Set to Sea by Drew Weing

Drew Weing - author. Set to sea. Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics, 2010. ISBN: 978-1-60699-368-2

Author website: http://www.drewweing.com/

Media: pen and ink

Genre: graphic novel, adventure, comic

Annotation: A portly potbellied landlubbing poet, who finds himself in a slump while writing about life at sea, gets shanghaied aboard a ship and gets an inside view on the trials and tribulations of sailor life.

My thoughts:

This is Drew Weing’s debut 2010 graphic novel, though the crosshatched full-page black and white panels could have been published in bygone eras. Sailors, pirates, and the high seas set this comic adventure book. The style and characters are very reminiscent of the classic Popeye comic strip. Only these characters definitely cast in Popeye-like story. These are characters that do not get lots of spinach. They don’t swim with mermaids (unless tossed to sea by pirates). And, these sailors don’t have time to tan on their backs. (Popeye song) These sailors toast “long hours, short rations, and not even a stone to mark your grave!” Though the giant hero is able to steal away brief moments for his poetry and is able to find wordlessly communicate the solace he finds as the sunrises in the artic.

There is very little dialogue throughout the book. So, the images provide the narrative. And, they do so very effectively. The transition of our fat hero poet starts from when he is depicted more as a vagrant poet wandering local pubs (and getting the boot) to an honorable sailor who protects his mates and publishes legitimate stories about life at sea. In the end, the patched up barely held together coat is replaced and his is adorned in the garb of a fine gentlemen. He even has a nice eye patch to cover his eyeball-less eye that was shot out by a pirate. He can sit in the “Angry Kitten” (the same bar where he was given the boot) write leisurely while snoozing and is waited upon by said owner/ boot possessor.

It’s nice to see a protagonist grow not only materially but also in maturity. This is also depicted through the tribulations at sea when the whalelike character befriends his fellow crewmen, fights pirates, muscles the steer during a storm, has a moby dick moment, gives his mates advice, works the directional cross, saves a mate during a storm, etc. He no longer sulks around making up stories. He lived it.

The visual storytelling really stands out for me. This is not the common current style. It is unique. Every page holds a carefully crafted illustration that probably can be discussed in terms of historical cartoon/ illustration devices.

Literary devices:

Use of onomatopoeia: tok, whuf, oooaaa,urk,whok, krak, urrgh, zzz

Use of rhyme:

“If I even survive the trip

I set to sea on a clipper ship

But work and woe is what I found

A thousand leagues till I touch ground

I survive this –something- trip / endless? trackless?”

“All hands on deck’ and ‘mainsail-haul’

The timbers groan, the sailors curse

The only fate that would be worse…”

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grades 8-12 (Warning: The poet graphically gets his eye shot out and encounters with pirates include violence, retaliation, and lots of black and white blood. This makes the recommended age group understandable.)

Reviews and Awards

Booklist starred review

“With hints of The Odyssey, Moby Dick, Popeye and Treasure Island, Weing has created a modern classic in the pirate genre.” (School Library Journal )

“Set to Sea's one-panel-per-page layout lets Weing's visual storytelling shine, but only if you resist the urge to tear through the pages quickly. Go too fast, and you'll miss the touching, wordless way Weing communicates the death of a supporting character. Or, worse, you'll skim over a gorgeous arctic sunset clearly inspired by the Gustave Dore engravings for Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Glen Weldon, NPR

Boys of Steel by Marc Tyler Nobleman and Ross MacDonald

Marc Tyler Nobleman, - author. Ross MacDonald - illustrator. Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman. New York: A.A. Knopf, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-375-8385-02-6.

Author website: http://noblemania.blogspot.tw/

Ilustrator website: http://www.ross-macdonald.com/pages/illusmain.html

Media: ink and watercolor

Genre: juvenile fiction, biography

Annotation

In 1934, during the economic despair of the Depression, two shy teenagers created the original social crusader- Superman. Tells the story of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and the story behind Superman.

My thoughts

“It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Siegel and Shuster!” (quote from book jacket) Based on the true story of the comic book creators, this book disguises a biography book as pop lit but with classic comic illustrations. The author, Nobleman, weaves research seamlessly into the story and maintains an accurate biography. The illustrations mimic Joe Shuster’s original superman style and the general comic style of the 1930s. The choice to illustrate the biography similarly to the original is in this case important for the comic book biography and adds a bit of art history into the picture for juvenile readers.

Boys of Steel does a good job at providing a visual story driven biography for one of the most famous superheroes. The boys met in high school and sold their idea to DC Comics when they were 24 after years of visualization and trying to sell the character. One of the key points that hit me was the idea that Jerry Siegel came up with as his inspiration for Superman. “People wanted a hero they knew would always come home. Jerry and Joe gave them that- the world’s first superhero.”

Nobleman adds important social context that accelerated Superman’s popularity. This was after the decade of the economic despair of the Depression and the brewing war (WWII). “Everyday people were about to be called to duty, and many would prove to be real-life heroes. But if there was ever a time for a fantasy hero, particularly one with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, it was then.” People also needed escape.

