Palestine by Joe Sacco

Blurb (from the jacket):

In late l991 and early 1992, at the time of the first Intifada, Joe Sacco spent two months with the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, travelling and taking notes. Upon returning to the United States he started writing and drawing Palestine, which combines the techniques of eyewitness reportage with the medium of comic-book storytelling to explore this complex, emotionally weighty situation. He captures the heart of the Palestinian experience in image after unforgettable image, with great insight and remarkable humour.

The nine-issue comics series won a l996 American Book Award. It is now published for the first time in one volume, befitting its status as one of the great classics of graphic non-fiction. 

The Four Encounters by Osamu Tezuka (Buddha #2)

Blurb (from the jacket):

Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of Japanese graphic art, brings ancient India to life, lavishly retelling the life and times of 'the enlightened one' in his critically acclaimed eight-book masterpiece: BUDDHA. The fates of real and imagined characters are deftly interwoven as they engage in fresh and unexpected adventures, playing out Tezuka's philosophical concern with overcoming fate and the uselessness of voilence.

In book two, The Four Encounters, Prince Siddartha – fated to become the Buddha – is confronted by the harsh penalties of social injustice within his own kingdom, fuelled by selfish warlords and villains like the depraved warrior, Bandaka. The tragic fortunes of his loved-ones, such as Tatta the rogue and Migalia the fierce female bandit, force the Prince to choose between love and destiny; Siddartha must forsake his heart and begin his pilgrimage.

Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka (Buddha #1)

Blurb (from the jacket):

Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of Japanese graphic art, brings ancient India to life, lavishly retelling the life and times of "the enlightened one" in his critically acclaimed eight book masterpiece, Buddha. The fates of real and imagined characters are deftly interwoven as they engage in fresh and unexpected adventures, playing out Tezuka's philosophical concern with overcoming fate and the uselessness of violence. 

In the first book, Kapilavastu, Chapra, an ambitious slave, spurns the caste system into which he was born and tries to become a nobleman. Tatta, the wild pariah child, communes with animals. And the monk, Naradatta, strives to uncover the meaning of strange portents surrounding the Buddha's birth.

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, David Lloyd (Illustrator)

Blurb (from GoodReads):

"Good evening, London." It's nine o'clock and this is The Voice of Fate... It is the Fifth of the Eleventh, Nineteen-Ninety-Seven...

"The people of London are advised that the Brixton and Streatham areas are quarantine zones as of today. It is suggested that these areas be avoided for reasons of health and safety...

Police raided seventeen homes in the Birmingham area early this morning, uncovering what is believed to be a major terrorist ring. Twenty people, either of them women, are currently in detention awaiting trial...

The weather will be fine until 12:07 A.M. when a shower will commence, lasting until 1:30 A.M... 

Have a pleasant evening."

A frightening and powerful tale of the loss of freedom and identity in a chillingly believable totalitarian world, V for Vendetta stands as one of the highest achievements of the comics medium and a defining work for creators Alan Moore and David Lloyd.

Set in an imagined future England that has given itself over to fascism, this groundbreaking story captures both the suffocating nature of life in an authoritarian police state and the redemptive power of the human spirit which rebels against it. Crafted with sterling clarity and intelligence, V for Vendetta brings an unequaled depth of characterization and verisimilitude to its unflinching account of oppression and resistance.

"Remember, remember the fifth of November..."

400 BC by Lewis Helfand, Lalit Kumar Singh (Illustrator)

Blurb (from the jacket):

Fortune favors the bold...

They were an unstoppable force, hired to take the crown from the King of Persia. They were a fearless army of Greek soldiers, and one hundred thousand men fighting as one. They were led by the finest and most courageous generals in all of Greece. They were being led to unimaginable wealth, but that was days ago.

Now their leaders are dead and their army has scattered. Now their numbers have fallen to ten thousand and nothing remains but fear. Now they are men praying not for victory, but for the slim chance of living one more day.

Cut off by impassable terrain and pursued by an army of one million enemy soldiers; they must stand together to survive. To find their way home, one of their own must lead them. And to live one more day...

...they must fight.

