Petrograd
Phillip Gelatt and Tyler Crook. Oni, $29.99 (260p.) ISBN 978- 1-934964-44-1
In this historical thriller, Gelatt and Crook vividly depict the 1916 events in Russia that led to the murder of Rasputin. Gelatt carefully weaves together several threads into a tense, taut tale, as peasants, members of the Russian aristocracy, and the British Secret Service plot to kill the Mad Monk. This version is inspired by a longstanding rumor that a British spy participated in the assassination--a rumor that has recently developed more historical credence through the discovery of forensic evidence. Crook is a rising comics star; his sepia artwork, full of shadows, sharp angles, and anguished expressions, does much of the storytelling; particularly noteworthy are the panels without dialogue that brilliantly portray the complex emotions of a people at war and on the verge of revolution. (Aug.)
The Long Tail
Chris Anderson, Shane Clester and Cullen Bunn. Writers of the Round Table (NBN, dist.), $12.95 trade paper (80p) ISBN 978-1-61066-006-4
An informative comic adaptation of Wired editor-in-chief Anderson's bestselling book on how technological innovation has allowed niche audiences to become more profitable for businesses to sell to. Illustrated in b&w by Clester, the book's visuals help the reader to immediately understand Anderson's arguments. Beginning with an examination of how, up until recently, media producers focused only on creating profitable "hits," Anderson explains how the Internet and digital technology have changed the dynamics of markets and consumers, with the Web making a staggering number of choices available to consumers while allowing smaller market producers of goods to reach new audiences. Although the book offers little in the way of advice or step-by-step guides, it is useful in encouraging readers to visualize Anderson's by-now gospel observations. However, it's not entirely clear how many readers are really interested in learning about Anderson's arguments by having them presented in an abridged comics version. While not as exhaustive as the prose edition, this adaptation is a clear introduction to the many topics Anderson explores. (Apr.)
Huntington, West Virginia 'On the Fly'
Harvey Pekar and Summer McClinton. Villard, $19.95 trade paper (176p) ISBN 978-0-345-49941-7
One of the final books written by the late Pekar, this volume collects five short pieces, mostly relating to a trip he made to West Virginia for a speaking engagement at a book festival: a series of anecdotes from an eccentric, dreadlocked limo driver; a tale about an unsuccessful attempt by one of Pekar's acquaintances to make a vintage diner successful in Cleveland; and so on. At his best, Pekar could find the stuff of engaging comics in the small routines and oddities of the everyday, and there's some potentially interesting oral history here--although not a lot of it cries out for visual interpretation, since most of these stories consist of expository dialogue that describes exactly what we see in McClinton's drawings. But the book falls flat when Pekar turns his focus away from his interviewees and onto himself, including endless, tedious, very familiar scenes in which he's talking on the phone, describing his career, and carping about money. This is far from Pekar's strongest work, and McClinton's artwork doesn't help much: her stylized textures and stripped-down renderings mesh uncomfortably with the photo-reference approach to drawing that often formed the basis of Pekar's comics. (Apr.)
