toreclaim herself from evil; Princess Katara,Heaths current incarnation, who's hatch-ing a still-obscure but ambitious plot withher friends the trolls; and the immortalwizard Quinton Zempfester. who pro-vides hilarious comic relief on-panel butholds great power behind the scenes. Oak-ley contrasts down-to-earth dialog with amythic air ot strangeness and magic to in-vest his characters with personality andmystery that can make readers care andwonder about them. His unusual story-telling str<neg\- masterfully shifts betweencomics form and pages of illustrated text.This is a story for fans of Bom; Hlfquest,Naiisicaa, or Harry Potter to fall in lovewith; highly recommended for teen andadult fantasy readers everywhere.

Sakaj, Stan. The Art of Usagi Yojimbo.Dark Horse. 2004, 200p. ISBN 1-59307-268-6. $39.95. FSakai's much-loved series L'sa^^iYojinibo, setin feudal Japan and relating the adventures

of the wandering anthropomorphic rabbitsamurai Usagi, has won three EisnerAwards and much other acclaim. Thiswell-designed oversized hardcover, pub-lished in honor of the series' 20th an-niversary, gathers together material relatingto the series, including promotional art-work, preliminary sketches, cover art, someexcellent drawings done at comics con-ventions, and highlights from the comic'shistory. Approximately a quarter of thebook is in color, including two complete,previously liard-to-fmd comics stories,one strikingly painted in watercolors. Intwo features in comics form, Sakai dis-cusses his creative process and the toolshe uses. Also inclnded is Sakai's very firstUsagi story (a wordless three-pager) anda gallery of Usagi art by other cartoonists,including Frank Miller, Jeff Smith, andSergio Aragones.Though it's an Americanproduction, the Usagi series is popularwith manga fans, and any library whereUsagi is popular will find this a worth-while addition.

Satrapi, Marjane. Embroideries. Pantheon.2005. 144p. tr. from French hy Anjali Singh.ISBN 0-375-42305-2. $16.95. AUTOBIOG"To speak behind others'backs is the ven-

tilator of the heart": a sentiment surelyshared by many people the world over butthat acquires more urgency for womenliving under repression.With those words,Satrapi's formidable grandmother opensthe door on an evening of gossip, confes-sion, laughter, and tears among femalefriends and family iti Iran. Grandma tellsthe story of a friend's botched attempt topretend on her wedding night that she wasstill a virgin, another woman tells a storyof cosmetic surgery with a hilarious punchline, and many of the wonien share storiesof how they and their friends have sufferedat the hands of husbands and lovers. Dis-cussions of sex are frank and explicit andlaced with high humor. As in her im-mensely acclaimed Pcrscpufc, Satrapi's sim-ple black-and-white cartooning style istremendously effective, experdy portray-ing emotional nuances with just a fewlines. While Persepolis had wide appeal toboth genders, this book is likely to find amore predominately female audience;highly recommended for all adult collec-tions. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/04.J

Schuiz, Charles M. & Jim Sasseville.It's Only a Game. About Comics. 2004.240p. ISBN 0-9716338-9-4. pap. $14.95. F

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Hiding in the history of the world's mostsuccessful cartoonist is a second syndi-cated newspaper feature that manyPeanuts lovers are prob;)bly unaware ot":It's Only a Giiiiu', a series of single-panelsports gags that ran for about 14 monthsbeginning in November 1957 and col-lected here complete. A rare opportunityto see Schuiz s drawings of adults, the gagscover a wide variety of sports and games,including bowling, ping-pong, fishing,and Charlie Brown's beloved baseball.There are occasional glimpses ofPeanuts'f,traditional themes—as when a golfer says,"I can never putt when 1 have guilt feel-ings"—and some wordless gags are quitenice, but Peanuts fans might fmd them-selves underwhelmed by some of the rest.Many panels are about bridge, a gamethat has lost its former ubiquity. Afteronly two months, Schuiz turned the art-work over to Sasseville, artist for the1950s Peanuts comic book stories pub-lished by Dell Comics, who producedfinished panels based on Schulz's prelim-inary sketches (some of which are repro-duced here). Ultimately a minor chapterin Schulz's career, but comics historiansand avid Schuiz fans will be thrilled to seeic unearthed.

Stanley, John (text & illus.) & Irving Tripp(illus.). Little Lulu. Vol. 1. Dark Horse.2004. 200p. ISBN 1-59307-270-8. pap.$9.95. F

AmoTig comics fans,one of the most widelyacclaimed and fondly remembered chil-dren's comics of years past is Little Lulu.Lulu was created by Marjorie HendersonBuell in ] 935 for a series of Saturday Hyeniii^^Posl cartoons and later received her OWTIlong-running comic book.This highly en-joyable black-and-white volume reprints sixissues ofthe comic from the late l'Mds.Luiuis a smart. self-coiitkJent little girl who al-ways seems to get the better ofthe boys whotease her and won't let her into their club.When pressed by her persistent youngerneighbor Alvin, she spins inventive fairy-talestories. Much ofthe mischief she finds her-self at the center of is instigated by her friendTubby who takes turns as a detective, treas-ure hunter, and (in one of his several solostories here) street-corner musician. ButLulu sometimes causes problems of herown; in one story she dyes her skin green(this is one ot several places where the orig-inal stories' color is missed). Recommendedfor all libraries; appropriate for young read-ers, but it will also appeal to adults,both outof nostalgia and tor its own charm.

Yoshitomi, Akihito. Ray. Vol. 1. ADV Manga.2004. 208p. tr. from Japanese by HarukaKaneko-Smith. ISBN 1-4139-0204-9. pap.$9.99. F

Ray's memories of her past are hazy, butshe knows that she grew up on an organfarm, where children were raised so thattheir organs could be harvested and sold;there, she lost her eyes. But an unknownbenefactor rescued her, and she received anew pair of eyes, ones that can see throughanything. Now she works as a nurse anduses her special eyes in her undercoverwork as an unlicensed but brilliant sur-geon, treating unsolved illnesses for des-perate clients and operating on criminalswho can't turn themselves in for treatment.But her past comes back to haunt herwhen she saves the life of another survivorot the farm and encounters the men whoabused her. Ray is tough, determined, andprincipled—edgy but also empathetic.Yoshitonii's art is strong, and he acknowl-edges an obvious debt to Osamu Tezuka'searlier manga about an unlicensed geniussurgeon. Black Jack, by hinting that it wasBlackjack himself who gave Ray her X-ray eyes. Nudity and explicit depictions ofsurgery rates this for ages 16+, and it's rec-ommended tor all collections.

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