Dave Chisholm’s ‘Instrumental’, is a meditation on devoting one’s life to art and what it takes to make it. The hero, Tom, is a solid, but not great musician. He meets a mysterious stranger who gifts him a old, battered trumpet. With the instruction to just play. However, once he starts using it, the deal carries a certain price.

Bringing a virtuosic command of the language of graphic novels, Chisholm provides a story that is both touching with a strong sense of the inevitable woven amidst the fantastic. The angsty artist with a thirst for recognition is not a new character, but Dave flips the trope. I was regularly struck not just by the narratives details substantiating his description of the music world but the visual details that bring a metropolitan city to life; it’s not just the key phrases and visual attentiveness but the tone that made me feel like Chisholm is an insider and is telling the tale from a privileged perspective. ‘Instrumental’ is an art obsessed “Twilight Zone”-esque tale. It’s is one of those stories that takes a concept – in this case, devoting one’s life to art – and the story comes back, again and again, to examining that question from many angles.

Tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

I currently live in Rochester, NY, where I moved from Salt Lake City to get my doctorate in jazz trumpet from the Eastman School of Music, which I finished in 2013. I play music of various styles, teach music, and draw comics for a living. My life is strange but great!

There’s a lot going on in ‘Instrumental’, but how would you describe the big concept of the project?

It’s a story about a lonely, angry young trumpet player whose career is flailing until he is given an old trumpet by a stranger after a gig. When he plays this mysterious horn, the music is incredible and he starts to gain fans–his future seems to be opening up. The only catch is that playing the horn seems to have unexpected side effects: when he plays it, maybe someone will die, maybe someone will disappear, or perhaps some other strange and possibly damaging things happen. The project is a 7-chapter graphic novel that comes with a free download of the 7-track full-length soundtrack. All of the music is new–the album turned out so cool.

So, why this subject and why now?

Gosh, “now” is an interesting term with this project. I started it way back in 2013 and mostly finished it in that same year. The subsequent years have been spent tweaking the project, fixing the script, adjusting the art and the mix, and waiting on finding a publisher and then for the publishing cycle to have room for such a project.

When did the idea of ‘Instrumental’ first come to you?

It slowly came to me over several years–at first it was towards the end of work on “Let’s go to UTAH!”, an idea about a trumpet that kills people. I sort of pieced together this simple story but it needed more intrigue. I had a few strange experiences here in Rochester that informed part of the story. While studying for the big 14-hour test at the end of work on my doctorate, I stumbled across a sizable chunk of music history that really felt like it fit with the story–all of these musicians somehow involved with some sort of esoteric, occult, or deeply spiritual or symbolic side of music. I knew that these musicians needed to appear in the story in some way. After finishing that test, BOOM I was off to the races and had a really strong routine. Every day I’d wake up and work from 7:30 to noon and from around 5-8pm. Scripting, thumbnails, pencils, inks, composing, recording, mixing, overdubbing, etc. It was an intense time–I was really lucky to have had a stretch with such copious amounts of free time. I started work on it on Feb 7, 2013, and finished the bulk of the work (writing, recording, mixing a 45m album and scripting and drawing 200+ pages) by mid December of that year. At least, to me, it was crazy.

What is it that made you want to tell this story?

Ah that’s complicated, I guess–a few things:

-A lot of the work is built as a message to myself. I make a lot of art and music and sometimes I lose track of what’s important. So much of Instrumental is about WHY we make art. It presents several viewpoints and they serve as reminders for me and hopefully other readers. 

-I felt like, I guess I was at a spot where I was drawing well and was playing music at a pretty high level and it seemed like a great time in my life to try to make a really big work that combined these two streams that have carved out so much of my life. It feels like a landmark in my life–a culmination in some way. In a sense, as well, it presents a pretty cool marketing angle as well. I’m thankful Z2 saw it this way–I suppose there aren’t many people who could produce this kind of multimedia work!

What were you influenced by as you developed ‘Instrumental’?

While actually drawing it, I listened to a ton of Rolling Stones albums! Super random!

In other words, what would you say have been the main comics/film/literary influences on ‘Instrumental’? And your work generally?

In terms of line, I really love comic artists who use a brush and have visible brushstrokes in their art. Paul Pope, Nate Powell, Craig Thompson, etc. In terms of storytelling, I think that Frank Quietly really sets the bar in terms of clarity and his innovative use of the camera. In terms of writing, I love Alan Moore–it seems like, with each project, he really sets up storytelling rules and sticks to them. In Providence, for example, the panel outlines change whenever something paranormal happens. Little details like that are all over the place in Instrumental: little storytelling rules that create a sense of “normal” that then create symbolic meaning when they’re broken.

Film influence: I think, at the time of drawing this, I was really obsessing over a few different films and directors. The movie “Drive” is so amazing and I love that there’s so few examples of outright exposition in the movie but it still manages to communicate so much visually. Also, the movies of David Lynch–how aggressively strange they are without explanation. Finally, “Midnight In Paris” by Woody Allen really sort of gave me permission to freely utilize figures from music history again without outright explanation.

In addition to the big high-concept stuff, there are some beautiful small character moments. How long does it take you to find a kind of rhythm with your characters?

