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GRAPHIC CLASSICS vol. 8 

MARK TWAIN

Second Edition 

144 pages,

b&w, color cover

Retail price $11.95 

SECOND EDITION – WITH 38 NEW PAGES! 

Featuring an all-new comics adaptation: 

• Tom Sawyer Abroad — Mark Twain’s sequel to “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in a first-time-ever graphic novel adaptation illustrated by George Sellas 

And returning from the first edition: 

• The Mysterious Stranger - a celestial visitor befriends threeyoung friends in an adaptation by Rick Geary 

• The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut - Mark Twain confronts his conscience in comics byAntonella Caputo and Nick Miller • Is He Living or Is He Dead?-a tale of artistic captalism adapted by Simon Gane 

• A Dog’s Tale - an allegory stylishly adapted by Lance Tooks 

• The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras

Twain’s famous fable, in comics by Kevin Atkinson • The Legend of Sagenfeld - a fairy tale illustrated by Evert Geradts 

• A Curious Pleasure Excursion - a science fiction travelogue by William L. Brown 

• Plus Mark Twain’s Advice for Little Girls, illustrated byShary Flenniken, Mary Fleener, Kirsten Ulve, Annie Owens,Lesley Reppeteaux, Toni Pawlowsky and Florence Cestac,with a new addition by Lisa K. Weber 

Well,that’s the company blurb and there are a couple of  things I need to get out of the way first.

Firstly,again,another top quality book in both printing,paper stock quality and colour cover.  And yet –LOW PRICE! 

Secondly,WHY have I not heard of this company before?!  Paul Brown –Bristol artist-in-residence- tells me he has seen the latest volume.  Obviously hidden away on some Forbidden Planet shelf so as not to cause severe trauma to the fan-boys buying Gag-Boy #7 or some X-Men comic.  That is a shame.  This sort of book MUST be promoted more.

The cover by George Sellas is,as we are wont to say in Bristol,”gert lush” [Bristol speak meaning “great” and “luscious” a major compliment not heard from my lips since the last gert lush Goth chick I saw!]. There is almost a 3D quality to it.  Sellas certaintly knows how to create perspective.  I’m actually going to use the cover as my desktop background!

What surprised me is that this is not just another Mark Twain “Tom Sawyer” book.  I had been fooled by the “Graphic Classics” header into thinking this was along the lines of “Classics Illustrated”,or a Dell Comics adaption of a book.

WRONG!

As you will have seen from the company blurb this is an anthology.  And what an anthology!  The thing is that there are so many different artistic styles so you don’t think after page 63:”how many more pages are there?”

Lisa K. Weber,who works in the fashion industry designing prints and characters for teenage girls pyjamas,does a lovely illo on page 2 to go with Twain’s “Advice To Little Girls”! 

Sellas re-appears to illustrate Tom Pomplun’s adaption of “Tom Sawyer Abroad”.[pp.4-40] –the story giving us that cool cover.  This time,however,we see that Sellas can do stripwork  and knows how to use grey-tone as well as colour.  This is really nice and yet I usually hate the “cartoony” style.

Kevin Atkinson,provides a lovely and strange back cover illo linked to his adaption of,deep breath:”The Celebrated Jumping From Of  Calaveras County”! Phew. This is black and white with some nice uses of  cross-hatching for shading purposes.  His art style is almost –almost—Underground Comics  in look  and full of quirkiness.

Now,anyone who knows my work knows I’m “Old School”,preferring solid black on white work.  So,when I saw Lance Tooks adaption of “A Dog’s Tale” my eyes sighed.  There is some grey-tone in the background and even tiny famous head photos used as a montage,but this does not detract from the great usage of black.  Like to see more of Tooks work.

These are story titles I love! Antonella Caputo provides the script while Nicholas Miller provides the art for [deep breath]:”The Facts Concerning The Recent Carnival Of Crime In Connecticutt”  Again,great artwork.

I can’t really go into every strip but I can mention Rick Geary,whom I interviewed on CBO about his work on Gumby,who does a very good job.  So,too,does Simon Gane and there are superb illoes to other pieces of advice from Twain to “Little Girls” –Mary Fleener does her own unique stuff as does Annie Owens [brilliant!];Florence Cestac,Kirsten Ulve and others.

Right,if you really,really wanted to try something in “graphic novel” form forget Marvel Civil War.  But this and see how much more fun there is in comics outside of tights and capes [and I am a super hero fan]!

Ten stars out of Ten! 

FANTASY CLASSICS 15

144 pgs,

7 x 10″, paperback,

b&w, 4c cover,

$11.95 retail 

Now on sale — only $10!! 

Wizardry, dreamworlds and… Frankenstein!

Fantasy Classics presents Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” adapted by Rod Lott and Skot Olsen, with a prologue illustrated by Mark A. Nelson. Plus H.P. Lovecraft’s epic fantasy “The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath,” by Ben Avery and Leong Wan Kok, and “Oz” author L. Frank Baum’s “The Glass Dog,” by Antonella Caputo and Brad Teare. Also Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” adapted by Lance Tooks, and “After the Fire,” a poem by Fantasy Master Lord Dunsany, illustrated by Rachel Masilamani. With a dramatic cover painting by Skot Olsen.

Awriiiight!  Now,having grown up on the old Marvel horror comics –and those from Charlton- this is more “me” [you’d think].

I’ve mentioned quality already so we’ll take that as a “given”.  And a special offer price!  Ye Gods –do they have to give away Frankenstein action figures before you’ll buy?!

Rachel Masilamani illustrates Lord Dunsany’s “After The Fire” and it looks good –but sadly only a one pager! 

Rod Lott adapts while Mark A. Nelson illustrates “Fantasmagoriana” –A prologue to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.  This is drawn in an almost woodcut style and page 9 is wonderful to look at.

Rod Lott also adapts Shelley’s Frankenstein which is drawn by Skot Olsen from page 11-57.  Olsen also provides the front cover.  A bit too cartoony for me at times but it work and I have to wonder whether this strip was originally done in colour then grey-scaled?

Lance Took is back drawing a lengthier strip –Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Rappaccini’s Daughter”.  Nice.

Now,the back cover carries a colour illo that was in a style I thought I vaguely recognised.  And the same artist also illustrates Ben Avery’s adaption of H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Dream Quest Of Unknown Kadath”.  The artist is Leong Wan Kok,or,as I thought,better known to Asian comic readers as “Puyuh”. This is really worth checking out.  I liked this –very stylish!

Everything I said before applies here. Give this book a try –I know there are a lot of H.P. Lovecraft fans out there who collect comics based on his works and this is for you –ditto the Frankenstein fans out there.

If you do not see these books in your local shop get them to order it.  If they offer excuses then order direct [it’s the shop’s loss!].  The link for everything Graphic Classics-wise is:

http://www.graphicclassics.com/

Please try these books:they deserve to be a hit!