The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers.
Age Of Bronze Volume 3: Betrayal Part 1 by Eric Shanower
Image Comics, Inc.
1942 University Avenue, Suite 305, Berkeley, CA 94704
9781582408453, $27.95 www.imagecomics.com
Artist and author Eric Shanower retells the story of the Trojan War in his unique graphic novel series "The Age Of Bronze". Shanower's opus is laid out incorporating the perspectives of both the Greeks and the Trojans. His artwork is visually detailed. His attention to accuracy in historical detail and minutia is truly impressive. His ability to make these historic characters speak in a modern linguistic style but still remain absolutely believable to the reader is the mark of a master storyteller. Complex, definitive, and memorable, Shanower is able to perfectly capture the basic drives, emotions, ambitions, loves, obsessions, jealousies, hardships, and human frailties of all the men and women, from bit players to center stage stars of one of the most popular sagas in all of human literature. As informed and informative as it is engaging and entertaining, "Age Of Bronze: Betrayal, Part One" is the first hardcover volume in this outstanding series and is enthusiastically recommended for school and community library collections, as well as the personal reading lists of history buffs and non-specialist general readers with an interest in this ancient history and the enduring recognizability of the human condition.
Ascend: Special Edition by Keith Arem, Christopher Shy
PCB Productions Inc.
5150 Amestroy Avenue, Encino, CA 91316
1600101372, $35.00 www.pcbproductions.com
"Ascend" by Keith Arem is the story of Sebastian, a young man who is tragically killed, only to find himself a reluctant draftee in the Purgatory Wars where he is reunited with his deceased brother Gideon -- who has become the most powerful angel in the Legions of heaven and plans to lead a coup to regain their family's power. Realizing he holds the key to ending this war in Heaven, Sebastian must face his brother before Gideon destroys the cycle of life on Earth. A superbly written and original story set in a post-apocalyptic heaven where Angles battle over 'harvested' human souls in the Purgatory Wars, "Ascend: Special Edition is also available in a hard cover edition (1600101380, $75.00), "Ascend: Special Edition" is a strongly recommended addition to personal and community library graphic novel collections and action/adventure fantasy reading lists.
Modern Masters Volume 14: Frank Cho by Eric Nolen-Weathington, Frank Cho
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Dr., Raleigh, NC 27614
9781893905849, $14.95 www.twomorrows.com
The latest in TwoMorrows Publishing's tribute series to great comic book artists of today, Modern Masters Volume Fourteen: Frank Cho is an in-depth interview with award-winning Korean-American comic writer and artist Frank Cho, known for his penchant for drawing monkeys, dinosaurs, and beautiful women. Author of the popular comic strip "Liberty Meadows" as well as acclaimed runs on the Marvel comic titles "Shanna the She-Devil", "Spider-Man", and "The Mighty Avengers", among other works, Cho brings a refreshing balance of action, humor, and unabashed love for his work to the comic page. In Modern Masters Volume Fourteen, Cho talks about the pressures to pursue more traditional careers rather than become a comic artist, his efforts to break into the industry, the creators who most influenced him, the creative storytelling process, life, the universe, and everything. "I was all geared to go to the Maryland Institute of Art until I visited the campus... It was a bunch of modern art nonsense - abstract art and splatter paint and weird stuff just for weird's sake. It wasn't an art school, it was basically a playground for pretentious rich kids." Illustrated with black-and-white samples of Cho's work and art pieces that inspired Cho, including some rare sketches from Cho's college days, Modern Masters Volume Fourteen is not only a "must-have" for any fan of Frank Cho's comics; it's pure fun to read for any comic lover.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.
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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
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