Books I've Read This Week

This week two fantastic anthropomorphic graphic novels:

I love, love, love these new Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge collections from Fantagraphics. Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: "Only a Poor Old Man" by Carl Barks, the good duck artist, is the second volume to be release and it once again succeeds in returning me to childhood. This volume includes a number of short and long form stories including a couple of my favourites including “Tralla La La” and “The Secret of Atlantis". These are the stories that inspired the younger version of me to look into the topics of geography and history and helped build the know-it-all I am today. Even those these stories are funny they also have a bit of social commentary that is still relevant today. The young and the young at heart will love this book!

Blacksad: A Silent Hell written by Juan Diaz Canales and drawn by Juanjo Guarnido is the fourth Blacksad story. The first Blacksad collection is in my top three of best graphic novels of all time so my anticipation for new Blacksad was at an all time high. With that level of expectation it would be pretty easy to be disappointed by this latest story but I was not. The art and writing are as good as they ever been. A Silent Hell finds Blacksad in New Orleans where he is embroiled in a murder mystery, missing person case. Blacksad needs to find jazz musician Sebastian "Little Hand" Fletcher as all of his former band mates are either missing or dead. Of course, because this is New Orleans you know voodoo will be involved somehow. Anyway, another great book and if you haven't picked up the original Blacksad collection of the first 3 adventures you owe it to yourself to pick it up and devour it.

Next week, no funny animal books.