Presuming On His Senses! 2009 Review

It's been very a good year for graphic novels with showings from big names such as Alan Moore (1910), Neil Gaiman (Batman: Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader?), Grant Morrison (Batman & Robin), Joe Sacco (Footnotes In Gaza), Robert Crumb (The Book of Genesis). Then there were the creators who were jostling for space in their wake such as Jeff Lemire (Essex County, The Nobody, Sweet Tooth). None more deserving than Emmanuel Guibert who followed up last year's excellent The Professor's Daughter and Alan's War (as well as co-creating the all-ages space pirate series Sardine) with the critically and commercially successful The Photographer.

All good reading. Personally my picks of the year would be lead by Asterios Polyp (Pantheon) from the masterful David Mazzucchelli, The Lagoon (Fantagraphics) by Lilli Carre and Power Up (Image) by Doug Tennapel (click on each title for my previous blog entries about these books). Easily making the list is also Miss Don't Touch Me (published by NBM) by Hubert & Kerascoet who have worked on the Dungeon series. A murder mystery tale set in the 1930's it tells the story of a young lady looking to find the killer of her sister, a trail which leads to a luxury house for call-girls with a side business in S&M dungeons. The art is fabulously expressive, reminiscent of Christophe Blaine and the writing is tight and thoroughly engaging. It's gloriously adult without wallowing in titillation.


And finally if you wish to nourish your mind as well as your spleen my list of favorites from 2009 includes Logicomix (published by Bloombury) written by Apostolos Dowiadis & Christos H. Papadimitriou and with art by Alecos Papadatos & Annie Di Donna. Simple, charming artwork highlights the clarity with which the creators convey the life and work of philosopher, mathematician and logician Bertrand Russell. It's everything you would have wanted a school text book to be by contextualizing and entertaining whilst educating. The book jacket proudly displays it's acclaim from the likes of the Sunday Times, the Guardian, the Independent and the Financial Times.



More please for 2010. SLS