Book Stuff … And So It Goes
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“All this happened, more or less.”
Publishers Weekly is reporting:
Indie graphic novel house Boom! Studios announced plans to publish a graphic version of Kurt Vonnegut’s classic sci-fi/antiwar novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, to be adapted into a graphic novel by the writer Ryan North, artist Albert Monteys, and colorist Ricard Zaplana. The book will be released in September 2020.
Boom! Studios executive editor Sierra Hahn said, “The trust and support shown by the Vonnegut family [in the production of this adaptation] is gratifying for everyone who poured their hearts into ensuring we could best represent Kurt Vonnegut’s seminal work while creating something new in the graphic novel space. We believe we’ve created a gateway book for new Vonnegut readers and a book any longtime fan will admire and want on their shelves.”
It was around the time this book was first released that I became a Vonnegut fan, getting all his then existing work and following him for years afterward. I am of two minds – Hope this will lead others to Kurt Vonnegut, and I think comics can adapt Kurt better than any other media format. But I don’t think anything can come close to original Vonnegut. We’ll see. I’ll probably get it. So it goes.
Digression: Some months ago at the bookstore I thought I would pick up the few Vonnegut books I don’t have in paperback, was astounded to find those 5½” x 8″ going for $16, not the buck ninety-five my editions had cost.
More digression: I had always hoped for George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman series to be adapted into comic book format. Those fictional works throwing Flashman into historical events were funny as hell. Thought they would make great adult(ish) comics.
Newsarama also carries the Slaughterhouse-Five news, with sample pages.
When I was presented with the chance to collaborate in the graphic novel adaptation of Slaughterhouse-Five my first reaction was ‘this is one of my favorite books and it can’t be adapted.’ That was until I read Ryan North’s script, nodding enthusiastically at every great idea, every moving moment, every scene that made me want to grab my pencil right away.” said artist Albert Monteys.
“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.”
– A Man Without a Country
Elsewhere in the 741…
Lynda Barry’s new book Making Comics is an empathetic read for anyone afraid to draw.
All of [her] accomplishments make Barry an ideal candidate to teach cartooning. And that is her intention with Making Comics, which is styled like a graphic manual for educators and students of cartooning but will appeal to anyone who struggles to articulate the ins and outs of what they think makes a good drawing. The book even tackles how to overcome the common fear of putting pencil to paper to begin with.
Vox finds Lynda Barry’s “Making Comics is both stylish and engaging.”
And that is how I find their interview with Lynda too.
Dav Pilkey & Tom Spurgeon/Raina Telgemeier Persons of the Year/Decade
Comics Beat has announced that Comics Reporter Tom Spurgeon is the Comics Industry Person of the Year. They also named Dav Pilkey Co-Person of the Year due to his selling over a million and a half copies of his two books released in 2019.
The Beat’s announcement, along with others honored, can be read here.
Raina Telgemeier is The Beat’s Comics Industry Person of the Decade. Well, yeah.
But there is one last honor left to bestow. And that is the Comics Industry Person of the Decade. We weren’t necessarily intending to give this out, but reading all the comments from our creator survey, it was clear that one person rose above the rest and symbolized the immense changes in the industry over the last 10 years – and drove much of its success all by herself.
Comic Beat’s Creator Survey can be read in three parts: Part 1, Part, 2, Part 3.
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