The Common Man Casts His Vote by R.K. Laxman

Blurb (from web):

From financial crises to the woes of householders, from political instability to rampant corruption, Laxman’s cartoons capture the entire gamut of contemporary Indian experience. Hilarious and thought-provoking at the same time, this is a treasure house of humor from one of the most striking voices commenting on Indian socio-political life today.

The Obliterary Journal: Volume 1 by Rakesh Khanna (Editor), Rashmi Ruth Devadasan (Editor)

Blurb (from GoodReads):

A collection of comics, street art, typography, and illustrated stories from India and beyond. Includes:

*) A classic Bengali gangster comic in translation

*) Traditional Odisha palm-leaf engravings of alien robot invaders

*) 12th century Sanskrit algebra problems

*) Bus painters from Suriname

*) New work from Vidyun Sabhaney, Amitabh Kumar, Roney Devassia, and Aarti Sunder

*) Bleeding lizards

*) Defecating cyclopses

*) Psychopathic killer tomatoes

*) and much, much more!

The Common Man Tackles Corruption by R.K. Laxman

Blurb (from the jacket):

From financial crises to the woes of householders, from political instability to rampant corruption, Laxman’s cartoons capture the entire gamut of contemporary Indian experience. Hilarious and thought-provoking at the same time, this is a treasurehouse of humour from one of the most striking voices commenting on Indian socio-political life.

Legends of Halahala by Appupen

Foreword:

If you are regular visitor of this blog and read my reviews of other Graphic Novels, you must well aware my obsession about them. Especially, Indian Graphic Novels.

That leaves me with little items on the menu. There are very few illustrators and fewer successful Indian Graphic Novels out there. I mention successful because, if it's not a success, it would either cost you a fortune to buy the novel or you have to go to the end of the world to find it.

I particularly hate Indian readers so much. Their negligence for Graphic Novels is one reason. Of course, they read Comics, but Graphic fictions and Comics share very little of similarities, when it comes to deeper sense. But I shalln't blame them either. The cost of the Graphic Novels are so high, I don't think Indian readers are much to be blamed.

So here I am, trying to promote Indian Graphic Novels and testing my own limits of sanity!!!

Photo Booth by Lewis Helfand, Sachin Nagar (Illustrator)

Blurb (from the jacket):

He wanted to change the past, but first he would have to alter the future...

A new deadly drug is about to flood the streets of New York City. The police have no leads on who is producing the drug, or where it is coming from. As far as Praveer Rajani, a reckless Interpol agent, is concerned the only way to prevent countless deaths lies in a handful of mysterious photographs.

Within the photographs, Praveer can see images of places he has never known, and people he has long forgotten. But what are the photographs leading him to? Is Praveer being told that his life is spiraling out of control, and he now has one chance to put things right?

Or are the photographs related to a murder that Praveer is desperate to solve? Perhaps they are showing the love that his brother, Jayendra, let slip away or even the family that his sister, Nisha, wants back?

The mystery will finally be solved in this exciting romantic thriller from Campfire.

The Hotel at the End of the World by Parismita Singh

Blurb (from the jacket):

In the hotel at the end of the world it’s business as usual, as Pema dishes up rice and pork curry to travellers who stop by for a drink and refuge from the rains. Everyone there has a story to tell, and at times they end up revealing more than they want to.

On their journey to China, Kona and Kuja, bound together by fate, stumble upon the trail of the Floating Island, promised land of plenty. Pema’s story is about lost love, while her husband speaks of homesick Japanese soldiers in Manipur and the Naga hills during World War II. The Prophet takes us back to the quest for the Floating Island, leading us to the little girl’s story as she sets out to fetch water and chances upon something quite unexpected…

Drawing from various oral storytelling and folklore traditions, and with influences ranging from Commando war comics to World War II history and Buddhist art, Parismita Singh creates a world that's magical yet very real. Exquisite in terms of both narrative and artwork, The Hotel at the End of the World marks a new height in graphic fiction in India.