Since so many of these characters are based either on friends of mine or historic figures, it didn’t take much time although I did rewrite the first chapter probably 5 times until it was right. Tom is the one figure that’s not based on a friend so it was pretty tricky communicating his mental state at the beginning in a convincing way.

What’s been the most exciting part of working on ‘Instrumental’ so far?

The stretch of time when I was in the midst of working on it, frantically working so much 7-days a week, dreaming about these characters–that was an incredible time.

Did you do a lot of research for this project?

Yes, a fair amount. The appearances by WA Mozart, Hildegard, John Coltrane, Jim Morrison, and Alexander Scriabin are all filled with either direct or adapted historic quotes by those real-life figures. The history of trumpets that takes place in chapter 5 also took some time.

What made you publish ‘Instrumental’ as a graphic novel instead of releasing the chapters one by one monthly?

We toyed around with the option of releasing it monthly, but the chapter lengths vary too greatly and it starts off kind of slowly. I was worried that sales would be slow and we wouldn’t get to finish the story! The GN format is how I have always envisioned it.

Is there a conscious decision to decide which aspects of the book utilize which medium, or is it a more of an organic process?

It was pretty organic! I wanted each of the two parts to be able to convincingly stand alone but to combine to create something greater than the sum of the two!

Tell us about creating a mythology from scratch? Is it overwhelming?

Ha! Oh man. A lot of it for this was showing JUST ENOUGH to convince the reader that there’s this rich tapestry there…but honestly, it’s in your mind!

I mean, did you do any research into historical/mythological musical instruments? Can you recommend any books or authors that you found particularly compelling?

YES absolutely. Orpheus’ harp, King Tut’s trumpets, Shiva’s conch shell, Shofar knocking down the walls of Jericho etc. I dug and dug for mythological and historical examples that used music in some way. The main resource for the music history stuff is Taruskin’s 5-volume “Oxford history of Western Music.” Just so epic and entertaining. The book is KIND OF controversial in music-history circles because Taruskin is cranky and opinionated, but that’s what makes it such a fun and exciting read. Highly recommended but you should know something about notated music first…also the volume on the mid-to-late 20th C is sorely lacking in his treatment of jazz, rock, and popular styles. Other than that, it’s just mind blowing for a music nerd like me.

What is more challenging, writing and illustrating a 224 page graphic novel or composing and recording seven tracks of music? And Why?

They’re both hard and rewarding. I don’t know which is tougher. I guess the 224-page book is a pretty huge mountain of highly repetitive work, so that aspect of it separates it from the music recording, although my years of practicing the trumpet make almost every other time commitment in my life seem small.

Which one did you finish first?

First was a general outline of what happens in each chapter. Then I worked on both. The music was the last thing finished mainly because I waited to master the music until after I’d signed a contract with Z2!

There is still a lot of mystery surrounding the premise by the end of the ‘Instrumental’, could there be a continuation?

OH MAN it’s really only planned to be this one book and honestly it will probably stay that way. I have another story on the back burner that I’m planning on fleshing out this summer–totally unrelated to this one, drawing heavily from Inuit culture and mythology and set very far in the future. 

‘Instrumental’ drops on May 23rd from Z2 Comics. Contact your local comic book store and get it! https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/MAR172272

OR…preorder it from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Instrumental-Dave-Chisholm/dp/1940878152/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490715086&sr=8-1&keywords=instrumental+dave+chisholm

For more information: https://www.davechisholmmusic.com/

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel. Madeleine L’Engle, Hope Larson. Hardcover, 392 pages, Margaret Ferguson Books 2012. (7 out of 10)

Big confession: I’ve never read “A Wrinkle in Time.” So even though this graphic novel is an adaptation of the classic fantasy work by Madeleine L’Engle, I can’t speak to how good it is at adapting that original novel. I’m just reviewing it on its own. I wasn’t a big fantasy fan when I was a kid — I didn’t read the Narnia books until I was in college, and “Lord of the Rings” in my mid-twenties. I’ve tried to read “A Wrinkle in Time,” but became passionately indifferent about fifteen pages in. My goal in reading the graphic novel was as much to see what the story was as to check out the comic, which has rave reviews.

The story follows Meg Murry on a missio to save her father, gone missing while doing some sort of sciencey top-secret work for the government. Meg comes across as a weepy, unlikable character, but chiefly unlikable because she doesn’t like herself. That makes it a tough sell for me. Her solace is in her little brother Charles Wallace, and to a lesser extent her mother, who spends more time grieving the loss of her husband. Meg, Charles Wallace, and Meg’s new friend Calvin O’Keefe end up in the company of mystical beings: Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which. These women help the children travel through tesseracts–“wrinkles” that pass through time and space. Like the TARDIS without a police box. They eventually find Mr. Murry, captive on a bizarre planet Camazotzheld. It’s up to Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin to save him and save themselves. 

The characters grew on me throughout the book, as they found strength, became heroes, and learned more about the unique world they were discovering. I liked the mentoring of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which — being there as teachers and guides until they couldn’t help Meg anymore, and she had to go it on her own. It follows the template of the Hero’s Journey, and does let Meg emerge as her own hero. I also liked seeing the explanations of the tesseracts and how the fifth and other dimensions would be incomprehensible to us, but can still be explained. Many of these same ideas have been revisited by “Star Trek” and other series, including the idea that the great geniuses of human history were somewhat more than just geniuses. 

