WACO, Texas--Those hoping to get a jump on what's coming soon to movie theaters may want to swap watching movie trailers for a visit to the local comic book shop or bookstore to scope out the latest graphic novels.
There's a Halo graphic novel, for instance, based on the hugely popular, futuristic Xbox game. Such other games as "Street Fighter II," "Metal Gear" and "Bloodrayne" also have graphic-novel counterparts.Frank Miller's reimagining of Batman as a haunted and violent vigilante in "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" led to a renaissance of that superhero, with director Tim Burton drawing heavily on Miller's interpretation for his films "Batman" (1989) and "Batman Returns" (1992).Video games provide more stories for graphic novels, too, with books and plotlines built around gaming characters and their environments.Local book and comics sellers agree that interest in graphic novels tends to follow the release of films or television shows adapted from those works.The critical and commercial success of "Maus" led publishers, such as Random House, Houghton Mifflin and Hyperion, to add graphic novels to their catalogs.Harvey Pekar ("American Splendor") tells of his struggle with cancer in "Our Cancer Year," while Marjane Satrapi examines the life of a girl growing up in 1979 Iran in her 2003 "Persepolis."Like film, graphic novels and comics are often collaborative processes, with writers teaming with artists and inkers. More than ever, those teams look at book-form novels as an end product to their efforts.While long-established comic book superheroes such as "Superman," "Batman," "Spider-Man" and the "X-Men" have translated into lucrative film franchises, such graphic novels as "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," "From Hell," "Daniel Clowes' Ghost World," "American Splendor," "Frank Miller's Sin City" and "V For Vendetta" have also found their way to the silver screen.Far be it from me to make capital out of the misfortune of a colleague who took a nap on a train to England's training camp, missed his stop at Baden-Baden, and ended up hurtling 50 miles on towards Poland while the rest of us were sitting down with Joe Cole.Book publisher Hill & Wang plans to release several history titles and biographies in graphic form beginning this fall, including graphic biographies of Malcolm X and Ronald Reagan .Ironically, the increase in titles may be diluting sales for individual books. Donna Carroll, owner of Golden's Book Exchange, stocks the titles that her regular customers are interested in, but says the comparatively high cost of graphic novels makes it too expensive to maintain an extensive selection for general browsing.Horror master Sam Raimi, for instance, is currently filming an adaptation of Steve Nile's graphic novel "30 Days Of Night"--a story of an Alaskan town besieged by vampires--as his next feature.The graphic novel, a slick, artistic and upscale cousin of the comic book, has emerged as a new player in printed media.You probably think, "Mosaic tables are nothing new or unique, so what's this guy talking about?" You're right! Search the Internet for "mosaic table" and you'll find that most websites offer round bistro or kitchen tables with wrought iron stands done with mosaic designs using standard tessera shapes (i.e., squares and triangles) in standard checkerboard, circular, or sunburst patterns. You're right, those kinds of tables are a dime a dozen. That's not what I'm talking about.At full-time he leaves the way a boxer enters a fight, in the middle of a linear entourage with everyone placing their hands on the shoulders of the person in front and snaking their way through the crowd. Fifa even seem to have a couple of heavies who appear to make sure he makes it through the throng of autographhunters and back-slappers on the way to the VIP lounges. It's quite a spectacle.To prevent any reader's cornflakes splattering across the breakfast table in disbelief it might be sensible if everyone pauses for a second and has a deep breath before taking in the next sentence.There isn't a lot of time for meals, and still less for sleep.I know, I know. "Do I not like that?" and all the rest of it. But there always seem to be decency and warmth about Taylor which marks him out as a man of greater character than those who had him up on the coconut shy and pelted him into a turnipy mess of an England manager.Outside of individual titles from the Rurouni Kenshin ("Wandering Samurai") and Naruto series, though, customer interest is "spread across the board," said department manager Scott Smith.How dare anyone question why England's WAGs (wives and girlfriends) are being holed up in a Baden-Baden hotel.Doing so has broadened their fan base, as adult men, soccer moms and fans of the artwork found graphic novels a better fit for their time-pressed lifestyles, Bankston said.With a stained glass mosaic table, not only do you get the perfect piece of furniture, you get a beautiful work of art. You also get a conversation piece that will likely draw your guests' curiosity and awe. You may even find that your stained glass mosaic furniture becomes the focal point of the room. When thinking of "mosaic," don't limit your imagination to the common square or triangle pieces laid in common mosaic patterns. Instead, go beyond the common and imagine the extraordinary. Imagine the beauty and uniqueness of stained glass designs artfully integrated with wood furniture. Your home will love you for it.Add to that the number of lesser-known comic book series with cultish followings, such as "Hellboy" and "Constantine"--both owing much in their look and style to graphic novels--and you see why Hollywood is shopping bookshelves.Forget the ga-zillions of round mosaic bistro tables on metal stands that look like they were mass produced in a third-world country. Those are okay (sometimes) for kitchens and patios, but they just don't fit the style and look of the other rooms in your home. You want real wood furniture stained to match the d�cor in your living room. You want a table painted white to blend perfectly with the bright, beachy feel of your sitting room. Stained glass mosaic tables made of real wood provide exactly what you want--and more.Longtime aficionados of the graphical storytelling found in Japanese comics, or manga, whose American fan base is rapidly expanding, and French and Belgian comics also are drifting over to English-language graphic novels."It is good to get a break and time with the family to talk about things you can't talk to the lads about, " said Joe Cole. "Things like who's looking after the dogs."Barnes & Noble Booksellers recently expanded its Japanese manga section and has found a diverse audience spanning gender and generations snapping up those titles.Brent Bankston, owner of Bankston's, says comic book giants DC Comics and Marvel Comics have roared into graphic novel territory in recent years, finding new customers willing to shell out $15 to $20 for stories told visually in book form, printed on higher-quality paper.Television, too, is returning the favor of comic book inspiration ("Smallville's" imagining of a young Clark Kent in rural Kansas, for instance, borrows from "Superman for All Seasons") by supplying storylines for graphic novels. The sci-fi series "Stargate" and "Battlestar Galactica" have extra adventures found in graphic novel form.It was beginning to look as though we'd end up on one of those two-man hand-driven pulleys you used to see in silent movies. Just how remote did the Ecuadorians need to be?There was only amusement rather than ridicule from this quarter, then, when he let slip a gem to us in Cologne the other day.Where comic book publishers once feared the dwindling numbers of their core audience, young men who bought comics on a weekly basis, they're finding new life in compiling those weekly releases into book form, often called trade paperbacks.
Will the graphic novel boom or bust in the years ahead? No one's crystal ball can tell whether flat sales or broader audiences will dominate, but Bankston notes one encouraging sign: young people interested in taking up the pen themselves.
Author: Carl Hoover Cox News Service
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