The last three pages provide a more advanced look into Superman and the sad part of the story where Siegel and Shuster sell all rights to the character to DC Comics for $130. Nobleman gives a legal history and the rights controversy behind Superman including facts that while Superman made millions the author and illustrator often bordered on poverty.

Curricular connections

This book can be suggested to grade school students writing reports on events and biographies. This is a good book to suggest to children complaining about the typical biography book style (complaining about length, lack of interest, lack of pictures, lack of interest) or say that the reports are boring. Also recommended for comic book fans.

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grade 5 and up (Booklist recommends this books for Grade 1-3)/ Ages 10 and up

Reviews and Awards

Booklist Starred Review

Kirkus Starred Review 2008- "The battle for truth and justice is truly never-ending."

Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review 2008- “Nobleman details this achievement with a zest amplified by MacDonalds -- punchy illustrations.”

The Stephen Hawking Story: The Boy Who Turned Disability into the Ability to Embrace the Stars by T.S. Lee

T. S. Lee- author. Chad Walker- translator. The Stephen Hawking Story: The Boy Who Turned Disability into the Ability to Embrace the Stars. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Joyful Stories Press, 2009. First printing 2010. ISBN: 978-0-981954295.

Author website: No author website found.

Media: Pen and ink

Genre: Graphic Novel, Biography, Comic, Science

Annotation

Fictionalized manga biography about the genius physicist Stephen Hawking. The comic biography shows on how Hawking survived Lou Gehrig's and worked to become one of the world’s top physicists.

My thoughts

Stephen Hawking is a brilliant man and has striven through a lot of adversity and personal challenges to accomplish all of the things that he has accomplished. Overall, I think that this is a good biography. It kept information simple and did not oversimplify Hawking’s life or ideas. This level, the simple manga comic, makes it so that younger readers can know what Hawking is responsible for and learn about his work on black holes and the secrets of the universe and other highlights of science (like Galileo, Newton, and Einstein). Physicists, however, might cringe at the jump in physics to manga. So far, this book has not had too many reviews so it is difficult to know how actual scientists perceive the science in this graphic novel. It can be noted that the actual details of physics might have otherwise shied younger readers away from Hawking’s achievements and science.

Most the book focuses on how Stephen Hawking coped with being diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). He learned in his early twenties that he had this disease and was given a couple of years to live. After the diagnosis and physical paralysis, he went on to get his advanced degrees, publish multiple books and articles (including the pivotal A Brief History of Time), propose many new theories, was appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics from Oxford University, and became one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society. In 1985 due to pneumonia had had a tracheotomy, which rendered him unable to speak without the aid of a voice synthesizer. Through all of this he continued with his interests about the universe and personal goals. The manga graphic novel starts with his children love for books (and memory for details) and covers these events.

Stephen Hawking has lived more than 40 years since he learned he had the disease. He beat the life-expectancy odd for people with ALS and serves as a role model for ALS patients, others who face adversities, and now also children. In addition, this book takes away mystery around the man who speaks with a voice synthesizer. This graphic novel format makes it so that his differences are not as intimidating or different.

Use of sophisticated language

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), epitome, Einstein’s theory of relativity, universal gravitation, celestial bodies, modern theoretical physics, inertia acceleration, reciprocal actions, singularity theorems, theories, degradation, tracheotomy, voice synthesizer.

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grade 3-8

Reviews

The School Library Journal notes that fictionalized manga biographies are “appealing, but their usefulness is limited by their uneven translations” and made the criticism that statements are “incorrect, unclear, unsupported, and occasionally downright weird.” There are – other biographies in this series. I have not read the other biographies but the Stephen Hawking Story one did not contain too many overt errors. 

The Search by Eric Heuvel, Ruud van der Rol and Lies Schippers

Heuvel, Eric, Ruud van der Rol, and Lies Schippers. (2009). The Search. Illustrated by Eric Heuvel. Farrar Straus Giroux, New York.

Reader’s annotation: Esther Hecht was separated from her family during the German invasion of Amsterdam. Now with the help of her grandson she sets out to find the truth about what happened to them.

Evaluation: At first glance, The Search looks like a classic comic book from the 1950’s, with vibrant colors and plenty of speech bubbles and action to keep any reader interested until the end. The Search however is the moving story of Esther Hecht, now a grandmother living in the United States, who wants to find out what happened to her family during World War II.

Esther and her parents were separated during the Nazi invasion of Amsterdam, and while Esther survived by running away and hiding, her parents did not survive the concentration camps. With the help of her grandson, Daniel, Esther finally learns the horrible and searing truth.

Written in conjunction with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, The Search introduces readers to World War II and its effects. Through Esther and the other characters, readers learn about Hitler’s rise to power, his subsequent persecution of Jews and the atrocities that these people faced.

While the subject is bleak and powerful, the comic format of this book makes it more accessible for tween readers. Learning about the devastation of World War II is never easy but Heuvel and his team provides this information in such a way that will appeal to a new generation of readers.

Author/illustrator website: http://www.eric-heuvel.nl/ (in Dutch)
Media: Pen and ink.
Curricular connection: Middle school history: Introduces readers to the effects of WWII on Jewish people and the eventual creation of concentration camps.