GRAPHIC NOVELS

Sunday, October 18, 5 p.m.
PAUL KARASIK
You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation (Fantagraphics, $24.99)
Paul Karasik will be here to do a visual presentation of his latest collection of archived Fletcher Hanks cartoons, You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation.  His last event, in 2007, for I Shall Destroy All The Civilized Planets, exemplified our graphic novel section’s two strong suits: reprints of strips from the golden age of comics and strong, deeply personal narratives.  Karasik explained to us his obsession with Fletcher Hanks and how his ambition of archiving all Hanks’s work has influenced his own personal life.  

Earlier this year Craig Yoe expertly mixed a personal narrative with archival comics when he presented Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster, an eye-popping event that earned us a full-page spread in the Washington Post Express.  Last year, three other leaders in the graphic novel genre appeared. First, a double-header with Lynda Barry for her amazing book on creativity, What It Is, and Tom Tomorrow for his collection, The Future’s So Bright I Can’t Bear to Look.  The two authors were here until the store closed, as the signing line didn’t end until 11 p.m. A month later, Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Spiegelman had an event for Breakdowns, a reprint he updated with an impressive new introduction.

Other important graphic author/artists who have appeared at Politics and Prose: Marjane Satrapi for her Persepolis series and Chicken With Plums.  Adrian Tomine displayed his Shortcomings here, the same week he illustrated a cover for The New Yorker. Earlier, Alison Bechdel presented her iconic graphic memoir Fun Home which went on to win multiple awards.

“ Politics and Prose is an amazing bookstore. I entered through the buzzing café, passed a room where a big book group was meeting, then went upstairs to the large and well-stocked store proper. It was kind of like a reading factory.”
-Alison Bechdel after her appearance at P&P, October 2006

Check out some of our graphic novel recommendations by clicking here.