The Invention of Hugo Cabret

I recently had the pleasure of reading "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick (copyright 2007). This book wraps itself around several forms of media and self-identifies as "not exactly a novel, and it’s not quite a picture book, and it’s not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things."

I would also say that this book falls into several genres: historical fiction, mystery, and young adult novel. The upside of all this mish-mash is an excellent way to spend an hour or two, immersed in hand-drawn illustrations and compelled by several competing intrigues found in the plot.

If I was to offer any criticism, I would say that the writing is strong but not especially noteworthy and that the physical layout of text on the page often left me feeling empty. Often, an entire page of the book contained no more than a sentence or two. If the text was laid out in a particularly artistic fashion, I wouldn't mind, but instead, I often found myself wondering why the physical book wasn't condensed into something smaller than a tome.

Even so, if you have the chance, this is a fun read.

Asterix & Obelix Turn 50

The comic Asterix & Obelix turns 50 years old on October 29, 2009.

However, recent reviews of the comic are mixed. The original writer, René Goscinny, died in 1977. Since then, many critics say the writing quality dropped like the strength of Asterix when he runs out of magic potion.

This criticism is heaped on Uderzo, the original artist, who also took over scripting after the death of his colleague. Now in his 80s, Uderzo is also hanging up his spurs, and passing his work to three (as of yet unannounced) younger artists.

While the quality of the comic may be in question, it is still a financial success. The last collection sold millions of copies.

You can read more from the BBC here.

The End of Archie, Betty, and Veronica?

Archie, the red-headed step child of newspaper comics, is finally moving beyond his high school antics. For those of you who missed it, Archie married Veronica back in August 2009 (issue #600). Whether or not we liked this choice, we can agree that the gag-a-day newspaper strip finally embraced a storyline with permanent consequences.

But wait, what's this? In Archie #603, available next month (November), Archie will also be marrying Betty. No, he's not a polygamist. Archie is getting a chance at an "It's A Wonderful Life" storyline where he sees the eventualities created from both choices.

So maybe Archie isn't really changing yet. Interestingly enough, the NY Times reports that Jughead is the third most popular choice for Archie's permanent beau. We'll know that Archie is becoming a truly modern comic when this happens. Until then, I'm guessing we'll read the same old story for a long time to come.