The artwork, in shades of black and blue, is simple enough to tell the story, and in a style that also grew on me in the course of reading. Charles Wallace is a little too moony eyed, a little too precious, but other characters like Aunt Beast and her people, and the visual interpretation of the noncorporeal characters was cool. It’s just cinematic enough to tell a story, without falling into the trope of Making A Movie On The Page like many contemporary graphic novels. 

In all, I came to enjoy the book, but I didn’t love it. It’s well done, and I’m curious to know what a fan of the original L’Engle work would think of the graphic novel. Adapting a classic work to a different format is always tricky; part of the reason the original becomes a classic is the language the author uses to tell it. A graphic novel omits most of that language, interpreting those words for us visually. Something’s lost, something’s gained. It would be interesting to see what a fan of both worlds thinks of “A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel.”

The Sculptor, Scott McCloud. 2015, First Second Books. 500 pages, hardcover. (10 out of 10) 

Every few years there’s a graphic novel that’s so good at what it does that it transcends the medium. There are many graphic novels that I would recommend to people who are already readers of comic books. I love my superhero comics and graphic novels, but I’ve also come to appreciate the great works of artists like Gene Luen Yang and Marjane Satrapi, Guy Delisle and Shaun Tan. And yet, for most of their books, I’d still only recommend them to fellow fans of that storytelling art. The last book I read that moved me to the point that I’d recommend it as a work of literature, not just as a graphic novel, was Craig Thompson’s “Blankets.” That was published in 2003, and I’ve been wondering what the next would be that impressed me as much. That next book is here, in Scott McCloud’s “The Sculptor.”

The 500-page hardcover tells a relatively simple story: underappreciated artist David Smith has a meeting with Death and is granted a wish – that he will give his life to make great art. The way that ends up playing out is that David is made aware of the exact date of his death, and until he dies, he has a superpower of sorts—he can sculpt any material with his bare hands. Marble, iron, concrete, it all molds in his hands like clay. This extraordinary talent, and David’s ticking clock, become a lens for us to examine our own lives.

We watch as David loses friends and family, as he finds love, as he comes to regard his life as a gift and his magical gift as a curse. The story is simple. It’s one that’s been told hundreds, thousands of times even. What makes this examination of love and life and sickness and death and family and friends move beyond the typical graphic novel fare and into what I’d deem “literature” is the thoroughness that David is given to explore these ideas. Much of that is in the dialogue, but even more of it is in the visuals. Too many graphic novels keep their stories grounded in reality to the point that it’s just a text with some pictures in it. Showing the story and telling the story both in the same panel.

McCloud lets David fear and grieve and imagine and work, and do so often on panels and even whole pages without words. He does talk, he talks a lot. But so much of “The Sculptor” is told through the images that the book would be incomplete if it were told in any other medium. Many of the pictures, the angles that we view David and New York City from, are cinematic. There are pans in and out, there are shots that crane in above the crowds, there are crowd scenes where you catch snippets of conversation – but I don’t want to see this made into a movie. It could be. It probably will be. But it won’t be as good as this book.

My favorite of the many themes in the book is about art. About finding your own muse, and your own creative act that will live on beyond you. McCloud may have been getting autobiographical with that—he’s achieved a meisterwerk here that will live on well past him. In an afterword, he writes about how David is him—but quite a bit younger. It’s books like this that inspire readers to do something. Will I ever have a crowning achievement? Will I be remembered? It’s these questions that haunt all of us, artists or not, and McCloud has found a beautiful way to both ask and answer the question.

It soars, but never without fear of falling

I’d say all the usual things here – I laughed out loud, I wept, it became a part of my life, I didn’t want to put it down – but none of that is quite right. I mean, all of those things happened. But there was also some pain with reading “The Sculptor.” It soared, but never without the fear of falling. It warmed, but always with the awareness that you could burn. Much like life itself, David Smith’s journey has real consequences. Magical meetings with Death aside, this was the most visceral book I’ve read in some time. I saw myself in “The Sculptor.” You will too. 

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood (9 out of 10) Nathan Hale, Amulet Books, 2014 

There are times as a teacher and parent that I’ll come across a book that hits all the right notes for middle grades. A combination of excitement and humor, adventure and horror, with an overall message that’s important enough for me to recommend to every kid, and parent, and teacher I meet. When I’m really really lucky, that book will be part of a series. That’s what’s happened with “Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales.”

The series of history-themed graphic novels kicked off in 2012 with “One Dead Spy,” the Revolutionary War story of Nathan Hale. He’s the patriot spy who…well, he got caught and executed on his first mission. In the book series (by author Nathan Hale, funnily enough), that execution creates this magic moment where Hale, his hangman, and the provost overseeing the hanging all become observers of American History. Nathan Hale is an omniscient narrator, with the other two taking the roles of comedy relief (Hangman) and plot exposition-prodder (Provost). After “One Dead Spy,” we also had the Civil War’s “Big Bad Ironclad,” and Westward Expansion’s “Donner Dinner Party.” Yeah, he went there.

