Not just a tie-in, this throwback builds on the weirdness of its era and offers something more.
Segura brings the “lost” comic book described in his novel Secret Identity(2022) to four-color life with illustrator Jarrell in this 1970s super-hero throwback graphic novel.
In this work, the Legendary Lynx (aka Claudia Calla) is allowed to operate free from her metafictional origins as a character from the mid-1970s stolen from newbie writer Carmen Valdez (neither the character nor the creator ever existed in real life), prowling the shadowed streets of Triumph City clad in a domino mask and cheetah-print bell-bottoms, “sleek, dangerous, and eager to take out Triumph City’s trash.” Trained as an acrobatic, claw-wielding vigilante by the ghost of a prolific cat burglar to avenge her murdered sister, Claudia becomes a hero who both protects and supports women. Lynx stands apart from other characters of the time due to an absence of the racial or gender stereotypes common to the era. This approach makes her noteworthy even today as the narrative inverts tropes, provides queer subtext, and positions the supposedly “mild-mannered” Claudia as the only hope for intrepid reporter Simon Upton, who is stalked by the vampiric Mr. Void and his translucent skeletal army of Voidoids. Jarrell’s dynamic pencils bring the action on faux-faded, yellowed pages, drawing loving inspiration from Sal Buscema’s work on Steve Englehart’s Secret Empire and giving the book a “dated” look that cleverly helps to frame the story as ahead of its time. Comic-book Easter eggs abound, including The Apparition’s Dr. Manhattan-esque word balloons, a muscular medieval villain straight out of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, and locations referencing creators like Duffy Vohland. These references are a blast and not just a gimmick; a tongue-in-cheek framing device that pulls in comics legend J.M. DeMatteis and Comic Book Resources reporter Brian Cronin also offers frank commentary and a short but thorough history of the comics industry. The end result is a companion piece to a celebrated novel (and its sequel, Alter Ego) that doesn’t just dither in meta-commentary—it’s actually a fun super-hero period piece that stands on its own.
Not just a tie-in, this throwback builds on the weirdness of its era and offers something more.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781545814000
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced...
A pairing of the text of the Scottish Play with a filmed performance, designed with the Shakespeare novice in mind.
The left side of the screen of this enhanced e-book contains a full version of Macbeth, while the right side includes a performance of the dialogue shown (approximately 20 lines’ worth per page). This granular focus allows newcomers to experience the nuances of the play, which is rich in irony, hidden intentions and sudden shifts in emotional temperature. The set and costuming are deliberately simple: The background is white, and Macbeth’s “armor” is a leather jacket. But nobody’s dumbing down their performances. Francesca Faridany is particularly good as a tightly coiled Lady Macbeth; Raphael Nash-Thompson gives his roles as the drunken porter and a witch a garrulousness that carries an entertainingly sinister edge. The presentation is not without its hiccups. Matching the video on the right with the text on the left means routinely cutting off dramatic moments; at one point, users have to swipe to see and read the second half of a scene’s closing couplet—presumably an easy fix. A “tap to translate” button on each page puts the text into plain English, but the pop-up text covers up Shakespeare’s original, denying any attempts at comparison; moreover, the translation mainly redefines more obscure words, suggesting that smaller pop-ups for individual terms might be more meaningful.
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced e-book makes the play appealing and graspable to students . (Enhanced e-book. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: The New Book Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
A Rand primer with pictures.
A graphic novel for devotees of Ayn Rand.
With its men who have become gods through rugged individualism, the fiction of Ayn Rand has consistently had something of a comic strip spirit to it. So the mating of Rand and graphic narrative would seem to be long overdue, with her 1938 novella better suited to a quick read than later, more popular work such as The Fountainhead (1943) and the epic Atlas Shrugged (1957). As Anthem shows, well before the Cold War (or even World War II), Rand was railing against the evils of any sort of collectivism and the stifling of individualism, warning that this represented a return to the Dark Ages. Here, her allegory hammers the point home. It takes place in the indeterminate future, a period after “the Great Rebirth” marked an end of “the Unmentionable Times.” Now people have numbers as names and speak of themselves as “we,” with no concept of “I.” The hero, drawn to stereotypical, flowing-maned effect by illustrator Staton, knows himself as Equality 7-2521 and knows that “it is evil to be superior.” A street sweeper, he stumbles upon the entrance to a tunnel, where he discovers evidence of scientific advancement, from a time when “men knew secrets that we have lost.” He inevitably finds a nubile mate. He calls her “the Golden One.” She calls him “the Unconquered.” Their love, of course, is forbidden, and not just because she is 17. After his attempt to play Prometheus, bringing light to a society that prefers the dark, the two escape to the “uncharted forest,” where they are Adam and Eve. “I have my mind. I shall live my own truth,” he proclaims, having belatedly discovered the first-person singular. The straightforward script penned by Santino betrays no hint of tongue-in-cheek irony.
A Rand primer with pictures.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-451-23217-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: NAL/Berkley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2010
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