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With the advent of summer holidays and school winding down. Kids are under the impression that learning is out the window. No more books, perish the thought. There are many books out there that will keep those little bright eyes glued to some exciting adventures. Some publishers are taking a clue from comic books and creating exciting stories laced in comic book themed ideas. Anna Smudge is the newest girl in town that will make reading exciting for many. Mac is the newest author from Popular Science Magazine and she chronicles the further adventures of Anna Smudge and her cast of "Professionals" in an ongoing series of exciting fresh plots. Not since Lucy from Peanuts that an eleven year old shrink can be a cool thing to read. Taking clue from the likes of Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown and all the sleuths before her, Anna Smudge is full of promise as the next new series that will lure your kids like little fish to bait. Glenn Fabry a well known artist in the comic book industry fills out the book with his spot illustrations. This book will be the sleeper of the summer for kids nine and older.
A DANGEROUS ESCAPED HITMAN
AN ART TEACHER WHO HAS LOST HER MIND
A NAKED MAN COVERED IN SEAWEED AND TALKING IN RHYMES
BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL HAVE TO DO WITH THE CRIMINAL MASTERMIND MR. WHO?
It’s up to Anna Smudge to find out. But Anna’s no ordinary eleven-year-old. She’s the top shrink in Manhattan, holding therapy sessions in a cramped storage closet in the lobby of her apartment building. And hordes of nutty New Yorkers are nearly kicking down her door, desperate to schedule an appointment. But Anna’s got major issues of her own: a mysterious blackmailer, a violent new patient, and more homework than a tenth grader. Oh, and she has to catch Mr. Who, the most horrendous criminal mastermind the world has ever known. Her father’s life depends on it.
Teaming up with a motley crew of friends, Anna embarks on an adventure that spans the landmarks of New York City. But how do you find a man when no one has ever seen his face? Does Mr. Who even exist? And if so, who is he?
If you cherish
Edward Gorey, Charles Addams, and Tim Burton and have a bent for black humor, then Jim Benton is your man. His new collection of prose illustrated gore and more is in the tradition of Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies. These cleverly rhymed lines of wit is not exactly for kids under 14, and some adults will squirm. These books are all in jest as are the previous insperation works of past cartoonists. It’s great to see that Jim Benton is carrying the torch of a genre that teeters on the edge of horror and comedy.
“She was orphaned quite young In a mysterious way, Her parents just up and vanished one day.”
The bloody footprints leading out of Cherise’s bedroom are the first clue that perhaps the little darling with the bow in her hair is not an angel. As Cherise is shuttled from one aunt’s home to another, her aunts vanish, meeting inventive and hysterical ends. With a killer punch line on its final page, Jim Benton’s Cherise the Niece will leave readers laughing.
Tall Tales was an innovative newspaper strip syndicated internationally by the New York Herald Tribune from 1957–1963. Whereas newspaper strips are square, single-panel or multiple-panel horizontal gag cartoons, Al Jaffee, known for the Fold-In in MAD Magazine, once again altered the format of his work to create a vertical strip—the first, and last, in newspaper history. Tall Tales contains the best 120 wordless strips out of over 2,200, scanned from the original files. The book features a new preface by Jaffee and an introduction by Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report.
“Al Jaffee is the cartoonist’s cartoonist. He’s a pioneer in every field, from comic books to book illustration to magazine cartoons. The worst thing about Jaffee is that every time I do a drawing, I find out he’s done it before . . . and better.”—Sergio Aragonés, cartoonist
“This collection proves that not only has Al Jaffee always been funny, he’s always been disturbed.” — Stephen Colbert, from his introduction
When something works for a young writer or artist or you happen to be both you stick with the winning formula. Such is the case for young writer/artist extraordinaire as he come back with a sequel to his first book called
I’m The Biggest Thing in the Ocean. I’m the Best Artist in the Ocean! has the charm warm charm as the original book. Kevin Sherry’s young career is taking off with this lovable squid who paints in the ocean.
Not only is this irrepressible squid the biggest thing ever, he’s also the best artist in the entire ocean. He squirts ink, for goodness’ sakes, and there aren’t many animals in the ocean who can do that! This squid is making a masterpiece that is sure to wow his fellow fish. But perhaps they aren’t as pleased as he would think?
Comic Art Now is a great book to reference some household cartoonists of the industry. Cartoonist my be the wrong word. Comic artists to some but really an artist in the true sense. A comic artist has the undaunting task of creating a world from scratch unlike a film crew that has millions of dollars and staff to build a whole new dynamic world of suspended disbelief. With a pencil and black ink, some artists are able to bring us to whole new worlds. Here are some of the most celebrated artists with sections divided into different genres of illustrators. Some will say not the most comprehensive collection, but it really encompasses some of the better and undiscovered talent with online information added to each drawing. It’s an amazing artistic tool and you get to learn more about your favorite illustrators.
Comic art has finally reached acceptance as a legitimate and important art form in its own right, and is a source of inspiration for musicians, fashion designers, and Hollywood directors. In Comic Art Now, some of its finest exponents are gathered together for the first time in a volume that reveals the diversity and rich talent that abounds in this visually thrilling artform. The book showcases the top contemporary comic artists, whether they are established professionals such as Bryan Talbot, John Cassady, Alex Ross, Sean Phillips, Chris Ware, Mike Mignola, Dave Gibbons, Brendan McCarthy, and Frank Cho, or hot new creators making waves in the industry, like Kaare Andrews, JG Jones, Jason, and Steve McNiven.
