The Book Reader: "Journalism", "Building Stories"
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Andrew Losowsky of the Huffington Post reports for NY1 on newly released book titles and the world of publishing in "The Book Reader."Joe Sacco is no ordinary journalist. He's traveled to Iraq, Sarajevo, Gaza and India to uncover human stories behind the headlines, and he does so through the medium of comics.
His latest book, "Journalism", just published in paperback from Metropolitan Books, is a remarkable compilation of Sacco's unusual work. His art is powerful, and forces us to rethink how we expect true stories to be told. In the book, he also adds notes about how each story came to be commissioned.
Sacco is part of a growing trend in graphic journalism. Check out the iPad magazine Symbolia to see more.
A graphic novel was also on the New York Times list of best books of 2012, or, at least, kind of a novel.
"Building Stories" by Chris Ware, available from Pantheon, is more like a huge box of delights. Fourteen different elements, from a giant newspaper to a tiny stapled series of panels, make up this moving and gentle story about a Chicago house and its residents.
As you navigate through the story in whatever order you pick up the pieces, this wistful reflection of aging and solitude seeps out into your own life as you remove each chapter from the box.
As graphic storytelling pushes the boundaries of art and narrative, these two titles are a great reminder that comics are far from child's play.