Allison O'Brien and fellow comic majors recommend

Allison O'Brien

For the fifth in our series of student recommended Library material pertaining to MCAD majors we highlight Comic Art.  The Library thanks Alison O'Brien and her fellow comic art students for compiling this interesting collection of graphic novels and comics now on display in the main reading room.  Check them out, literally!!

Thank you Allison for your insightful comments about the selections, and for sharing your self-portrait.

The items we’ve chosen strike a mark on the genre of comic books with literary and artistic vision that stretch them beyond the norm, whether it be by critical reception or occult appreciation. As a collective we attempted to pick the best of everything we could get our hands on in the widest range of styles possible to truly showcase what this medium has to offer. Enjoy the ride, my friends.

Love and Rockets is a character-driven opus that sets the standard for character and temporal development throughout a comic. The stories and characters span over years and years, growing in and around each other in ways that make it a pleasure to read and reread time and time again to become fully immersed in Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez’ world.

Something more readily self-contained but just as fascinating is the award-winning Asterios Polyp. Asterios Polyp is something that can scarcely be explained through mere words, but suffice to say the sheer beauty of its layout is enough to give it precedence. Utilizing character-specific tonal ranges and constantly shifting styles, it’s a comic that forces the reader to come to their own terms and opinions, reexamining passages and artwork alike to fully ascertain even a shred of what Mazzucchelli is trying to convey. 




For something a bit more dark and gritty why not try out The Dark Knight 

Returns.   You’ll get yourself a face full of harrowing physical and psychological    turmoil that only Frank Miller can push to the forefront. It features a fresh-out-of-    retirement Batman up against the cold-war politics of a disparaging Gotham that    push him to the brink more than the darkness he fights ever could. It’s poignant,    harsh, and perfectly fitting with the Batman of our modern media.

And that’s just the tip of iceberg. From the mind-numbingly moving Buddha to the
 quirky antics of Beanworld, take some time to dive on in.