Hello and welcome to the Brompton Library Graphic Novel Reading Group mailing list!
For the next session, MONDAY 11 March, 6:30pm, we will be discussing Marjorie Liu’s contemporary fantasy adventure fable Monstress.
Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900’s Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steam punk, Monstress tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both.
“Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda take eastern and western comics storytelling traditions and styles, and create something wholly their own and remarkable: a beautifully told story of magic and fear, inhumanity and exploitation, of what it means to be human and the monsters we all carry inside us. Also, some of the best cats in comics. A delight.” – Neil Gaiman
“If you want big, beautiful, terrifying, violent magic, Monstress is your next favourite comic.” – Cosmopolitan
If you have any other suggestions for the reading list, then please let me know and we’ll try our best to accommodate. So far we have the following for consideration:
Casandra Drake
Cry Havoc
Full Metal Alchemist
Barakamon
Hellblaizer
V for Vendetta
Jaco the Galactic Patrolman
The Legend of Wonder Woman
The Flintstones Vol. 2: Bedrock Bedlam
Uncanny X-Force Vol. 1: Apocalypse Solution
My Brother’s Husband, Volume 1
Bad Doctor by Ian Williams
Out of Nothing by Dan Locke
The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir
The reading group takes place on the second Monday evening of every month. There may be a pub quiz afterwards if you want to join in!
See you there! Bring snacks.
David Bushell Library Customer Services Officer, Brompton Library
Twenty-five years since THE SANDMAN first changed the landscape of modern comics, Neil Gaiman’s legendary series is back in a deluxe hard-cover edition! THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE heralds New York Times best-selling writer Neil Gaiman’s return to the art form that made him famous, ably abetted by artistic luminary JH Williams III (BATWOMAN, PROMETHEA), whose lush, wide-screen images provide an epic scope to The Sandman’s origin story. Continue reading “Brompton Library Graphic Novel Reading Group”→
As the air chills and the leaves dance in the wind, the local children seek solace in our cosy Kensal Library and a lot of them seem to be planning their Hallowe’en costumes and organising trick-or-treat routes. We’re planning a craft session (today at 4pm) for this devilish celebration. Ghouls, demons and toilet-paper-covered mummies are all invited.
Hallowe’en book display at Kensal Library
I vamped up the display in orange and black while our young customers helped me choose the most spine-tingling reads, and what a choice there was! This got me reminiscing about some of my all-time favourites with a scare factor that will have you checking under the bed for monsters.
So, reader, in the words of the author of my first book, I urge you to beware; you’re in for a scare.
1. Please don’t feed the vampire (give yourself Goosebumps) by R.L. Stine
‘Please don’t feed the vampire’ by R.L. Stine
If you’re in your 20s like me there’s a good chance your nightmares were littered with Goosebumps references. Other greats include Say Cheese and Die and Secret Agent Grandma.
You’re invited to choose from over 20 spooky endings. In this book you buy something called ‘vampire in a can’. At first you think it’s just a normal vampire costume, but then you notice a packet in the bottom of the can labelled ‘DANGER–KEEP AWAY!’ It’s compelling and there’s the thrill of knowing you control the outcome adds to the suspense.
2. Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
‘Revolting rhymes’ by Roald Dahl
As soon as Wolf began to feel
That he would like a decent meal,
He went and knocked on Grandma’s door.
When Grandma opened it, she saw
The sharp white teeth, the horrid grin,
And Wolfie said, “May I come in?”
Poor Grandmamma was terrified,
“He’s going to eat me up!” she cried.
In this collection of poems Dahl lends his trademark dark humour to reworkings of fairy tales. If you think Little Red Riding is meek and scared of the big bad wolf this time then you are in for a shock.
3. The Hound of the Baskerville by Arthur Conan-Doyle
‘The hound of the Baskervilles’ by Conan Doyle
In this spooky Sherlock Holmes crime novel set largely on Dartmoor in Devon, Watson tells the story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin.
This was the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes after his intended death in The Final Problem’, and the success of The Hound of the Baskervilles led to the character’s eventual revival.
4. The Sandmanseries by Neil Gaiman
‘The sandman’ by Neil Gaiman
New York Times’ best-selling author Neil Gaiman’s transcendent series SANDMAN is often hailed as one of the finest achievements in graphic storytelling. Gaiman creates an impressive tale of the powerful magical forces that exist beyond life, death and far off into other worlds by weaving ancient mythology, folklore and fairy tales with the everyday experiences of seemingly normal people. The stories and lives of a colourful array of characters weave throughout this dark fantasy published by DC and comprising ten volumes.
5. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
‘The turn of the screw’ by Henry James
In the Gothic classic The Turn of the Screw Henry James tells the story of a young governess who moves to a large, secluded house to look after two young orphans. She soon starts to see apparitions of the former governess who has died amid scandalous rumours, and the dead servant who had terrorized the house before her arrival. Much of the suspense is ambiguous; we do not know if the ghosts are a very real evil, or if they mark the downward mental spiral of the protagonist. It is difficult to determine the ongoing evil which is hinted at in the book, and this unease and confusion make for a tense read. The unresolved explanation leaves the reader with many unanswered questions; these left a lasting impression on me. Was the evil real or a delusion? It definitely helps that the two young orphans are decidedly creepy; we all know the use of terrifying children is a classic go-to tool in any horror story.
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