The fourth book in the series is the World War I tale “Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood.” I have a big ol’ history teacher crush on World War I, and with this being the centenary year of the beginning of that conflict, I’m loving all of the hoopla surrounding it. The other three Nathan Hale graphic novels have all focused in on a relatively narrow event–the development of American ironclad ships, for example. This is Hale’s first that’s tried to tackle an entire war, and had it make sense, but still tell compelling stories. Overall, Hale succeeds well, but admits within the book there are other stories to be told that just won’t fit into a 128-page graphic novel.

The reason for the story within the story is that the Very British Provost wants to hear about a story where the United States and Great Britain are allies–so Nathan Hale tells them about World War I. The Hangman being the animal-lover he is, asks that each of the countries be represented by a different kind of “cute little animal.” So Austria-Hungary becomes a Griffin, Serbia a Wolf, Russia a Bear, Germany an Eagle; the allies are a French Gallic Rooster, Belgium is a Lion, UK a Bulldog, and the United States…was going to be a Bald Eagle, but was changed at the last second by the Hangman into a Bunny. Other countries will enter later, but these are the major players. What might seem disrespectful to some actually makes the complicated war easier to follow, and provides some comic relief here and there. At times, for key people, Hale switches to a more realistic human portrait for a quote or dramatic moment, but most of the story is told with cute little animals.

Hale (the author, not the spy)(well, kind of both) does an excellent job of mapping out the treaties and alliances that escalated a regional conflict into a world war; the passionate and misguided nationalism that inspired citizens to rush into their military; and the romantic ideals of war for a generation that was about to lose that idealism in the worst imaginable way.

Some major themes are the shift in tactics and technology that resulted in the deaths of millions; the idea that each country is filled with people who think of themselves as the “good guys,” and the escalation of a war that spun out of control within the first year of combat. For each year of the war, there’s a two-page spread that shows a symbolic God of War–Ares, collecting the dead as they fall. In 1914, he’s an oversized Greek warrior, holding a flaming cauldron, catching the bodies as they fall off of a ramp. That image alone could be used to teach the causes of World War I, as the ramp is held up by the pillars of imperialism, alliances, nationalism, and militarism. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is the gate to that ramp, but not the cause of the war becoming World War I. In 1915, Ares is more grotesque, the cauldron larger, and he’s got bandoliers of bullets and shells. The 1916 Ares is a true monster, with smoke pouring from his mouth and ringed with ammunition. 1917 and 1918 make him bigger, uglier, and more mechanized, becoming a kind of cyborg of early 20th Century technology. And truly frightening.

Ares becomes bigger, uglier, and more mechanized.

We get close looks at some key battles that become emblematic of the entire war–Liege, Cer, Ypres, Verdun. Hale is very good at helping kids (and adults) visualize the trench system that became the war’s western front, and illustrating things like the supply lines that were life or death for the soldiers at the front lines. He points out the mismatched technologies that had Germans with machine guns slaughtering Russians with rifles. He gets around to the communist revolution that pulled Russia out of the war early, and the reasons the war accelerated the fall of that empire. We get insight into major leaders on every side, and the push-and-pull between Woodrow Wilson, ex-president Teddy Roosevelt and others that kept the United States out of the war until 1917. We get the Lusitania, the Zimmerman Telegram, and the advent of poison gas, flamethrowers, and tanks. So when Hale (the spy) somewhat apologetically explains that the book isn’t long enough to get to the Air War, with the Red Baron etc., it’s quite alright. We’ve already had an embarrassment of riches. Hale also makes clear that despite the way the tale has been told, with cute little animals, the cost of war is very human and very real. 

I could go on forever about this series of books. I have. I do. This one in particular seems to have been a kind of experiment–would it be possible to fit an entire war into a slim graphic novel and still do it justice? In my opinion, the answer is yes. Are there things missing? Sure. But thousand-page treatments of World War I miss things too. For kids in say, 4th-8th grades, this book is an amazing way to learn about The War to End All Wars, and do it in a way they’ll actually want to read. My 12 year-old devoured it, and  even my 10 year-old, an adamant reluctant reader is working his way through the other books in the series.

If you haven’t heard of “Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales,” it’s time you did. They’re some of the best history books I’ve read. You’ll like them, your kids will love them. Number 5 is due April 21, 2015 – the story of Harriet Tubman. I can’t wait. 

“Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Donner Dinner Party”  (10 out of 10) Nathan Hale, 2103. Abrams Books.

2012 saw the debut of a new line of children’s history books, told in graphic novel format. The books are written and illustrated by a guy with the historically fortuitous name Nathan Hale. Taking a cue from his own name, Mr. Hale has the books narrated by the historic Nathan Hale, executed by the British for espionage in 1776.  Nathan Hale, his own Hangman, and the British Provost form a kind of triad narrator, chiming in with their own opinions and asides as the historic tales unfold. The first two books were One Dead Spy, telling Nathan Hale’s own story as part of the American Revolution, and Big Bad Ironclad about the first ironclad ships used in the American Civil War.  The third book just came out in 2013, and I’ve read it a few times, and recommended it to every teacher and parent and history buff I can find. And now you. 