No man is an island some might say. There was no mention of a woman. Tove Jansson is the woman in question, she is gone now and left us a treasure to be found once again by new fans. Drawn and Quarterly, Montreal’s premiere graphic novel printer led the way with the reprinting of her Moomin illustrated yarns and the spillage is now overflowing with a new re-polished reprint of her newest old book called
The Summer Book. This little trove is a story of a six year old girl and her grandmother.
The two polarities in age discover the basic themes of life in different perspectives pertaining to the generational divide and come to understand new things with each others eyes as though they were looking from inside out of each other. Sometimes the most basic relationships and the heart strings that attach us to a sentiment or thought of a captured moment in our youth will stick to us till our death. Tove Jansson is a classic writer and illustrator left unturned for many years, and most of us outside her native Finland are now discovering her work as a new experience.
In the global village of thought, it is an amazing thing to comb through books forgotten such as this one. Truly Tove Jansson’s
The Summer Book will be the advent to this summer which breams with new ideas. The quick page turner will put a smile and a little wonderment at the same time.
The updated reprint edition of now classic in the Shatner World is back thanks to Quirk Books.
The Encyclopedia Shatnerica: An A to Z Guide to the Man and His Universe is a must for all fans. In a span of 50 years William Shatner seems to have conquered the universe of entertainment. You could say he has boldly gone where no man has gone before in business ventures. What is missing in this man’s cornucopia of experiences? An encyclopedia called,
The Encyclopedia Shatnerica. Robert Schnakenberg brings us the latest in the Shatnerverse.
Actor, singer, director, novelist, horseman, game-show host, spoken-word performer, legendary Hollywood lothario—is there anything William Shatner can’t do? Beam aboard the starship Irreverent as certified Shatnerologist Robert Schnakenberg takes you on a guided tour of the Emmy-winning entertainment icon’s universe. Inside you’ll find:
More than fifty years of major film, TV, and stage appearances—from Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone to Star Trek, T. J. Hooker, and Boston Legal
Shatner’s many musical misadventures, including his legendary covers of “Rocket Man” and “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
Scandalous allegations and scathing anecdotes from Star Trek costars
Plus more girdle, divorce, and toupee trivia than you can shake a phaser at! Fully updated for the first time in ten years, with all-new material on Denny Crane, Nerine Kidd, Iron Chef USA, and more, The Encyclopedia Shatnerica remains the definitive biography of an entertainment icon.
Look who reared its ugly head.
Uglydolls found their way to Random House with two guides to the Uglyverse. These dolls have in the past few years developed a loyal following and grew each year with new ones. The idea behind these characters created by David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim fancy the imagination for all. In this safe universe where ugly is cute in a superlative way is a fresh beacon to the usual gore-fest out there from other individuals who thrive in creating truly horrific characters. The stuffed animals are a hit all over the world and these guides will help you discover David’s and Sun-Min’s world of fun.
The Uglydolls have taken our world by storm with their adorable uglyness and hilarious personalities. And now, Uglydoll lovers everywhere can get their first-ever glimpse into the mysteries of the Uglyverse! Join Wage, Babo, and the rest of the Uglydolls’ quirky characters on a tour of Ugly Town. In Ugly Guide to the Uglyverse, you’ll dine in Ugly Town’s fine (and not-so-fine) restaurants, go on a tour of the Ugly History Museum, check in to the Ugly Hospital, vacation at the Ugly Beach, and learn even more about Ugly Town and the Uglydolls themselves, including what Jeero really does all day and what Big Toe wants to be when he grows up. Ugly Guide
The Big Book of Illustration Ideas 2
What if you need someone to draw salad on a plate with a glass of wine next to it? You could go through the above processes, and—after a while—you’d probably find someone to draw or paint it in the style you wanted. Or you could simply pick up The Big Book of Illustration Ideas 2 flip to the section marked "Food and Still Life," and find pages and pages of illustrators who can draw all kinds of food in all kinds of styles: pencil, crayon, watercolor, collage, and so on, and so on. It’s a smorgasbord of illustration ideas. In fact, within these pages are the best illustrators from all over the world, found together in one place along with all their contact information.
For ease of reference, illustrators’ work is cataloged by theme: People; Portraits; Food and Still Life; Buildings; Landscapes; Abstract Concepts; Diagrams; and Miscellaneous.
Now you can harness those little imaginations with
Tikatok, a new web 2.0 site in beta. This nifty little site will make book publishers out of your little tykes. Yikes Kids! Look out now you can become a writer and illustrator with this simple site and share your work with kids and family all over the world.
Tikatok can be incorporated in library and school workshops. Sharpen those pencils and power up those scanners and become a writer with ease with
Tikatok. Kids will have hours of fun and it’s a great way to encourage kids with this show and tell site for all to see. Who knows we might have the next little
JK Rowling in the works. Tikatok will be the talk of the block.I was in the children’s section of a national bookstore chain with my daughter and realized that all of the books were written and illustrated by adults, said Sharon Kan, Co-Founder and CEO of Tikatok. Children love to tell and read stories with other children, and it is important for them to continuously use their imagination and create things, like books, instead of just consuming products. Tikatok.com provides a great online community that is designed to spark creativity and empower any child to create books, to share original stories with their friends both online and in print. We are proud to have developed a creative environment that really helps unleash a child’s imagination and fosters story-telling, sharing and collaboration among children.
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