Mini Book Expo For Bloggers

Let That Bad Air Out: Buddy Bolden's Last Parade [Ruth's review]

According to Ruth, Let That Bad Air Out is a beautiful collection worth a thousand words about the life of a musician:

Art books published by The Porcupine's Quill never disappoint. Let That Bad Air Out: Buddy Bolden's Last Parade is another glowing example of the superb quality of the releases from this marvellous small-town Ontario press.

In a series of brilliantly rendered linocut relief prints, Berg tells the story of Buddy Bolden, a New Orleans jazz musician living from 1877 to 1931. Each crisp image masterfully succeeds in evoking a feeling of the fluidity of the music, the boisterousness of the community, and the darkness of the events surrounding the musician's demise. An introduction by Donald M. Marquis, author of In Search of Buddy Bolden: First Man of Jazz, and an afterword by renowned artist, George A. Walker, round out this collection.

Fans of the graphic novel genre and enthusiasts of linocut relief printmaking will surely be pleased with Let That Bad Air Out: Buddy Bolden's Last Parade. Highly recommended.
* 5 stars *

  

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More information

• Extra Info: First Page
• Porcupine's Quill | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 0889842965
• ISBN-13: 978-0889842960

Li'l Kids [Alyce's review]

Li'l Kids wasn't quite enough for Alyce, and the author comments on her review over on At Home With Books:

This graphic novel is actually three short stories that take up only 25 pages of the book. The other 63 pages are devoted to an exposition on the design, drawing and writing processes behind the graphic short stories.

The stories were much shorter than I thought they would be, especially considering the size of the book. I was disappointed that there wasn't more bulk to these stories.

* 3 stars *

Keep reading Alyce's review...

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More information

• Author's
  • Site: Von Allan
  • Blog: Von & Moggy
• Von Allan | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 0978123719 
• ISBN-13: 978-0978123710

Li'l Kids [Von Allan]

"road to god knows..." adventures!

Courtesy of Von Allan

Li'l Kids: 'road to god knows.' adventures" are three short stories that feature the whimsy and wonder of being a young girl. From meeting new friends, dealing with an ill mom, or triumphing over a nasty super villain in a dream, Li'l Kids shows a unique side of being a child.

A short story collection told in comics form, the stories all feature Marie, the protagonist from the original graphic novel "the road to god knows." In addition, this collection features all the scripts plus conceptual writing for each story and also background and concept art. Recommended if you've enjoyed Terry Moore's "Strangers in Paradise", Jeff Smith's "Bone", and Mark Crilley's "Akiko."

Each story stands on its own but, when taken together, they demonstrate that childhood, like most aspects of life, can have its ups and downs. Being a child can be fun, scary, and magical; but sometimes the things that seem very little at the time can have a profound effect on you later on in life. That's certainly true for Marie and her experiences in these stories help bear that out. Later, in the road to god knows..., we see just how significant some of those events can be.

About the Author
Von Allan was born red-headed and freckled in Arnprior, Ontario, just in time for Star Wars: A New Hope. The single child of two loving but troubled parents, Von split most of his childhood between their two homes and, consequently, spent a lot of time in the worlds of comics and wrestling. What comics and pile drivers didn't teach him, science fiction did. He managed a small independent bookstore in Ottawa, Ontario for many years, all the while working on story ideas in his spare time-- eventually, he decided to make the leap to a creative life, and the road to god knows..., an original graphic novel, was the result.  Von currently lives in Ottawa, Canada, with his writer/editor geek wife, Moggy; a husky dog, Rowen; and two feisty cats, Bonny and Reilly. 

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More information

• Author's
• Site: Von Allan
• Blog: Von & Moggy
• Von Allan | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 3 copies available This book is CLAIMED.
• Paperback: 88 pages 
• Publisher: Von Allan Studio (April 1, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 0978123719 
• ISBN-13: 978-0978123710

Shipping within Canada & US sponsored by Von Allan

Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment [Ann's Review]

Cross over culture between Japanese Manga (in spirit and style?) and Haida art? A winning combination that speaks to a new generation with a topical message! Ann, from Booklorn, found Flight to be very entertaining. Let's take a look...

Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment is one of those rare books (at least for me) that you can admire as a work of art in and of itself and not solely because of the words inside.

...Snip...

(He)infuses personality into his animals through facial expressions and posture and his illustrations are a treat to look at.

Keep reading Ann's review...

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More information

• Author Site: Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas 
• Douglas & McIntyre  | Chapters.ca | Amazon.com

Product Details

• Publisher: Greystone Books(July 28, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 1553653726 
• ISBN-13: 978-1553653721

Therefore, Repent! [Kevin Wardrop's Review]

Kevin Wardrop has put his thoughts down on Jim Munroe's Therefore, Repent! on his blog Local Blogger Writes the World and asks: Are you a Splitter a Risen or Just Abiding in Sodom?

It was interesting to see a world post-Rapture world from another point of view. It contrasts well with “The Chrysalids” and “Left Behind” where in both cases the focus was on the Faithful and The Newly Faithful as the protagonists, facing and evil world; “Therefore Repent!” is led by the meandering Gen-X’ers and lacksidasial hippies or spiritualists who had long given up on a Christian paradise.