With a title like “Donner Dinner Party,” I’m guessing adults will cringe, and kids will um…eat it up. The book tells the story of the doomed Donner-Reed Party, who was traveling from the midwest to California in 1846.  As with the previous two books, “Donner Dinner Part”y is about more than just that expedition, but about Westward Expansion on the whole–in brings in information about the Black Hawk War, the Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail and Mormon pioneers, and just how dangerous it was for any group to move west, not just the Donner Party.  

From the first chapter, Hale establishes that James Reed is something of a buffoon, pretentious and preening, and making foolish choices. He’s able to do that in a fairly even-handed way, balancing the foolishness with the sort of “pioneering spirit” that we like to think Americans have.  Reed, one of the leaders of the Donner-Reed Party, will be a source of comic relief–but also a serious threat–for much of the book.  In Chapter 2, Reed leads his group of wagons into a serious blunder: following the Hastings Cutoff.  A shortcut promoted by Lansford Hastings, who had never even been on the route he was touting, it’s probably what caused the death of so many in the Donner-Reed Party. Instead of following the well-traveled path of the Oregon Trail, it led them through the mountains of Utah and the deserts of the Great Basin (including the Great Salt Lake Desert), some of the least hospitable land in the entire continent.  

The first dramatic death is Billy the Pony, The Hangman, who loves cute little animals (even though his career is executing men) is sure “he went and found a nice meadow to live in. Right?” But Nathan Hale tells him, “Billy most likely ended up as dinner for someone farther down the wagon train. Fresh meat shouldn’t be wasted.” The Hangman responds with a full page “NOOOOOOOO!!”, his fingers clenched, his face a rictus of horror. It’s a nice way of letting the reader experience the emotion, but also laugh at themselves a little, and eases the tension a little…because things are going to get much worse. 

The first dramatic death is Billy the Pony.

There are several places where Nathan Hale (the narrator) warns the reader that this isn’t a happy story, and things are going to get worse. He even tells us that we can skip ahead to page 113 if we want to get away from the worst of it. But of course, we don’t.

When you hear the phrase “Donner Party,” besides thinking of cannibalism, you probably think of a small group of people. A two-page spread on pages 42-43 shows us how many people there really were, and how the 81 of them were arranged in groups of ten families, with nineteen wagons, each with four oxen needed to pull it. It’s one of the many times in these books where the pictures really help to understand the story, and even though I’ve read several books about the Donner Party, this one ended up being one of the better ones. 

Once the group is stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the deaths start coming quickly. Hale (the author/illustrator) uses the classic Grim Reaper imagery to show the taking of lives, and is somehow able to let the reader experience the grief and the solemnity of being forced to cannibalize the flesh of someone who’s died without being too horrific about it.  It’s not graphic, but it’s still disturbing.  Even then, when it gets to the cannibalism, the Hangman is able to bring a little bit of humor–but also a reality of life in the past–that we often overlook in discussions of The Donner-Reed Party.  I won’t spoil what it was, but it’s on page 104, if you’re looking.

One boy actually died from overeating. 

As a history teacher, one of the things I love about these books is that Hale tells you about the research that he does in order to write the books.  He includes tools found in other (non graphic novel) history books, like a good bibliography, biographies of major characters in the book, and questions that might be raised while you’re reading the book. In this case, there are also a few one-page mini comics that explain some of those.  A case in point: one boy who was a part of the Donner-Reed Party, William Hook, actually died from overeating. Hale explains how that happened. There’s also a two-page “Who Died and Who Survived” chart that looks almost like a periodic table of everyone in the party, including how they died and whether or not they were eaten after they died. It’s a little creepy, a little morbid, but not as disturbing as you’d expect. Another part of the appendix is a one page story “By the Hangman” that made me laugh out loud…and does some healing for those who were too saddened or traumatized by the story of the Donner-Reed Party, and needed to cleanse their palate.

This book, like the first two in this series, is fantastic. It makes for good reading, it’s historically valid, and it’s able to tell a very serious story in a way that’s informative and entertaining. I was wondering if Hale would be able to tell such a tragic story without making light of the people involved, and he does so admirably.  I loved this book.  You don’t need to read the first two in the series to understand why the historic Nathan Hale and his executioners are narrating a Donner Party story, but the characters do get more interesting over the course of the books.  Whether you’re a kid or adult, whether you like history, or are morbidly curious about one of the most famous tragedies in the American West, you’ll probably enjoy “Donner Dinner Party.” Bring the dessert.

“Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy” (9 out of 10 stars) Nathan Hale. Hardcover graphic novel, 128 pages. Published by Amulet Books, 2012.

Nathan Hale has been a favorite local (Utah) author and artist for several years now.  I first met him at a booksigning in suburban Salt Lake City, and casually followed what he was working on since then.  Up until 2012 the highlight of his career has been the two graphic novels written by Shannon Hale (no relation): “Rapunzel’s Revenge” and “Calamity Jack.”  Both are very entertaining takes on fairy tales, both come highly recommended by me.

Hale’s own series takes stories from American History and retelling them in a funny and informative way: “Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales.” The first in the series is “One Dead Spy“, the account of Nathan Hale’s namesake, um, Nathan Hale.  The second book, also published in 2012, is “Big Bad Ironclad!”  

