Sunday 'Comics' Part One

The Complete Peanuts: Volumes 1-26 by Charles Schulz When the last book in this Fantagraphics series came out I was able to fulfill a life-long dream: to own every Peanuts strip ever published. Volume 26 even collected old comic books that ran for a short period, and books like “Snoopy and the Red Baron” (which were completely written by Schulz, unlike the novelizations of the TV specials). This collection made obsolete over a hundred Fawcett-Crest paperbacks we had been collecting on-and-off since the 60’s. Not that I would ever get rid of the older ones, especially from the great runs from the 50’s to the early 70’s. It would be hard to over-assess the influence of Peanuts on my early life; much of my childhood was modeled on Linus’s teachings and experience. This included his idolization of a special teacher, his isolation for being in a “cult”, and his general intellectual attitude. I was probably infected with (or at least caught an echo of) the pervading pessimism that is constantly being struggled with in the strip. With the death of Charles Schulz in 2000 and, finally, this completed collection on the shelf, I tuck Peanuts away as an ever present, bred-in-the-bone, but seldom consciously recalled influence. In an odd way, I (with many others) am Schulz’s legacy. Ranking: Heck Yeah Essential. File Code: Comics. Collection. Hardback.

The Absolute Sandman, Volumes I - V; by Neil Gaiman and Various Artists. I kind of meandered into Neil Gaiman by way of Terry Pratchett when I read their collaboration, “Good Omens”. I heard further interesting things about Gaiman during the great graphic novel explosion of the 90’s, and eventually started reading the Sandman saga in media res in the smaller soft cover editions. I got three or four or possibly five of the smaller volumes, then I knew I was hooked. So I started getting these big hardcover books and sold the others. These volumes cost about $90 apiece, but worth it, I think. Slip-cased, with a ribbon bookmark. Ranking: Essential. File Code: Hardback. Graphic Novel.

The Sandman: Overture (The Deluxe Edition) by Neil Gaiman; Art by J. H. Williams III and Dave Stewart. After those five Absolute volumes of The Sandman, here comes the Overture, that prequel that Neil had been promising for so many years, which renders the Absolutes incomplete. I bought it as individual comics at first, then when this hard-cover edition came out, sold them to Tom Villareal. Cosmic sweep and an added 20+ years of political correctness, it is engaging for its world building and question answering, but I am not completely convinced of the power of its story telling. Didn’t sink in as deep as the old Sandman, but it’s hard to tell if that’s because of me or because of Neil. Ranking: Still, Essential for Completeness. File Code: Graphic Novel. Hardback.

The Absolute Death by Neil Gaiman. Having got all the Sandman Absolutes, of course I had to get this one, featuring Dream’s sister, Death. Interesting corners of the Sandman mythos, and meditations on life and mortality, and some fine stories and characters. Looks good with my other Absolute volumes. Slip-cased with a ribbon bookmark. Ranking: Essential. File Code: Graphic Novel. Hardback.

The Books of Magic: The Deluxe Edition, by Neil Gaiman. A skillful weaving by Gaiman of the supernatural threads of the DC Universe, including his own Sandman mythos. Follows the adventures of a young spectacled boy with a pet owl who has the potential to be the greatest wizard of his age, as he examines the secret world of magic before accepting his destiny. Harry Potter before there was Harry Potter. When J. K. Rowling was accused of plagiarizing him, Gaiman just said they were both “plagiarizing” T. H. White and “The Sword in the Stone”. That kept the powers nicely at peace. Of course, White admitted to “plagiarizing” Masefield and “The Midnight Folk”. And so, the world turns round and round, with all you ever knew … Ranking: Keeper. File Code: Graphic Novel. Hardback.