Comics Confidential

Starred review from August 1, 2016

Gr 6 Up-In this volume, Marcus compiles interviews with 13 different graphic novel artists. All of the interviews retain their question-and-answer format and are about 12 to 14 pages long. They cover the interviewees' childhoods, how they got interested in comics, ways comics and graphic novels have changed over the years, and the creative process. Each interview also includes an original two-page comic, created specifically for this volume, loosely focusing on the theme of "city." Each artist featured is a currently working, well-known creator of material for children (e.g., Catia Chien, Kazu Kibuishi, Hope Larson, Dave Roman, and Gene Luen Yang). The work provides an interesting perspective on the evolution and growth of graphic novels, as the artists come from different times and places. While there is not enough information to be useful for reports, this is an engaging volume for the format's fans to learn more about the creators behind popular works and might serve as a good bridge from graphic novels into more prose-based selections. VERDICT A solid choice to supplement a robust graphic novel collection. Hard-core fans will be pleased.-Elizabeth Nicolai, Anchorage Public Library, AK

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2016
Q-and-A sessions with 13 influential creators of comics for children and teens. Marcus, the renowned children's-literature historian, sits down for frank interviews with some of today's most important and award-winning cartoonists, including Printz winner Gene Luen Yang, multiple Eisner Award recipient Hope Larson, and Scott O'Dell Award winner Matt Phelan. The artists tell their own stories and also speak about their influences and daily routines (if they have one). They not only provide personal insight into their lives and careers, but have also each created a new and original comic, centered around the theme of "the city," creating an embedded minianthology. These cartoons, however--the major visuals in an otherwise prose-heavy book--can fall disjointedly into the middle of the text, breaking up the natural rhythm of the questions and even sentences. Every conversation has an intimate, comfortable feel, and Marcus doesn't shy away from tough questions or blunt language, tackling such subjects as race and death. Though Marcus' questions are nothing if not thought-provoking and insightful, at times they feel a little aimless and cause the conversations to stumble. True fans, however, should not be put off by these editorial foibles and will revel in the deeper look into the creators they adore. Despite some flaws, this collection proudly stands as an engaging and erudite glimpse between the panels. (source notes, art media notes, selected reading, index) (Nonfiction. 13 & up)

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August 1, 2016
Grades 9-12 Twelve interviews offer the thoughts and backgrounds of the most influential cartoonists currently delineating the shape and form of comics, including Kazu Kibuishi, Hope Larson, Mark Siegel, James Sturm, Sara Varon, and Gene Luen Yang. An accomplished interviewer but apparently somewhat new to graphic novels, Marcus doesn't probe exceptionally deeply into the art form itself, though the artists do incidentally offer some ringing insights. See Larson on visual editing, Sturm on the perception of time in comics, and Danica Novgorodoff's revelatory comparison between drawing and horseback riding. Primarily, Marcus creates revealing portraits of the kinds of people who create comics for a living and their inspirations, education, psychologies, and skill sets. Most valuable for young readers may be the discussions of the cartoonists' work routines, providing the indispensable insight that this is not just an art but a job and emphasizing the level of professional discipline it requires. In addition to the interviews, each cartoonist provides an original short comic, deepening the significance of their words and illustrating how comics occupy a seemingly impossible position, simultaneously intensely personal and resonantly universal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2017
After a brief outline of comics history, Marcus interviews thirteen prominent graphic novelists creating books for children and teens. Marcus's chosen comics creators together represent a nice range of styles, topics, nationalities, backgrounds, and intended audiences; his insightful questions range from individual creative processes and career paths to broader ruminations on the medium. Reading list. Ind.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2016
A foreword by David Small and Marcus's brief outline of the history of comics introduce the book. Marcus (The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy, rev. 7/06; Funny Business: Conversations with Writers of Comedy, rev. 11/09) then proceeds to interview thirteen prominent graphic novelists creating books for children and teensincluding Gene Luen Yang, Kazu Kibuishi, Hope Larson, Sara Varon, and Mark Siegel, to name several. Each individually tailored interview, in a Q&A format, opens with a self-portrait of the artist and contains both a short finished full-color comic inspired by the open-ended prompt the city and some preliminary sketches for said comic. Marcus's chosen comics creators together represent a nice range of styles, topics, nationalities, backgrounds, and intended audiences, while his insightful questions range from formative childhood influences to various career paths, and from individual creative processes to broader ruminations on the medium of comics. The profiles are concise and informative; taken together as a whole, the book represents a snapshot of the genre as it continues on its upward trajectory (what with Newbery Honors going to graphic novels in consecutive years). Appended with source notes, art media notes, artists' bibliographies, and an index. jonathan hunt

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)