“Big Bad Ironclad” is of course a Civil War tale, about the sea battle between the Monitor and the Virginia (when I was growing up, we called that one the Merrimack), two of the first ironclad ships.  The premise of this series is that each story is narrated by heroic spy Nathan Hale, delaying his own execution Sheherezade-style by telling stories from American History to his own Hangman and a British Provost.  Hale (the author) plays with the idea of Hale (the spy) as an omniscient historian, who’s able to tell stories that haven’t happened yet, and he’s balanced out by the Hangman, who’s brutish but loves cute little animals, and the Provost, who reminds me of a stuffier Sam Eagle from “The Muppet Show.” But…British. 

A brief prologue does a good job of introducing the Civil War, and even though the ironclad battle is really only one small episode within the larger conflict, the book manages to give perspective to the war.  We meet Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet, we learn about General Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan to cut off the South from any outside support, and meet Gideon Welles, Lincoln’s “Father Neptune” and Secretary of the Navy.  These people put the ironclad plans into motion, and does so in a quick, straightforward way that is easy for kids and teens to get onboard with.

The graphic novel format keeps things moving quickly, and lets Hale play with words and images–Gideon Welles’ assistant Gustavus Fox is rendered as a cute little fox, and Confederacy naval leader Stephen Mallory is shown as a “sharkface,” although Hale does point out that he’s not a villain so much as a leader of the opposition.  

Interspersed with the main story about the building and battle of the Monitor and Virginia is the story of William Cushing–a guy I hadn’t ever heard of, but a navy officer who ends up becoming the prototype for Navy SEALS.  His adventures punctuate the already exciting war story, and are able to provide a continual thread that gives us insight into the other things that were happening away from the ironclads.  

“Big Bad Ironclad” includes biographies of the major characters in the story (so that kids can find out that Stephen Mallory wasn’t really known as “Sharkface”), a bibliography that includes resources on the Ironclads, the Civil War, and some of the major characters in the book; a “Corrections Baby” page that addresses some historical discrepancies, and a Civil War timeline that points out where Will Cushing was at various points in the conflict.  One of my favorite “extras” is at the bottom of the timeline, where we’re shown how to build our own Monitor from a few “plastic bricks.” As a die-hard LEGO fan, I was pleased to see that.  This is the second of four “Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales” books currently in stores, and the fifth is coming this spring. It can’t be soon enough. 

“Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy” (10 out of 10 stars) Nathan Hale. Hardcover graphic novel, 128 pages. Published by Amulet Books, 2012.

I’ve been a fan of Nathan Hale’s for a while.  Nathan Hale the author and illustrator, not the patriot, although you could be pardoned the confusion.  I loved his illustrations for the graphic novels “Rapunzel’s Revenge” and “Calamity Jack,” and his picture book “Yellowbelly and Plum” was one of my sons’ favorites.  Hale’s current series has moved him to the top of my list.  

In 2012 Nathan Hale and Amulet Books started a series of graphic novels based on American History, under the banner (literally) “Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales.”  The first book in the series is “One Dead Spy,” and it and the following books are interesting, easy to follow, and downright entertaining. I’m buying every one of them.  

“One Dead Spy” is about Nathan Hale (the patriot), executed in 1776, at the very beginning of the American Revolution.  The 128-page hardcover comic begins with Manhattan in flames, and a whistling Hangman bringing a noose to a gallows.  He shoos a bald eagle away, and prepares Nathan Hale to be hanged.  They’re soon joined by a British Officer, and these three will be the narrators for the rest of the book.  Given an omniscient overview of American History, Hale sees what the destiny of the country is, and even though things look grim for the colonists (and more especially for Hale personally) in September 1776, he knows that there’s a brighter future.  He proceeds to tell the Hangman and British Officer all about the American Revolution, focusing on the first year, and Hale’s role in it.  

Nathan Hale makes a good narrator for the years 1775-76, and his path crosses with the likes of George Washington, Henry Knox, Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, General Howe and other notable heroes and villains of American History.  The author uses these interactions to tell the key events of the revolution, including the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, the Battle of Bunker Hill (and Breed Hill), the Boston Massacre, and the Declaration of Independence.  He leaves a lot of things untold, telling more of his tales in future volumes, but gives us enough information to make this book a solid read. 

As a parent, a history teacher, a geek, and a promoter of graphic novels, I frigging love this series. I enjoy the humor and the menace in One Dead Spy—even as the Hangman provides comic relief, you can’t forget that the real narrator, Nathan Hale, was executed.  Some of the humor is in asides, some is in telling the truths of history that are often left out of the dry history books. The illustrations are cartoony but excellent, with no confusion about who’s who in the course of the story. Hale (the author) also doesn’t shy away from telling us when people suffered and died, making this more mature reading than you might expect.  I loved it. 

T-Minus: The Race to the Moon. (9 out of 10) Jim Ottaviani, Art by Kevin and Zander Cannon. Graphic Novel Paperback, 128 pages, black and white. 2009, Aladdin.

I recently read Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff,” which was an interesting, nearly-fictionalized retelling of the story of the Mercury 7 astronauts–the first Americans to go into space. I haven’t ever seen the movie…I should get around to that. 