... read all of Kevin's write-up

Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment [Michael Yahgulanaas]

Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment [Michael Yahgulanaas]

Courtesy of Douglas & McIntyre 

The hummingbird parable, with origins in the Quechuan people of South America, has become a talisman for environmentalists and activists who are committed to making meaningful change in the world. In this inspiring story, the determined hummingbird does everything she can to put out a raging fire that threatens her forest home. The hummingbird—symbol of wisdom and courage—demonstrates that doing something is better than doing nothing at all. 

Therefore, Repent! [Jim Munroe]

Therefore, Repent! by Jim Munroe

Courtesy of Jim Munroe

What if the religious right... are right? Once the Christians have floated bodily into the sky, life goes on pretty much as usual for the immoral majority... . except that magic works, if you're willing to risk demonic mutations. CNN reports that Mr. Christ and Mr. Bush are on a speaking tour of the red states. And an angelic army appears to have been deployed to mop up the sinners. But through it all, outsiders Raven and Mummy face the possibility of a bigger problem than the end of the world: the end of their relationship. 

About the Author

Jim Munroe is a “pop culture provocateur” according to the Austin Chronicle, and Time Out Chicago dubbed him an “independent press icon”. After leaving HarperCollins for political reasons, he founded No Media Kings and published five books, the most recent one a post-Rapture graphic novel called Therefore Repent! He also started The Perpetual Motion Roadshow, an indie touring circuit that sent 100 artists on the road between 2003-2007, and currently he is running the Artsy Games Incubator, a writer’s-circle style group helping creators without programming skills make videogames. He lives in Toronto with a crafty ladyscientist and their bafflingly attractive baby.

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More information

• Jim Munroe |Chapters.ca| Amazon.com

Product Details

• 2 copies available This book is no longer available
  
• Paperback: 160 pages 
• Publisher: No Media Kings (January 15, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 1600101461 
• ISBN-13: 978-1600101465

Shipping sponsored by Jim Munroe

Star And Cloud: Venerable Master Hsing Yun [Zheng Wen]

Star And Cloud: Venerable Master Hsing Yun by Zheng Wen
(Buddhist Legends of Adventure and Courage)

published by Buddha's Light Publishing

Venerable Master Hsing Yun is the founder of the Fo Guang Shan (Buddha’s Light Mountain) Monastic Order. This book, titled Star and Cloud after the Master’s name, is biography with a twist: it’s a comic book!

Shojo Beat (Aug 2006)

We have 2 copies of the August 2006 edition of Shojo Beat from this year's BookExpo Canada

Contents include:

by Kiyoko Arai - Makeovers make their way over to manga!

by Matsuri Hino - The Day Class girls have prepared something for the Night Class boys to feed on.

by Mitsuba Takanashi - The girls' volleyball team is a bit jumpy—and not in an athletic way!

No Collar, No Service: A Pooch Cafe Collection [Paul Gilligan]

No Collar, No Service: A Pooch Cafe Collection by Paul Gilligan
published by Andrews McMeel Publishing

Pooch Café is the home away from home for Poncho and his canine buddies. No Collar, No Service marks the second collection of the hip hit strip Pooch Café, named for the place where Poncho, Boomer, and the rest of their pals regularly gather to discuss life among the humans and to hatch their plans to catapult all the world's cats into space. But you won't find this spot on Main Street. Its actual location is a canine secret compromised just once when they tried to get a pizza delivered.

Girl Genius: Issue 8 [Phil Foglio & Kaja Foglio]

Girl Genius: Issue 8 by Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio
published by Airship Books

Mad Science rules the World... poorly. The reader follows the adventures of Agatha Clay, a young lab assistant with rotten luck and a mysterious past. Full of weird machines, toy airships and goofy monsters, this is a detailed, visual story which will keep Phil & Kaja busy for a long time to come.

Comic Site: Girl Genius

• Comic: 40 pages
• Publisher: Airship Books
• ISBN-10: 1890856215
• ISBN-13: 978-1890856212

Technorati tags: girl genius, phil foglio, kaja foglio, comic, airship books

Bipolar (5) [Asaf Hanuka, Etgar Keret, Tomer Hanuka]

Bipolar (5) By Tomer Hanuka, Asaf Hanuka and Etgar Keret.

published by Alternative Comics

Tomer and Asaf Hanuka are twins. They share a similar genetic structure but were raised in different places. This condition creates a special tension between their stories and styles and is the foundation of Bipolar.

Asaf, with writer Etgar Keret is telling the story of "Pizzeria Kamikaze." about a guy with a broken heart who committed suicide only to find himself at Pizza Kamikaze, a regular day job in a world where everyone died before and now it's about passing time. Tomer is telling personal stories with a twisted time sense that will put you right now, a year ago, and in the future.

This issue in two stories: The first: After finding his lost love, Mordy discovers that you can't trust anything in the land of suicides. Death, finger food, bureaucratic blunders, and one undercover angel roil the climatic last chapter of Asaf Hanuka and Etgar Keret's "Pizzeria Kamikaze". The second: "Aquaflesh" by Tomer Hanuka — Drowning in alcohol and self pity, the washed-up Aquaflesh gets his last chance to confront the moment that changed it all  Publisher's Comic Page

• Comic: 24 pages
• Publisher: Alternative Comics
• ISBN-10: 1-891867-36-9

Technorati tags: asaf hanuka, tomer hanuka, etgar keret, bipolar, comic, indieworld, atlernative comics