Corridor by Sarnath Banerjee

Blurb (from the jacket):

In the heart of Lutyens' Delhi sits Jehangir Rangoonwalla, enlightened dispenser of tea, wisdom, and second-hand books. Among his customers are Brighu, a postmodern Ibn Batuta looking for obscure collectibles and a love life; Digital Dutta who lives mostly in his head, torn between Karl Marx and an H1-B visa; and the newly-married Shintu, looking for the ultimate aphrodisiac in the seedy by-lanes of old Delhi. Played out in the corridors of Connaught Place and Calcutta, the story captures the alienation and fragmented reality of urban life through an imaginative alchemy of text and image.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Reloaded by Poulomi Mukherjee, Amit Tayal (Illustrator)

Foreword:

I have encountered this book on a blog-post where it is listed as one of the most famous Indian Grpahic Novel.

I have developed this new fascination for Graphic Novels - Indian Graphic Novels, in particular.

My first Indian Graphic Novel is Kari.

For more Graphic Novels, click here...

For more Indian Graphic Novels, click here...

I have always wondered why Graphic Novel? Well, I can't answer. Perhaps, no one can. It is just the feel of it that is most interesting about it.

Unlike the other graphic novels I had read, which were rather sequential arts than graphic novels, this one is more kinda cartoon. Cartoon Strip, perhaps. A comic, maybe. While the other graphic novels I read were more art, this was more like a cartoon. It was like watching a cartoon movie on mute with subtitles.

Kari by Amruta Patil

Foreword:

I have many times mentioned about my new-found fascination for graphic novels. Especially, Indian graphic novels. They literally give an orgasm to the reader in me.

Why?

I don't know. In fact, there are more reasons to not promote graphic novels against novels. They have illustrations limiting the readers' imagination, which is the key aspect of reading a typical novel.

Yet, I have this strange sense of fascination for graphic novels. How much ever I try to reason my way out, I fail. Miserably, at that.

Of course, the graphic novels are vivider. The characters of a novel take shape, in real dimensions and come alive. There is no wasting time, describing the physicality of the character and her expression, etc.

Well, in simple words, I love graphic novels for their vividness, perhaps.

Blue Is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh

Foreword:

If I had to thank someone for making me read this book, that would be Srinivas, the other author of the blog. Who was the person that injected the words Graphic Novel into my reads and also for asking me to read this one.

The other Graphic Novels, I had read,

• Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

To compare the three Graphic Novels, every aspect of them differ widely. While I admire Asterios Polyp for the illustrations, I love Persepolis for its witty narration and this one for its story.

Like I mentioned in other novels too, it is a very unique experience to read a Graphic Novel. It is like you are watching a movie with subtitles and on mute.

Definitely a experience every reader must try...

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Foreword:

I use Grammarly's plagiarism checker because it helps me find glitches in the prose and is way better than many other copy-cat applications.

It is this new-found tang for Graphic Novels that brought this book to me. Also, it is Srinivas - the other author of this blog - that introduced this book to me.

He kept ranting about this book for so long and at the end, I was adamant to read this. What started as a fleeting glance into the book carried to over 75 pages and I took a few more leaps to complete reading the novel.

I am still skeptical about how many stars to give this book. Maybe, I will decide before I reach the end of this review.

Blurb (from the jacket):

Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli

Foreword:

This is the first Graphic Novel I have ever read. Yeah, believe me, I never even read comics for that matter.

It is Srinivas, the other author of this blog, who developed a keen interest in graphic novels lately. In fact, it is he who first made me aware that there exists something like Graphic novels. Of course, I knew Batman, Superman, et al, but they are comics.

At first, I had difficulty understanding difference between a Graphic Novel and a Comic. It is Srinivas who made understand and it was simple.

Well now, after reading the book, I must say that it was a very unique experience. The experience was nothing like reading a book. Neither was it like watching a movie. It was more like watching a cartoon-movie on mute, with subtitles. No music, no background score, but the emotions are delivered with equal measure.

Blurb:

The triumphant return of one of comics’ greatest talents, with an engrossing story of one man’s search for love, meaning, sanity, and perfect architectural proportions. An epic story long awaited, and well worth the wait. 

Meet Asterios Polyp: middle-aged, meagerly successful architect and teacher, aesthete and womanizer, whose life is wholly upended when his New York City apartment goes up in flames. In a tenacious daze, he leaves the city and relocates to a small town in the American heartland. But what is this “escape” really about?