I guess I’m in a Space Race kind of mood, because I just finished Jim Ottaviani’s “T-Minus: The Race to the Moon.” The graphic novel-format book has art by Zander and Kevin Cannon, and is a good example of Ottaviani at his best. Where “The Right Stuff” focused nearly exclusively on the astronauts, “T-Minus” is more about the scientists–the brains behind (underneath?) the rockets that were carrying mankind into space. Most Americans just tell the American side of the story. Instead, Ottaviani masterfully interweaves the story of the Space Race between the USA and USSR–treating the competition to get to the moon as another facet of the Cold War, which it of course was. He makes sure we know it really was a race–not just the United States’ destiny to be the first ones to the moon.

Each new section of the book is chaptered with a date and “T-Minus…”the amount of time between that date and the day and time that Neil Armstrong’s foot touched the moon’s surface. It’s an interesting way to countdown what was a twelve-year period of time, for the United States spanning several presidencies from Eisenhower to JFK to LBJ to Nixon; for the USSR, from Khrushchev to Brezhnev. We get flashbacks to the visions of Russian Tsiolkovsky, who took Jules Verne’s ideas about rocket travel and first tried to apply science to them; to Operation Paperclip, which had the United States snagging German scientists after World War II, bringing Werner von Braun to the US to work for our rocketry program. Those are diversions, and most of the book is in chronological order, moving forward to the June 1969 moon landing.

Ottaviani masterfully interweaves the American and Soviet sides of the Space Race

Ottaviani and the artists include some features that I loved in the book. When dialogue is spoken in Russian, the Rs are printed backwards, and all As are in lower case, mimicking Cyrillic writing. There were times in the black and white book that it was confusing, remembering which group of rocket scientists we were looking at. The “Cyrillic” helped differentiate that. The other feature is a series of drawings and statistics in the margins of many pages. Each time a rocket went up, from either Russia or the United States, it gets an illustration of the rocket, the name of the mission, duration of the mission, and animals, satellites, cargo or astronauts/cosmonauts on board. There’s a tiny image of a map of the US or Russia at the bottom, and if the mission failed, “UNSUCCESSFUL” in a banner at the top of the page, often with an illustration of what went wrong.

Eventually, the does transition from the scientists to the astronauts, and we do get a good idea of what it was like to be with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on the Apollo 11 mission. Despite knowing the end of the story, Ottaviani is able to craft a script with tension and surprise, and Zander and Kevin Cannon’s artwork carries that tale beautifully. 

With the loss of Spaceship Two last week, and with NASA’s failure to find a replacement for the mothballed space shuttles thus far, it can be a discouraging time to be a real world space exploration geek. Remember the achievements of the past, and the exciting things like the Rosetta probe about to land on a comet. We have a great history in space, and we’ll have a great future there as well. It takes the courage showcased in “T-Minus: The Race to the Moon” to get there. 

From the comic newbie to those who have holds older than I am, everyone walks into a comic shop with a preconceived notion of what they are looking for, and that normally means someone with superpowers in tights. X-Men, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, The Avengers, Batman — these are all wonderful comics with a deep and incredibly interesting history that everybody who loves the art form should be familiar with. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the first time I read “The Killing Joke”, “The Dark Phoenix Saga” (which actually got me into comics as a kid) or “The Age of Apocalypse”, and there are countless of others that we could all add to that list.

The great thing here was that Kiley Wachs (Vagatron), Jeremiah Lupo (Androidika) and the rest of the panelists weren’t trying to take away from superhero comics or what they have done for the medium; their main point was to bring to light comics that either most people aren’t aware of or just hadn’t gotten around to reading. Sure, a lot of us have read “Preacher”, or “Y:The Last Man”, and it’s easy to take for granted that not everyone is as familiar with these classics as a lot of us are. Don’t just assume that your best friend has read “The Watchmen”.

What about parents who want to introduce their kids to comics? What would be best to recommend for them that would also be enjoyable for an adult to read as well? What graphic novel is a must-read for any comics lover, and what is the best way to support your local comic creator and community (hint: stay away from Barnes and Noble and Amazon).

Everyone did a tremendous job fielding these questions and more, and I’m sure you’re going to enjoy hearing what they had to say.

Click here to check out the audio for yourself!

Audio not yet available but will be shortly. 

Earlier last month I had the pleasure to cover Gustavo Duarte’s “Monsters! & Other Stories” right here on Big Shiny Robot. The book is wonderful and something you really need to consider picking up. You can find it on Amazon or just about any other online retailer but I’m a local first kinda guy so if you have the time, go into your local bookstore/comic shop and have them order it if it isn’t already on the shelf there.

In between the review last month and now Mr. Duarte was kind enough to have a back and forth with me over email. He is a well-spoken man and an incredibly insightful artist. He answered my crazy questions and I’m sharing his answers with you, the Big Shiny Robot reader. So sit back and read through Gustavo’s answers and ogle his art from “Monsters & Other Stories”.

Mark Avo: I’d like to chat with you about your fabulous story-telling, your sense of humor and your jaw dropping illustrations. First though, let me just say that I read the digital preview but it was nothing like holding your stories in my hands while I flipped through them. I’d like to thank you and Dark Horse for sending me a copy. I’m pleased to inform you that I shared that copy with my mother and I’m never getting it back from her. She absolutely loved it. Now, let’s discuss your work.

I find your art similar to the strong lines of Roy Lichtenstein but with the creative panache of Dr. Seuss. Who were inspirational artists to your style? Was there a particular work of theirs you couldn’t put down?

