Graphic Novel Review: Baby's in Black

Title: Baby’s in Black

Author: Written and illustrated by Arne Bellstorf

Publisher: First Second

Pub. Date: May 08, 2012

ISBN: 9781596437715

It’s been said that true test of your character is how you answer the following question: Stones or Beatles? I have to confess that I choose the Rolling Stones, which excludes me from the target audience for Baby's in Black. I like the Beatles, but I don’t worship them (with the exception of Rubber Soul, which is definitely in my top 5 albums). So as an amateur Beatles fan, I was unfamiliar with Stuart Sutcliffe, the fifth Beatle.

Baby's in Black is a primer on Sutfcliffe and the early years of the band.  It charts the course of Sutcliffe’s relationship with Astrid, a German artist, which coincides with his gradual exodus from the band and his development of a mysterious illness.  As Sutcliffe and Astrid’s relationship progresses, Sutcliffe grows as a visual artist. He leaves the band to pursue this interest, yet he still retains a close friendship with the other band members that is nicely conveyed.

The narrative benefits from the likely familiarity of the reader with Beatles songs. When you read the lyrics from some of their most famous songs, it’s easy to supply the sound in your imagination. These sections trade on the cultural pervasiveness of the Beatles. Had this graphic novel been about an unknown band, they would come off as fairly flat.

The  black and white illustrations are characterized by a curious resemblance between most of the characters, who share protruding ears, big eyes, small mouths and sharp noses. Most are unappealing to the eye. The loose scribbling which appears as circles on all the characters’ cheeks and as sparse filling for everything from heads to backgrounds becomes grating as the story progresses. Yet Lennon and McCartney are skillfully rendered with only a handful of distinguishing visual details.

For the lukewarm fan, Baby in Black does not have enough narrative tension to sustain the reader’s interest. Without the weight of the Beatles to lend the story significance, it would be merely a slow-paced romance between two young artists with a startling ending. But the magic of the mythic band makes the story of Stuart and Astrid an important footnote in the history of the Beatles. Baby in Black will be a pleasurable read for serious Beatles fans who enjoy graphic novels.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review purposes from netgalley.com.

Graphic Novel Review: "Sumo"

(Source)

Title: Sumo

Author: Thien Pham

Publisher: First Second

Pub Date: December 11, 2012

ISBN: 9781596435810 

Let's start with the publisher's plot summary:

 

"Scott  is a washed-up football player who never made it, and whose girlfriend abandoned him along with his dreams of playing pro football. But things have a way of working out, in this sweet, poetic tale--and a new chapter in Scott's life begins as the old one ends. Offered a position in a Japanese sumo training "stable," Scott abandons his old life, his old name, and even his old hair color, and becomes an aspiring sumo wrestler. And in so doing, he begins to find some kind of center in himself...a center that had seemed lost for good."

 

 As with any book, my evaluation of "Sumo" began with the cover. Pham's playful homage to Hokusai's iconic print, The Great Wave off Kanagwa, raised my hope that I was in for a fun and unique read. I was not disappointed.

Pham's  sparing use of color immediately strikes the reader. The sections alternate between those primarily colored in orange, blue or green. The choice to use 2-3 shades in each section of the illustrations reminded me a bit of the old days in children's book illustration, when only a few shades were used because it wasn't economical to do otherwise.

But Maurice Sendak, among others, used that restricted palette to create classics that benefit from the minimalism of the visual experience. Pham also uses the alternating colors as a narrative device to differentiate between place and time. The volume of text varies depending on the time period depicted. The orange sumo present, set in the dojo or at matches, is almost devoid of words. To give you an idea of the sparseness of the text, there are only 12 words used in the first 10 orange pages. The combination of visual and textual minimalism allows the physicality of sumo wrestling to dominate this portion of the narrative.

In contrast, the blue section is far more generous with its dialogue, giving the reader insight into Scott's past. Finally, the green section focuses on Scott's budding relationship with Asami, a Japanese UCLA graduate, utilizing a beautifully rendered fish as a symbol for Scott's life.

On several remarkable wordless pages, 1-3 section panels of each of the colors are presented, allowing the reader to be present in Scott's memories while observing the sumo match he's engaged in. The final pages of the green fish swimming to freedom have far more emotional resonance than I would have anticipated. Pham doesn't just tell the story of an American sumo wrestler; he depicts the simultaneous influences of the past, present and future on the individual. In sum, "Sumo" is lyrical and thought-provoking. I highly recommend it.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review purposes from netgalley.com.