Gustavo Duarte: It is nice to read your words. Thank you and your mother. My work and my style have a lot of influences. I could write a lot of lines about them but instead I will name some of them:

Al Hirschfeld (The Line King)
Will Eisner (His work changed the way I see comics)
Charles Schulz (The man who makes me want to work as a cartoonist)
Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes is the best comic strip ever made)
Sergio Aragonés (Genius. With or without words)
Jim Henson (Not a cartoonist, but a big inspiration)
Laerte (Brazilian cartoonist)
Cássio Loredano (Brazilian caricaturist)

Mark Avo: I can see a little of each of them in your art and Jim Henson isn’t someone I would have thought as an inspiration for your work. Now that I know that though I can totally see him there too. 

Gustavo Duarte: Yep, Jim Henson is a great inspiration. He could do a sock act better than much of the actors I know. In my opinion, he is one of the greatest geniuses of the 20^th Century.

My choice not to use dialogs came in my first longer story (Có!). 

MA: I love the light coloring you chose for Monsters! & Other Stories. Did you choose that color set specifically for those stories or will your future work use a similar pallet like many of Francisco Francavilla’s works do?

GD: The color was chosen specifically for Monsters! that was published alone here in Brazil. Editors note: Also now published in the US by Dark Horse with two other stories by Gustavo.) But it is a pantone I think that works with my style because I have put in the other stories of the book too. I will not necessarily use this color palette in the future but it can happen.

MA: Even though most of the best stories in the comic book medium have fantastic art, they also have fantastic dialogue. Your style is primarily silent with the occasional sound effect. Why did you make the choice to take the hard route and depend on your illustrations alone to lead the narrative?

GD: The illustration is always important to tell a story in (a) comic book – with or without dialogue. My choice not to use dialogs came in my first longer story (Có!). As it was my first work with more pages in comics, I opted to do something without text, as the cartoons I used to do this way were my favorite. I liked the result. And, after that, I have been trying to improve this language in my work. It’s something I want to do more often, besides using stories with dialogue, too.

MA: Your stories are full of terrific comedic elements. Many of them are slap-stick or visual puns but others are a bit grim. I think the variation is a testament to your comedic range. Where do you get your sense of humor and why do you think the jokes in Monsters! & Other Stories are universally understood despite cultural differences between you and your American readers?

GD: I always thought about doing comics without thinking of a specific audience and not in a specific region or country. But talking about comics, we have a lot influences from US here in Brasil so because (of) that, I don’t think we have many problems.

I don’t know where my sense of humor originates. I think it is from everything I read, see and listen. It can come from classic American cartoons like Woody Woodpecker, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry. It (also) comes from Jerry Lewis and Three Stooges movies and from Mad magazine. As you can see the American influence is reasonable here in Brasil … 🙂

Certainly there are always cultural traits in a person’s work, especially with the references in the artists’ stories. What I always look for is that the references do not cease to exist, but never disturb the understanding of history as a whole.

MA: So to clarify, you mean that the artistic inspiration or reference from history is present in a work but can’t be the focus of the work because it takes away from both the new art and the old?

GD: What I have been told is that we all have a lot of references and inspirations. That’s good, that’s what makes us what we are. We need to find our way to make our work <our own> despite our inspirations and references. The external references that I use I need to pay attention to <so that they> never disturb the understanding of the story as a whole. For example, use of reference inside the story. Like the “Spectreman” in the police office’s TV in “Monsters!”. If the understanding of the whole script depended on that scene, <those that> did not know the “Spectreman” would not understand the story. As it is, it is only a reference – a tribute. If it was really essential it would be a reference that everyone would have to understand.

MA: An artist with your level of talent can continue to create their own stories but they can also be a highly in demand creator by studios like Dark Horse, DC, or Marvel. I’d love to see a Gustavo Duarte Batman Black and White, but I’d also like to see you bring a story to life like Skottie Young did for the world of Oz or like Stan Sakai did for The 47 Ronin. Are you able to talk about your future work? What’s on the horizon for you and is any of it something readers can expect to pick up in a monthly title?  

GD: I like all of those roads. I would like to make a Batman Black and White too. 🙂
I find it interesting to work with my stories and my characters, but I also think it can be very cool to create using classic characters or bring other stories that already exist to the comics. Talking about a monthly title, it would also be an interesting experience. I would like to work with all those possibilities. I think I can learn with all these scenarios and it would help me to grow as a professional.

About future works, now I am working in a short story for Dark Horse and a 32 pages story for a compilation with some of my other stories here in Brazil. Furthermore, I have three new ideas for other books. I would like to choose one to write and start to draw (it) this year. But I’ll see what happens along the year.

MA: Do you have any convention plans for US conventions?

GD: Yes. I should be at New York Comic Con in October.

Gustavo has an incredible intellect and was a delight to have a conversation with. His artistic endeavors will be a delight for you so remember to check them out now and then go pick up his book after. You can find Gustavo’s work on Instagram here and visit his blog here. Interact with him via Twitter @_gustavoduarte. For more information about “Monsters! & Other Stories” please visit the Dark Horse page here and my review of the book can be found on this very site by following this link. 

Image From Gustavo Duarte’s Blog